The journey to “the homeland” has begun in earnest! After soaking up the culture of the Bavaria for the past few days, today we boarded a bus and drove to Prague in the Czech Republic. The purpose of the Munich part of the trip was to get a taste of what our ancestors’ German cultural homeland is like; this second part will investigate their lands from which they physically sprung.
165 years ago, the Bier and Langer strands of my family tree were living what I imagine to have been an uneventful life in Bohemia. In fact, their families lived less than 20 km apart from each other in, essentially, the same county (Pardubice) of the now Czech Republic. For a brief review, here’s a copy of my father, Thomas Bier’s, ancestor tree:
Did the Bier / Jiru and Langer / Janisch families know each other in the old country? Who’s to say. The Langer / Janisch clan emigrated about 30 years prior to the Bier / Jiru family–in 1853. Further, the Langer family settled in a large enclave of German Bohemians in the Watertown area. While Watertown is also in southern Wisconsin, it lies over 30 miles away from the greater Janesville area that attracted the Biers.
Wouldn’t be an amazing story, though, if my Grandpa Vincent Bier and Grandma Mary Alice (Langer) Bier’s families were friends 3-4 generations in advance of their wedding? Some exciting sleuthing into the historical record provides some tantalizing clues that this was, in fact, the case.
Franz Langer was Mary Alice’s Great-Grandfather; he was the one to make the move to the United States with his wife, Barbara Janisch. Valentine Bier was Vincent’s Grandfather and was the emigree. And, according to a brief clipping in the Rock County Recorder Times, Valentine actually served as a pallbearer for Franz Langer at his death in 1894. While the name is actually spelled “Valentine Beers,” it seems reasonable to assume that this was, in fact, Valentine Bier. Both men attended the same church, St. Mary’s in Janesville. The timing also lines up:
Another source that I frequently reference is the Bier Family Journal. This ledger-like document chronicles the daily life of the Valentine Bier family from 1899-1903; most of the Valentine Bier children contributed at some time or another, although Father Charles Bier was the most prolific diarist.
The diary generally concludes each day by enumerating the visitors that stopped by. Take a look at who visited the house in the summer of 1899:
Wed. Aug 16, 1899: Weather is quite agreeable, but rather warm in the afternoon. Father, Louis and Fr. begin to haul manure. Chas sees the great base ball game taking place between Janesville and Milwaukee league teams. The score is Mil 2. Janesville 0. Visitors of the eve at home are Mr. Emil Langer Senior and Junior, Uncle Anton, and cousin Chas. Bier. Fr. Baar, and Fr. Schneider, Jno. and Bertha. Jno. begins tobacco harvesting.
Emil Langer Junior would be Mary Alice’s father. Edward, the youngest of the Valentine Bier clan, was Vincent’s father. At the date of that visit at which they surely met, Emil Langer, Jr., was 14. Edward Bier 10 years old. Their children would marry in just over 47 years.
Wow! Genealogy is FUN!
In a few short days, we will retrace beginning of these families brief separation in time and space…
Fascinating story, Angie. I especially enjoyed seeing the pictures of your grandparents when they were young! Thanks for posting. BTW, be sure to try an original Budweiser while in Prague. 🙂
Thanks, John! We have enjoyed our fair share of beers…
The Bier Family Diary is an incredible source. The excerpt mentions my grandfather, Louis A. Bier, who would have been twenty-six at the time. He married Frances Parr two years later in 1905. They had a small farm in the Janesville area. Clearly he learned from his parents in that he kept a ledger which is in the possession of my brother, Tom Bier. One of the more frequent entries is mention of a horse- and- buggy trip into Janesville to buy “wet goods.” We all know what that means.
Richard R. Bier
Bloomington, Indiana
That’s too funny! I’d like to compare ledgers with Tom sometime. I’m in the process of digitizing and annotating the Diary to be shared. Lou is is mentioned on numerous occasions. He had his own farm by that point.
Hi – Don’t know if you are checking messages on this; but thought I’d put this question out there… Mary Alice Langer is my dad’s first cousin. My Grandpa is Joseph Langer (Emil, Jr.’s brother). The timeline you have is great. Question:
It shows that Mathes Laurenz Langer married Anna Marie Janisch. Mathes and Anna’s son, Franz, married Barbara Janisch. Were Anna Marie Janisch and Barbara Janisch related? Would be interested if you know answer to this. Thanks!
Hi–I’m sure that I met you at the Langer family genealogy exchange at the library about ten years or so ago. I have three different Janisches marrying family members. All of them are from the same general region of Bohemia, so I’m sure that they are related, but I have no idea how. For what it’s worth, Pre-WWII church records from that region are available digitally through the Zamrsk archives, and this problem could be solved with enough time and legwork! I spent some of quarantine attempting to pin together all of the Biers from Ketzelsdorf alone–there were almost 1,000.
Wow – that is excellent news. I’ll look into that. This gets to be really interesting. I appreciate you putting this on the internet and also for responding.