Die Marktmeisterregister befinden sich im Stadtarchiv Stadt Duderstadt,
Christian Blank Straße
D-37115 Duderstadt
(Tel.: (+49) 5527 / 2144).

The name Gatzenmeyer, Gatzemeyer, Gatzenmeier, Gatzemeier is a name typical of the Eichsfeld ("Oakfield") region.

The Eichsfeld lies to the east of Göttingen and Kassel. It is the northwestern border region of the Thuringian Basin. The rivers Wipper and Leine divide the region into two areas of unequal size, the larger Obereichsfeld (Upper Eichsfeld) to the south and the smaller Untereichsfeld (Lower Eichsfeld) to the north. In the Obereichsfeld with its chief town Heiligenstadt limestone mountains up to 570 m are found. Its soils are however barren. The Untereichsfeld with its chief town Duderstadt is more fertile, and was therefore given the name Goldene Mark. The Eichsfeld covers an area of some 1100 square kilometres - almost as large as the city of Berlin.

In the 10th century the archdiocese of Mainz acquired its first lands in the Eichsfeld. In the 16th century the whole of the Eichsfeld finally passed to Mainz by way of donations, swaps and purchases. With Luther's Reformation and the peasants' wars large areas of the Eichsfeld turned to the "new" faith. In a counter-reformation from 1574 onwards, the Eichsfeld gradually reverted to the "old" faith.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the Eichsfeld was divided for the first time. The Obereichsfeld became part of Prussia; the Untereichsfeld was allotted to the Kingdom of Hanover. In 1865 the Untereichsfeld also became part of Prussia. In 1945 the Eichsfeld was once again divided. The demarcation line between the British and Soviet zones and later the border between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic passed through the middle of the Eichsfeld just as the border between Prussia and Hanover had in 1815. However, this did not destroy the old ties. Today, the Untereichsfeld is part of Lower Saxony and the Obereichsfeld part of Thuringia. The affiliation to the archdiocese of Mainz has characterized the Eichsfeld until this day. The region has also largely maintained its Catholic structure despite antireligious systems such as National Socialism and Communistic Socialism.

It is relatively easy to interpret the name Gatzemeier. It was formed as a further development of the name Meyer. The family names indeed developed as early as the 12th century. Due to additional meanings of an existing name new names later came into being. Even today, inexact entries in documents and registers result in name changes.

The word "Meyer" is derived from the Latin word "major". Initially this referred to an official appointed by the lord of the estate, whose duty was to administer his property. After the so-called "Fronhofverwaltung" (compulsory farm labour) a "Meyer" was understood to be the administrator and later also the tenant of an estate.

Several large and small estates in the villages forming part of Duderstadt belonged to the inhabitants of the town. These estates were not run but "vermeyert" by the inhabitants of Duderstadt. A "Meyer" was therefore understood to be a tenant who had leased his "Gut" or "Kotgut" (large or small estate). The word "Gatze" used in the Eichsfeld dialect means "Gasse", or "alley", "narrow lane". The name Gatzemeyer therefore means a "Meyer" living in an alley.

Another origin of the name is possible. This is not an extension of an existing name, but a designation (characteristic, activity, place of residence) of a person which becomes a new name. For example the tenant ("Meyer") of an estate located next to an alley ("Gasse") may have been called Gassenmeyer (dialect form: Gatzenmeyer). This designation is used in tax lists and similar documents and is finally used as a name.

In 1567 the name Vith Gatzemann is found in the so-called "Marktmeister-Register" (tax register) for Duderstadt as a supplier of oats in the neighbouring village of Nesselröden. The same person is listed from 1570 to 1578 as Gatzenmeyer, in 1579 as Gassmeyer and in 1580 again as Gassmann. From 1582 to 1586 and from 1590 to 1593 the name appears again as Gaßemeyer. Not until 1595 was only the name Gatzenmeyer used.

It may be safely assumed that the name Gatze(n)meyer/ ... meier originated in Nesselröden in the Eichsfeld. Before 1567 the name does not appear in any other villages of the Goldene Mark. In the register of the villages and in the so-called "Türkensteuer-Register" (tax register) the name Vith Gatzemeier is also recorded in Nesselröden. A study of the 1997 telephone directories shows a significant accumulation of this name in the Eichsfeld. In other regions of Germany the name is found only singly.

In 1598 the names Hans Gatzenmeyer and in 1599 Balthasar Gatzenmeyer appear alongside Vith Gatzenmeyer in Nesselröden, followed by Vith jun. in 1603. In 1604, the name Valentin Gatzenmeyer is found in the tax register for the town of Duderstadt in Westerode, a village in the vicinity of Nesselröden. It may be assumed that these are all children of Vith, although it is not yet certain whether from 1567 to this time the third generation of the Gatzenmeyer family is recorded here. The names Vith and Vith jun. are found in the "Marktmeister" lists until 1608. Later entries have still to be studied.

Due to the Thirty Years War, which reached its climax in the Duderstadt area around 1630, and the plague which raged in the region around 1626 the population was severely decimated and almost exterminated. It is still being investigated how and in which places the name Gatzemeyer developed at this time.

Exact genealogical trees can only be traced from about 1660-1680 in the villages of the Eichsfeld, because it was only at this time that church registers began to be maintained. In Duderstadt the registers have been kept since 1613. At first the entries were made in descriptive form (prose). Several entries are inexact and incomplete. Standardization of the entries in list form developed only after 1800.

In the entries in the Catholic church registers of the Eichsfeld the name Gatzenmeyer changes by way of Gatzen Meyer to Gatzemeyer. Only in the 19th century does the name change again, probably due to the influence of the French language, to ... meier.