Casper Roetzer (orig. Rötzer) stated in his 1920 Petition for Naturalization he was born on this date, in Cham, Bavaria, Germany. He might have been referring to the county ("Landkreis"), not city, of Cham. For years, we've assumed he was from the nearby town of Rötz within the county of Cham. The state of Bavaria is Germany's largest by miles, in the southeast corner of Germany. (There seems to be another area called Rotz in Landkreis Freyung-Grafenau more to the South but it's unclear. Rötz (in Cham) is east and a bit south of Nuremburg; it is east, then north of Munich, Germany's 3rd most populous city. Driving from Munich, take Rt 92 (NE) through Dingolfing, then Rt 20 N toward the city of Cham, to Rt 22 north to Rötz.)
Casper departed for the US on a steamship, the Kroonland, Jan. 19, 1907, at age 35, from Antwerp, Belgium, entering via Lucerne, Switzerland (per Ellis Is. manifest, 1907, and his petition for naturalization, 1920), where he was working. He'd married perhaps just the year before to wife Anna, just 17 years old. It was a bit of likely scandal in the family as Anna was from a simple background and much younger than he, his parents frowned on the marriage.
He was bound for Buffalo, NY to stay with sister Franziska/Franciska (Frances) who was in Buffalo with husband Andreas (Andrew) Hastreiter, at 358 Box Ave., who'd emigrated in 1884 from Germany. He arrived Ellis Island (NY, NY) January 30, 1907. Wife Anna departed in Feb. 1907 at 8-9 months or so pregnant with unborn son #1, George. She arrived on or near March 8, 1907, George's DOB. He water broke in the taxi! (See more at Anna's memorial). In 1908, a Buffalo city directory lists him at 326 Box Ave. as a laborer. In his Petition for Naturalization, he states occupation as a welder. It was noted that he was 5' 7", 167 pounds, drk. brown hair, brown eyes, and was missing his left hand forefinger (index finger).
Casper began building residential garages for homeowners in the late teens/early 1920s which led to growing into a very successful homebuilder into the depression years. He garnered the nickname "King of Kensington" for the streets of homes he developed around the Main/Kensington streets area in Buffalo. He ran speakeasies behind the scenes during Prohibition, the laws referred as "Dry laws". "Dry Agents" would stage raids to catch violators. His arrests appeared in local papers in the early '30s.
Eventually, the Great Depression caught up and he was sitting on many unsold homes subject to mortgages from the German-American Bank (which was renamed Liberty Bank in 1918, eventually becoming Fleet which was acquired by NationsBank/Bank of America). He banked at the Kensington/Bailey branch. Eventually, he spent all his savings on mortgage payments just to lose all the homes, including the family personal residence at 585 Lisbon Ave. to foreclosure. Barely 6 months later, the German-American bank failed as well. The stress and loss took its toll, he turned to drinking and eventually died at age 66.
Casper departed for the US on a steamship, the Kroonland, Jan. 19, 1907, at age 35, from Antwerp, Belgium, entering via Lucerne, Switzerland (per Ellis Is. manifest, 1907, and his petition for naturalization, 1920), where he was working. He'd married perhaps just the year before to wife Anna, just 17 years old. It was a bit of likely scandal in the family as Anna was from a simple background and much younger than he, his parents frowned on the marriage.
He was bound for Buffalo, NY to stay with sister Franziska/Franciska (Frances) who was in Buffalo with husband Andreas (Andrew) Hastreiter, at 358 Box Ave., who'd emigrated in 1884 from Germany. He arrived Ellis Island (NY, NY) January 30, 1907. Wife Anna departed in Feb. 1907 at 8-9 months or so pregnant with unborn son #1, George. She arrived on or near March 8, 1907, George's DOB. He water broke in the taxi! (See more at Anna's memorial). In 1908, a Buffalo city directory lists him at 326 Box Ave. as a laborer. In his Petition for Naturalization, he states occupation as a welder. It was noted that he was 5' 7", 167 pounds, drk. brown hair, brown eyes, and was missing his left hand forefinger (index finger).
Casper began building residential garages for homeowners in the late teens/early 1920s which led to growing into a very successful homebuilder into the depression years. He garnered the nickname "King of Kensington" for the streets of homes he developed around the Main/Kensington streets area in Buffalo. He ran speakeasies behind the scenes during Prohibition, the laws referred as "Dry laws". "Dry Agents" would stage raids to catch violators. His arrests appeared in local papers in the early '30s.
Eventually, the Great Depression caught up and he was sitting on many unsold homes subject to mortgages from the German-American Bank (which was renamed Liberty Bank in 1918, eventually becoming Fleet which was acquired by NationsBank/Bank of America). He banked at the Kensington/Bailey branch. Eventually, he spent all his savings on mortgage payments just to lose all the homes, including the family personal residence at 585 Lisbon Ave. to foreclosure. Barely 6 months later, the German-American bank failed as well. The stress and loss took its toll, he turned to drinking and eventually died at age 66.
Casper Roetzer (orig. Rötzer) stated in his 1920 Petition for Naturalization he was born on this date, in Cham, Bavaria, Germany. He might have been referring to the county ("Landkreis"), not city, of Cham. For years, we've assumed he was from the nearby town of Rötz within the county of Cham. The state of Bavaria is Germany's largest by miles, in the southeast corner of Germany. (There seems to be another area called Rotz in Landkreis Freyung-Grafenau more to the South but it's unclear. Rötz (in Cham) is east and a bit south of Nuremburg; it is east, then north of Munich, Germany's 3rd most populous city. Driving from Munich, take Rt 92 (NE) through Dingolfing, then Rt 20 N toward the city of Cham, to Rt 22 north to Rötz.)
Casper departed for the US on a steamship, the Kroonland, Jan. 19, 1907, at age 35, from Antwerp, Belgium, entering via Lucerne, Switzerland (per Ellis Is. manifest, 1907, and his petition for naturalization, 1920), where he was working. He'd married perhaps just the year before to wife Anna, just 17 years old. It was a bit of likely scandal in the family as Anna was from a simple background and much younger than he, his parents frowned on the marriage.
He was bound for Buffalo, NY to stay with sister Franziska/Franciska (Frances) who was in Buffalo with husband Andreas (Andrew) Hastreiter, at 358 Box Ave., who'd emigrated in 1884 from Germany. He arrived Ellis Island (NY, NY) January 30, 1907. Wife Anna departed in Feb. 1907 at 8-9 months or so pregnant with unborn son #1, George. She arrived on or near March 8, 1907, George's DOB. He water broke in the taxi! (See more at Anna's memorial). In 1908, a Buffalo city directory lists him at 326 Box Ave. as a laborer. In his Petition for Naturalization, he states occupation as a welder. It was noted that he was 5' 7", 167 pounds, drk. brown hair, brown eyes, and was missing his left hand forefinger (index finger).
Casper began building residential garages for homeowners in the late teens/early 1920s which led to growing into a very successful homebuilder into the depression years. He garnered the nickname "King of Kensington" for the streets of homes he developed around the Main/Kensington streets area in Buffalo. He ran speakeasies behind the scenes during Prohibition, the laws referred as "Dry laws". "Dry Agents" would stage raids to catch violators. His arrests appeared in local papers in the early '30s.
Eventually, the Great Depression caught up and he was sitting on many unsold homes subject to mortgages from the German-American Bank (which was renamed Liberty Bank in 1918, eventually becoming Fleet which was acquired by NationsBank/Bank of America). He banked at the Kensington/Bailey branch. Eventually, he spent all his savings on mortgage payments just to lose all the homes, including the family personal residence at 585 Lisbon Ave. to foreclosure. Barely 6 months later, the German-American bank failed as well. The stress and loss took its toll, he turned to drinking and eventually died at age 66.
Casper departed for the US on a steamship, the Kroonland, Jan. 19, 1907, at age 35, from Antwerp, Belgium, entering via Lucerne, Switzerland (per Ellis Is. manifest, 1907, and his petition for naturalization, 1920), where he was working. He'd married perhaps just the year before to wife Anna, just 17 years old. It was a bit of likely scandal in the family as Anna was from a simple background and much younger than he, his parents frowned on the marriage.
He was bound for Buffalo, NY to stay with sister Franziska/Franciska (Frances) who was in Buffalo with husband Andreas (Andrew) Hastreiter, at 358 Box Ave., who'd emigrated in 1884 from Germany. He arrived Ellis Island (NY, NY) January 30, 1907. Wife Anna departed in Feb. 1907 at 8-9 months or so pregnant with unborn son #1, George. She arrived on or near March 8, 1907, George's DOB. He water broke in the taxi! (See more at Anna's memorial). In 1908, a Buffalo city directory lists him at 326 Box Ave. as a laborer. In his Petition for Naturalization, he states occupation as a welder. It was noted that he was 5' 7", 167 pounds, drk. brown hair, brown eyes, and was missing his left hand forefinger (index finger).
Casper began building residential garages for homeowners in the late teens/early 1920s which led to growing into a very successful homebuilder into the depression years. He garnered the nickname "King of Kensington" for the streets of homes he developed around the Main/Kensington streets area in Buffalo. He ran speakeasies behind the scenes during Prohibition, the laws referred as "Dry laws". "Dry Agents" would stage raids to catch violators. His arrests appeared in local papers in the early '30s.
Eventually, the Great Depression caught up and he was sitting on many unsold homes subject to mortgages from the German-American Bank (which was renamed Liberty Bank in 1918, eventually becoming Fleet which was acquired by NationsBank/Bank of America). He banked at the Kensington/Bailey branch. Eventually, he spent all his savings on mortgage payments just to lose all the homes, including the family personal residence at 585 Lisbon Ave. to foreclosure. Barely 6 months later, the German-American bank failed as well. The stress and loss took its toll, he turned to drinking and eventually died at age 66.
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