Notizen zu dieser Person
Anna was one of two Leib sisters to marry a Potthast; her sister, Margaretta, married William's brother, Johann (John) Potthast. Additionally, another sister married a Rehrmann, the brother of Lena Rehrmann (wife of Vincent Potthast). For more details see Rehrmann and Leib Ancestral information. Although both the Leibs and Potthasts are identified as German, I seriously doubt that the families knew each other in Germany. Both marriages (Wilhelm to Anna and Johann to Margaretta) occurred in America. More importantly, the Potthasts were from Prussia and the Leibs were from Bavaria ... which were two different countries during the latter half of the 19th century. I suspect that the connection between the two families was made in America, perhaps at some type of social organization for Baltimore's large population of German immigrants. Anna's immigration date comes from a report prepared by Sandra Berlin and has not been verified with official sources. Eggolsheim is in the district of Forcheim in Bavaria, Germany. It lies approximately 100 miles east of Frankfurt and 80 miles north of Munich. The Leib sisters (Anna and Margaretha) lived in Bavaria during the reign of King Ludwig II (1845-1886), known as the Fairy Tale King because of his elaborate castles, including Neuschwanstein which became the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella Castle. The construction of Neuschwanstein was funded by Ludwig's personal wealth, not the state budget, a circumstance greatly appreciated by Bavarain citizens. Ludwig was quite handsome and quite popular with his subjects. He was also well known as the patron of composer Richard Wagner; Necschwanstein was built as a homage to Wagner. In the beginning of his reign (1866), Bavaria sided with Austria against Prussia; in 1870-71, Bavaria joined with Prussia against France. Despite these two conflicts, Ludwig's reign is generally considered a time of peace in Bavaria. In December, 1870 (at the request of Bismarck), Ludwig wrote a letter calling for the creation of a German Empire, which marked the beginning of the end of an independent Bavaria, culminating in 1933 when Bavaria became part of the Third Reich.
Georg
Potthast
