The man of many names

No one is safe from misspellings. So probably best not to make a big fuss about the occasional deformation of one's first or family name.

Yet, there are cases which go beyond the limits of the ordinary. Especially, if the misspellings are frequent, seem arbitrary and appear in official documents. This describes the fate of Ludwig Schoser who immigrated to the United States in 1893.

Starting the century as Louis Schosser...

* The 1893 Ellis Island Passenger Record refers to him as 'Ludwig Schoesser'
* The 1900 US Federal Census as 'Louis Schosser'.
* The 1904-1906 Durango Naturalization Records as 'Ludwig Schoser'.
* The 1910 US Federal Census as 'Ludwig Sokaser'.
* The 1911 Durango Ranchers Directory as 'Ludwig Schoser'.
* The 1920 US Federal Census as 'Andwig Schoser'.
* The 1930 US Federal Census as 'Todnez Schaser'.

... having become Todnez Schaser in 1930

In total, there are four different ways Ludwig's first name and five different ways his family name have been spelt. In fact, it is not even clear which was Ludwig's 'true' name as we do not know what he was called at birth. And had Ludwig not spent all his life after US immigration in Durango (Colorado), it would be almost impossible to trace him through time.

Naturalizing Schoser

According to the Durango Naturalization Records, Ludwig Schoser was seeking citizenship in the United States between 1904 and 1906. These records typically include information on the precise date of naturalization, the nation of origin and the number of years the person had resided in the United States. Unfortunately, this information is not available online so that one would have to consult the paper archives at the Fort Lewis College Foundation, Center of Southwest Studies in Durango to know what Ludwig's country of origin was and when he emigrated to the U.S..

What we do know about Ludwig from other sources is that he was married to Dora (Schirmer) and had four sons (John, Otto 'Barney', Leo and Frank Joseph) and two daughters (Mary and Emma). In fact, he is the progenitor of a substantial number of Schosers in the U.S. some of whom still live in the area of Durango, Colorado.