Bier, Bira
I am looking to trace my great-grandfather Mathias Bier (I am unsure regarding this spelling, both of first and last names!) and his Bohemian family.
He was born Jan 19, 1849 (unverified) in Graslitz, Bohemia – aka Gradlitz, aka Choustníkovo Hradiště (a village in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic).
Parents were Frank and Frances. Siblings were Julia, William, Josephine, Frances, Frank and Wilhelmina.
He arrived thru Governors Island, USA on May 22, 1873
He changed his name (in US between 1873 and 1878) to Henry (or Hy) Dorner.
He sailed to Australia in 1878/1879.
I can track/trace his history as Henry Dorner thru Australia and South Africa.
He died in a Red Cross (ICRC) Internment camp in Switzerland in 1918, as Mathias Bier.