Karl Heinrich Buchmiller - Part Three

     When Karl's schooling was completed he was apprenticed to I. A. Binder. Herr Binder published the county paper and he also had a bookbindery connected with the business, Karl was to learn the printing trade. The family had been in Bonndorf about three years when Johann died November 18,1874. The mother, Barbara, could not earn a living in Bonndorf, so she and Mary decided to go back to Mannheim to find work. Emil was also apprenticed to Herr Binder. Binder promised their mother that both boys would be treated as part of his family.

Train Station in Mannheim

      Barbara sold most of their furniture and prepared to leave. She gave Karl and Emil each five marks in case they wanted to come and join her some day. Then she and Mary, with Emil accompanying them, walked 15 miles to catch the train for Mannheim. The long walk was made to save money. Emil then returned to Bonndorf.

Cemetery in Bonndorg

     The boys, now 14 and 11, were put in a filthy garret or attic to sleep. It was not long before they knew they were not being treated as family. One nice moonlit night they decided to leave. They smuggled their scant belongings through a back door and found themselves on the main highway on a hill above the village. They passed the cemetery where their father was buried. When they were hungry they ate cherries from the trees along the way. They walked all night, arriving in Freiburg about nine the next morning in time to take the train to Mannheim. Emil boarded the train, but Karl had spent his money so had to telegraph his mother for the fare. He arrived in Mannheim the next day.

    

Mannheim was a city of about 150,000 inhabitants, located where the River Neckar enters the Rhine. A long bridge crosses the river at this point and on the other side is the city of Ludwigshafen. Barbara had found work in a shoe factory and later was employed by the General Hospital, where she cleaned the nurses' rooms and did odd bits of work. The family was very poor and they moved often. They finally found an apartment near the hospital. The family was poor enough that the children were eligible for a Christmas benefit. They remembered gathering in a room with a very large illuminated tree in the center and being given handsome gifts by St. Nicholas. The packages contained school supplies, socks, underwear, etc.

     Karl found work as a typesetter but gave it up and went to work in a rubber factory. Leonhart and Konrad, now out of the service, were on their own and working as shoemakers. Emil was sent to learn bookkeeping. When Mary was 13 she left school. She was sent to work to learn the art of dressmaking, but all she was allowed to do was sew on buttons. She next worked at a laundry, but it was much too hard for her. Later she learned hairdressing and wig making.

     Karl wanted to see some of the world while he was still young. When he was in his late teens he decided to travel to Rome. He had a tooth out on one side of his mouth on the bottom. He had taken up smoking and his pipe stem fit perfectly in the opening. His sister Mary remembered the day he left. He had his belongings tied to a pole with a little bird in a cage hanging from the end. He left smoking his pipe and singing. He probably traveled through part of Switzerland an route to Rome. When he returned home he said he had enjoyed the trip but was disappointed because he didn't see the Pope.

     Their home by the hospital was three rooms on the first floor looking into a courtyard. An extremely poor family by the name of Drussell lived in the garret. On different occasions the Buchmiller family heard people going up and down the creaky stairway. The men had long beards. At times the rattle of dishes and other sounds were heard as the people came and went. Barbara wondered if this group was going out on stealing and robbing expeditions. 

     When Karl was 19 he began leaving his family in the evenings without telling his mother where he was going. One night she asked Emil to follow him. Emil discovered that Karl was going to meetings held by the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Near the same time Karl's mother learned that the people upstairs were also members of this Church and were holding cottage meetings. Emil became interested in the Church, too, and it wasn't long before he and Karl asked for baptism. The brothers were baptized November 30, 1879, and confirmed by Elder A. Heppler. Elder Abraham H. Cannon and Elder G. Enz were in attendance as they had taught the family the gospel. The ice was banked in the Rhine River house-high. Those involved had to crawl very carefully over this ice to get to the shore of the river. A hole then had to be chopped through the ice to the water so the baptisms could be performed. Barbara attended a Church meeting and heard her son Karl speak. She was baptized in January and Mary joined in March. 

     The older brothers, Leonhart and Konrad, were angry about the baptisms. They threatened to beat Karl and Emil up because they had joined the American church. Neither of the younger brothers paid much attention to the threats. They knew they had found the true Church and angry words would not change their minds. Karl gave up his pipe as part of his commitment. 

Karl Heinrich Buchmiller - Part Two

     Christmas was a joyous time and the family always had a nice tree. The custom of Christmas trees originated in Germany. The children were told to go to bed and the Christ Child would come in the night and bring presents. It was hard for the youngsters to go to sleep. Later they would be awakened by the jingle of bells and they were soon up and around the tree looking for gifts.

     On Sundays the family would take a walk through part of the city. The family was Lutheran but attended church only on Easter and Christmas. One Sunday they noticed many people looking with awe-stricken faces at different windows in a building. They thought they saw crosses and that it meant the end of the world was coming. Johann explained the phenomenon to his children. In the manufacture of glass, imperfections sometimes caused strange reflections, and that's what the people were seeing. Part of it was their superstitions as they had heard someone preaching about the end of the world.

     While the family was living in Freiburg in 1870, the French-Prussian War broke out. The oldest son, Leonhart, then about 17, had already been called into the service. The fighting was going on near their home and the family often had to scurry to the cellar to avoid the cannon balls.

     The year before, while they were still living in Bischoffingen, the family had been out walking near the ruins of a castle where people could buy lunch, drink a little, and relax. The Buchmiller family was doing this, too. On the way home one Sunday they met a group of young men with guns. They learned from them that shells had been fired across the Rhine River into the castle area they had left just a half hour earlier. Later it was learned that French soldiers, who had just arrived from Morocco, had fired the cannons while drinking. War was declared about two weeks later.

     

Lois and Mark in Black Forest Area

Karl's father developed consumption, or tuberculosis as it is called today. It was decided that the clear air in the Schwarzwald or the Black Forest area would be better for him than that of the city. By this time the war was over, but Konrad was called into the army anyway. Karl, with his brother, Emil, and sister, Mary, and their parents traveled by stagecoach up the narrow dugway to the town of Bonndorf. The road led through pine forests, then around a beautiful lake. Emil was scared the coach would drop down the steep embankment and into the lake. Beautiful forests surrounded the town in all directions. Several abandoned castles added to the view, A few areas had been cleared.

     The people of Bonndorf were all Catholic. At first the Buchmillers were the only Protestants in the town. Later a few more moved in and a pastor from the nearby town of Waldshur came every two weeks to preach. However, at school the boys had to go twice a week to the Catholic Church.

     Grandmother Christine Buchmiller, Johann's mother, came to visit while the family was in Bonndorf, She stayed about three weeks, Karl and Emil remembered her being above average in height, well proportioned, and with blue eyes. She had been a professional cook most of her life. 

Black Forest Area

     The Black Forest is one of the most beautiful areas of the world that I have ever been in.  I had always wanted to get a cuckoo clock from the Black Forest as this is where my great grandparents lived.  Finally it was a dream come true to be able to go there, visit the places they lived, and yes, get my cuckoo clock.

Karl Heinrich Buchmiller - Part One

KARL HEINRICH BUCHMILLER

7 April 1860- 27 October 1887

     Thanks to Golden and Carol Buchmiller for compiling the written part of this history in their book entitled CHRISTINE GERTRAUDE WALZ BUCHMILLER KLINGLER.  Most all of the text is from that wonderful book.

     Karl Heinrich Buchmiller was born April 7, 1860, in Heidelberg, Baden, Germany. His father, Johann Buchmiller, was a master cobbler (shoemaker) by trade. His mother was Maria Barbara Wilhelmina Pfeiffer. Karl was taken to the Heiliggeist (Holy Ghost) Lutheran Church to be christened on April 23.

(Translation of above Christening Record - On the 7th of April 1860 at 2 a.m. Karl Heinrich illegitimate son of unmarried Barbara Pfieffer was born here (Heidelberg), and was confirmed (christened) on the 23 April at 1 p.m. by the undersigned pastor.  The mother is a legitimate daughter of the deceased Karl Pfeiffer, local citizen and tanner, and the deceased Elisabetha Bauersmann.  The sponsor was Karl Heinrich Weidert, unmarried cobbler from Dinglingnen by Lahr.  Witnessess were Nicholous Stegmair, local citizen and laborer, and Heinrich Clormann, local adult unmarried cobbler.  Immediately following the christening Johann Buchmiller appeared, he being a single adult cobbler from Bishoffingen, county of Breisach, with the above named witness and made this statement in the presences of the Pastor whose signature is below.  "I am the father of the child you just christened, the child of Barbara Pfeiffer."  Read aloud and signed at Heidelberg on 23 April 1860.  Four signatures follow, the first being Johann Buchmiller, then the two witnesses, and last the pastor's name.  (Note:  Johann and Barbara lived together for 10 years before they married.))

Lutheran Church in Heidelberg where Karl was baptized.

     He had two older brothers, Leonhart. 11, and Konrad, 5. Another brother, Emil Josef Stephan, was born three years later, on March 14, 1863. Karl's only sister, Anna Maria, known as Mary, was born September 1,1865. Mary was born with her eyelids closed. They were surgically opened so she could see. She never had eyelashes after that. Karl inherited some of his mother's features. He was blond and had blue eyes. Emil was more like his father with dark hair and eyes.

     Karl's father, Johann, was of medium height. Though his hair was dark, Mary and Emil recalled that it was starting to turn gray at the temples. He usually wore a full beard. His eyes were a very dark brown. He often wore a high silk hat when going out on a Sunday or holiday. Around the house he wore a cap. One could hear him singing as he worked in and around the home. As mentioned earlier, he was a master cobbler whose shoes were often displayed at the local fairs. Johann's mother was Christina Buchmiller. No father was in the home of Karl's father, just four boys and their mother, Christina. Karl's grandmother, Christina, was a cook at an inn in Muelheim not far from Freiburg.

     The family had come from Bishoffingen, a small village on a hill that rose above a plateau near the Rhine River. The name of the hill, sometimes called a small mountain, was Emperor's Chair (or Kaisersruhl). The area had a whitish soil that was ideal for growing grapes.

Kaisersruhl

     Karl's mother chose to be called Barbara. Barbara's mother, Maria Elizabeth Baussman, died when Barbara was only 15. Barbara was small in stature with blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was very active and energetic. Barbara was artistic and she, too, loved to sing. She had a lovely soprano voice. Her father, Johann Karl Pfeiffer, had been a soldier in the Swedish Army. That was the way some young men earned cash. He apparently was a man of nerve. He was stabbed on his way home one evening, but instead of giving up he managed to hold the culprit until help came. After his service in the army Karl's maternal grandfather, Johann Karl, became a tanner. He did not marry until he was about 40 in 1817.He married Maria Elisabeth Baussmann, Barbara's mother and Karl's grandmother.  Barbara had an older brother, Wilhelm Pfeiffer, who had been in Egypt. He later returned to Germany. Barbara told someone she had a sister in London, but it was never verified. She had sisters who died as young children, Johanna Katharina, Elisabeth and Margaretha.  As far as we know, there were only 5 children and only Wilhelm and Barbara lived to adulthood.

Pictures from our trip to Heidelberg in 2004

Mark and Lois

Lois and Trevor

Mark and Lois

     The Johann Buchmiller family lived in Heidelberg until their last child was born, then moved to Mannheim and then to Freiburg. From there, they moved to Johann’s home town of Bishoffingen.  He had an acre or two of ground planted in grapes.

Grape field in Bishoffingen

     While he was busy in the shop making shoes and tending baby Mary, his wife was tending the grapes. Johann worked for a Freiburg shoe company but did the work at his home. He would deliver his finished wares in Freiburg and then cut across the fields to get home. The children could see him coming home and loved to go meet him. One night he was late. He had had an accident. In the dark he had run into the end of a buggy tongue that was propped up waist-high in the darkened field. He was seriously injured. From then on his health failed.
     The family decided to move to Freiburg, a larger city, where their mother could more easily find a way to make a living. In Freiburg they obtained a large house and took in boarders. Karl and Emil earned additional money delivering hot lunches — made by their mother — to men at work. At one time Karl's mother was cooking for 60 people.