Where Did the Hintermeister Family Originate?
by Hans Kläui, Oberwinterthur, Switzerland

Since the second half of the 15thcentury, the Hintermeister Family can be encountered on the Bänikonfarm in the community of Kloten, at that time still belonging to the parish of Embrach. It is here where the family out-grew the capacity of the farm and several children moved to other communities. In 1530 Konrad Hintermeister lived in Kloten, and in 1540 the brothers Hans and Heini Hintermeister were living on the inherited tenet farm, which was held by their father, Ueli, of the All Saints (Allerheiligen) Monastery at Rieden. In 1554 Heinrich Hintermeister, a leather tanner from Rieden, became a citizen (German word Burger) of Zurich. Likewise, Felix became a citizen in 1556 and also a member of the Clergyman (Prediger) Monastery Chorus in Zurich. In the 17thcentury, two lines of the Bänikon Family moved to the Parish of Elsau; Konrad Hintermeister-Huber moved to Fulau, a nearby village, and Josias moved to the village of Elsau. Two of Konrad's sons later lived in Unter-Schnasberg. In this way the Hintermeister name became typical of the Elsau area.

Still before 1800 representatives of the family can also be found in Dietlikon, Neftenbach, Niederhasli, and Würenlos (Canton of Aargau). In the 19thcentury Hintermeisters had become citizens of Bülach, Elgg, Illnau, Küsnacht, Lindau, and Winterthur, moving from Elsau.

The Historical Biographical Dictionary of Switzerland states that the first Hintermeister residence was a farm called Grafsbühl near Embrach in the year 1370. This statement, however, seems somewhat doubtful, because the family was definitely in Geerlisberg (Municipality of Kloten) about 60 years later.