Immigrants #35 and #36 ~ Chicago Policeman Richard Bold and Stationary Engineer Ferdinand Bold, Two of Emilia Bold’s Brothers and Both a Part of Historical Tragedies ~

Recently I was contacted by two fourth cousins researching the immigrant Bolds.  Thank you to B.R., a descendant of Alexander Bold, who pointed out that Elisabetha Scheid Bold and Franz Jacob Bold had another child that came to America and was named Ferdinand Bold.  He and his family were part of a New York City tragedy that was absolutely horrifying to discover.  Now knowing of this immigrant brother of Emilia Bold Leies, it makes sense that she named her second son John Ferdinand.

A descendant of Anna Bold Leies and Jacob Leies, P.A., informed me that there may be at three least cases of Bolds marrying Leieses in our lines.  We plan to sort it out!  This includes a possible case of one of the daughters of Anna Bold Leies, that I had vowed to find in a previous post, marrying her first cousin – a Bold!

TA also told me that Leies, on her side of the family, is pronounced LEESS.  Not LE-AS as it is on our side and there are some Leies relations residing in Pennsylvania.  Interesting indeed! Thank you for finding me!

Emilia Bold’s Youngest Brothers

Emilia Bold’s youngest immigrant brothers Richard and Ferdinand Bold seem to have traveled to America together when Richard was 17, arriving at the port of New York on November 25, 1871, on the Donau which sailed from Bremen, Germany.  The strange thing about the passenger manifest I found listed Ferdinand as age 9.  American records point to his age as having been 13.

This confuses me and leads me to doubt whether or not a Richard Bold and Ferdinand Bold traveling together are the same Richard and Ferdinand that are the brothers of Emilia.  However, if it is in fact the correct people, it is not the first time we have seen Emilia’s siblings traveling alone without parents.  Emilia’s sister Anna came here alone at the age of 15 as noted in this previous post: Immigrants #32-#34 ~~Great Great Great Grandmother Elisabetha Scheid Bold, her daughters Rosa Bold Ertl, Anna Maria Bold Leies, and their in-laws~~.  Today’s post is an update to that previous post.

Ferdinand J. Bold

In 1880, at B.R.’s direction, Ferdinand Bold was found marrying Mary Knaup (daughter of Anthony Knaup and Frances Nackes), a German-American born in New York City.  According to that year’s Federal Census, he was working as a stationary engineer.  The New York Marriage Index on Family Search says he was born in 1858 in Nenschweiler.  To me, that is close enough to mean Nuenschweiler, where the majority of his siblings were born.

That year, Ferdinand and his wife resided at 218 Sullivan Street with his mother-in-law Frances Knaup, sister-in-law Teresa Knaup, and brother-in-law John Knaup.  The census sheets before and after theirs reveal it to be a neighborhood made up of immigrants from Germany and Ireland.

In November of 1880, according to the Naturalization Index, Ferdinand became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

The Bolds and the Grand Street Tenement Disaster

In 1881, according to many newspaper articles, Ferdinand, wife Mary, their baby Joseph, and his wife’s family lived at the corner of 5th Avenue and Grand Street on the top floor when the tenement suddenly caved in.  It was a three floor building and Ferdinand’s family lived on the top.  It became known as the Grand Street Tenement Disaster and was nation-wide news.  Below are samples of some news clippings about the tragedy.

The Chicago Tribune, November 10, 1881

 

 

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 9, 1881 – Note near the bottom of the paragraph the Bolds are mentioned

 

The Chicago Inter-Ocean, November 10, 1881 – Note the paragraph about Ferdinand Bold’s family

Ferdinand’s wife’s mother and brother were killed.  She herself was badly injured but survived.  The news clippings I found about the collapse described some pretty horrific details.  Some of them were in Chicago newspapers.  Imagine how great great grandmother Emilia Bold Leies and her other Chicago siblings must have worried when they read the news there!

Below is an image found on Google images, Amazon, Abe Books, and eBay from an engraving Harpers Weekly made and printed and is called “Grand Street Tenement House Disaster.”  Originals are for sale out there on the internet.  Ferdinand Bold may be in the image.

It is a miracle baby Joseph survived.  The following spring, Ferdinand sued James O’Brien, the owner of the building, for $1,100.00 damages.  He was awarded $426.00.  Current inflation makes that a little less than $10,000.00.

The New York Times, March 7, 1882

A coroner’s jury was held and found James O’Brien and the owner of the adjacent building, Julius Levy, grossly negligent in the deaths of 9 tenants of the building, however, a grand jury found no criminal negligence on their part!

Ferdinand and Mary went on to have 3 more children after Joseph: Theresa, Frederick, and Albert Joseph.  Unfortunately, Ferdinand passed away young in February, 1893.

Wife Mary evidently re-married around 1895 to a Mr. Brennan because the 1900 Federal Census names her as Mary Brennan, widowed, and having been married 5 years.  Mr. Brennan had already died.   She was raising her children and his three children as well.

Ferdinand’s Descendants

Ferdinand’s children Theresa and Joseph worked in a stationary factory and never married.

Ferdinand’s sons Frederick and Albert both married.  Three grandchildren of Ferdinand served in the military.  Frederick’s two sons, Frederick James and Joseph Aloysius joined the New York National Guard while Albert’s son Walter Albert was an Army Veteran of World War II, adding to the number of descendants of Elisabeth Scheid Bold that joined the United States Military in some fashion.  Joseph Aloysius died in an automobile accident shortly after signing up for National Guard duty.

All World War I and World War II draft records that I could find for Ferdinand’s children and their descendants describe them as tall individuals, medium build, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion.

I do not know where Ferdinand is buried.

Richard Bold

Richard Bold was born in 1854 in Busenberg, a few miles from Nuesnchweiler, Germany.  A few years after he arrived at the Port of New York in 1871, I found him in the 1878 Chicago Directory, working as a barber.  At the time of the 1880 Federal Census, he was living with his older brother Alexander and his wife and family, still working as a barber.

I found a news clipping stating that on May 31, 1882, Richard Bold was appointed to the Police Department.  His brother Alexander was also a policer officer at this time.  In 1883 he married another German immigrant, Louise Ruf, daughter of Louis Ruf and Henrietta Gerber.  Later clippings regarding Richard Bold state he was a patrolman at the Larrabee Street Station.  Grandma Ferraro lived on Larrabee.

Chicago Inter-Ocean, June 1, 1882

The Haymarket Massacre and the Bolds

On May 3, 1886, labor demonstrators across the country rallied in support of an 8 hour work day.  A peaceful demonstration in Chicago turned deadly when Chicago police officers attacked and killed picketers at the McCormick Reaper Plant.

The following day, on May 4, 1886, the Haymarket Massacre took place in Haymarket Square.   It too started as a peaceful labor demonstration organized by a few anarchists in support of that 8 hour work day and in support of the laborers the Chicago police had killed the day before.  One of the speakers at the Haymarket Square that evening was a lay Methodist Minister from England, a known activist.

At 10:30 pm, when, according to the data at the Illinois Labor History Society, 176 Chicago Police Officers carrying Winchester repeater rifles were trying to disperse the remaining crowd of 200, an unknown individual threw a dynamite bomb at the police, killing seven of them, and four civilians, and injuring many others.  Gunfire immediately following the blast also resulted in some of the deaths and injuries.  Source:  Wikipedia.

It is unknown who fired the first shot following the bombing and some reports said in the chaos the Chicago police ended up firing on each other.  A historian believes that in less than 5 minutes, 176 Chicago police officers had gotten what they desired because Haymarket Square was emptied of everyone, except for the casualties. Sources: Wikipedia, Chicagocop.com., and Chicagology.com

The next day, Marshal Law was declared in Chicago and the front page of the entire Chicago Tribune was dedicated to “hellish event”.  Source: newspapers.com.

Eventually, in actions led by irrational fear of the foreign born (including several Germans), eight accused anarchists were illegally rounded up, tried and convicted, and hung – including the lay Methodist minister from England.  One commit suicide the evening before the handing.  Later some were pardoned.  Sources: Wikipedia, Illinois Labor History Society, and Chicagocop.com.

More about controversial Haymarket can be found here: Wikipedia article.

I suppose, with the fact that 176 Chicago police officers were there that night, Police Officer Alexander Bold (then assigned to the Des Plaines Street Station) was likely there.  See Chicagocop.com – on duty police officers of the Des Plaines Street Station were at Haymarket that evening.   Patrolman Richard Bold MAY have been there as well.

In 1887, a list was printed in the newspaper of the contributions each police officer in the city made towards the “Haymarket Monument Fund.”  Richard Bold contributed .25 to the fund as part of the Larrabee Street Station.  According to Wikipedia, that monument had been damaged in the early 1900s and later destroyed in demonstrations against the Vietnam War.  A new monument dedicated to the event now stands in front of the Chicago Police Headquarters.

In 1888, I found Richard Bold on the Chicago Voter Registration stating he had lived in Chicago for 15 years and was naturalized. Perhaps he lived in NYC for two years with his Bold relatives there.

In 1889, Richard Bold appeared in list of Chicagoans in the paper who had contributed to the fund for the Chicago’s World Fair.  He contributed $20!  He never lived to see the Fair though.

He passed away in 1890 from influenza complications.  Below is his death notice.

January 18, 1890, The Chicago Inter-Ocean

Richard had a son named Richard, born shortly after his death.  He didn’t live to his first birthday.  I have no idea who the other child is of Richard that is mentioned in his death notice.

Richard Bold is buried in St. Boniface Cemetery, burial place of his sister Emilia Bold Leies.

This all makes me wonder when did Emilia Bold get here and who did she come with, or was she like her siblings and came alone or as a teenager without an adult?

Sources:

B.R., fourth cousin

T.A., fourth cousin

New York Passenger Manifests

Family Search Busenberg Catholic Church Records

New York City Marriage Index and Death Indexes

Social Security Death Indexes

World War I and World War II Draft Cards

United States Veteran’s Burial Cards

United States Naturalization Indexes

New York National Guard Enlistment Cards

Federal Censuses

Newspapers.com

Cook County Marriage and Death Indexes

Illinois Labor History Society

Chicagocop.com

Chicago Voter Registration, 1888

City Directories

Wikipedia

Find-a-Grave

Nueschweiler, Germany Catholic Church Confirmation Records via microfilm 

Chicagology.com

Google

 

 Merry Christmas!

–cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immigrants #32-#34 ~~Great Great Great Grandmother Elisabetha Scheid Bold, her daughters Rosa Bold Ertl, Anna Maria Bold Leies, and their in-laws~~

Recently, I discovered and can confirm that, yes, second great grandmother Emilia Bold’s mother Elisabetha Scheid Bold did come to America, at the age of 57 in 1880, sailing from Rotterdam, Netherlands aboard the ship the Scheidam and died in Manhattan in 1905.  Her daughter Rosa traveled with her.  They traveled in steerage and no profession was listed for either of them.  Through clues in censuses, it appears Elisabetha’s husband, Jacob Scheid, Nunschweiler’s Head Catholic Schoolmaster, had passed away.  Elisabetha came to live with her daughter, Anna Maria Bold, who had been in America for 13 years.

Anna Maria Bold Leies

I find Emilia Bold’s sister intriguing because of the age that she came here alone.  According to church records, Anna Maria Bold was born in 1852 in Busenberg, Germany, a few miles from Nuenschweiler.  At the age of 15, in 1867, Anna Bold’s name appeared in the Hamburg Passenger Lists on the ship named Cimbria sailing for the Port of New York.  Her place of origin was Nunschweiler.  She traveled in steerage.  The passenger listing really specifies her age as 15!  Anna Bold is also listed in the Germans to America index at the age of 15.  Castle Garden lists her as arriving on June 13, 1867 at the age of 15 as well.  The burning question is, did she know anyone on the Cimbria?!  Is there anyone out there researching her that can shed light on this?  What prompted her to leave her home at this age?

Cimbria’s listing for Anna.  Literacy was not specified.

 

The next year, Anna Bold married Jacob Leies on December 6, 1868 at the age of 16, according to the recently released New York City Marriage Index.  At first I thought this was a mistake that she was marrying at 16 and marrying a Leies.  I actually discounted the index when I first found it.  But no, it is all real and she is really Emilia’s sister.  The marriage index listed the names of Jacob’s parents and also his birthplace as Huberhof – the same farm as second great grandfather Johann Leies.

What is our relationship to Jacob Leies?

Jacob Leies was first cousin to our second great grandfather Johann Leies.  Jacob Leies and Johann Leies shared the same grandparents.  Johann Leies (great great grandfather)  is the husband of Emilia Bold – sister of Anna Maria Bold.  

Jacob Leies was born in Nunschweiler to Johann Jacob Leies and Louisa Catharina Knerr, who immigrated to the United States around 1854 when Jacob was 14.  He and his parents were living in New York City’s 8th Ward at the time of the 1855 New York State Census.  Johann Jacob was listed as a laborer on that census.  The entire Leies family had their surname misspelled as Lyse on that record.

Even though Jacob was about 14 years older than Anna Bold, Anna Bold would have been about the age of 2 when Jacob would have left for America.

Also, Jacob Leies is the brother of Union Soldier Peter Leies, 1841-1862, born in Nunschweiler, Germany and killed at Antietam.  Jacob spent time in the Union Army as well, after his brother’s death at Antietam, in the NY 159th Infantry Regiment.  I have had trouble locating information on Jacob in the Union Army and don’t want to spend the money to order the service records of a first cousin 4 x removed to me no matter how fascinated I am by immigrants in the United States Civil War.

Coincidentally, after the war, Jacob supported Anna and their children as a “manufacturer of artificial limbs.”  That made me wonder if Jacob suffered an injury during the Civil War, so I looked for a pension.  I couldn’t locate proof of one.  The spelling of Leies in most records at this time in America is allover the place as well.  On the other hand, his choice of profession choice could mean nothing.

On to Elisabetha Scheid Bold…

Elisabetha Scheid was born in 1822 in Rodalben to Johann Jacob Scheid and Catharina Buchler according to Rodalben’s Kirkenbuch and Familienbuch.  She married Franz Jacob Bold in Nunschweiler, in 1842 where he was the schoolmaster.  This current blog post is updating some of the facts regarding Elisabetha Scheid in this previous post.

On January 24, 1880, Elisabetha and her youngest daughter, Rosa, arrived in the Port of New York on the ship the Scheidam, which had sailed from Rotterdam, Netherlands.

 

This is the largest I can make this snippet of their manifest

 

American records point to proof that Elisabetha’s husband Jacob Bold had passed away in Nunschweiler by 1880.  I found an Elisabetha Bold on the 1880 Federal Census living with her daughter Anna and son-in-law Jacob Leies, and their children Mary Ann, Richard Joseph, Louisa, Jacob Aloysius, and Anna.  Her relationship to head of household Jacob was listed as “mother.” The box for widowed/divorced is checked next to Elisabetha’s name.

Back to Anna…

In 1885, Elisabetha’s son-in-law Jacob Leies passed away.  In 1897, Anna Bold Leies passed away.  Anna’s will on Ancestry.com listed all of her children as heirs and a man listed as her cousin Jacob Weinlin, as Executor.

A little on her children:  Anna’s son Jacob Aloysius Leies joined the United States Navy in 1905.  After his service, he was a post office clerk and never married.  Richard was a merchant/salesman according to federal censuses and city directories.  I have been able to trace Richard’s large amount of descendants to the 1990s while I am still trying to track down what happened Anna’s daughters Louisa, Mary Ann, and Anna.

Juliana Rosa Bold Ertl

Rosa (Julian Rosa) Bold was born in 1860 in Nunschweiler.  As stated above, she came to the United States with her mother in 1880.  It is unclear how long she was in New York City.  She was not on the census with her mother in 1880, nor with her Chicago siblings Richard, Alex, and Emilia.

By 1883 though, she is found in Chicago marrying another German immigrant named John Ertl,  They had three children:  Elizabeth, Karl, and John.  She passed away young, on April 4, 1891 in Chicago.

I could only find one of Rosa’s children in adulthood – Elizabeth, whose profession on the 1940 Federal Census was listed as a stenographer for an architect company.  She never married.  I am still searching for her sons.

Back to Elisabetha…

By the time of the 1900 federal census, Elisabetha was living with Jacob Weinlein, his wife Louisa, and their family in New York City.  Elisabetha was listed as “aunt” as to her relationship with the head of household Jacob.  (He is the same man that was the Executor of Anna’s will.) Elisabetha stated she was widowed, a mother of “8” children and when asked if any of her children were living the number was “0.”

I found that number interesting because her son Immigrant #1: Chicago Police Officer Alexander Bold, was still alive.  You may remember that Alexander had a rocky family life and his wife had divorced him on grounds of cruelty.  I suppose it could be that he was estranged from his family. 

I too count 8 children born to Elisabetha in Germany, as follows:

Emilia – born in 1843, died in 1894 in Chicago

Rosalia Maria Magdalena – born in 1846, died as an infant

Catharina Michaelina – born in 1848, died unk.

Helen Catharina – born in 1849, died unk.

Alexander – born in 1850, died in 1910 in Chicago

Anna Maria – born in 1852, died in 1897 in NYC

Richard – born in 1854, died in 1889 in Chicago (have not told his story yet)

Juliana Rosa – born in 1860, died in 1891 in Chicago

Please see this post on two more brothers of Emilia for an update on this post and more information on the Bold family.

 

The census taker wrote “yes” in the block under “Can Speak English” in the 1900 federal census for Elisabetha.

Elisabetha passed away on January 14, 1905 in Manhattan.  Several of her descendants are buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County, New York.  I wonder if her grave is there also.  I have not located it yet.  The New York Death Index did list her parents as Jacob Scheid and Catharina Bechler.  That is so close to Buchler, there can be no mistake that 3rd great grandmother Elisabetha Scheid Bold came to the United States too.

On this Veteran’s Day weekend, I decided to count the amount of Veterans that I could find descended from Elisabetha Scheid and her husband Franz Jacob Bold.  So far, this is what I have: 1 U.S. Navy Veteran, 1 World War I Veteran, 6 World War II Veterans (3 of which were brothers) including Colonel Gerard M. Leies.

I will find what happened to Rosa’s sons and Anna’s daughters!!!!!!!!

Sources:

Familien – und Seelen-Verzeichnissi fur Pfarrei Rodalben

Rodalben Kirchenbuch

Nunschweiler Catholic Church records via microfilm

Busenberg Catholic Church recrods via Family Search

Hamburg Passenger Lists

New York Passenger Lists

CastleGarden.org

Germans to America

New York State Censuses

United States Federal Censuses

New York City Directories

New York and Chicago birth, marriage, and death indexes

New York State Civil War Muster Rolls

Fold3.com

Various records from National Archives pertaining to the descendants of Richard Leies

 

 

 

 

My German Palatinate, Saarland, Alsace-Lorraine, France, and Swiss Anabaptist Surname and Place Lists – POST UPDATED 7/20/19

 

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The German Palatinate

• Nunschweiler: Leies/Lais/Layes/Leis/Leyes, Bold, Pfeiffer, Scheid (originated in Loutzviller, Moselle), Bauer, Burkhart, Conrad (originated in Schweyen, Moselle)
• Knopp-Labach: Bold, Becker
• Rodalben: Scheid (originated in Loutzviller, Moselle), Buchler, Becker, Hauck/Hocque/Hock/Hoque/Huekh, Bisser(in), Helfrich/Helferich/Helferig, Helf, Hoh
• Vinnigen: Hauck, Kolsch (originated in Moselle)
• Leimen/Merzalben/Leiningen: Reber, Helfrich/Helferich/Helferig (in Leimen before and after the Thirty Years War according to 850 Jahre Leimen.  See also Die Helfriche)
• Mauschbach: Conrad, Steu/yer, Pfeiffer, Kempf, Burkhart, Ziegler
• Grosssteinhausen: Pfeiffer, Kempf, Schaefer, Engel
• Kirchenarnbach: Bisserin
• Leichelbingen (Monbijou): Ziehl
• Hornbach: Ziehl
• Beidershausen: Stuppi/y, Muller, Rubli
• Niedershausen: Stuppi
• Oberhausen: Rubly/Rubli, Schwartz, Leyies/Leies/Layes/Leyies-Trauden/Traudi
• Bechhofen: Rubli
• Zweibrucken: Schwartz
• Weselberg: Buchler/Bugler, Wilhelm
• Weisbach: Leies
• Contwig: Leyies/Leies/Leyies-Trauden/Leyies-Traudi/Traudi, Rubeli, Bevell/Buffel, Stein, Finck
• Messerschwanderhof: Rubeli/Reubal/Ruble
• Harsberg: Buchler/Bugler, Wilhelm
• Thaleischweiler: Bauer, Matheis, Pfeiffer/Pfeifer, Simon, Ganter/Gander, Han, Becker
• Martinshohe: Becker, Mueller
• Massweiler: Moraux, Simon, Gander
• Lemberg: Hauck, Kuntz, Schneider
• Wachenheim, Alzey-Worms: Schuttler

Saarland*

• Saarbrucken: Kempf, Ludt, Hufflinger
• Burbach: Gans, Hufflinger

*My Kempf ancestors from Grosssteinhausen, RP are possibly descended from the Saarbrucken Kempfs in the Saarland.  

Moselle, Lorraine, France

• Loutzviller: Bittel, Scheid(t), Conrad
• Schweyen: Conrad, Stauder
• Volmunster: Bittel, Ziegler, Zeigler Huber, Stauder, Stauder dit Le Suisse
• Haspelscheidt: Fabing/Faber
• Sarreguemines: Bittel
• Roppeviller: Schaub dit Bittel
• Bliesbruck: Stauder dit Le Suisse
• Leiderschiedt: Weyland
• Urbach: Faber, Champion 
• Petit-Rederching: Faber, Faber dit Schoff Jockel
• Bitche: Faber

Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France

• Niederbronn: Kuntz, Conis
• Memmelshoffen: Kuntz, Cuntz, Cuntzen
• Cleebourg: Cuntzel, Cuntz, Contz, Cuntzen, Cunze, Cunz

 

Bernese Anabaptist Refugees to the Palatinate

• Aeschlen bei Oberdiessbach, Bern: Rubeli/Strubel (from Langnau), Muller – Rubeli and Muller migrated to Fischbach, RP and lived in Messerschwanderhof and Contwig.  The Rubeli were related to the Gungerich Anabaptists of Diessbach.  See: Mennosearch.com and Der Tauferlehrer Christian Gungerich von Oberdiessbach (1595-1671) und der Streit um Seinen Nachlas by Hanspeter Jecker.
• Oberdiessbach, Bern: Gungerich/Gundrich/Gungery, Schindler
• Langnau, Bern: Strubel, Vogt

My DNA matches the Rubeli descendants that emigrated to Pennsylvania before the Revolution.  They used Ruble and Ruple in America.  See also this former blog post for sources and references on the Strubel/Rubeli:  The Anabaptist Rubeli of Aeschlen bei Oberdiessbach, Switzerland.

See also: My Anabaptist/Mennonite/Canton Bern, Switzerland Surname List

Links to my Palatinate Immigrants and Refugees on Ancestry.com

Christian Rubeli – Mennonite Refugee to the Palatinate

Anna Muller – Mennonite Refugee to the Palatinate

Emilia Bold Leies

Elisabetha Scheid Bold

Johannes Leies

Peter Leies – Palatinate Immigrant that died at Antietam

 

Thank you for visiting.

-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immigrant #1: Chicago Police Officer Alexander Bold

Alexander Bold was a younger brother of Great Great Grandmother Emilia Bold Leies.  He was born in 1848 in Busenberg, Germany and was a musician and a hard-working Chicago Police Sergeant and Lieutenant with a colorful family life that made the Chicago papers.  He became a naturalized American citizen one year before his future brother-in-law Johann Leies in 1866 in the same county in Ohio – Wayne County.

Alexander Bold married a German-American lady named Magdalena Bucholz in Ohio in 1869.  Her father was born in Baden, while her German-American mother was born in Pittsburgh.  They had 5 children: John, Richard, Otto, Rose Mary, and Joseph Frederick.  By 1876 the had moved to Chicago.  Alexander and Magdalena lived down the street from Emilia and Johann Leies on Larabee Street.

 

Officer Alexander Bold brought down the “fiend”

 

Both of Emilia’s brothers were members of the Chicago  Police Department.  In fact, Lieutenant Alexander Bold was one of three immigrants in my tree that were members of the Chicago Police Department.  While looking at men in the force in Chicago in the 1800s, researchers always mention whether or not someone was an officer during the Labor Riots of 1886.  He was.  The first reference I can find to Alexander working for the department is 1879 because in 1878, Alexander was listed in the city directory as a musician.  So I looked in the Chicago paper.  In 1879, Alexander was already a Police Sergeant getting transferred to the Third Precinct.

Here are some of the career highlights I found in the papers:

-the recovery of a drowned man;

-raising an alarm to a fire;

-a chase and struggle with a “crazy fiend” who had just shot 5 people.  Officer Bold was nearly shot but he shot him first;

-capturing burglars red-handed;

-shooting and killing a run-away thief;

-promotion to Lieutenant at Desplaines Street Station on September 10, 1887;

-and arresting a gang of rough necks in February 1888.

 

In May 1888, a William A. Haerting publicly accused Lieutenant Bold of adultery with his wife.  Mrs. Haerting was estranged from her husband and was boarding with the Bolds and their children.  So he was let go from the force.  After a hearing before the Police Board in which both Mrs. Haerting and Mrs. Bold testified on Alexander’s behalf, it was revealed the only evidence against Alexander came from the statements of his two sons.  Alexander had submitted signed affidavits from them re-canting their previous statements saying they were due to being under the influence of alcohol.

Alexander was re-instated in September of 1888 but his sons didn’t stay out of the papers.  One month later, they were in the paper for their legal problems like fraud and embezzlement and Alexander was again in the paper when he had to escort them to hearings for scamming little old ladies.

In  May 1889 the libel suits Alexander Bold and Mrs. Haerting had commenced against the Chicago Herald were dismissed.  The same month, Mrs. Magdalena Bold filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty which means she suffered physical abuse.  By 1900 Alexander was living in a boarding house and was employed in private security as a watchman according to that year’s census.

Alexander died on September 2, 1910, outliving his sister Emilia and was buried in St. Boniface where she also rests.

I traced the children of Alexander a little bit.  At least two of Alexander’s grandchildren served in World War II in the Army and the United States Coast Guard.  Some descendants of Alexander live in Western Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and still live in Chicago today working in Leitelt Brother’s Casting Foundry, a company founded by Alexander’s daughter Rose’s husband Charles Leitelt.

I couldn’t find a photo of Alexander Bold but cannot help but think he had to be a big and fit individual to be able to provide chase and possess the ability to subdue some of the roughnecks he arrested during his time as a police officer in the Chicago Police Department.  I also can’t help but think that Emilia and Johann Leies named their oldest son, my great grandfather, Alexander Leies, after Emillia’s brother because I could find no other Alexanders in the Bold or Leies ancestry.

Please see this post on Alexander’s brother Richard for an update on the Haymarket Square Massacre and Alexander.

Sources:

Newspapers.com

United States Censuses

Chicago City Directories

Wayne County, Ohio Naturalization Records

Nuenschweiler, RP Church Records

United States Social Security Death Indexes

Cook County Birth, Marriages, and Deaths

Find-a-Grave

 

 

Brick Wall Wednesday: Could This Historic Mill in Germany Be Where Some of Emilie Bold’s Ancestors Lived?

Moschelmuhle, Burgalben, Pfalz, Germany – I am still tracing the lines of Emilie Bold.  Her mother’s side is proving easier than her head schoolmaster father’s side.  Emilie Bold’s mother Elisabetha Scheid (Grandma Ferraro’s great grandmother), descended from several millers and mill owners.  They keep popping up on all of the Scheid twigs.  Some of them just owned mills.  Others owned mills and worked them.  Some were just millers at a mill owned by somebody else.  They all appeared to inter-marry too.  I am finding that when you are a miller or buying and selling mills you are also in a lot of land transactions in areas of organize-happy Germany and Lorraine, France, that didn’t lose records in any of the World Wars!

Luckily, in at least one case, there is a mill still standing today named after the place Emilie Bold’s ancestors lived in Burgalben, near Rodalben, Pfalz, Germany in the mid 1700s.  It was called Moschelmuhle.  To be exact Elisabetha Scheid’s grandmother’s family, the Beckers, lived in a place with this name and only other families with their surname lived there.

Could this be where they lived?

That is a picture of the actual mill today.  To be fair there are other mills in Burgalben still standing but this is the only one named Moschelmuhle.

A mill could be owned by a lord or the town and millers bid on the rent to lease it and be the town’s miller for a specified number of years.   Now, in my case in my family I can say my ancestor Frederic Scheid (Elisabetha’s great grandfather) bought a mill near Rodalben, Pfalz in 1722.  I have its description too, along with its price, in German, from the Gerichtsbuch.  It was his, not the town’s. His son Peter married into the family that lived in Moschelmuhle – the Beckers.

On the other hand in Farindola in my tree, my ancestor Nicola Carusi, the Cancelliere and his uncle the Conte Carusi, signed off on a document authorizing the highest bidder named Giuseppe Salvitti (who happens to be my 6th great uncle) to mill for Farindola in 1814 for a duration of four years.  That was a mill owned by the town.

Did you know Frederic Scheid is another person in Grandma’s ancestry that was born in France?  I am still sorting that all out.

Back to Moschelmuhle.  Did my ancestors just live at Moschelmuhle?  I haven’t found any document yet that calls Christian Becker a “miller” unfortunately. I am still looking for any land transaction for Moschelmuhle since Christian Becker’s family lived in a place with that name.  Nor am I finished researching his limb in the family tree.

 

Grandma’s lineage to the Beckers of Moschelmuhle

 

Related:

Another Week, Another Country. Discoveries in Germany in the Leies Line.

Emilie Bold Leies (1843 – 1894) – Find A Grave Memorial

Grandma Ferraro’s French Connection

Coming soon:  A fact-finding probe into the obscurity of Louis F. Kirsch

 

A Delightful Discovery: Valentin Helfrich, the Schultheiss/Village Leader of Leimen in the Palatine Forest

Leimen, Rheinpfalz – It turns out that Grandma is the direct descendant of the Schultheiss, or appointed town leader, of Leimen, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany.  His name was Valentin Helfrich.  His daughter married the owner of a mill and are also direct ancestors of Grandma.

Johann Valentin Helfrich is my 8th great grandfather

 

Leimen is in the heart of the Pfaelzerwald or Palatinate Forest, a nature park, not far from the birthplace of Emilia Bold and Johann Leies.  Today it has a population of about 900 people.  According to the village’s homepage, it is known as the highest village in the Palatinate, for its clean air, its natural medicinal plants, and classic Christmas Eve celebration.

This Wikipedia article explains a little about the meaning and origins of the Schultheiss.  Note that it was a the duty of a Schultheiss to collect taxes from citizens.

Not our type of Schultheiss.  But I am sure he drank beer.

Little is known about this ancestor.  Valentin is found in the ancestry of Emilia Bold.  I had stopped researching her ancestry because I had hit a bit of a block and been stuck on my 4th great grandparents.  It is amazing how much research became available online in a few short months since I stopped.  I am once again shocked at the totality of information researchers from this area of Germany organize and put online.  Since Labor Day, I have added 5 more generations in the lines branching off from Emilia Bold.  It has led to more discoveries in Grandma’s French ancestry from Lorraine which, I am still trying to sort out.

I found this shield for Leimen online.  I have no idea what it represents.

Now the online research regarding Valentin has to be confirmed with data offline.  The source of information that states this ancestor was a Schultheiss, a book about the Helfriches from Grafensteiner Amt, Germany, has to be found on loan from another public library for confirmation and/or by writing the current mayor of Leimen.   I don’t yet know the names of his parents.  If you are keeping tally that makes a Cancelliere of the Commune of Farindola – Nicola Carusi, a Gerichtsschoeffe/Court Alderman in Bechhofen -Balthasar Jakob Rubli, and Valentin, a Schultheiss.  Nicola Carusi is the closest to us in degree of generations and has been the easiest to research. 

Nicola Carusi’s Signature and title

Next:  Who is the Daddy.  I mean it this time.

-A

cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

Rev John Gerard Leies (1909 – 1999) – Find A Grave Memorial

Source: Rev John Gerard Leies (1909 – 1999) – Find A Grave Memorial

Johann Leies (1843 – 1922) – Find A Grave Memorial

Great Great Grandfather:  Johann Leies (1843 – 1922) – Find A Grave Memorial

Emilie Bold Leies (1843 – 1894) – Find A Grave Memorial

Source: Emilie Bold Leies (1843 – 1894) – Find A Grave Memorial

Another Week, Another Country. Discoveries in Germany in the Leies Line.

 

Southwestern Germany in the Rheinpfalz near the border with Alsace, France. A set of Grandmother Ferraro’s grandparents, Johann Leies and Emilia Bold, were both baptized in the same small village in the southwest of Germany in 1843 called Nuenschweiler.  They married in Ohio a few years after they had both been in America. Their two children Alexander Leies (our ancestor) and John Ferdinand Leies were born in Ohio. Johann and Emilia moved to Chicago sometime after the fire and lived on the same street as Emilia’s brothers while Johann opened and ran a saloon.   Later they owned a piano store.

By the way, those are not misspellings in the tree.  Johann Leies was baptized as L-E-I-E-S.  His father Johann Adam married as L-A-Y-E-S.  His father Henry appears in records as L-A-Y-S, L-A-I-S, L-E-I-S, and L-E-Y-E-S.

Back in Germany, the Leies family farmed in a hamlet known as Huberhof. Emilia’s father and mother came from the nearby town of Robalden. Emilia’s parents’ marriage record, as well as various other Catholic church records in Latin from Nuenschweiler, have revealed that Emilia’s father Jacob was a schoolteacher. In fact, he signed a marriage record for an illegitimate bride as the school headmaster of Nuenschweiler.

3 x ggf Jacob Bold’s signature and title

That makes Grandmother Ferraro’s great grandfather the school headmaster of Nuenschweiler and makes the Bolds a very interesting branch of her family.