Albert Kuner

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Georg Albrecht (Albert) Ferdinand Kuner

Born October 9, 1819(1819-10-09)
Lindau, Germany
Died January 23, 1906 (aged 86)
San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Burial place Mount Olivet Cemetery San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Occupation Engraver

Georg Albrecht (Albert) Ferdinand Kuner (October 9, 1819, Lindau, Germany – January 23, 1906, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.) The engraver of California's State Seal, which was designed by Robert S. Garnett. The seal was adopted October 2, 1849 by the California Constitutional Convention.

[edit] Personal background

Albert Kuner was the son of Johann Ludwig Kuner (1785-1849) and Regina Magdalena Bodler (1785-1858). Albert and three Lindau friends departed Europe on September 3, 1848 and arrived to NYC on October 28, 1848 aboard the sailing ship, "Swyzerland." According to family history, he quickly secured employment as an engraver with the Tiffany company. But he and his three friends did not tarry long once the word of "gold" was voiced about NYC. On January 1, 1849, Kuner, his 3 Lindau friends and their collectively owned dog, "Atilla," engaged passage for San Francisco aboard the sailing ship, "Sutton."

After many harrowing adventures, the remaining 54 passengers aboard the good ship -"Sutton"- arrived safely into the bay of San Francisco on July 22, 1849. Two passengers were lost at sea during the passage.

In May of 1854 he departed San Francisco for NYC via Panama. While in NYC he secured an American passport (even though he was not naturalized until 1866) and proceeded to Le Havre, France. The purpose of the lengthy trip was not only to visit his mother and relatives, but also to convince Miss Judith Rhineck of Lindau to marry him. He was successful and on July 14, 1854 the couple were married and in late 1854 journeyed to California via the "Nicaragua overland route."

The couple had 5 children: Anna, Bertha, Rudolph, Ida, and Martha. All born in San Francisco and all survived to majority.

Albert and Judith Kuner remained residents of San Francisco until their deaths. He died on January 23, 1906, only three months before the devastating earthquake which he clearly and emphatically had predicted in one of his 1850 letters written to his mother in Lindau, Bavaria. His death allowed him to escape having to view the destruction of his beloved city. His wife survived him by only four-years.

[edit] References

  • The Society of California Pioneers ..., 1900-1904 Handbook, Pauline Wolstencroft (September
  • "San Francisco 'Gold Rush' Letters to Lindau, Bavaria"(2007)...Translation & Redaction by Andreas Schmitt-Egenolf & Laurier B. McDonald

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Georg Albrecht (Albert) Ferdinand Kuner
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albert Kuner
SHORT DESCRIPTION Engraver of The Great Seal of the State of California
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1819(1819-10-09)
PLACE OF BIRTH Lindau Bavaria, Germany
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1906
PLACE OF DEATH San Francisco, CA
Languages