2018 Trip to Schmidmühlen Bavaria - Home of my German Ancestors

2018 Trip to Schmidmühlen in Bavaria

Home of my German Ancestors

In the summer of 2018 Judy and I made a trip to Schmidmühlen, Germany, the town where my mother's grandparents, Alois and Thekla Büchner, were born.

The town of Schmidmühlen is in the Amberg-Sulzbach district of Bavaria in Germany. It is situated at the junction of the Vils and Lauterach rivers, about 100 miles north of Munich, and 50 miles east of Nuremberg (See map below). Schmidmühlen has about 2,400 residents, among them many U.S. Citizens. The municipality is now bordered by the US Army Garrison Hohenfels, which I assume accounts for the U.S. residents in Schmidmühlen. The garrison has resided there since 1951. Their mission is to facilitate realistic force-on-force maneuver training for all U.S. Army Europe Combat Battalions, and to support NATO training activities.

Map of Germany – Location of Schmidmühlen highlighted in red

Mom's grandfather, Alois Büchner, was the son of Alois and Magdalena Büchner. He was baptized at St. Agidius Catholic Church on February 28, 1861. Alois had a younger sister, Magdalena, born in 1864, who was named after their mother. Both children would immigrate to America.

Alois Büchner traveled from Bremen Germany to New York aboard the ship SAALE, arriving March 26, 1887. After arriving in America in 1887 Alois would thereafter use the name Louis. To avoid confusion, I will hereafter refer to my mother's grandfather as Louis Büchner.

Louis' wife, Thekla Büchner, and their young son Ludwig, traveled a few months later, arriving in New York aboard the ship ELBE on July 31, 1887.

Thekla was the daughter of Johann Georg and Barbara Sollner, also of Schmidmuehlen. 

We visited Schmidmühlen to learn more about my ancestry. Prior to our trip I had communicated with the Catholic Diocese office in Regensburg (Bistrum Regensburg) from which we obtained valuable baptismal and marriage records for my great-grandparents.

We drove to Schmidmühlen in a car that we rented in Munich. Prior to Schmidmühlen we had spent a few days at Bad Endorf and Konigsee in the beautiful Bavarian Alps. As we were unable to get a reservation for a hotel in Schmidmühlen, we stayed at a small hotel in Amberg, about 12 miles north of Schmidmühlen.

Upon arriving in Schmidmühlen we went to the office for St. Ägidius Church. Its magnificent structure dominates the town square. 

St. Ägidius Catholic Church

When we first received the baptismal records from Regensburg in early 2018 I learned that Mom's grandfathers first name was Alois, not Louis. He used the name Alois on the Passenger List when he immigrated but after arriving in America all the records show he then used the name Louis Büchner.

From these church records we learned that both maternal great-grandparents were baptized at St. Ägidius Church in Schmidmühlen. Alois Büchner was the son of Alois and Magdalena Büchner. He was baptized on 28 February 1861. He was named after Aloysius of Gonzaga (Italy). In Italy, the name Aloysius becomes Luigi or Louis. His father, Alois Büchner senior, my second great-grandfather, was a Saddler at the time of his son’s birth. From here on, I will refer to my great-grandfather as Louis Büchner, the name he adopted after arriving in America.

My great-grandmother, Thekla Söllner, was the daughter of Johann Georg and Barbara Söllner. She was baptized at St. Ägidius, on 6 October 1867. Her father Johann Georg was a Shopkeeper when daughter Thekla was born. We learned that Thekla is a fairly common name in Germany and perhaps eastern Europe. The name is descended from the Greek Theokleia meaning "Glory to God". Saint Thekla is considered to be the first female martyr in Catholicism.

So, Alois and Magdalena Büchner, and Johann Georg and Barbara Söllner are my second great-grandparents. As far as I have determined they were born and died in Schmidmühlen.

Louis Büchner and Thekla Söllner, were married at St. Ägidius Church on 5 May 1885. The two fathers, Alois Büchner and Johann Georg Söllner, were listed as “witnesses” for the marriage.

The first child of Louis and Thekla Büchner was Ludwig, born in Schmidmühlen in 1886. Ludwig Büchner was baptized at St. Ägidius church by Father Zistler on 11 April 1886. From his baptismal record it was learned that a Midwife named Maria Fraller assisted with his birth. Ludwig’s Godfather was Ludwig Sinner, a Chimney Sweep from Burglengenfeld, a town located about 7 miles south-east of Schmidmühlen. At the time of Ludwig’s birth his father’s occupation was a Saddler. This was the same occupation as Louis’ father when he was born in 1861. My great-grandfather would continue working as a Saddler or Harnessmaker after immigrating to America in 1887. The name of Louis and Thekla’s first daughter was Magdalena Büchner, born in Boston in 1888. She was likely named after Louis’ mother.

Typical cobblestone street with colorful buildings  

Next, we stopped at the city records office to inquire of any burial records for “Büchner”. We were directed to the appropriate office and there met the man who maintained the city records. We learned there were only recent burial records available. The man provided a burial record for a Karl Büchner (1920-1983) and his wife Else Büchner (died 26 March 2012), and the name and address of their next of kin, son Theobald Büchner. 

The man at the records office also told us of a Johann Büchner who runs a local hair salon (Friseur), “Salon Büchner”. He contacted Johann by phone to briefly introduce us and suggested that we stop by to see him. The shop, pictured below, is located at 44 Hauptstrasse. He also pointed us to the “Old Buchner House” where a Büchner family had lived for many years.

Salon Büchner Friseur (Hair Stylist) Owned by Johann Büchner

We walked over to “Salon Büchner” and introduced ourselves to Johann Büchner. He was busy, cutting the hair of a customer, but he took a few minutes out to exchange pleasantries. He was about 65 years old. Unfortunately, there was not an opportunity to learn of his ancestry, or for a picture, as the shop was scheduled to close shortly after we arrived, then closed for the weekend. 

From there we walked to the “Old Buchner House”, pictured below. The two-story stone building appeared well-cared for, but unoccupied. There was a For-Sale sign on the far end of the building. It appears to have been a business and a residence. A stream off the Lauterach River appears to be diverted through Schmidmühlen and runs past the "Old Büchner House". 

The "Old Büchner House" alongside stream from Lauterach  River

"Old Büchner House"

We later walked to the church cemetery, a short walk from the church, to look for any recognizable surnames. Many of the houses and public buildings in this part of Bavaria are painted bright pastels colors. The orange colored building on the photo below, with a cross in front, is the Cemetery Chapel. The walled-in burial grounds are in in back of it.

 Cross the Bridge to get to the Cemetery Chapel and Burial Grounds

As we walked through the burial grounds I noticed most of the gravestones were relatively new, that is, from the 20th century. I later learned that under German law, families lease grave sites for a specific period of time, usually from 15 to 30 years. And, if a family is unable or unavailable to renew the lease, the headstone and grave’s contents are removed and the grave site may be reused. Any remains are then buried deeper in the grave site.

St. Ägidius Chapel and Cemetery

In walking through the relatively small cemetery, all with relatively large stone memorials, we saw the burial marker for Karl and Else Büchner, and a marker for a Söllner family, the maiden name of my great-grandmother. 

Headstone for Karl and Elsa Buchner

Subsequent to our trip, I wrote a letter to Theobald Büchner, the son of Karl and Else Büchner. I briefly introduced myself, and explained that we had recently visited Schmidmühlen, and was inquiring as to our possible common ancestry. I received a nice letter back from Theo that provided further insights on our common German ancestry.

Headstone for Söllner Family

On Saturday afternoon Judy and I did a nice 4-5 mile hike along the Lauterach River that flows through Schmidmühlen. Beautiful bluish-green fields and wildflowers lined the crushed stone path with the river bed on one side and dense forest on the other.

Fields of barley and wildflowers along the path

On Sunday we attended the 9:30 mass at St. Ägidius. The original church was built in 1486 and rebuilt or renovated over the centuries. In 1933, the old church was demolished and rebuilt. In 1972, a partial demolition and then an extension was made. In 1998, a thorough interior renovation was made.

Main entrance to St. Ägidius Church

It's a beautiful, modern church on the inside. The kneeler's are wooden, without any padding. Tough on us older folks! The mass was attended by about 250 parishioners. 

Sanctuary at St. Ägidius Catholic Church before mass

Cover of Sunday Bulletin for June 3, 2018

After the mass we enjoyed a coffee and pastry in the square just outside the church.

Judy after mass in the church square 

Genealogy Records from Schmidmühlen

The summary note below is from the Archivist at Diocese office in Regensburg – translation by Judy Birmingham

 Marriage Record for Alois and Thekla Söllner Büchner

Alois Büchner, Saddler of Schmidmühlen, son of Alois and Magdalena, baptized 28 February 1861; and Thekla Söllner, daughter of Georg and Barbara, baptized 6 October 1867; Marriage was witnessed by their fathers Alois Büchner and Georg Söllner on 5 May 1885

Baptismal Record for Ludwig Büchner

11 April 1886 at St. Ägidius Church in Schmidmühlen, son of Alois, a Saddler from Schmidmühlen, and Thekla Söllner, mother, from Schmidmühlen; baptized by Father (priest) Zistler; Godfather was Ludwig Sinner a chimney sweep from Burglengenfeld; Midwife was Maria Fraller

Ludwig traveled to America with his mother Thekla, arriving in New York on 30 July 1887. He died at the family residence in Boston on 10 September 1887 and is buried at Mt Hope Cemetery in Massachusetts.

Record for Ludwig were obtained from the Baptismal Book at St. Ägidius Church on 1 June 2018. Translations were provided by church staff members.

Family Group - Alois and Thekla Söllner Büchner

Andrew Joseph Buchner is my mother's father.

----------------

Daniel P. Birmingham

Updated 15 June 2019