Bausert European Roots (Update)

The genealogy research on my ancestors that I completed in 2007 culminated with the publication of a booklet comprised of all of my findings to that date. Research can be an ongoing journey, however, so I’ve passed along updates to members of the families involved from time to time. The following information builds upon other data that I discovered previously.

The original Bausert family (my ancestors) that emigrated to the USA in 1866 was comprised of Johannes Joseph Bausert and wife Christine Barbara (nee: Schultz); they arrived in New York with six children (one having died during the voyage). According to German emigration papers and the ship’s registry, this family had lived in Wildbad.

Wildbad is located in the southwest corner of present day Germany in the Wüertternberg (or Baden-Württemberg) state. The town sits beside the Gr. Enz River, about 50 km (31 miles) west of Stuttgart, Germany, and 40 miles northeast of Strasbourg, France–just across the Rhine River (Rhein in German) which serves as the border between the two countries at that point. Wildbad Sprollenhaus is a few miles to the south, Wildbad Calmbach is a few miles to the north, and Neuenburg another 5 miles north of that. Freudenburg, Germany, is about 110-120 miles to the northwest of Wildbad in the Saarland state. At certain times, the entire Germany/Poland region was known as Prussia or Prussen.

All Bauserts (and Bausserts, where spelled differently but verified as the same families) I’ve researched that had a town affiliation in Germany were from the towns listed above; most others that only listed a region said they were from Baden, Wüertternberg, Saarland, or Prussen.

The only other Bauserts found outside of Germany in the 1700s were in France. Those families lived in Launstroff, Waldwiesse, Flastroff, or Creutzwald; all towns within the Lorraine province, in the northeastern Mosselle River Valley area. Creutzwald is about 45 miles north of Strasbourg; Flastroff is about 20 miles further north, Waldwiesse another 10 miles, and Launstroff an additional 5 miles.

(Click on map to enlarge it.)

The French towns where Bauserts lived are lined up
on the west side of the border with Germany.

The greatest distance between Bausert families living in the region of France and Germany/Prussia during the period of 1700 to 1900 was perhaps 110 miles as the crow flies (between Wildbad, Germany and Launstroff, France). However, it was only about 5 miles from the Bauserts in Launstroff, France, northeast across the Saar River (border) to Freudenburg, Germany, where other Bauserts lived.

(Click on map to enlarge it.)

The town of Wildbad (or Bad Wildbad) in Germany
(on right edge of map)
and Creutzwald, France (on the upper left edge)
about 120 miles apart.

The Alsace-Lorraine provinces have long been claimed–and fought over– by both Germany and France so it’s not hard to imagine all of the Bauserts within this immediate area being related. Unfortunately, it has been difficult finding the families that provide the crucial links to prove with certainty the relationships of all the French and German Bauserts.