Angie, My great grandfather had to leave Germany in 1857 at the age of 15 or he would have been conscripted into the army. He was not a peasant either, his father was a doctor in Trier, Ludwig Von Meyer. So it may have been more common then you think! At 11:20 AM +0000 8/6/99, Angelia M Pfeifer wrote: >Hi Everyone! > >I am looking for information on the occupation of my family members before >they left Germany. I just learned an interesting story about my 4x great >grandfather who was drafted into the Prussian army against his will in >1848. According to the story, service in the Prussian army was so abhorrent >at that time that it was sarcastically referred to as "becoming a >Prussian." My grandfather, already unhappy to be in the army, was driven >too hard by an officer and threw his gun (bayonet attached) at the man. The >bayonet caused a huge gash in the officer's face. Unable to speak, the >commander was taken to the hospital. My grandfather managed to convince >authorities that the gun had been "fairly resulted from his grasp" but >believed court-martial was eminent as soon as the officer was able to speak >his side. So grandpa escaped into the German frontier, where he met a >"shrewd young woman" (whatever that means) who introduced him to a mounted >guard who in turn helped grandpa across the French border and then into >Italy with out a pass. Grandpa then fought for the Papal Guard before >immigrating to the US in 1856 where is finally settled down as a farmer in >Minnesota. > >I have read that conscription was not universal at that time in Prussia. I >know that most Junkers and their peasants were exempt from the draft. That >means grandpa's family must have been some sort of free peasantry or >members of some lower craft. Grandpa's name was John Pfeifer and he was >born in 1828. His father was Johannes Pfeifer born in 1787. Both were from >Rappweiler, Konfeld, Trier. John was christened at St. John the Baptist. >Can anyone guide me as to how to find their occupation? > >Thanks! > >Angie >APFEIFER@prodigy.net > > >==== TRIER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== >Support RootsWeb! Help provide FREE genealogical resources on the >Internet: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html