The Missing Sword

Ann am Bruxelles a chaidh innse	In Brussels it was told
Gun robh Frangaich tigh'nn nam miltean	That the French were coming in their thousands
'S cha bhreug huam gur h-i an fhirinn	I tell no lie but the truth
'S iomadh fear bhios sint' gun deo	Many a man will be stretched out without breath of life
Illean chridheil, bitheamaid sunndach	Brave lads, let's be merry
Seasaibh onoir ur duthcha	Stand for the honor of your country
Fhad' s a mhaireas luaidh is fudar	As long as lead and powder last
De rud chuireadh curam oirnn?	What could worry us?
--"Bonaparte" (Traditional)

On last week's episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?", Chris O'Donnell's family history journey led him to discover a sword from the Mexican-American War that his great-great-grandfather donated to the Smithsonian.  As it happens, I've been searching for an old sword from my family's history, but so far with no luck.

This brief article appeared in the Alexandria Gazette 176 years ago today:

Mr. Herman Boschen, of Richmond, has presented to the State of Virginia the sword which his grandfather carried at the battle of Waterloo.  The old sword has been in the Boschen family ever since the memorable battle occurred.  It has been placed in the State library with some relics of the late war.

Herman Boschen was the brother of my 3rd-great-grandmother Leonora Boschen Siegel, so his unnamed grandfather who was at Waterloo would be my 5th-great-grandfather.  The article mentions the sword being in the Boschen family, but there's a chance that the sword could have come from his maternal grandfather.

I have no direct proof (yet!), but I believe Herman and Leonora's maternal grandfather was Lorenz Paul.  From what I know so far:

1)  Last year, I found Lorenz's obituary from 1873 while researching at the Library of Virginia, which I mentioned in an earlier blog, Richmond Day Trip.  It talks about his service at the Battle of Waterloo:

Death of an Old Citizen. - Mr. Lorenz Paul, one of the oldest German citizens of Richmond, died Monday night of congestion of the lungs, in his seventy-seventh year, leaving six children and many grand and great grandchildren, besides a large number of friends, to mourn his loss.  Mr. Paul was one of Blucher's troops at Waterloo, and survived that terrible fight to lay himself quietly to rest in another country, where the shock of battle has been but lately stilled.  In the battle of Waterloo he received a special mark of honor from his sovereign for distinguished services.

2)  The obituary states that Lorenz was survived by six children.  From census records, Lorenz's known children were Herman, Clara, Wilheminia, William, George, and Emma - six total.  But, one of those six, his daughter Clara, had already passed away before Lorenz, in 1864.  So my ancestor Christina could be the sixth surviving child.

3)  Christina immigrated to the U.S. with Lorenz Paul's family, arriving in New York on June 14, 1839.  Lorenz is the right age to be Christina's father, but his wife Charlotte would have been rather young to be her mother - though not out of the realm of possibility, given the time period.

4)  Christina Paul married John Boschen on October 19, 1842 in Richmond, Virginia.  John Boschen owned the plot in Shockoe Hill Cemetery where Lorenz and Charlotte Paul are buried.

5)  Lorenz appeared in some records with his name anglicized to "Lawrence."  My great-great-grandfather, Charles Lawrence Siegel, was likely named for Lorenz.

On my genealogy to-do list the next time I visit Richmond is to try to find a will for Lorenz Paul, and see if Christina Boschen was named as one of his children.

Which leaves the mystery of what became of the Waterloo sword.  Herman Boschen donated it to the State Library, which is now the present-day Library of Virginia.  The LVA says that they don't have any swords from Waterloo in their collection, nor do they have any record of it, and suggested that I try the Virginia Historical Society.  I did contact them, but the VHS doesn't have it either.

So if anyone knows of any museums in the Richmond area that might have such a sword, please let me know!  I'd very much like to find my 5th-great-grandfather's sword.

Baseball in the Family

Well, this year the Orioles made the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years, and tomorrow starts the World Series... so I thought I'd post a blog about baseball in the family history.

I meant to write this up last week, but ran out of time.  This past Sunday, October 21, marked the anniversary of the death of Henry Boschen, the brother of my great-great-great-grandmother.  Henry was known as the grand-daddy of baseball in Richmond, Virginia.

Henry C. Boschen was born on August 15, 1845, the second child of German immigrants John H. & Christina Johanna Boschen.  He followed in his father's footsteps and went into the shoe business in Richmond.  On March 19, 1868, Henry married Margaret Frischkorn, and together they had twelve children.  He opened his own shoe factory in 1872.

According to legend, Henry was told by his doctor that he needed to exercise more, so he took up a bat and ball.  He soon grew tired of hitting the ball around on his own, so in 1875, he organized his own team with men from his shoe factory.  Spectators paid for game tickets, but it seems most of the money to pay for the team came from Henry himself.

A number of the players he discovered went on to play in the major leagues, among them Billy Nash of the Boston Beaneaters, Charlie Ferguson of the Philadelphia Quakers, and Edward "Pop" Tate of the Beaneaters and the Baltimore Orioles.

In June of 1883, a group of investors formed the Virginia Base-Ball Association, luring away several of Henry Boschen's players.  Henry wrote a public notice in the Richmond newspaper, promising to do "the best in my power to secure a good club" as he rebuilt his team.

Below is a recap of game from May of 1884 when Henry's Richmond team lost to Baltimore:  "Mr. Boschen pitched a well-speeded ball, and with the exception of one wild pitch, pitched a splendid game."  Also of note from this article was that Henry's nephew, my great-great-grandfather Charles Siegel, was in charge of keeping score, though he was "young and inexperienced."

Henry Boschen continued to remain active in Virginia baseball, managing a team at least through 1886, but after that fades from newspaper accounts.  His obituary in 1898 briefly mentions his baseball team, and describes him as "a man of good qualities."

Henry was buried at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, alongside his parents and two brothers.