Whoever took the time to organize these documents many years ago decided to label the wanderbuch as document #1. I’ll certainly agree that it is number one in several aspects: it’s the most fascinating of the documents, offers the most potential insight into Alois’ pre-emigration years, is easily the most fragile, and required the greatest number of 1200 DPI scans (29) and image processing steps (200+).
Even though we have been able to translate only a very little of the text in this book, it nonetheless tells us quite a bit about Alois. A wanderbuch was a document issued to an apprentice tradesman on the completion of his term with his first master. The apprentice was expected to hit the road with his tools and his few belongings and provide his services to different masters in different towns, i.e. to become literally a journeyman. As work was completed in each place an entry was made in the book by the master for whom the job was done, and invariably the entry was stamped by a local official. Here is an excellent example of another wanderbuch belonging to a man strikingly like Alois.
We know therefore that Alois was a skilled tradesman. The 1860 federal census lists his occupation as cabinet maker, and the word “Schreiner” used to describe his trade here and in other German documents is consistent with that. We know that he received the book in 1846 from his master, and that it was stamped by the landsgericht in Kipfenberg, costing him 3 kreutzer. We know that he then traveled to a large number of places to work, as will be seen by the entries in the book. If we can manage to translate any of them we may learn a great deal more, but this will be a difficult chore.
Wanderbuch – inside front cover
Wanderbuch inside front cover. Liner was at one point written on but has been removed.
Page 2 contains a stern warning against forging entries, signed by Alois to show that he understood the penalties. Page 3 contains Alois’ personal information as well as the name of his trade.