The Schulman family is a family of Baltic German

Baltic German

The Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...

 noble origin first mentioned in 1495 on the island of Ösel

Saaremaa

Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...

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History

Their reputed origins lie in East Frisia

East Frisia

East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....

: the Schul- element of the name apparently originates from the German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 word "Schole" (meaning "shoal").

The family came to the Baltic as part of the Teutonic Order and is first mentioned in the 14th century. Continuous descent of the current family only goes back to 1495 with the mention of Toennis von Schulmann in Pöide

Pöide

Pöide is a village in Pöide Parish, Saare County, on the eastern part of Saaremaa Island, Estonia....

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Pöide Church

Pöide Church

Pöide Church is located on Saaremaa island, in Pöide Commune, Saare County, Estonia.-History:The current building of Pöide Church is believed to be built on the remains of a chapel built in 13th century...

 is site of the grave of Heinrich von Schulmann, beheaded by the Danes in 1613. The gravestone in the church has him as a headless knight.

In the 17th century the family split into two branches, the existing one in Estonia and a new in Sweden. The Swedish branch then developed the Finnish branch in the 18th century.

The elder branch of the family resided in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 till 1939 when they resettled in the Wartegau in Germany. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the few still remaining resettled in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

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Nobility

The family was ennobled in Estonia, Livonia, Courland, Oesel, Swedish Nobility

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Finnish Nobility

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. Only the last two are still recognized today.

Notable members

• Alex Schulman
  Alex Schulman
  Carl Magnus Alexander "Alex" Schulman is a Swedish nobleman, journalist, blogger and television and radio personality.-Biography:...
  
  
• Scott Schulman

External links

Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften: Estland - Genealogy handbook of Baltic nobility

Baltic nobility

The Baltic nobility was the privileged social class in the territories of today's Estonia and Latvia. It existed continuously since the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana...

 Genealogisches Handbuch der Oeselschen Ritterschaften, 1935 - Genealogy handbook of the Oesel Noble Corporation

Baltic Noble Corporations

Baltic Noble Corporations of Courland, Livonia, Estonia, and Oesel were medieval fiefdoms formed by German nobles in the 13th century under vassalage to the Teutonic Knights and Denmark in modern Latvia and Estonia...