I am posting a bit late this week. I have done pretty well so far this year. I think this is the first post that I’ve fallen behind on. It seems the most difficult stories to write are the ones for which there is either not enough information, or too much information. In this case there is a great deal to sift through. The theme for 52 Ancestors for Week 29 is “Road Trip,” and I have chosen to write about my great-grandfather Maier.  He traveled to several exotic places on business.

Gottlob Maier – Cincinnati Portrait

My maternal grandmother’s father, was Johann Georg Gottlob Maier. He was originally from Plieingen, near Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.  Gottlob was born the 2nd of February 1860 to Johann Jakob Maier and Anna Magdalena Kaag Maier. I believe he was one of ten children born to Jakob and Magdalena, but I am not sure how many survived to adulthood. I have verified that three died in infancy (or at birth) and one died at age three. Jakob Maier was a locksmith and Gottlob undoubtedly learned this useful skill from his father.  Upon the completion of his military service in Tubingen, he headed to the United States.

He embarked on the ship Emsland and arrived on 4 May 1884 through the port of New York. He chose Cincinnati, Ohio, as his new home, most likely because he had uncles (his father’s brothers) and cousins there; but Cincinnati was also a city with a strong German community, and so it was a natural choice for a young unmarried German man.

Gottlob Maier married Juliana Magdalena Stephan Solger, a widow with two children, on 28 September 1891. They had three children together – Emil, Alma, and Will. My grandmother, Alma, their only daughter, died young when my mother and aunt were just two and four respectively. These two motherless girls spent a lot of time with their Maier grandparents while my grandfather earned a living. The Lindner grandparents lived in Germany, so it is natural that my mother shared more information about the grandparents she knew.

The information I recall about Gottlob is a bit disjointed. For example, I know that he was a sharpshooter in the German military, but I have not searched for his military records yet. This photo is identified as Gottlob Maier and it matches several other pictures. The inscription on the back of the photo contradicts what I know. It says that he is the son of Uncle Karl of Esslingen. I can only conclude that the writer was confused. There had been an Uncle Karl Maier in Cincinnati, but he was deceased by the time this photo was taken.  Perhaps this was his mother’s brother.

Johann Georg Gottlob Maier – Early 1880’s

Gottlob Maier became a machinist, specializing in equipment for the tobacco industry. For at least part of his work career he worked for Miller, DuBrul & Peters Mfg. Co., possibly beginning around 1910.  I was aware as a child that he traveled overseas for his work to set up machinery for his employer. My mother had two clay figures in her china cabinet that came from the Azores Island, an autonomous region of Portugal. Postcards from São Miguel and a photo confirm a trip there in 1911.

Gottlob Maier (front) in Azores on business for Miller, Dubrul & Peters Mfg. Co.

Additionally, some event required Gottlob Maier to apply for an emergency passport while he was there. I assume his passport may have been lost or stolen. He applied to the U.S. Embassy for a replacement so he could return to the United States.  The application shows that Gottlob was in the Azores for over six weeks on this trip.

Emergency Passport Application at the U.S. Embassy in the Azores -16 September 1911

Gottlob also traveled to Havana, Cuba, and possibly to San Juan, Puerto Rico. A postcard dated 28 May 1913 from Havana to his wife, Lena, is in German, showing that is the language they spoke together.

1913 postcard from Havana sent from Gottlob to Lena

Back side of 1913 postcard sent from Gottlob to Lena

Earlier in 1911, a Teodoro Silva from Cuba began a correspondence with my grandmother, Alma. If he was a hopeful suitor, it did not go anywhere. Gottlob and Lena were likely to discourage her from marrying anyone who was not ethnically German.

In 1921 Gottlob Maier renewed his passport.

Gottlob Maier -1921 Passport Photo

The following year, he returned to Plieingen to visit his siblings and other relatives. His homecoming was notable enough to be reported in the newspaper, “Filder Botte: Amtsblatt für das Oberamt” on 23 May 1922. Gottlob saved the paper, and I scanned and excerpt of the original. It is very fragile and some of the words are illegible where it has deteriorated along the crease.

Filder Botte – 22 May 1922

The article mentions the Gasthaus zur Linde and a reunion with old schoolmates.

Plieningen Gasthaus zur Linde

Gottlob Maier retired by 1930 – he has no occupation listed in the Cincinnati City Directory.  I believe he may have performed some locksmith services on the side, though.  He died 1 May 1935 and was cremated.  His ashes are in the same grave as his pre-deceased daughter Alma at Vine Street Hill Cemetery.

Unfortunately, I have many unidentified photos of family in Germany, Maier is not an easy name to research since it is an extremely common German surname.

Additionally, I am especially looking for my cousin Joachim Maier who was my pen pal in the early 70’s. I have no idea how to locate Joachim. I am not even sure exactly how we are related. I think he was living in Hamburg at the time of our correspondence.