Alan Neumann

Alan Neumann (22 October 1766 - 1790) was an American magician during the late Colonial and Early Republic periods. He was part of the founding generation of the Guild of American Magicians and formed part of House Neumann in its earliest days. Alan was one of the first magicians to use focuses instead of the European wand in order to more easily cast spells.

His disappearance in 1790 has spawned a variety of contrasting theories about the circumstances around his disappearance. His body was never recovered, and the circumstances of his disappearance have never been determined.

Early Life
Alan Neumann was born to Heinrich and Christa Neumann, recent immigrants to the New England colonies from Prussia, on 22 October 1766. He was the 2nd son and 3rd child of the couple: his older brother Willem was born in late 1760, and his older sister Anna was born in 1764 but died shortly thereafter of pneumonia.

Alan received his magical education from another magical family in New York City and received the rank of master magician at the age of 20. He became well-known for his innovative methods of creating magical items and was one of the first to use an American-style focus instead of the traditional wand that European magicians use.

Magician of the Guild
He was part of the founding generation of the Guild of American Magicians, becoming part of House Neumann in the process. Although his family wielded large influence over the Guild, Alan himself was held in low regard due to his disregard for normal social conventions. Many of the other early Guild magicians viewed focuses as unreliable and dangerous, and Alan spent little time in the company of his fellow magicians, preferring to explore the wilds of the American frontier.

Although there was a plan for both brothers to lead the fledgling House Neumann, Alan forsake his inheritance and allowed Wilhelm to take full control of the House and its magicians. Despite taking a reduced role in the affairs of the House and Guild, Alan was quickly pushed to the edges of the magical community through the actions of his older brother.

Disappearance
By 1790, Alan was spending much of his time away from his home, pursuing rumors of a powerful magical artifact found in the western American frontier.

He sent a letter from Pittsburgh back to New York in May 1790 as he prepared to head deeper into the frontier. This is the last evidence of him before he travelled west.

He disappeared after leaving Pittsburgh, and although his body was never recovered, he was assumed to have been killed by natives in the area and declared dead in November of that year.

Louise Neumann, his wife, spent the remainder of her life funding a number of expeditions into the area west of Pittsburgh, hoping to find some evidence that could lead to her husband's body, but the expeditions had little success and are wildly considered a failure.

Education
Alan was apprenticed to the Bismarcke family for his magical and mundane education. He began his apprenticeship at the age of 12, moving into the household of the master magician. It was decided that he would apprentice to Ernest Bismarcke to mend a rift between the two families that had lasted nearly 10 years. Following his training over the next 7 years, he gained the rank of master magician just after his 20th birthday.

Parents and Siblings
Alan was the 3rd child of Heinrich and Christa Neumann.

Wilhelm Neumann was Alan's older brother, preceding him by 6 years. Wilhelm and Alan were not close either as children or adults, and their relationship only soured further following the founding of the Guild and the establishment of House Neumann. Alan was happy to leave the headship to Wilhelm, but Wilhelm continued to see Alan as a potential threat to his own influence and position as head of the House.

Marriage and Children
Alan was betrothed to Louise Bismarcke, the daughter of his teacher, in 1778, and they were married on 16 July 1785. The pair had become smitten with each other during Alan's time in the Bismarcke household. Although Ernest Bismarcke was resistant to the match, the betrothal continued to help finish healing the rift between the Neumann and Bismarcke families.

The marriage between Alan Neumann and Louise Bismarcke was hailed in the press of the magical community as the end of the rift between the Neumann and Bismarcke families. Although the press viewed the union as a love match, it remains unclear to the modern age if the match was one of love or politics. Some historians believe the marriage was more likely to be the result of the Neumanns' desire to end the rift, but Louise had described the marriage as a love match in some of her diary entries.

Within weeks of the marriage, Louise was already pregnant with their first child, Alice Neumann. The girl was born on 13 June 1786, and the couple doted on the girl, though many members of both families were disappointed with the lack of an heir to the families.

Although Louise suffered two more miscarriages between 1787 and 1789, she gave birth to the couple's only son, Wilhelm Neumann, on 7 May 1790. The birth was hard on both mother and child, but they both managed to survive.

Disappearance Debates
The disappearance of Alan Neumann has been the topic of debate throughout the history of the Guild.

Suspicion of Wilhelm Neumann
Some magicians believed that Alan had been the target of a plot by magicians of House Neumann. Alan and Wilhelm had a poor relationship, and it was well-known that Wilhelm often saw his younger brother as a potential rival for the head of the House. The two brothers had gotten into a disagreement shortly before Alan's departure on his final expedition. Wilhelm's reluctance to assist in his sister-in-law's search for clues to Alan's disappearance only cemented suspicion of Wilhelm's potential involvement.

There is little documented evidence that Wilhelm played an active role in his younger brother's disappearance. There was little evidence of conspiracy held within any diary written by House Neumann's magicians, including that of Wilhelm Neumann, and he was particularly busy with a recent conflict between House Neumann and some Independent magicians in its sphere of influence.

Role of Native Tribes
The area west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the site of the Ohio War. The Ohio War was a war between the United States and the Western Confederacy that lasted from 1785 to 1795. Hostilities between native tribes and American settlers were at a feverish pitch, and by the late 1780s, American settlers and travelers had suffered approximately 1500 casualties.

Alan preferred to travel alone, using his magic and mundane weapons to protect himself from attacks. With the spreading violence in the Ohio area, Alan would have made a potentially easy target for bandits or raiders.