The Schnurr family of Albany, New York, although only two generations have passed since the first settlement, are firmly established in business in that city and realizing the ambition which brought them from far-off Bavaria, the family home for many generations. The grandfather of the Albany family, Max Schnurr, lived and died near Wertzenburg, Germany. He was a farmer, married in the province and reared a family of five children. The family were devout Catholics and were as a family tillers of the soil. They were industrious, thrifty people, lived well and attained to old age as a rule. Max, the father, died at the age of seventy-five. Children:
- Michael, lived and died in Bavaria.
- Killian, never married, owned a farm and lived to be an old man.
- George, see forward.
- Antone, learned the trade of locksmith, which he combined with the occupation of farming; married and left issue.
- Julia, never married; lived to an old age and died in Bavaria.
(II) George, son of Max Schnurr, was born in Wertzenburg, Bavaria. He was given a good education, and after his studies were completed became a farmer, and carried on a butchering business, being a prosperous man for that time and place. He was a member of the Catholic church. He married Anna Buckhold, of the same town and county and similar ancestry (Bavarian). She died in 1878, at the age of fifty-six years. In 1880 George Schnurr, with his four sons and daughter, embarked at Bremen on the steamship "General Wheeler" for the United States. They continued their voyage by the Hudson river to Albany, which has since been the family home. He established a meat market and continued until he became advanced in years. He was well known in the German colony and active in the German organizations. He was a Democrat politically, although not an active worker.
George Schnurr married (second) after coming to the United States, a widow, Mrs. Anna Bradican, who died in 1902. George Schnurr still lives in Albany. Children by first marriage:
- Herman, see forward.
- William, a car inspector, was accidentally killed while in the discharge of his duties.
- Max, a retired business man of Sand Lake.
- Michael, of Los Angeles, California.
- Elizabeth, married Ernest LoBossy, a fresco painter of Albany.
By second marriage:
- Frederick.
(III) Herman, son of George and Anna (Buckhold) Schnurr, was born in Wertzenburg, Bavaria, September 22, 1862. He was educated in the state schools. He worked in his father's meat market and became thoroughly familiar with that business. After the emigration to the United States, in 1880, Herman soon after settled in Albany and established a meat market at the corner of Dove and Myrtle avenue, where he has since conducted a prosperous business, now carried on in his own business block which he erected in 1875. He is a good business man and well regarded for his manly character and industrious, thrifty habits. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and of the Holy Name Society. Politically he votes and acts with the Democratic party. He married, in Albany, New York, August 15, 1887, Rosa Hermann, born in Bavaria, April 1, 1867, came to the United States in 1893, with a brother, Cassman Hermann, who settled in Troy. Another brother, Dainan, later settled in Baker City, Oregon, where he is engaged in the hotel business. Children of Herman and Rose (Hermann) Schnurr:
- Rosie, born May 4, 1888.
- Max, October 21, 1891; after completing his education, engaged with his father in the meat market, where he is a valued assistant.
- Margaret, April 4, 1893.
- Herman (2), July 25, 1896.
- George, April 22, 1898.
- Thomas, February 2, 1902.
- Fred, February 20, 1905.
- August, April 5, 1909.