The first place the Schulers from whom I am descended set up shop in the United States was in Louisville, Kentucky. I’m not entirely sure why this was. They emigrated in New Orleans, made their way up the Mississippi, and then the Ohio, settling in Louisville. It might have been because siblings or cousins of my great-great-grandfather’s had already moved there from Switzerland. I’m not really sure. But most of the Schulers in the United States to whom I am actually related, very distantly but related, live in that area along the Ohio River where Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky meet.
When I was a kid, more than a half century ago, we used to visit Louisville every few years to see family living there. Schulers and lots of people whose surnames began with Z, mostly of my dad’s generation or the one before. That stopped once my youngest siblings had come along. Five kids does tend to tie you down a bit (not for long: by the time my youngest siblings were five we were travelling as a family all over the country).
When my dad died we lost touch with that side of the family entirely.
After my mom died and, partially moved by the vast number of photos we’ve uncovered, I’ve begun putting out a few feelers to my distant cousins in Louisville. We’ll see what happens.
I’ll be in Louisville for a few days next month; if I run into any Schulers I’ll be sure to tell them they’re wanted. I’ll walk away murmuring ‘the reach of the glittering eye grows long . . .”
The Schulers aren’t 48ers, though, are they? I don’t think I want to mess with that crowd.
Britty and I will be there Sept. 16-20th for a wedding and to see the places she grew up. Let’s talk about me visiting some extended family maybe! My only objective is the Maker’s Mark distillery.