Johann Georg "George" Bogner (b.c. 1685)

In my research up to February 2010 the earliest Bogner ancestor whom I have been able to trace with confidence is George Bogner (b.c. 1685).

George Bogner was probably actually called Johann Georg Bogner, consistent with the tradition at the time. It is likely that he was born about 1685 +/- 5 years, making him between 17 and 27 years old at his marriage to Anna Schrüfer in 1707. He was almost certainly born in the Oberfranken region of Bavaria, most probably in or near the village of Kottweinsdorf, Bavaria where his son Johann (?) Bogner was born in 1709.

Kottweinsdorf is situated in Bayreuth, Oberfranken, Bayern, Germany, its geographical coordinates are 49° 49' 0" North, 11° 19' 0" East and its original name (with diacritics) is Köttweinsdorf. It is about 15 km W of Trockau - the village from which Christoph Bogner immigrated to America in 1839 and Baptist Bogner immigrated to America in 1885 - and about 6 km NNW of Gossweinstein - where some of the present day Bogner relatives still reside.

The Schrüfer family remains a very large and prominent family in the region, and traces its roots to the villages of Tuchersfeld (about 3km NE of Gossweinstein) and Hollfeld (about 17km NW of Trochau). Without knowing the significance of the village in the family history, I took this photograph when I drove through Tuchersfeld in September 2007:


A Christoph Schrüfer settled in the village of Gosseldorf by about 1600. Gosseldorf is only about 2km NW of Kottweinsdorf.

Anna Schrüfer was probably born about 1687 +/- 5 years, probably in or near Gosseldorf, making her 15 to 25 years of age at her marriage in 1707.

I suspect, but have not yet been able to confirm, that Anna Schrüfer was the daughter of Albert Schrüfer (b. 17 July 1653 Gosseldorf, Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany; baptism 17 July 1653 Waischenfeld Church; m. Anna Sebald 05 July 1683 Waischenfeld Church; owned a sizable farm "Kastenlehn" at Gosseldorf which was sold by his widow Anna to her son Johann/Hans Georg Schrüfer after 1712; d. July 1712 in Gosseldorf; buried 23 July 1712 at Waischenfeld Church.) and Anna Sebald (b.c. 1660 at Etzdorf, Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany; birthplace within the community of Leutzdorf, Pegnitz, Bayern, Germany and within the juristiction of the Gossweinstein parish and court; d. July 1723; buried 24 July 1723 at Waischenfeld Church)

If this is the case, then Anna Schrüfer was the grandaughter of Johann/Hans Schrüfer (b.c. 1610 Gosseldorf, Oberfranken, Bavaria Germany; d. October 1698 in Gosseldorf; buried 30 October 1698 at Waischenfeld Church) and Anna Beyer (b.c. 1630 in Behringersmuhle, Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany; d. 17 September 1660 in Gosseldorf; buried September 1660 in Nankendorf, Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany) who were married 18 November 1652 in Waischenfeld Church. Consequently, Anna Schrüfer would have been the great-granddaughter of Christoph Schrüfer who was born about 1585, probably in either Tuchersfeld or Hollfeld, and who died after 1644 in Gosseldorf.

A further study of the Schrüfer ancestors, and their connections to the Bogner family is certainly warranted. It has been reported that the local authority on the Schrüfer / Schruefer family history is Dr. Werner Schruefer (St.-Kassians-Platz 7a, 93047 Regensburg Phone 0049 941 566415). Apparently he has published a book on the family, unfortunatley only available in German, and it is said that it does not reference the Gosseldorf Schrüfer family.