Aloys Breinl: Weißgerber or Bräuer?

Weißgerber image, source link

As my mom & I have been researching our Bohemian ancestors, it seemed a little odd to us that my 5th great grandfather, Sebastianus Aloysius Breinl, is sometimes listed as a Bräuer (Brewer) and sometimes as a Weißgerber (White Tanner) on different records throughout his life.  Sebastianus Aloysius Preinl/Breinl/Bräunl/Breunl, was born on 9 April 1780 in house number 210 in Graslitz, Böhmen, the son of Johann Anton Adam Preinl & Rosalia Korb.  Although his name was listed as Sebastianus Aloysius Preinl in his baptism record, he apparently went by Aloys throughout his life, as evidenced by the fact that his name was listed as Aloys (or variations of this name, including Aloysis, Aloÿs, & Alois) on every other source recorded during his lifetime, and during the lives of his children & grandchildren, that we have found for him so far.  Aloys was married to Eva Rosalia Stohwasser on 4 October 1804 in house number 201 in Graslitz when he was 24 years old.  Eva Rosalia (who went by Rosalia) was the daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer.  Aloys & Rosalia had 11 children, all born in Graslitz between 1805 and 1826.  Their children were: Johann Anton, Johanna, Theresia, Friedrich [my 4th great grandfather], Aloys, Rosalia (1), Wenzl, Johannas Nepomuk, Elisabeth, Mathilda Rosalia, & Rosalia (2).  And Aloys died on 29 June 1834 at the age of 54.  

Bräuer image, source link

Although changing occupations may not have been that uncommon for our ancestors in the United States, from what we’ve learned about our ancestors who lived in Germany and Bohemia and the guild requirements at that time, it would be very uncommon for this to have happened, especially for someone to have been a master in two different unrelated occupations.

So we decided to sort through all our sources that we had for Aloys to date and see what information they provided about his occupation.  (We wanted to make sure that there wasn’t any possibility that we had accidentally collected information about two different Aloys Brienls living in Graslitz at the same time).  So we also compared the information from each of the sources about his house number, his parents’ names & his father’s occupation, his wife’s name & his wife’s parents’ names, and any other relevant details.  Here’s what we came up with so far:

Source	Aloys’ House Number	Aloys’ Occupation	Aloys’ Parents/Wife	Aloys’ Father’s Occupation	Other
Birth of Sebastianus Aloysius Preinl, 1780 (self) source link	210	—-	Parents: Adamus Preinl,  Rosalia Korb	Socius  Braxatoris et inquilinus (Beer Brewer Partner & Citizen)	Birth record note says he was married on 4 Oct 1804, died on 29 Jun 1834
Marriage of Aloÿs Bräunl & Rosalia Stowasser, 1804 (self) source link	210	none listed	Parents: Johann Anton Adam Bräunl, Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignatz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer	Herrschaft Bräumeister (Manor Master Brewer)	(Marriage date matches date in the birth record note).
Birth of Johann Anton, 1805 (son) source link	(son born in 488)	Bürger u Weißgerbermeister (Bürger & Master White Tanner)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer
Birth of Johanna, 1806 (daughter) source link	(daughter born in 210)	Bürger und Weißgerbermeister (Bürger & Master White Tanner)	Wife: Roßalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Roßalia Dotzauer		(Aloys’ daughter was born in the same house that Aloys was born in).
Birth of Theresia, 1808 (daughter) source link	(daughter born in 80)	Bürger und Weißgerber (Bürger & White Tanner)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer		[House No. 80 is the Breinl family house where we know Aloys lived & where a number of his children were born].
Birth of Friedrich, 1810 (son)  source link	(son born in 80)	Bürger und Weißgerber (Bürger & White Tanner)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer
Birth of Aloys, 1813 (son) source link	(son born in 80)	Weißgärber (White Tanner)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer
Birth of Rosalia, 1815 (daughter) source link	(daughter born in 18)	Weißgärbermeister (Master White Tanner)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignatz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer
Birth of Wenzl, 1816 (son)  source link	(son born in 80)	Weißgärbermeister (Master White Tanner)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignatz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer
Birth of Johannes Nepomuk, 1819 (son) source link	(son born in 80)	Weißgärbermeister (Master White Tanner)	Parents: Adam Bräunl & Rosalia Korp, Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignatz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer	Herrschaft Bräumeister in No. 320 (Manor Master Brewer)
Birth of Elisabeth, 1820 (daughter) source link	Aloys born in 320 (daughter born in 80)	Weißgärbermeister (Master White Tanner)	Parents: Joh. Adam Bräunl & Rosalia Korber in No. 320, Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignatz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer	Herrschaft Bräumeister in No. 320 (Manor Master Brewer)	(We know that Aloys’ parents lived in house No. 320).
Birth of Mathilda Rosalia, 1822 (daughter)  source link	80 (daughter born in 80)	Bräuermeister in No. 80 (Master Brewer)	Parents: Johann Adam Breinl & Rosalia Korb, Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignatz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer	Bräuermeister  in No. 320 (Master Brewer)
Birth of Rosalia, 1826 (daughter) source link	320 (daughter born in 80)	Weißgärbermeister in No. 320 (Master White Tanner)	Parents: Johann Adam Breinl & Roßalia Korb, Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser, daughter of Ignaz Stohwasser & Rosalia Dotzauer	Bräuermeister (Master Brewer)
Marriage of Anton (son) & Magdalena Weck, 1832 source link	(son married in 80)	Herrschaft Bräuhauspächters (Manor Brewhouse Renter)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Anton is Bräuermeister born in No. 320 (Master Brewer)
Death of Aloys, 1834 (self) source link	320	Herrschaft Bräumeister (Manor Master Brewer)			Died at age 53 (matches with birth record).
Marriage of Friedrich (son) & Amalia Dotzauer, 1836 source link	(son born in 80, son married in 522)	Herrschaft Bräuhauspächters (Manor Brewhouse Renter)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Friedrich is a Bürgers sohn born in No. 80 (Bürger’s Son)
Death of Rosalia, 1838  (wife) source link	(wife died in 80)	Bräumeister (Master Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Breunl
Birth of Christian, 1839 (grandson) source link	(grandson born in 320)	Braumeister (Master Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Anton, Christian’s father, was herschaft Braumeister born in No. 320 (Manor Master Brewer)
Birth of Ludmilla, 1839 (granddaughter)  source link	(granddaughter born in 391)	Herrschaft Bräumeister (Manor Master Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Friedrich, Ludmilla’s father, was beirbrauer born in No. 80 (Beer Brewer)
Birth of Joseph, 1841 (grandson) source link	(grandson born in 391)	Brauer (Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Friedrich, Joseph’s father, was brauer born in No. 80 (Brewer)
Marriage of Franz Hahn & Elisabetha, 1843 (daughter) source link	(daughter born in 80, daughter married in 224)	Herschaftlichen Bräuermeister (Manor Master Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser
Birth of Anna, 1846 (granddaughter) source link	80 (granddaughter born in Bleydstadt No. 99)	Herschaftlichen Bräuers in No. 80 (Manor Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Friedrich, Anna’s father, was brauer in Bleydstadt No. 99 (Brewer)
Birth of Adolph Thomas, 1849 (grandson)  source link	80 (grandson born in Bleydstadt No. 99)	Herschaftl. Bräuers (Manor Brewer)	Wife: Rosalia Stohwasser		Friedrich, Adolph’s father, was brauer in Bleydstadt No. 99 (Brewer), born in Graslitz No. 80

From listing the information chronologically from all these different sources, it’s pretty clear that this is indeed one individual — there are so many details in each of the sources about relationships, house numbers, etc. that there doesn’t seem to be any possibility that we’ve accidentally found records for two different individuals with the same name.  So, why would he have changed occupations?  We contacted Fritz Juengling who is an expert on German guilds, to ask his opinion and he said, “This is a perplexing problem. I cannot see any connection between Brau- and Weißgerber- at all. That someone would become a -meister in two different fields such as these is highly improbable and this designation is really inexplicable. The only thing that I could say is that the term -meister might not have been a guild designation to the person who wrote the documents. Maybe it was simply a loose term suggesting a promotion in a company. But this is only a suggestion from the top of my mind and in no way the real explanation.  That someone would leave a field for which he had trained for so long is also suspect.”

So we were still unsure of why this could have happened. Our next theory at this point is that maybe Aloys was the second or third son in his family.  So the father would likely have had his oldest son(s) be apprentices to be brewers like himself, and any younger sons would have worked as apprentices for other masters to learn other occupations.  But maybe later on in Aloys’ life, after he had already trained to be a Weißgerber, something happened — maybe his father and his older brother(s) died or were no longer able to work as brewers.  But maybe since he had grown up in a brewing family, and knew something about the trade from his father, and had stayed and continued to live there in Graslitz, maybe he would have been the one to take over when there was a need for a brewer???  That’s a lot of maybes.  And we don’t know if it was ever done that way or not.  But we decided that the next step is to search for the siblings of Aloys so we could see if it was even a possible scenario (if he was a 2nd or 3rd son in his family).  We’ve been going through the process of searching for his siblings, and I’ll write an update when we know more.

Brother & Sister: Ludwig "Louis" Spohr & Amalia "Molly" Spohr Shaefer

Recently I got an email from Lauren Partida, a descendant of my great, great grandfather's sister, and we have been sharing information and photographs about our Spohr and Shaefer families.   I went through my genealogy file and wrote out all the info I currently have about these families to send to her, and I thought I'd share it here too:

My mom's father was Carl John Spohr Jr., and his father was Carl John Spohr, and his father was Ludwig Spohr (who went by Louis after he came to the United States).  Ludwig and his family spoke German and were born in Böhmen (Bohemia), which was then part of the Austrian Empire.  Now these towns are currently located in the Czech Republic, and many of the town names have been changed from their original German names to Czech names.

Ludwig Spohr was the 7th and youngest child of Karl Spor and Ludmilla Breinl.  This is what we've learned about their family so far:

Karl Spor was born 16 Jan 1825 in a Bohemian town called Salesel, the son of Jannes Franziskus Spor & Johanna Katharina Pannowitz.  On 10 January 1860 in a town called Graslitz, Karl Spor married Ludmilla Breinl.  Ludmilla was born 14 Dec 1839 in Graslitz, the daughter of Friedrich Breinl and Amalia Dotzauer.  Karl & Ludmilla had 7 children, all born in the town of Eger:

1. Karl Christof Spohr, born 26 Apr 1860.

2. Anna Elisabetha Spohr, born 9 Jun 1861.

3. Johanna Spohr, born 18 Jun 1863.

4. Rosa Francisca Spohr, born 3 Dec 1865.

5. Mathilda Amalia Spohr, born 14 Mar 1867.  (Her birth record lists her name as Mathilda Amalia, but all other records we have found for her refer to her only as Amalia, or some form of that name, including Molly after she went to the US).

6. Lumila Spohr, born 24 Feb 1870.

7. Ludwig Spohr, born 6 Aug 1871.

Even with the higher  mortality rate of the past, it seems that this family had it especially hard:  In 1863 little Johanna died before her third birthday, then two years later baby Rosa Francisca died before she was 2 weeks old, then 5 years later in 1870 baby Ludmila died at just 3 hours after her birth.  In 1873, when their youngest child, Ludwig, was 1 1/2 years old, Ludmilla Breinl Spor died, leaving their surviving children without a mother.  Then in 1878 when Ludwig was 6 years old, Karl Spor also passed away, leaving the children orphans.  Two years later, the eldest daughter, Anna Elisabetha, died at age 18.  (And although we have done significant research to learn about the fate of the eldest son, Karl Christof, we have not yet been able to find any mention of him other than his birth record -- so we do not yet know if he survived to adulthood or not).  So by the time that the two remaining children, Amalia and Ludwig, were ages 13 and 8 respectively, they did not have any surviving parents or siblings (except possibly the brother, Karl Christof).

In Aug 1883, at age 16, Amalia arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, having departed from a port in Bremen, Germany, on a ship named "Nurnberg."  

Mathilda Amalia "Molly" Spohr Schaefer, my 2nd great aunt 

(I was so excited when Lauren sent me a copy of this photo of Amalia since I had never seen a picture of her before).

And 3 years later on 13 Sep 1886 her younger brother Ludwig arrived in Baltimore, also traveling through Bremen, on a ship named "Rhein."  The ship's passenger list listed 15 year old Ludwig as a citizen of Bohemia, carrying 1 piece of baggage, and "intending protracted sojourn." 

Ludwig, "Louis" Spohr, my 2nd great grandfather

In 1890 Amalia Spohr was naturalized a US citizen, in 1896 or 1897 (around age 29) she was married to William Albert Schaefer, and by 1900 she and her family were living in Venice, Madison County, Illinois.  Amalia, who also went by”Amalie,” "Amelia," or "Molly" in the United States, was the second wife of William Albert Schaefer, who was born 2 Feb 1862 in Germany, the son of Ferdinand Schäfer.  William's first wife was Mary Strobel, born about 1861 in Germany, and they were married about 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri.  Mary and William had 3 children before William re-married to Amalia Spohr in 1896 or 1897: William Albert Jr., Wilhelmina "Minnie" C., & George A. Schaefer.  William and Amalia went on to have 5 more children together: Annie "Nonnie," Agnes, Louis Christopher, a child that did not survive, and Lydia "Liddie" Shaefer.  And we can see from some US Census records that William's three children from his first marriage were raised with their younger half siblings by William & Amalia.  In a few different Illinois towns, William Albert Schaefer worked at a General Hauling Company, as a Sand Pit Operator, a Foreman at a Steel Works company, a Teamster, a Merchant for a Coal Company, and a Blacksmith.  Amalia Schaefer died at age 65 on 15 March 1932 in Granite City, Madison, Illinois.  On 28 Oct 1945 in Granite City her husband passed away at age 83.  They were both buried in Edwardsville, Madison, Illinois. 

On 31 Aug 1898 at age 27, Ludwig Spohr married Anna Marie Ott in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Anna Marie Ott was also from Bohemia, the eldest daughter of Josef Ott & Maria Anna Strunz, and she was born on 10 Aug 1874 in a town called Putschirn.  Anna Ott and her siblings were all born in Putschirn, except her youngest brother, Louis Christopher Ott, who was born in Ohio after the family immigrated to the United States together (they arrived in the US between 1881 and 1884).  After Ludwig & Anna’s marriage in 1898, they moved to Madison County, Illinois where Ludwig (“Louis”) worked several different jobs for the next few years, including Carpenter, Banker, & Confectionery.  Between 1899 and 1903, Anna had 4 sons, 2 of which did not survive past childhood.

In 1912 the Spohr family was living in Madison, Madison, Illinois -- their home was upstairs on the second story, above the downstairs confectionery shop.  On 23 Dec 1912 at age 41, Ludwig didn't come upstairs for lunch as was his usual habit and Anna went downstairs to find that he had fallen, and hit his head and died in the store.  The boys, Louis & Carl, were ages 13 and 9 at the time their father died.  Anna Marie Ott Spohr lived until 21 Jan 1961 when she passed away at age 86 in Edwardsville, IL.  Ludwig & Anna were both buried in St. John Cemetery in Granite City, Madison, Illinois.  Ludwig & Anna's youngest son, Carl John Spohr, was my great grandpa.

Ludwig "Louis" Spohr and Anna Marie Ott Spohr, my 2nd great grandparents

Ludwig's family:

Children of Ludwig "Louis" Spohr & Anna Marie Ott:

1. Louis Christopher Spohr, born 23 Oct 1899 in Madison, Madison, Illinois.  (On 2 May 1925 in Carlinville, Macoupin, IL Louis married Florence Frances Graham, daughter of John George Graham & Susie, born 1903 in St. Louis & died 1988 in Maryville, Madison, IL.  Louis & Florence has 3 children: 1. Louis John Spohr born 21 Jun 1928 in Granite City, 2. Dolores Anne Spohr born 7 May 1931 in Madison & died May 2001, & 3. Frank K. Spohr, born 14 Sep 1932 in Granite City).  Louis Christopher Spohr died 19 Sep 1949 in Stookey, St. Clair, Illinois.

2. Twin boy (1), born and died sometime between 1900 and 1910 in either Madison County, IL or St. Louis, MO.

3. Twin boy (2), born and died sometime between 1900 and 1910 in either Madison County, IL or St. Louis, MO.

4. Carl John Spohr, born 21 Sep 1903 in St. Louis, MO.  (On 14 Aug 1929 in Granite City Carl married Nettie Dorothy Graham, daughter of John George Graham & Susie Florence Dobbins, born 1907 in Granite City, and died 1980 in Kansas City, MO.  Carl & Nettie has one child: Carl John Spohr Jr., born 28 Jun 1930 in Madison, IL and died 31 May 2003 in Lee's Summit, MO).  Carl John Spohr (Sr.) died 20 Jun 1979 in Granite City, IL.

Amalia's family:

Children of William Albert Schaefer & Mary Strobel:

1. William Albert Schaefer Jr., born 27 Jul 1889 in St. Louis, Missouri.  (William Jr. later married Gladys Jane Golden, and they had 3 daughters, the youngest named Virginia E. Schaefer born 24 Mar 1918 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and died 31 May 2007 in Coraopolis, PA.  I have no information about their first two daughters).  William Jr. died Oct 1967 in Georgetown, PA.

2. Wilhelmina "Minnie" C. Schaefer, born 7 Sept 1890 in Missouri.  (On 18 Nov 1908 in St. Louis, Minnie married Fredrich William Hilker, son of Gustav Hilcker and Elizabeth Hahn, born in 1886 in St. Louis, MO, died 1968 in Sacramento, CA.  Minnie and Fredrich had two children: 1. Fred A. Hilker, born about Mar 1910 in Illinois, & 2. Marie Elizabeth Hilker, born 2 Dec 1911 in Illinois, died 17 Jan 2004 in Arcadia, CA).  Minnie died 13 Nov 1987 in Orroyo Grande, CA. 

3. George A. Schaefer, born 24 Apr 1893 in Madison, Illinois.  (On 30 Aug 1917 in St. Louis Geroge married Bertha Elizabeth Keiderling, daughter of Henry Keiderling & Elizabeth S. Spree-Lorenz, born 1898 in Nameoki, Illinois, died 1975 in Sacramento, CA.  George and Bertha had 3 children: 1. Dorothy Elizabeth Schaefer 19 May 1991 in IL, died 22 Sep 1987 in Sacramento, 2. Albert Schaefer, born 1922 in IL, & 3. George Schaefer born 1924 in IL).  George A. Schaefer died Mar 1987 in Rancho Cardova, CA.

Amalia Spohr Schaefer and William Albert Schaefer, my 2nd great aunt & uncle

Children of William Albert Schaefer & Amalia "Molly" Spohr:

1. Annie "Nonnie" Shaefer, born Aug 1897 in Illinois.  (Married in 1924 to Kenneth C. Ross.  Kenneth was the son of William S. Ross and Emma D. McNeill, born about 1894 or 1898 in Minnesotta, and died in the 1970s in Florida.  Nonnie & Kenneth had no children).  Nonnie died between 1974 and 1979 in Florida.

2. Agnes Schaefer, born 21 May 1900 in Illinois.  (Married Raymond Beck in 1922.  Raymond Beck was born in 1900 in Illinois.  Agnes and Ray were divorced and had no children).  Agnes died in the 1950s.

3. Louis Christopher Schaefer, born 21 May 1900 in Illinois.  (Married Sara May Frazier, born 4 Aug 1902 in IL or MO, died 25 Mar 1976 in Bakersfield, CA.  Louis and Sara had 2 children: 1. Mary Lois Schaefer, born 18 Jan 1925, died 16 Jun 2008 in Bakersfield, CA, & 2. Louis William Schaefer, born 20 May 1928 in Madison, IL).  Louis Christopher Shaefer died 25 Aug 1990 in Oceano, CA.

4. Child born and died between 1896 and 1910.  (According to the 1910 census, Amalia Schaefer was the mother of 5 children, and 4 of her children were living as of 1910.  Assuming that the child that died was born during her marriage to William, we can suppose that this child was born sometime between 1896 and 1910). 

5. Lydia Schaefer, born 1905 in Illinois.  (In 1925 or 1926 Lydia married Oliver Scott , born 1904 in Michigan, died in Florida in the 1970s.  Lydia and Oliver had two children: 1. Robert Oliver Scott, born Oct 1928 or 1929 in Illinois, and 2. Suzanne Scott born 1936).  Lydia passed away in Florida in the 1970s.

I am excited to go through photos I have, and as Lauren continues to send copies of photos she has I hope to be able to identify some of the people in our previously unidentified family photographs.  I'll post the photos she sends me, and more of our findings soon.