Great great grampa, (Ur-ur-Großvater) John Ruhland was born 26 Jun 1820 in Untergrafenreid, Waldmuenchen, Cham, Bavaria, Germany to (Johann) Andreas Ruhland and Walburga Eiber. Please click his parents’ names to learn of his deeper ancestry.
He had three older siblings: Walburga b. 1809 (who, in 1843, married Mr.Dietl in Obergrafenreid. Obergrafenried was across the mountain in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), Andreas b. 1814 in Waldmuenchen, m. Theresa Wutz in 1851 Waldmuenchen, and Barbara b. 1817 in Ast, m. Georg Zilker in 1817 Treffelstein. A sister, Anna Barbara, born in 1822, married Andreas Wutz.
Mother Walburga died at 58 years in 1840. John’s dad, Andreas was 63 when he died in 1847.John was only 27 years old and already an orphan!
A year after his dad’s death, when John was 28, he emigrated from Waldmunchen, departing from the port of Bremen and arriving at Castle Garden NY on 23 May 1854. The ship was called “Agnes.” Eva was 28 and baby Ana (my great-gramma) was 7. Teresa was born the same year, so Eva was pregnant on the voyage. They traveled with John’s brother Andreas’ (39) family (wife Teresa Wutz and daughter Anna). John and Andreas both list their occupations as farmer. They were headed to Buffalo, probably because other family members were already there. Many family names on the ship record are names linked to this family.
According to records filmed and cataloged on Family Search.org, On 29 May 1854 in St. Mary’s RC Church, Buffalo NY, John married Eva Hetzl, also from Untergrafenried.
It was often difficult, especially for poor farmers, such as John, to actually get married in Bavaria. Among other documents he would have needed to produce, he would have to prove how he was able to support a family.
John and Eva had two more children while residing in Buffalo’s 6th Ward. They were: Andrew b. 1859, and Victoria, known as “Bella” b. in 1861.
On the 1860 Federal Census, John (40) was living in house #930 in Ward 6 with Eva(35) , Ana (9),Teresa (4), and Andrew (1). Next door lived the Wirth family. Ana’s daughter, Anna would become dear friends with a Mrs. Wirth, some 40 years later. We have photos of her on trips with Anna and John Kieber.
The year Bella was born, 1861, John (41) was listed in the Buffalo City directory as a laborer, living on Monroe n.Sycamore.
In 1863 John (43) registered for the Civil War draft. He still lived in the 6th Ward, 10th sub district. His occupation is listed as unknown, which makes sense because he was a laborer.
The 1866 City directory is a repeat of 1861.The 1868, 1869 directories list a street address of 429 Monroe. Interestingly, George Ruhland was living there as well.
Eldest daughter, Ana married George Ruhland (they had a church dispensation to marry since they were probably cousins of some sort though we have not figure it out yet….if you know, please tell us!) in 1869 in St. Ann’s RC Church.
On the 1870 census, Eva, (45), and John (name is Peter on the record),( 50), live with the remaining 3 children in the 6th Ward. These early census records do not list street addresses, so it’s hard to say,though they probably were in the same house. John is a laborer and Eva is keeping house. Value of the home was $600.00 and the family had $100.00 in personal assets.
In 1872, George was in the house on Monroe Street, but evidently John had moved to 271 Shumway. They are both laborers. By the 1876 directory, John remained a laborer living on Shumway Street. In 2016 the Shumway address is listed on REDFIN as “vacant land in Buffalo, NY 14212. This vacant land is a 3,150 square foot lot.” That is confirmed via google satellite map photo.
The 1875 NY state census lists John (54, a laborer), Eva (50), Andrew (16) and Theresa (19) living in a frame house #574. The City Directory lists John as a laborer living at 271 Shumway St.
By 1880,only Teresa, (24), and (Bella),18, remain in the house on Shumway Street, in District 11. John (60) is a retired laborer,and now a wood peddler. The girls were both working in a rags shop. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out that the family had a tough time making ends meet on a wood peddlar’s and rags shop employees’ incomes. The official dates of the Long Depression in the US are from October 1873 to March 1879, however, recovery was short-lived, especially as multiple New York banks failed in 1883.
In 1885, 1886 John(65,66) is a laborer living on Shumway Street.
On the 1889,1890 directories, John (70)is a cutter at 65 Carroll, boarding at 331 Sherman. Also at this address are son-in-law, George Ruhland, bricklayer, and Andrew (no occupation listed).
By the NY State 1892 census, John (72), living in Buffalo’s 9th Ward.E.D.03 with Eva,(68) and son Andrew, (33), a laborer. Bella and her husband, Henry Pohlmann a tinsmith, and their two daughters, Victoria and Teresa also lived there.
On 3 August 1896 John (76)) died. He died at home, 271 Shumway of Valvular disease of the heart. We have not found his burial info.though would dearly love to see them!
His wife of 42 years, Eva Hetzl Ruhland lived another 17 years.Eva was 87 when she died of nephritis and artheriosclerosis on 5 May 1913.
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