Kleppinger Family History

The following information is taken from the Kleppinger family geneology book, written by Stanley J. Kleppinger in 1956.
"The Family coat-of-arms was received in 1947 from Franklin W. Klepinger, of Sun Valley, Calif. His wife's uncle did the research work and found that the Kleppingers took part in the Christian Crusade and had this beautiful coat-of-arms, consisting of a shield, helmet, crest, and lambrequin or decorations. . . . In 1949 we received a picture of the 'Clippinger' coat-of-arms from L. R. Clippinger of Fort Wayne, Ind. . . . It is very much like the one above and no doubt was drawn from the same description. The main difference is that the sheild carries the form of an X, instead of a chevron."
Family history records that Johan Georg Kloeppinger emigrated to the then-British Colonies in America in 1737; Kleppingers have had their roots in Pennsylvania Dutch country since. Johan had come from the town of Pfungstadt, near Frankfurt; to this day, the Kleppinger name is common in Pfungstadt.
The August 13, 1967, Allentown (PA) Sunday Call-Chronicle (page B-6) reports that "the original family name was Klepping and its members prospered as wool exporters to England. It is believed this profession was the basis for the family name (clippers of wool). The Kleppings were one of the best known patrician families in the world of commerce and records of the time note that 'again and again the family offered the English King loans.' Between 1310 and 1740 nearly 40 Kleppings were on the town council of Dortmund, located about 150 miles northwest of Frankfurt in the Ruhr area. In all, they held 417 terms including the mayoralty of Dortmund 124 times. In Soest, between 1447 and 1598, eight Kleppings were elected 30 times as mayor for two-year terms. In 1648, at the end of the 30 Years' War, the family migrated to the town of Pfungstadt."
And you wonder from where Eric gets politics in his blood!