Where ARE the Boharts from?

By: Laurelei

While I was always told that the Boharts hailed from Alsace Lorraine, which made them French or German depending on who controlled the territory; the signs are pointing towards Koblenz, Germany.

To the best of my knowledge, this is supported by information from the Maurer family. John Phillip Maurer married Mary B. Bohart (A1-1-2). The Maurers are from Koblenz and have asserted that they knew the Boharts from home. Perhaps someone can add more detail?

Another persistent family legend is the tale of the Bohart brothers and Napoleon's army. I'm sure there are as many versions of the story as there are storytellers, but here's the short version:

Three of the Bohart sons fought both for and against Napoleon, and even served in his personal bodyguard. This would support the notion that they were nobles of some sort; there were many minor nobles in the German provinces, and the well-to-do lads served in the bodyguard since it was perceived to be safer and of higher status. Read up on the Imperial Guard.

The Boharts fled after Napoleon's defeat, but I don't know which one. It seems likely that they escaped before the Russian campaign in 1812, on the grounds that so few survived that one, but we also have some evidence of our Boharts in the United States in 1810.

Funny thing... the legend makes it sound like they went AWOL on Napoleon, yet they settled in Maryland, where Jerome Bonaparte lived, happily married to an American woman, until his big brother demanded he return home and take up his kingship. If they were hiding, they were certainly pushing their luck staying in the same town.

I like the Koblenz connection - not only does the city have a 2000 year old history, but it's just around the corner from the site of the legendary Lorelei ;-)

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