What is a Dorntge?

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The question asking “What is a Dorntge” was first proposed in a spectacular flyover on the sunny beach at the Lago Mar resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the summer of 1987. An old biplane towed it on a long streaming banner. As luck would have it there were tons of Dorntges on the same beach as the plane flew over. I happened to be one of them, and as no reasonable answer was forthcoming at that time, I took it upon myself to search out and find the answer to that important question. Here are my empirical findings, and I feel confident every single Dorntge on this planet will back me up. And I know they are all over this country from one end to the other.

So, I began my research by trying to find any records of the family name and/or famous ancestors Zero. Nothing. Whatever they are, they are rare. All I know is that they are a family, they had an ancestor named Henri Dorntge, who came from Alsace, France (or Germany – whoever was in control of that area at any given time). They registered in my life when I was born in Buffalo, NY in 1925. They were all I knew for the first few years of my life. They were all over the place, and they hung out together all the time. No wonder they became big on reunions.

They get together every three years and share stories and memories. Most importantly the good memories. The happy memories. The ones that draw them together. The ones that relight the lives of all of them who have gone to a better place.

They go to where the fun is. They like having fun. They dance. They tell stories. Furthermore, they don`t hold grudges. Anything short of criminal or anti-social behavior, goes with them. They are absolutely forgiving of all other kinds of missteps, bar none. They band together and help who among them needs help. In the late 1800`s, early 1900`s Dorntges were notorious for that characteristic, as they helped each other through the struggling times of family distress and the ongoing Great Depression. It all carried over to their progeny, and remains to this day, a significant part of the answer to the Dorntge question.

Another outstanding dimension of their character is respect. In no way do they demean the abilities of their spouses and in-law relations. In every one of the 10 Dorntge family reunions held to date, they graciously and respectfully let their in-laws prevail as they perform their ritual Volleyball game.

There you have it. From the evidence I have gathered, I can sum up my answer to the “What is a Dorntge” question in three words: Respect, Help, and Forgiveness. Put those words together and they add up to Love. That they all keep coming back every three years to relight that Love, just underlines that conclusion.

Vive Les Dorntges…

8 thoughts on “What is a Dorntge?”

  1. Uncle Bob, this site is terrific, what a cool thing you and Patty are doing! Thanks for keeping those memories coming. I am not good with words but will try to write something. Love, Lisa

  2. Hi Uncle Bob! This is a wonderful blog, thanks to you and Patty for putting it together. I’m a family research enthusiast and I did come up with some old records on the Dorntge ancestors, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11707-57495-91?cc=1918735 Henry (born 1835) and Martine, parents of Charles, parent of Dorothy, mother to you and mom. Henry listed his birthplace as “Braunschweig”, which is Brunswick in Germany and Martine as Baden in Germany.

    The city of Brunswick and Baden are not too far from each other. There are still a few remaining Dorntges in the area. It is possible that the Dorntge name could have entered this area of Germany from Alsace or France during the Napoleanic wars. I’m in California with Mom at the moment, I have more records back home….

    A French friend once told me that Dorntge is a very famous name………

    I will write some more memories to add to this wonderful site. For now some key words….Dorothy Dorntge..my maternal grandmother…natural elegance and style……

  3. Hello, recently I have discovered that my Maternal Grt Grandmother’s name was Anna Dorntge, she married Fritz Wagner and they must have lived in Braunshweig, Germany because that is where Grandfather Otto was born in 1885. This was great finding her maiden name after searching for so long. But it is definitely not the end of the search for Anna . Dorntge is not a common surname and there is not a lot of information. I was excited to see in the note from Deborah Harmon that she mentioned another Dorntge who was born in Braunshweig. And, happy to find this article , too ! My mother always said that she heard Anna was from Alsace Lorraine. Otto and I believe Anna came to America in 1892 , but without Fritz. I believe Anna and Fritz were no longer married at that time. Otto then returned to Germany to study music in the early 1900’s. Since there are not too many Dorntges , maybe we are cousins. I sure would appreciate any information that you could lend to me .
    Thank you so much,
    Sheila Hartsel

    1. Welcome to the mysterious land of the Dorntges. My mother was a Dorntge, but there is not much out there that can actually tell us much. At least, in my searching. Debbie Harmon is my niece actually found more than I have ever been able. Yes, there does seem to be a likelihood that we might be related. Dorntge is about as uncommon as it gets. We remnant Dorntges have been having triennial reunions since 1987. The last was in Indianapolis in 2014. The next is scheduled for 2017. To the best of my knowledge it will be held in Georgia as the remnant Dorntges are scattered far and wide across the country. You are the first distant Doirntge I have ever encountered. I will post our conversation on relighting Us and invite my Dorntge cousins to partake. You can keep an eye on the site from time to time to see if we get ant responses.. It should be exciting…

      Bob Whelan

  4. Hi, here’s some more research……. Deckert Family – On Dorntge Line

    Henry Deckert (Alsace) born 1801 – Wife Catherine parents of Michael Deckert father of Alice, mother of Charles Dorntge, father of Dorothy. He is mentioned in Cheektowaga town records as a “path master” Henry Deckhart” around the time of town incorporation in 1839.

    https://archive.org/stream/cu31924025959226/cu31924025959226_djvu.txt

    Cheektowaga 1850 census:

    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCY4-VQP

    Alice M. Deckert and family 1875 – Mother Ida Wagner Deckert b 1843 – Mother in law Catherine Wagner b1813. Ida and Catherine born in Saxony. Husband of Catherine – John born in Prussia Living Buffalo Ward 5 #109
    1875 Census:

    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNVT-B8Z

    Places:

    Alsace – Deckert

    Saxony – Wagner, Ida wife of Michael Deckert father of Alice mother of Dorothy

    Prussia – John Wagner Father of Ida – still confirming….

    Braunschweig/Brunswick – Dorntge

    Baden Territory Germany – Bernhardt, Martine b1834 wife of Henry Dorntge father of Charles Willard

    Whelan – Ireland – Still digging

    Mason – England – Still digging

    1. Has anyone taken and submitted DNA results on Ancestry.com. My brother’s DNA matched an SDorntge in the range of extremely high on the ancestry DNA page. That is the most positive match you can have. However the matching person did not have a tree or other info listed. I have sent a message to them with no reply yet. This does mean that there is a definite match in with Grt + Grandparents. DNA matches may help us as well if anyone has taken the DNA test.

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