Daniel Kramer ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

KREIS UCKERMARK
The district (Kreis) of Uckermark lies in the northeast corner of the state (Länder) of Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. With a total area of 3 ,058 kilometers, it is the largest district in all of Germany, with a size exceeding that of the entire state (Länder) of Saarland. The district Uckermark borders Poland in the east, the district of Ucker Randow and Mecklenburg-Strelitz in the north and northwest, the district of Oberhavel in the west, and the district of Barnim in the south.

The population of Uckermark is approximately 154,000. A population density of approximately 51 people per square kilometer exhibits the fact that a large percentage of the population is engaged in farming.

The district capital city is Prenzlau, and the largest city in the district is Schwedt am Oder.

KLAUSHAGEN, Germany
Länder Branderburg
Kreis Uckermark
Unterkreis Templin-Land

Population (1990): 270

The first historical documentation of the village of Klaushagen dates from the year 1271, appearing in the records of the Mark Counts Johann and Otto of Brandenburg, when the village was referred to as "Claweshagen."

In 1382, because of the sale of the village by the knights Reinhold and Johann for 214 Thaler, Klaushagen came under the jurisdiction of the monastery of Boitzenburg, and, as a monastery and border village of Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, and Pommerania, Klaushagen was continually threatened by war.

After dissolution of the monastery, the Prince Joachim II of Brandenburgs old the village to the Landvogt of Uckermark, Klaus von Arnim. As a result of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the village was unorganized and barely inhabited. By the year 1668, it was reported that a farmer and his family had moved into the village.

In the later half of the 19th century, there was an economic upswing for the village of Klaushagen. With a population of 410, four public buildings and 86 farm buildings stood in the village and the surrounding area. Many craftsmen, small manufacturers, barkeepers, shoemakers, and blacksmiths owned and operated their businesses in Klaushagen.

The name "Klaushagen" was derived from two obscure brothers, Klaus and Jakob, who founded the two villages of Klaushagen and Jakobshagen respectively. The "hag(en)" added to the name signified that the area was situated in a meadow or surrounded by a grove of trees.

The Klaushagen landscape consists of gently rolling hills with countless small lakes formed by the last ice age. Forests of Beech trees are numerous throughout the region. Small-scale farming is still predominant in the area.

Klaushagen has also been spelled Claushagen, primarily in the 19th century when the village fell under the rule of Prussia.
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ORIGINS & MEANING OF THE SURNAME KRAMER
Origins of the surname Kramer are found primarily throughout the northern German plain, and to a small extent, throughout Holland and Denmark. Th roughout history, as mobility increased, the surname found roots in most every German länder as well as in Switzerland and Austria.

The surname Kramer is considered to be occupational in origin, and is associated with the German language meaning, "one who traveled through the country making and selling small wares, carried to market in a "kram" or pack on his back." The German "kram" is translated as, "small wares, odds and ends, retail trade." By adding the umlaut over the "a" as in "Krämer," the German meaning becomes, "shopkeeper, tradesman, grocer, or haberdasher."

The most common spelling of the surname is KRAMER. Variations in spelling include Krämer, Kraemer, Kreamer, Krammer, Creamer, Cramer, and Crammer. Language changes, carelessness, and a high degree of illiteracy compounded the number of ways the original name may have come to be spelled. Often, when a person did not know how to spell his or her own name, the town clerk (or other official), would simply spell the name as it sounded to him .

Concentrations of the surname Kramer that relate to our family lineage, are found throughout the länder of Brandenburg, southern Mecklenburg-Pommern, eastern Niedersachsen, and northern Sachsen-Anhalt. The greatest concentrations of the surname in direct lineage occur in north-eastern Brandenburg in the Landkreis Uckermark, Ämtern of Templin-Land, Templin, Boitzenburg, Nordwestuckermark, and Lychen. Though a somewhat common surname in northern Germany, high concentrations of Kramer's are not particular to specific areas, rather they are randomly dispersed indicating mobility in historical times.

Since our Kramer lineage includes primarily peasants, farmers, and tradesmen, no record of the individual granting of the Kramer arms has yet been specifically located
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Daniel married Maria Elisabetha Peters about 1767. (Maria Elisabetha Peters was born about 1733 in Klaushagen, Uckermark, Brandenburg, GERMANY ² and died on 23 August 1778 in Klaushagen, Uckermark, Brandenburg, GERMANY ^{1 2}.)