Hello all, The person in question was on my father's side, but it was my mother who told me the story. According to her, He was involved in an assassination attempt on Kaiser Wilhelm I during 1881 that involved dynamite, though my own research dug up a similar-sounding event in 1883, (listed here under 1883. I don't read German so I've only read the google translated version). Is there anyone with some expertise in this era who can shed some light on this assassination attempt or one in 1881, beyond the fact that there apparently was one. According to my mother, my ancestor was the one whose idea it was to use dynamite and he fled to the states afterward. She didn't have much more detail than that on the matter.
Thanks!
Hey there! I’m pretty sure the attempt your mother was talking about was the “Attentat am Niederwalddenkmal” in 1883. The German Wiki about that incident is pretty detailed and it says that almost all of the assassins/confidants got arrested but one managed to escape to America.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attentat_am_Niederwalddenkmal
I looked up the source used in the wikipedia article (Max Schütte – “August Reinsdorf und die Niederwald-Verschwörung”) and it says that Weidenmüller fled to America and was lost there, presumably because he was never sought after.
Weidenmüller is only mentioned two more times in that book:
He was a weaver and meetings were held in his house.
The dynamite was procured and buried in the woods near his house.
Is that Weidenmüller guy your relative? If you need help with German translations or the likes keep me posted!