Oblt Werner Pichon-Kalau von Höfe - What JG?

[Larry deZeng]

Not so fast.................
According to Cassell's German Dictionary (Karl Breul, edited and revised by Harold T. Betteridge, © Cassell's 1971), if the name is spelled Hof without the Umlaut, it's singular; if it is spelled Höfe, it's plural and gets an Umlaut. As a noun, the word has many meanings, but many centuries ago when it came into existence as a part of a family name, Pichon-Kalau vom Höfe means Pichon-Kalau of the manor(s), palace(s), country house(s), estate(s), court(s), etc. That's why it's vom and not von. Von means of or from, while vom is a contraction of von dem (of the .....).

I don't know why Rasmussen's German Genealogie book differs, but it may have something to do with older forms of grammar and spelling. See the way the book spells Teil (part) - Theil with an "h" may have been the way it was spelled 150 - 200 years ago or more.

German grammar lesson over.
Class dismissed.

Naturally, comments and rebuttals from Rasmussen and other native German speakers will be most welcome!

L. deZ.