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George FRITSCH (b c1805)

The sole source that I have seen that names George Fritsch as the father of John D Fritsch (b 1827) is a brief biography of John in a History of Green County, Wisconsin published in 1884. The biography would appear to be contemporaneous with John in his 50s. The biography is unfortunately highly ambiguous. While ir purports to be a biography of John D Fritsch, it appears, on its face, to speak primarily of John's father George Fritsch. It is difficult to disentangle the references. The paragraph does clearly state that John D Fritsch was the son of George and Rosa (Beck) Fritsch, and it appears to suggest that it was George and Rosa who emigrated from Rehau in Bavaria to Schenectady, New York in 1852. The state of New York, however, conducted a census in 1855 and there is no reference to a George or Rosa Fritsch. There are, however records for John Fritch and Louisa Beck. In 1855, the two were still unmarried. Both were living in the city of Schenectady. The absence of George and Rosa from the 1855 New York Census makes me think that the balance of the paragraph is, in fact, about son John and not about father George.

The date of George's birth is simply a guess based on son John's birth date. George and his wife Rosa Beck were apparently residents of Rehau in Bavaria, a city on the border of Germany and Czechoslovakia in the Hof district of Bavaria.

I have found no Bavarian records on Ancestry that would provide further information about George or his wife Rosa Beck.

Sources:

Brief Biography of John D Fritsch (b 1827) : Citation: History of Green County, Wisconsin. together with biographies of representative citizens. history of Wisconsin, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, and a brief account of its territorial and state governments. (1884), p 902. This book is available from the University of Wisconsin Library. Content: John D. Fritsch was born in Bavaria, near the city of Rehau, Sept. 5, 1827. He is a son of George and Rosa (Beck) Fritsch, who emigrated to America June 29, 1852, settling in Schenectady, where they lived for six years. George Fritsch was by trade a shoemaker, and followed that business in this country. In 1858 he went to Monroe, and continued the same business until he concluded to try farming, and bought a quarter section on section 7. He also owns 220 acres on sections 21 and 22, and 100 acres on sections 18 and 19, and makes stock raising his business. He has a good farm, and is among the best class of Green county's citizens. While living in Schenectady he was married to Louisa Beck, Oct 28, 1855. They have five children, two of whom are living. Louisa, Jacob and Mary are dead. John, the subject of this sketch, is living on section 21, town of Jordan. Elizabeth is living with her father, but is married to William Blaseng. They are all members of the Lutheran Church. Note: This is a very confused piece of writing. It states that John (b 1927) is the subject of the piece, but it begins by what appears to be a description of the emigration of John's parents George and Rosa Fritsch. It seems likely that it was simply John who emigrated. I find no evidence that John's parents ever left Bavaria. The attribution of the surname Beck to George Fritch's spouse seems possibly suspect since John's wife's surname was also Beck. It's obvioulsy not impossible, but it could be one more bit of the author's confusion.