My great great grandfather, Wilibald Koch, was born in 1827 in Andelfingen in the Kingdom of Württemberg. From 1845 to 1853, when he was age 18 to 26, Wilibald worked as a journeyman ropemaker in Germany and Switzerland. Just about every industry had a need for rope (especially masons, shipwrights, teamsters, and timberwrights). Ropemakers created rope, nets, and rigging from raw materials, usually plant fibers.

On April 28, 1845, Wilibald was issued a Wander-Buch by the Kingdom of Württemberg. A Wander-Buch is a work record for a journeyman. A journeyman must first complete an apprenticeship with a master craftsman. So William was likely working as an apprentice ropemaker for a master ropemaker in Andelfingen or nearby Riedlingen for several years before age 18. When he completed his apprenticeship at age 18, he was issued the Wander-Buch, allowing him to work as a journeyman ropemaker in cities in Germany and Switzerland. This he did for eight years.

The Wander-Buch contains, on pages 9 to 75, entries from master ropemakers in cities and towns where Wilibald worked between 1845 and 1853. Cities included are Basel, Zurich, Mainz, Friedrichshafen, Gratz, Teitnang, and many others. Jobs lasted three weeks on average.

There were no photographs in those days, so the bearer of the Wander-Buch was described in detail. The decription of Wilibald on page 7 was as follows: average height, oval face, blond hair, ordinary forehead, blond eye brows, blue eyes, ordinary nose, full cheeks, good teeth, round chin, straight legs, clean skin. A medical examination inserted in 1852 indicated that he had no contageous skin diseases and had been inoculated for smallpox.

When a journeyman had worked a certain amount of time, he was eligible to become a master--a full-fledged member of the ropemakers guild. This was easier said than done. The guild was a sort of cartel that controlled the number of masters. After eight years as a journeyman, he did his last job in Hamburg and decided to go to America. In May 1853, he immigrated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he married and became an undertaker. He died there in 1905 at age 77.

The Wander-Buch was provided by my cousin James Griffin. Our grandmother Rose Smith Drueke, a granddaughter of Wilibald Koch, had given it to Jim when he was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army.

The Wander-Buch is reproduced below. There are three panels for each page. The first is an image of the actual page showing the original German script. To get a higher-resolution image, click on the image shown in the panel. The middle panel is a modern type version of the original German script. The third panel is an English translation.