Meet Herman Wild (1876 – 1928)

I spent Thanksgiving at my Aunt Dorrie’s house. My bed was next to a bookcase filled with many family photos. There I saw a photo I barely recognized from when it sat in my grandma’s apartment. I never realized who it was when I was little, but my aunt confirmed that it was my great-grandfather, Herman Wild. Fortunately, I had brought my Flip-Pal scanner with me and scanned the above along with several other photos.

Herman, about whom I have blogged before, was the son of Fridolin Wild (of Germany) and Lena Hoyer. The family lived in San Antonio, Texas. He married Susan Campbell Bennett and their son Herman Bennett Wild was my grandfather.

Another genealogical discovery (for me) over the holiday was that I got to see a stein my aunt has that is engraved with Herman’s sister’s name, Josefa Wild. My aunt didn’t even realize that it was a family heirloom until several years after she received it from my grandmother.

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Surname Saturday: Heimel

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One of my third great-grandmothers was Sophie Heimel who, according to her gravestone, was from Bavaria. I believe that she came to the U.S. in 1845 at the age of about 17.

I haven’t jumped the pond to investigate her forebears, so please let me know if you share this surname.

Sophie married Julius Hoyer, also from Germany, and they settled in San Antonio, Texas. Her FindaGrave memorial apparently includes text from her obituary. She died in 1883.

Lina Hoyer

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Today is the anniversary of the death of my 2nd great-grandmother, Lina Hoyer, who passed away in 1915. She was the daughter of Julius Hoyer and Sophia Heimel, both German immigrants who raised her in San Antonio, Texas. She married Fridolin Wild and together they raised seven children, including my great-grandfather Herman Wild Sr.

In prepping for this blog post, I was reminded that photos of her gravesite have been added to FindaGrave. The memorial there also includes text from her obituary in the San Antonio Light, which includes her last street address, 206 Lavaca Street. Here is a Google Street View image of that address (apparently taken on trash day):

206 Lavaca Street, San Antonio

Happy Birthday, Fridolin Wild

Depiction of Aibling (Wikimedia Commons)

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My great-great grandfather Fridolin Wild was born on 6 Mar 1844 in Aibling, Germany. He arrived in the United States in 1868, via Buenos Aires, and lived in San Antonio, Texas, until he died in 1919.

Fridolin held various positions in sales throughout his life. He was a traveling salesman and returned to Germany briefly in 1889 according to a passport application and ship passenger list. The 1910 census appears to show that he was a partner in the wholesale liquor business. I hope it wasn’t Prohibition that did him in.

Fridolin married Lina Hoyer in 21 Sep 1872. Her parents were from Germany as well.

His grave can be viewed on FindaGrave.

Tombstone Tuesday: Fridolin Wild and Kin

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After my Surname Saturday post this weekend about my WILD roots, I did some more digging and found gravesite photos and information for Fridolin Wild, his wife and her parents in San Antonio’s City Cemetery. I’m really excited about these finds, as they provide a lot of information. The records on the Find A Grave web site link to children and siblings as well. I was sure to leave a thank-you note for the photographer.

24. Fridolin Wild

25. Lina (Hoyer) Wild

50. Julius Hoyer (Lina’s father)

51. Sophie Hoyer (Lina’s mother)

The latter two are especially rich in information about where the Hoyer’s came from in Europe. I realize that this all needs to be verified through other records, but I’m excited by this find nonetheless. I’m beginning to think a trip to San Antonio someday is in order.

Surname Saturday: I’m a real WILD child (Virginia, Texas, Germany)

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My mother’s maiden name was Wild, and I’m sure you can only imagine the jokes made about her and her three sisters as they grew up.

This particular name has German roots. I’ve traced back the line to Aibling, Germany, so far. Rumor has it that we’re somehow related to the original brewer’s of Becker Bier in St. Ingbert, Germany (now a Karlsberg brewery).

My mom and her sisters were Army brats and moved all over the world, but they spent a lot of time stateside in Northern Virginia, where my aunts still live, and in Texas, which is where our ancestors originally settled after leaving Bavaria.

Here are my Wild roots, in all their Ahnentafel glory:

2. Marcia Lea Wild (1949-2003)
6. Col. Herman Bennett Wild (1913-1978; Army accountant — he and my grandma met on the job at the Pentagon)
12. Herman Wild (1876-1928; lived in San Antonio Texas all his life, near as I can tell)
24. Fridolin Wild (1844-?: the German immigrant, from Aibling)

I found Fridolin and the elder Herman in San Antonio directories in the late 19th century, both working as salesmen.

My goal is to trace Fridolin’s family as far back as I can. In my research today, I discovered that his wife’s surname was HOYER and that her parents immigrated from Germany as well.