ORIGIN AND INTERPRETATION OF THE NAME FUHRMEISTER
 

Many foreign surnames having a meaning perhaps designating the activity or occupation of the bearer. Such being the case with the name Fuhrmeister.

Fuhr was originally thought to be written with an umlaut (A), two dots above it and pronounced like the word fear, which meant in german “drive” and meister, master, therefore Fuhrmeister in the early days meant “leader of the drivers.”

According to Dirk Fuhrmeister from Brauneschweig, Germany: “This is wrong! Fuhrmeister never was written with an “A”! To expain the mistake: It is correct, the ‘Fuhrer’ means ‘leader’. As you will remember Hitler was called ‘der Fuhrer’. But OUR NAME comes from the German word ‘Fuhre’ or ‘Fuhrwerk’ and that means ‘wagon’ (horse - or oxenwagon for goods, straw, field fruits, etc.)! ‘Meister’ has a double meaning. First it means to be the best. The world-champion in German is a ‘Weitmeister’. Second, it also means the highest degree of the handworking profesesions. In former times until now, you have to learn three years to become a ‘Geselle’. Then you have to work for another five years in your profession. After that you have another test and you have to build your masterpiece, and then you are allowed to call yourself ‘Meister’. And only a ‘Meister’ is allowed to teach other young people to become a ‘Geselle’ and afterwards ‘Meister’.”

I have heard my father, Andrew Fuhrmeister, remark that it was a tradition in the family that ages ago a young German was the driver of an ox team for royalty and that he was such an expert driver, his royal master assigned him to drive the lead team of three ox team hitch and gave him the title ‘Fuhrmeister - leader of drivers”. The young fellow liked the sound of Fuhrmeister and adopted it as his surname and went by the name of Fuhrmeister thereafter.
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This information came from Judy Moehlis in Iowa, February, 1998.

Close up of the area of Dardesheim and Deersheim, both shaded in yellow.