A family history tracing the Bockhaus and Backhaus lines from Germany to the San Luis Valley, published here by permission of the author.
A family history written by Virgil Bockhaus, tracing the Bockhaus and Backhaus lines from Germany to the San Luis Valley. In his own introduction he sets out to write down "a few things about Dad and Mother and their life in the San Luis Valley and their involvement with the Alamosa River area."
His parents were Louis and Emma Bockhaus of Monte Vista, and Emma’s family name was Stein, which is where the title comes from. The family ran the lumber business, driving lumber trucks and working the mills, which is very likely what the Alamosa River involvement refers to.
The route he traces runs from Germany, arriving in New York around 1865 or 1866 through Castle Garden rather than Ellis Island, then northeast Iowa, northwest Iowa, South Dakota and finally the San Luis Valley. He is candid throughout about conflicting dates and about having spent time searching the wrong surname. The book reproduces primary documents alongside the narrative, including an 1887 United States Land Office homestead proof filed at Yankton in Dakota Territory.