Schroeher (Schröher)
Ludwig (Louis) Schröher was born on June 24, 1824 in Großbockenheim (Grossbockenheim), Kingdom of Bavaria. Today, it corresponds with Bockenheim an der Weinstraße, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Ludwig Schroeher’s parents were Rulipp and Margaretha Vonderlind.
Ludwig married Margaretha Fuhrmann on August 24, 1855 in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Margaretha Fuhrmann was born in June of 1830 in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Both arrived in Lower East Side, Manhattan, around the late 1840s and early 1850s. By 1859 he still lived in Manhattan at 150 3rd St, an area once known as “Kleindeutschland,” (Little Germany). The United States census reports him and his family living there at the time. With the passing of his first wife, Margaretha, in February of 1874, then he married Marie Miller October 13, 1874. Marie had 3 children from a previous marriage as reported by the 1905 New York State Census. There are no known children with Ludwig.
According to the United States Census of 1880, an elderly man aged 73 by the name of William Furman was boarding with Ludwig, it is not definitely known if he has any connection to his first wife Margaretha “Fuhrmann,” but Furman is an anglicized version of that name.
Ludwig Schroeher was one of the earliest and most pivotal farmers to establish the German community of Franklin Square having owned 57 acres of land in Franklin Square, circa 1870. The Schroeher Hotel, located on the east corner of Franklin Ave. and Hempstead Tpke. provided as a rest stop for those travelling between Long Island and the farmers markets of Brooklyn. They would grow their own produce and his wife managed the cooking. According to the Productions of Agriculture Census of 1880, Ludwig had 53 acres of land tilled, with 4 more acres being un-improved. In total, taking into account land, buildings, fences, livestock and machinery, his assets were valued at $7,100. He had 6 horses and 5 cattle and 250 pounds of butter were made on his farm in that year.
Ludwig passed away on May 23, 1889 at the age of 65. He is interred at St. Paul’s German Presbyterian Church, located just north of St. Boniface RC Church on Fosters Meadow Road, today known as Elmont Road.
His first wife Margaretha Fuhrmann died on February 10, 1874 at the age of 44, her burial location is unknown but is most likely either with him or at St. Boniface in Elmont, considering he was already established in the area by 1870 and being buried in the older settlements of Brooklyn or Lower East Side are more unlikely. His second wife, Maria Miller passed away March 6, 1922 at the age of 83, location of burial is also unknown for her.
Ludwig and Margaretha had 7 children
1: Elizabeth Schroeher (1855-1872) Interred at St. Boniface Cemetery in Elmont, New York. No further information has been obtained.
2: Margaret Schroeher (1858) married Henry Klam (1851) circa 1877. They had 9 children: Catharine, George, Anna, Louis, Frances, Margaret, Jacob, Christina and Henry. No further information has been obtained.
3: Anna Schroeher (1859-1938) married John Gaynor (1859-1919) in 1880. They had 3 children: Joseph, Margaret and Barbara. Both Anna and John are interred at Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale, New York.
4: Frances Schroeher (1861-1919) married George Fiesel (1846) in 1879. They had 12 children: Charles, Elizabeth, Lillian, Louisa, John, John, Peter, Theresa, Theresa, Katherine, Frances, Margaret. No further information has been obtained.
5: Katherine Schroeher (1862-1934) married Jacob Hoffman (1856-1922) at St. Boniface RC Church in Elmont, New York on April 25, 1882. They had 13 children: Joseph, Jacob, Carl, Louisa, Mathilda, Andrew, Eleanor, George, Andrew, August, John, William and Amelia. Jacob Hoffman was the son of Joseph Hoffman, an established German Catholic family from Fosters Meadow in the area known as present day Elmont. Ludwig sold his hotel as well as the acreage to his son-in-law Jacob, who eventually purchased 30 additional acres with a total of 87, in Franklin Square. In addition to this he tore town Ludwig Schroeher’s hotel building the more modern Hoffman Hotel in it’s place. Many of their children went on to own successful businesses and married into other known Fosters Meadow families such as: Felten, Herman, Klein, Musgnug, Stattel and Kraus. Both Katherine and Jacob are interred at St. Boniface Cemetery in Elmont, New York.
6: Joseph John Schroeher (1865-1930) married Anna Marie Della (1867-1941) in 1885. They had 16 children: William, Mary, Anna, Joseph, Sebastian, Robert, Barbara, Louis, Lena, Katherine, George, Louise, Helen, Elizabeth, Gustave and Augusta. Both are interred at Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale, New York.
7: Susanna Schroeher (1869) No further information has been obtained.
Submitted by Jeffrey Jones Jr.
Email: HistoricalArchive@outlook.com
June 21, 2017