Trump family

History

Trump is a German surname derived from a word for "drum". The name is on record in Kallstadt from the 17th century, and has been spelled in many different ways, including Drumpf, Drumpff, Drumpft, Drumb, Tromb, Tromp, Trum, Trumpff, Dromb and Trump. In the Palatine dialect of the area the name Trump is, regardless of spelling, pronounced [ˈdrʊmpʰ] ("droomp").

The family originates in Kallstadt in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The first known person by the surname in Kallstadt, a lawyer called Hanns Drumpf, settled there in 1608.

Johan Philip Trump had established himself as a winegrower in Kallstadt by the late 17th century. Many of his descendants also were winegrowers and distinguished members of the local community of Kallstadt. Kallstadt is an acknowledged tourist destination and famous for being a Edelweinort, a place of noble wines and the related gastronomy. The organ builder Johann Michael Hartung (1708–1763) and his son Johann Philipp Hartung lived as well in Kallstadt. Elizabeth Christ Trump was related to the Hartungs. Charlotte Louisa Trump (1789–1833) married Johann Georg Heinz, and their son Johann Heinrich (John Henry) Heinz (1811–1891) emigrated from Kallstadt to the United States in 1840 and was the father of Henry J. Heinz (1844–1919), the founder of the Heinz company.

Stories about famous emigrants are common in the region, where many people have relations abroad. In 2015, filmmaker Simone Wendel, herself from Kallstadt (and remotely related to Trump) produced a documentary called Kings of Kallstadt. The film deals with the ongoing relationship between the local inhabitants and their prominent relatives, both the Heinz and Trump business families in the USA. Wendel interviewed Trump in New York and showed a Kallstadt delegation at the Steuben Day parade. Trump prolonged the interview over the preset time and promised to visit Kallstadt.

Friedrich Trump's American family branch

In 1885, Friedrich Trump emigrated from Kallstadt to the United States at age 16. He anglicized his name to Frederick in 1892 when he became a U.S. citizen. During the Alaska Gold Rush, he amassed a fortune by opening restaurants and hotels for gold seekers on their way to the region. After his death, his fortune was passed on to his wife and son. Frederick Trump was a second cousin of Henry J. Heinz, founder of H. J. Heinz Company. In 1902 he married Elisabeth Christ, who was born in 1880 and who died on June 6, 1966. She moved to the United States with him. Like her husband, she was a native of Kallstadt, born as the daughter of Philipp and Marie Christ. Philipp Christ was descended from Johannes Christ (1626–1688/9) of Flörsheim, Hesse. Elizabeth Christ Trump was a descendant of organ builder Johann Michael Hartung (1708–1763) through her paternal grandmother Sabina Christ. Friedrich Trump was the father of Elizabeth (Elisabeth) Trump (1904–1961), real estate developer Fred Trump (1905–1999) and physicist and inventor John G. Trump (1907–1985).

Fred Trump (1905–1999), born in New York, was one of the biggest real estate developers in New York City. Using his fathers's heritance, Fred Trump and his mother Elizabeth founded Elizabeth Trump & Son. Donald Trump later renamed it The Trump Organization and served as its chairman and president until assuming the office of U.S. President. Fred Trump married Mary MacLeod (1912–2000), a native of Tong, a small village near Stornoway, in the Western Isles of Scotland. She was the daughter of fisherman Malcolm Macleod and Mary Macleod (née Smith). At age 17, she immigrated to the United States and started working as a maid in New York. Fred and Mary met in New York and married in 1936, settling together in Queens. Mary became a U.S. citizen in 1942. Fred Trump was the father of the businessman Donald Trump. Donald Trump has said that he is "proud" of his German heritage, having served as grand marshal of the 1999 German-American Steuben Parade in New York City. While walking through the city and seeing Trump Tower, Donald Trump recalled saying: "This is a long way from Kallstadt."

John G. Trump married Elora Sauerbrun (1913–1983), and they were the parents of John Gordon Trump (1938–2012).

The 2016 media interest about Kallstadt started in the middle of the night after the announcement of Trump's election. The local reaction has been mixed. There is not much interest in becoming a place of pilgrimage for Trump aficionados; local tourism is already flourishing. The house where Trump's grandfather Friedrich (Frederick) Trump was born is currently for sale. Deutsche Welle notes: "[T]he villagers used to have a better opinion of Donald Trump, before he started his boisterous campaign."

Immediate family of Donald Trump

Donald Trump has married thrice, to Ivana Zelníčková, Marla Maples and Melania Knauss.

Trump has four adult children from two previous marriages: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump with Ivana Trump, and Tiffany Trump with Marla Maples. Trump has one son with Melania Trump, Barron, born on March 20, 2006. He will be the first pre-teen son to live in the White House since John F. Kennedy Jr. arrived as an infant in 1961. All three of his children with Ivana Trump are currently Executive Vice Presidents at The Trump Organization. Tiffany Trump is a recent college graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, her father's alma mater.

Religious affiliations

The Trump family are Lutheran members of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, although that region has been overwhelmingly Calvinist since the mid 16th century. Members of the family's American branch tend to be Presbyterians, or adherents of other Reformed churches. Donald Trump's parents belonged to the Reformed Church in America, although he was confirmed at one of the Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations himself. This matter of membership does not play a big role since he attends services of both denominations, other ones that are part of the Reformed tradition, and even some that subscribe to other Protestant branches (like the Episcopal Church (USA), an Anglican denomination).

In 2016, Donald Trump visited Bethesda-by-the-Sea, an Episcopal Church, for Christmas service.

Ivanka Trump practices Judaism, having converted upon marrying her husband Jared Kushner.