Kastler.net Email
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This website is dedicated to the persons and families that have contributed information and photos since 2002. An initial mailing to over 250 Kastlers in Germany, France, and Switzerland in 2002 yielded an immense response. From this information, family trees were created, linking in smaller trees as more information was received. Over the years different clans began to form based on this information, or by sponsored professional research. The database is a collection of these clans. In addition to having the family database on kastler.net, the family trees have now been uploaded to Ancestry.com to promote sharing and further research. Links to access the trees are at the bottom of the Library page.
Most of the documents and photos on this website were submitted by family members. Permission has been given to use and distribute that information. The main goal of this website is to allow sharing of information with family, near or distant. If you have any documents, photos, or any other information to share please use the Contact form to discuss.
The map shows the larger family groups known at this time. The Kastler and related families on this website originated from the German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Borders changed periodically, and prior to World War I, the Alsace region of France was part of Germany. Alsatian is an Alemannic dialect closely related to Swabian, although since World War II most Alsatians primarily speak French. Detailed information about the different families can be found in The Clans.
Search
A good first place to start is to search the database for your ancestor. Only persons belonging to a family are in the database. You can find website in the Resources page to help search for more persons.
Relationship Viewer
You want to see the relationship between two individuals, such as nth cousins, try this.
Resources
These are some of the websites that have been used over the years. Some have a good list of links themselves.
Photo Albums
The photo albums are grouped by family clans. Photos can be downloaded using the download button on the top-left corner of the viewer.
You can visit the Facebook group for Kastlers, Kastelers, and Kastners. It has much of the same content as the website, but less organized. You can ask questions in the group to get full visibility.
Mailbox
If you have a kastler.net email address you can follow this link to login. If you do not have one, please use the contact form to request one.
DNA Research
Find out more about what's being done with DNA to bring Kastlers, Kastelers, and Kastners together.
Help
Get help with the most common questions. More difficult questions can be asked using the contact form.
Blog
The Clans
Learn about the larger Kastler families, including the people, the land, and the history.
Kastler Court
Kastler Court in New Milford, New Jersey, was named after Private Carl H. Kastler, born April 15, 1896.
Joseph G. Kastler – Architect
Detroit architect Joseph Kastler was well known among his peers. He designed many buildings around the Detroit area.
Henri Kastler
Henri Kastler, founding member of the Academy of Philately, and was (1st) President from December 19th, 1928 to January 13th, 1957.
Abbot Erhard Kastler
Erhard Kastler was the chief abbot of St. Bernard monastery in Switzerland from 1512 to 1525.
William Kastler meets Professor Kastler
An account of the visit between William V. Kastler and Professor Alfred Kastler in October of 1973 in Los Angeles, California.
Ulrich Mayer, called Castler
A document from circa 1540 of the abby of Söflingen, pertaining to a village called Burlafingen, near the city of Ulm showing a possible alternate meaning for the name “Kastler”.
Kastler Brothers – Chicago
The sons of Nicholas Kastler and Helen Kinzer, Philip and Adam Kastler, were involved in the hat wear industry in the latter 19th century Chicago.
What is Swabia?
Swabia’s name is derived from that of the Suebi, a Germanic people who, with the Alemanni, occupied the upper Rhine and upper Danube region in the 3rd century AD and spread south to Lake Constance and east to the Lech…
Kastler Loch
Restaurant Chastenloch Several years ago this postcard came to me from eBay. The text on it reads: “Kastler Loch (Canton Appenzell)”. I was able to locate the current establishment, and wrote them regarding the postcard. They said that the name…
The Kastler Surname Origins
True German surnames are primarily going to be the ancestor’s personal attributes, where they came from, or their profession.
Petrus Kastler (~1420-1493)
Petrus was presented as Minister of Thalfingen on July 15, 1455. His epitaph of red marble is located in the Benedictine monastary of Elchingen, near Ulm.
The Earliest Kastlers
These are Kastlers and Kastelers that have been recognized somehow during the process of research, and hold the top spots to date.
The DNA Project
DNA testing can enhance existing family research by confirming paper trails and family stories. For some however, it’s the fun of finding out genetic makeup, and where their distant ancestors came from.
My Kastler Genealogy
When I was young I never gave my name a second thought. After I started into my 20’s, I remember talking with my grandpa Charlie (Charles Jr.) about our Kastler family, usually over a great barbequed cheeseburger, with fresh Iceburg…
Professor Alfred Kastler
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1966 was awarded to Alfred Kastler “for the discovery and development of optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atoms.”