Solving the Mystery: When was Eduard Buk Ulreich really born?
Posted June 12, 2026
Eduard Buk Ulreich’s gravestone in Golden Gate National Cemetery states he was born February 12, 1884. Ulreich’s death certificate issued by the County of San Francisco on July 18, 1966 concurs. Even Ulreich’s Wikipedia article claims the 1884 date. However, these sources conflict with family records that place his birth as February 12, 1889. Which date is correct?
Eduard Buk Ulreich gravestone
Eduard Buk Ulreich death certificate
The actual birth date is February 12, 1889. Several pieces of hard evidence support this conclusion. First, a Hungarian genealogy researcher, Zuzana Bodnarova, located baptism records in an Evangelical (Lutheran) church in Koszeg, Hungary. The record states the birth date as February 12, 1889 and the baptism date as February 16, 1889.
Furthermore, U.S. immigration records show that Ulreich sailed from Bremen, Germany via Southampton, England arriving in New York aboard the vessel Eider on August 9, 1889. Ulreich is listed as 3 months old, not confirming exactly the February 12 date, but certainly disproving the 1884 date.
Eduard Buk Ulreich genealogy report p-1
Eduard Buk Ulreich genealogy report p-2
A final piece of evidence is a last will and testament signed by Ulreich June 17, 1921 in which he declares he is 32 years old, confirming a birth date in 1889.
Eduard Buk Ulreich last will and testament
So where did the U.S. Army and the County of San Francisco obtain the 1884 birth date used on Ulreich’s death certificate and gravestone? Possibly from Ulreich’s military records which may have been wrong. The U.S. Selective Service conducted a draft for men 18-45 on September 12, 1918. At the time Ulreich was 29 years old and very likely did not have a copy of his birth certificate. He may have fabricated an older age by stating an earlier birth year, hoping to be less appealing to the Army and potentially avoiding the draft. He failed in this effort and was drafted, but served only a few months as World War I ended November 11, 1918.
The evidence clearly supports February 12, 1889 as Ulreich’s true birthdate. The explanation for the alternative February 12, 1884 date is conjecture.