Stocking Making: A Family Industry

The tricoteur, bonnetier, Strumpfmacher, Strumpfweber, knitter, stocking maker, hosiery mill laborer... all of these titles were listed as occupations done by various family members in my Waldspurger family tree.  Because at least five generations of Waldspurger family members have been occupied in this industry, I thought I better take a look at what it entailed.

History of Stocking-Making
Stocking making before the invention of the knitting machine was done by hand, obviously.  Most stockings in this time were actually worn by men, and made popular by them.  Knitted stockings were often expensive, given that they took more time to make than stockings made of woven material and sewn.  However, because knitted stockings had more elasticity, they were better constructed and fit better than ones made from woven material, even if they didn't last long due to the way they were washed.  So they were in higher demand.

While men wore stockings and flaunted them, women's stockings were often plain and functional, meant only to keep legs warm, since women wore dresses or skirts that went down to the floor, hence not needing to flaunt any decorations.  It was considered risque for a woman to show even her ankles.  One of the first famous women to wear stockings and make it known was Queen Elizabeth I of England.  She apparently wore some elaborately made stockings too.

William Lee, a curate from Calverton, in England, created the first mechanical stocking knitter by 1589.  While Queen Elizabeth I rejected the machine (citing that she wanted to keep her hand knitters employed), King Henry IV of France loved the idea (since he loved wearing stockings as well) and helped Lee establish the machines in France.  However, when Henry was assassinated in 1610, Lee's life in France fell to pieces and after he died, his brother moved the machines back to England and improved upon them.  They eventually became so successful that spies from around Europe were sent to steal the blueprints and establish the machines in their countries.  By the nineteenth century, the industry was widely established and were one of the first industries to trigger the Industrial Revolution.

Hosiery was often made of silk, though linen, wool and cotton hose were also knitted.  The Industrial Revolution helped to bring these stockings to the masses. In the late 19th century, rayon was invented as the first man-made material and was introduced into hosiery, though silk stocking were still the most preferred of hose.

By the 1920s, hosiery had made a shift from being predominately worn by men to being worn by females, and as skirts got shorter in the flapper era, stockings became more elaborately designed and colored hose became the rage.  Eventually, around the middle of the 20th century, nylon and later spandex were invented by Du Pont, and made waves as they were introduced into the industry.

First Generation
The first documented Waldspurger ancestor to be a stocking maker was François Waldspurger, father to Florian Waldspurger.  François lived in Bas-Rhin, Alsace his entire life.  He was born in Ebersheim, moved to Diebolsheim, where he married Sophie Egermann and had three children, and eventually moved his family to the larger city of Erstein. On all of his children's birth records (of which there were nine) and also on three different French census records, he is listed as a bonnetier (hosier), faiseur de bas (stockings maker) or tricoteur (knitter).  By the time of his death on 6 June 1875, however, Alsace was part of the German Empire, so Franz Waldspurger, as he was known on his German death certificate, was also occupied as the German counterpart to one of his French occupations.

Loom likely used by François Waldspurger.  Found in The illustrated exhibitor: a tribute to the world's industrial jubilee (London: John Cassel,1851) page 431.  Source: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Heidelberger Historische Bestände digital via Wikipedia Commons

Second Generation
Florian Waldspurger, who was husband to Elizabeth Marie Hans, was the sixth child born to François Waldspurger and Sophie Egermann.  Since Alsace was in German occupation when he came of age, he had occupations that were listed obviously in German.  Florian was employed as a Strumpfweber (stocking weaver) and Strumpfmacher (stocking maker), as listed on both his marriage license and also on the birth certificates of his two eldest children. When the family moved to Philadelphia in 1880, Florian quickly found work in the textile industry of the area (which was brought to the area by immigrants such as Florian). His occupation varied from document to document, as he was listed as a weaver, a knitter, a tailor, and an ironer (the changing occupations isn't a surprise in an area where small scale industries were forever changing to suit Philadelphia's current needs).

Florian, whose name was also butchered severely in the same documents, likely worked in a number of different factories in the Northern Liberties neighborhood in which he lived, as the textile industry was one of many that dominated the heavily industrialized neighborhood and the surrounding areas. At one point, he owned his own knit good business, which was not hard to achieve, because in Philadelphia, most textile industries were owned by first generation immigrants. However, his health began to decline as a result of the heavily industrialized air that he breathed in on a daily basis, and he removed to the country and took up a farmer's lifestyle to help improve his health. He was on his way to collect the money owed him for selling his business (among other things) on that fateful day of 2 September 1900 when the Hatfield Train Wreck took place.

Third Generation
Because Elizabeth Hans Waldspurger could not fully support the needs of her family herself, and since it was a socially appropriate thing to do, her children went to work after they finished their primary schooling at eighth grade. The youngest two children, Elizabeth and Clara, both went to work for the textile industry in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia. Both girls were listed as winders of cloth in the 1910 census enumerations. Clara was also listed as a winder at the stockingmills in Lansdale, per her marriage application.

Fourth Generation
Hosiery mills were a prevalent industry in the southeastern portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially in Montgomery County, where the Waldspurgers moved in the latter part of the 1910s. Many of the grandchildren of Florian and Elizabeth Marie Hans Waldspurger worked in the industry at one of the many hosiery mills in the area, especially in Lansdale and North Wales.

All of the nine sons of Edward Waldspurger (Florian's son and Francois' grandson) worked in one of the hosiery or textile mills at one point or another, including my own grandfather, who worked at Elm Hosiery Mill in North Wales.

My pop, Ernest Waldspurger, at work at the hosiery mill circa 1940.  It is presumed this mill was Elm Hosiery in North Wales.  Personal Collection of the blogger

Some of the other grandchildren in the extended Waldspurger family also worked the hosiery mills at one point or another, as it was an easy job to start at in the twentieth century. Because of the increasing mechanization of the mills, the job was much less skilled in the 1900s than it was in the time of François just three generations prior.

Ernest Waldspurger looking over a hosiery loom with his boss, circa 1940, probably at Elm Hosiery, North Wales.  Personal collection of the blogger.

It is possible that some of the descendants of François Waldspurger even participated in the Dexdale Hosiery Strike of 1933 that took place in Cheltenham. Florian Waldspurger, son of Edward and great-grandson of François, did work at Dexdale for a bit, though it is not known exactly when. (He later became a watch and jewelry repair man).

Fifth Generation
Since Hosiery mills were so prominent in the southeastern Pennsylvania area, some of the  great-great-grandchildren of François Waldspurger also were engaged in hosiery making as their first places of employment in the area.  However, since a number of this generation is still alive, I have chosen not to go into depth about their employment.

Sources Used
"1910 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 September 2016), Family of Elizabeth Waldspurger, Year: 1910, Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 25 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Roll: T624_1398, Page: 12A, Enumeration District: 0539, and FHL microfilm: 1375411; citing Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"1930 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 September 2016), Entry for Edward C Waldspurger and family, Year: 1930, Census Place: Lansdale Montgomery, Pennsylvania, Roll: 2082, Page: 14B, Enumeration District: 0053, Image: 55.0, and FHL microfilm: 2341816; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

"1940 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 April 2019), Entry for Edward Waldspurger and family, Year: 1940, Census Place: Lansdale Montgomery, Pennsylvania, Roll: m-t0627-03579, Page: 9B, and Enumeration District: 46-68; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

"1940 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 September 2016), Entry for Edward C. Waldburger and family, Year: 1940, Census Place: Lansdale Montgomery, Pennsylvania, Roll: T627_3579, Page: 7B, and Enumeration District: 46-70.

A Leg To Stand On: A History Of Hosiery (https://www.wolfordshop.net/history.html : accessed 7 February 2020), history of stockings.

Bender, Alexa. "18th Century Stockings," website, La Couturière Parisienne (http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/howto/struempfe.shtml: accessed 6 February 2020), explanation of stockings in the 18th century.

"City Directories for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," online database with images, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 4 September 2016), year 1887; page 1748; "Walzbuler Flurion, laborer, h r 522 Poplar".

"City Directories for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," online database with images, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 4 September 2016), year 1889; page 1849; "Waschberger Julian, tailor, h 1 r 522 Poplar".

"City Directories for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," online database with images, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 4 September 2016), year 1890; page 1899; "Walzburger Lorian, tailor, h r 522 Poplar".

Clendenin, Malcolm. "Building Industrial Philadelphia," (essay, 2009) digital copy, Preservation Alliance For Greater Philadelphia, (http://www.preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/HCSIndustrial.pdf : accessed 17 February 2020); 10.

Cornelius D Waldspurger and Elizabeth May Grace, (10 October 1936), Application for Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage: no. 59873; Montgomery County Archival Records Department, Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Cutlip, Kimbra. "How 75 Years Ago Nylon Stockings Changed the World," Smithsonian Magazine, 11 May 2015; online article, Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-75-years-ago-nylon-stockings-changed-world-180955219/ : accessed 7 February 2020).

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 30 August 2016), no. 4, Catherine Waltspurger; 20 Feb 1835; citing Actes de Naissance de la commune d' Dibolsheim, arrondissement Selestat, department du Bas Rhin, 1835; listed as father.

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 5 September 2016), no. 12, Florian Waldspurger and Maria Elizabeth Hans, 1877; citing citing Actes de Mariage de la Commune Erstein, Arrondissment de Selestat, Department du Bas Rhin, 1877, [annexion allemande].

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 30 August 2016), Number 43, Aloise Waldspurger, 1853; citing Registre de Naissances 1853, Arrondissment de Selestat, Commune d' Erstein; listed as father.

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 30 August 2016), Number 54, Marianne Waldsburger, 1840; citing Actes de Naissance pour 1840, Arrondissement de Schelestadt, Commune de Erstein.

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 5 September 2016), no. 76, Eduard Waldspurger, 1877; citing Actes de Naissances de la Commune Erstein, Arrondissment de Selestat, Department du Bas Rhin, 1877, [annexion allemande].

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 30 August 2016), Number 102, Martin Waldspurger, 1849; citing Actes de Naissance pour 1849, Arrondissement de Schelestadt, Commune de Erstein; listed as father.

Departemental Bas Rhin, "Registres paroissiaux et documents d' etat civil," online images, Archives Departementales Du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/rechercher/documents-numerises/: accessed 5 September 2016), no. 127, Eugene Waldspurger, 1878; citing Actes de Naissances de la Commune Erstein, Arrondissment de Selestat, Department du Bas Rhin, 1878, [annexion allemande].

Elizabeth Waldspurger entry, Birth Registers 1860-1903, "Births Registered during 1889 Nov - 1890 Oct", reel 44: page 155, Philadelphia City Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Father listed as F. Waldspurger, weaver.

Ernest Walspurger entry, Birth Registers 1860-1903, "Births Registered during 1887 Jan-Dec." reel 41: page 38, line 5, Philadelphia City Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Father listed as F Walspurger, weaver

Felkin, William.  A History of the Machine-wrought Hosiery and Lace Manufactures (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1867), 542-550; online images, Google Books(https://books.google.com/books?id=PPK1FYmWYo8C&dq=hosiery+making+in+france+history&source=gbs_navlinks_s : accessed 7 February 2020; history of French hosiery making on machines.

"History of Hosiery," article, Vienne Milano (https://www.viennemilano.com/blog/pantyhose-and-tights-a-history-of-hosiery : accessed 7 February 2020).

Interview with James Waldspurger (Hatfield, Pennsylvania), by Kelley Wood-Davis, 25 August 2017. oral interview, notes taken, held in 2017 by Kelley Wood-Davis (Norwalk, Iowa).

John Francis Best and Clara Agnes Waldspurger, marriage, (6 September 1916), Application for Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage: no. 27723; Montgomery County Archival Records Department, Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Laskow, Sarah. "A Machine That Made Stockings Helped Kick Off the Industrial Revolution," Atlas Obscura, 19 September 2017 (https://www.atlasobscura.com/ : accessed 6 February 2020).

Lawrence Waldspurger and Emma Teresa Hoelscher, (11 May 1935), Application for Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage: no. 57225; Montgomery County Archival Records Department, Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Masciantonio, Robert. "In Kensington, Old Textile Mill To Be Revived With Apartments," Hidden City: Exploring Philadelphia's Urban Landscape, 7 May 2019 (https://hiddencityphila.org/ : accessed 17 February 2020).

McCarthy, Jack. "Silk and Silk Makers," The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, 2018 (philadelphiaencyclopedia.org : accessed 17 February 2020).

"Oral interviews with various Waldspurger family members," 1999-2020 by Patricia Waldspurger Mahoney, information and notes collected by Patricia Waldspurger Mahoney and passed along to Kelley Wood-Davis; owned by Patricia Waldspurger Mahoney, Lansdale, Pennsylvania; no notes taken; oral information on family history.

Recensement de 1856 (Census of 1856), Department du Bas Rhin, Arrondissement du Selestat, Canton du Erstein, Commune du Erstein, Images 45 and 46, household 158; family 204; individuals 827-835, Francois Walspurger and family; digital images, La Direction des Archives du Département du Bas-Rhin, Archives Départementales Du Bas-Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr : accessed 31 August 2016); 7 M 359.

Recensement de 1861 (1861 Census), Département du Bas-Rhin, Arrondissement du Selestat, Canton du Erstein, Commune du Erstein, image 9, house number 68, family 112, individuals 427-436, Family of Francois Walspurger; digital images, La Direction des Archives du Département du Bas-Rhin, Archives Départementales du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/recensements-population : accessed 8 September 2016); 7 M 359.

Recensement de 1866 (1866 Census), Département du Bas-Rhin, Arrondissement du Selestat, Canton du Erstein, Commune du Erstein, image number 15, household no. 137, family no. 122, individuals 830-839, Family of Francois Walsburger; digital images, La Direction des Archives du Département du Bas-Rhin, Archives Départementales du Bas Rhin (http://archives.bas-rhin.fr/recensements-population/ : accessed 8 September 2016); 7 M 359.

Scranton, Philip B. Workshop of the World - Philadelphia (http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/ : accessed 17 February 2020), information on the stocking and textile industry on Philadelphia.

"U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," database online with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 September 2016), Entry for Florian Woldspurger; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1885; p 1888; "Woldspurger Florian, laborer, h r 522 Polar"; citing a collection of directories for U.S. cities and counties in various years.

"U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," database online with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 September 2016), Entry for Florian Waldspurger; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1886; page 1776; "Waldspurger Florian, knit goods, r 522 Poplar".

"U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," database online with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 September 2016), Entry for Florlan Waldspurger; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1891; p. 1917; "Waldspurger Florian, knitter, h r 522 Poplar".

"Walter Licht Speaks on Philadelphia’s Textile Heritage," Mural Arts Philadelphia, 5 August 2012 (www.muralarts.org/blog : accessed 17 February 2020).

"WWII Draft Registration Cards," database online with imades, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 18 September 2016), Entry for Ernest Waldspurger; Serial Number 1313; Order Number 1775; citing National Archives and Records Administration; Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Multiple Registrations; RG: 147.

"WWII Draft Registration Cards," database online with imades, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 18 September 2016), Entry for Florian Waldspurger; Serial Number T24, Order Number T10402.

"WWII Draft Registration Cards," database online with imades, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 18 September 2016), Entry for James Waldspurger; Serial Number S-92, Order Number S3224.

"WWII Draft Registration Cards," database online with imades, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 18 September 2016), Entry for Joseph Waldspurger; Serial Number 2036; Order Number 971.

"WWII Draft Registration Cards," database online with imades, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 18 September 2016), Entry for William Florian Waldspurger; Serial Number T713; Order Number T11096.

The Franco-Prussian War and Its Impact on my Alsatian family

In the last blog I typed I wrote about Alsace and its history, particularly the commune of Erstein where my great-grandfather and his father were both born.

I also hinted that the Franco-Prussian war was a blog all on its own, and was one of the reasons why I feel my family, though ethnically German, was more French than German.

While I love history in general, my forte is and has always been American History, particularly the Civil War.  As a child, European history kind of bored me (Sorry!) and I wasn't good at memorizing European history dates and the like as I was American events in history.  But after doing a great deal of extensive research on this side of the pond, I knew it was time to begin to focus my attention across the Atlantic as to why my European ancestors immigrated to the United States in the first place.

Since historically, my Waldspurgers were the LAST to cross the pond genealogically, they seem to be the first for my focus.  I actually was researching the area of Lorraine, as my ancestor Dominique Vautier was from that region, but the same works that focused on Lorraine also by default seem to include Alsace, so it just naturally evolved from research on Lorraine and Alsace to that of just Alsace at the moment.  Some future blog will likely tell the story of Dominique and the French Revolution.

Anyways, on to the Franco-Prussian War.

Alsace became a part of France in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia, although parts of it were not joined until as late as 1670 or later, including Erstein, where Florian Waldspurger was born, and Eschau, where his wife Elizabeth Marie Hans was born.

But Germans never forgot their kin across the Rhine River.  After all, most Alsatians are ethnically German, even if some chose not to see it that way.

There was, as there always seems to be throughout history, some political drama going on in Europe.  After the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 was settled with the Peace of Prague, Prussia annexed several German states after signing the Augustbündnis (August contract).  It created a German federal state known as the North German Confederation.  The brain behind this was Minister President of Prussia Otto Von Bismarck.  While not all of the small German states had yet joined, Prussia hoped one day to unite all Germanic peoples into one empire.

France, on the other hand, was alarmed at the power the Germans were amassing.  They were afraid that should all of Germany unite into one empire, it would disrupt the balance of power in Europe, which was always delicately balanced.  They were also afraid because not only did they share a border with the German state of Baden, which hadn't joined the Confederation yet, but also had Germanic peoples living in the region of Alsace, which some Germans considered part of Germany.  France was afraid that Bismarck would seek to unite Alsace with the rest of the Germanic people in one empire.

There was also the fact that Europe was too small for the political powers of Germany and France to co-exist peacefully, and the rest of Europe seemed to realize that.

Another bit of drama was the small matter of the Spanish Succession.  In 1868, the Spanish government under the reign of the reactionary and ultramontane queen Isabel II was overturned and a new leader of the Spanish government needed to be picked, as the revolutionaries who overthrew Isabel lacked leadership to govern.  Several candidates from throughout Europe were nominated and debated as her successor, including her son Alfonso, who was France's pick, and Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, who was Germany's pick.  For several months, speculations and rumors flew, including one that Leopold, a Prussian prince, had accepted the nomination as king and was about to be crowned.  France, angry at the thought of sharing a border with two Prussian-controlled countries, declared war on the North German Confederation on 16 July 1870, before the Spanish Succession issue was even resolved (Leopold actually had to withdraw from the nomination).

France was counting on support from Austria if the North German Confederation attacked, but Bismarck was shrewd.  He convinced Russia to ally itself to Germany.  Because of this alliance, Russia was able to prevent Austria from helping France during the conflict, as Russia threatened to mobilize troops and send them into Galicia should Austria attack Germany.

By 22 August 1870, the Prussians had invaded the town of Erstein.  They made demands of the citizens for requisitions, including 6000 cigars, food to feed nearly 150,000 troops, and other forage.  The tiny town, and other around, could not produce the required requisitions, and many faced punishments for the failure.  At the same time, the Germans laid siege to Strasbourg, and forced citizens in Ersein to assist in changing the course of the River Ill, which cut off a supply of water to Strasbourg during the siege, which lasted six weeks and cost the lives of hundreds of citizens, as well as thousands of soldiers.

While I don't know for sure what part Florian may have had in the war, I am certain he at least witnessed it.... as he was 25 year of age. Most likely, he has registered for the French version of the Selective Service.  I have an email out now asking the city archivist in Erstein if those records exist and how I might be able to locate them.

When an armistice was called on 10 May 1871, Prussian claimed the lands of Alsace and Lorraine as its territory in the armistice.  This claim was met with indignation from the rest of the powers in Europe, as many viewed the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine as a way to punish France for declaring war.  However, Germans saw it as a legitimate prize for winning the war.  They also saw the annexation as a way to keep the peace in Europe, as it would prevent French aggression in the future because the addition of both Alsace and Lorraine solidified German strength.

After the war ended and the treaty was signed, Germany had become an hegemonic empire, which later helped to set the stage for the World Wars that followed.  The Germans were ecstatic because their lost brethren that had been taken away into France had come back to the fold with the addition of the territory of Elsass-Lothringen to the German Empire.

But to the people living in this newly created territory, the idea of suddenly being German was not a good thing.  Germany sought to stamp out anything French.  Suddenly, German was the language taught in schools, and anything French was seen as an affront to the nationalist tendencies of the German empire.  This idea of German nationalism wreaked havoc on the Pro-French proclivities of the Alsatians who were used to having some autonomy in their lives.  The Alsatians in particular, while German ethnically, had thought of themselves as French, so the annexation was punishment for them.

Elizabeth Marie Hans Waldspurger
Florian's wife

Many moved away as soon as they could, but for some, like Florian Waldspurger, they couldn't leave their homeland right away.  Florian remained a citizen of Germany for eight years after the war until he had saved enough to migrate to the United States.  By then, he had a wife, Elizabeth Marie Hans, and two sons, Edward and Eugene.  On 3 April 1880, Florian left Le Havre, France aboard the mail steamer, SS St. Laurent, bounded for New York.  He arrived on 11 April 1880.  His wife and sons followed two months later, with an F. or J. Waldspurger (research seems to suggest this unknown male was Florian's brother Frank), aboard the steamer Amerique on 7 July 1880.  According to his grandsons, Florian vowed to leave his homeland because he could not reconcile himself to the atrocities that Germany had committed during the war, and did not want to remain under German Rule.

Edward Charles Waldspurger
 Florian's eldest son

The family settled in Philadelphia and moved around in the countryside of the counties surround Philly.  Florian renounced the German citizenship he detested on 9 June 1894 with the intent on becoming an American citizen.  However, he met with a disaster on 2 September 1900, when he was killed in the Hatfield train wreck.

Florian Walspurger's Renunciation of Germany, 9 June 1894,
Case number not listed, Court of Common Pleas; State of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Personal genealogical research by the author was also used in this research, as well as the sources listed below.

Sources Used in Research
"Augustbündnis." Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. 2019. http://deacademic.com/dic.nsf/dewiki/113536.

Barber, Christopher Ernest. "The 'Revolution' of the Franco-Prussian War: The Aftermath in Western Europe." Australian Journal of Politics & History 60, no. 3 (2014): 334-45. doi:10.1111/ajph.12061.

Blumenthal, Daniel. Alsace-Lorraine; a Study of the Relations of the Two Provinces to France and to Germany, and a Presentation of the Just Claims of Their People. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1917.

"Later War News: Prussian Requisitions - A Surprise," The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 22 August 1870, 1; Newspapers.com. www.newspapers.com

Smith, Willard A. "Napoleon III and the Spanish Revolution of 1868." The Journal of Modern History 25, no. 3 (1953): 211-33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1874741.

Putnam, Ruth. Alsace and Lorraine, from Caesar to Kaiser 58 B.C.-1871 A.D. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915.

Vizetelly, Ernest Alfred. The True Story of Alsace-Lorraine. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1918.

"The War in Europe," Daily Evansville Journal (Evansville, Indiana), 23 August 1870, 3; Genealogy Bank. www.genealogybank.com

Wells, Mike. "Russia and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71." History Review, December 2006, 40-44.

Zimmerman, Thomas.  "Siege and Fall of Strasbourg." History of the Franco-Prussian War. 2008. http://francoprussianwar.com/Strasbourg.htm.

Alsace: Is it German or French?

My mother's paternal grandfather came from a small town in Alsace called Erstein.  He immigrated to the United States in 1880 as a young child with his mother and younger brother.  His father had already made the trip a couple months before.  Years later, my great-grandfather's nine sons had very loud debates about whether they were French or German.  Given the history of the region, it was no wonder they argued.

Alsace, or Elsass in German, is a small fertile valley of land between the Voges mountains and the Black Forest Mountains in Europe, located geographically smack dab between the two great nations of France and Germany. The Rhine river, now the border between France and Germany, runs through the region.  Today, Alsace is a French region, but historically it has been both, and both countries have very valid reasons for having laid claim to it over the centuries.

Because borders were often rapidly changing, the history of the region is somewhat muddled.  In fact, different history books often don't mention all of the varying kingdoms of which Alsace belonged to just because it changed rulers and kingdoms so often.

What is known is that what is now the Alsace area was inhabited by Celtic peoples called Gauls from from well before the modern era until the time of the Roman Empire.  The Romans colonized the area as well, and co-mingled with the Gauls.  The city of Strasbourg, in the Bas Rhin region, was founded in this period.  But by the fifth century, Germanic peoples known as the Alemanni began to cross the Rhine River and attack Gallic and Roman fortifications in an invasion attempt.  By 496, the Alemanni had been conquered by the another Germanic people, the Franks, under Emperor Clovis, and the area was on Christianized. By the ninth century, Alsace was combined into the kingdom of Lothringia and then the Duchy of Swabia.

In the twelfth century, Alsace was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, with who it would be united until the mid-17th century, passing from one landgravate to another.  After the Thirty Years War, Alsace was granted to the kingdom of France by the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 and would become French in nature for more than two hundred years.  The region also became a hotbed of Reformation and religious freedoms, and Strasbourg was known as the capital of these radical ideas.

Because it was peopled by the Gauls, the Romans, the Alemanni and the Franks at various points in history, both France and Germany felt a kinship to the people who lived there, who were distinctly French and German and distinctly their own culture all at the same time.  The upper classes spoke or at least understood French, traders spoke both German and French given that both traded quite frequently in that region, while most everyone spoke Alsatian, a High Germanic language.  While many had German sounding last names, they had very French first names.  In the case of my great-great-grandfather, he was named Florian Waldspurger.  He was also the father of the man who later had nine sons.

Florian Waldspurger

Florian Waldspurger was born at 10 at night on 5 May 1845 in house number 66 of the quartier blanc in the small commune of Erstein in Alsace.  He was born the sixth of nine children to a stocking maker (faiseur du bas) named Francois and his wife, Sophie Egermann.

Erstein was an old fortified town just along the Rhine river and is located just south of the capital of Strasbourg. In the Middle Ages, a Benedictine Abbey was located in the commune.  During the time of its union with the Holy Roman Empire, Erstein became part of the Archdiocese of Strasbourg when the Bishop of Strausbourg, John of Lichtenberg, purchased the landgrave of Erstein in 1359 for 32,000 gold florins.

Erstein, due to its proximity to Strasbourg, saw conflict during the Thirty Years War, when over half its population was wiped out.  While the Treaty of Westphalia ended the war in 1649, Erstein, because it was attached to Strausbourg, did not join Fraince until the 1670s.

During the late 18th and throughout the 19th century, Erstein was the location of a number of textile manufacturers, including stocking makers, but also was known for its tobacco farming.  A number of people migrated from other areas to take advantage of the manufacturing jobs.  In the case of the Waldspurgers, they immigrated from the small village of Dibolshiem, south of Erstein about 20 kilometers.

Some wonderful historical maps of the area can be found on Wikimedia Commons.

Erstein, and indeed all of Alsace, saw a great deal of conflict during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.  The Franco-Prussian War and the fallout from it was the reason my Alsatian ancestors immigrated to the States in the end. But that's a story for another blog.

To answer the question my pop and his brothers would argue over many times, ideally Alsatians are both French and German.  While culturally, the area is a mix of French and German, genetically, at least in the case of my Waldspurger family, they were closer to the Higher Germans and the Alemanni than to the Celts and Franks, at least  according to DNA tests done by myself and my first cousin.  But, as a future blog will demonstrate, the Waldspurgers were more aligned with the French ideals than they were with German ones, even if genetically they were German.

Sources Used for Research

"Alsace." Encyclopædia Britannica. December 31, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/place/Alsace.

Braun, Célia. "Histoire Et Patrimoine." Site Officiel De La Ville D'Erstein. http://www.ville-erstein.fr/se-divertir/decouvir-erstein/328-histoire-et-patrimoine.

"Erstein." Revolvy. https://www.revolvy.com/page/Erstein

"Kings of Lotharingia." The History Files: European Kingdoms, The Franks. January 02, 1999. https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/FranceLorraine.htm.

Putnam, Ruth. Alsace and Lorraine, from Caesar to Kaiser 58 B.C.-1871 A.D. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915.

Vizetelly, Ernest Alfred. The True Story of Alsace-Lorraine. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1918.