My research objective regarding Baurichter street was to find out when and why it received its name.I began my research by talking with my aunt Stefani who said that the street was named after my great grandfather, Frederick B. Baurichter.However, she was not certain as to why it was named after Frederick and suggested that I call City Hall. City Hall said that they did not have a record of how streets received their names and they referred me to the Clerk of Council.The only thing that the Clerk of Council offered was for me to look through the city bulletins and ordinances.However, the city bulletins come out weekly and are very detailed.Thus, it would be unrealistic to try and find a specific ordinance unless I had a pretty good idea of when the street was named.At this point, I also contacted the Historical Society and a librarian helped me do a little research.The only thing she was able to discover was that Baurichter street was once named Lee street and Olive street.It could have been two streets that were combined into Baurichter street (because the street is curved) or it could have been named Olive street and then Lee street (Stewart 13).The librarian also said that the street was named Baurichter at least as far back as 1909; it could have been called Baurichter prior to 1909, but she did not know.She believed that it was named Baurichter probably because one of my ancestors owned the land. My next stop was the Public Library of Cincinnati and their genealogy department.Searching the library records, I found that my great grandfather had an obituary on September 5, 1917, in the Cincinnati Enquirer.I had to view the newspaper on microfilm and search for the specific obituary of interest.The article, titled "Operation Fatal to Dr. F. B. Baurichter, Physician, Politician and Clubman," was the first good piece of information that I had as to why the street was named Baurichter (See Figure 1).The article mentioned that Dr. Fred B. Baurichter had died following an operation attempting to save his life.According to his death certificate, he died of "consumption" or tuberculosis.The newspaper also stated, "Dr. Baurichter was well known in Cincinnati Democratic Circles, having served as Councilman of the Nineteenth Ward during the term of the late Mayor Leopold Markbreit.He was prominent in club circles and was a member of almost all Catholic fraternal organizations in the city" ("Operation Fatal").This information gave insight as to the high political and social status of my great grandfather.Due to such high social status, it was expected that his death would be noted in all other major city newspapers. The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune described how Dr. Baurichter graduated Cincinnati Medical College in 1898 and practiced his profession in the West End for eighteen years ("Dr. Baurichter Dies") (See Figure 2). Using the newspaper information, a genealogy librarian thought that the only place left for me to research was the city bulletins and ordinances.We could narrow down the time frame to the dates when Mayor Leopold Markbreit was in office (1908-July 1909).The ordinance for the street name change would definitely be in the city bulletins because the council is required to post such ordinances.Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to go through the city bulletins for those dates.But, at least my family and I know where to go from here to get the exact explanation of our street.
Works Cited
"Dr. Baurichter Dies Following Operation." Cincinnati Commercial Tribune 5 Sept. 1917: 5. Print. "Operation Fatal." Cincinnati Enquirer 5 Sept. 1917: 8. Print. Stewart, J. A. Street Index to Accompany Map of Cincinnati and Vicinity. Cincinnati: Stewart Map, 1913. Print.