Blau-Ruhland book

The book, Ancestors, Relatives, Descendants of Frank John Blau and Rose Mary Ruhland by Rose Ann Blau in 1986 has a lot of Blau family history but unfortunately has numerous errors. These are some of the errors: 

    • Page 194: Immigration date of Michael Blau and Barbara Dobmeier was 1862 (not 1861). They lived in Buffalo 2 years (not one year). Barbara would have spoken in Bavarian dialect when she said "My Mike" (Mein Michl). The "Announcement of Intention to Immigrate to America" was interpreted incorrectly from the Otto Horz dissertation in which he abbreviated the village with the letter G (for Gleissenberg) which was incorrectly interpreted by Rev. Frank Brickl (or someone else) as "Geigant." 

    • Page 195: In the "Public Notice" #2, Barbara's father was not a professional soldier! He was a farmer on a small farm, which in German is Söldner. Dictionaries do show that "Söldner" means mercenary / soldier, but it also means small farmer in this part of Germany where the Blaus lived, and in this case it really meant small farmer ("Kleinbauer" is another word for small farmer in German). Numerous church records show many other people in Gleissenberg (and people from many other Bavarian villages) had the occupation of Söldner (small farmer). If someone was actually a soldier, he would be listed as a Soldat (soldier) or Militärdienst (military service). Michael Blau completed his military obligation at age 28 on May 4, 1854 (according to his 1862 emigration documents), but soldier was not his occupation. German records show he didn't have a specific occupation and was always listed as the son of a shoemaker. All of Barbara and Michael's children born in the US were not born in Plain because Mary was born in Buffalo. 

    • Page 204: Daniel Brickl's first wife was not Maria Rockinger as incorrectly interpreted by Rev. Frank Brickl. Her real name was Maria Rötzer (also spelled Roetzer). Daniel's second wife was the niece of his first wife, and her name was Katharina Rötzer. The incorrrect Rockinger name unfortunately spread to family trees at Ancestry.com and elsewhere. The German spelling of Daniel's last name was Brückl (also spelled Brueckl, and in the 1700s as Prückl). See page 151 where it says Daniel Brickl Jr had the birth date of March 21, 1857; and page 204 where it says Alois Georg Brickl had the same birth date of March 21, 1857. The date for Alois is incorrect and should be March 10, 1855. 

    • Page 231 to 232: There is no way the author would have known if Georg Blau's tanning technique was a secret in the family, nor would she know if he was adept or not. He died in 1837 when Michael was 11 years old; Michael didn't emigrate to America until he was 36 years old, and it's very unlikely he passed down any stories of his father's shoe-making occupation to descendants; Michael died in 1892. Shoe makers at the time Georg Blau lived in Gleissenberg most likely made wooden shoes and may have added some leather to the top and soles. It's not entirely clear if Georg Blau was born in Sinzendorf since no proof has yet been found. Research by Johann Haimerl shows Johann Georg Plab (last name also written as Blau) was born in Ränkam on January 17, 1763, the son of Johann Blab from Ränkam house number 41 and Elisabeth Weitzer from Ränkam; this needs more research in order to prove he was the father of Michael Blau. There was indeed a Georg Adam but he had the last name Plab and was born on May 19, 1758, in Sinzendorf to Johann Plab of Ulrichgrün and Elisabeth Speigl of Sinzendorf; the parents were not married at the time of the child's birth. This Georg Adam Blau would have been 67 years old when Michael was born; whereas Johann Georg Plab would have been age 62. Records from the siblings of Michael and of marriage records show the father's name as Johann Georg, Hanns Georg, and Georg but in no record was the name Adam listed. Georg Blau married Barbara Eisenreich (1st marriage) and Margaretha Gruber (2nd marriage). It is from the second marriage from which the Blaus in USA descend. It is believed Margaretha Gruber was born in Geigant because she came from there; there is no indication that she was born in Gleissenberg. 

    • Page 237: The Söldner errors also appears on this page; Franz Dobmeier was not a soldier, he was a small farmer. The section about "Söldners/Mercenary" does not pertain because none of the Blau ancestors were listed as soldiers in church records. 

    • Page 242: Georg Zilk's last name could have been Zilker; his birth place is not known, but MAY have been Breitenried - there are no records to prove this. In 1841 Georg "Zilker" was a farmer and day laborer's son in Hocha per his daughter's baptism record. No marriage records have been found for him. He was not married to Barbara Ruhland but they had at least 3 illegitimate children born in Untergrafenried. Barbara had a daughter Franziska Ruhland with Franz Xaver Zilker; they were also unmarried. Maybe Franz Xaver Zilker was a brother or cousin of Georg Zilker because in 1848, Xaver Zilker was unmarried in Hocha (per baptism record of Franziska Ruhland). Barbara Ruhland had an infant daughter with Michael Karl, they were also not married.