Mitteilungsblatt 123 Summer 2019 £3.50 - Anglo-German Family History Society

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Summer 2019                                  £3.50

       Mitteilungsblatt 123

                                   Founded 1987
                                    A MUTUAL
                                 SELF-HELP GROUP

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ANGLO-GERMAN FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY
                                               www.agfhs.org
                         Mobile Telephone No. (meeting days only) – 07879 718009
                           The Society’s online bookshop is at www.genfair.com

        Founder                                      Programme Organiser
        Roy Bernard                                  Ann Sternberg Gilmore
                                                     asgilmore@btinternet.com
        Vice-President                               Address as above
        Jenny Towey BA
        4 Channel Heights                            Membership Secretary and
        Bleadon Hill                                 Membership Directory Search Service
        Weston-super-Mare/Somerset                   Mrs Betty Anderson
        BS24 9LX                                     15 Cromer Road
        Tel: 01934 248399                            Southend-on-Sea
        jenny@towey.me.uk                            Essex SS1 2DU
                                                     iandbanderson@btinternet.com
        Vice-President
        Peter Towey BA (Hons) DipGen                 Minutes Secretary
        peter@towey.me.uk                            Mrs Sue Neale
        Address and telephone no. as above           6 South View Gardens
                                                     Andover
        EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS                  Hants SP10 2AG
        Chairperson                                  susan_ann_neale@hotmail.co.uk
        Noële Barnfield
        258 Hanworth Road, Hounslow                  Publicity Officer
        Middlesex TW3 3TY                            Mrs Eluned Eidmans BA (Hons)
        nbarnfield@yahoo.com                         Tresco, 26 Haddon Way
                                                     Carlyon Bay
        Secretary/Regional Meetings                  St Austell, Cornwall PL25 3QG
        Co-ordinator                                 eeidmans@hotmail.com
        Gwen Davis BA (Hons)
        2 Monterey Park                              Website Editor
        Rowantree Road                               website@agfhs.org
        Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4BZ
        Gwen@trongo.plus.com

        Treasurer
        Jeremy Gilmore
        31 Danebury Walk
        Frimley, Camberley, Surrey GU16 8XU
        jgilmore@btinternet.com

                                    SEE ALSO INSIDE BACK COVER

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Editorial                                                  Contents
        First of all we must thank our Website                     R E GU LARS
        Manager, Jeremy Gilmore, for overseeing                    Gwen's Notes                                         2
        the update of our editorial website. After
        extensive testing this is now working                      Local Meetings                                   2, 5
        very well and makes us more efficient
        in processing your contributions. In                       Society Meetings                                     3
        particular, we are now hoping to be able
                                                                   Book & CD Review                                     9
        to handle more illustrations than was
        the case in the past.                                      Membership Information                               9
            To enable us to deal with your
        contributions more efficiently it would be                 Names of Interest                                  10
        appreciated if you send letters and
        articles which you wish to be published                    Subjects of Interest                               10
        as a word attachment rather than in the                    Society Bookshop                                   17
        body of the e-mail. This is particularly
        important if you are including links to a                  Feedback                                           21
        website, since transmission errors often
        arise when transferring your material from                 Recipe                                             33
        an e-mail.                                                 Can You Help?                                      36
            We are looking forward to receiving
        your contributions. Please send to:
                       agfhsedit@gmail.com                         A rticles
        There is no recommended length – your                      Internment in South Africa during
        contributions can be long or short.                        WWII: Hugo Albert Dittrich                           5
        Please note that, however short your
        contribution, it will be more swiftly                      Polish Immigrant Ancestors                           8
        processed if it is sent as a Word                          Johann Bernhardt Pfeil                             11
        attachment. Text sent in the body of the
        e-mail will take longer to deal with.                      Finding Bullwinkle                                 13
           Typed or hand-written contributions
        can, of course, still be sent in. Please                   The Steigenberger Family and
        send in duplicate, enclosing SAE if                        Berger Paints                                      24
        acknowledgement required, to:                              The German Church in Brighton,
              agfhs edit, c/o 55 Evesham Rd,                       Sussex                                             28
                     London N11 2RR
                                                                   German War Graves at Langemark,
                                                                   Flanders                                           33
                                    Your Editorial Team

        Front cover: Wreath of oak leaves,
        German War Cemetery, Langemark,
        Flanders (see article on pp. 33-36).

         ISSN 0954-3457
         Articles in this journal may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the
         Author or Committee. The Society does not accept any responsibility for the views expressed in any of
         the articles in this publication.
         © 2019 – Published in England by Anglo-German Family History Society Publications
         Design/origination by Rochart and printed by The Print Republic
                                                                           AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   1

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Gwen’s Notes
          I'll start these notes with some comments about Victorian London from a
          German journalist, Max SCHLESINGER on his visit in 1853. He was
          unimpressed by being “surrounded by dirty streets, lanes, courts and
          alleys”. He claimed to be in danger from “ being run over or tossed up by
          drivers and beasts”. At night perils included the fact that “rapine and murder
          prowl in the lane and alleys”. In fact given he reported his views in Germany
          isn't it amazing so many of our ancestors came over to London at all?
               The Liverpool Family Historian had an interesting article about one
          member's ancestor. Part of his story is about him lodging with a Theresa KLEIN
          in Daulby Street, Liverpool. Theresa was the daughter of Laura and Lehmann
          Klein. I can send on the full article for 2nd class stamps and a sae.
               “Discover Your Ancestors” has an article on celebrity families. Apparently
          the actor Tom Hiddleston, (of Night Manager fame), has German ancestry
          through the SERVAES family of Germany.
               Finally I have an article from an old copy of Family Tree Magazine entitled
          “When the Germans Invaded London” which gives background on German
          emigration during the nineteenth century. Articles as above. It is by an
          AGFHS member Janet Harris.

          Gwen Davis, member 15

                                          Local meetings
             I would like to encourage members to consider whether they could
             organise a meeting of the AGFHS local to them. It can be very
             rewarding and I know from personal experience that people really
             enjoy local get-togethers. The society can help in various ways,
             perhaps by providing speakers, so please do contact me for more
             information.
                One meeting has already been arranged. Jenny and Peter Towey
             are inviting members and friends to their home in Western-super-
             Mare 5 Oct 2019. For more details see item later in the Blatt.

             Gwen Davis, member 15

         2   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

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Society Meetings
           Meetings are held on the second               Fis(c)her, Mead, Krause and
           Saturday of alternate months (unless          Bangerter but you will need to attend
           otherwise notified) – February, April,        the meeting yourself to hear more
           June, August, October and December,           about Chris’s interesting German
           in the King’s Cross Methodist Church          ancestors as he was reluctant to
           Hall in Crestfield Street, WC1, directly      give away much more of the story in
           opposite King’s Cross Main Line rail          advance, apart from having
           station (please see map on the back           descended from at least one rogue!
           page). The hall is open from 12.30pm       12 October 2019
           to 5pm.
                                                      1.30pm – German Immigration – Sue
           8 June 2019                                   Gibbons, member and retired
           1.30pm – AGM                                  librarian at the Society of
           3.30pm – WW1 POW Camps in Britain:            Genealogists in London
              An Update on German, Swiss and UK          In Sue’s years of working at the SoG
              Archival Materials – Colin Chapman         she has acquired enormous
              Colin will update us on his research       knowledge of sources on German
              on this subject and share his              immigration and about sources for
              experiences of, and the documents          researching your German ancestors.
              available in, some of the archives he   3.30pm – TBA
              has used in the last year or two in     14 December 2019
              Europe and the UK.
           5 - 8pm – Summer Social – Please           1.30pm – ‘Dear Pastor, I will be arriving
              contact Nöele Barnfield to book            at Liverpool Street Station on 11th
              your place. Those who attend enjoy         January…’: The Help Given to
              a good meal, the chance to get to          Women by Women in the 1930s –
              know other members a bit better            Anette Jäger, historian
              and take part in a fun quiz.               For several years Anette has been
                                                         researching the stories of Christian
           10 August 2019                                refugees of Jewish descent. This
           1.30pm – Travels in Search of Archives:       second talk on her research is a
              Chasing My Baltic Trader Across the        compelling follow up to her first talk
              Globe – Irene Cowan, member                and focuses on the role of women in
              We heard part of this story a decade       bringing refugees to London in the
              ago and it was fascinating. If             1930s. A main source for her talk is
              possible, don’t miss this talk.            information in letters found in the
           3.30pm – A Victorian ‘Catch me if you         archives of St George’s German
              can!’ – The Strange Tale of Martin         Lutheran Church in Alie Street in the
              Georg Adolphus Konrad Meyer (a             East End of London.
              Reluctant Shoemaker) and other          3.30pm – Queen Victoria Seaman’s
              German Ancestors – Christopher             Rest, East India Dock Road and the
              Rawlins, member                            German’s Seaman’s Mission in
              (Please note that this talk was            Tilbury Docks – Revd Cameron
              originally scheduled for the June          Kirkwood and Revd Mark Moeller,
              meeting.) The story also includes a        Pastors
              second Shoemaker and at least one          This talk about another aspect of life
              Clockmaker and the surnames of             in London’s East End was given at St

                                                            AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   3

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George’s German Lutheran Church           e-mailing me or it may be mistakenly
              last November and I am delighted to       deleted as spam. If you have
              have them give the talk for us.           contacted me and had no reply, your
           5 - 8pm – Christmas Social – Please          message may have gone astray and I
              contact Nöele Barnfield to book           can only apologise, so please try
              your place.                               again. If you would like help putting
                                                        your illustrations into a Powerpoint
           Please let me know if there are any          Presentation, that can be arranged.
           topics or speakers which you would           We also have a traditional slide
           like to have at a future meeting, and I      projector, an overhead projector, and a
           will try to oblige. Thanks to those who      laser pointer available.
           have already suggested speakers. If
           you would like to tell us about              Finally, ‘Thank You!’ to all those
           researching your German-speaking             members who have generously
           ancestors (or some aspect of social          volunteered to give a talk for us.
           history) in a short or a full-length talk,
           please contact me through my details         Ann Sternberg Gilmore, Programme
           inside the front cover. Your subject         Organiser
           line should include ‘AGFHS’ when

                  Christmas Social 14th December 2019
        There will be a Christmas social as usual after the Society Meeting on
        14 December.
          Details will be put on the website nearer the time, and they will also
        appear in the Autumn edition of the Blatt.

        Noële Barnfield, Chair Person

                           Future Family History Fairs
           Peter and Jenny Towey are organising for our stand to be at just one more
           Family History Fair this year and are then hanging up their hats.

           VOLUNTEERS FOR FUTURE FAIRS NEEDED
           If you would like to book, organise volunteers and take the boxes of books
           to future fairs then we will come along, with the Name Index (and our
           hats!), and talk to customers. Do let Jenny or Peter know if you are
           interested in taking on this role.

           jenny@towey.me.uk

         4   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

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Regional meeting
                                         5th October, 2019
                                 Weston-super-Mare, N Somerset
           On Saturday, 5th October, Jenny and Peter Towey are hosting a regional meeting
           at their home in Weston-super-Mare. We will be “open” from 11am to 5pm – so
           you can arrive/leave any time between those hours. Cheese and biscuits will be
           provided for lunch (but do bring your own lunch if you prefer).
              The Names Index, reference books and the Society shop will all be available.
           You are welcome to come along to ask questions, chat about German FH or FH
           in general or to ask others how they did their research.
              Our address details are on the inside front and rear covers of the Blatt: do
           park in the drive if space available.

           Jenny Towey, Vice-President

          Internment in South Africa during
             WWII: Hugo Albert Dittrich

        H
               ugo Albert DITTRICH was born on 26 June 1904 in
               Meerane, a town which lies midway between the towns of
               Altenburg and Zwickau, west of Chemnitz. To the best of my
        knowledge his parents continued to live in Meerane until they died.
        He had a younger sister but neither I nor any of my siblings ever met
        any member of his immediate family.
            He was a compositor by trade and        but do remember being told by
        immigrated to South Africa in 1929.         mother that daddy gone ‘up north’ –
        He and my mother married in 1930            an expression used in South Africa to
        and my eldest sister Margot and elder       explain that members of the South
        brother Bill were born in 1931 and 1933     African military forces had gone to
        respectively. I was born in 1935 and I      North Africa to join the hostilities in
        have two younger siblings, both             that part of the continent. Whilst not
        sisters, who were born in 1938 and          strictly applicable in my father’s case,
        1942.                                       I guess the explanation was given to
            At the outbreak of hostilities in       avoid any suggestion that he was
        1939 I was just four years old and our      being arrested. On being given this
        family was resident in                      information by my mother,
        Pietermaritzburg. I have no first-hand      notwithstanding that he had already
        recollection of my father being taken       left the family home, I do recall
        away by the South African authorities       waving goodbye to an already non-
                                                          AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   5

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existent figure leaving our home. I             godparents who also lived in
        believe this was likely to have taken           Pietermaritzburg and I was
        place in December 1939.                         despatched to Durban to spend the
            Dad’s internment was on the                 next two to three years living with my
        grounds that he was an enemy alien              maternal grandparents.
        and, besides being an avid stamp                    After several appeals by my
        collector, he was a philatelist                 mother, who was aided by a German-
        indulging in a trading network with a           South African friendship association
        wide selection of similarly interested          (of which I have no details), the
        persons. He maintained that it was              authorities relented and Dad was
        his wide circle of fellow stamp                 released from internment in early
        collectors (many of whom were of                1942 and he began a round of
        German origin) that led the                     attempts to secure employment. In
        authorities to suspect that he was              Pietermaritzburg, the capital of Natal
        engaging in some form of activity               Province, this proved a most testing
        prejudicial to the well-being of South          time. Natal was at that time, and
        African interests, given that the               indeed for a good many years
        country was supportive of British               afterwards, regarded by many South
        involvement in the prevailing                   Africans as “the last outpost of the
        hostilities.                                    British Empire”. Not a good time for a
            His internment was at a camp in             German to be seeking employment in
        Baviaanspoort in the Transvaal                  that neck of the woods.
        Province of South Africa.                           His lack of success in the
            I have virtually no knowledge of            employment field in Natal resulted in
        conditions at Baviaanspoort and have            him moving to Johannesburg where
        not been successful in tracing any              he successfully landed a position with
        details of an internment camp there.            an Afrikaans language newspaper Die
            His departure created an                    Transvaler. About three months later
        understandable host of problems for             he secured a better job, this time in
        my mother and her brood of three                Bloemfontein and once again it was
        young children. She was a maths                 with an Afrikaans language
        teacher at a prominent school in                newspaper Die Volksblad Koerant. He
        Pietermaritzburg and she was                    was by all accounts held in high
        allocated a small flat in the school            esteem in his trade and, considering
        grounds which she moved into with               his mother tongue was German and
        my eldest sister, Margot, then just             the fact that our home language was
        eight years old. Margot had been                English, it is all the more to his credit
        allocated a place in the school junior          that he landed these jobs with
        to my mother’s school, which was                Afrikaans language papers at such a
        located in close proximity to its higher        tricky time.
        companion school. Brother Bill, who                 However, I believe it was 1943
        was a day scholar at Christian                  before the whole family got together
        Brothers College, was sent to live with

         6   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

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again and we came to live in              and, after several short-term periods
        Johannesburg.                             of being apart, they eventually parted
            Being a German national still         company for good in the late 1940’s
        presented my father with problems of      and divorced a few years later. I saw
        a social nature after his release from    my father for the last time in the mid-
        internment and as a consequence he        1950s. He returned to Europe, married
        rarely spoke German and we, as            a lady of Swiss origin and died in
        children, were provided with little       about 1956.
        opportunity to learn the language.            It is interesting to speculate on the
        Inevitably, however, along with my        fact that during my lifetime he was
        siblings, we did pick up smatterings of   always known as Jimmy. According to
        German which in my case was to            my mother, it seems at an early stage
        prove of considerable assistance when     of his working life in South Africa,
        I was sent by my employer at the          probably in his first job, that in his
        grand old age of 23 to spend six          firm there were men who had the
        months in the Hamburg office of the       same names as my father’s two
        company. The only problem was that        forenames – one was called Hugo and
        all the permanent members of staff        another named Albert. Quite a
        were German nationals and they were       coincidence. So he was given the
        always trying to improve their            nickname of Jimmy. Why Jimmy? I
        English. It can be seen that certain      can’t say but it is interesting to note
        barriers still existed for me in this     that I have no recollection of my
        direction but I am happy to believe       mother ever addressing him as either
        that my spoken German has stood me        Hugo or Albert; she generally
        good stead over the years. However, I     addressed him as James or Jimmy and
        must admit that my wife generally         introduced him to others as James –
        refers to my spoken German as             very English indeed!
        Kneiperdeutsch.
            Regrettably by about 1950 relations   John Dittrich, member 5389
        between my parents had deteriorated

                                 Calling All Overseas Members
            I would like to hear from overseas members about their research into
            their German ancestry. You may remember that a few years ago,
            Jeanette Spence our late former Secretary, appealed for information
            and the resultant articles were very interesting. What research have
            you done and do you have any unusual sources for German material?
            If you responded before perhaps you can send an update. Please
            contact me by email or letter – details on the inside cover of the 'Blatt.

            Gwen Davis, member 15

                                                       AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   7

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Polish Immigrant Ancestors?
           In the Society of Genealogists’ September newsletter there were five tips
           for researching Polish immigrants to England:

           1 In the SoG library are records compiled by Antoni and Stella
             Szachnowski, members of the Catholic FHS. Polish Subsistence includes
             returns of Polish refugees receiving assistance from a Parliamentary
             Grant, between 1838 and 1841. Polish Genealogy covers a diverse
             range of records listing Polish immigrants. These include register entries
             of the Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Czestochowa, baptisms from St Peter
             Apostulate, electoral rolls for St Pancras (1891), Lambeth (1891), St
             Marylebone (1892) and Westminster Borough (1908); plus entries from
             the 1841 census of Portsea, Hants, the Polish Refugee Hospital and
             naturalisation records. A (part) index is available on SoG Data Online.
           2 Research Poland’s history – especially your ancestor’s region (if known).
             Try to establish the name of the town or village of origin as names
             changed over time. The following website http://www.polishroots.org
             provides background information, history, contact details and advice
             about how to make enquiries for records held in Poland.
           3 Check immigration records as your family may have arrived here via
             another country, such as Germany. The Ancestry site has some German
             ships’ passenger lists but remember to think laterally with name
             spelling.
           4 The Jewish Gen website has useful resources for finding Ashkenazi
             Jews. It has a useful link for identifying place names:
             www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker. Jewish congregations in Poland were
             required to retain birth, marriage and burial registers.
           5 Before 1874, when Poland began civil registration, the baptism, marriage
             and burial registers were maintained by Catholic and Protestant
             churches. You can discover the location of both church and civil records
             by searching a database on the Polish State Archives website www.
             archiwa.gov.pl. Those parts of Belarus and Ukraine which were in
             Poland are held in those respective countries. For most recent records
             contact the consular division of the Embassy of Poland
             http://www.london.mfa.gov.pl/en/.

           With many thanks to Tim Lawrence and Emma Jolly of the SoG.

           Jenny Towey, Vice-President

         8   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

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Friend or Foe?
                 The fascinating story of women’s internment during
                   WWII in Port Erin and Port St Mary, Isle of Man
                   By members of Rushen Internment Camp Heritage Action Team
             Published in 2018, ISBN 978-0-9932914-4-9, £18.95, pp256

             This is the story of Rushen Internment Camp – in the villages of Port Erin and
             Port St Mary on the Isle of Man – which was the only internment camp for
             women and married couples (and their children) in Europe in WWII.
                Written in a relaxed and easy to read, yet informative, style – despite
             having seven authors. An interesting and valuable contribution to the
             internment story.

             Jenny Towey, Vice-President

           Membership Information
        Deceased
        1747             Mrs Rosamund Lodge, 3 Suffolk Court, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0GY
        4796             Mr Robert W Downes, 63 Hawks Way, Ashford, Kent, TN23 5UW
        Change of address
        0048             Mrs Lily Stone, c/o 82 Myddleton Avenue, London, N4 2FH
        0732             Mrs Barbara Freake, 55 Lode Close, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5HR
        1254             Ms Christine Chambers, 4 Tenby Close, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 1LN
        5239             Mr Michael Austin, 9 Silky Oak Rise, Kew, New South Wales 2439,
                         Australia
        5396             Mrs Madeleine Mills, 14 Hoy Crescent, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex,
                         RH11 0GG
        Welcome to the following new members
        5494             Mrs Patricia Williams, Flat 2, Restway Court, Danescourt Way, Llandaff,
                         Cardiff, CF5 2SF
        5495             Mrs Shirley Lloyd, 2 Sunview Rise, Bouvard, Western Australia 6211,
                         Australia
                                                                 AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   9

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5496             Mr Rory McGregor, 25 St Mary’s Mansions, St Mary’s Terrace, London,
                         W2 1SQ
        5497             Mrs Christine Williams, 2 Kinveachy Gardens, Charlton, London, SE7
                         8ED
        5498             Mrs Barbara J Wood, 3 Akera Close, Hillarys, Western Australia 6025,
                         Australia
        5499             Mr John Holsgrove, 56 Monnow Road, London, SE1 5RQ

           Names of Interest
        DRAESEKE                      London 1760-1820/Jamaica 1760-1820/
                                      Canada 1820-1860                                         5496
        FICKEN                        Hannover Bierdem Prussia/Limehouse
                                      Bromley/Essex                                            5498
        HOLTZGRAFE                    London/Devon                                             5499
        HOLZGRAFE                     London/Devon                                             5499
        HOLZGRAVE                     London/Devon                                             5499
        HOLZGREFE                     London/Devon                                             5499
        LA ROCHE                      Hollenbach 1821-1897                                     5495
        LEMMER                        Frankfurt /Jersey Channel Islands/ Cardiff               5494
        WALTER                        Antigua British West Indies 1760-1820                    5496
        ZIPFLEGER                     Middlesex Whitechapel                                    5497

           Subjects of Interest
        Business and Occupations                           People, Places and Populations
        Sugar bakers – refinery London                     Whitechapel as a place of arrival
          1846                                      5498     for German immigrants
                                                             1780-1800                         5497

               The 1910-1915 Lloyd George Domesday Survey
             This survey was created after the             written annotations. The
             1910 Finance Act: it was designed             Genealogist also has the
             to produce a tax on property. The             complementary Field Books that
             unique combination of maps and                provide researchers with detailed
             residential data is held at The               information regarding the valuation
             National Archives, at Kew, but is             of each property, the owner, the
             being digitised by The Genealogist            occupier, the size and address.
             (a subscription website).
                The maps are large scale and               Jenny Towey, Vice-President
             exceptionally detailed, with hand-

         10   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

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Johann Bernhardt Pfeil (1685-1716)

        I
               t is of immense interest to me that my 6x great grandfather is
               fairly well documented in his career at the Residence of the
               Prince of Hesse in the small mediaeval fortified city of Butzbach.
            The German PFEIL family came         Godfather to Leopold Heinrich, who
        from a long lineage of devout            was named after him. When the
        Lutherans living in Butzbach. The        Baron passed away in 1730 Bernhard
        Church records of St Mark’s Lutheran     Pfeil became Hofmeister to Prince
        Church go back to our patriarch of       Heinrich of Hesse. It seems that
        the family tree – my 11x great           Bernhard was a well-trusted
        grandfather Johann Heinrich Pfeil, a     companion to the Prince. As a
        contemporary and acquaintance of         young man he had been supportive
        Dr Martin Luther himself, the great      of the Hesse brothers at the naval
        Protestant reformer.                     victory which saved Gibraltar from
            Bernhard(t) Pfeil was the son of     the threat posed by a combined
        Philipp Pfeil of Butzbach, and he        Spanish and French fleet in 1704.
        commenced his illustrious career as      (The younger Hesse brother, Georg,
        the cook to Prince Heinrich von          died).
        Hesse at his castle residence. The           Bernhard was saddened when, in
        first step up on his career ladder was   1741, Prince Heinrich von Hesse
        in the New Year of 1710. The             passed away, and retired from service
        following year he married Anna           to found a small merchant banking
        GRIST of Butzbach, whose brother         business based in Frankfurt-am
        Philipp Grist was also a cook to the     –Main, which was about twenty-five
        other aristocrat in the town, namely     kilometres south of Butzbach. He
        Graf zu SOLMS. The brother-in-law        retired early and was well-known in
        became a close friend, and indeed,       Butzbach as ‘Herr’ Bernhard – a title
        one of Bernhard’s sons, Georg,           in those days only used for the
        became a menu writer.                    mayorality.
            Bernhard and Anna Pfeil had              He led an eventful life indeed –
        eight children, of which five survived   the only cloud being the ravages of
        infancy (child mortality was a feature   the Seven Years War which engulfed
        in those days). It was the second son,   that part of Europe from 1756-1763
        Leopold Heinrich, who was to                 Bernhard Pfeil’s wealth can be
        continue the family line.                seen from his tax returned – but it
            In 1720 Bernhard Pfeil was           was less evident when the
        promoted to Butler to the Prince of      commanders of enemy troops were
        Hesse under his mentor, the              billeted on his household. The same
        Hofmeister, Baron Leopold Heinrich       thing happened to Goethe’s family
        von FORSTENER Y DAMPENOY.                much later, during the Napoleonic
        The Baron von Forstenor was              conflict.
                                                     AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   11

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 11                                                             25/4/19 17:50:04
It was Bernhard’s son Leopold                 Goethe’s grandfather, Friedrich
        Heinrich Pfeil who moved to                      Georg Goethe (Gothé) had to leave
        Frankfurt and married Frederica                  Lyons in a hurry because of the
        WALTER, whose aunt, Cornelia                     revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
        Walter, was the grandmother of the               The Goethe family, like the Pfeil
        famour poet Johann Wolfgang von                  family, were Lutheran believers.
        Goethe. Leopold Heinrich took his                Friedrich Georg Goethe returned to
        career in a different direction – he             his home city of Frankfurt and in
        was a notable master of the French               order to join the Guild of Tailors
        language as well as Headmaster of                married Cornelia Walter, aunt to my
        the prestigious Pfeil private school in          5x great-grandmother Frederica
        Frankfurt. He taught French to,                  Charlotte Wilhelmina Walter. My 5x
        among others, Wolfgang and                       great-grandparents married in
        Cornelia Goethe.                                 Frankfurt on 3 May 1747.

        Postscript                                       Charles Pfeil, member 1765
        It is believed that Bernhard Pfeil was
        born in 1685. That same year,

                                               What’s On
        • The Genealogy Show 7th & 8th June 2019; NEC, Birmingham
          This is another new venture being run by an international group of
          genealogists. www.thegenealogyshow.uk
        • The Family History Show 22nd June 2019; York racecourse
          Run by the people from The Genealogist – who also organise the Sandown
          Park and SWAG fairs. https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com
        • Family History Show South West, Saturday 6th July, 2019, Exhibition Centre
          at University of West of England, Bristol
        • The London Show 24th August 2019; Sandown Park Racecourse
          Also run by The Genealogist people. https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com
        • AGRA (Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives) Conference
          27th & 28th September 2019; Pembroke College, Oxford
          Commences with formal dinner on 27th and lectures held on Saturday 28th.
          You don’t have to attend dinner and stay the night if you just want to hear the
          lectures. Open to all, not just AGRA members. www.agraconference.com
        • RootsTech London, 24th-26th October 2019, ExCel London Convention
          Centre

        Jenny Towey, Vice-President

         12   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 12                                                         25/4/19 17:50:04
HELP WITH REFRESHMENTS AT
                       SOCIETY MEETINGS
            Could you help prepare the refreshments for the meetings of the
            Society, with a view to taking over fully from Rose Mint when she
            'retires'. Meetings are held 6 times a year on the second Saturday
            of the month near King’s Cross station, London.
               We are preferably looking for at least 2 volunteers. You will have
            access to a fully equipped modern kitchen, but will be asked to buy
            the tea, coffee, milk and biscuits etc. for which the Society will
            reimburse you.
               If you would like to offer your help, please speak to Noële or
            Rose at a meeting.
               Alternatively, contact Noële on: 07940584730/020 8737 0371,
            or email: nbarnfield@yahoo.com, who will be happy to answer any
            queries you may have.

                                  Finding Bullwinkle

        I
            n 2014, I was lucky enough to have a researcher in Germany
            produce my KORTEN & BEHNKEN German family tree which –
            in a heartbeat, following nearly twenty years of my own research
        – took me from my paternal great grandparents all the way back to
        the 17th century. At last I had found some sense of my German
        identity and I am so grateful for this. As a child, my English family
        refused to explain the origin of our family name or to discuss any
        connection with Germany. The relative recent memory of World War
        2 had led to self-denial.
           The sadness of all that was that     have not been in contact with my
        we never knew our German relatives      cousins, their two daughters, since
        and anyone who knew any detail has      then. Getting to – shall we say –
        now gone.                               mature years, I decided it was time to
           The English family group broke       try to draw my family back together
        apart during the 1960s following a      again before it is all too late. So it
        family fall-out. One particular aunt    was that during 2018 I made contact
        and uncle of mine were totally          with all my cousins and we are
        estranged from the family and so I

                                                    AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   13

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 13                                                            25/4/19 17:50:04
hoping to be reunited again
        sometime soon.
            In conversation with one of my
        long-lost cousins, I mentioned that I
        am a keen family historian and this
        resulted in a declaration that they
        were in possession of an old family
        photo album which I didn’t even
        know existed. I was consequently
        delighted to receive copies of all the
        photographs from the album and I
        have since been trying to allocate
        names to the faces. Most of the
        photos are not named so it will be a
        long-term project and I have to
        accept it may ultimately be a fruitless
        quest without some remarkable good
        luck coming my way.
            For the last few months I have
        been working on dating the pictures
        and identifying a police uniform
        depicted in one of them. On                      Henry Bullwinkle
        examining them all very closely                  baker database (www.mawer.clara.
        through a magnifying glass, I spotted            net) and who wrote the excellent
        that a photo of a very smartly dressed           book ‘Sugarbakers, From Sweat to
        portly gentleman had the name                    Sweetness’ for the AGFHS. I knew
        BULLWINKLE pencilled on it. Who,                 from previously corresponding with
        I thought to myself, was Bullwinkle?             him that he had researched a vast
        It certainly wasn’t a name that                  number of German immigrant
        appeared in my family tree. I wanted             families and the name Bullwinkle is
        to know who he was and why he was                specifically mentioned in his book.
        there.                                           Bryan narrowed the possible subject
            In July 2018 I contacted Bryan               down to one of two Bullwinkle men,
        Mawer who maintains the sugar                    one of whom was the most likely

        Extract from 1871 census
         14   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 14                                                         25/4/19 17:50:05
candidate because he had lived in        between the late 1860s and 1874. One
        the same streets of east London as       of his sons, Johan (known as John),
        my great grandfather, was of about       inherited the lease when his father
        the same age and had also worked as      died, but John junior transferred the
        a sugar baker in the same sugar          lease to his cousin Henry (born
        refinery at the same time. We            Hinrich) who held the lease between
        spotted them together in Christian       1875 and 1879.
        Street Tower Hamlets in the 1871             Were the publican Bullwinkles
        census return.                           anything to do with my family and
            So clearly this man would have       was one of them the mysterious
        been a part of my family’s               photo man? At this point I decided
        community, possibly attending the        to revisit my old AGFHS fiches
        same church so he must have known        containing the church registers for St
        them and thus was likely to be at the    George’s Alie Street and St Paul’s
        very least a friend or acquaintance.     German Reformed Church. I simply
        His name was Johan Heinrich              made a note of all the Bullwinkles
        Wilhelm Bullwinkle. Following a tip      who appeared in the baptisms,
        off from Bryan and a quick session of    marriages and burials registers with a
        research on www.ancestry.co.uk I         view to gradually working my way
        confirmed he was born in Germany         through them. And it was then that I
        in about 1848, in 1871 married Sophie    discovered the St Paul’s baptisms of
        Margaretha Engel RATHER, a fellow        various children of Heinrich
        German immigrant, at St George’s         BULLWINKEL & his wife Johanna
        Lutheran Church Alie Street and was      BEHNKE/BEHNKEN between 1873
        buried at the City of London & Tower     and 1884, with the most important
        Hamlets (“Bow”) Cemetery in 1910.        pieces of information being his
        Johan and Sophie had about fourteen      addresses in each record: 196 St
        children between 1871 and the mid-       Georges Street (1877 & 1878) – the
        1890s, none of them, as far as I can     exact location of the Red Lion
        tell, having married into my family.     Tavern, The Fox & French Horn at
            I thought the story ended there as   Clerkenwell Green (1880 & 1882) and
        I assumed he was most likely a family    the Railway Tavern, Victoria Dock
        friend. But my curiosity remained. So    (1884).
        I went back to Bryan’s research notes        Reverting to the pubshistory.com
        and looked at the other Bullwinkle       website, I established that Henry
        man he had shortlisted. Johan            Bullwinkle and his family were at the
        Bullwinkle was born in 1819, a sugar     Red Lion up until 1879 and the Fox &
        baker who later became a publican        French Horn between about 1881 and
        and who died in 1874. Bryan              1882. There was no listing for the
        referenced the website www.              Railway Tavern for 1884 or
        pubshistory.com on which I found         thereabouts. The family were also
        Johan listed as publican at the Red      listed as residing at the Fox & French
        Lion Tavern in St George in the East     Horn in the 1881 census return.
                                                     AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   15

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 15                                                             25/4/19 17:50:05
So there we have it. The                     documents, it transpires the 1891
        Bullwinkles were related by way of               census enumerator must have
        marriage to the family of my great               incorrectly transcribed Eimer
        grandmother Becka Catharina                      Bullwinkle age 91 as father-in-law of
        Behnken. But where did Johanna fit               the head of household when he was
        in the Behnken tree? Becka was born              actually Henry’s father. The
        in 1841 and I knew of the existence of           misunderstanding had been further
        four siblings born between 1837 and              compounded by the fact that Eimer’s
        1846 but no Johanna.                             first name was hard to read as the
            My next port of call was an email            census record contains a rather
        to Pete Smee in January 2019, who I              messy correction which has
        had noted had contributed to the                 consequentially been interpreted as
        information on the pubshistory.com               Ernst.
        website. Pete runs the Bullwinkle,                   Of course, I still have no concrete
        BULLWINCKEL, BULLWINKEL,                         evidence as regards the specific
        BULWINKEL and BULWINKLE                          identity of the Bullwinkle man in my
        One Name Study project (www.one-                 photo but in my view it could well be
        name.org) and is a grandson of one               my great grandmother’s brother-in-
        strand of the Bullwinkle Family.                 law Henry Bullwinkle (born about
        AGFHS members may remember his                   1847, date of death not yet known).
        presentation to the Society on the                   I am not familiar at all with dating
        Bullwinkle family in London in 2013.             photos or clothing from the Victorian
            Pete told me that the Bullwinkle             era. The only information on the
        family pub empire collapsed after                reverse of the picture is the
        1883 when one of Henry’s brothers                photographer’s name and location: H
        was found “violently drowned by                  Turner of 245 Commercial Road. This
        person or persons unknown” in the                would be Henry Turner of east
        River Thames at Limehouse Pier –                 London. I understand Turner did not
        that sounds like an interesting story            have this studio between 1892 &
        to follow up! He also advised me that            1908/9 as during that period it was
        Johanna was born in 1850 and her                 occupied by members of the Martin
        parents were Ernst Behnken and                   family.
        Beke Adelheid SEEBECK. My great                      Are any readers able to help? How
        grandmother’s parents were Johan                 old could the chap in the photo be?
        Behnken and Beke Adelheid                        Can we give the picture a more
        Seebeck!                                         accurate date? Is there any additional
            The 1850 baptism I have found for            information out there about the
        Johanna clearly indicates her parents            photographer Henry Turner and the
        as Johan Behnken and his wife Beke               dates he was at the Commercial Road
        Seebeck. So there we are: she surely             studio?
        must be my great grandmother’s
        younger sister. Following hours of               Lorraine Dicksee, member 3535
        poring over the various evidential
         16   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 16                                                             25/4/19 17:50:05
Society Bookshop
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Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 17                                                        25/4/19 17:50:06
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Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 18                                                            25/4/19 17:50:06
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Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 19                                                     25/4/19 17:50:06
Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 20   25/4/19 17:50:06
Mitteilungsblatt 116                      and Isl shows that he was in Islington
                                                  PoW Camp. Clicking on the record
        p. 31                                     should then lead to further
                                                  information, elsewhere on this
        I found Richard DRUHM's WW1               website, but searching for it can be a
        interment record (attached) on the        tedious and difficult task.
        International Red Cross website, by          I have heard a similar story to
        putting his name (surname first) in       Katrin Fitzherbert's from the English
        the search engine and choosing the        descendants of my great-uncle Ernst
        'CIVILIAN prisoners of war' option. The   GUTMANN. He too married an English
        whole record is in French: Alld stands    wife, who joined him in Germany after
        for Allemand (his German nationality)     he went back there in 1919 or 1920.
                                                  In his case, I'm told his return was
                                                  voluntary, I was also told that his wife
                                                  couldn't settle there and returned to
                                                  England on her own. However, the
                                                  family still kept in touch by letter and
                                                  his adult children later visited him.

                                                  Eva Lawrence, member 5270

                                                  Mitteilungsblatt 122
                                                  p. 13
                                                  Apologies to Michael Gaze. There was a
                                                  transmission error in the last paragraph
                                                  of his article on 'Wehrmann Delius'. The
                                                  correct version is:
                                                  " – who did the crossed swords of a
                                                  Rittmeister (Master of Horse) that
                                                  used to hang above her bed as a
                                                  child belong to?"

                                                      AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   21

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 21                                                              25/4/19 17:50:06
Would you like some help researching
                     your Family in Germany?

        woerteragentur provides research assistance for anyone seeking
        information about their family in the following areas of Germany:
        Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

        Research is undertaken by Corinna Meiss, who has many years
        experience researching her own family history in Germany, in England
        as well as throughout the rest of the world. She offers advice as well as
        a fee-based service providing detailed research in the above areas of
        Germany.

        Fee based research carried out by woerteragentur in parish and church
        records, regional and national archives etc., searches sources such as
        original documentation in church registers, wills and probate, registration
        cards, address books, obituaries in local newspapers etc. etc.

        Great care is taken to ensure the accuracy and reliability of all sources.
        All information obtained is treated with complete confidentiality. The
        fee-based service includes transcription and translation of sources into
        English. We are also able to provide reproduction of historic records
        upon request.

                                  To find out more, contact Corinna Meiss at:

                                  Email:           info@woerteragentur.com
                                  Website:         www.woerteragentur.com

         22   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 22                                                 25/4/19 17:50:06
NEW PUBLICATION
                                      UBLICATION
            Interned in Alexandra Palace
                             – Wilhelm Reinhold Teuchert
                     Paul Barnfield, Rupert Ridgewell & Jennifer Taylor
            This is the story of one of the many
            German economic migrants who
            came to Britain in the nineteenth
            century in search of a better life.
            Reinhold Teuchert trained as a
            chef, settled in London and raised
            a family, only to be caught up in the
            mass internment which followed the
            sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. He
            became one of the approximately
            3,000 German civilians interned in
            Alexandra Palace in North London
            for the duration of the war.

            His biography is, sadly, not
            uncommon. What makes it special
            is that he left a diary which
            chronicled in detail his feelings and
            experiences in the first months of
            his captivity. After the war he was
            ‘persuaded’ to return to Germany with his family, but finding the post-war
            conditions in Germany not conducive to prosperity he returned to Britain.
            Naturalised in 1939 he narrowly escaped the next wave of mass internment
            which began in 1940.

            His internment diary, reproduced here in its entirety, lifts him out of the
            faceless mass of his fellow migrants to give him a place in history, however
            modest.

                                  Anglo-German Family History Society
                                    ISBN 978-0-9571763-6-2 £8.50

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 23                                                       25/4/19 17:50:07
The Steigenberger Family
                               and Berger Paints

        T
              he STEIGENBERGER family were an illustrious lot and I will
              try to write a concise account of them. I have tried to find their
              origins in Germany with no luck yet. I have been helped by
        many people – descendants of this family world-wide, and factory
        records summarised by several people. Also, two books have been
        written about them but with some discrepancies.
        The Early Days                                   George's Ratcliff and he let out a room
        Ludwig Emilius Christian Adolph                  for the other two to work in – they
        Steigenberger came to England in 1760            seemed to have lodged there as well.
        age 19, supposedly from Frankfurt-am-                Louis Steigenberger brought over a
        Main. He eventually created Berger &             recipe for making a greenish-blue
        Sons Dye Works in Hackney. The name              colour named 'Prussian Blue'. Some
        Steigenberger is confusing: Ludwig               sources said he invented it, but that
        dropped the Steigen early on and                 was not so as it was discovered in 1704
        called his works Berger. However, his            in Berlin; however, Louis may have
        children were baptised as                        been one of the first to produce it in
        Steigenbergers – but the surname                 England.
        reverted to Berger in the next                       The area of Limehouse, Shadwell,
        generation. One son, Samuel, was                 and Ratcliff away from the river was
        married as a STEIGEN (clerical error?).          open, rural and had good houses near
        Grandchildren often had Steigen as a             Princes Square in the 1760s. But the
        second Christian name – my                       north side of the river was crowded
        grandfather and cousin had                       with buildings for lightermen,
        Steigenberger as an extra Christian              watermen, rope makers, rat-catchers,
        name.                                            etc. All goods had to be unloaded onto
            Lewis (Louis/Ludwig) Steigenberger           small boats to be brought ashore.
        came to London with his brother, John,               By 1768 Lewis was living in Narrow
        a 'colour chemist' or 'colour maker'.            Street, Limehouse. In 1772 there was an
        There is a claim that the two brothers           order from Dublin addressed to Lewis
        lived separate lives – that was not so,          BERGER, Blue Maker, Narrow Street,
        although their paths separated later.            Limehouse for Blue, Rose Pink, Blue
            A deed of partnership for seven              Verditer, Indigo, Gum Bocage. He was
        years was drawn up with Ludwig                   making painters' materials as well as
        Steigenberger, Frederick RAPP and                Prussian Blue and was very successful.
        John STALDER. Some people have                       By 1773 Lewis had moved to a house
        since misinterpreted it but it appears           in the market square (now a memorial
        that John Stalder owned a house in St

         24   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 24                                                            25/4/19 17:50:07
park) at St Paul's Shadwell. He was         Family Life
        there for six years.                        In 1768-9 he married Elizabeth ALGER
            In 1775 his representative, J           said to be the daughter of Jeremy Alger,
        Tennant, in York asked for Prussian         a sea captain. The record of this
        Blue at 4/6, 5/- & 10/- a pound for         marriage has not been found. They
        clients in Wakefield and Leeds.             had thirteen children, baptised in four
            A letter book of 1778 shows Lewis       different churches, St Anne's
        had clients in Leeds, Chester, Hull,        Limehouse, St Paul's Shadwell, St
        Worcester, York, Manchester, Derby,         George's German Lutheran Church,
        Stroud, Bristol, Dublin and Liverpool.      Alie Street, Whitechapel, a few miles
        Loads were sent by sea to Dublin,           away from Homerton, the last one at St
        Liverpool, Hull and York.                   John's Hackney, although their last girl,
            A manifest shows that ten dyes          Charlotte Sophia, was 13 when she was
        varied from 1s 3d a lb to 80/- lb.          baptised. There is a Berger vault at St
                                                    John's, Hackney with nineteen burials
        Factory and Office Premises                 – but some dates are not accurate.
        In 1780 he moved a few miles north to           The eldest son, Lewis, married
        Homerton, part of Hackney, with his         locally and had 3 children. John
        wife and six children. The house,           married in Kidderminster, and Samuel
        which he rented from a Mrs Smith,           and Emilia both married a sister and
        stood in a meadow 100 yards from            brother SHARP – children of William
        Hackney Brook; there was a bend in          Sharp, a tailor in Cambridge. What was
        the river with spring well water which      the connection between the Bergers
        led to Steigenberger's decision to build    and the Sharps: did the Bergers send
        his factory there. Hackney Brook was        Sharps dyes for their clothing
        flooding over Water Lane and it was         materials?
        diverted to allow it to flow over Berger        Lewis Steigenberger, the founder,
        Meadow. Later, a reservoir, stocked         put out a statement in 1792 saying he
        with fish, was made between the house       had a son and grandson born in
        and factory.                                England and wanted to buy property
            As well as the factory the Bergers      but was not keen to go to the expense
        had an office at Well Court, Queen          of naturalization. His brother John
        Street, Cheapside.                          though took denization in 1805 – it was
            On 12 September 1788 his eldest         cheaper. Lewis, the son, died in 1800
        son, Lewis, aged 18, signed a letter – so   but his brothers, John and Samuel,
        Steigenberger introduced his sons early     carried on. Lewis Steigenberger, senior,
        to the business. Some people did not        died in 1814.
        settle their bills but he did accept
        pictures in payment.                        The Dye and Paint-Making
            By 1790 he was selling 19 different     Business
        colour shades, as well as black lead,       The dyes were made from natural
        sulphur, sealing wax, and mustard.          products like madder and saffron,
                                                    shellfish murex for imperial purple and
                                                    others. In 1704 DIESBACH found

                                                        AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019   25

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 25                                                                25/4/19 17:50:07
Prussian Blue and in 1724                            More buildings were put up, also
        WOODWARD described it to The                     vats bought for many different colours,
        Royal Society. Before 1800 carmine was           and granite rollers for paint making –
        the most expensive dye made from the             450 tons of coal a year were used, also
        cochineal insect – women used it to              180 quarters of oats for horses.
        paint their faces!                                   In 1879 Bergers became a limited
            There were many processes in                 company, with capital of £150,000 – ie
        making dyes: solution, extraction                1500 shares of £100. Arthur John
        precipitated by alumina, washing,                Berger, fourth son of Lewis Curwood
        filtration, drying, calcing, sublimation,        Steigen Berger, became Managing
        dry grinding.                                    Director on £1000 a year. His older
            Over the years the factory was               brother, Lewis John Berger, was
        extended, horse-driven grind-stones to           solicitor to the firm. There were six
        produce dry powders gave way to                  directors: Lewis Curwood Steigen
        steam, and a boiler was installed in             Berger, Capel Berrow Berger, Arthur
        1884, costing £264. The North London             John Berger and three others.
        Railway built a viaduct over Berger                  Capel Berrow Berger's surviving
        land, and gave them £1000.                       son, Rev Arthur Hastings Berger,
            In 1850 the population of England            complained about the running of the
        and Wales was 18 million. Two                    company. His younger brother, John
        hundred and fifty firms made paint,              Cecil Berger, worked at the company
        varnish or colour – 130 of them were in          until sacked in 1882 for
        London. Between 1840-50 many                     insubordination. It seems that Arthur
        patented inventions were published.              John Berger, age 35, led the company
        Lewis Curwood Steigen Berger (the                into disaster – he was not efficient and
        founder's grandson) already                      may have been fraudulent.
        manufactured copper sulphate in                      Expansion and enlargement
        Southall. In 1853 free trade caused              continued, and in 1886 the company
        difficulties for Berger's. By 1860 60-70         obtained control of the Whitehead
        workers in Homerton and Well Court               Lead Factory, Sheffield. This, however,
        were paid 13-15s per week for 80 hours           was not a success.
        work – some workers stayed fifty years               In 1888 John W Garson joined the
        with the firm.                                   firm as an export clerk and went to
            Samuel helped with the firm but              manage branches in America and
        then bought a starch factory – his               Canada. Representations were sent to
        children did not go into Berger's. He            Africa, South America, India, and
        died a very rich man. Two of his sons            Australia.
        ran the starch factory.                              In 1894 Rev A H Berger
            John Berger died in 1860 aged 87,            recommended changes in
        and left £60,000 – his sons-in-law were          management. Garson was recalled
        executors. His sons, Capel Berrow                from USA and suggested
        Berger and Lewis Curwood Berger took             amalgamation with an American
        the option to become owners of the               company but it fell through. It was
        company.                                         suggested Arthur Berger had lost them

         26   AGFHS Mitteilungsblatt 123   Summer 2019

Blatt 123 INS 3rd proof.indd 26                                                             25/4/19 17:50:07
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