THAKE
the main surname on our maternal side
The name "Thake" is a German form of an Anglo-Saxon word that means thatch or thatcher. Today you might say "roofer".
My ancestors with the "Thake" surname came from greater Minden in Westfalia county of Prussia which is now part of Germany. Minden is located somewhat south of the port of Bremen which is on the northern coast of Germany. Minden is also northeast of Düsseldorf and lies on the Weser River. Emigration to Caseyville, Illinois took place in 1851 (and possibly in 1864). Later my Thake line settled in St. Louis, MO. There are other (unrelated?) Thake families in England, some of whom also came to the U.S.
Other forms of this surname include Tacke, Taake, Dake, Thack, and Take. The "D" and "T" sounds are similar. In German pronunciation, the "h" is silent and the final "e" is pronounced as a separate syllable.
The Thake coat of arms shield has a red background on a fesse between three ermine diamond Lozenges ermine)s, one 3-leafed clover (trefoil slipped azure) between two eagles' heads (erased of the field, beaked argent and about their necks a leash of the last). One source says there is no crest or motto. Another source (the one shown above) gives the crest as a bittern setting among reeds proper.
Ermine means black tails on white or silver ground. Ermine is one of the types of furs; white, powered, with small black tails or spots, drawn in various convential ways. Fesse is one of the ordinaries, this one being a broad horizontal band across the middle of the shield.
Thake is the 59,732nd most popular surname in the United States; frequency is 0.000...%; percentile is 87.354. These figures are according to the 1990 U.S. Census.
The asterisk after the name marks my direct-line ancestor. The (-2G), etc., indicates the number of generations before Erven Thoma. All people below have their own web page.
| Carl Heinrich Thake (Charles Thake)* (-4G) | Erven Eugene Thake* (-2G) |
| Carl Eugen Victor Robert Thake (Eugene Charles Thake)* (-3G) | Sibylla Johanna(?) Thake (-2G) |
| Christopher Victor(?) Thake (-2G) | Emilie (Emily) Florence Thake (-2G) |
| Cecilia Thake (-2G) | Winfield Charles Jacob Thake (-1G) |
| Alice Thake* (-1G) | Charles Winfield Thake (-0G) |
| John Erven Thake (-0G) | Owen Eugene Thake (-0G) |
| Beatrice Thake (-1G) |
Non-related Thake households in St. Louis area
W. Thake - burial notice 1 Nov. 1905 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Esther B. Thake (née Koch) - died 26 Feb. 1943, burial notice 2 Mar. 1943 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Donald J. Thake - obit. 4 Dec. 1994 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Violet D. Thake - (married to a Bradley) - died 17 Aug. 1996
Alma I. Thake (née Campbell) - obit 31 Mar. 1996 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
There are no Thake households in the 1870 Census for St. Louis.
Donald Thake - SS# 488-18-3456 - born 14 Sep. 1921, d. 1 Dec. 1994. At death he was living in Zip Code 63125 in St. Louis city. He is probably the same Donald whose obit apperas on 4 Dec. 1994,
William Thake is in the 1860 Census for Missouri Index (MO 08669132, p. 538 in 10th ward). He is in St. Louis and is probably the same man whose burial notice appears in 1905.
Another William Thake was born 13 Apr. 1891 and died 22 June 1961. His S.S.# (497-05-1954) was issued in Missouri before 1951.
A Charles Thake was a private in the Union Army in 1861. My ancestor by that name would have been about 36 years old in 1861. If this serviceman is my ancestor, and he died in service, it could explain why a death record for my ancestor was not discovered in St. Clair County. However, age 36 is an old age for a private.
A Tina Louise Thake died at 3 months on 8 April 1960 in Montgomery, MO.
The 1870 Census Index for Illinois lists Sophie Thake, 3 years old, born in Illinois, living in Kendall County, Kendall Township (roll 239, p. 374). Perhaps the same Sophie Thake married Frederick Schale on 10 June 1887 (or on 6 Oct.?) in Kendall County, IL
German Thake Families Before the 20th Century
Heinrich Carl Thake - baptised on 1 May 1859 at St. Martin evang. church in Minden, Westphalia, Prussia. His parents were Ludwig Thake and Henriette Witte. (LCS film 1051922)
Eugen Heinrich Thack was baptized on 24 June 1862 at St. Lambert church in Coesfeld, Westfalia, Prussia.
Sophie Louise Thake of Minden married Heinrich Conrad Kramer on 20 May 1851 in St. Peter's Ev. Luth. Church in Minden, Westphalia, Prussia. Her father was Carl Heinrich Thake of Minden. At this time she was 23 years old and he was 28. There is a Sophie Louise Dake born in Oct. 1827 of Carl Heinrich Dake and Sophie Marie Hilkers? who was baptized on the 14th. Is the surname Dake a mistake on the part of the priest or is it an earlier form of Thake?
Sophie Marie Thake married Johann Friedrich Martin Thiele on 16 Jan. 1855 in a protestant church in Minden, Westphalia, Prussia. Her daughter, born before her marriage, was Johanna Louise Thake (see below).
Johanna Louise Thake - baptised on 1 May 1853 at St. Peter evang.-ref. church in Minden. Mother was Sophie Marie Thake (maiden name also Thake?). Father's name was not given but from the above record he could have been Johann Friedrich Thiele, although their marriage date is after Johanna's birth. (LDS film 1051925) That explains why Johanna Louise Thake has her mother's maiden surname.
Friedrich August Thake - baptised on 21 Dec. 1829 at St. Peter's evang.-ref. church in Minden. Parents were Heinrich Thacke and Sophie Hilkers. (LDS film 1051925)
Carl Heinrich Dake was born 1 Jan. 1825 and baptized on 9? Jan. 1825. His parents were Carl Heinrich Dake and Sophie Maria Hilkers. The surname could be an early or alternate form of the surname Thake or a misspelling by the priest.
Carl Heinrich Thake - confirmed on 12 May 1839 at age of 14 and 3 months.
Carl Heinrich Tacke - born in Jan. 1770 in Gohfeld, Oeynhausen, , Westphalia, Prussia. Died before 1885. Parents were Heinrich Samuel Tacke and Anne Marie Margarethe Ilsebein Luebke. He was baptized on the 14th in the evangelical church. In the baptism record his mother is named Margarethe Ilsabien Luebke. There is also a birth record for a Carl Heinrich Tacke in Bischofshagen, Westphalia, Prussia, born on 09 Jan. 1770 of parents Heinrich Samuel Tacke and Margaretha Elisabeth Luebke. This Carl Heinrich Tacke died on 25 Oct. 1771.
But there is a Carl Heinrich Tacke who married Anne Marie Margarethe Catharine Ilseb. Luekensmeyer about 1800 in Oeynhausen, , Westphalia, Prussia.
A Carl Heinrich Tacke was born 12 Feb. 1781 in Gohfeld, Westphalia, Prussia and died 01 Aug. 1852. His parents were Heinrich Samuel Tacke and Margaretha Elisabeth Lübke (Anne Marie Margarethe Ilsebein Luebke?). His spouse was Anne Marie Ilsabein Lükensmeyer who he married on 07 Nov. 1800 in Gohfeld. I believe this is the same person in the previous paragraph. It is possible that Heinrich Samuel Tacke and Margaretha Elisabeth Luebke had two children named Carl Heinrich--one born in January of 1770 (who died in Oct. 1771) and another born in Feb. 1781 (who died in Aug. 1852). Carl Heinrich Tacke was born 12 Feb. 1781 in Bischofshagen, Westphalia, Prussia. His spouse was Anne Marie Ilsabein Luekensmeyer who he married on 07 Nov. 1800 in Gohfeld. According to the Bischofshagen records his parents were Heinrich Samuel Tacke and Margaretha Elisabeth Luebke and he died 01 Aug. 1852. The explanation for the same event appearing in the records of two different towns could be that a birth or marriage was recorded in both the town of the male (father) and the town of the female (mother).
A Carl Heinrich Take married a Marie Sophie Hilker on 23 Mar. 1823 at St. Mary's Evang. Church in Minden. He was 31 and she was 25. His father was Johann Peter Take (FHL film #0442162, 1820-47).
A Carl Heinrich Take married Wilhelmine Charlotte Emilie Amelung on 27 July 1849 at St. Mary's Evang. Church in Minden. He was 24 and she was 25. His father was Carl Heinrich Take. (FHL film #0442163.)
A Carl Heinrich Tacke was born 22 Sep. 1792 in Gohfeld and baptized on the 23rd. His parents were Peter Heinrich Tacke and Anne Marie Elisabeth Brandt. His spouse was Anne Marie Catherine Wilhelmine Nolting who he married ca 1819 in Oeynhausen. On the church record in Bischofhagen his father is Carl Heinrich Tacke and his mother is the same as above. (FHL film #0582770).
A Carl Heinrich Tacke was born ca 1788 in Gohfeld, Oeynhausen and died before 1898. His spouse was Anne Marie Margarethe Ilsebein Brandt who he married ca 1814 in Oeynhausen.
A Carl Heinrich Take was born 07 Mar. 1790 in Loehne, , Westphalia, Prussia. His parents were Johann Friedrich Take and Anna Maria Clara Imort.
A Carl Heinrich <Take> was baptized on 19 Mar. 1786 in the evangelical church of Hiddenhausen, Westphalia, Prussia. His parents were Johann Fridrich Take and Marie Elisabeth Hollinderbauemer.
A Carl Heinrich Tacke was baptized on 05 May 1787 in the St. Peter's Evang. Church of Herford, Herford, , Westphalia, Prussia. His parents were Johann Heinrich Tacke and Wilhelmine Boden. He was born on the same day.
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Last revised on 02s Feb. 2009 by Erven Thoma