"Shared Treasures": Mrs. Anna Hohmann née Korb from Schlaggenwald
- Photos Without Families
- 10. Mai
- 8 Min. Lesezeit
Aktualisiert: 25. Aug.
Franziska reached out to me with this old photo, which she had purchased at a flea market in southern Germany. She was curious about what could be discovered about the woman in the photo. Luckily, the reverse revealed some valuable clues:
Mrs. Hohmann
Mother of Mrs. Agnes Pröll (wife of Senior Administrator [Centralverwalter] Pröll)
Grandmother of Mrs. Mathilde Werner (wife of Manager Werner)
Great-grandmother of Mr. Karl Werner, Manager
Great-great-grandmother of Dr. Anna Schnopp
The photo was printed at the studio of Anton Baldreich, located at 21 V. Kleine Neugasse in Vienna, Austria.
I first looked into the photo studio to determine when the picture might have been taken. Mr. Baldreich appeared in the Vienna City Directory at that address between 1875 and 1907. Interestingly, however, he wasn’t listed as a photographer, but as a Futteralmacher—a craftsman who lined cases and bags with leather, silk, or paper.
I initially went down the rabbit hole of researching any "Hohmann" living in Vienna during that period. That didn’t lead to any useful results — because I had gone down the wrong rabbit hole! There was clearly a connection to Vienna, but not the one we were looking for.
Franziska then found information about Agnes Pröll, the woman’s daughter, and her husband Friedrich Pröll, in the Austrian newspaper archives. She discovered that Agnes was born as Agnes Hohmann on April 7, 1824, in Schlaggenwald, Bohemia (Horní Slavkov in today’s Czech Republic). That was the domino that set everything in motion, revealing two key clues: our sitter’s maiden name and the birthplace of her daughter. We had finally found the right rabbit hole — and what a rewarding one it turned out to be!
But let me keep you in suspense a bit longer. What was life like in Schlaggenwald at the time that our sitter lived there?
The town of Schlaggenwald (Horní Slavkov in the Czech Republic) is located in western Bohemia, about 15 km southwest of Karlovy Vary, near the German border. At the end of the 18th century, it belonged to the Prince of Kaunitz. In 1785, the town had 456 households, which rose to 543 by 1830, with 3,554 residents. By 1847, it had grown to 546 houses and 4,011 inhabitants. The people were primarily Bohemian German heritage and Catholic, with a few Protestant exceptions. In 1792, a porcelain manufactory was founded, making the area well known for its porcelain and mineral springs, later followed by a button factory and a wool weaving mill.
Now, back to the Hohmanns!
The digitized Czech Archives helped me reconstruct the following family stories:
Our sitter Anna Korb and Johann Hohmann married on January 31, 1815, in Schlaggenwald. The woman in the photo was born on April 29, 1795 — nearly 230 years ago! How incredible is that?
Anna’s husband, Johann Hohmann, was a Zeugmachermeister (master cloth maker), born on July 6, 1792.
Johann and Anna had at least 10 children, all born in Sclaggenwald:
Georg Hohmann, born on October 7, 1815 (married Aloisia Blaschke in Vienna, 1843)
Johann Hohmann, born on March 15, 1818 (married Maria Schlechter in Vienna, 1854; died April 1907)
Anna Hohmann, born on February 25, 1820
Joseph Hohmann, born on August 9, 1822
Agnes Hohmann, born on April 7, 1824 (married Friedrich Pröll in 1850)
Amalia Anna Hohmann, born on October 19, 1826 (a haberdasher who married Karl Franz Winter, a Pfaidler [shirt maker], in 1861; possibly later remarried as Amalia Anna Petrides; died June 1907 in Vienna)
Joseph Anton Hohmann, born on November 9, 1828
Margaretha Franziska Hohmann, born on July 13, 1831
Albina Hohmann, born on October 20, 1833
Wilhelm Hohmann, born on March 24, 1837 (married Maria Portschy in Vienna, 1863)
Anna was almost 42 when her youngest child was born — and that in the 1830s which was rather unusual at the time. I also reviewed the online death registers of Schlaggenwald from 1822–1839, and none of the Hohmann children appeared to have died young, either.
Anna’s parents, Alois Korb and Anna Maria Wenzl, were married in 1789. Alois, a master miller, was born around 1769. Anna Maria was born on September 24, 1766. Her parents were Johann Franz Wenzl (a surgeon!) and Susanna Maria, née Kraft. Anna’s in-laws were Christoph Hohmann and Anna Knif — all from Schlaggenwald.
Since both the Korb and Hohmann families have deep roots in Schlaggenwald, it would theoretically be possible to reconstruct their entire family tree, including siblings and descendants. But that’s a project for another day 😊.
Now a few notes on Anna's daughter, Agnes Pröll, née Hohmann, whose name is mentioned on the back of our photo.
According to the golden wedding announcement of Friedrich and Agnes Pröll the couple married on February 3, 1850. Friedrich was the Centralverwalter (senior administrator) of the Königsberg a.d. Eger (Kynšperk nad Ohří) and Mostau estates (Mostiv, both in today's Czech Republic). He likely managed large estates and seems to have had a good local standing.
Their children were recorded in the Steinhof’s birth registers:
The only name I didn't come across in the Steinhof birth register was that of Mathilde Werner, née Pröll — the name listed on the back of our photo. I grew suspicious: was she perhaps born out of wedlock? The rabbit hole was getting deeper as we uncovered more family secrets!
One detour led to another, but we finally found the record proving that Mathilde was indeed born out of wedlock on April 2, 1847, but later legitimised by Friedrich Pröll as her father. We had been searching in the wrong registers - Mathilde was born in Schönbrunn (Studánka in today's Czech Republic). I suddenly had so many new questions: Schönbrunn is located about 60 km from Schlaggenwald. What was young Agnes doing there at the time? Where did she meet the administrator Pröll with whom she later had her children in Steinhof, about 50 km from Schönbrunn, and who eventually legitimised little Mathilde's paternity?
We already knew that Agnes and Friedrich Pröll married in February 1850, but now we also found their marriage record - also from Schönbrunn!
Friedrich died on May 13, 1908, and Agnes passed away on June 10, 1911, in Königsberg.
Now, let's take a closer look at how life turned out for Mathilde née Pröll, wife of Director Werner.
This is where my Instagram community came in with a valuable clue - they found Mathilde’s daughter Anna Werner, who was born on December 23, 1870 in Korneuburg near Vienna; we now had the full names of her parents: Adam Joh. Werner, a head teacher at the teacher training college, and Mathilde Werner née Pröll!
Why is Adam referred to as “Director ” on the back of our photo? Because in 1878, Adam Werner was appointed director of the teacher training college in Komotau (Chomutov in today's Czech Republic), where the family then moved.
Chomutov lies at the foot of the Ore Mountains in northern Bohemia. For centuries it was a German-speaking town with a strong Catholic tradition. In 1878, when Adam Werner became director of the teacher training college, Komotau was marked by the modernization of schools and public life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. New institutions, such as the teacher training college, reflected the growing emphasis on education and civic progress.
Piecing together the chronology of the Werner-Pröll family, the different locations made me take a few more detours: Mathilde married Adam in Steingut (in today's Czech Republic) on September 25, 1866. By 1870, they had moved to Korneuburg near Vienna. And in 1878 Adam's new position took the family to Chomutov (back in the territory of today's Czech Republic), where they remained until the end of their lives (Adam passed away in 1909, and Mathilde in 1924).
But where was their son Karl Werner, who is mentioned on the back of our old photo, born? The decisive clue came unexpectedly in the form of a short note in the September 26th issue of Iglauer Sonntagsblatt, where the Werner family bid farewell to their friends and acquantainces in Iglau - probably before moving to Vienna.
Before I move on Karl Werner, I have to share this amazing discovery by Franziska! She found a photo of the Werner family gravesite on the official Chomutov genealogy website:
It includes photos of Adam and Mathilde! Such a pity that we cannot zoom in on the portraits and details of the gravestone. Wow, I would love to compare Mathilde's face with that of her grandmother, Anna Hohmann, in our found photo. The gravestone also reveals an interesting fact about their son Karl Werner which I will tell you about below.
Next name on the back of our found photo is "Director Karl Werner", our sitter's great-grandson.
As you could read above, I first had trouble finding his birth record as the Werner family lived at several locations over the years - Steingut, Iglau, Korneuburg near Vienna and eventually Chomutov. Now, where was Mathilde and Adam's son Karl Werner born? Franziska found his birth record from March 4, 1869 in Iglau!
The gravestone photo above, although difficult to read due to the poor resolution, reveals that engineer Karl Werner was a Hüttendirektor in Chomutov - that is, a director of an ironworks, smelting works, or metallurgical plant where ores were processed into metals such as iron, copper, or zinc.
While we can't be certain, Karl most likely oversaw the Poldihütte as a director. Although not located in Komotau proper, the Poldihütte played a significant role in the region. Originally established in Kladno in 1889, a branch was built near Chomutov in 1916, specialising in precision and alloy steel production.
Unfortunately, I cannot make out Karl's date of death on the gravestone. And this is where the rest of our trail grows cold. I went through the death registers from 1868–1897, the marriages from 1880–1900, as well as the births from 1874–1899 in Chomutov, hoping to perhaps find either a marriage record for Karl Werner or the birth of his child Anna Schnopp née Werner, the last person listed on the back of our old photo and our sitter's great-great-grandchild. But unfortunately, I found nothing else. Registers after 1900 are not yet digitally available.
Of course, it’s possible that Adam worked in Chomutov but did not actually live there, or that he and his family were recorded in a different parish. On the other hand, if they were buried in Chomutov, logic would suggest that they should have belonged to the parish church of Chomutov, but so far, I have not found them.
Now, as we pivot back to the woman in our found photo - Mrs. Anna Hohmann née Korb - did she ever actually live in Vienna? By the time Mr. Baldreich was operating his photo studio at Kleine Neugasse in 1875, she would have been 80 years old. How old would you estimate she looks in the photo? It's possible that one of her children or grandchildren living in Vienna had a duplicate made by Mr. Baldreich. Or maybe the photo was taken during one of her visits to her children and grandchildren in Vienna?
What supports the theory that she didn't stay in Schlaggenwald is this: I searched Schlaggenwald’s death registers from 1850–1890 and found no record of Anna or Johann Hohmann. They likely died elsewhere — but I haven’t found their death records in Vienna either.
What an extraordinary journey this has been — researching the life of a woman born in the 1790s, who gave birth to and raised at least 10 children over two decades, and who may have journeyed from a small Bohemian village to the buzzing city of Vienna for this photo. I don't think I've ever taken so many detours in research as I did with this one, and I'm so grateful to Franziska for this challenge and for her support. This truly was teamwork!
And yet, not finding her descendants — Anna Schnopp, née Werner, and perhaps her children — still nags at my genealogist's heart...
So, dear community: if you have any clues, insights, or records, I’d love to hear from you!
This beautiful large cabinet card is now in the Archives of Photos Without Families. Thank you for this donation, Franziska!
Kommentare