Life story of Ludwig/Louis Spohr

Ludwig "Louis" Spohr

Ludwig Spohr was born in Eger, Bohemia in the Austrian Empire on 6 August 1871, the second son of Karl Spor and Ludmilla Breinl. He was the youngest of seven children. 

His siblings were:

Karl Christof born 26 April 1860.

Anna Elisabetha born 9 June 1861.

Johanna born 18 June 1863, died 3 March 1866, almost three years old.

Rosa Francisca born 3 December 1865, died 13 days later.

Mathilda Amalia born 14 March 1867.

Ludmilla born and died 24 February 1870 (emergency baptism performed by the midwife).

By the time Ludwig was born, only three of his six older siblings were living. 

Ludwig’s father was born with the surname Spor. Both Spor and the spelling variation Spohr were seen during his lifetime. Ludwig was born with the surname of Spohr, and this is the only spelling ever used in reference to Ludwig. 

Karl, Ludwig’s father, was the choir master in the St. Nicholas Church in Eger, Bohemia. The family lived in a house that was directly across the street on the north side of the church. Ludwig was baptized in that church in a baptismal font that was a relic from the medieval church originally on the same site. The north side of the church still has the old gothic entry, and this would be the view the family would have seen as they left the front door of their home.

Ludwig’s family suffered so much loss when he was young.

His mother Ludmilla died 31 January 1873 when he was only a year and a half old.

His father Karl died 19 May 1878 just before Ludwig turned 7.

His oldest sister, Anna Elisabetha, was just shy of 19 years old when she died 2 April 1880. Ludwig had lost both parents, and when he was still 8, he lost Anna, too.

Family Photo of Seifner Bräuhaus

For a time, Ludwig lived with his mother’s parents, Friedrich Breinl and Amalia nee Dotzauer. Both the Breinl and Dotzauer families were from Graslitz, Bohemia. Friedrich’s father, Sebastian Alois Breinl, was the master brewer for the Graslitz manor. As was custom in those times, Sebastian’s oldest son, Anton, became the manor’s master brewer after his father. Friedrich also became a master brewer but could not be the manor brewer. He moved his family to Seifen, Bohemia. He was the master brewer and brewery owner there. The brewery was attached to their home. The home where the family lived faced the road and the other much

larger section of the L-shaped structure was the brewery. This is the home Ludwig would have lived in with his grandparents, an aunt and uncles, and cousins.   

Another view of the home and brewery shows the "L" shaped structure of the building.  This photo is found on a large sign in Ryžovna, Czech Republic, formerly Seifen, Böhmen.  The sign displays photos of the Catholic church, a local band, other homes in Seifen, etc., and a brief history of Seifen.  The caption on the sign under the photo of the brewery is in both Czech (English translation: former state brewery - closed in 1912) and German (English translation: The former state brewery, brewing operations ceased in 1912).  

Byvaly statni pivovar - uzavren roku 1912
Die ehemals staatliche Brauerei, Braubetrieb 1912 eingestellt

When Ludwig was 10 years old, his brother Christof left Bohemia and emigrated to Cincinnati, where his great uncle, Wenzel Breinl, owned a pub and inn. Christof lived with and worked for his great-uncle.

Amalia emigrated to Cincinnati in August 1883. Ludwig was 12. Amalia’s address and occupation put her living with and working for her great uncle the first few years she lived in Cincinnati, too.

Ludwig and his sister Amalia suffered another terrible blow when their older brother, Christoff, committed suicide in 1884.

Ludwig Spohr

When Ludwig was 15 years old, he followed in the footsteps of his two older siblings and emigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio on 13 September 1886. He left on his ocean-bound journey from the port of Bremen, Germany and arrived at the port of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He went on to Cincinnati and lived there for about 10 years and then relocated to the Madison, IL/St. Louis, MO area. He used his given name Ludwig and the Americanized equivalent interchangeably while living in Cincinnati, but after his relocation, he went by Louis for the rest of his life.

From entries in the Cincinnati city directories, it appears that Ludwig never lived with or worked for his great uncle like his siblings did when they first arrived. He did live at the same address as his sister off and on during those years. And at one point, he lived in the same tenement building as his future mother-in-law, Anna Ott. He had many different occupations, as seen in city directories.

Cincinnati, OH

1888 – driller (Ludwig)

1889 – locksmith

1890 – machine hand (Louis)

1891 – metal worker (Louis)

1892 – sword maker! (Ludwig)

1893 – metal worker (Ludwig)

1894 – locksmith

1895 to 1898 – jeweler (Louis)

In the 1898 Cincinnati city directory, not only did it give his occupation as a jeweler, but it included the note: removed to Madisonville, IL. The correct name of the town he moved to was Madison, IL, but this gives a time frame for his relocation. Since city directories collect information one year and print that information the next year, Louis most likely moved to the Madison, IL/St. Louis, MO area in 1897.

Wedding photo of  Louis (right) and Anna (sitting) and
Louis' sister Amalia and brother-in-law Wilhelm Schaefer
 

A letter in which Louis writes to his sweetheart Anna, is dated December 28, 1897, and sent from Madison, IL, confirming the 1897 move. In that same letter, Louis also talks about his sister Mallie (Amalia) and it is clear from the letter that Mallie and her family also live in Madison. Louis talks of how he dreams of Anna almost every night and he closes with these words: "kisses to my Beloved.” His letter was signed Loui, the nickname he went by. The letter is written in German.

Louis married Anna Maria Ott on 31 August 1898 in Cincinnati, OH. They set up housekeeping in Madison, IL. They had four sons. Louis Christopher was born 23 October 1899 in Madison, IL. Carl John was born 21 September 1903 in St. Louis, MO. Twin sons were either stillborn or died shortly after birth, but the exact date and location are not available.

Madison, IL

1898 – Jeweler

1899 – carpenter

1900 – banker

St. Louis

1903 – machinist (living at 2417 N. 12th)

1904 – machinist

The city directory shows that he lived at 1310 Hebert Street in St. Louis, MO.

1906 - confectionery

Madison, IL

1910 – confectionery

1911 – confectionery proprietor

The St. Louis World’s Fair (technically the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition) ran from 30 April 1904 to 1 December 1904 with an average of 100,000 people attending each day. Over 20 million people saw the exhibition that covered over 1200 acres. Were the Spohr’s among them?

The fairgrounds covered an area greater than any other World’s Fair in the history of the event. Ferris’s Big Wheel gave people an aerial view of the Exhibition. Technological innovations were debuted: the x-ray machine, the electric typewriter, the dishwasher and more. Purportedly, foods that were introduced for the first time at the Fair were the hotdog, the hamburger, the ice cream cone and more. Many of the tales of these foods originating in St. Louis have been debunked over time. Another huge event took place in St. Louis in 1904. This was the first Olympic Games to be held on US soil and the only Olympic Games to be held during a World’s Fair.

Louis worked at a confectionery in St. Louis and then in Madison, and then became owner of his own confectionery.

A confectionery is generally thought of as a candy-making enterprise, but the confectioneries in the St. Louis/Madison area at that time were stores that handled, among other things, cigars, tobacco, ice cream, stationery and periodicals.

L. Spohr Confectionery, 1518 3rd Street, Madison, IL

Louis’s confectionery was located on Third Street in Madison. It was part of a two-story building. On the bottom story were two places of business, Louis’ confectionery and a Billiard Hall owned and run by Anna’s two brothers, Frank and Louis. Above the two businesses were three apartments. Louis and Anna lived in one, and most probably each of Anna’s brothers lived in the other two. Louis would come up from the store at the lunch hour to have his meal with Anna. (Many years later, Anna lived in one while each of her living sons and their families lived in the other two apartments.)

And tragedy struck again. On 23 December 1912, sometime in the early afternoon, Louis was late coming up for lunch. Anna went down to the confectionery to see what was delaying him and found him dead. It appeared that he had climbed up on a counter to reach something and fallen and hit his head. His death certificate reports he had a heart attack. He was only 41 years old when he died. It is so sad that he was orphaned as a child and that then his own children were left fatherless at his early demise.