My German Family Roots

It recently occurred to me that I should post a little something about my German Family Roots.  After all, I am a quarter German on my mother's side of the family.  Also, I spent my childhood and early adulthood with this side of my family.  Even now, I keep in touch with this side of family and see them a few times a year.  Many of them no longer live in Napa, California but a few do.

So where do my Vienop's and Borchers originate?  I have timelines below with dates, locations, and surnames.  This is pretty "make shift" if you will but does serve me in introducing myself to this side of the family line.

Vienop:
- 1901 to Present - Vienop Family Line - Napa, CA
- Mid 1890s to 1901 - Vienop Family - Daykin, Nebraska
- 1878/1880s to 1890s - Vienop Family - Audrain, Missouri
- 1840-60s - Vienop and Koch Families - Borninghausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
- 1840s - Budde Family - Germany
- 1830s - Koch Family - Borninghausen/Boeringhausen, Westfalen, Germany
- 1820s - Gurges - Germany
- 1800 - Vinup - Masch, Neubauer, Germany
- 1700s - Vinup - Germany

Borchers:
- 1920/30s to Present - Borchers Family Line - Napa, CA
- 1910/20s - Borchers Family - Santa Rosa, CA
- 1870 to 1890s - Borchers Family - Aurora, Steele, Minnesota
- 1860s - Jackel (pronounced Yackel) Family - Baltimore, Maryland
- 1830s - Jackel - Hesse Darmstadt, Germany
- 1830s - Rausch - Bavaria, Germany
- 1800 to 1850s - Borchers Family - Hohnhorst, Hessen, Germany
- 1750 to late 1800s - Borchers Family - Nenndorf, Schaumburg, Germany

I must admit to not knowing the geography of Germany very well.  The names and locations of my ancestors in Germany are a little hard to digest.  I think that I need a naming lesson.   I noticed that for some generations, everyone's name in a given family starts with a Johann.  So you get Johann Ernest, Johann Heinrich, etc.   I even spotted a family with Anna Marie, Anna Katharina, etc.  I can certainly translate those names into English.  Let's just say that if everyone is "John" or "Anna", I may have some really interesting searching ahead of me.

Before I go researching these lines, I must learn a bit about Germany and the child naming tradition.  I also need to chat with my aunt and uncle who have done extensive research on these lines.  I can already tell that my tree on Ancestry.com is a little "messed up".