Angela Young

Angela Young, Facebookgroep Descendants of Ferdinand Meyenfeldt (19-10-2019), sandhillmom2@yahoo.com, Cc: Alicia Hickson, aliciadh936@gmail.com

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Bilthoven, 10 januari 2020

Dear Angela,

Thank you that I may join your group. I am Hugo, member of familygroup from the Netherlands, with branches in America. The spelling of the  name of our two families is identical, although mine carries the “von” suffix. I am still investigating how our families might be related. My greatgreatgrandfather (1760-1835) was the natural son of a Swedish count. Fred Meyenfeldt had a greatgrandfather who was a baron and lived 1780 in Rösebeck, Warburg, Westfalia, owner of Desenberg. His son August Wolfgang Julius was born 1793 in Switzerland, died Rösebeck 30-04-1848, military and mayor, married Emilia Scholing, four children of whom Julius Friedrich (1817-1864) married Caroline Julie Friederike von Gilsa. One of their 5 children was Fred, who emigrated to America. Fred jr (1924-2006) once called my wife to ask me a lot of questions, but did not leave his phone number. Do you have more information about the early history or are you focussing on the descendants of Fred sr only?

Best regards, Hugo


11 januari 2020

Oh my goodness! 

This is my family line.  Fred Jr was my grandmother’s brother.  Let’s connect on this.  My phone number is 3084588901 or email sandhillmom2@yahoo.com


Bilthoven, 11 januari 2020

Dear Angela,

Thank you for your e-mail address. Our privacy is better protected now and we can communicate whenever we like.

I wonder who your grandmother was, because Fred Jr had 9 (older) sisters. He shared the same mother Sartory with 2 married sisters: Jessy May (Obert) and Elsie Helen (first Searle, later Gilpin). His married half sisters with an earlier mother Wilkin were Alice Sidney (Airly), Ada/Ida Isobell (Scott), and Laura Irene (Warburton).

As fas as I know Fred Jr did not have children, neither from his first marriage to Agnes Brooks, nor from his second Clair Edwards. That would mean the name Meyenfeldt died out in America, although Meyerfeld and Mayerfeld flourishes in Jewish families.

I know most names and years of Fred Sr’s three sisters and one brother, who lived in a institute for disabled people in Germany, and also of his parents. The longer we go back, the less information I have.

Hopefully you are both interested in descendants and ancestors.

All the best, Hugo


12 januari 2020

Hello Hugo,

I am Jessie May Meyenfeldt’s granddaughter.  My father Les Obert Jr. was her only child.

I am wondering how you fit into the Meyenfeldt line?

Best regardsAngela


Bilthoven, 12 januari 2020

Dear Angela,

Thank you for the response. In that case you probably already have the similar picture of the gravestone of your greatgrandmother Anna Sartory, born Pittsburgh, Allegeny PV 25-09-1890, died Casper 25 or 27-09-1958, daughter of Emil Herman Sartory (1849-1931) and Anna Mary Schuppe (1867-), married Rapid City, Pennington SD 21-02-1912 to baron Ferdinand (Fred) August Julius Meyenfeldt, * Rösebeck 25-04-1860, † Casper, Natrona WY 18-05-1939. I copy a nice picture of a Sartory reunion below (Family reunion Sartory 1922. Jessy May Meyenfeldt: frontline below, second from the left).

With regard to your question where I fit in I am still researching. The answer lies somewhere in Rösebeck, Switzerland or somewhere else in Europe. The three European generations before Fred Sr were called “von Meyenfeldt”, even closer to my name. Do you have any stories about Europe? I am also interested in the full paper clipping about the Prussian baron.

All the best, Hugo


21 januari 2020

Dear Hugo,  

I apologize for not staying in touch. I am traveling to a different state to visit my daughter. I will be home January 26. I will forward a copy of the newspaper article. It is from the Casper Star Tribune. I acquired it on newspapers.com. I have letters from Germany that were sent to Elsie in the 1960’s. I will find those when I get home and send you copies. She was conversing with some of the family in Germany if I recall. 

Best wishesAngela Young


Bilthoven, 21 januari 2020

Dear Angela,

Thank you for your message and all the efforts you are going to take.

All the best, Hugo


27 januari 2020

Newspapers by Ancestry

Ferdinand 1 Casper Star-Tribune 18-05-1939, pag. 2

Ferdinand 2 Casper Star-Tribune 21-05-1939, pag. 10

Ferdinand 3 The Monitor (McAllen, Texas) 28-05-2006, pag. 18


Bilthoven, 27 januari 2020

Dear Angela,

Thank you very much for the interesting and beautiful newspaper clippings. Let me add some details.

I already wrote about the father of  Ferdinand (baron Julius Friedrich von Meyenfeld, 1817-1864) and his ancestors. His mother was barones Caroline von und zu Gilsa (1821-). When he was four years old his father died.  His mother married Joseph Weber five years later. This person exploited the Desenberg family estate commercially. His grandmother barones Sophie von Leliwa (1792-1871) – whom divorced his grandfather Ludwig Karl von und zu Gilsa (1789-1856) – was shocked and decided to adopt Ferdinand. She arranged that he could live with her family and follow an agricultural school in Germany.

When Fred after his studies emigrated to America he continued te receive an allowance from his grandmother’s family until World War I. He started as a farmer and later – when he became a painter – continued botanical activities in his spare time. On August 13, 1884, two months after his marriage to  Margaret Jane Wilson Wilkin, he was arrested in relation to the murder of Henry Hick. This man was active in a trade union. While attacking strike breakers he was shot. In the end only William Smith was accused, Fred was sent home.

I hope you like de details of Ferdinand’s life. If you knew them already or are not particularly interested, please let me know.

Best regardsHugo


28 januari 2020

This is all so interesting and unknown to me.  Please keep sharing information.  Our father, Lester Obert, was always interested in family history and intended to compile it in a book. He is in the latter stages of Parkinson’s Disease and no longer capable of answering my questions. My biggest question has been “how did Ferdinand and Anna Marie Sartory get together?”  She was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he was in Pennington, South Dakota. Do you know the answer to that?

Thank you for your willingness to share what you know.

Angie


Bilthoven, 29 januari 2020

Dear Angela,

Agreed, I will fill you in on new details as soon as I find them.

I can only assume how Fred and Anna Marie met. What do you think of the possibility that Fred visited the Phipps Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh as often as he could, because his education and profession in those days was in farming and gardening, focusing in botanics and flowers? They could have met each other over there, but that is a wild guess.

Best wishesHugo


Bilthoven, 8 februari 2020

Dear Angie,

This time it is me who found a newspaper. Fred was a speaker at a “green” conference in Rapid City, one year after his first wife died of rheumatism. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.105940418&view=1up&seq=31&size=125. It is quite certain that he spoke at other conferences as well. Why not in Chicago?

I also found a picture of Fred sr.

Best regards, Hugo


10 februari 2020

Dear Hugo, 

Thank you, I had never seen that article before. I wonder how Ferdinand ended up in Casper?  I’m trying to reach out to my Dad’s cousins to see if they have any of these answers. I opened up an old suitcase that my father gave me.  It held old pictures (many unnamed). Pictures of Ferdinand and Anna Maria Meyenfeldt. There is a framed ribbon that says “father” that had been on Ferdinand’s casket. Maybe if I do enough digging in it I’ll find something that answers some questions. Have you taken an Ancestry DNA test? 

Best regardsAngie