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SEARCHING FOR ANCESTORS IN BAVARIA

 

INTRODUCTION

THIS DESCRIBES PART OF THE PFEIFFERS' JUNE-JULY 1992 TRIP TO EUROPE. THE PURPOSE

 OF THE WHOLE TRIP WAS GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH OF GERMAN ANCESTORS AND ASSOCIATED

 FAMILIES AND FRIENDS. THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS PART IS GEORG ANTON PFEIFFER

 AND HIS WIFE MARIA ANNA DEINHARD. 



THIS RESEARCH WAS DONE IN THE BAVARIAN REGION OF GERMANY, THE RELEVANT, PRECISE

 LOCATIONS HAVING BEEN GLEANED FROM LETTERS IN THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES OF THE

 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. I AM GRATEFUL TO BERTA (PFEIFFER) HARVEY, A NINETY YEAR

 OLD SECOND COUSIN FOR MAKING ME AWARE OF THESE LETTERS AND FOR ENCOURAGING ME

 TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS.



I AM ALSO GRATEFUL TO KENNETH AND DELORES KOETHER WHO HELPED US IN EVERY WAY

 WHEN I CONTACTED THEM AFTER LEARNING THE LOCATION. THIS BEGAN IN MARCH 1991

 WHEN THEY SENT A DETAIL MAP OF BAVARIA AND CONTINUES AS THEY HELP ME TO WORK

 WITH TRANSLATORS IN GERMANY. (THE OLD GERMAN SCRIPT MUST BE TRANSLATED TO

 MODERN SCRIPT AND THEN TO ENGLISH.)



KEN AND DELORES HAVE PLAYED SUCH AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS PROJECT, MORE IS

 REQUIRED IN THE WAY OF INTRODUCING THESE FRIENDS. KEN AND I GREW UP IN THE SAME

 NEIGHBORHOOD IN ELGIN, TEXAS, PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER AT HOME AND WHEN OUR

 MOTHERS, BOTH FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY GERMAN FAMILIES, MET WITH OTHER GERMAN

 SPEAKING FRIENDS TO PLAY DOMINOS AND SOCIALIZE. KEN AND HIS WIFE, DELORES, HAVE

 LIVED IN GERMANY FOR OVER THREE YEARS WHERE KEN CONTINUES TO WORK AS A CIVILIAN

 WITH THE ARMY'S MISSILE PROGRAM. BOTH HAVE ATTENDED GERMAN CLASSES DURING THAT

 TIME AND KEN'S KNOWLEDGE OF GERMAN, LEARNED AT HOME, HAS BEEN REFRESHED. BOTH

 ENTHUSIASTICALLY JOINED US IN OUR BAVARIAN ADVENTURE MAKING POSSIBLE MUCH THAT

 OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE.



AT KEN'S SUGGESTION, THE DISTANCE FROM NIEDER OLM TO LAABER, ABOUT 220 MILES WAS

 TRAVELED TWICE: THE FIRST TIME TO GET ORIENTED AND ESTABLISH CONTACTS AND THE

 NEXT TIME TO DO THE WORK. BECAUSE KEN DROVE THE FOUR OF US IN HIS CAR WE WERE

 ABLE TO DO THIS EXPEDITIOUSLY AND WITH A GREAT DEAL OF FREEDOM.



THIS WORK WAS SUCCESSFUL BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS, BUT THERE ARE STILL MISSING

 PIECES OF THE PUZZLE FOR FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WANT TO WORK IN BAVARIA. AMONG THE

 FINDINGS ARE BAPTISMAL AND DEATH RECORDS FOR MARIA ANNA, EXTENSIVE DEINHARD

 FAMILY RECORDS AND SIXTY-FOUR PAGES OF COURT RECORDS RELATED TO GEORG ANTON'S

 STATUS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER IN 1833. THE MISSING PIECES WILL BE

 EVIDENT LATER WHEN EVERYTHING IS TRANSLATED AND ALL GENEALOGICAL FINDINGS ARE

 LISTED.



CHRONOLOGY JUNE 7 & 21-24



SUNDAY, JUNE 7: TO LAABER TO FIND THE OLD DEINHARD INN; HAD MID-DAY MEAL AT

 SPIES GASTHOF (GUEST HOUSE); MET THE KERSCHENSTEINER FAMILY, STILL LIVING AT

 THE INN; TO FEDERHOF TO CONTACT A PFEIFFER FAMILY MENTIONED BY FRAU SPIES.



SUNDAY, JUNE 21: TO FRAU SPIES'S TO FIND OUT WHAT ARRANGEMENTS HAD BEEN MADE FOR

 LODGING; TO KERSCHENSTEINER'S TO FIND OUT WHAT ARRANGEMENTS HAD BEEN MADE TO

 LOOK AT CHURCH RECORDS; TO THE CHURCH RECTORY TO FINALIZE AN APPOINTMENT WITH

 THE PRIEST, PFARRER PACHL; TO DEUSMAUER TO CHECK IN AT STIEGLER'S GASTHOF AND

 EAT SUPPER; TO LENGENFELD FOR WINKLER BREWERY'S BEER FEST.



MONDAY, JUNE 22: TO AMBERG FOR GIFTS MADE OF PEWTER; TO NEUMARKT FOR A LOOK AND

 LUNCH; TO FEDERHOF VIA LIPPERTSHOFEN, FRICKENHOFEN AND DIETKIRCHEN TO SEE JOSEF

 & MARIANNE PFEIFFER'S GENEALOGICAL RECORDS; TO LAABER TO LOCATE THE COPIER;

 BACK TO DIETKIRCHEN FOR PICTURES; THROUGH VELBURG; TO DEUSMAUER FOR A REST; TO

 LENGENFELD TO SEE IF WINKLER FEST WAS CONTINUING (IT WASN'T); BACK TO DEUSMAUER

 FOR SUPPER AND BED.



TUESDAY, JUNE 23: UP AT 6:30 AM TO ARRANGE FOR COPYING CHURCH RECORDS PRIOR TO

 MEETING PFARRER PACHL AT 9 AM; ALL FOUR OF US WORKED WITH PFARRER PACHL, FIRST

 IN TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY TO FIND GEORG ANTON PFEIFFER'S BIRTH RECORDS, THEN IN

 IDENTIFYING DEINHARD RECORDS TO BE COPIED; AFTER THAT, DELORES AND I STAYED AT

 THE CHURCH RECTORY CONTINUING TO BROWSE RECORDS WHILE ROSIE AND KEN WITH

 PFARRER PACHL WENT TO B(tm)SL'S TO MAKE COPIES; THEN AT 12:30, DELORES AND I

 JOINED OTHERS FOR A TOAST (STRAWBERRY LIQUEUR); REMAINED IN LAABER FOR LUNCH

 WITH FRAU SPIES AND TO BORROW MICHAELE KERSCHENSTEINER'S LAABER HISTORY; TO

 NEUMARKT TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY TO FIND MARRIAGE RECORDS OF GEORG ANTON AND

 MARIA ANNA; BACK TO LAABER TO RETURN MICHAELE'S HISTORY AND TAKE PICTURES

 INSIDE THE CHURCH; TO FEDERHOF TO RETURN PFEIFFER'S GENEALOGY; TO VELBURG FOR

 SHOPPING, REFRESHMENTS AND PICTURES; TO LENGENFELD FOR THE CHURCH PICTURE; TO

 DEUSMAUER FOR REST FROM 6-7:30 PM, AFTER WHICH WE WALKED AROUND THE VILLAGE

 BEFORE EATING AND GOING TO BED.



WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24: BREAKFAST AT 8 AM; TO VELBURG FOR A LOOK AT CIVIL RECORDS

 BUT ARRIVED TOO EARLY; TO AMBERG FOR A LOOK AT STATE ARCHIVES; THEN ON TO

 URSENSOLLEN FOR LUNCH AND CONTINUING HOME TO NIEDER OLM.



THE FIRST TRIP TO BAVARIA



WE LEFT NIEDER OLM FOR LAABER ABOUT 8 AM AND ARRIVED LAABER JUST AFTER NOON. 



WE TOOK DRINKS AND SNACKS WITH US AND MADE ONE STOP ALONG THE WAY FOR WC AND

 REFRESHMENTS. WE EXITED THE AUTOBAHN AT THE NEUMARKT INTERCHANGE AND WERE

 PARKED JUST AFTER NOON IN LAABER AT A CHURCH AND CEMETERY ABOUT 40 YARDS FROM

 THE "DEINHARD INN" (NOW OWNED BY THE KERSCHENSTEINERS). THE FIRST PERSON WE

 ASKED WAS ABLE TO POINT TO THE INN.



WE CHECKED A NEARBY TELEPHONE BOOTH FOR NAMES LEARNED FROM THE OLD LETTER, TOOK

 A BRIEF LOOK AT THE CEMETERY AND WENT TO THE NEARBY SPIES GASTHOF FOR LUNCH.

 WHILE HAVING SOME OF THE BEST SCHNITZELS WE GOT ANYWHERE IN GERMANY, WE MET

 FRAU MONIKE SPIES AND TALKED WITH HER ABOUT OUR PROJECT AND THE COMMUNITY.



HER ROOMS WERE NOW FILLED BY REGULAR GUESTS (WORKMEN FROM "EAST GERMANY") SO WE

 COULD NOT RESERVE ROOMS WITH HER FOR OUR SECOND TRIP. SHE WAS A NICE PERSON,

 INTERESTED IN WHAT WE WERE DOING; SHE SAID SHE WOULD FIND A NEARBY PLACE FOR US

 WHEN WE RETURNED.



THERE WERE A NUMBER OF INTERESTING THINGS TO TALK ABOUT AND THESE CONVERSATIONS

 WERE RECORDED. FRAU SPIES HAS SEVERAL CHILDREN: ONE IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS, ONE

 DOING WELL AS A SOCCER PLAYER, ONE IN COLORADO. AMONG THE THINGS MENTIONED BY

 FRAU SPIES WAS THE PFEIFFERS OF FEDERHOF WHO HAD SPONSORED A FAMILY REUNION IN

 1987, MARKING THE 200th YEAR OF PFEIFFERS IN THAT AREA. SHE ALSO KNEW THE

 KERSCHENSTEINERS WELL AND HAD BEEN ON A PILGRIMAGE WITH THE ELDEST ONE SEVERAL

 YEARS EARLIER.



NEXT WE WENT TO THE "DEINHARD INN" TO MEET THE KERSCHENSTEINERS. THIS FAMILY

 OCCUPIES AND OPERATES THE INN AS WELL AS A DAIRY BARN LOCATED BETWEEN THE INN

 AND THE CHURCH. FAMILY MEMBERS LIVING AT THE INN INCLUDE EDUARD, HIS WIFE

 ERIKA, THEIR DAUGHTERS GABRIELE AND MICHAELE, AND EDUARD'S STEP-MOTHER,

 KUNIGUNDE. I WAS TOLD BY SOMEONE IN THE VILLAGE THAT EDUARD IS A GROSLANDWIRT

 (BIG LAND OWNER). ON THIS TRIP, WE MET ALL EXCEPT EDUARD.



THEY WERE SOMEWHAT AWARE OF THE INN'S HISTORY AND INTERESTED IN THE OLD LETTERS

 WE HAD WITH US. THEY TOLD US THAT THE NAME JOHANN DEINHARD WAS WRITTEN IN THE

 ATTIC OR LOFT OF THE INN. GABRIELE AND MICHAELE BOTH SPOKE ENGLISH AND WERE

 AGREEABLE TO HELPING US WHEN WE RETURNED. MICHAELE AGREED TO ADVISE THE PRIEST

 OF OUR INTEREST IN CHURCH RECORDS.



BEFORE RETURNING TO NIEDER OLM, WE WENT TO FEDERHOF TO MEET THOSE PFEIFFERS. 



WE MET THE WIFE OF JOSEF PFEIFFER, MARIANNE, WHO HAS AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF

 GENEALOGICAL DATA ON THE PFEIFFER FAMILY. MARIANNE SAID IT HAD ALL COME FROM

 THE CHURCH IN LAABER AND WE TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO FIND A CONNECTION TO GEORG

 ANTON. WE TOLD HER THAT WE WOULD RETURN LATER TO LOOK AT THE CHURCH RECORDS AND

 SHE INVITED US TO COME AGAIN SAYING THAT SHE HAD OTHER INFORMATION NOT

 IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE WHICH SHE WOULD SHOW US THEN.



THE SECOND TRIP TO BAVARIA



SUNDAY, JUNE 21: WE LEFT NIEDER OLM AT 12:30 PM SO AS TO ARRIVE IN LAABER ABOUT

 5 PM. AGAIN, THERE WAS ONE WC AND REFRESHMENT STOP ALONG THE WAY.



AFTER LEARNING FROM FRAU SPIES THAT WE WOULD BE STAYING AT ERICH STIEGLER'S

 GASTHOF IN DEUSMAUER, WE CHECKED IN WITH THE KERSCHENSTEINERS. THEY WERE READY

 FOR US: EDUARD CAME OUT TO MEET AND TALK WITH US. MICHAELE HAD FOUND MARGARETHA

 DEINHARD'S DEATH RECORDS IN NEUMARKT; SHE WOULD BE OUR CONTACT WITH THE CHURCH

 DURING THIS TRIP. THE PRIEST WAS EXPECTING US AT THE CHURCH RECTORY. THE OLD

 LETTERS WHICH HAD BEEN LEFT WITH THE KERSCHENSTEINERS ON THE FIRST TRIP WERE

 RETURNED.



ROSIE WENT INSIDE FOR A TOUR OF THE HOUSE AND TOOK A PICTURE OF "JOHANN" WRITTEN

 IN THE ATTIC WHILE THE REST OF US REMAINED OUTSIDE TALKING. LATER I WENT IN TO

 SEE THE DOORWAY TO THE WINE CELLAR AND OTHER FEATURES OF THE INN WHICH ROSIE

 POINTED OUT.



THEN MICHAELE TOOK US TO THE RECTORY TO MEET THE PRIEST. BY THIS TIME WE THOUGHT

 IT WAS GETTING RATHER LATE TO CHECK-IN AT OUR LODGINGS IN DEUSMAUER, SO WE WERE

 PREPARED ONLY TO MEET THE PRIEST AND SET A TIME FOR LOOKING AT THE RECORDS.



WHEN WE ARRIVED, THE PRIEST, PFARRER PACHL, HAD LOTS OF DEINHARD AND PFEIFFER

 RECORDS SPREAD OUT ON A CONFERENCE ROOM TABLE. PFARRER PACHL WAS READY TO DO

 SOME WORK IMMEDIATELY, BUT OTHERWISE, WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL TUESDAY AT 9

 AM. SOME OF THE RECORDS DATED BACK TO THE 1600s! PFARRER PACHL HAD INFORMATION

 WE WERE VERY CURIOUS TO SEE BUT WE WERE EVENTUALLY ABLE TO STOP "PEEKING" INTO

 THE RECORDS AND RETURN TO THE KERSCHENSTEINER'S WHERE THE CAR HAD BEEN LEFT.



WE WENT BACK THE SAME WAY WE HAD COME, ALONG A CAR-PATHWAY JUST BELOW THE CREST

 OF THE RIDGE. AS WE WALKED, SOME ONE SHOUTED SOMETHING IN GERMAN FROM ABOVE; WE

 LOOKED UP TO SEE A TEENAGE GIRL WITH A PITCHFORK FULL OF MANURE, CLEANING OUT

 THE BARN; EVERYONE LAUGHED.



IT WAS 6 MILES TO DEUSMAUER AND WE LEFT IMMEDIATELY. WE QUICKLY CHECKED IN AND

 ATE AT THE GASTHOF.



WE WERE ANXIOUS TO GET TO LENGENFELD AND EXPERIENCE A BEER FEST WHICH HAD BEEN

 MENTIONED EARLIER BY FRAU SPIES. SHE SAID THAT IT HAD BEEN GOING ON ALL WEEKEND

 AND THAT THE MUSICIANS WERE FROM MšNCHEN (MUNICH). THE WINKLER BREWERY, LOCATED

 IN LENGENFELD WHERE IT HAS BEEN IN OPERATION SINCE THE 1500s, WAS HAVING ONE OF

 THEIR ANNUAL PARTIES. WE ARRIVED ABOUT 9:30 PM AND STAYED UNTIL IT CLOSED, TAPE

 RECORDING ALL OF OUR TIME THERE.



AS WE RETURNED TO OUR ROOMS WE WERE INVITED TO JOIN OTHER GUESTS IN THE DINING

 ROOM. KEN STAYED FOR A WHILE BUT THE REST OF US WENT IMMEDIATELY TO BED.



MONDAY, JUNE 22:



AT BREAKFAST THERE WERE SEVERAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE NIGHT BEFORE. KEN WAS

 DISAPPOINTED THAT HE DID NOT GET TO SPEAK GERMAN WITH THE GROUP AT THE

 RESTAURANT; HE WAS CORNERED BY AN AMERICAN, MARRIED TO A GERMAN, WHO WANTED TO

 SPEAK ENGLISH FOR A CHANGE. MY MAIN COMPLAINT FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE WAS THE

 PICKLED HERRING SANDWICH EATEN AT THE FEST; I TASTED IT ALL NIGHT AND THE NIGHT

 SEEMED LONG.



WE DECIDED TO GO TO THE PEWTER FACTORY AT AMBERG SINCE PFARRER PACHL WAS NOT

 AVAILABLE UNTIL TOMORROW AND MARIANNE PFEIFFER WAS NOT AVAILABLE DURING THE

 MORNING. ROSIE AND DELORES WERE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED TO BUY GIFTS AT THE

 FACTORY OUTLET IN AMBERG. (WE DID NOT YET KNOW OF THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES IN

 AMBERG.)



IN AMBERG WE DID LITTLE OTHER THAN SEE EXHIBIT OF PEWTER PRODUCTS AND SHOP AT

 THE FACTORY OUTLET. WE BOUGHT A KEYHOLDER FOR DELORES WHICH WE KNEW SHE LIKED,

 A RABBIT FOR BECKY BLANKENSHIP, A PEWTER BOWL AS A REMEMBRANCE OF AMBERG. WE

 ALSO STOPPED BY THE POSTOFFICE TO ORDER A TELEPHONE DIRECTORY OF THE REGENSBURG

 AREA AND TO GET A BOOK SHOWING THE ZIP CODES OF GERMANY.



AFTER AMBERG, WE WENT TO NEUMARKT FOR OUR FIRST TIME. NEUMARKT APPEARS TO BE A

 CITY OF ABOUT 35,000. WE WALKED AROUND THE OLD CITY VISITING A CHURCH, WHERE WE

 WERE SURE MARGARETHA HAD WORSHIPPED BEFORE LEARNING THAT THERE WERE 6 CATHOLIC

 CHURCHES IN NEUMARKT IN THE 1870s.



SEARCHING FOR A PLACE TO HAVE LUNCH, WE ENTERED A DEPARTMENT STORE, KNOWING THAT

 A RESTAURANT WAS LOCATED ON THE 2nd FLOOR. WE SAW MICHAELE KERSCHENSTEINER ON

 THE WAY IN. UPSTAIRS, IN THE RESTAURANT, WE HAD BRATWURST, SAUERKRAUT, BOILED

 POTATOES AND BEER; A GOOD BUT VERY HEAVY MEAL.



WE TOOK THE LONG WAY BACK TO DEUSMAUER, STOPPING IN LIPPERTSHOFEN TO SEE IF WE

 COULD FIND PFEIFFERS OR OLDER PEOPLE WHO MIGHT KNOW SOMETHING OF THE FAMILY;

 SIGHT-SEEING AND PHOTOGRAPHING THE COUNTRYSIDE AROUND FRICKENHOFEN AND

 DIETKIRCHEN AND STOPPING IN FEDERHOF TO TALK AGAIN WITH MARIANNE.



MARIANNE OFFERED TO HELP US THE NEXT DAY IF CALLED UPON TO DO SO AND TOLD US

 WHERE WE WOULD FIND A COPIER IN LAABER. WE LOOKED AGAIN AT HER GENEALOGICAL

 RECORDS AND, AS WE LEARNED LATER IN AMBERG, ERRONEOUSLY CHOSE GEORG LEONARD

 PFEIFFER AS THE FATHER OF GEORG ANTON. WE ALSO BORROWED FROM MARIANNE SOME DATA

 SHEETS BASED ON THAT CHOICE.



IT WAS STILL RATHER EARLY SO WE CONTINUED TO GO THE LONG WAY HOME. THIS TIME WE

 WENT TO LAABER TO LOCATE THE COPIER FOR TOMORROW, TO DIETKIRCHEN FOR ANOTHER

 LOOK AND MORE PICTURES, AND THROUGH VELBURG BEFORE ARRIVING IN DEUSMAUER ABOUT

 6 PM.



FROM 6 TO 7:30 PM WE RESTED AND THEN WE WERE OFF AGAIN BUT HOME EARLIER THAN

 PLANNED. SOMEHOW WE GOT THE IDEA THAT THE BEER FEST WOULD CONTINUE ANOTHER

 NIGHT, SO WE WENT TO LENGENFELD TO CHECK IT OUT. THE TENT WAS DOWN AND

 LENGENFELD WAS AGAIN AT REST SO WE RETURNED TO DEUSMAUER FOR SUPPER AND BED.



BUT THE EVENING WAS NOT YET OVER! AFTER SUPPER WE REMAINED IN THE DINING ROOM

 UNTIL MIDNIGHT. DURING THAT TIME WE TALKED WITH EACH OTHER AND LISTENED TO THE

 CHORAL GROUP WHICH MET AND PRACTICED IN A ROOM ADJOINING THE DINING ROOM.



WE LEFT AFTER HAVING QUITE ENOUGH OF A SWEDISH TRUCK DRIVER ON VACATION; HE

 OBVIOUSLY WANTED TO PRACTICE HIS ENGLISH; HE NEEDED NO MORE PRACTICE IN SAYING

 "SHIT" AND "ASSHOLE".



TUESDAY, JUNE 23:



WE WERE UP AT 6:30 AM FOR AN EARLY START. AFTER BREAKFAST WE WENT TO LAABER

 WHERE WE GOT PERMISSION FROM HERR JOSEF B(tm)SL TO USE HIS COPIER. MARIANNE

 PFEIFFER HAD PAVED THE WAY FOR US IN THIS AS IN MUCH ELSE THAT WE DID.



WE GOT TO THE RECTORY A LITTLE BEFORE 9 AM AND WAITED FOR A FEW MINUTES AT THE

 CAR BEFORE GOING IN. PFARRER PACHL WAS READY SO WE WENT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY

 (SMALL TALK IS TOO TIRING WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO USE SOMEONE ELSE'S LANGUAGE).



THIS DESCRIBES HOW WE WORKED: I PROVIDED NAMES, PLACES AND DATES OF INDIVIDUALS

 WHO WERE KNOWN TO US FROM OLD LETTERS. DELORES TOOK SOME NOTES AS WE WORKED AND

 KEN, DELORES AND ROSIE ALL LOOKED AT THE RECORD BOOKS AS ATTENTION WAS FOCUSED

 ON SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS, DATES AND PLACES. KEN TRANSLATED FOR THE REST OF US

 SINCE PFARRER PACHL DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. AND SINCE ALL OLD RECORDS WERE KEPT

 IN EITHER LATIN OR GERMAN, IN THE OLD SCRIPT, PFARRER PACHL WAS THE ONLY ONE

 WHO COULD READ ALL WORDS IN THE RECORDS. BUT BEFORE LONG, KEN, DELORES AND

 ROSIE WERE WORKING PRETTY EFFECTIVELY WITH THE LIMITED VOCABULARY REQUIRED WHEN

 READING BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH AND BURIAL RECORDS.



WE LOOKED FOR RECORDS OF GEORG ANTON PFEIFFER FIRST BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN

 FINDING HIS BIRTH RECORDS, NOR COULD WE FIND HIS MARRIAGE TO MARIA ANNA

 DEINHARD.



THEN WE BEGAN TO IDENTIFY DEINHARD RECORDS TO BE COPIED. THIS WAS RELATIVELY

 EASY SINCE SOMEONE HAD ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON DEINHARD RECORDS AND HAD LEFT A

 SUMMARY.



WHEN THIS WAS COMPLETED PFARRER PACHL, KEN AND ROSIE TOOK THE DEINHARD RECORDS

 TO BE COPIED AND DELORES AND I STAYED IN THE RECTORY BROWSING IN THE RECORD

 BOOKS AND TALKING. IT WAS DURING THIS TIME THAT WE SETTLED ON 1833 AS THE YEAR

 THAT GEORG ANTON NEEDED A GUARDIAN. THIS WAS A COMPLETE ACCIDENT SINCE, AT THAT

 TIME WE WERE NOT AWARE THAT HE HAD GOTTEN HIS NAME THROUGH HIS MOTHER RATHER

 THAN THROUGH HIS FATHER.



LATER ABOUT NOON, WHEN THE COPYING WAS DONE, THE B(tm)SLS, WHO HAD BEEN LETTING

 US USE THEIR COPIER, DECIDED TO CELEBRATE THE AFFAIR. WHEREUPON KEN CAME TO THE

 RECTORY FOR DELORES AND ME AND WE JOINED THE REST OF THE GROUP FOR A TOAST WITH

 STRAWBERRY LIQUEUR. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS SAID. WE TRIED TO GIVE THE B(tm)SLS

 MONEY TO PAY FOR ALL THE COPIER PAPER WE HAD USED AND BARBARA TOLD US THAT

 MARIANNE PFEIFFER HAD TOLD HER NOT TO ACCEPT ANYTHING FROM US.



WE STARTED TYING UP LOOSE ENDS AFTER LUNCH; BORROWING, COPYING AND RETURNING A

 COPY OF THE HISTORY OF LAABER WHICH MICHAELE KERSCHENSTEINER HAD MENTIONED

 EARLIER; TAKING SOME FINAL PICTURES INSIDE THE CHURCH AT LAABER, OUTSIDE THE

 CHURCH AT LENGENFELD AND IN VELBURG; RETURNING RECORDS TO MARIANNE PFEIFFER AND

 SAYING GOOD BYE; TRYING TO FIND IN CIVIL RECORDS THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA ANNA

 DEINHARD TO GEORG ANTON PFEIFFER IN NEUMARKT AND VELBURG. IN THE PICTURESQUE

 TOWN OF VELBURG WE DID SOME SHOPPING, TOOK PICTURES AND HAD TYPICALLY GERMAN

 FABULOUS ICE CREAM SUNDAES AT A SIDEWALK CAFE.



THEN WE RESTED FOR A WHILE AT THE GASTHOF BEFORE TAKING A LONG WALK AROUND THE

 VILLAGE, EATING AND GOING TO BED.



WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24:



ON THE WAY HOME WE STOPPED BY VELBURG'S GOVERNMENT OFFICE AND FOUND IT CLOSED SO

 WE WENT ON TO AMBERG TO THE HISTORIC ARCHIVES THAT HAD BEEN MENTIONED TO US BY

 BOTH MARIANNE PFEIFFER AND THE PERSONNEL AT NEUMARKT'S RECORD OFFICE. 



AT THIS POINT, THE TRIP WAS PRETTY MUCH OVER SO WE WERE NOT EXPECTING MUCH.



HOWEVER, WE WERE FORTUNATE IN FINDING SOME HIGHLY ELUSIVE DATA VERY QUICKLY. 



PASSPORT APPLICATION DATA WAS FOUND FOR GEORG ANTON PFEIFFER (APPLIED 3 SEP

 1846) AND MARIA ANNA DEINHARD (APPLIED 23 SEP 1846) INDIVIDUALLY. PERHAPS THIS

 WAS THE RESULT OF THEIR HOMES BEING IN DIFFERENT COUNTIES. WHAT IS TRULY

 SURPRISING IS THAT EACH IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN SINGLE; WE HAVE NO EXPLANATION FOR

 THIS.



GEORG ANTON'S GUARDIANSHIP PAPERS WERE ALSO FOUND IN THE ARCHIVES. THEY ARE

 DISCUSSED UNDER THE HEADING "PFEIFFER FINDINGS".



THE ARCHIVES NORMALLY ALLOW PEOPLE TO WORK ONLY BY APPOINTMENT, BUT WHEN WE TOLD

 THEM THAT WE HAD COME DIRECTLY FROM CITY OFFICES IN NEUMARKT, THEY ALLOWED US

 TO TALK WITH ERWIN STOIBER, AN ARCHIVIST. IT WAS HE WHO WAS SO ALERT TO OUR

 CLUES AND SUCCESSFUL IN FINDING OUR DATA.



LAABER AND VICINITY



UNDER THIS HEADING, WE WILL DESCRIBE THE PART OF BAVARIA WHERE GEORG ANTON

 PFEIFFER AND HIS WIFE MARIA ANNA DEINHARD WERE BORN AND FROM WHICH THEY

 EMIGRATED. THE AREA OF INTEREST IS ONE WHERE BOTH PFEIFFERS AND DEINHARDS HAVE

 LIVED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. IT IS SMALL BUT IT SEEMS TO INVOLVE MORE THAN ONE

 KREIS (COUNTY). THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OF GOVERNMENT FOR PFEIFFERS IS THOUGHT TO BE

 VELBURG AND FOR DEINHARDS, NEUMARKT. VILLAGES OF INTEREST, AS LEARNED FROM OLD

 LETTERS AND ELSEWHERE ARE LIPPERTSHOFEN, LENGENFELD, FRICKENHOFEN, DIETKIRCHEN,

 LAABER, FEDERHOF. DISTANCES BETWEEN THE VILLAGES NAMED ABOVE VARIES BETWEEN 1

 AND 7 MILES AND THE DISTANCE FROM THIS AREA TO REGENSBURG IS ABOUT 30 MILES

 SOUTHEAST.



IN TALKING WITH GERMANS, ONE GETS THE IMPRESSION THAT BAVARIA IS A RATHER

 SPECIAL PART OF THEIR COUNTRY AND HAS BEEN FROM THE BEGINNING, PERHAPS IN THIS

 RESPECT, A LITTLE LIKE TEXAS. BAVARIANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE CATHOLIC THAN

 PROTESTANT, MORE LIKELY TO BE FARMERS AND DAIRYMEN THAN INDUSTRIAL WORKERS, AND

 MORE LIKELY TO LIVE IN THE "COUNTRY" THAN IN THE "CITY". YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK

 OF THEM AS "HILL-BILLY". THEY HAVE A FONDNESS FOR BLASMUSIK (UMPAHPAH MUSIC),

 DRINK LOTS OF BEER AND LITTLE WINE; THEY EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN GREETING, GRšS

 GOTT (GREETINGS FROM GOD) AS OPPOSED TO GUTEN MORGEN, GUTEN TAG, (GOOD MORNING,

 GOOD DAY) ETC.



IN THE VICINITY OF LAABER WE WERE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE SOME OF THIS SPECIALNESS

 BOTH PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY. WE OBSERVED NATIVES ON THE STREETS, IN RESTAURANTS

 AND AT THE WINKLER FEST. WE ALSO TALKED WITH A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS AS WE

 WORKED AT FINDING FAMILY RECORDS AND AS PASTIME AFTER SUPPER AT THE GUEST

 HOUSE.



THE TERRAIN AROUND LAABER IS MODERATELY HILLY WITH SMALL AREAS UNDER

 CULTIVATION, BUT MOSTLY WOOD AND PASTURE LAND. ROSIE'S PICTURES WILL CONVEY

 THIS IN THE BEST WAY.



LAABER ITSELF CONSISTS OF A CHURCH, CEMETERY AND RECTORY; RESIDENCES; TWO OR

 MORE DAIRY BARNS; AND THREE OR MORE BUSINESS ALL CROWDED ONTO THE CREST OF A

 RIDGE WHICH IS ABOUT 400 YARDS LONG AND 75 YARDS WIDE. IT IS A SHORT DISTANCE

 FROM THE MAIN ROAD AND MAY BE APPROACHED FROM SOUTH ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE

 RIDGE OR FROM THE NORTH ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE RIDGE.



BUSINESSES, HOMES AND BARNS ARE INTERMINGLED AND SERVED BY ROADS WHICH APPEAR TO

 FOLLOW FOOTPATHS OF EARLIER TIMES. THE BARNS ARE WELL MAINTAINED AND

 IDENTIFIABLE TO ME MAINLY BY SMELL. THE BUSINESSES HAD LITTLE OR NO DISTINCTIVE

 MARKINGS TO IDENTIFY THEM AND MAY, IN SOME CASES, BE ONLY INDIVIDUALS WITH

 OTHER OCCUPATIONS WHO PROVIDE LIMITED SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.



THE OLDER PART OF LAABER IS AT THE NORTH END OF THE RIDGE, ITS HIGHEST POINT.



LOCATED HERE ARE THE CEMETERY, CHURCH AND "DEINHARD INN". SPIES'S GASTHOF IS

 ALSO ON THIS END OF THE VILLAGE BUT THE CHURCH RECTORY IS ON THE SOUTH END.



THE LAYOUT OF THE NORTH END OF LAABER INCLUDES, IN ADDITION TO THE BUILDINGS

 MENTIONED ABOVE, KERSCHENSTEINERS' BARN AND THE LAABER QUELLE. THIS 60 FOOT

 LONG BARN IS LOCATED BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND THE INN WHICH ARE SEPARATED BY

 ABOUT 50 YARDS. THE QUELLE (SPRING), MARKING THE SOURCE OF THE LAABER RIVER IS

 ABOUT 50 FEET BELOW THE TOP OF THE RIDGE AND JUST BEHIND THE CHURCH AND BARN.

 THE STREAM FROM THE SPRING CONTINUES WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN ELEVATION AS IT

 BISECTS A LARGE PASTURE BEING GRAZED BY ABOUT 30 BLACK AND WHITE DAIRY CATTLE,

 APPARENTLY OWNED BY THE KERSCHENSTEINERS.



LAABER IS ABOUT 3 MILES FROM THE LIPPERTSHOFEN, FRICKENHOFEN AND DIETKIRCHEN

 AREA AND 7 MILES FROM LENGENFELD.



REFER TO THE HISTORY FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE TOWN.



IN ADDITION TO LAABER, DEUSMAUER IS THE ONLY VILLAGE IN THE AREA OBSERVED IN

 DETAIL AND, IN THAT CASE, PRIMARILY THINGS IN AND AROUND THE STIEGLER GASTHOF.

 ALTHOUGH ON LEVEL GROUND AND SOMEWHAT LARGER, THE LAYOUT AND GENERAL APPEARANCE

 OF DEUSMAUER IS THE SAME AS LAABER. THE GASTHOF IS LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION

 OF TWO PAVED COUNTRY ROADS SURROUNDED BY OTHER BUILDINGS USED AS RESIDENCES,

 BARNS OR BUSINESSES. ONE MORNING WE SAW PEOPLE CARRYING FRESH BREAD; THAT

 EVENING WE WALKED THROUGHOUT LOOKING FOR THE BAKERY THAT MADE IT AND NEVER

 FOUND IT.



THE GASTHOF HAD SHARED BATHROOM FACILITIES "DOWN THE HALL". THE ROOM WAS

 ADEQUATELY LARGE, PICTURES ON THE WALL, TWIN BEDS WITH A HEAVY DOWN COMFORTER

 ON EACH BED, ROLADENS ON THE WINDOWS, AND A LAVATORY IN THE ROOM. THE SHOWER

 AND COMMODE WERE IN SEPARATE ROOMS AND SHARED WITH OTHER GUESTS, BUT THIS WAS

 NEVER A PROBLEM.



THE ROOM WAS NOT ADEQUATELY LIGHT FOR ME TO WRITE CARDS, ETC. SO THIS WAS DONE

 IN THE DINING AREA. THIS MEANT THAT I WALKED, IN THE LIGHT, OUT A BACK DOOR AND

 AROUND TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING TO ENTER; OR, IN THE DARK, DOWN A CENTRAL

 HALLWAY WITH SEVERAL CHANGES OF ELEVATION AND DOORS TO PASS THROUGH.



THE GASTHOF WAS OBVIOUSLY AN OLD FAMILY BUSINESS, WITH VERY OLD MEMBERS OF THE

 FAMILY PRESENT AT TIMES AS WELL AS THE YOUNGER, WORKING MEMBERS. THE PROPERTY

 INCLUDED A BARN AND HOME AS WELL AS THE GASTHOF. THESE WERE ARRANGED IN A U

-SHAPE: GASTHOF ON THE LEFT LEG OF THE U; HOME AT THE BOTTOM; AND BARN ON THE

 RIGHT. THE U OPENED ONTO THE STREET AND GUEST PARKING FOR 3- 4 CARS WAS WITHIN

 THE U.



THE BARN WAS VERY ACTIVE. THERE WERE HORSES, PIGS AND CHICKENS, PERHAPS COWS AS

 WELL. WITH REGARD TO THE PIGS, ONE SOW WITH VERY SMALL PIGS AND ONE BOAR WERE

 IN THE BARN, GIVING ONE THE IMPRESSION THAT THE SOW HAD BEEN BROUGHT FROM

 ELSEWHERE TO FARROW AND BE BRED. HERE AS ELSEWHERE, FLIES, NO SCREENS AND

 PLENTY OF BARNYARD SOUNDS AND SMELLS.



THE MENU AT THIS GASTHOF WAS, AS AT OTHER SUCH SMALL EATING PLACES, QUITE

 LIMITED: EGGS, WURST, CHEESE, BREAD AND COFFEE FOR BREAKFAST AND SEVERAL

 VARIETIES OF SCHNITZEL FOR SUPPER.



THE MANAGING OWNER, ERICH STIEGLER, SEEMED TO BE QUITE ACTIVE IN COMMUNITY

 AFFAIRS. THERE WERE SIGNS INDICATING THAT HIS GASTHOF SERVED AS A MEETING PLACE

 FOR SOME OF THESE ACTIVITIES. ON ONE OF THE EVENINGS, HIS CHORAL GROUP HAD

 THEIR MEETING IN A ROOM ADJOINING THE DINING ROOM.



THE CHURCH, CEMETERY AND PRIEST



THE CHURCH IS EXTREMELY OLD AND SURROUNDED ON THREE SIDES BY THE CEMETERY. 



THE BUILDING IS ABOUT 30 FEET WIDE AND 60 FEET LONG. IT IS ORIENTED IN A NORTH

-SOUTH DIRECTION, WITH THE ENTRANCE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BUILDING AT THE

 NORTH/STREET END. THE CHOIR LOFT IS ABOVE THE ENTRANCE AND THE ALTAR IS AT THE

 OPPOSITE END OF THE BUILDING. PEWS ARE INSTALLED ON BOTH SIDES OF A CENTRAL

 AISLE.



THE CEMETERY SEEMS TO HAVE ONLY MODERN MARKERS. THESE ARE FAMILY MARKERS LISTING

 DATES FOR A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS. WE DID NOT SEE A DEINHARD MARKER; HOWEVER,

 SEVERAL OF THE MARKERS WERE COVERED, AS PROTECTION FROM MAINTENANCE WORK ON THE

 OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH BUILDING.



THE ABSENCE OF A DEINHARD MARKER, IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, PROBABLY MEANS

 DEINHARDS ARE NO LONGER MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION. THE CURRENT PRACTICE IN

 GERMANY IS TO LEASE BURIAL SITE FOR A PERIOD OF 30 YEARS; AFTER WHICH TIME THE

 LEASE WOULD PROBABLY BE RENEWED IF FAMILY MEMBERS CONTINUE TO LIVE IN THE

 COMMUNITY OR VISIT THE CEMETERY.



THE PRIEST WAS A "BEAUTIFUL" PERSON. HE IS 81 YEARS OLD AND BEGAN SERVING THE

 LAABER CHURCH AFTER WORLD WAR II. AT THAT TIME HE CAME TO GERMANY AS A REFUGEE

 FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA.



HE GIVES MEANING TO "ROTUND", BEING RATHER STOUT AND MEASURING ABOUT 4 FEET

 TALL. HE HAD AN ALERT PRESENCE, BUT IT WAS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO KEEP HIM ON THE

 TRACK WHICH WE WANTED TO FOLLOW. HE QUITE OBVIOUSLY TOOK PRIDE IN BEING WELL

-ORGANIZED AND A MAN OF USE AND ABILITY DESPITE HIS ADVANCED AGE.



AS WE WORKED OVER RECORDS, THE PHONE RANG FROM TIME TO TIME. WE COULD HEAR IT

 BUT HE COULD NOT; SO WE WOULD SEND HIM OFF TO ANSWER THE TELEPHONE, AS WE

 HURRIEDLY TRIED TO INSTITUTE SOME OF THE RECORD-FINDING STRATEGY WHICH WE WERE

 NOT ABLE TO USE WHILE HE WAS AROUND.



FORTUNATELY, WHEN HE UNDERSTOOD, HE SEEMED TO BE COMPLETELY AGREEABLE TO ALL MY

 WISHES, SOME OF WHICH WERE PROBABLY EXTREME. WHEN I WANTED TO COPY ALL RECORD

 PAGES DEALING WITH DEINHARD ANCESTORS AND THIS MEANT CARRYING MANY HEAVY AND

 FRAGILE OLD RECORD BOOKS TO THE B(tm)SL'S HOME FOR COPYING, HE LEFT THE ROOM

 FOR A SUITABLE BASKET TO CARRY THE BOOKS.



WHEN THE TIME CAME TO MAKE COPIES, HE ACCOMPANIED THE BOOKS TO THE B(tm)SL'S AND

 CONTINUED TO HELP WITH THAT ACTIVITY. HIS HELP WAS INVALUABLE BECAUSE HE COULD

 IDENTIFY NAMES OF INDIVIDUALS FROM THE OLD GERMAN THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US.

 IT WAS REALLY QUITE A CIRCUS THERE WITH BARBARA B(tm)SL AND KEN TAKING BOOKS,

 FINDING THE CORRECT PAGES, USING THE COPIER; THEN ROSIE AND PFARRER PACHL

 MARKED AND CHECKED, IDENTIFIED AND TRIED TO COLLATE.



WHEN WE WERE DONE I GAVE HIM 200 DM, INDICATING THAT IT WAS FOR HIS

 DISCRETIONARY FUND, AND INVITED HIM TO HAVE LUNCH WITH US AT FRAU SPIES'S PLACE

 BUT HE DECLINED, INDICATING A PREVIOUS ENGAGEMENT.



KERSCHENSTEINERS AND THE DEINHARD INN



THE LETTERS BETWEEN PFEIFFERS AND DEINHARDS IN TEXAS AND FRIENDS AND RELATIVES

 IN AND AROUND LAABER TELL SOME OF THE STORY OF HOW THE KERSCHENSTEINERS

 ACQUIRED THE INN; THE REST OF THE STORY IS CERTAINLY AVAILABLE FROM COURT

 RECORDS. I AM SATISFIED BY THE STORY AS KNOWN NOW AND DO NOT INTEND TO PURSUE

 IT FURTHER.



BRIEFLY, THE STORY IS THIS: THE DEINHARDS HAD 13 CHILDREN OF WHOM ONLY 6 LIVED

 TO MATURITY. OF THESE 6 CHILDREN, TWO GIRLS AND 2 BOYS CAME TO TEXAS; MARIA

 (1846), BARBARA (1848), MICHAEL (1848) AND JOHANN (1852).*** THE GIRLS' CLAIM

 TO AN INHERITANCE WAS SATISFIED BY 300 FLORINS AT THE TIME OF THEIR MARRIAGES.

 THE YOUNGER BOYS, ERHARD AND JOSEF, REMAINED IN BAVARIA. 



THE FATHER DIED IN 1856 AFTER A "LONG AND LINGERING ILLNESS" LEAVING THE MOTHER

 AND HER SONS TO MANAGE THEIR AFFAIRS. JOSEF BECAME SICK OF "A SIMILAR ILLNESS"

 IN 1857 AND DIED IN 1858. NONE OF THIS WAS KNOWN IN TEXAS UNTIL ERHARD'S LETTER

 OF 5 MAY 1861 WHICH ANNOUNCES SOME "SAD" NEWS: THE DEATHS JUST MENTIONED AND

 THE STRAIN OF TAKING CARE OF HIS MOTHER AND MANAGING FAMILY BUSINESS; AND SOME

 "GLAD" NEWS: HIS MARRIAGE 8 JAN 1861 TO AN 18 YEAR- OLD WOMAN WITH SUFFICIENT

 MONEY TO PAY FOR THE NUMEROUS IMPROVEMENTS HE HAD MADE TO FAMILY PROPERTY.



 ERHARD IMPLIES THAT THE PROPERTY IS NOW HIS, NO DOUBT ADDING TO HIS HAPPINESS;

 BUT BEFORE 1863 ERHARD IS ALSO DEAD AND ON 19 MAY 1863 HIS WIDOW, WITWE

 KUNEGUNDE (VOGL) MARRIED MICHAEL KERSCHENSTEINER. 



ON LEARNING OF THESE EVENTS IN A LETTER FROM HIS COUSIN IN BAVARIA, ANTON WRITES

 BACK IN 1868 "SO WE SEE THAT TOO MUCH HAPPINESS IS NOT OF MUCH USE."



BUT THE STORY IS NOT YET OVER: BY 1867 MARGARETHA DEINHARD HAS MOVED FROM LAABER

 TO NEUMARKT AND IS RECEIVING INCOME FROM THE INN; HER SON MICHAEL IS DEAD IN

 TEXAS; AND JOHANN'S PART OF THE ESTATE SETTLEMENT IS STILL BEING PROCESSED

 THROUGH THE SYSTEM. ON 1 AUG 1871 WITWE KUNEGUNDE DIED AFTER HAVING HAD 2

 CHILDREN WITH ERHARD DEINHARD AND 3 WITH MICHAEL KERSCHENSTEINER, AND THEN

 MICHAEL REMARRIED. IN MARCH OF 1872, MARGARETHA WROTE THAT ERHARD'S 2 CHILDREN

 ARE NOW BEING RAISED BY THEIR MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS, THE VOGLS, WHO ALSO LIVE

 IN NEUMARKT AND THAT MARGARETHA'S NEEDS ARE STILL BEING SUPPLIED BY INCOME FROM

 THE INN. MARGARETHA DIED IN NEUMARKT 17 AUG 1874. TO DATE, NO WORD OF THESE

 DEINHARD CHILDREN HAS COME TO ME.



THE INN IS NOW USED AS LIVING QUARTERS FOR THE KERSCHENSTEINER FAMILY AND AS A

 BUSINESS; HOWEVER UNLIKE FORMER TIMES, THEY DO NOT PROVIDE MEALS AND LODGING,

 ONLY DRINKS AND SNACKS. DURING OUR FIRST VISIT WE GATHERED ROUND ONE OF THE

 TABLES IN THE PUB AND LOOKED AT LETTERS AND STAMMBAUM (FAMILY TREE RECORD) WITH

 THE KERSCHENSTEINER FAMILY.



FROM THE OUTSIDE, THE BUILDING APPEARS TO HAVE TWO LEVELS; HOWEVER, A CLOSER

 LOOK INDICATES THAT THERE IS MUCH MORE TO IT. THERE IS A FLOORED ATTIC ABOVE

 THE SECOND LEVEL AND ABOVE THIS A LOFT. THERE ARE ALSO TWO SMALL INDEPENDENT

 CELLARS BELOW THE FIRST LEVEL. ONE CELLAR IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN USED FOR WINES

 AND THE OTHER WAS PROBABLY USED FOR FOOD STORAGE. THERE WAS ALSO A PLACE FOR

 CATTLE AT THE LOWEST LEVEL.



IN EARLIER TIMES, THE INN PROBABLY SERVED FOR FEEDING AND SHELTERING TRAVELERS

 AS WELL AS LIVING QUARTERS FOR THE DEINHARD FAMILY. THE ENTRANCE TO THE WINE

 CELLAR IS CLOSE TO WHAT IS NOW THE GASTHAUS (PUB) AND IS USED FOR STORING BEER

 AND WINE FOR THE BUSINESS. THE OTHER CELLAR IS CLOSE TO SPACE WHICH MAY HAVE

 BEEN FOR THE FAMILY AND/OR FOR FOOD PREPARATION. NOW FIREWOOD AND CANNED GOODS

 ARE KEPT THERE.



THE RECTANGULAR BUILDING IS ABOUT 75 FEET LONG AND 40 FEET WIDE. MOST OF THE

 FIRST FLOOR IS USED BY THE PUBLIC. THE KERSCHENSTEINER FAMILY LIVE MOSTLY ON

 THE SECOND FLOOR AND ALSO ON A SMALL PART OF THE FIRST FLOOR. GRAINS, PERHAPS

 FOR SEED, ARE STORED IN THE ATTIC. THE INN SEEMS TO BE USED ONLY FOR SERVING

 BEER NOW; IT WAS NOT OPEN EARLY IN THE DAY WHEN WE WERE THERE.



PFEIFFER FINDINGS



INCLUDED UNDER THIS HEADING IS INFORMATION USEFUL TO A CONTINUING SEARCH AS WELL

 AS A FEW DETAILS FROM GEORG ANTON'S GUARDIANSHIP PAPERS.



IN THE BAVARIAN REGION OF GERMANY, THEY SEEM TO USE HISTORIC FAMILY NAMES FOR

 FARMS. MY UNDERSTANDING OF THIS IS INCOMPLETE BUT BASED ON THIS: WE WERE TOLD

 THAT THE PFEIFFER FARM WAS AT LIPPERTSHOFEN EVEN THOUGH PFEIFFERS NO LONGER

 OWNED IT. THE ONLY PFEIFFERS WE MET LIVED ON A FARM IN THE ONLY HOUSE IN

 FEDERHOF, BUT I DO NOT KNOW THE NAME OF THEIR FARM. CONTRARY TO WHAT IS DONE IN

 BAVARIA, I WILL REFER TO THE FARM AT FEDERHOF AS THE PFEIFFER FARM.



A 200th YEAR PFEIFFER REUNION WAS HELD AT THIS FEDERHOF FARM IN 1987. THE FARM

 IS OWNED BY JOSEF PFEIFFER AND HIS WIFE MARIANNE. THEY HAVE SEVERAL CHILDREN

 INCLUDING A SON TO INHERIT THE FARM. IN TRYING TO HELP WITH OUR GENEALOGY

 MARIANNE INDICATED THAT THEIR CONNECTION WITH LIPPERTSHOFEN WAS VERY DISTANT

 WHEREAS OURS WAS AS RECENT A THE 1800s. I WILL CONTINUE TO CORRESPOND WITH THEM

 HOPING TO GET A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF THAT STORY.



INFORMATION ABOUT THESE PFEIFFERS IS INTERESTING ALTHOUGH I CANNOT YET SAY HOW

 THEY CONNECT WITH GEORG ANTON.



THE PFEIFFER FARM AT FEDERHOF INCLUDES A SPRING AND RIVER, WHICH I WAS TOLD WAS

 NOT A PART OF THE LAABER RIVER. I DID NOT GET THE NAME OF THE RIVER BUT WAS

 TOLD THAT, LIKE THE LAABER, IT FLOWS INTO THE DANUBE. WATER FROM THIS RIVER IS

 IMPOUNDED AT ONE POINT AS IT PASSES THROUGH THE FARM CREATING A SMALL POND OR

 LAKE. THE HOME, LAND, WATER AND GRASS ALL INDICATE THAT THIS IS A PROSPEROUS

 FARM.



INQUIRY INTO THE BUSINESS OF THE FARM REVEALED THAT THEY HAVE 7 HORSES, ONLY 3

 OF THEM BROKEN FOR USE IN SOME FASHION. THE MAIN, AND PERHAPS ONLY, BUSINESS OF

 THE FARM IS EGG PRODUCTION. THEY HAVE 4,500 LAYING HENS AND A HIGHLY AUTOMATED

 FEEDING AND GATHERING SYSTEM. THEY HAVE CUSTOMERS TO WHOM THEY DELIVER THESE

 EGGS. THEY ALSO MENTIONED RAISING PIGS, BUT THIS PART OF THE BUSINESS SEEMED

 MUCH LESS IMPORTANT.



IT WAS MARIANNE PFEIFFER WHO TOLD US ABOUT THE HISTORIC ARCHIVES IN AMBERG. 

 ALTHOUGH SHE IS INTERESTED IN GENEALOGY, SHE HAD NOT YET BEEN THERE. I INTEND

 TO CORRESPOND WITH HER TO LET HER KNOW THAT WE DID GO TO AMBERG AND WERE

 SUCCESSFUL IN FINDING SEVERAL PIECES OF OUR PUZZLE.



THE MAJOR FINDING WAS GEORG ANTON PFEIFFER'S GUARDIANSHIP FILES. WE ALSO FOUND

 PASSPORT APPLICATION INFORMATION FOR BOTH ANTON AND MARIA ANNA DEINHARD. THE

 APPLICATIONS WERE MADE IN SEPTEMBER 1846.



FOLLOWING ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GUARDIANSHIP FILE. THE FILE IS NOW BEING

 TRANSLATED IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS WILL BE A TIME CONSUMING PROCESS AS IT MUST BE

 TRANSCRIBED FROM THE OLD GERMAN SCRIPT INTO MODERN SCRIPT AND THEN TRANSLATED

 INTO ENGLISH.



THE GUARDIANSHIP FILE WAS FOUND AND COPIED AT THE ARCHIVES IN AMBERG 24 JUN

 1992. THERE ARE OVER 64 PAGES, COVERING THE PERIOD 1833-1840. TRANSCRIBING INTO

 GERMAN IS BEING DONE BY HERR RITTER OF HANOVER WHO WAS SUGGESTED BY GISA

 PRESCOTT, A GERMAN-BORN FRIEND OF THE KOETHERS. (GISA WORKS FOR THE UNIVERSITY

 OF MAINZ. HERR RITTER IS PRESIDENT OF THE NORTHERN GERMAN GENEALOGICAL

 SOCIETY.)



THE SAME NAMES WERE USED IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS LEADING TO CONFUSION OVER WHO

 IS RELATED TO WHOM; DATES WILL EVENTUALLY ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. FROM THE

 FAMILY TREE, IT SEEMS THAT A GEORG PFEIFFER IN LENGENFELD ALSO HAD A SON NAMED

 ANTON. THERE IS ALSO SOME CONFUSION OVER WHETHER GEORG ANTON'S MOTHER'S NAME

 WAS MARIA ANNA OR ANNA MARIA. ONE OF THESE NAMES MAY BELONG TO THE MOTHER OF

 THE ANTON BORN IN LENGENFELD.



OUR GEORG ANTON WAS THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILD OF ANNA MARIE/MARIE ANNA PFEIFFER,

 THE DAUGHTER OF FRIEDRICH PFEIFFER. THEREFORE, ANTON MAY HAVE BEEN BORN IN HIS

 GRANDFATHER'S HOME IN FRICKENHOFEN. ANTON'S MOTHER WAS BORN 7 FEB 1793 AND DIED

 IN ? 1833 WHEN ANTON WAS ABOUT 16 YEARS OLD.



FOLLOWING HIS MOTHER'S DEATH, ANTON'S GRANDFATHER, FRIEDRICH, ESTABLISHED A

 GUARDIANSHIP FOR HIS AFFAIRS AND STATED WHO HE THOUGHT WAS THE FATHER OF THIS

 CHILD.



THE FILE MAY INCLUDE ANTON'S MOTHER'S WILL.



IT SEEMS THAT FRIEDRICH HAD 3-4 CHILDREN, AT LEAST ONE OF WHOM WAS MALE, MARRIED

 AND WITH FAMILY LIVING IN LENGENFELD.



DEINHARD FINDINGS



JOHANN DEINHARD B. ? D. 19 MAR 1856 M. 1823 MARGARETHA SCHNEIL/SCHNEIDER B.

 ABOUT 1798 D. 17 AUG 1874 (76 AT TIME OF DEATH)



BIRTHS: (TAKEN FROM A 2 PAGE SUMMARY OF THE CHILDREN OF JOHANN DEINHARD)



MARIA ANNA B 2 SEP 1824 



BARBARA B 22 SEP 1825 



ROSINA B 10 SEP 1826 D 19 MAY 1837 



GEORG MICHAEL B 18 NOV 1827 



JOHANN EVANGELIST B 23 DEC 1828 D 3 MAR 1829 



JOHANN EVANGELIST B 23 NOV 1829 



FRANZ XAVIER B 30 JAN 1831 D 22 MAY 1831 



JOSEPH B 20 JUL 1832 D 19 JUN 1858 



ANNA MARIA B 3 DEC 1833 D 1 JAN 1834 



JOHANN BAPTIST B 22 DEC 1834 D 29 APR 1835 



ERHARD B 3 FEB 1836 D BEFORE 1863 



M. WITWE KUNIGUNDE VOGL (B 17 JAN 1843 D 1 AUG 1871) 8 JAN 1861



KATHARINA B 13 MAY 1837 D 10 JUN 1837 



WALBURGER B 13 MAY 1839 D 31 MAY 1839 



WINKLER FEST



A WINKLER BREWERY IS LOCATED IN LENGENFELD, A MILE OR SO DOWN THE ROAD FROM

 DEUSMAUER. THIS WAS THE SITE OF OUR ONLY BLASMUSIK FEST. THE CROWD WAS HELD BY

 A HUGE TENT, WITH THE STAGE AT ONE END AND FILLED WITH LONG NARROW TABLES

 ORIENTED WITH THE LENGTH OF THE TENT. THE TABLES WERE ABOUT 12 FEET LONG AND 20

 INCHES WIDE WITH BENCHES ON BOTH SIDES.



WE SPENT SEVERAL HOURS AT THIS FEST DRINKING BEER AND EATING A LITTLE (WE HAD

 EATEN SUPPER JUST PRIOR TO COMING), IN FACT STAYING UNTIL THE VERY END. THE

 BEER MUGS HELD A FULL LITER AND WERE THEREFORE QUITE HEAVY. THE NATIVES USED

 THE BACK OF THEIR HAND TO SUPPORT THEM RATHER THAN THE MUSCLES OF THE WRIST,

 THE WAY MOUNTAINEERS DRINK FROM A JUG.



A MEMORABLE EVENT WAS EATING AN ONION AND PICKLED HERRING SANDWICH LATE IN THE

 EVENING. IT WENT WELL WITH THE BEER, BUT THE AFTER TASTE EXPERIENCE DURING THE

 NIGHT WAS NOT PLEASANT.



THE MUSIC WAS GOOD GERMAN DANCE MUSIC, SO IT WAS SURPRISING THAT THERE WAS

 REALLY NO PLACE TO DANCE. SOME PEOPLE FEELING A STRONG URGE TO DANCE, AS ROSIE

 AND I DID, DANCED WHERE WE COULD FIND A LITTLE SPACE IN THE AISLES. 



PARTICIPATION BY THE CROWD WITH THE MUSICIANS WAS PRIMARILY LIMITED TO A

 STANDARD GERMAN BEER TOAST, REPEATED FREQUENTLY DURING THE EVENING; AND TO

 SWAYING IN TIME WITH THE MUSIC AND WITH OTHERS SEATED WITH YOU ON A BENCH.



AS A FINAL EVENT, THE CROWD PERFORMED VARIOUS FEATS AS DIRECTED BY THE SONG WE

 ALL SANG: PUT PARTS OF THE BODY ON THE BENCHES OR TABLE AND PERFORM SPECIFIC

 FEATS. I DID DANCE ON THE BENCH; I DID NOT DANCE ON THE TABLE; I DID NOT

 PARTICIPATE IN LIFTING THE TABLE WITH ITS CONTENTS INTO THE AIR BUT ROSIE DID

 AND SHE HAD A HARD TIME HOLDING UP HER END OF THE TABLE BECAUSE HER GERMAN

 FRIENDS WERE A LOT TALLER THAN SHE WAS.



SOME OF THE NOISE AND MUSIC WERE RECORDED.



A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAABER BEFORE 1900



THERE ARE TWO PLACES NAMED LAABER IN BAVARIA AND BOTH ARE IN THE VICINITY OF

 REGENSBURG. THE ONE DISCUSSED BELOW IS ABOUT 7 KM (4.3 MILES) EAST OF NEUMARKT.

 IT IS SOMETIME REFERRED TO AS PILSACH-LAABER.



THE SITE OF TODAY'S FARM VILLAGE OF LAABER HAS BEEN OCCUPPIED FOR THOUSANDS OF

 YEARS. THE CLIMATE, WOODLANDS, MEADOWS AND SPRING FED STREAM MAKE IT A LIKELY

 SITE FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE, INCLUDING COHABITATING HUMANS.



THE EVIDENCE OF PAST HABITATION DATES TO THE BRONZE AGE. SEVERAL BURIAL SITES

 HAVE BEEN EXCAVATED WITHIN ABOUT A MILE OF THE LARGEST OF SEVERAL SPRINGS

 LOCATED NEARBY. ALL SITES CONTAINED ARTIFACTS OF THE BRONZE AGE. BY THE 1200s,

 A FORTIFIED CASTLE BELONGING TO COUNT WOLFSTEIN OCCUPIED THE SITE.



SOME OF THE RUINS OF THIS CASTLE WERE VISIBLE AS LATE AS THE 1940s. THE LOCATION

 OF THE CASTLE'S OUTSIDE WALLS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN ABOUT 12 FEET THICK. OTHER

 DISCOVERIES INCLUDE THE LOCATION OF THE CASTLE'S CHAPEL AND PRISON TOWER.



THE NAME LAABER ITSELF WAS MENTIONED AS EARLY AS THE 11th CENTRY. LAABER MEANS

 "LIVELY STREAM". TODAY'S QUELLE LAABER IS INDEED A LIVELY SPRING AND IS THE

 SOURCE OF THE LAABER RIVER.



LAABER IS SITUATED ON A SMALL RIDGE JUST WEST OF THE PECH VALLEY. THE LARGEST

 SPRING, QUELLE LAABER, FLOWS FROM THE LOWER EAST SIDE OF THE RIDGE WHERE ALL

 BUILDINGS OF THE VILLAGE ARE LOCATED.



THE VILLAGE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN LESS PROMINENT THAN SOME OTHER NEARBY VILLAGES

 DURING SOME OF THE YEARS BETWEEN 1200s AND 1800s. HOWEVER, THE VILLAGE IS KNOWN

 TO HAVE HAD A WATER POWERED MILL AT AN EARLY DATE AND CRAFTSMEN INCLUDING

 WEAVERS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN IN THE COMMUNITY. IN 1776, LAABER WAS

 ESTABLISHED AS A CHURCH PARISH CATCHING UP WITH DIETKIRCHEN WHICH MUST HAVE

 MANAGED BY SOME MEANS TO FORGE AHEAD EARLIER.



SEVERAL INTERESTING FACTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM A VILLAGE HISTORY DONE IN 1882 WHEN

 THE LAABER'S CHURCH WAS RENOVATED. THE CHURCH STANDS WHERE THE CASTLE'S CHAPEL

 FORMERLY STOOD. ALSO INCLUDED IN THE 1882 INFORMATION ARE THESE FACTS, CURRENT

 AT THAT TIME: LAABER AND ANZENHOFEN (A SIMILAR SIZED VILLAGE,



PROBABLY THEN AS NOW) WERE HARDWORKING AND PROSPEROUS FARM VILLAGES WITH 47

 HOUSEHOLDS AND 457 INHABITANTS. AMONG THE BUSINESS WERE "WAGONING AND

 BLACKSMITHING". HOPS CULTIVATION WAS MENTIONED SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT YEAR; IT

 WAS "BLESSED AND FRUITFUL YEAR, WITH MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO ESPECIALLY IN OUR

 HOPS PRODUCTION".



ADDRESSES:



KATHOLISCHE FILIALE LAABER



POST PILSACH



2. HD. HERRN PFARRER ALBIN PACHL



8431 LAABER 39



DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY)



MICHELE KERSCHENSTEINER



LAABER 12



8431 PILSACH



DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY)



JOSEF UND MARIANNE PFEIFFER



FEDERHOF 1



8436 VELBURG



DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY)



FAMILIE JOSEF B"SL



LAABER 35



8431 PILSACH



DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY)



STAATSARCHIV AMBERG (ARCHIVIST: ERWIN STOIBER)



ARCHIVSTRASSE 3 (REFERED TO GENEALOGIST: NORBERT HAAS



8450 AMBERG POSTFACH 1621



DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY) 8600 BAMBERG 1



GERMANY)





Reported by Roy Pfeiffer 1992