EDIT [1/15/19]: This was reprinted in the Deseret Evening News on October 28, 1905, on page 26.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Arrival in Liverpool on way to Swiss-German Mission
The October 4, 1905 issue of the Millennial Star (Vol. 67, no. 40, p. 634) notes when Fred and other LDS missionaries arrived in Liverpool via the S. S. Arabic. It was actually the Arabic II. The notice is interesting in that it notes the full names of those who accompanied Fred on his journey (as well as their city of residence), and also the names of some of his future mission friends. See the notice attached below. It could be helpful in tracking down the descendants of missionaries he served with.
EDIT [1/15/19]: This was reprinted in the Deseret Evening News on October 28, 1905, on page 26.
EDIT [1/15/19]: This was reprinted in the Deseret Evening News on October 28, 1905, on page 26.
Religious Experience, Mormons, Marriage, and Miracles (Lisbonbee Account 4)
Continuing Eda's account:
“Well back to the story again, as father wnet on his Westward travels. He had many interesting experiences I have heard him say ( many times) he awoke at night hearing his name called and heard a voice say, “Fred, Fred why are you wasting your time here.” He was raised in a religious home, and always no matter where he was said his prayers before going to sleep at night. The Lord was with him.
He had heard about Utah and the Mormons. The most he had heard was none too good. In his journey he came to a fork in the road. One road went south the other to Utah. He let his horse choose the way. The horse took the road to Utah. So father came to Utah, in 1886 when he was 24 years old.
Along about this time he dreamed of a beautiful girl. He never forgot the dream, and was always looking for the girl. In Utah he went to work in a mine near Toole. Father Guilliand, a Methodist Minister he had met before in his travels, looked him up to keep him from the Mormons. One Sunday night walking down an aisle in the Methosids churchin Toole, he came face to face with the girl of his dream. My father was a handsome young man 6ft. tall. He had black cury hair and dark brown yees, and there was beautiful little mother, just five ft. 2 inches with beautiful big blue eyes, and brown hair. Her skin was white and clear as lily. It was love at first sight. He looked at her and she at him. Thinking they know each other. After an embarrassing monment they excused themselves and parted. Later they met again through a mutual friend. Mother was visiting a brother in Tooele, and had attended the Methodis church with a girl friend. Mother preached the gospel to my father. He had found what he was searching for. He was baptized 6 days after they were married, nine months later they were sealed in the Logan Temple. Mother was ill at the time with rheumatism. She went into the temple on crutches and came out walking. She had been healed. [3]”
Commentary:
1. The Call. Eda emphasizes how Fred was strongly impressed by the need to stop wasting his time by wandering from place to place. Or was he pushed from place to place by being told that that he was wasting his time here?
2. I think Eda is the only one to mention Fred’s religious upbringing and his attention to personal prayers.
3. The horse story is further elaborated in Fred’s partial autobiography.
4. The Methodist Church and Mary Ella. Eda’s account here is unique in being so detailed. We learn why Fred went to the Methodist church and what minister was guiding him. We see that he met Mary Ella at this Methodist church. What she was doing in the church was another question, given that she was a Mormon. I believe another account claims she was singing in the choir, and he noticed her there, while walking down the aisle. Eda’s account has her just visiting a brother, and attending the Methodist church with her friend.
5. Although Eda is romanticizing their physical descriptions, it is still nice to receive them. The description of Fred somewhat matches the description given in the passport application. This is the first description of Mary Ella that I have ever read.
6. Fred’s conversion. It is interesting that they were married before Fred joined the church. She must have had a lot of confidence in his decision-making. Of course, his baptismal date must have been set before then. I think it shows of Mary Ella’s personality that she preached the gospel to him. While Fred must have been receptive in many senses, I don’t think he immediately “fell in.” There is a copy of a letter from this time period in the special collections at BYU in the Minerva Teichert papers from Mary Ella to Fred, which seems to note some possible tension here. I will transcribe the letter when I locate it later.
7. The healing story that occurred at the temple sealing is unique, noted only here in Eda’s account to my knowledge.
“Well back to the story again, as father wnet on his Westward travels. He had many interesting experiences I have heard him say ( many times) he awoke at night hearing his name called and heard a voice say, “Fred, Fred why are you wasting your time here.” He was raised in a religious home, and always no matter where he was said his prayers before going to sleep at night. The Lord was with him.
He had heard about Utah and the Mormons. The most he had heard was none too good. In his journey he came to a fork in the road. One road went south the other to Utah. He let his horse choose the way. The horse took the road to Utah. So father came to Utah, in 1886 when he was 24 years old.
Along about this time he dreamed of a beautiful girl. He never forgot the dream, and was always looking for the girl. In Utah he went to work in a mine near Toole. Father Guilliand, a Methodist Minister he had met before in his travels, looked him up to keep him from the Mormons. One Sunday night walking down an aisle in the Methosids churchin Toole, he came face to face with the girl of his dream. My father was a handsome young man 6ft. tall. He had black cury hair and dark brown yees, and there was beautiful little mother, just five ft. 2 inches with beautiful big blue eyes, and brown hair. Her skin was white and clear as lily. It was love at first sight. He looked at her and she at him. Thinking they know each other. After an embarrassing monment they excused themselves and parted. Later they met again through a mutual friend. Mother was visiting a brother in Tooele, and had attended the Methodis church with a girl friend. Mother preached the gospel to my father. He had found what he was searching for. He was baptized 6 days after they were married, nine months later they were sealed in the Logan Temple. Mother was ill at the time with rheumatism. She went into the temple on crutches and came out walking. She had been healed. [3]”
Commentary:
1. The Call. Eda emphasizes how Fred was strongly impressed by the need to stop wasting his time by wandering from place to place. Or was he pushed from place to place by being told that that he was wasting his time here?
2. I think Eda is the only one to mention Fred’s religious upbringing and his attention to personal prayers.
3. The horse story is further elaborated in Fred’s partial autobiography.
4. The Methodist Church and Mary Ella. Eda’s account here is unique in being so detailed. We learn why Fred went to the Methodist church and what minister was guiding him. We see that he met Mary Ella at this Methodist church. What she was doing in the church was another question, given that she was a Mormon. I believe another account claims she was singing in the choir, and he noticed her there, while walking down the aisle. Eda’s account has her just visiting a brother, and attending the Methodist church with her friend.
5. Although Eda is romanticizing their physical descriptions, it is still nice to receive them. The description of Fred somewhat matches the description given in the passport application. This is the first description of Mary Ella that I have ever read.
6. Fred’s conversion. It is interesting that they were married before Fred joined the church. She must have had a lot of confidence in his decision-making. Of course, his baptismal date must have been set before then. I think it shows of Mary Ella’s personality that she preached the gospel to him. While Fred must have been receptive in many senses, I don’t think he immediately “fell in.” There is a copy of a letter from this time period in the special collections at BYU in the Minerva Teichert papers from Mary Ella to Fred, which seems to note some possible tension here. I will transcribe the letter when I locate it later.
7. The healing story that occurred at the temple sealing is unique, noted only here in Eda’s account to my knowledge.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Frontier Travel, Fire, and Storytelling (Lisonbee Account 3)
I continue on with Eda’s account:
“The first few years he traveled West always West., on horse back mostly. He worked in cattle ranches, lumber camps in Minnesota etc. He was in Montana at a Fort when Custer went out that fateful day, when he and all his soldiers were killed by Indians. My father said he was as the Fort when in the morning the dog came into the Fort, in the afternoon the horse was brought in. (If Frederkick John Kohlhepp really witnessed this event he must have left Boston in his 14th year, not his 17th year as he always claimed because the Battle of the Big Horn was in June, 1876 when he would have been 14½ years old).
He was working in a lumber camp in Minn. one winter. He was bringing in a load of wood when three black crows flew over the house. They screeched what soulded like “Fire, Fire, Fire! He told the men what he had heard, they laughed at him but a few minutes later some of the men’s clothing that had been drying by the fireplace caught on fire. It took the efforts of all to put it out before the whole place burned down. No one laughed then. If it had burned, the men would have all frozen before they could have reached shelter.
He used to tell stories of haunted cabins etc. He was a great story teller. He and his friends used to sit around the fire in the winter and tell tall tales. We children sat with our ears open. Later I read many of his stories in O’Henry’s books. [2]”
Commentary:
1. Horseback. How did Fred learn to ride a horse? Was this common to learn for middle class people from Boston? I am sure it was the method of public transportation, but did young people learn to do it? And did Fred really travel most of the way to Utah all on horseback? I know railways were definitely in place by then, so it seems that one could make it to Utah or at least far off west using the railways. Obviously he got to Utah from Boston, but it is hard to know the real way he got there.
2. Work. Eda claims Fred worked on ranches and lumber camps. This coincides with Fred’s account, that I will address eventually. However, she claims he worked at a lumber camp in Minnesota. I am pretty sure that it was in Wisconsin in Fred’s account.
3. Battle of the Big Horn. It is difficult to accept Fred was at the fort near where the Battle of the Big Horn was, but perhaps I am of little faith. I can understand that perhaps he was at a fort where Custard’s horse or dog eventually lived AFTER the battle, but not at a fort the day of. Perhaps his story telling stretched too far? One hates to doubt the reports of their ancestors, but it’s quite a claim.
4. Crows and the Fire. I will have to compare Eda’s account with Fred’s. I believe Fred reported they were ravens (but could he tell the difference?), and that the Fire was started in the kitchen, not from men’s clothes that were drying by the fireplace.
5. Story telling. Eda’s account is the only one that tells of her father sharing stories of haunted cabins. I am happy Eda gives us a source for Fred’s tall tales that he had fun sharing. I wonder which of O’Henry’s books she is referring to. It would be good to locate these books and go through them.
Tags: 1876, frontier travel, Minnesota, lumber camps, fire, storytelling
“The first few years he traveled West always West., on horse back mostly. He worked in cattle ranches, lumber camps in Minnesota etc. He was in Montana at a Fort when Custer went out that fateful day, when he and all his soldiers were killed by Indians. My father said he was as the Fort when in the morning the dog came into the Fort, in the afternoon the horse was brought in. (If Frederkick John Kohlhepp really witnessed this event he must have left Boston in his 14th year, not his 17th year as he always claimed because the Battle of the Big Horn was in June, 1876 when he would have been 14½ years old).
He was working in a lumber camp in Minn. one winter. He was bringing in a load of wood when three black crows flew over the house. They screeched what soulded like “Fire, Fire, Fire! He told the men what he had heard, they laughed at him but a few minutes later some of the men’s clothing that had been drying by the fireplace caught on fire. It took the efforts of all to put it out before the whole place burned down. No one laughed then. If it had burned, the men would have all frozen before they could have reached shelter.
He used to tell stories of haunted cabins etc. He was a great story teller. He and his friends used to sit around the fire in the winter and tell tall tales. We children sat with our ears open. Later I read many of his stories in O’Henry’s books. [2]”
Commentary:
1. Horseback. How did Fred learn to ride a horse? Was this common to learn for middle class people from Boston? I am sure it was the method of public transportation, but did young people learn to do it? And did Fred really travel most of the way to Utah all on horseback? I know railways were definitely in place by then, so it seems that one could make it to Utah or at least far off west using the railways. Obviously he got to Utah from Boston, but it is hard to know the real way he got there.
2. Work. Eda claims Fred worked on ranches and lumber camps. This coincides with Fred’s account, that I will address eventually. However, she claims he worked at a lumber camp in Minnesota. I am pretty sure that it was in Wisconsin in Fred’s account.
3. Battle of the Big Horn. It is difficult to accept Fred was at the fort near where the Battle of the Big Horn was, but perhaps I am of little faith. I can understand that perhaps he was at a fort where Custard’s horse or dog eventually lived AFTER the battle, but not at a fort the day of. Perhaps his story telling stretched too far? One hates to doubt the reports of their ancestors, but it’s quite a claim.
4. Crows and the Fire. I will have to compare Eda’s account with Fred’s. I believe Fred reported they were ravens (but could he tell the difference?), and that the Fire was started in the kitchen, not from men’s clothes that were drying by the fireplace.
5. Story telling. Eda’s account is the only one that tells of her father sharing stories of haunted cabins. I am happy Eda gives us a source for Fred’s tall tales that he had fun sharing. I wonder which of O’Henry’s books she is referring to. It would be good to locate these books and go through them.
Tags: 1876, frontier travel, Minnesota, lumber camps, fire, storytelling
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Dye Business, Education, and Health (Lisonbee Account 2)
I continue on with Eda’s account:
“My grandfather was the first person in America to dye human hair. He came just in time for the Civil War in American and he dyed the material for the northern soldiers uniforms during the war. Grandmother’s first husband had a dying business, he died, Frederick John Kohlhepp was one of his employees[.] He married his former boses daughter and then he owned the dying establishment.
My father was educated in a private school where he was taught German half the day and English the other half. In his home the children spoke English while the parents answered them in German. His people weree of the finest class, and they came from the fest families of Europe. The VonRosens of France, Abies from Germany, and the Juesiers from Switzerland. [1]
My fahter never got along well with his father. His father wanted him to carry on his business, he was the only son, which by then had grown into quite a large concern, the family became very wealthy from their dying business. Then my father became ill, finally a doctor advised my grandmother that her son would never live to see 20 years because he had “consumption.” The damp climate of Boston the Dr. told the mother was very bad for his health. So at a very early age, he always said 17, he left school and headed out West.”
Comments:
1. It is an interesting oral history that Johann Friedrich (Fred’s father) dyed the uniforms for the civil war. It is a little surprising that Johann could set up a factory and become prominent enough for the Northern troops to employ his work for uniforms. Of course, I do not know when he moved to Boston. He lived in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania beforehand. They were not in Boston at least by 1855 when Amelia was born. I suppose it’s possible, but I wonder how that information could possibly be verified. I could learn some general information about Boston during the Civil War, but beyond this it would be quite difficult. I wonder what information or papers is available about long dead companies, besides just being in directories and advertisements. But a business directory doesn’t say much. For instance, I found Johann’s business in the 1871 Jamaica Plains business directory.
All it tells you is the name of the business “Jamaica Plain dye house” and that it was located on Brookside Avenue. It is nice to be able to plot where it would have been on a 1870s Boston map, but you can’t tell about what sort of business they did. This makes substantiating the claims about hair dying and soldiers’ uniforms quite difficult.
2. The statement about Johann marrying the former boss’ daughter to own the dying establishment has been recorded in other records too. I believe Minerva or my Grandmother (Laurie) wrote an elaborate description of the situation that may have been an oral history or their speculation about what happened. I will get to those records later.
3. Fred’s education: I think Eda’s account here is the only document where Fred is described as attending a private school where he learned German and English, or how languages were used in the home. Fred’s education is problematic since many documents claim different things; it will be difficult to pin down.
4. Eda claims he came from some of the best families in Europe: how is this claim made? How does she know what are good European families? All of our Abes are from Saxony/Germany as far as we can go back in 1502. By Juesiers, Eda must mean the Heuszers who we have located in Hessen, Germany. As for the Von Rosens, I need to check up on them in another PAF.
5. There has been a lot of mythology on Fred’s consumption. True, it seems he died of it; it killed a lot of people. But how did Fred live relatively well with consumption until the age of 57? People have claimed he also contracted it on his mission in 1905, but he lived another 12 years. I doubt the historicity of these claims. Regardless, there was definitely a movement going on with transcendental idealism in Thoreau and also in the Boston climate of the need to get out into nature for the good of one’s lungs. People feared their health when they were around industrialized cities. I read in some education books on Boston schooling from Fred’s time period on children’s needs to get out of the city for fresh air. I will have to locate my source there and place it up, and place some of Thoreau’s statements.
“My grandfather was the first person in America to dye human hair. He came just in time for the Civil War in American and he dyed the material for the northern soldiers uniforms during the war. Grandmother’s first husband had a dying business, he died, Frederick John Kohlhepp was one of his employees[.] He married his former boses daughter and then he owned the dying establishment.
My father was educated in a private school where he was taught German half the day and English the other half. In his home the children spoke English while the parents answered them in German. His people weree of the finest class, and they came from the fest families of Europe. The VonRosens of France, Abies from Germany, and the Juesiers from Switzerland. [1]
My fahter never got along well with his father. His father wanted him to carry on his business, he was the only son, which by then had grown into quite a large concern, the family became very wealthy from their dying business. Then my father became ill, finally a doctor advised my grandmother that her son would never live to see 20 years because he had “consumption.” The damp climate of Boston the Dr. told the mother was very bad for his health. So at a very early age, he always said 17, he left school and headed out West.”
Comments:
1. It is an interesting oral history that Johann Friedrich (Fred’s father) dyed the uniforms for the civil war. It is a little surprising that Johann could set up a factory and become prominent enough for the Northern troops to employ his work for uniforms. Of course, I do not know when he moved to Boston. He lived in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania beforehand. They were not in Boston at least by 1855 when Amelia was born. I suppose it’s possible, but I wonder how that information could possibly be verified. I could learn some general information about Boston during the Civil War, but beyond this it would be quite difficult. I wonder what information or papers is available about long dead companies, besides just being in directories and advertisements. But a business directory doesn’t say much. For instance, I found Johann’s business in the 1871 Jamaica Plains business directory.
All it tells you is the name of the business “Jamaica Plain dye house” and that it was located on Brookside Avenue. It is nice to be able to plot where it would have been on a 1870s Boston map, but you can’t tell about what sort of business they did. This makes substantiating the claims about hair dying and soldiers’ uniforms quite difficult.
2. The statement about Johann marrying the former boss’ daughter to own the dying establishment has been recorded in other records too. I believe Minerva or my Grandmother (Laurie) wrote an elaborate description of the situation that may have been an oral history or their speculation about what happened. I will get to those records later.
3. Fred’s education: I think Eda’s account here is the only document where Fred is described as attending a private school where he learned German and English, or how languages were used in the home. Fred’s education is problematic since many documents claim different things; it will be difficult to pin down.
4. Eda claims he came from some of the best families in Europe: how is this claim made? How does she know what are good European families? All of our Abes are from Saxony/Germany as far as we can go back in 1502. By Juesiers, Eda must mean the Heuszers who we have located in Hessen, Germany. As for the Von Rosens, I need to check up on them in another PAF.
5. There has been a lot of mythology on Fred’s consumption. True, it seems he died of it; it killed a lot of people. But how did Fred live relatively well with consumption until the age of 57? People have claimed he also contracted it on his mission in 1905, but he lived another 12 years. I doubt the historicity of these claims. Regardless, there was definitely a movement going on with transcendental idealism in Thoreau and also in the Boston climate of the need to get out into nature for the good of one’s lungs. People feared their health when they were around industrialized cities. I read in some education books on Boston schooling from Fred’s time period on children’s needs to get out of the city for fresh air. I will have to locate my source there and place it up, and place some of Thoreau’s statements.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Jewish Ancestry Mythology (Lisonbee Account 1)
Hope Hilton was a freelance historian (much like I hope to become) who studied the Kohlhepp family generally to obtain a basis for information to understand the upbringing of her mother (Annalee Skarin) for her works like "Descent into Madness." I think she did a lot of great work, even if I do not agree with the conclusions she makes about the family in her Skarin writings. Her research was donated to the University of Utah, and greatfully made available to me. Amongst her papers I located a short biography of Frederick written by his third daughter, Eda Kohlhepp Lisonbee. It has several items of interest that I will try to study topically. First, let me paste the first section of the text, from which I will analyze and discuss it.
"Handwritten by the daughter of Frederick John Kohlhepp, Aug. 28, 1959. From the memory of Mrs. Eda Kohlhepp Lisonbee of Ashland, Ore. Sent to her neice, Hope A. Hilton also the granddaughter of Ferderick John Kohlhepp in 1959.
HISTORY of Frederick John Kohlhepp 1862-1919
My father frederick John Kohlhepp was born in Boston 13 Feb. 1862. His parents were Frederick John Kohlhepp and Elizabeth Wetzler who came from Germany in 1860 and settled in Boston. Frederick John Kohlhepp I started a dying establishment as the family had been dyers in Germany (Poland) and Russian since the Middle Ages, the name Kohl still means dye or dyer in the Middle East while the word “Hepp” meant “Jew” in Poland in the Middle Ages. Kohlhepp therefore meant a Jewish Dyer, as Jews were the only people allowed to be engaged in the dying business we know for certain that the family were Jewish in their culture and background, however as was common in Europe in the 1860’s to avoid persecution by the Gentiles[,] many Jews adopted the Christian religion or quit [being] their Jewish customs. Grandfather and his children were of this caliber[.] the only thing they refused to give into was the eating of pork. To my knowledge they never tasted it or allowed it in the home."
Commentary:
1. Eda informs us that her account is from her memory, so that it does not appear that she consulted any journals, letters, or other persons regarding the information she provides here. The document proports to have been written in 1859, which means Eda would have been 66 years old at the time of its production. The question then is if it is accurate. Even if it not, it still can give us an understanding of the family's impression of themselves and their history.
2. Eda refers to her paternal grandparents as Frederick John Kohlhepp and Elizabeth Wetzler. Their official names were Johann Friedrich Kohlhepp and Marie Elisabeth Wetzler. Is Eda flipping the grandfather's name and shortening the mother's, or is she referring to them the way the children and the grandparents actually referred to themselves? The best way to know this I suppose would be to examine correspondence and observe how they are referred to and refer to themselves.
3. Came from Germany to Boston in 1860? I don't believe that they immigrated so close to Fred's birth or that they initially settled in Boston, Massachussetts. I think that they had one stop before then. Here is where I will have to prove otherwise; the burden is with me.
NOTE: Having consulted my PAF, Fred had two sisters born earlier than him in the United States. One was born in 1853 (Elizabeth/Lizzie) in Rhode Island, the other in 1855 in Pennsylvania (Amelia). I should locate some Census records to verify this, but it seems very likely that they immigrated to the states at least by 1853.
4. The dying business. It is true that Johann Friedrich did run a dye factory in Boston, located in Jamaica Plains. I have an advertisement for the business as well as some listings in Boston and Jamaica Plains business directories. I will post these up later. However, Eda here does make a sweeping claim: that the Kohlhepps had been dyers since the Middle Ages (I am not sure how far back she means here--the Renaissance, earlier?) in Germany, Poland, and Russia. That she cites these three countries is interested, because due to family genealogical records, we have not found any Kohlhepps in Poland or Russia. Her reasoning (if not including word of mouth accounts) rests upon a folk etymology of the family surname, the Kohl and Hepp supposedly meaning Dyer and Jew in Middle Age Polish. I wonder how she came across this etymology. I need to conduct a surname search to see the possibilities of the meaning of "Kohlhepp" and if her interpretation was at all in vogue with the etymologists of her time period. Otherwise, did this come from subtle imagination?
5. This of course drives immediately to the Jewish question. Minerva Teichert had long claimed to come from Jewish ancestry. She drew a painting of Jewish immigrants coming to America, and associated with many Jewish people. The Mormon church (of which I am a member) had long connected itself with the House of Israel, and in patriarchal blessings assigns members to a tribe, which typically has a mission or role for the earth. Their is an idea of literal adoption into the House of Israel. Did the Kohlhepps wish themselves into Jewish ancestry? They did have a history of tall tales and exaggeration. I cannot find evidence that there was any Jewish blood that came into their lineage (though I am sure if we went back far enough we would, just as would be the case for nearly every human being on the earth). Fred's autobiography does not mention Jewish heritage either. Eda's further claims to support the Jewish theory are:
- Only Jews were allowed to be dyers. How so? Why?
- She claims Jews migrated from Germany to America and gave up their Jewish customs. I am sure this was true in some sense, but was it true on the whole? Why would the Kohlhepps participate? There is also a more fundamental problem here: Fred's mother was born a Christian, christined in a Christian church. I am not sure about Johann Friedrich, although he was a freemason. I will have to double-check my sources and post them up here. If these accounts are true, it seems strange to state they have Jewish heritage.
- She notes that the family refused to eat or have pork in the home. Even if this is true, did not other religious groups despise pork? I am sure there were many Christian groups that did the same from reading scriptures. It could also have just been family tradition or taste. I don't find this fact conclusive.
Given Eda's claims, did any of the other Kohlhepp sisters substantiate them, or back them up for the same reasons? This would be a difficult thing to find. I have heard that Fred's son, Fred, thought he had the natural right to be a Bishop do this jewish ancestry mythology. I will explain this claim more when I revise this post later.
"Handwritten by the daughter of Frederick John Kohlhepp, Aug. 28, 1959. From the memory of Mrs. Eda Kohlhepp Lisonbee of Ashland, Ore. Sent to her neice, Hope A. Hilton also the granddaughter of Ferderick John Kohlhepp in 1959.
HISTORY of Frederick John Kohlhepp 1862-1919
My father frederick John Kohlhepp was born in Boston 13 Feb. 1862. His parents were Frederick John Kohlhepp and Elizabeth Wetzler who came from Germany in 1860 and settled in Boston. Frederick John Kohlhepp I started a dying establishment as the family had been dyers in Germany (Poland) and Russian since the Middle Ages, the name Kohl still means dye or dyer in the Middle East while the word “Hepp” meant “Jew” in Poland in the Middle Ages. Kohlhepp therefore meant a Jewish Dyer, as Jews were the only people allowed to be engaged in the dying business we know for certain that the family were Jewish in their culture and background, however as was common in Europe in the 1860’s to avoid persecution by the Gentiles[,] many Jews adopted the Christian religion or quit [being] their Jewish customs. Grandfather and his children were of this caliber[.] the only thing they refused to give into was the eating of pork. To my knowledge they never tasted it or allowed it in the home."
Commentary:
1. Eda informs us that her account is from her memory, so that it does not appear that she consulted any journals, letters, or other persons regarding the information she provides here. The document proports to have been written in 1859, which means Eda would have been 66 years old at the time of its production. The question then is if it is accurate. Even if it not, it still can give us an understanding of the family's impression of themselves and their history.
2. Eda refers to her paternal grandparents as Frederick John Kohlhepp and Elizabeth Wetzler. Their official names were Johann Friedrich Kohlhepp and Marie Elisabeth Wetzler. Is Eda flipping the grandfather's name and shortening the mother's, or is she referring to them the way the children and the grandparents actually referred to themselves? The best way to know this I suppose would be to examine correspondence and observe how they are referred to and refer to themselves.
3. Came from Germany to Boston in 1860? I don't believe that they immigrated so close to Fred's birth or that they initially settled in Boston, Massachussetts. I think that they had one stop before then. Here is where I will have to prove otherwise; the burden is with me.
NOTE: Having consulted my PAF, Fred had two sisters born earlier than him in the United States. One was born in 1853 (Elizabeth/Lizzie) in Rhode Island, the other in 1855 in Pennsylvania (Amelia). I should locate some Census records to verify this, but it seems very likely that they immigrated to the states at least by 1853.
4. The dying business. It is true that Johann Friedrich did run a dye factory in Boston, located in Jamaica Plains. I have an advertisement for the business as well as some listings in Boston and Jamaica Plains business directories. I will post these up later. However, Eda here does make a sweeping claim: that the Kohlhepps had been dyers since the Middle Ages (I am not sure how far back she means here--the Renaissance, earlier?) in Germany, Poland, and Russia. That she cites these three countries is interested, because due to family genealogical records, we have not found any Kohlhepps in Poland or Russia. Her reasoning (if not including word of mouth accounts) rests upon a folk etymology of the family surname, the Kohl and Hepp supposedly meaning Dyer and Jew in Middle Age Polish. I wonder how she came across this etymology. I need to conduct a surname search to see the possibilities of the meaning of "Kohlhepp" and if her interpretation was at all in vogue with the etymologists of her time period. Otherwise, did this come from subtle imagination?
5. This of course drives immediately to the Jewish question. Minerva Teichert had long claimed to come from Jewish ancestry. She drew a painting of Jewish immigrants coming to America, and associated with many Jewish people. The Mormon church (of which I am a member) had long connected itself with the House of Israel, and in patriarchal blessings assigns members to a tribe, which typically has a mission or role for the earth. Their is an idea of literal adoption into the House of Israel. Did the Kohlhepps wish themselves into Jewish ancestry? They did have a history of tall tales and exaggeration. I cannot find evidence that there was any Jewish blood that came into their lineage (though I am sure if we went back far enough we would, just as would be the case for nearly every human being on the earth). Fred's autobiography does not mention Jewish heritage either. Eda's further claims to support the Jewish theory are:
- Only Jews were allowed to be dyers. How so? Why?
- She claims Jews migrated from Germany to America and gave up their Jewish customs. I am sure this was true in some sense, but was it true on the whole? Why would the Kohlhepps participate? There is also a more fundamental problem here: Fred's mother was born a Christian, christined in a Christian church. I am not sure about Johann Friedrich, although he was a freemason. I will have to double-check my sources and post them up here. If these accounts are true, it seems strange to state they have Jewish heritage.
- She notes that the family refused to eat or have pork in the home. Even if this is true, did not other religious groups despise pork? I am sure there were many Christian groups that did the same from reading scriptures. It could also have just been family tradition or taste. I don't find this fact conclusive.
Given Eda's claims, did any of the other Kohlhepp sisters substantiate them, or back them up for the same reasons? This would be a difficult thing to find. I have heard that Fred's son, Fred, thought he had the natural right to be a Bishop do this jewish ancestry mythology. I will explain this claim more when I revise this post later.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Passport Application
Before Fred could leave on to serve in the Swiss German mission that he had been called to, he needed to obtain a passport from the government. I located his passport application using footnote. The document mentions perhaps a few things worth noting:
- Fred considered his occupation as ranching.
- Fred intended to serve a mission for around two to three years, even though he only served for almost two.
- Most importantly, it gave a useful physical description of Fred at this time (when he was 43 years old). He was just slightly shorter than myself, at 5 feet 11 inches high. The recorder (a Mr. Oliver) noted that he had a dark complexion, a likely statement for a rancher with German blood. Already he was showing some aging, as his hair was described as "brown with little grey." His eyes were brown, face long, his chin small, and mouth-size listed as "medium."
- Fred was required to bring a man with him that could testify he was a witness he was a natural born citizen of the United States. This man was like Fred from American Falls. His name is listed as Theo.[dore] C. Rewberry/Rowberry. For him to go down to the county office with Fred to testify of his citizenship, he must have been a decent friend. I wonder what his relationship with Fred was--a neighbor, a business associate, a church friend? I will have to look him up and see how close he lived to Fred.
- Fred wanted the passport delivered to simply "American Falls, Idaho," so I suppose he planned on picking it up at the local post office.
I have attached a copy of the application for viewing.
- Fred considered his occupation as ranching.
- Fred intended to serve a mission for around two to three years, even though he only served for almost two.
- Most importantly, it gave a useful physical description of Fred at this time (when he was 43 years old). He was just slightly shorter than myself, at 5 feet 11 inches high. The recorder (a Mr. Oliver) noted that he had a dark complexion, a likely statement for a rancher with German blood. Already he was showing some aging, as his hair was described as "brown with little grey." His eyes were brown, face long, his chin small, and mouth-size listed as "medium."
- Fred was required to bring a man with him that could testify he was a witness he was a natural born citizen of the United States. This man was like Fred from American Falls. His name is listed as Theo.[dore] C. Rewberry/Rowberry. For him to go down to the county office with Fred to testify of his citizenship, he must have been a decent friend. I wonder what his relationship with Fred was--a neighbor, a business associate, a church friend? I will have to look him up and see how close he lived to Fred.
- Fred wanted the passport delivered to simply "American Falls, Idaho," so I suppose he planned on picking it up at the local post office.
I have attached a copy of the application for viewing.
Statement of Purpose
Frederick Kohlhepp was the father of both famous American West/Mormon painter Minerva Teichert and "mystic" Annalee Skarin (and of course many other children too). He came from a rich middle class background in Boston, and due to a fascination with nature coupled with his belief that it would be better for his lungs, set out to explore frontier America. With many haphazard circumstances that occurred along the way to Utah, he eventually met and married Mary Ella Hickman, the Mormon daughter of the notorious gunslinger Bill Hickman. Kohlhepp joined her church, and served devotely in it as a local seventy (then, the equivalent of stake missionaries), sunday school superintendent, and in its bishopric. He worked on railroads, farmed and introduced dry wheat farming to Idaho, and ranched. He loved literature and art and had hoped to be an engraver when he was young. Naturally, he was very supportive of Minerva's artistic career, and she loved him very much. Eventually, he served a mission for the LDS church in Switzerland and Germnay under Serge F. Ballif. Afterwards, he grew very ill and died from tuberculosis.
This short synopsis of Fred Kohlhepp is only the surface of his very extraordinary and interesting life. I want to explore in this blog what more can be gathered about him, as I work towards writing a decent biography on his life. How did such a personality as his arise out of his German Bostonian culture, and what environment did he and Mary Ella cultivate to influence the development of such extreme personalities like Minerva and Annalee?
Of course, it will be difficult to examine the life of one who is often neglected, and for whom no stockpile of documents immediately appear. I will be working on collecting primacy and secondary sources, and then create a variety of tasks to discover about each one. I am hopeful that through what I can gather, I can construct some sort of narrative about his life. Perhaps others will be interested in my research too, although this place is designed as a sandbox for my thoughts. Comments are welcome.
This short synopsis of Fred Kohlhepp is only the surface of his very extraordinary and interesting life. I want to explore in this blog what more can be gathered about him, as I work towards writing a decent biography on his life. How did such a personality as his arise out of his German Bostonian culture, and what environment did he and Mary Ella cultivate to influence the development of such extreme personalities like Minerva and Annalee?
Of course, it will be difficult to examine the life of one who is often neglected, and for whom no stockpile of documents immediately appear. I will be working on collecting primacy and secondary sources, and then create a variety of tasks to discover about each one. I am hopeful that through what I can gather, I can construct some sort of narrative about his life. Perhaps others will be interested in my research too, although this place is designed as a sandbox for my thoughts. Comments are welcome.
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