In the past week or so, I have come across some significant information that I think will be interesting to my Bott and Carter cousins.It began with an email from a man in Oklahoma who had found my address from the Find A Grave website. He told me that he had a book of information from the town of Bleismengen-Bolgen in the Saarland region of southern Germany.
He said he had been making connections with people in that city who were related to him. Among the ancestors' names was Bott. I had known of this city through various records connected to my great-grandfather Peter Bott (father of Louise Bott Carter), though the spelling and wording varied greatly. But attached to the email was what looked like a gravesite. In fact, he told me, it was a memorial erected by Moritz Bott and his wife, Anna Bubel Bott. Moritz Bott was a brother of Peter Bott. After a day or so, though a bit skeptical, I replied to Kevin Unrein, the man who had sent me the info. What followed was a series of correspondence that included downloads of photos he had taken of the book in question and a person in Bleismengen who I could contact. It was thanks to Kevin that I met the parents of Peter and Moritz Bott -- my 2nd-great-grandparents Nikolaus Bott and Anna Lauer. Peter and Moritz Bott were in a family of nine children. Also, Kevin's records showed me three more generations of Botts -- * 3rd-great-grandparents: Johann Bott and Maria Haag, parents of Nikolaus * 4th-great-grandparents: Nikolaus Bott and Maria Schweisthal, parents of Johann Bott * 5th-great-grandparents: Johann Nikolaus Bott and Anna Maria Bastian, parents of Nikolaus Bott These are just some of the things that Kevin's photos revealed. But his connection to a person in Germany has also paid off. Her name is Jutta Winter, and she helps run a historical website in Bleismengen-Bolgen. I have been corresponding with her for a few days now, and she has revealed a few more bits of information: * There are still Bott family members in the town, as well as Lauers, Bubels and Schweisthals among others. * Great-grandfather Peter Bott was a baker. It's unclear as to when, but he was 28 years old when he came to the U.S. in 1885. He very well could have been a baker for 10 years. * Moritz Bott, Peter's brother, was a butcher. He and Anna came to the U.S. in 1881 when Moritz was 25. * The home where the Botts are from still stands in Bleismengen-Bolgen. I have attached a photo. Jutta says Nikolaus Bott, the father of Peter and Moritz, bought the house on March 22, 1856. In 1859, the house was demolished and a new one was built. In the same year, he also received the parents' house from his mother that was right next door to his house. After the death of Michael Bott (elder and unmarried brother of Moritz and Peter), the house passed to the heirs. She said the house had to be rebuilt after World War II. In addition, Jutta translated the birth record of great-grandfather Peter Bott. I posted Peter's birth record (and translation) and Mortiz's birth record. I have been trying for nearly 10 years to find Peter Bott's ancestors. The only information that I had was the name Michael Bott on Peter's death record. That named turned out to be incorrect, but that is not a surprise because the info was provided by his son, Carl, who might not have known but was guessing having likely heard the name. So to be able to be shown the names of Peter's father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather is just incredible. And to finally pin down where they came from and to know there are relatives still there is amazing. Then to find out that Peter and Moritz, who both ended up working glass factories (though Moritz was a saloon keeper at the time of his death in 1899) after working as a baker and butcher as young men, is really, really cool. There is so much information I want to post, but I can't do it all at once. It's overwhelming for me, and I don't want to bore the family. So I hope you enjoy seeing this and have more appreciation and love for Peter and Moritz, who left their homes to try for a better life in the United States. And I'm glad they did.
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May 2017
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