Government, Law & Politics

Noteworthy:  Of the sixteen members of the City Council in 1806, ten were Germans or of German Descent:

George Decker, Henry Stauffer, First Ward;  Jacob Small,  Second Ward;  Wilhelm Lorman, Third Ward;  George P. Kuhbord (Keeport), Fourth Ward;  Balzar Schaffer and Johann Schirm,  Fifth Ward;  Johann Miller, Sixth Ward;  Ludwig Hering and Friedrich Schaffer, Seventh Ward. 

Arp, Merl (9-3-1931 to 3-23-2016)

Merl was born in Iowa, son of Elmer and Nora Arp.  He attended a one room school house with his sister.  He graduated high school, worked and in the early 50s joined the U.S. Air Force. While in the Air Force and stationed in Germany, he discovered a love of languages and culture.  After his discharge, he attended the University of Iowa and received both undergraduate and graduate degrees.  Though studying and working part time, he found time to meet and marry his wife Jean (Williams) in 1957.  He entered the foreign service of the State Department and served for 28 years.  He served in embassies and consulates in Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, Sweden, the Philippines and Germany.  It wasn’t unusual to find Merl and Jean working in Northern Germany working and researching their German genealogy.  His time in the foreign service, he experienced many historical milestones.  He lived in Kenya during the tenure of Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta.  In Nigeria, the family experienced the coup and subsequent bombings during the Biafran war.  He served in Sweden during the Vietnam war and was given the task of working with US military deserters, attempting to assist them while in crisis.      During this same period, Merl was part of a team that was responsible for flying into Vietnam, picking up civilian POWs, interviewing and escorting them home.  The family resided in the Philippines both before and after martial law was declared by then president Marcos.  Anyone who has seen the movie with Tom Hanks, ‘The Bridge’ will recall the prisoner exchanges.  While in Germany, Merl was involved with a spy exchange on the Glienicke Bridge.  The family also enjoyed a trip to the East of Germany to visit Checkpoint Charlie and tour East Berlin.

After retirement, Merl became active with the German American cultural organizations.  He coordinated ‘Exchange Tours’ with friends in Iowa and friends in Schleswig-Holstein.  He was a member of the German Society of Maryland, becoming a lifetime director in 2011.  He was the society’s representative to DANK (Deutsch-Amerikanischer National Kongress), serving as their national 2nd vice president.  He was the editor for the American Schleswig-Holstein Heritage Society, where he contributed thoughtful and well researched articles.  Other memberships included the Baltimore Kickers, the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society and the Edelweiss Club. 

Throughout the years, his wife and partner, Jean and their five daughters supported Merl in his various adventures from visiting cemeteries, dancing at the festivals and their many travels.  Together during retirement they traveled to South Africa, Syria, Egypt, Russia, Canada, Montenegro, Croatia, Ireland and of course Germany. 

Aumann, Susan L.  7-1-1960

House of Delegates 2002-2019

Ms. Aumann was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2002. Member of the House since 2003. Deputy Minority Whip. Member, Appropriations Committee (Oversight Committee on Pensions, Oversight Committee on Personnel, Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee). Member, Joint Audit Committee; Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, Joint Committee on Pensions. Member, Women Legislators of Maryland.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, July 1, 1960. Notre Dame Preparatory School, 1979. College of Notre Dame of Maryland, B.A., Business Administration and Management, 1983. University of Baltimore, Accounting and Auditing, 1986–87. Accountant and Auditor.

Aumann, R. Karl  5-17-1960

Governor Ehrlich (see profile) appointed R. Karl Aumann to be Secretary of State of Marylandon January 15, 2003. Mr. Aumann was confirmed unanimously by the State Senate on January 31, 2003.  Born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 17, 1960, Mr. Aumann graduated from Calvert Hall College High School in 1978. Mr. Aumann graduated from Loyola College in Maryland with a B.A. in political science in 1982. He received his J.D. in 1985 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1986.

As an attorney, he was an associate with the Towson firm of Power & Mosner (now Bodie, Nagle, Dolina, Smith & Hobbs) and later with the Baltimore office of Miles & Stockbridge. During his five years with those firms, Mr. Aumann specialized in toxic tort, product liability and medical malpractice litigation.

Long active in Maryland's Republican Party, Secretary Aumann was president of the Loyola College Republicans for two years and was elected First Vice-Chairman of the Maryland Federation of College Republicans in 1981. In 1983, he helped found the North Central Republican Club of Baltimore County where he served as president and vice-president. He was elected a member of the State Central Committee for Baltimore County in 1986 and again in 1990.

In 1991, Mr. Aumann was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as counsel and senior policy advisor to the Appalachian Regional Commission. When Governor Ehrlich was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1994, Mr. Aumann became his Chief Administrator and District Director, a position he held until 2003. His responsibilities included office oversight and policy development, with special focus on international relations.  Secretary Aumann chairs the Governor's Subcabinet on International Affairs, the Governor's Commission on Maryland Military Monuments and sits on the Governor's Interagency Council for the Nonprofit Sector.

Bauernschmidt, Marie Oehl von Hattersheim    (1-7-1875 to 3-19-1962)

Source:  Remember When, the Baltimore Sun, November 03, 1996 

Marie Oehl von Hattersheim Bauernschmidt was better known as Mrs. B.  She was a product of South Baltimore and married beer baron Bauernschmidt and for over 50 years was a critic of politicians and worked tirelessly for the betterment of the city schools.  She rallied the population against gambling, liquor stores and for a better police department.  Mrs. B. waged wars against some of the biggest politicians of her day, including mayors Broening, McKeldin and D’Alesandro.  She was a regular visitor and a familiar face at City Hall.  Some of the institutions she actively served included Women's Hospital, the Home for Incurables, Union Memorial Hospital, the Babies Milk Fund, the Children's Hospital and School and Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

Her radio shows that were broadcast on the eve of elections and began in 1927 became traditions. A lifelong Democrat with decidedly independent political views, she stated more than once that she had to hold her nose while voting the ticket.  She once said, "You have to handle politicians with kid gloves and you have to have a rock in your mitt.'  Fearless, she pressed her campaigns far beyond the city line to the state legislature and even Congress.

She lived at 1 W. University Parkway, which was demolished many years ago.  She is buried at Druid Ridge Cemetery.

Source:  Angel of the Anzacs-The Life of Nola Lexford (Daughter in law of Marie Bauernschmidt); The Baltimore Sun 150th Anniversary issue, People Who Shaped the Way we Live', 1987.  

Click here for additional information from Cynthia Requardt

Benzinger, Harry Mathias (June 12, 1857 to April 3, 1934)

Harry Benzinger was born in Baltimore in 1857, the son of Francis and Rose, and educated at Loyola and Rock Hill Colleges and the University of Maryland Law School. Harry’s father was also a lawyer and his parents were from Switzerland.  Harry’s long time and most important client was Cardinal Gibbons.  Mr. Benzinger handled most of Gibbons work from 1886 until 1921.  Benzinger never charges the Cardinal for his work.  They became life-long friends with Cardinal Gibbons officiating at Harry’s second wedding to Miss Mary (Smith)( 1872–1953) in 1918.   Harry’s first wife was Marie Blanche (Farrell)( 1860–1916). 

Mr. Benzinger’s law offices were located at Mulberry and St. Paul Streets in Baltimore.  He was a trustee of the cathedral, an official of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus, a director of St. Mary’s Industrial School, the Rosewood Training School, St. Mary’s Female Orphan Asylum and the St. James Home for Boys.

His name is preserved by Benzinger Road, a short street south of Wilkins Avenue in West Baltimore.   Mr. Benzinger died in 1934 and is buried in New Cathedral Cemetery.

Bickel, Harvey (1885 to 12-3-1972) 

Mr. Bickel was a native of Berks County, Pennsylvania and a graduate of George Washington University and the Johns Hopkins University.  He came to Baltimore in 1914 and opened a law practice.  He was a true historian.  One of his achievements was a series of interviews with the last surviving eyewitnesses of the Lincoln assassination.  He served on the Executive Committee of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland and was an active member of the German Society of Maryland.  He served on the board of directors of the Maryland Council of Churches.

Bothe, Elsbeth Levy (10-17-1927 to 2-27-2013)

Ms. Bothe was born into the Levy family, a large German Jewish family in Baltimore.  She was the great-granddaughter of Isaac Hamburger of Hamburger and Sons Clothiers.  She attended Park School in Baltimore and graduated from the University of Chicago.  She was one of the first women to begin law school at the University of Maryland, where she graduated in 1952.  She was admitted to the Maryland Bar the same year.She married Berthold Bothe, also a lawyer.  She worked in Mississippi on civil rights issues and also worked with the United Auto Workers and the Legal Aid Society in Baltimore. She was a defense attorney.  She was also the first female judge to handle serious criminal cases.

She was elected Delegate of the Constitutional Convention of Maryland in 1967, Assistant Public Defender of Maryland 1972-78, President of the ACLU of Maryland (resigned in 1978), and was appointed to the Supreme Court by Acting Governor Lee in 1978.

Elsbeth Bothe died on February 27, 2013.    Sunpaper Obituary

Broening, William F. (6-7-1870 to 10-12-1953)

House of Delegates, Baltimore City 1902-1904

Mayor of Baltimore, 1919-1923, 1927-1931

Mr. Broening was born to poor German immigrant parents in South Baltimore.  He was educated in the public schools of the City, but at an early age began earning his own livelihood.  He took every opportunity to study and finally entered, as a student, the University of Maryland Law School, graduating from, that institution in 1897, and began the practice of law.  A Republican, he took an active interest in politics, and the same year of his graduation was elected a member of the City Council, 1897-99, serving as chairman of several important committees.  He was elected on a platform in which it was stated that if elected he would advocate placing wires underground in conduits.  There was much opposition on the ground that no such franchise should be given to private corporate interests.  Mr. Broening took the position that it was a municipal function, and therefore the conduits should be built by the municipality, and that they should be owned and maintained by the City because only in that way could competition among ether persons who wanted to use them be secured.  It was a hard-fought battle.  Both branches were Republican at that time. 

He had a nickname, ‘Billy the Mixer’ because he loved talking and joining.  He was member of many clubs and could spend hours talking to the people.  

Mr. Broening was secretary of the late Frank C. Wachter during the latter’s eight years, 1899-1907, in Congress.  He, in fact, was Mr. Wachter’s close personal friend and advisor as well as secretary, and he later occupied a similar position with Congressman John Kronmiller, of Baltimore, 1909-11. 

Mr. Broening served in the House of Delegates for the session of 1902-04.  As a member of the Judiciary Committee of that house he strongly advocated and succeeded in having the Parole Law of the City amended so as to give the judges wider latitude with first offenders.  He was elected States Attorney of Baltimore November 2, 1911, and was re-elected to that office in November, 1915.  As States Attorney he introduced in connection with the work of that office the Big Brother Movement, through which means he sought the help of many people in the community in saving and reclaiming many who had yielded to temptation.  He entered the Mayoralty contest in 1919 as the unanimous choice of his party, and on May 6th was elected Mayor, defeating George Weems Williams, Democrat. 

He retired from public life after serving in many positions, the last being the city tax collector.  There is a street named after him, Broening Highway.  Mr. Broening was married and had two sons and one daughter.

He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery

Budnitz, Emil (7-28-1862 to 1-13-1944)

Mr. Budnitz was born in Baltimore and attended the Baltimore public schools.  He graduated from the Baltimore City College.  He attended the Law School of the University of Maryland and received his degree in 1881.  He established a successful law practice.  In his early years of practice, he was associated with Peter J. Campbell, who was active in politics and once the President of the Maryland State Senate.  He entered the political arena and was a successful candidate for the office of City Council of Baltimore, where he served from 1887 to 1890. 

He formed a law practice with his brother Edmund and became recognized as an authority of real estate law.

He was a member of the German Society of Maryland; the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.  He enjoyed the game of golf. 

Cohen, Jacob, Jr. (9-30-1789 to 4-6-1869)

Son of Jacob Cohen, Sr., from Rhenish (dod: 1808), Prussia and Judith Solomon Cohen (1766-1837), emigrated in 1773.  They settled initially in Richmond, Virginia, where Jacob Jr., was born.  Upon his father’s death, Judith moved with her daughter and six sons to Baltimore.  It has been reported that Jacob Sr., fought in the Revolutionary War. 

Jacob served in the War of 1812, along with one of his brothers.  It was in 1812 that Jacob and his brothers founded Cohen’s Lottery and Exchange Office, which expanded to several other East Coast cities and became one of the foremost lottery brokers.  All five of his brothers were in the business with him. 

Jacob was instrumental in helping Solomon Etting win for the Jews, the right to hold office in Maryland.  After the passage of this bill, Jacob was successful in his run for a seat in the Baltimore City Council in 1826, becoming the first Jew to hold office in Maryland.  He held that City Council seat for seven terms and was eventually named its’ President.    

In 1830, Jacob founded Jacob I. Cohen, Jr. and Brothers, Bankers, a nationally recognized and trusted bank.  In the mid 30’s he became a director of the Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad and spent many years working with the railroads in the state.  He also served on the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad Board and became vice-president in 1838 of the merged Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. It is important to note that this line is still in use as Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line.

He also helped establish the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners and served as both the treasurer for eight years.  He also served as a member of the Baltimore City Commissioners of Finance.

He lived on North Charles Street in 1820 and was one of the first private homes in Baltimore to be lit with gas lights.  He never married.

Cohen, Mendes  (5-26-1796 to 5-7-1879)

(Grandfather of the one in profiles-Architects & Engineers)

Mendes I. Cohen was born in Richmond to Israel I. and Judith Solomon Cohen.  In addition to Mendes, the Cohen family included sons Jacob, Joshua, Solomon, Philip, Benjamin, Joshua I., Edward, David and daughter, Maria.  After Israel's death in 1803, Judith Cohen moved the family to Baltimore.  Mendes I. Cohen worked with his brothers at Cohen's Lottery and Exchange and later at Jacob I. Cohen, Jr. and Brothers Banking House.  He left Baltimore in 1829 to travel abroad.  Between 1829 and 1835, he visited England, Russia, Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt, in addition to the majority of countries in Central and Western Europe. He became the first American to tour the Nile Valley.  Upon his return to the states, Cohen served as a Delegate in the Maryland General Assembly in 1847, was a delegate to the State Peace Convention during the Civil War, and acted as Vice President of the Baltimore Committee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle.  Mendes I. Cohen remained a bachelor throughout his life.

Denhard, Augustus M.  (9-3-1875 to )

Mr. Denhard was born in Baltimore, son of Adam and Caroline (Boss).  He was educated in the public schools of Baltimore and received his degree in law from the University of Maryland in 1897.  He was associated with the firm of Frederick Feldner.  He was nominated for the House of Delegates in 1899 and was named Judge of Orphans Court in 1911.

Deupert, Adam (3-17-1849 to )

Mr. Deupert was the clerk in the Court of common Pleas.  He was born in Germany, the son of John and Eva (Hanselman).  He was education in Baltimore at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic School.  He began working in 1873.  He was a member of the Baltimore City Council in 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1896.  He was elected to the Court of Common Pleas in 1903 and again in 1909.  He was the President of St. Vincent’s Male Orphan Asylum, Vice-president of Spalding Building Association; Director and Treasurer of the Hendler Creamery and a member of the KC Elks.

Dobler, Gustavus A.  (10-16-1839 to 9-4-1906)

Maryland State Senate 1896 and 1898

Mr. Dobler was born in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, PA to Daniel Dobler (1804-1859), born in Baltimore, and Christina Barbara Lehle (5-20-1802 to 1867), who was born in Wurtemburg.  His grandfather, John Michael Dobler, arrived in Baltimore from Wurtemburg in 1798 and fought in the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814.

Gustavus attended the public schools in Baltimore and Pennsylvania until 1853 when he went to work in his father’s factory and eventually took over the management of that factory.  He left there in 1858 and began working with K.L. Knight, a paper dealer and then to Wheelright  & Mudge  Co.  He became a senior member and the firm was renamed Dobler & Mudge, paper dealers, one of the largest in Baltimore doing business from their facility at 113 Hopkins Place. 

At the time he completed his Civil War draft registration he was living at 88 Canal Street. 

He married twice, the first time in 1874 to Catherine Dobler and in 1885 to Ida Gertrude Gehring (1862) of Baltimore.  He had three children by the second marriage, Martin Luther (1890), Emma Catherine (1893) and Mary Christina (1895).

He was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; a trustee of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Hickory, N. C; a director of the German Orphan Asylum for seven years ; a member of the Reform League, the Civil Service Reform Association, and also a member of the German Society of Maryland and the Lutheran Statue Association of Washington, D. C. (MSA SC 3520-14776)

He served in the Maryland State Senate, when he was elected on the Republican ticket in 1895, serving in 1896 and 1898.  He was however, a Democrat until 1875.  He was known for his integrity and family nature, preferring to spend his free time with his family at his home on 131 Aisquith Street.

Mr. Dobler died in 1906 and is buried at Green Mount Cemetery.

Dobler, Judge John J. (6-6-1852 to 9-21-1923) 

Charter Member of the Maryland State Bar Association 1896-1897

Associate Judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City Nov. 26, 1894-Jun. 4, 1922 Born in Baltimore, Maryland, June 6, 1852.   Son of John Dobler, School Commissioner, 8th Ward of Baltimore City.  He was educated and served as Valedictorian, Baltimore City College, 1868.  After graduation he began working for the Peabody Institute. He received LL.B., University of Maryland Law School, 1872.  He was admitted to the Bar, June 6, 1873.   

Judge Dobler practiced in the office of prominent attorney Henry Stockbridge, Sr.  He was elected to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, 1894.  He retired from the bench June 2, 1922.  Considered so great a jurist that an effort was made to allow him to serve beyond the constitutional age limit of seventy, which Judge Dobler did not himself support.

Judge Dobler was of German descent and a supporter of the General German Orphan Home in Catonsville helping to raise $250,000 during a fund drive in 1922 while he was treasurer.

Judge Dobler is credited with naming and building the area known as Mayfield, which is surrounded by Clifton Park, Herring Run and Lake Montebello.  This was formerly (1900) a tract of land owned predominantly by Judge Dobler.  His house and the Eutaw Methodist Church were the first buildings in the area.

Ehrlich, Robert  (11-25-1957)

60th Governor of Maryland (2003-2007)

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 2nd district , January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003.  Alma mater Princeton University, Wake Forest University - Profession Attorney, Politician

Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich, Jr. is an American politician of German descent who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, he became governor after defeating Democratic opponent Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a member of the Kennedy family, 51% to 48% in the 2002 elections. Prior to serving as governor, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Eisenhauer, Joseph Francis  (7-27-1848 to 1-23-1922)

Born in Alsace-Lorraine on July 27, 1847, the son of John and Catherine Eisenhauer, he came to this country when he was only six months old. His parents settled in Frederick where he lived the rest of his life. He received his preliminary education in St. John's Literary Institute and finished his education in St. Charles College, near Ellicott City.

After graduating from college, he returned to this city where he entered the grocery business at Second and Market Street. He continued in this business for a number of years. Later he sold out and became manager for C.H. Baughman and Sons after the death of Charles H. Baughman. He served in the capacity until his death.

The death of Mr. Eisenhauer, who was familiarly known as "Uncle Joe" removes a politician of the old school. He was president of the board of election supervisors for the past 12 years and was a member of the board for the past 16 years.

Mr. Eisenhauer was elected a member of the board of alderman many times, serving in that capacity for a total of 21 years. Politically he was a Democrat and served as secretary of the Democratic County Central Committee for a number of years.

Fraternally he was a member of St. Johns Council, 1622, Knights of Columbus, filling the position of Faithful Navigator in that body. He was a member of St. John's Beneficial Society, Holy Name Society of St. John's Catholic Church and the Independent Hose Company. For a number of years he was secretary of the Hose Company.

He was surved by two sons J. Thomas Eisenhauer, Baltimore; and Joseph F. Eisenhauer, Jr., of Frederick.  His wife, Mary (Waters) preceded him in death in April 1912.

Mr. Eisenhauer had been ill for several months.  He died at his home on West Second Street.  He was 74 years old.  The funeral was at St. John’s Catholic Church.  He is buried in St. John’s Cemetery.

Source: Post (Frederick, MD)-Monday, January 23, 1922

Feldner, Frederick W. (6-7-1865 to 8-9-1910)

Born in Baltimore, he studied law under Warden John F. Weyler of the penitentiary and entered the University of Maryland Law School, where he graduated with honors.  He was retained by many building associations and focused his practice on real estate affairs.  He was president of the Cape May Real Estate Company.  His offices were in the Fidelity Building in Baltimore.  He was also president of the Baltimore County Water Company; director of the Continental Trust Company, the Fidelity and Deposit Company, the Fidelity Trust Company and the German Bank.  He accepted a position as manager for the campaign of Ex-Governor Edwin Warfield.  He held the office of consul for the Republic of Columbia at Baltimore.  He was tragically killed in a automobile accident with his wife, daughter and son-in-law.  The vehicle they were driving in was struck by a train.

Frank, William (2-4-1960)

Member House of Delegates 2003 to 2014

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, February 4, 1960. Attended Archbishop Curley High School; Mount St. Mary's College,B.A., (political science), cum laude, 1982; The Johns H opkins University, M.A.S. (administrative science), 1992. Consultant, St. Joseph Medical Center, 2007-. Vice-President of Marketing, Maryland Credit Union League, 1984-89. Assistant Vice-President, Public Affairs Division, 1989-96, and Assistant Vice-President and Relationship Manager, 1996-99, Development and marketing consultant, Archdiocese of Baltimore, 1999-2003. Allfirst Bank. Volunteer cook, Christopher Place Employment Academy, 1988-94. Board of Directors, Action for the Homeless (now Center for Poverty Solutions), 1992-96. Fr. O'Neill Council, Knights of Columbus, 1994.  Board of Governors, Rodgers Forge Community Association, 1995-97. Board member, Home School Association, Immaculate Conception School, 1998-2000. President's Council, 1998-, and Marketing Advisory Council, 2000-, Mount St. Mary's College. Board of Directors, Independent College Fund of Maryland, 1998-; Dulaney Valley Improvement Association, 2001-. Delegate, Republican Party National Convention, 2004. Member, North Central Republican Club. Member, Timonium Optimist Club; Towson Elks; German Society of Maryland. Life member, National Political Science Honor Society. Adjunct Professor, CommunityCollege of Baltimore County.

Member of House of Delegates since January 8, 2003. Chief Deputy Minority Whip, 2005-. Member, Judiciary Committee, 2007- (family law subcommittee, 2007-). Member, Appropriations Committee, 2003-04 (health & human resources subcommittee, 2003-04; oversight committee on pensions, 2003-04; public safety & administration subcommittee, 2003). Deputy Minority Whip, 2003. Assistant Minority Whip, 2003-05. Member, Health and Government Operations Committee, 2004-06 (minority health disparities subcommittee, 2005-06; public health subcommittee, 2005; public health & long-term care subcommittee, 2005-06). Member, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, 2003; Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, 2003-; Taxpayers Protection Caucus, 2003-; Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2006-. Substitute member, Board of Supervisors of Elections, Baltimore County, 1991-95. Member, Transportation Task Force, 2003; Task Force on Lending Equity within Financial Institutions Providing State Depository Services, 2004-05; Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment, 2008.

Frick, John Conrad  (3-28-1688 to 10-27-1761 )

John Frick, son of Heinrich,  left the Palatinate and sailed for the U.S. in 1732.  He landed in Philadelphia.  He was one of the group of colonists who founded Germantown.  He lived there until his death.

Frick, Peter  (11-9-1743 to 10-15-1827)

Peter was the fourth son of John, was born in Germantown and moved to Baltimore in 1770.  He was the founder of the Frick family in Baltimore.  He became a successful merchant in Baltimore.  In 1797, an Act of Assembly incorporating the city of Baltimore, a mayor and city council were elected and Peter was chosen as a member of that first city council.

Frick, William  (11-2-1790 to 7-29-1855)-Judge

William is the son of Peter, born in Baltimore.  He was educated at Moravian college in Nazareth, PA., and pursued his legal studies in Baltimore.  He was admitted to the Baltimore bar in 1813.  He specialized in admiralty, maritime and insurance law.   He was elected State Senator from Baltimore City in 1837, was appointed by President Jackson collector of the port district of Maryland.  In 1848, he was appointed by then Governor Thomas to judge of Baltimore county courts and associate judge to the court of appeals.  He held these positions until his election to the superior court of Baltimore City.  William Frick served the German Society of Maryland until 1832, when his numerous other public duties forced him to abandon his active work for the immigrants. He remained a faithful member of the German Society until his death in 1855

He served as a volunteer in the War of 1812 during the campaign in Maryland.  The Maryland Historical Society has a Frick Collection of photographs.

Frick, James Swan  (11-30-1848 to 9-26-1927)

Born in Baltimore to William Frederick and Anne Elizabeth (Swan) Frick.  Educated in the private schools of Baltimore and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1869.  He entered the University of Maryland Law School and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1872.  He associated himself with his father in the legal profession until 1890.

Mr. Frick was a member of the Society of Cincinnati.  He was a prominent outdoorsman and a member of the Maryland Historical Society, the Municipal Art Society, the Maryland Club (he was Governor from 1890-1909), the Baltimore Club, the University Club, the Baltimore Athletic Club, as well as several country clubs and automobile clubs. 

He married Elise Winchester Dana, born in Augusta Maine where they were married in 1886. 

James Swan Frick is buried in Green Mount Cemetery.

Frick, William Frederick  (4-21-1817 to1-25-1905)-Judge

Judge William F. Frick, oldest son of William, was born in Baltimore.  He was educated by private tutors at Baltimore College and he continued at Harvard College, which he completed in 1835.  After completing legal study under the direction of his father he was admitted to the Bar in 1839.  He became one of the most distinguished attorneys in Baltimore.  He took an active part in the Baltimore City school system and served several years as president of the school board.  He was counsel for some of the more prominent commercial and corporate interests of the city and personally served as director in many of these companies including the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Consolidated Coal Company and the Consolidated Gas Company

Fusselbaugh, William H.B.  (7-29-1854 to 10-5-1904)

Mr. Fusselbaugh was a member of the state legislature, a successful merchant and a prominent leader in the state.  His great grandfather, John Henry Fusselbaugh, was a native of Germany and emigrated early in his life to Baltimore. He was a dealer of building materials until his death in 1814.  His son, William Fusselbauh was born in Baltimore.  He was a painter and glazier, dealing extensively in paints, oils, brushes, etc.  He opened a store on Gay Street in 1833.  He died in 1847.  John, the father of William, was born in Baltimore and worked with the Adams Express Company as the superintendent of their business in Washington DC.  He married Amanda Reilley, a native of Baltimore, whose father as the keeper of the North Point Light House.  Ms. Fusselbaugh died in 1862 and John in 1865.  William was born in the city and from the age of ten, was raised by an uncle.  He attended the public schools until the age of 16, when he passed and was admitted to Baltimore City College.  In his youth he was apprenticed to a paper hanger, serving a four years' term, after which he worked at his trade for six months for others. Once old enough, he began his own business at 422 Gay Street.  His store room ran from Gay to 411 Ensor Street.  He carried a complete line of wallpapers, shades, and interior decorations. He had contracts and completed some of the finer homes in Baltimore.

He married Alice Shaw, a native of Baltimore. (Ms. Shaw’s father, Bernard Shaw, was a captain of the City Fire Department).  She died leaving one child, John.  William married a second time to Laura Hickman, also a native of Baltimore.  Together they had two children, Listen and Amanda. 

Mr. Fusselbaugh was prominent in political circles and was honored with several official appointments, in which he has discharged his duties with marked distinction and ability. In 1881 he was appointed by Governor Hamilton register of the seventh, eighth and ninth precincts of the fourth ward. On the 16th of June, 1885, he was appointed school commissioner, elected by the board, and ratified by the council. For three terms he was chairman of the Female High School committee, was chairman of the grammar school committee, the sewing teachers' committee, the committee on accounts, on physical culture and on discipline. In 1893 Mr. Fusselbaugh was elected to the Democratic ticket to the general assembly from the first legislative district of Baltimore, and led the entire district ticket. While a member of the house he served on various committees, including those on printing and education. He took a very active part in the work of the session and labored earnestly for the advancement of the welfare of the state, his loyalty being above question. He was president of the Hillen Democratic Club of the fifth ward.

Mr. Fusselbaugh was a member of many civic societies, including Landmark Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M.,; Concordia Chapter, R. A. M.; Crusade Command No. 5, K. T.; Boumi Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He belonged to Baltimore Lodge No. 7, B. P. O. E.; was past excellent ruler, and filled a number of offices in that order.  He represented the Elks in their national convention in July, 1896. He was also a member of the Junior American Mechanics, the Heptasophs and Golden Eagle, and was a Knight of Pythias. He attended the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mr. Fusselbaugh is buried at Green Mount Cemetery.  He was buried with full Masonic rites. 

Obituary:  Baltimore Sun October 6, 1904

Gans, Edgar Hilary (11-4-1856 to 9-20-1914) 

EG Gans was born in Harrisburg, PA and came to Baltimore with his parents in 1870 and spent the remainder of his life in Baltimore. His father Rev. Daniel Gans was a minister of the Reformed church in Baltimore.  After Rev. Gans retirement, he studied law and was admitted to the bar and elected judge of the Orphans’ Court, an office he held until his death.  Edgar studied in the public schools and graduated at the head of his class in the Baltimore City College in 1875.  He also led his class in the law school of the University of Maryland, where he graduated with his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1877. He began his legal practice with the office of John P. Poe.  He was admitted to the Bar in 1877 and three years afterward was appointed deputy state's attorney, which position he held until 1888.  In 1883 he became a lecturer on criminal and testamentary law in the University of Maryland.  After his retirement from the State’s Attorney’s office, he bagan private practice.  He was not a specialist and worked civil, criminal and corporate cases.  In 1889 he formed a partnership with B. Howard Haman, the firm name Gans & Haman. 

He was a trusted advisor to Cardinal Gibbons and the Catholic clergy.  In 1900, he received from Loyola College and from Mount St. Mary’s College the degree of Doctor of Laws.

Garmatz, Edward Alexander (2-7-1903 to 7-22-1986)

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Garmatz attended the public schools and the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.  According to the 1930 federal census, he was the son of Herman and Marie Garmatz, both of Germany.  The family lived, at the time, on Federal Street in Baltimore.  He engaged in the electrical business from 1920 to 1942, and was associated with the Maryland State Racing Commission from 1941 to 1944. He served as police magistrate from 1944–1947.

Garmatz was elected July 15, 1947 by special election to fulfill the vacancy left by Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., who had resigned the seat to become Mayor of Baltimore. He was re-elected to the twelve succeeding Congresses and served from July 15, 1947 to January 3, 1973. From the Eighty-ninth through the Ninety-second Congresses, Garmatz served as chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1972 to the Ninety-third Congress, and became employed by the International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots Union. He was a resident of Baltimore until his death there.

He was a Democrat, was a U.S. Congressman who represented the 3rd congressional district of Maryland from 1947 to 1973.

The federal courthouse in Baltimore is named after Garmatz.

Gerstung, Robert J. Honorable (5-18-1932 to 4-4-1994)

Robert Gerstung was born to Harry and Alice Gerstung in Baltimore.  He was born in East Baltimore, where a family business, Gerstung’s Bakery.  The business was well-known to many in the area. The business was begun by his grandparents, Charles and Alice, who arrived in the US from Germany in 1888 and 1891 respectively.  The bakery was located initially on Frederick Avenue and moved to their address on Orleans Street in 1920.   Judge Gerstung received his early education at St. Elizabeth of Hungary School, near Patterson Park.  He graduated from Mr. St. Joseph’s High School.  He graduated from Villanova University in 1954 and received graduate degrees from the University of Maryland Law School and the Johns Hopkins University.  He also earned a master of theology degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University.

He was admitted to the bar in 1957.  He maintained his law office in Baltimore and was appointed to the Baltimore Municipal Bench in 1971, one of the original 22 members and the most senior when he passed.  He remained in district court for the majority of his legal career, sometimes presiding in the Circuit Court on special assignment.

He was also an educator and helped start an education program for new judges in Maryland, which became a prototype for similar schools in other states.  He also taught night classes in political science and the philosophy of the law at Loyola College.  He was a founder of ‘Law Day’, an annual event at Loyola. 

He made unsuccessful for city council president and the U.S. House of Representatives.

He was married to Elizabeth Margaret Long.  Together they have five children.  Judge Gerstung is buried at Parkview Cemetery in Baltimore.

Gontrum, John  (1-21-1823 to 4-5-1903)

John Gontrum was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, the youngest son of Christopher and Anna Maria (Barbara) Gontrum.  His father, also a native of Germany, came to the United States with his family in 1830 and settled in Baltimore.  He manufactured baskets for about one year and then moved to Pennsylvania to begin work in the slate quarry business.  He moved to Philadelphia and became foreman at Dyer’s, which manufactured some of the first glass made in the U.S.  John his son was not a child of priviledge and obtained his education mostly through night school and study at home.  He was seven when the family emigrated and he lived with his parents until he was twenty-two.

He began his work as a hired hand with a trucking company.  He married, in 1846, Caroline (Kinsle), also a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and lived with her family for several years.  He bought his first piece of land in 1849 (four acres) and began his farm.  He, upon his father-in-laws death, bought his land.  Together he and Caroline had eleven children, with only four surviving, most dying in early childhood.  The surviving children are Ann Margaret (Oyiman), John F., an attorney and writer (see biography in the ‘Arts’ secton), Matilda and Ann Catherine.

Politically, Mr. Gontrum was always affiliated with the Democrats. In 1867 he was elected judge of the orphans' court of Baltimore County and at the expiration of his term of four years he was unanimously re-elected, serving eight years altogether. For more than a quarter of a century he was identified with Gardenville Lodge No. 114, I. O. O. F. , and was its treasurer. In 1849, at the founding of the Gardeners & Farmers' Beneficial Society, he became associated with the work, and was the honored president of the organization for eleven years. At one time he was director of the Baltimore and Jerusalem Turnpike Company.

He is a member of the Lutheran Church and was been president of its board.

The family is buried at ‘The Gontrum Family Cemetery' a small cemetery located on Furley Avenue, east of Belair Road and in northeast Baltimore.

Grecht, William  (8-31-1853 to 1931)

 Mr. Grecht was born in Schlitz, Hessen, Germany.  He was educated in the public schools of Baltimore and was a resident of South Baltimore.  He was a member of the Baltimore City Council, 23rd Ward, from 1899 to 1909.  He ran a cannery on Sharp Street.  He is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery.

Mr. Grecht was married to Alice Virginia (1857-1916) who died at the age of 60 during a visit to Gettysburg.  Mr. Grecht married a second time to Lena Mertz (1868 to 3-18-1941)

(Additional information and the photos of the Grecht Cannery (above) was provided by Wilhelm Karn from Framrsheim, Germany.  Mr. Karn's grandfather was the cousin of William Grecht)

Hager, Jonathan (1719  to 11-6-1775) 

In 1739, Mr. Hager, a German immigrant purchased 200 acres of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland and called it Hager’s Fancy. In 1762, Hager officially founded the town of Elizabethtown which he named after his wife, Elizabeth Kershner (also seen Greschnen) (1740).  Their son Jonathan served in the Revolutionary War.  Mrs. Hager died 7-25-1873 at the age of 78 years.  It soon became flourishing, and by 1755 it contained over 100 houses, which by 1807 increased to 300, besides

a courthouse, jail and four churches.  The town consisted in 1770 of more than 100 comfortable buildings.  In 1771 Mr. Hagar was elected a delegate to the General Assembly of the Province, the first German to enter into politics in Maryland.  He was declared ineligible because of his naturalization.  The House of Delegates (within eight days) changed that law and Mr. Hagar was able to take his seat before the close of the term.  Mr. Hagar was elected a second time in 1773. 

Mr. Hager was accidentally killed November 6, 1775 by a large piece of timber rolling upon and crushing him while superintending the erection of the German Reformed Church at Hagerstown.  He also donated three lots in Elizabethtown for the erection of an Evangelical Lutheran Church. 

Fourteen years later, Jonathan Hager became known as the "Father of Washington County" after his efforts helped Hagerstown become the county seat of newly created Washington County which Hager also helped create from neighboring Frederick County, Maryland. The City Council changed the community's name to Hagerstown in 1813 because the name had gained popular usage, and in the following year, the Maryland State Legislature officially endorsed the changing of the town’s name.

(Source:  Maryland online Encyclopedia and ‘The First Settlements of Germans in Maryland-published 1896 and Society for the History of Germans in Maryland-First Annual Report).

Hannibal, John (12-20-1860 to)

John was born in Baltimore.  His father Henry was a native of Germany who settled in Baltimore and began a mercantile business.  His father worked this business until his death in 1883.  John Hannibal was educated in the private schools in Baltimore and also took a course in Bryant and Stratton’s Business College.  His original plan was to work with his father in the mercantile business.  After the death of his father he decided to enter law and matriculated in the Law School of the University of Maryland in 1885.  He was admitted to the bar and began practice. 

He was affiliated with several social and benevolent organizations.  He was a member of Adherence Lodge, A.F. and A.M.; Madison Lodge; I.O.O.F.; Steuben Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Mercants’ Council, Royal Arcanum, and the Shield of Honor.  He as a Democrat and in 1896 he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in Chicago and was one of the electors named to represent his State in the Electoral College. 

He married Katie (Barnes) (12-1865)  and together they had one daughter, Rubey (11-1894).  The 1900 IS Census has the family living at 2113 Baltimore Street.

Hennighausen, Percy Charles (6-26-1866 to )

Percy C. Hennighausen, member of the Baltimore Bar, practiced law in Maryland for twenty years and was associated with political events in the city.  From 1897 to 1901, he served as commissioner of immigration of the port of Baltimore, appointed by President McKinley.  He was a member of the City Council from 1895 to 1897, and president of the first branch of that body.  He was a member of the Maryland Bar Association, Bar Association of Baltimore, Germania Club of Baltimore, and the Knights of Pythias.  He was the son of Rev. Dr. Friedrich Philip Hennighausen and Sarah Eva Lepley.  His father was German born and served as pastor of St. Stephens Church for over 50 years (See Education & Religion).  He received early education in the public schools of Baltimore and after leaving the city school system, he took up the study of law with his uncle, Louis P. Hennighausen (See this section).  He became a partner with that firm.  He also studied at the University of Maryland and received his LL.B in 1888. 

He was married to Lizette Hoblemann of Baltimore and they had two children, Frederick H. and Louis P. Hennighausen. 

Hennighausen, Louis Paul (12-18-1840 to 2-2-1918)    

His father was an accomplished lawyer from a sturdy Saxon family.  He was born in Fulda, Prussia, the son of Heinrich Johann and Marie Schulz Heinnighausen.   His academic education began in the schools at Hersfeld, Prussia and with private tutors.  He emigrated to the United States in his 1865 and landed in Baltimore.  He entered the service of the US as Company A, Eight Battalion, DC Volunteers, April 1861 and later the Forty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers.  In 1862 was promoted to first lieutenant. He was engaged in the siege of Fort Pulaski, Georgia; and operations in Charleston, South Carolina and the Peninsula Campaign.  He commanded his company in the battle of Secessionsville.  He resigned after contracting swamp fever.

He accepted a position of teacher at a private school in DC, but returned to Baltimore and continued his legal studies entering the Maryland Law School, where he graduated and was admitted to the bar in Baltimore in 1868.  He operated a successful lawfirm, Henninghausen & Stein.  

He was president of the German Society of Maryland (1887-1913).  He authored the 1906 history of the Society.  He was an organizer/founder for the History of the Germans in Maryland, serving as their president from 1901 until 1906, and penned many historical articles.  He was a charter member and for many years the president of the General German Aged Home. 

Sunpaper Obituary February 2, 1918:  Louis P. Hennighausen was a noted lawyer, veteran and President of the German Society of Maryland.  He died from injuries received from a fall from an electric car.  He was 78 years old, an eloquent orator, litterateur and philanthropist. 

Obituary L.P. Henninghausen, Baltimore Sunpaper February 3, 1918

Heuisler, Joseph S.  (2-17-1832 to 10-15-1899)

Mr. Heuisler was born in Baltimore.  His father was a native of Munich, Germany and was a florist and horticulturist.  Joseph was educated at St. Mary’s College in Baltimore in 1849.  He became one of the legal staff of the register of wills for seven years.  He began the study of law under James Buchanan, U.S. minister to Denmark.  He served on the clerical staff of the orphans’ court of Baltimore.  He was admitted to the bar in 1860.  He and his son Charles practiced under the name of Heuisler & Son.  He was a defense attorney and was involved in several famous murder cases. 

Mr. Heuisler represented the twelfth ward on the city council for two years and served one term as the city examiner of titles.

He died in his home in Roland Park.

Heuisler, Charles William (1-11-1854 to )

Charles, son of Joseph, was born in Baltimore and education at Calvert Hall and Rock Hill College.  He graduated in 1872.  He was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City.  He then became a partner in his father’s law firm.  He was appointed judge of the Juvenile Court in 1908 and was appointed on April 11, 1909 to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City.  He was re-elected to the bench in 1909. 

Hisky, Thomas Foley  (7-22-1865 to 9-7-1936)

Thomas Hisky, (German ancestry paternal -Joseph Hisky who immigrated to America from Vienna in the early part of the nineteenth century.  Joseph was a piano manufacturer.).  He was born in Baltimore and attended public schools and Baltimore City College.   He began his law studies in the office of Hinkley & Morris, prominent lawyers in the city.  He was admitted to the bar of Baltimore in 1886 and upon the death of Mr. Morris, the firm name was changed to Hinley, Spamer & Hisky.  He was a director in the Central Savings Bank of Baltimore.  He was appointed by Mayor Hooper as a member of the Commission in the City Charities, and appointed by Mayors McLane and Mahool, a member of the Board of Visitors to Baltimore City Jail (also having charge of the city’s reformatories).  He was one of two referees in the bankruptcy for Baltimore City in 1898.  He was a member of the Maryland Historical Society, the German Society of Maryland and the Children’s Aid Society. Mr. Hisky served as President of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland from 1930 to 1936.

Hoblitzell, Fetter Schrier  (10-7-1838 to 5-2-1900)

Mr. Hoblitzell, a Representative from Maryland; born in Cumberland; attended the primary schools and was graduated from the Allegany Academy, Cumberland, Md.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1859 and commenced practice in Baltimore, Md.; during the Civil War served as a private in the First Maryland Regiment of Infantry, Confederate Army; resumed the practice of law; member of the State house of delegates in 1870 and 1876; reelected in 1878 and served as speaker; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1885); city counselor of Baltimore in 1888 and 1889; resumed the practice of law; died in Baltimore.  He is interment in Loudon Park Cemetery.

Hochheimer, Lewis  (8-1-1853 to )

Mr. Hochheimer was born in Baltimore, son of Dr. Henry Hochheimer, a rabbi and native of Bavaria and Rosalie Englander, also a native of Bavaria.  Dr. Hochheimer was compelled to leave Germany after siding with the reformers or revolutionaries known as the 48ers.  He arrived in Baltimore in 1849.

Lewis attended grammar and high schools in Baltimore and began his study of law at the age of eighteen in the law offices of Maj. J.G. Ferguson.  He also attended the Law School of the University of Maryland, graduating in 1873.  He had to wait a year before obtaining his license to practice law, being admitted to the bar in 1874.  On admission to the bar, he and Maj. Ferguson forged a co-partnership which lasted for six years.  At the end of six years, Mr. Hochheimer practiced alone.

Mr. Hochheimer was an independent in politics.  He believed in prohibition.  He was a member of the Masonic Order Center Lodge, No. 108; Concordia Chapter, No. 1, where he served in almost every chair/office.   He was also a member of the Independent Order of Mechanics, in which he has occupied all the official chairs as well.

Mr. Hochheimer was a bachelor.

Hoffman, David, America’s first legal ethicist (1784-1854)

Grandson of William, son of Peter,  he is noted as the founder of America’s first original method of legal instruction, a social critic and a land speculator.  His academic interests and publishing efforts ran from legal scholarship to religious history.  His ‘Course of Legal Study’ became one of the most celebrated outlines of formal legal instruction in the U.S. and was presented to be employed at the recently established University of Maryland (1812) where he served as Professor of Law.  In 1834 he was appointed to serve as the Director of the Digest of Laws of Maryland as a part of an early effort to codify Maryland law.

Hoffmann, Louis  (5-29-1859 to 2-26-1925)

Mr. Hoffmann was born in Augsburg and was primarily self-taught. He arrived in the U.S. at the age of twelve.  He prospered in the tobacco import business until the tariffs imposed became extreme.  In the same time, he was elected as a member of the Baltimore City Council.  When his term expired he was appointed a Commissioner for Opening Streets and served in that capacity for four years.  He also served in the Immigration Bureau as an interpreter.  He ultimately became the Assistant Commissioner and held this office until his death. 

He was an ardent supporter and advocate for healthy bodies and introduced and had passed the ordinance making physical education a part of the public school curriculum. 

 Homer, Charles Christopher, Jr.  (10-15-1870 to 3-9-1922)

Charles was born in Baltimore (son of Charles Christopher Homer-See Business & Finance) and attended Zion School, Loyola College and received his B.A. and M.A. and in 1894 his law degree from the University of Maryland.  He went to work in the law offices of Luther Reynolds and George Willis and then with his brother Francis Homer opened the law firm of Homer & Homer until February 1896.  In 1896 he was elected vice president of Second National Bank of Baltimore and later succeeded his father as president.  At the time of his death he was President of the Savings Bank of Baltimore.  He was also a director of the General German Orphans Home and a past Grand Master of the Masons of Maryland.

Homer, Francis Theodore (1-6-1872 to 3-3-1930)

Francis was born in Baltimore (son of Charles Christopher Homer-See Business & Finance) Education at Zion, Loyola and the University of Maryland and worked in the law firms of Homer & Homer and Willis & Homer.

Francis Homer is buried at Druid Ridge Cemetery.

Hunckel, Otto (8-10-1831 to 12-20-1897)

Otto Hunckel, Attorney-at-Law was born in Bremen, Germany. He received his education in Bremen and was then apprenticed to the leading leaf tobacco importing house of that city. After he mastered the details of the business he made a tour of the US.  He was impressed by Baltimore relocated. He found work as buyer for the leaf tobacco house of Shaer & Kohler.  He worked there several years and then returned to Europe, returning to Baltimore a few years later.  In Baltimore he engaged in mercantile business importing European wines, brandies, cigars, etc.  He took up the study of law and for about fifteen years he was engaged as an arbitrator in settling business matters.  According to the 1890 Baltimore Directory, his Arbitration and Law Bureau was located at 110 E. Lexington Street, directly across from the courthouse.  He was not admitted to practice law until 1893.  He deferred his admission on purpose not knowing the impact on his current business and because it was nonessential to his arbitration business.  Mr. Hunckel was one of the most prominent Germans in Baltimore and was especially noted for his charity. He married Katharine, daughter of the late John Voneiff, a merchant of Baltimore, his former business partner. In 1880, he and Katherine were living with John & Henrietta Voneiff at 10 North Green Street.   Mr. and Mrs. Hunckel resided at 2426 St. Paul Street and were members of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Hunckel has read law and is a graduate of Baltimore University School of Law, class of 1893.

Hunckel, Katherine (1842 to )

Katherine is the daughter of John and Henrietta Voneiff (John of Darmstadt and Henrietta of Bayern)

Note from the Intercollegiate Law Journal, Volumes 1-2, page 246:

Mrs. Otto Hunckel will be the first woman graduate from the Baltimore University Law School.  Her diploma, however, will not allow her to practice in the local courts.  An effort will be made to have the next Legislature remove the distinction.  Mrs. Hunckel’s husband is in the same class with her.  They will graduate together.—The Press

Johannsen, Paul (1870-1931)

Mr. Johannsen was born in 1870 in Bredstadt, Germany.  He came to the United States in 1888 and could speak no English.  He got a job in the composing room of the German Correspondent, which was a leading German language newspaper.  In a matter of a few years, he rose to be the paper’s chief bookkeeper and cashier.  At the same time he was studying law.  

In 1897 he married Cora Grumbine.  They had one daughter, Mildred. 

 In 1909 he was made a magistrate.  This position he held for 22 years.  His term was not without controversy.  He was a conscientious judge and would do almost anything to determine facts.  He often sprayed his courtroom with disinfectant stating that a stuffy courtroom was not conducive to clear thinking.  He demanded iron-clad proof prior to any conviction.  He believed in the rights of citizens.  

Shortly after his death in 1931 a street that lie behind the Northwestern Station, one block long, from Lanvale to Dolphin was named Johannsen Street by an act of the City Council.

Konig, George  (1-26-1865 to 5-31-1913)

George Konig’s grandfather George, immigrated from Germany in about 1815 and settled in Maryland.  He was born at Northpoint, in Baltimore County.  George was a member of Congress from the Third Congressional District.  He as a self made man beginning his working life when only 6 years old, as a helper with the fisherman.  He spent time in a packing house (Brinkley & Reaves) and at the age of eleven began working in the shipyard of Stephens & Numan in Fells Point.  He worked there until he was eighteen.  He continued his education and at the age of twenty-one was elected the president of the Union.  Around the age of twenty-five, he went to work at the Baltimore Pulverizing Company, starting at the bottom and working his way up to the general manager’s position. 

He became active in politics at the age of twenty one.  He was nominated for the City Council in 1899 but was defeated.  In 1903 he was again nominated and was successful.  He served in the First Branch and was re-elected in 1905. In 1907 he was elected to the Second Branch and then carried the First Ward.  In 1910 he was nominated for Congress from the Third District and was elected.  He was president of the Shipcaulkers Union.  He is buried at Baltimore Cemetery.

Kaufman, Frank Albert  (3-4-1916 to 7-31-1997)

Frank Albert Kaufman was born to Nathan and Hilda Kaufman in Baltimore.  Nathan’s parent’s Frank (dob 9-1858) and Sadie (dob 5-1863) were both born to German immigrants in Baltimore.  The 1900 census shows Frank’s grandfather as a Hops dealer living on Madison Avenue.  The 1920 census has Frank and his parents living in the Esplanade Apartments, his father the proprietor of a laundry. In 1940, the census shows Frank living with his parents on Old Court Road. 

Mr. Kaufman received his A.B. from Dartmouth in 1937 and his LL.B from Harvard Law School in 1940.  He was an Attorney in the Office of the General Counsel of the Lend Lease Administration from 1941 to 1942.  He also served as a representative for that entity in Turkey from 1942 to 1943.  He was an assistant to the chief, Psychological Warfare Board and served as chief of the Leaflet Division, Psychological Warfare from 1944 to 1945. 

He entered private practice in Baltimore in 1945, after service to the U.S. Foreign Economic Administration.  He also served as a Lecturer at the University of Baltimore School of Law from 1948 to 1962 as well as the University of Maryland School of Law from 1953 to 1954.

President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Mr. Kaufman to sit as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.  He was confirmed on September 22, 1966. He served in this capacity from 1981 to 1986 and achieved senior status on June 16th of that same year.  He served in this capacity until his death. In this capacity, Judge Kaufman presided over some of the nation’s biggest courtroom struggles including school desegregation in the suburb of Prince Georges County, Maryland.  In 1972 he issued the order that busing be used to desegregate the schools, which was upheld by the Supreme Court. 

Mr. Kaufman died on July 31, 1997 or a rare blood disorder.  He married Clementine ‘Lazaron’(dod 9-23-2013) and together they had two children, Peggy ‘Wolf’ and Frank Jr. (dod 3-27-2014).  Judge Kaufman, Dr. Clementine Kaufman and Frank Kaufman, Jr., are buried at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery.

Source:  Biographical Directory of Federal Judges/Federal Census records

Kraus, Anthony Walter (4-15-1888 to 4-8-1944)

Mr. Kraus was born in Baltimore, the seventh child of Anton Kraus and Katherine Walter, who had both been born and raised in Baden, Germany.  They emigrated to this country and lived in New York.  After the death of his father in 1894, they moved to Baltimore.  He attended the public schools in Baltimore until 1899 and then enrolled at McDonogh School.  Upon his graduation he obtained a position as a stenographer in the office of the Honorable Morris A. Soper.  He undertook the study of law and entered the University of Maryland in 1908, completing the program in three years.    He spent the early years of his professional life in the public law offices of Baltimore City and in 1908 obtained a law-clerkship in the office of the Honorable John C. Rose who was at the time the U.S. Attorney for Maryland.  Mr. Kraus served as Assistant District Attorney under John Phillip Hill, leaving in 1913 for a position as Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, where he served until 1919.  In 1919 he entered the City Solicitor of Baltimore City’s office where he was assistant to Roland R. Marchant.  In 1923 he entered private practice forming Marchant & Kraus.  After four years, he left private practice to accept the position of City Solicitor of Baltimore.  After his term of four years, he again entered private practice, but again left in 1938 to assume a position on the legal staff of the New Amsterdam Casualty Company. 

He was a Mason, a director of the General German Orphan Home, a member of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.  He was a member of the American, Maryland and Baltimore City Bar Associations, the Association of Insurance Counsel and the Barrister’s Club. 

Kuenne, Herbert F.  (9-8-1897 to 2-28-1971)

Mr. Kuenne was a lawyer by profession and a leader in the Lutheran Church.  He attended the public schools in Baltimore, including Baltimore City College.  He received his law degree from the University of Maryland in 1922.  He was a member of Martini Lutheran Church and was active at both the state and national level in church matters.  He served as president of the church council from 1944 until his death.  He was a member of Board of Governors of the Lutheran Hospital and served as president of the Lutheran High School in Baltimore.  He was a member of the German Society of Maryland and served as their president.  He was also a member of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.  He died while traveling to a meeting of the Missouri Synod in St. Louis. 

Kump, John C.  (9-1-1878 to 10-11-1961)

John Carl Kump was born on Hanover Street in Baltimore and attended the Baltimore City Public Schools and graduated from City College.  He studied law at the Baltimore School of Law.  He was admitted to the bar and joined the firm of Louis P. and Percy C. Hennighausen.  After four years he opened his own firm at 215 and later 231 St. Paul Steet.

He was a member and served on the executive board and acted as attorney for the General German Orphan Association.  He was associated with the Caroline Street Permanent Building Association and the Paca Building and Loan Association. He was president of Long Point on the Magothy, Inc., a development corporation. 

Langhammer, John Frederick (11-17-1856 to 4-19-1916)

John Langhammer was born in Baltimore and education in the public schools, Knights private school and the Bryant & Stratton Business College where he graduated with honors.  He became a partner in his father’s firm, E. Langhammer & Sons, wholesale grocers and shippers (The business was closed upon his father’s retirement in 1900).  They had contracts for supplying the U.S. lighthouses and owned a fleet of vessels sailing under their own flag.  In 1888, he was elected a member of the Board of Education.  He served in this capacity for four years.  He was a trustee and director of the St. Mary’s Industrial School.  He was elected in 1882, for the First Branch of the Baltimore City Council.  He was appointed by the City Council President, Hooper to chair the important, Ways & Means Committee.  He was appointed a member of the Appeal Tax Court and retained that position when Mayer Hooper was replaced by Mayer Maister.  He was chosen president of this court and served in this capacity until 1902.  He resigned when he was appointed a United States Marshall by President Roosevelt, whom was his personal friend.  He served in this capacity for eight years.  During his term, he was responsible for ebbing the ‘Shanghaiers’ of the Chesapeake (a group of pirates who terrorized the oysterman in Maryland).  He was also responsible for an act which resulted in the raising of the U.S. flag over every schoolhouse in the city.   In 1912, he succeeded Colonel Washington Bowie as chief clerk of the Baltimore Board of Excise Commission.

Lingenfelder, Henry  (10-26-1846 to )

Henry Lingenfelder was born in Baltimore, the son of the  Frederick H. and Mary A. (Schmidt), the former a native of Bavaria, and the latter of Hesse Cassel. Frederick H. Lingenfelder came from Germany and located in Baltimore in 1832, and was for many years in the employ of the firm of Henry W. Jenkins & Son. He died September 20, 1862 and Mary on  April 13, 1897.

Henry Lingenfelder was educated in the public schools and by private tutors of Baltimore, studied law under  Archibald Stirling, Jr., was admitted to the bar in 1872, and was engaged in the general practice of law in partnership association, with Wm. M. Marine, under the firm name of Marine & Lingenfelder. Mr. Lingenfelder was a staunch Republican, actively identified with the party's interests and work in Baltimore. He was been for a many years Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee, was delegate to numerous State, Congressional and municipal conventions, but had no personal aspiration for office.  Lingenfelder was Special Deputy under Collector of Customs, W. M. Marine, from March, 1890, to June 1, 1894. He was one of the directors of the South Baltimore Bank and counsel for that institution; he was one of the Board of Governors of the South Baltimore Business Men's Association, and President of the Baltimore Journal Publishing Co., which published a German daily and weekly newspaper in Baltimore. He was a member of the German Historical Society of Maryland, of the Masonic Order, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Red Men, Ancient Order of United Workmen and Royal Arcanum. He married October 29, 1869, to Emma V. Parkes . Mr. and Mrs. Lingenfelder had five children: Archibald Stirling, William W., Henry H., Elizabeth, and Elise B. Lingenfelder. Mr. Lingenfelder was a member of the Episcopal Church, St. John the Baptist, and was one of its Guild. Mrs. Lingenfelder was a member of Light Street Presbyterian Church. The family lived at 835 Light street.

Mayer, Brantz (9-27-1809 to 2-23-1879)  

Historian, Writer, Surveyor, Editor  & Founder of   the Maryland Historical Society                                               

Brantz Mayer was a prominent nineteenth-century Baltimore citizen, historian, and writer. He was born to Christian Mayer (1763-1842) and Anna Kat(h)erina (Baum) Mayer (1767-1843) in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 27, 1809, the youngest of ten children. His father came to the United States from Ulm, Württemberg, Germany, and settled in Maryland in 1784. After emigrating to the United States, Christian Mayer established himself as a trader. Later he became the president of a Baltimore insurance company. Eventually, he served as the consul-general of Württemberg to the United States.

Brantz Mayer attended public school, as well as St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore but was primarily privately educated. He completed his study of law at the University of Maryland and was admitted to the bar in 1832. Throughout this period, he traveled extensively throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. On September 27, 1835, Mayer married Mary Griswold (1817-1845). Before her death in 1845, Mary bore five daughters: Katherine Mary (Kate) (b. 1836), Beata (b. 1838), Anna Maria (b. 1841), Dora (b. 1844-1878), and Mary (b. 1845). On November 15, 1848, the widower married Cornelia Poor (b. 1818), with whom he had three daughters: Cornelia (Nellie) (b. 1849), Jane (b. 1851), and Fanny (b. and d. 1854).

Mayer left the practice of law in 1841 to take a position as the secretary of the United States legation in Mexico. Following his return from Mexico in 1844, Mayer began his life-long study of, devotion to, and preservation of history, especially local history. He was involved in the establishment of the Maryland Historical Society in 1844 and served as its president from 1867 to 1871. Additionally, he served as president of the Library Company of Baltimore and proved vital in the construction of the Antheneum Building in the city. He later encouraged the state of Maryland to establish an archives commission and depository, which was ultimately housed at the Historical Society.

In 1844, Mayer published the first of many historical works, Mexico as It Was and as It Is. This first work was of particular importance, given the pending Mexican-American War. Other works by Mayer include Tah-Gah-Jute: or Logan and Captain Michael Cresap (1851), Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican (1851), and Calvert and Penn (1852). He also edited several works, including the Journal of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, during His Visit to Canada in 1776 (1845), for the Maryland Historical Society, and Captain Canot; or Twenty Years of an African Slaver (1854). He continued to write and to publish until shortly before his death. In addition to books, Mayer regularly wrote editorials and columns for newspapers in the Baltimore area, especially the Baltimore News American.

Mr. Mayer was also the executor of John McDonough’s will and after settlement of such was instrumental in the establishment of McDonough School in 1860.

During the Civil War, Mayer served as a brigadier-general with the Maryland volunteers and he assisted in recruiting for the state. In 1863, he received the post of additional paymaster. In January 1865, he was promoted to major and paymaster in the United States regular army. In 1866, he was promoted again, this time to lieutenant-colonel (retroactive to November 1865) for his service during the war. Mayer retired from the pay department in 1875 at the rank of colonel.

Source: Brantz Mayer papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.

The Maryland Historical Magazine (The Maryland Historical Society, Volume V, Baltimore 1910 provides a detailed biography of Mr. Mayer)

History of Baltimore City & County; John Thomas Scharf, 1881, J.B. Lippencott & Company, publishers, Philadelphia PA. 

 McKeldin, Theodore Roosevelt   (11-20-1900  to  8-10-1974)

Gov Theodore McKeldin

Member of the United States Republican Party, was a two term Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1951 to 1959. 

Theodore McKeldin was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  His mother, Dora Greif McKeldin, was the daughter of German immigrants. He attended Maryland public schools and later graduating from Baltimore City College. He furthered his education by earning his law degree from the University of  Maryland School of Law in 1925 and with some graduate work at Johns Hopkins University.

McKeldin was elected mayor of Baltimore in 1943. As mayor, he oversaw the construction of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

McKeldin ran for governor in 1950. He was successful, defeating incumbent William Preston Lane, Jr. by the largest margin in state history up to that point. As governor, McKeldin endeavored to improve the state highway system, namely by establishing the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), the Washington, DC Beltway (I-95/495) and the John Hanson Highway (Route 50). He was a staunch supporter of interstate cooperation, saying once: "I rode by train over several state borders. I carried no passports. No one asked me to identify myself. No one had the right to. This is America."

In 1952, McKeldin delivered the principal nominating speech for the general at the Republican National Convention.

McKeldin retired in 1959 from the governorship and returned to his law practice in Baltimore. In 1963, he returned to public service after again being elected as mayor of Baltimore, focusing on the urban renewal of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. McKeldin served his second term as mayor until 1967.

He died on August 10, 1974, and is buried in Greenmount Cemetery.

Mettee, Andrew Hartman (11-27-1871 to 9-30-1933)

Mr. Mettee was Secretary of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland from 1918 until his death on September 30, 1933, was born in Baltimore City on November 27, 1871, his father being Mezick Corner Mettee and his mother Helen Elizabeth Gardner. He attended school here, graduating from the Baltimore City College in 1889. From the University Maryland Law School he received the degree of LL.B. in May, 1892. For a number of years he engaged in the active practice of the law the while also serving as assistant librarian of the Bar Library. In 1899 he was elected to the post of librarian and also acted as secretary to the Library Company of the Baltimore Bar, both of which positions he held at the time of his death, having served at the Bar Library exactly forty three years.

A scholarly contribution, involving much reading and cataloguing is his "Subject Index" of books in the Bar Library.  Becoming interested in the genealogy of his family, he traced his forbears back to a Mettee in the ancient city of Quedlinburg, Germany, where members of the family are yet prominent whom he visited and with whom he corresponded. At the time of his death he was engaged in the task of indexing and endeavoring to trace and fix the arrival of early German immigrants to our state. This was a task involving much patient search of church and other records. Unfortunately this remained uncompleted. Active in all library work, he was a charter member and one-time president of the American Association of Law Libraries; ex-president of the Maryland Library Association and ex-president of the Alumni Association of the University of Maryland School Law. He was also a past master of Monumental Lodge, No. 96, A. F. & A. M. His funeral services were conducted according to the simple rites of the Society of Friends, of which he was a member.

Motz, J. Frederick (born 1942) -United States Federal Judge.

Motz was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He received an A.B. from Wesleyan University in 1964. He received an LL.B. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1967. He was a law clerk, Hon. Harrison L. Winter, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit from 1967 to 1968. He was in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland from 1968 to 1969. He was an assistant U.S. Attorney of the District of Maryland from 1969 to 1971. He was in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland from 1971 to 1981. He was a U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland from 1981 to 1985.

Motz was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Motz was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on April 23, 1985, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 11, 1985, and received his commission on July 12, 1985. He served as chief judge from 1994-2001.  He retired from the bench in 2010.

Myers, Charles Henry  (11-3-1851 to)

Mr. Myers was the son of the late Christian H. and Mary Ann (Meyers), both natives of Baltimore and early descendants of German settlers. 

Mr. Myers' maternal grandfather participated in the battle of North Point. His father the late Christian H. Myers was supervisor of tracks for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1833 to 1846, and in that capacity supervised the laying of the first rails of that road between Baltimore and Washington.  From 1848 to 1854 he was employed in a similar capacity on the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. In 1854 Mr. Myers moved to Baltimore and was in Government employed as Superintendent of Public Works up to 1859. He then resumed connection with the Baltimore and Ohio as Superintendent of Construction, and continued in that employ until his retirement from business in 1876. He died in June, 1888; his wife the following March.

Their son, Charles H. Myers, attended the public schools and City College of Baltimore, and supplemented this with a special course in mathematics under private tutors. From 1868 to 1873 he was timekeeper under his father in the B. & O. service. He then served an apprenticeship at granite cutting and continued to work at his trade until 1882, when he established himself in the stone business, in which he was engaged until 1886. He was foreman in various stone-cutting establishments from the latter date until 1891, when he accepted the position of Manager of the Gettysburg Granite Company's Works. In 1895 he was appointed superintendent of- Bridges of Baltimore, and in that capacity built the Ramsey Street, Fort Avenue and Columbia bridges, and superintended the masonry on the Boulevard Railroad. In February, 1896, he was appointed by Governor Lowndes to the position, Chief of Bureau of Industrial Statistics of Maryland.

Mr. Myers was for several years President and Secretary of the Federation of Labor. He was a member of the Knights of Pvthias. He was married in December, 1876, to Emma C, daughter of the late Otto Pietsch, for many years a leading musician of Baltimore and the founder of the Haydn Musical Association. Mrs. and Mrs. Myers had three children, Otto P.,  Lola and Edna. The family lived at 1512 W. Pratt Street and attended the Baptist Church.

Naas, John Henry  (5-10-1848 to )

Judge John Henry Naas was born in Baltimore. His father John Justus Naas and his mother, Barbetta Sophia (Fox) Naas were Germans; his father was born in 1803 at Frankfort-on-the-Main and his mother at the same place in 1813. They emigrated from Germany and settled in Baltimore in 1839. On arrival the father went into the retail boot and shoe business where he was very successful.  On arriving here his father went into the retail boot and shoe business which he conducted successfully for years. As a business man and a man of honor he stood high with his associates of that day. His father John died on August 15, 1877 and his mother on March 30, 1879.  They are buried at Western Cemetery in Baltimore.

Judge Naas was educated in the public schools of Baltimore, and when finished his education, he  went into his father’s store, working as a clerk. He received an appointment at the Custom House and went into the service of the Government as weigher, serving in this capacity for four years. He then became employed by the B. & O. R. R. Co., where he remained from 1878 until 1895.  In 1895 he was nominated by the Republican City Convention as a candidate for one of the Judges of the Orphans' Court and was elected by a large majority, and on November 23, 1895, took his seat on the Bench. Judge Naas's term was for four years, expiring the  23rd of November, 1899. It was the sentiment of all that Judge Naas made a very good Judge.

He was married in Baltimore, September 4, 1874, to Margaret Sophia Winkelnian.  Both of Mrs. Naas's parents are Germans and settled in Baltimore; Mrs. Naas was born in this city. They had four children: John Justus, Maude Amelia Elizabeth, Marie Krenrich, and Mildred May Naas. He and his family attend the Lutheran Church. He is a member of the Union League of Maryland and of the leading Republican clubs of the city and State. Judge Naas and his family lived at 810 N. Gilmor street.

Newcomer, John  (12-18-1797 to 4-21-1861)

John, son of Henry (German-Swiss ancestry-Wolfgang Newcomer came to the U.S. in 1720 and worked as a carpenter) was born in Washington County, Beaver Creek in Hagerstown.  John operated a flour mill on Beaver Creek.  He also founded the flour and grain commission firm of Newcomer & Stonebraker in Baltimore.  He was the sheriff in his county and State Senator 1840-46, county commissioner 1846, delegate to convention which framed the new State Constitution in 1850, and county commissioner again in 1859, a position he held until his death.  John married Catherine.  (John’s son Benjamin is in Manufacturing). 

 Nicolai, Charles Henry  (7-12-1834 to 6-25-1915)

Mr. Nicolai was born in Baltimore, the son of Charles Nicolai, born in Oldenburg, Germany.  He was educated in the Baltimore City public and private schools and in 1853 entered a business career with a large import firm.  He had considered a career in law, however the death of his father changed his outlook and he entered the business world.  One of his first business ventures was the formation of a cement manufacturing company, where he was president for several years.  The cement supplied by this firm built many of the notable buildings in Baltimore, including City Hall.   He also had an interest in oil refining and was actively engaged in that business until 1896.  He was a director of the B&O Railroad.

Mr. Nicholai was a staunch supporter of the Union and a personal admirer of President Lincoln, whom he frequently visited in Washington.  He participated in the formation of the Democratic Conservative party, under the leadership of Governor Thomas Swan.  Mr. Nicolai was a member of the Governor’s staff, with the rank of Colonel.  He represented Baltimore county in the State Constitutional Convention in 1867.  He served two terms in the Maryland Legislature (1867-1871) as a representative of the conservative element of the Democratic party.  He was chairman of the Committee on Corporations.  During his term as legislator, he introduced a bill, which was made law, that required the flag of the United States to be furled daily from the top of the state house in Annapolis.

He was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Maryland State Agricultural and Mechanical Association.

Mr. Nicolai is buried in Green Mount Cemetery.

Potthast, Theodore (5-3-1931 to 8-18-2022)

Ted was born on May 3, 1931 in Baltimore City. His father was the son of German immigrants, John from Westphalia and Margareta Leib from Bavaria.  His mother was Marie, the daughter of Thomas Corcoran and Katherine Burke,both of County Galway, Ireland.

He was a graduate of Loyola High School, St. Louis University, and Georgetown Law

School. In 1958 he married Constance Fava. Together they had four children. 


Ted joined the German Society in 1966, following the lead of his father who was then a Director of the Society. Ted's first office was as a member of the Executive Committee under President Charles Stein. He was elected a Director in the 1970's and as counsel to

the Society. He became President for a year in 1986-87. Later, he again served

as President for 3 years, 1993-96. He was elected Treasurer in 2008 and served in that position for many years.


Ted had a brief teaching career: Latin and English to high school seniors, economics at the University of Baltimore and health law in its graduate school, but teaching was hard work, so, in his words, he took the easy way out and went into law. He practiced law for 50 years

from 1962 until retiring in 2012.  During his career, he was a busy trial lawyer for many years, specializing in eminent domain, representing governments and private individuals. . He also set up numerous businesses and served as their lawyer. He served as general

counsel for many non-profit organizations including the Baltimore County Board of Education, Saint Joseph Medical Center and Fallston General Hospital, The School Sisters of Notre Dame, The Maryland Bail Bond Association and others. He served as Chairman of the Health Law Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association. A goodly part of his legal

practice includes wills, trusts and estates.

Ted’s father served as a Director for nearly 50 years until his death at age 93. In the mid-1940's the President and some other officers of the Society went to his grandfather's factory and invited him to join the Society. His response: "I'm too old; take my son."

Thus the beginning of the relationship of the Potthast family and the German

Society. More than 20 family members are now members. Ted was a member for 50+ years.


Ted has mentored many of the German Societies presidents and officers and has been a valuable asset to the Society.  Always an advocate of the German way and maintaining our culture, traditions and language.  Ted died on August 18, 2022.  Ted and our webmaster will always be connected.  They found early on that their ancestors were from the same village in Westphalia.  When I visited my Schwartz family, the Potthast shop and barn were just a few years away.

Ted’s Obituary


Requardt, J. Frederick (9-28-1844 to 12-15-1907)

Mr. Requardt was born at Bremen. He was a son of the late John J. Requardt who located in Baltimore in 1855, and established a wholesale cigar and tobacco business which was subsequently carried on under the firm names of J. J. Requardt & Sons and latterly Requardt Bros. J. Frederick Requardt attended Knapp's School, then entering into business with his father and brothers as above indicated and continued to be so engaged until 1879. He studied law with the late George C. Maund and Judge King, was admitted to the bar in 1885, and engaged in general practice at 322 Equitable Building. Mr. Requardt was secretary for a number of years of the Schützcn Association of Baltimore.

He was married July 19, 1871, to Bertha (1848-1900), daughter of the late Adoph Yeager, of  Hesse Cassel. Mr. and Mrs. Requardt had five children, Dr. Whiteall Requardt, of Baltimore; J. M. Requardt, attorney-at-law; Alice, Gustav Y., and F. Fred, Jr. The family lived at 2235 Eutaw Place and attend Franklin Street Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Requardt is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Riehl, Charles Frederick (10-17-1840 to )

Mr. Riehl was born in Germany and came to this country with his parents, Caspar Riehl and Margaret (Ries) Riehl in 1845.  They settled in Baltimore. His father was a miller and millwright and for a number of years carried on business in Baltimore. His father died December 13, 1877, and his mother in December 1878.

Judge Riehl was educated in the public schools of Baltimore, but quit school early and took up the occupation of steamboating, eventually becoming the owner of several steamboats. At the onset of the Civil War, he entered the United States Navy, going into the gunboat service.  He served until the close of the war.  He was in many of the most important battles fought by the gunboats.  After he returned from the war he entered into a co-partnership with Darius H. Leary, under the firm name of Leary, Riehl & Co., and conducted a tugboat business here successfully many years. He married Katherine Block on October 9, 1862, in Baltimore. Mrs. Riehl was born in Baltimore, but her parents were Germans, and emigrated from that country and settled in Baltimore, the father dying on October 5, 1853, and the mother September 9, 1879. Judge and Mrs. Riehl had five children, three living: William H., Clara Rebecca, and Emma Riehl. The family attended the English Lutheran Church.

Judge Riehl was a Master, Union Lodge, No. 60, A. F. & .A.. M.: High Priest Concordia Chapter, No. I, and member of Crusade Command  No. 5. K. T. In politics, he was a Republican. In 1887 he was nominated by his party as a candidate to represent the First ward in the First Branch of the City Council, and was elected. He represented his ward so ably that he was re-nominated and reelected in 1888. He claimed that he had the honor of being the first Republican to carry the First ward for twenty years. In 1895 he was nominated by the Republican City Convention as a candidate for one of the judgeships of our Orphans' Court, which is composed of three Judges, and was one of the most important Courts Baltimore at his time. Mr. Riehl was elected to the position by a large majority. Judge Riehl was one of our Baltimore’s best citizens and stood for honesty and integrity, which made him successful in business and politics.  He and his family resided at 2209 Gough Street.

Sauerwein, Edwin Allen  (11-29-1875 to)

Mr. Sauerwein was born in Baltimore to Edward Augustus and Anna Procter (Taylor) Sauerwine, both natives of Baltimore, the former of German descent the latter of English descent.  The first Maryland Sauerwein came to Maryland from Germany around 1700.  His name was Peter G. Sauerwein.  He founded the flour business in one of the villages which at that time, formed Baltimore.  The business for more than two centuries bore the name of P.G. Sauerwein & Sons.  The business was handed down generation to generation.  The last being, Edward Allen Sauerwein who retired from the business in the last 1890s. 

Edwin Allen received his general education in the public schools and City College in Baltimore.  He attended the Maryland Law Department, was graduated there from in 1896, and was junior member of the law firm of Owens & Sauerwein, which was located at 224 St. Paul Street. Mr. Sauerwein lived at 1406 Mt. Royal Avenue, and was a member of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church.

According to the 1910 census, he was married to Lucie and they had one son, Allen.  They were living at The Terrace in Baltimore.

Schaefer, William Donald  (11-2-1921 to 4-18-2011)

58th Governor of Maryland (1987-1995)

Mayor of Baltimore (1971-1987)

Comptroller of Maryland (1999-2007)

William Donald Schaefer was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. A Democrat, he was mayor of Baltimore, serving four terms, from 1971 to 1987, the 58th Governor of Maryland, serving two terms, from 1987 to 1995, and the Comptroller of Maryland, for two terms, from 1999 to 2007. On September 12, 2006, Schaefer was defeated in his reelection bid for Comptroller by Maryland Delegate Peter Franchot in the Democratic Party primary. 

Schaefer was born in Baltimore, Maryland to William Henry and Tululu Irene Schaefer, Lutherans of German descent, on November 2, 1921. He received early education in Baltimore's public schools, and later graduated from Baltimore City College in 1939. After graduation he went on to serve in the Army during WWII.  He worked at an Army Hospital in London.  He left the military as a lieutenant colonel.  Schaefer received an LL.B. degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1942 and an LL.M. in 1954.  He formed a general law practice.  He was elected to a seat on the Baltimore City Council in 1955.  His tenure in City Hall led to many of Baltimore's major improvements including Harborplace.  Renovating Baltimore’s inner harbor was one of his primary goals and was definitely one of his major achievements.  Other developments during his watch include the World Trade Center, Science Center, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and it is believed he later convinced then owner of the Cleveland Browns, Art Model, to bring the team, which became the Baltimore Ravens to town. 

Governor Schaefer was buried from Old St. Paul's church at Charles and Saratoga Streets and is interred at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery. 

Schley, Johann Thomas  (8-31-1712 to 11-24-1790)

Mr. Schley was a pioneer, who built the first house in Frederick in 1746.  He came with a colony of about one hundred families from the Palatinate in Germany in 1735, when only twenty five years old.   He was born in Mörzheim, Germany.  He is the son of Nicolas and Eva Brigitta Schley. He received a solid education and accumulated some savings.  He was a school teacher and a leader of the Reformed Church in colonial America.  An entry in the Billigheim Reformed Church register in 1743 shows Schley as the school teacher in the small village of Appenhofen.  The first record of Schley in Maryland was the baptism of his daughter in Octoer 1746 in the Lutheran Church record of the Frederick Congregation (this was the first record of a child in the new settlement).  This would mean that emigration took place between 1744/45.  A school house was built under Schley’s leadership in Fredericktown.  Schley also conducted the Sunday services until a minister was found to assume the responsibilities.   Michael Schlatter, the renowned organizer of the German Reformed Church in colonial America, noted in his diary in 1747: "It is a great advantage to this congregation that they have the best schoolmaster that I have met in America. He spares neither labor nor pains in instructing the young and edifying the congregation according to his ability, by means of singing, and reading the word of God and printed sermons on every Lord's day." For many years the church was without a minister but Schley was able to keep the flock together”.

Schley was also a master of calligraphy and loved music.  Decorated sheets, as well as entire books of hand-written church music were mastered by Schley.  The Historical Society of Frederick County has a collection.  There is one leather bound volume of 282 pages of tunes and texts of 154 church hymns.  Most of the hymns are those from hymnals of the Lutheran and Reformed churches, however, a few are those written by Schley himself.  He also produced other Franktur pieces such as certificates for his pupils.   Many are preserved by the Maryland Historical Society. 

When an organ was ordered and installed in the new Reformed church in Frederick, Schley also became the organist. 

A larger German-English dictionary was found bearing the inscription:  “Johann Thomas Schley, Reform Schulmeister in Friedrichstadt, 1785” which is proof that Schley continued teaching school well into his seventies.  

Other Notable Schleys:

His descendants helped build Maryland as well.  Jacob Schley was a captain in the revolution.  William Schley was a member of Congress and Governor of Georgia (1835-1837).  Schley county was named for him.  John Schley, son of Thomas’ brother occupied the Supreme Bench in Georgia, while another brother rose likewise to eminent judicial honor.  Dr. Fairfax Schley was born in Frederick in 1793, and died there in 1871.  He participated in the battles of Bladensburg and North Point in 1814.  William Schley was one of the leaders of the Baltimore Bar, and a staunch advocate for Frederick.  He was born in Frederickstown in October 1799.  He began his practice in 1824.  He moved to Baltimore in 1837.  He was a member of the State Senate.    A grandson, Winfield Scott Schley achieved fame as a naval officer (see profile-Military).

Schley, William  (10-31-1799 to 3-20-1872)

Mr. Schley was born in Frederick.  His family is one of the earliest settlers in Maryland.  He was a leader of the Baltimore bar.  He graduated from Nassau Hall (College of New Jersey) in 1821, with top honors in every department enrolled.  He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1824.  He began his practice in Frederick, but in 1837 moved to Baltimore.   In 1836 he was elected to the Senate of Maryland and served 1836 to 1837 and part of the second session in 1837 to 1838.  He resigned when he moved to Baltimore.  In 1836 the state was in turmoil over the question of constitutional reform.  As Chairman of the Judiciary and Chairman of the Committee on the Constitution, Mr. Schley was an integral part of the discussions.  He prepared and reported the draft of the Constitution of 1836.  This discussion and the unpopular report led to the ‘duel’ between Mr. Schley and Mr. William Cost Johnson.  It is reported that Mr. Schley sent a peremptory challenge, which was accepted and on February 13, 1837 in Alexandria, Virginia, the duel was carried out.  There was one single exchange of shots and both men were wounded, Mr. Johnson more severely than Mr. Schley.  Mr. Johnson, at the time, informed Mr. Schley that what he had heard was rumors and that he never questioned Mr. Schley’s integrity.  The gentleman made amends and became lifelong friends.  The affair became known as the ‘pattern duel’. 

Schley, William (12-15-1786 to 11-20-1858)

William Schley was born in Frederick, Maryland and moved to Augusta, Georgia in the early 1800s.  He was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician.  Schley practiced law during the early years of his career. From 1825 through 1828 he was a Superior Court judge of the Middle District in Georgia. In 1830 he became a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In 1832 and again in 1834, Schley was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He resigned from that position to become the 36th Governor of Georgia from 1835 until 1837.

During his gubernatorial term, Schley initiated the creation of the Western and Atlantic Railroad.

He died in Augusta in 1858 and was buried in that same city in the Schley family cemetery.Schley County, Georgia is named in honor of Schley.

Schmucker, Samuel D. (2-26-1844 to 3-3-1911)

Samuel Davies Schmucker was born at Gettysburg, PA.  He is a son of the late  Rev. Dr. S. S. Schmucker, a native of  Maryland, of German descent, one of the  most prominent Lutheran divines of his day  and President of the Theological Seminary  of the General Synod of the Lutheran  Church for more than forty years.  Samuel D. Schmucker graduated from Pennsylvania College, class of '63, and from the Law School of the University of New York City, class of '65. He was located in Baltimore, entered into practice in 1866, and in 1876 formed a partnership with Mr. George Whitelock under the firm name of Schmucker & Whitelock, with present offices in the Fidelity Building. Mr.  Schmucker was for some time President of  the Bar Association of Baltimore City, President of the Board of  Trustees of Baltimore Orphan Asylum, a  Trustee of Home for Aged Men and  Women, Henry Watson Children's Aid Society. Society for Protection of Children, the Home of Reformation, Maryland Bible Society, Maryland Tract Society and Sunday-School Union. He was married and resided at 1712 Park Avenue.  He was a member of St. Paul's LutheranChurch.

Schoenrich, Otto (1876 to 2-8-1977)

Schoenrich, Carl Otto  (2-5-1847 to 12-5-1932)

Mr. Schoenrich was born in 1876 in Baltimore, the son of Carl Otto, who immigrated to the U.S. after serving several years in the Austrian army, and Lena (1853-1940) .  His father taught German and other languages in the Baltimore City public and private schools.   The Baltimore City Public Schools established a Memorial Award to Carl Otto Schoenrich.  It is awarded as a scholarship to the Baltimore City College graduating senior recognizing excellence in German. Carl Otto Schoenrich was a member of the Deutsches Litarisches Bureau.

Otto, the son,  graduated from Baltimore City College in  and from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1897.  After he was admitted to the bar, he received his doctorate in civil law from the University of Havana and was admitted to the bar in Cuba.  He served as a U.S. District Judge in Puerto Rico, and he participated in the financial rehabilitation of the Dominican Republic.  He served to help draft new laws for Cuba and was president of a claims commission in Nicaragua, as well as a special commissioner to Santo Domingo.  He was elected President of the Pan-American Society of the U.S. in 1949. 

He joined the law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosley in New York and was a senior partner when he retired at the age of 89.  He returned to Baltimore post retirement.  He died in Baltimore at the age of 100.  He served on the Executive Committee and as Vice President of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.

Obituary for Carl Otto Schoenrich: The Baltimore Sun December 7, 1932

Funeral services for Carl Otto Schoenrich, a teacher in the Baltimore schools for more than half a century, will be held at 2:30 P.M. today in the undertaking establishment at Eutaw place and Lanvale street. Burial will be in Loudon Park Cemetery.

Mr. Schoenrich died Monday at Harlem Lodge, Catonsville, at the age of 85 years. He was first a teacher in parochial school of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, later teaching in the public schools in the city until his retirement in 1921. In 1908 the school board elected him professor of German at the Baltimore City College.

He is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Scholtz, Karl A.  (7-3-1869 to 12-25-1941 )

Karl, the son of Paul and grandson of Karl Adolph Maximilian Scholtz was born near the town of Czenstochow.  His family came to the U.S. in 1871 and settled in Locust Point in Baltimore.  Karl went to school in Baltimore, but at the age of twelve had to leave school to work and help augment a meager family income.  His first job was as an errand boy in an importing house.  He then sold newspapers and established a well paying route.  Later he became an errand boy and general utility man for the old Baltimore Type Foundry.  He served here for four years and left to take a printing position with E. B. Read and Son, printers, which were located at 15 South Street.  He remained with this firm for eight years.   He became interested in the law and began attending night classes at the Baltimore Law School, where he graduated in 1895.  He began his practice and developed an excellent clientele.  He became known as an authority on savings and loan association matters and represented many in the purchase and ownership of a home. 

He became interested in the Reform League and became the Secretary of the Just Representation League, which worked to secure a larger representation for Baltimore City in the General Assembly.  He worked to get the city to use the public parks for playgrounds, athletics, sports, etc.  He worked to educate and get more of the Germanic population of Baltimore active in civic and political affairs and was part of the Independent Citizens Union of Maryland in 1900. 

He joined the Turnverein Vorwärts and was active in its affairs all of his life.  He served in just about every capacity for the group.  He served as director of the Children’s Playground Association.  He served on several committees after the Baltimore fire and was president of the Venable Improvement Association.  He was a member of the German Society of Maryland as a director and as its president from 1924 until his death.  He was also a member of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland and was Chairman of their Executive Committee for thirty years.   He was a member of the Germania Club, the Masons, the Maryland Historical Society, Sons of Veterans of the Civil War, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Steuben Society and the American, Maryland State and Baltimore City Bar Associations. 

Schulz, Alfred J.  (10-27-1843 to 2-27-1914)

Mr. Schulz was born in Baltimore to William (1789-1873) and Wilhelmina (Petry) Schultz, the former was a native of Wurttemberg and the latter of Baden. Alfred’s father, William received a liberal education and upon completion joined the army.  He was promoted to the position of a staff officer when, in 1831, he joined the revolutionists and because of his involvement was compelled/forced to leave Germany.  He came to the United States and settled in Baltimore, when at that time, there were no German lawyers.  He earned a good living for many years as a confidential adviser to the German citizens.

Alfred J. received his education in public and private schools in Baltimore, and upon attaining his majority, established a business. In 1869 he founded a confectioner’s business that was located at 1081 W. Fayette Street.  He was a Republican in politics and was actively identified with the party organization since 1887 representing the Fourteenth ward in State Central Committee. He was nominated for Council in 1888, but was defeated. He was a Mason and a Knight of Pythias.  The family resided at 506 N. Arlington Avenue and attended the German Lutheran Church.

Mr. Schulz is buried at Western Cemetery.

Schweinhaut, Margaret Collins (1904 to 1997)

Margaret ‘Peg’ Schweinhaut was a native of Washington D.C.  As early as 1948, she was active in Montgomery County politics.  She remained active in politics for over 50 years.  She was involved in the effort for charter government for Montgomery County.  She began her career with the state legislature in 1954 when she was elected to the House of Representatives.  She served as a Delegate until appointed to the State Senate in 1961.  Her career in the Senate lasted 25 years (1961-1963 and 1967 to 1991).  She was committed to improving the quality of life for Maryland’s elderly.  The State Commission on Aging began in 1959 due in large part to her pressure.  She was named chair of the Commission.  The commission studied the treatment of the elderly at state medical facilities including nursing homes.  Eleven bills were passed to affect their findings.  Montgomery County renamed the Forest Glen Senior Center the ‘Schweinhaut Senior Center’ to honor her for her work.  She was also responsible for other legislation affecting other human rights issues, such as the drug paraphernalia sale ban, etc. 

Seidenstricker, John Barnhart  (12-12-1809 to )

Mr. Seidenstricker was born in Baltimore.  His father, Daniel emigrated to the U.S. in 1765 from the Palatinate of the Rhine.   His father died when John was young and he was left to the care of his uncle, John Barnhart.  He was educated at private schools in the Baltimore area and when he around 13 years old, he was taught his uncle’s business, the craft of painting and ornamental sign making.  He remained with his uncle’s business until he was nineteen at which time his uncle retired and he took over the business. 

He pursued the vocation of painter until shortly after his marriage.  At that time, he purchased a stock of drugs and conducted a drug and paint store, which flourished until 1841. 

In 1841 he was appointed collector of taxes for Baltimore city.  This position lasted until 1844 and when completed, Mr. Seidenstricker entered the hardware business, which he continued until 1853.  In 1853 he was elected president of the National Fire Insurance Company of Baltimore. 

Mr. Seidensticker was a member of the First Branch of the City Council in 1835, 1836, 1837 and 1838.  He was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the Committee of Internal Improvements, and several others.  During this time he authored the resolution that resulted in the establishment of the first High School.  In 1853 and 1854 and again in 1857 and 1858, he was elected to the Second Branch of the City Council and during those session was the president. 

The paid Fire Department of Baltimore City was a result of a resolution prepared by Mr. Seidenstricker.  He was elected a member of the General Assembly of Maryland in the fall of 1839 and 1840.

Mr. Seidenstricker has served as a judge of the Appeal Tax Court, assessor of property and inspector/visitor to the jail of Baltimore city and county. 

He acted by appointment of Governor Swan as pension agent for Baltimore of the widows of the soldiers of the War of 1812, a job which he performed ‘pro bono’. 

He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He was for many years a Sunday School teacher.

Shriver, Alfred Jenkins  (6-5-1867 to 9-3-1939)

Alfred was born in Baltimore.  He is of German origin, his German name being spelled Schreiber.  He was educated in private schools and attended Loyola College.  He completed the ‘Poetry’ class with highest honors.  He was a recipient of the Whelan medal for general excellence in all studies.  This medal is awarded to a senior with the highest academic average in all subjects.  He entered Johns Hopkins University in 1889 and graduated with a B.A. in 1891.  He was the winner of the ‘Hopkins’ and ‘University’ scholarships.  He did post-graduate work at the University of Maryland and graduated with the Bachelor of Laws in June 1893.  In 1894 he received his M.A. from Loyola College.    He entered into practice in 1894.

He was the author of several legal publications and was a member of the Baltimore Bar Association, the State Bar Association and the John Hopkins Club (founder). 

Obituary:  The Sun Paper 1939

Funeral services for Alfred Jenkins Shriver, attorney and president of the University Club, who died Sunday at Atlantic City, will be held at 11 am today at the home of his sister, Mrs. Charles O'Donovan, at 3 East Read street.

The Rev. Louis O'Donovan, pastor of St. Martin's Catholic Church and a brother of Mrs. O'Donovan's late husband, will conduct the services. Burial will be in Cathedral Cemetery.

The honorary pallbearers will be Charles Morris Howard, R. Walter Graham, fromer Judge James P. Gorter, Vernon Cook, Judge W. Calvin Chesnut, Charles W. L. Johnson, Dr. William McCallum, Walter L. Clark, Addison E. Mullikin, former Judge Henry D. Harlan, Edward Passano and Dr. Henry Lee Smith.

Mr. Shriver who was 72 and was unmarried, had been in ill health for the past two years. Besides Mrs. Charles O'Donovan, Mr. Shriver is survived by another sister, Mrs. John H. O'Donovan.

Johns Hopkins University website:

"Shriver Hall, designed by the firm of Buckler, Fenhagen, Meyer and Ayers, was begun in September 1952 and completed in 1954. In 1939 Alfred Jenkins Shriver, a local lawyer who specialized in estates and testaments, left the University the residue of his estate to build a lecture hall. According to the conditions of the will, the building's walls were adorned with murals depicting the Hopkins class of 1891 (Shriver's class), ten philanthropists of Baltimore, ten famous beauties of Baltimore (as chosen by Shriver), the original Hopkins faculties of philosophy and medicine, the original Boards of Trustees of the University and Hospital, and Baltimore clipper ships. In addition, statues of President Daniel Coit Gilman and William H. Welch, first dean of the School of Medicine, flank the entrance to the building. There is also a bust of Isaiah Bowman in a niche under the porch. Had the University declined the bequest, it would have been offered to Loyola College, and then to Goucher College, under similar conditions."

Shriver, Thomas Herbert  (2-14-1846 to 12-31-1916)

Mr. Shriver was the sixth American generation of his family.  He was the son of William (1796-1879) and Mary (Owing 1808-1895)The family can trace their ancestry to the Alsenborn, Rhine Palatinate, the original name being Screiber.  The family arrived in the U.S. in 1721.  Mr. Thomas Shriver was born at Union Mills, Carroll County, Maryland.  He was preparing for college when the Civil War broke out and when General Stuart’s cavalry passed through, he went with them, fighting at Gettysburg and a number of cavalry engagements in Northern Virginia.  He was removed from the ranks and sent to the Virginia Military Academy.  There he was one of the company of cadets who marched out of the academy and joined the Confederate forces fighting in Newmarket, Virginia.  He remained with the Confederacy until their surrender on May 15, 1865.  He worked as a traveling salesman and in the milling business established by his father.  He also partnered with his brother Benjamin, principal owner of the B.F. Shriver Company, which operated a chain of factories for canning of fruits and vegetables.  He was president of that company, the Union Bank, the Westminster Hardware Company and vice-president of the Westminster Deposit & Trust Company.

He married Elizabeth (Lawson 1854-1887) and they had one child, Hilda (1883-1977).

He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1878 and 1880, and elected State Senator in 1884.  In 1888 he was Deputy Collector of the Port of Baltimore.  He served on the military staff of Governor Lloyd with the rank of General and in similar rank on the staff of Governor Jackson.  In 1894 he was appointed by Governor Crothers a member of the Atlantic Deep Water Commission.

He is interred in St. John’s cemetery in Carroll County.

Shryock, Thomas Jacob  (2-27-1851 to 2-3-1918)

Mr. Shryock was of Prussian origin.  Two brothers immigrated before the Revolutionary War, Henry, the great-grandfather of Thomas, served in the Continental Army as lieutenant-colonel of the Second Battalion, Maryland Infantry.  He was a member from Maryland at the convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States).  Henry moved to Baltimore in approximately 1840.    

Thomas was born in Baltimore to Henry and Ann, he received his education in public schools and the Light Street Institute.  He began his career in the lumber trade and formed a partnership with his brother, William, under the name the W.H. Shryock & Company, located at the corner of Union dock and Eastern Ave.  He became sole proprietor in 1880 and became a wholesale lumber dealer with partner George F.M. Houck, the company known as the Thomas J. Shryock & Company.  

He was a member of the Republican Party and became a candidate for the office of State Treasurer, which he won and had the honor of being the first Republican ever elected to that office in Maryland.  He was a member of the Board of Public Works of the city, vice president of the State Insane Asylum and the Maryland House of Corrections.  He served four years as the first lieutenant in the Maryland National Guard and took part in the railroad riots of 1877.  Governor Lloyd Lowndes appointed him chief of staff with the rank of brigadier-general. 

The Masonic Temple in Hunt Valley has a bronze tablet bearing the portrait of General Shryock (marks the 25th Anniversary of his tenure of office as grand master).  He served as Grand Master of the Masons from 1885 to 1918). The portrait was done by Hans Schuler (see The Arts).  Mr. Schuler also designed and struck a medal in General Shryock’s honor.  He is buried at Lorraine Cemetery.

Singley, Frederick J. (6-11-1878 to 4-20-1950)

Mr. Singley was born in Baltimore, son of Henry and Louise Hellweg Singley.  The census shows that his father was born in Württemberg and his mother in Maryland, but her parents were of Prussia descent.  He attended the public schools in Baltimore and graduated from the Baltimore City College in 1897.  He received the Frederick Raine Medal for proficiency in the Germany language.  He studied law at the University of Maryland Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1900.  He was associated with the law firm of Hinkley and Morris as a student and became a member of the firm in 1907 to eventually becoming a partner and the firm’s name changed to Hinkley and Singley.  The firm existed for more than 150 years. 

He was a member of the Board of School Commissioners in Baltimore from 1920 to 1924.  As counsel for Mr. Frederick Bauernschmidt (see profile), he took an active part in the building of the Bauernschmidt wing of the Union Memorial Hospital and the establishment of the Bauernschmidt Fund.  He also served as a member of the board of several hospitals; was a director of the General German Aged Home; St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and  a trustee of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.

Small, Jacob (1772 to 1851)

Jacob Small was born in York, Pennsylvania, but moved to Baltimore at an early age.  His father’s name was also Jacob Small and the Family name was Schmahl.  His grandfather, Lorentz Schmahl immigrated from Essenheim, Germany in the mid-1700s.  The last name was changed to Small.

Small was a veteran of the war of 1812, serving under General Samuel Smith.

Jacob Small was considered an accomplished mayor, serving Baltimore from 1826-1831.  During his term the following accomplishments were recognized:  During Mayor Small's incumbency Harford Run (Central Avenue) was walled in from Baltimore to Pratt street; the limits of direct taxation were extended and a system of garbage collection was inaugurated. The House of Industry, established in 1812, became the House of Refuge in 1831 and managers on the part of the City were appointed. This institution in 1919, the Maryland School for Boys.  The nucleus of Patterson Park was accepted in 1827.  The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was founded in 1828. "The Cove," extending east from Jones Falls, was partially filled in during 1829.  Washington Monument, 180 feet high, was completed November 25th, 1829.  This was the first monument erected to George Washington and Baltimore was thereafter known as the Monumental City.

The office of Commissioners of Public Schools and the position of Health Officer were created.  Commissioners of Registry for each ward were appointed; Peale's Museum Building, Holliday near Saratoga Street, was acquired and a used as a City Hall for years.  Provision for the erection of a monument to Colonel Armistead* was made.  Ordinance to erect wooden bridges over Jones Falls at Bath and Madison streets, and across Chatworth Run at Columbia Avenue were approved. A $500,000 loan to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and a $250,000 loan to the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad were authorized during this administration.  The first public school was organized September 21st, 1829, and the first building for public school purposes was erected in 1830.

The population of Baltimore in 1830 was 80,620.

He left office to pursue other business interests. 

He was a builder, architect and carpenter.  Small designed the B & O Railroad's Ellicott City station that was completed in 1831. This structure was dedicated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.  It has also been written that Small was the designer of the old edifice of the 'United Brethren in Christ' or 'Old Otterbein' church. 

Small is buried in Plot 32 at Old St. Paul’s Cemetery on Lombard Street. 

Spilman, Edwin A. (7-5-1877 to 11-27-1959)

Mr. Spilman was born in Baltimore, his family coming from Hessen-Darmstadt.  Edwin’s father founded the Citizens Savings Bank.  Edwin was educated at the Deichmann School in Baltimore, Bronxville Concordia School in New York and Concordia College in Milwaukee.  He studied languages at Johns Hopkins University where he greaduated in 1899.  He began working at his father’s bank, while attending law school at the University of Maryland.  He obtained his law degree in 1903.

Upon his father’s death, he became the president of Citizens and in 1953 when the bank merged with Central Savings Bank, he remained as Chairman of the Board.  He retired in 1957.

He was a member of the German Society, treasurer from 1922-1935; treasurer of the first Lutheran Hospital Drive and devoted much time to the Augsburg Home.  He was member of the Maryland Historical Society and the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.

Staum, John Ross M. (3-1-1874 to 2-16-1956)

Lawyer associate Justice People’s Court in 1913.  Mr. Staum was born in Baltimore to John W. and Juliet (Armager).  He was educated in private schools with special courses at Johns Hopkins University; graduated University of Maryland Law School in 1898.  He was the Vice President and Director of the Howard County Sanitarium; Republican member of House of Delegates in 1902; Office was located at 23 Central Savings Bank Building.

John married Emily (Pue 1877-1953). They had three children, Juliet, Margaret and John.  Mr. Staum is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Stein, Charles, Jr. (6-19-1900 to 1979)

Charles Stein had a rich and long ancestry.  His great-grandfather Franz , son of the Grand Duke of Baden’s physician at Schwetzingen and Rastatt, was forced to leave Germany and fled to Alsace and later to the U.S.  They arrived in Cincinnati, but Franz Leopold decided to come East and arrived in Baltimore on July 25, 1833.  This was the beginning of the Stein family in Baltimore. 

Charles was born in Baltimore.  His father was a judge.  He was educated at Calvert and Park Schools and attended the Johns Hopkins University and received his law degree from the University of Maryland Law School.  He was a partner in the law firm of Hennighausen and Stein.  During WWI, he served in the army and in WWII he served on a local draft board. 

He was the treasurer and served on the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland’s Executive Committee for many years; from 1966 to 1970, he was president of the German Society of Maryland; President of the Huguenot Society of Maryland; headed the Southern Maryland Society and the Society of the War of 1812.

He was intensely interested in Maryland history and published a well-researched account of ‘The Star Spangled Banner:  Our National Anthem’.  He also penned two comprehensive books on the history of Howard County and the History of Calvert County.  For the bicentennial of the American Revolution, he researched and penned for the first time the story of ‘The German Battalion of the American Revolution’.

Steinmann, Karl F.  (8-8-1899 to 7-13-1962)

Karl was the youngest of the three sons of Adolf Gustav Steinmann, an immigrant watchmaker from Bodman on Lake Constance, who settled in Baltimore in 1871.  He spent his youth at his father’s jewelry shop on West Camden Street.  Karl studied law and became an influential attorney in Baltimore.  He represented the Blaustein interests in American Oil Company transactions.  He also represented the Baltimore News-Post and Sunday American and the radio station, WBAL.  He bought the Tower Building at Baltimore and Guilford and moved his law offices there in 1948. 

He owned the radio station WCUM in Cumberland.

He was a member of the Advertising Club and served on the board of governors of the Baltimore Civic Opera Company.  He was appointed to the State Aviation Commission by Governor O’Connor in 1944.  He was a member of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.  A grant made to the society from the Steinmann Foundation contributed to the printing of society’s 30th report in 1959.

Stump, Colonel Herman (8-8-1835 to 1-9-1917)

The Stump family (Stumpf) was of Prussian origin later emigrated to England and later to Pennsylvania.   Herman was the twelfth child of John and Sarah. He was born in Harford county, Maryland.  He was educated by private tutors and later at Delaware College.  He chose law as his profession and after his studies was admitted to the bar in 1856.  He was actively engaged in this profession for his entire professional life.  His sympathies during the Civil War were with the South and he was prominent in the State militia and held the rank of colonel.  He purchased a large estate in Harford county, near Belair, and named it ‘Waverly’.

Colonel Stump was elected State Senator in 1878; presided over the Democratic State Convention of 1879, which nominated William T. Hamilton for Governor; was chose president of the Senate in 1880, and was elected to represent his district in the Fifty-first Congress as a Democrat.  He was re-elected to the Fifty-second Congress, and at the expiration of his term was appointed by President Cleveland, Commissioner of General Immigration, a newly created department.  He was instrumental in framing the Immigration and Chinese Exclusion Laws[1].  At the end of his term, he resumed his practice of law until his retirement in 1902. 

He was president of the board of visitors at Rosewood Training School and a member of the Masons.

Thomas, John Benjamin (12-23-1819 to 7-25-1875)-Legislator

John B. Thomas was born in Frederick.  His mother was of German descent.  He was education in the schools of Frederick County and at the age of seventeen took charge of his father’s farm for five years.  He married and rented his own farm and ran the farm until 1855.  He opened a real estate agency in 1877.

He was elected chief judge of a magistrate’s court in 1846 and filled the office until it was discontinued in 1850.  In 1851 he was elected county commissioner and in 1857 was elected to the Legislature.  He represented Frederick County in the constitutional convention of the state in 1867.

Wachter, Frank Charles (9-16-1861 to 7-1-1910)

Frank Charles Wachter, a Representative from Maryland; born in Baltimore, attended private schools and St. Paul’s Evangelical School at Baltimore, Md.; learned the trade of clothing cutter and in 1892 engaged in the cloth-shrinking business; member of the jail board of Baltimore 1896-1898; unsuccessful candidate for police commissioner of Baltimore in 1898; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1907); was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1906; resumed his former business pursuits in Baltimore; member of the board of managers of Maryland Penitentiary from 1909 until his death in Baltimore.  He is interment in Loudon Park Cemetery.

Obituary of Frank Wachter

Waxter, Thomas J. (10-1898 to 11-11-1962)

Thomas was the second son of William and Daisee Waxter (nee Shryock).  William’s father was born in Germany.  William was an ice manufacturer.  Thomas was a native of Baltimore and attended public elementary school and then Boys’ Latin High School. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and studied at the Johns Hopkins University graduate school of economics.  He received his law degree from Yale University. 

He married Peggy Haggin Ewing and together they were one of Baltimore’s true benevolent couples. Thomas ‘Jake’ and Peggy Waxter were unwavering in their commitment to providing a better life for all people.  As chief of both the city and later, the state’s welfare departments, Mr. Waxter acted as a personal champion for the interests and needs of his constituents.  The children of Thomas and Peggy are Thomas J.S. Waxter, Jr. and daughter, Peggy H.W. Waxter Maher.

Among the ideas he advanced during his years of public service were retraining the unemployed for useful trades, proving rehabilitation programs for alcoholics, developing public financing of foster homes for children and promoting innovative programs for senior citizens.  Baltimore actually has an active senior center called the Waxter center. “He used to say a civilization is known by the way it treats its young and its old people”.  Peggy was active in many causes and volunteered many hours at hospitals, voter registration, and other endeavors.  

He was affectionately known as ‘Judge’ Waxter for his service as chief magistrate of the Juvenile Court in Baltimore City.  Former Governor McKeldin said he ‘represented the most competent and dedicated person in public service in Maryland in my lifetime’.  

Mr. Waxter passed away after a long illness and is buried at Lorraine Cemetery.

Wellington, George L.  (1-28-1852 to 3-20-1927)

Mr. Wellington was born in Cumberland, MD. He was the son of John Adam Wellington, a native of Germany. He attended a German school with some private instruction. He went on to be a clerk in the Second National Bank of Cumberland in 1870 and later was a teller.

As chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, he managed the campaign which elected Lloyd Lowndes as Governor of the State,—the first Republican holder of this office.

He was a Republican member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1897-1903. He also represented the sixth district of Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives.  From 1882-1888 and 1890, Wellington was treasurer of Allegany County, Maryland. He unsuccessfully ran for Comptroller of Maryland in 1889, but was chosen as the assistant treasurer of the United States at Baltimore, Maryland from 1890-1893.  Wellington was unsuccessful in his campaign to be elected to the 53rd Congress in 1892, but two years later, in 1894, was elected as a Republican to the 54th Congress. After serving one term, he was elected to the United States Senate in 1896, serving one term from 1897-1903, choosing not to run for re-election in 1902. As senator, he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee to Establish a University of the United States (55th and 56th Congresses).

In 1913, Wellington again sought election as senator, but as a member of the Progressive Party. He was not elected and, following the election, he engaged in civic activities. He became president of two banks and held an interest in the electric railways and electric companies in his hometown of Cumberland.  As a business man he was highly successful. He organized the Citizens' National Bank of Cumberland and the German Savings Bank. Was President of the Edison Illuminating Company and President of the Cumberland Electric Railway, as also an officer in various other organizations.  

In 1911 he again entered politics and was instrumental in aiding in the election of Phillips Lee Goldsborough, the second Republican Governor of Maryland.

Welty, John (5-24-1813 to 5-6-1880)

John Welty was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania to Jacob Welty, whose father emigrated to the US from Germany.  John was the eldest of five children.  John Welty was a resident of Smithsburg, Washington County for almost 50 years.  He lived on his farm, which is also where he died.  He was one of Smithsburg leading farmers.  Other children born to Jacob were Samuel (Waynesboro, PA) and sisters Ms. James Wilson and Ms. Benjamin Cable (both lived in Ohio).  Jacob actually moved to Ohio and spen his life there.  John left Ohio and settled in Washington County in 1834 while visiting an uncle.  He assisted his uncle managing his farm and when the uncle died, John received a good deal of money.  He became a wealthy man and in fact was one of the wealthiest men in the county.  On the 27th of October, 1845, he married Barbara Alice Funk, daughter of John and Alice (Barr) Funk. Alice’s father emigrated to the US from Switzerland.  

In addition to farming, John Welty was engaged for twenty years or more from 1846 in a successful tanning business. He was involved in several businesses in Smithsburg.  At his death his estate was value at about $150,000, a large amount for 1880.

In 1856 he was chosen as a county commissioner on the Democratic ticket.  He defeated his opponent by one vote.  He was active in preparations and progressing to extend the Western Maryland Railroad to the Potomac. At completion he was chosen director.  In 1870 he was elected to the Maryland State Legislature. 

He was one of the founders of the Hagerstown Steam-Engine and Machine Company, of which he was one of the directors at his death, and was also a member of the board of directors of the Baltimore and Cumberland Valley Railway Company. After his death the directors of the Hagerstown Steam-Engine and Machine Company adopted resolutions of respect to his memory:

Be it resolved, That the simplicity of his character, his elevated principles, his integrity, his justice, his magnanimity and benevolence have endeared him to us in the ties of friendship, and have added to the deep sense of loss to us of one who, under all circumstances and in all places, was worthy of the highest praise."

Wenck, Edwin (7-29-1936 to 7-3-2014)

Edwin Wenck was born in Baltimore to Millard and Doris Wenck.  Edwin was a lifetime director of the German Society of Maryland.  He was active for many years, working as a lawyer, minister and an artist.  He served the City of Baltimore in the prosecutor’s office and was at one time in charge of the murder cases.  He also worked for Baltimore’s Legal Aid Bureau. He was ordained in the Reformed Church.

Ed worked at the Walters Art Gallery as a docent.

He married Patricia Kelly, also a lawyer in the State’s Attorney’s office together they had two sons and four grandchildren. 

Mr. Wenck is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Wiesenfeld, Bernard  (12-29-1857 to 4-17-1922)

Mr. Wiesenfeld was born in Baltimore to Moses Wiesenfeld (1819-1871), born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany and Betsey Friedenwald (1825-1894)(daughter of Jonas) born in Giessen, Germany.  His father Moses arriving in the US in 1837 and his mother Betsey in 1832.  Moses was the founder of Wiesenfeld & Co., manufactures of clothing and pioneers in this line of business in the US.  They had a very large business and were quite successful.

Mr. Wiesenfeld was educated in the public schools of Baltimore and is a graduate of Baltimore City College ; he also attended Harvard College, Johns Hopkins University, and graduated in law at the University of Maryland in 1889, previous to which he was a clerk with the firm of Wiesenfeld & Co. After graduating at the University of Law School, he began practicing law in Baltimore. 

Mr. Wiesenfeld was married and had one child, Bernice Wiesenfeld. He was married in Baltimore March 26, 1895, and his wife, Blanche Friedenwald, is the daughter of Isaac Friedenwald, who was born in Giessen, Germany, and Eugenie Dalsheimer, who was born in Vicksburg, Miss. He and his family were Orthodox Hebrews. He was a member of Phoenix Club and connected with a number of charitable institutions in Baltimore, being like his ancestors on both sides, the Wiesenfelds and Friedenwalds, devoted to charity and helping the needy and destitute. He was well respected by his peers.   He and his family resided at 1926 Eutaw Place, Baltimore.  Mr. Wiesenfeld is buried at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery.

Witzenbacher, William John (12-1-1861 to 2-11-1916)

Judge Witzenbacher was born to William and Catherine.  The father was born in Odenwald, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany in 1823.  The father came to the U.S. about 1853 and settled in Hagerstown, which is where Judge Witzenbacher was born. 

He was educated in the public schools taking college preparatory classes, which he completed and graduated from Washington County High School in 1880.  He entered Johns HopkinsUniversity and received a Bachelor’s degree in 1883.  He began teaching at McDonough High School, but resigned in 1886 to pursue his law degree.  He was admitted to the Washington county bar in 1886.  In 1890, he was appointed City Attorney.  In 1895, he was appointed District Attorney ad interim.  In 1889, he was appointed attorney to the Board of County Commissions, which he served for two years.  In 1902 he was appointed attorney to the newly created Board of Election Supervisors.  In 1902, the death of Judge Edward Stake created a vacancy.  Mr. Witzenbacher was appointed by Governor John Smith to represent Washington County in the Fourth Judicial District.  One of his greatest cases was the ‘electric bill’ in 1910.  He ruled that the contract into which the city officials had entered was void.  The Court of Appeals sustained his view, which saved the city the home electric plant.

Judge Witzenbacher was a fluent linguist and read and spoke French, Spanish, Italian and German. He also read ancient Greek and Latin classics.  He was offered a professorship at Johns Hopkins, but declined.

He was somewhat solitary and enjoyed nature.  He was a member of the Masons, the First Hose Company and Zion Reformed Church.

Wolf, Henry (6-16-1880 to 2-17-1944)

Lawyer, born in Baltimore to Jacob and Mollie (Furstenberg).  He was education in the Baltimore City Public Schools and graduated the University of Maryland Law School in 1901.  He was a member of the 60th Congress from the 3rd District from March 4, 1907 to March 3, 1909.  He was unsuccessful for his re-election efforts in 1908.  Office was located at 204 Courtland Street.  He is interred in Hebrew Friendship Cemetery. 

Wolman, Jeanette Rosner (8-21-1902 to 1-17-1999)

Jeanette Rosner was the daughter of Adolf (1880) and Fredda (1883) Rosner. Adolf was born in Austrian and Fredda in New York to Austrian parents.  The 1910 census lists the parent’s nativity as Austrian/German.  Jeanette was born in New York.  She was a big sister to Benjamin 1904; Ruth 1907; Clara 1909; Charlotte 1910. It appears the parents moved to Pittsburg, where I found them on the 1930 census.  The children at home at that time were Ruth and three additional sons, Lawrence (1916), Adolf (1912) and Norman (1920).  Her father, Adolf was very influential in her life.  His occupation was Grocer and Dry Goods sales.  She was politically involved since her arrival in Baltimore. In the Sunpaper 150th Anniversary issue Ms. Wolman stated, ‘Things were very different then.  I remember in 1918, when I was a junior in high school, I wrote to Columbia Law School to apply for admission.  And very shortly after that I got a letter from the dean saying, ‘Columbia does not admit women to its law school.  If you’re interested in going to college, apply at Barnard. It was a very curt letter.”  It would appear that from that time, Ms. Wolman became a staunch supporter and promoter of women’s rights.  She began her studies at Goucher College and graduated from the University of Maryland Law School in 1924.  She was the founder and charter member of the Women’s Bar Association (1927), which was founded to combat discrimination and fight for equal rights for women in the practice of law.  She was the first woman accepted as a member of the Bar Association in Baltimore City in 1956.  She was also the first chairwoman of the Maryland Commission for Women, which was established by Governor J. Millard Tawes, primarily due to Wolman’s tireless efforts for women in government.  She was reappointed to that post in 1968. 

While studying law in the evening at the University of Maryland, she worked as a social worker for the Jewish Children’s Bureau.

Ms. Wolman married Paul Wolman (3-17-1896 to 10-23-1978), also an attorney.  The marriage lasted 53 years. Together they had two sons, Paul, Jr. (8-21-1926 to 12-29-1984) and Benjamin (11-18-1929 to 5-22-2004).  Both sons also practiced law, Paul in Baltimore and Benjamin in Upper Marlboro. 

She served as the first legal advisor to the ladies's Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, director of the Jewish Family and Children's Bureau of Baltimore, past president of the Business and Professional Women's Clubs, member of the Board of Trustees of Montrose School for Girls, and served on the Maryland Commission for Employment of the Handicapped.  She was an active member of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and Congregation Sisterhood.

She was selected for the first Maryland Distinguished Woman Program of the Girl Scouts in 1981.  She was voted Woman of the year by both the Baltimore Chapter and the State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs and inducted into the Baltimore City Commission for Women's First Annual Hall of Fame.

Mr. & Mrs. Wolman and Paul, Jr. are buried at the Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery.



[1] The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed into law by Chester A. Arthur on May 8, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Those revisions allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of Chinese immigration, a ban that was intended to last 10 years.
Jeanette Wolman