Manufacturing, Craftsmen & Retail

Adler, Charles (12-8-1839 to 5-19-1915)

Charles Adler was born in Hofgeismar, Viedensten, a little town near Cassel, Germany.  He was the son of Suessmann Adler and Merle (Heineman Stern).  He attended public schools until the age of fifteen  when he felt the need to come to the U.S.  He arrived in September 1854 and settled in Montgomery County and established a general store. 

He was instrumental in founding the town where he lived, which was called Germantown.

In 1865, he came to Baltimore and entered the wholesale shoe business of H. Frank & Company.  The firm name eventually was changed to Frank & Adler.  His son Simon joined the firm in 1900.  The business was initially located on West Baltimore Street and moved a few years later to German St. (now Redwood).

He was a director in the Drovers’ and Mechanics’ Bank, the Baltimore Trust Company, the Consolidated Gas and Electric Company, the Monumental Brewing Company and the Monticello Distilling Company.  He was vice president of the Jewish Free Burial Society, the Federated Jewish Charities and the Hebrew Orphan Society, where he held office for twenty-eight years.

He married Caroline (Frank 1842-1899).  They were the parents to Simon, Abraham, Harry, Helen, Blanche and Saidie.  They lived in Bolton Hill.  The family is buried at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery.

Albert, William Julian (8-4-1816 to 3-29-1879)

Mr. Albert’s ancestors came to the U.S. in 1752 from Würzburg, Germany. William’s grandson Jacob, moved to Baltimore in 1805 and founded the hardware firm that ranked amongst the top houses south of the Mason Dixon line.  He was succeeded in the business by his sons, William J. and Augustus. 

William devoted his time to the welfare of Baltimore and Maryland.  He was prominent in the reorganization of the Baltimore and Cuba Smelting and Mining Company, which employed hundreds.  He helped found, in 1863, the First National Bank of Baltimore.  He assisted in establishing the ‘Soldiers’ Home’ and an Asylum for orphans and took a leading part in the foundation of the society for the moral and educational improvement of the blacks after the abolition of slavery.  He also helped establish a school for ‘black’ teachers in Baltimore.  He was a strong Union supporter.  After the Civil War, the finances of the Union were dire.  Mr. Albert volunteered, in case of emergency, to advance what would be necessary to defray the demands upon the Government of the city.

US Congressman. He was elected to represent Maryland's 5th District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1873 to 1875. He is buried at Green Mount Cemetery.

Ax, Christian (11-12-1823 to 3-20-1887)

Christian Ax was born the son of a Rheinish mining Factory owner in Daaden.  He came as a young saleman to Baltimore where he was called to work for G.W. Gail and his tobacco factory.   He was soon named a partner in the business and married the sister of Gail.  He was one of the best known and most respected Germans of the city of Baltimore.  He was one of the founders of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.

Baker, Charles E. (2-5-1845 to 10-15-1915)-Glass

Mr. Baker was born in Baltimore to Charles J. Baker and Elizabeth (Basserman).  His father and mother were both of German descent, their ancestors coming to this country in the early days of the settlement of the US.  His father was a glass manufacture and banker and was identified with multiple business enterprises.  Charles is one of nine children.

Mr. Baker was education in the privates schools of Baltimore, but quit at the age of thirteen.  He went to work at that time for the firm of Baker Bros. glass manufactures working for one dollar a week.  The firm was founded in 1857 by his father and uncle.  After working with the firm as a clerk, salesman and other odd jobs, he became a partner in the firm in 1865.  He was head of the house of Baker Bros. and had chief management of their large warehouses located at 36 and 38 S. Charles Street. 

Mr. Baker married twice.  He married sisters, the daughters of Benjamin Whitely and Elizabeth Stone, whose great-grandfather was a distinguished signer of the Declaration of Independence. His first wife was Mary E. Whitely (1847-1880), and his second Harriet 'Hattie' Stone Whitely (1860-1928), and he was first married February 5, 1867, and upon the death of Mary, married again.  He had nine children, William, Charles, Mary (1872), Benjamin, Hattie, Florence, Edith (1884), Emma (1889) and Virginia (1894).  The family were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He was a Democrat.  He also was president of the Chemical Company, of Canton, treasurer of the Baltimore Guano Company, treasurer and member of the Board of Managers of the Baltimore General Dispensary, one of the oldest charities of the State of Maryland. The family home was at 1405 Eutaw Place.  He is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Blumhardt, Karl (5-25-1840 to 11-28-1889)-Sausage

Karl Blumhardt was born in Schweigheim, in Wurtemberg.  He came to the U.S. in 1865 and worked for one year in New York as a butcher boy.  He then came to Baltimore in 1866 and began one of the most successful sausage factories in the city.  He died suddenly.

Born, Herman (11-6-1829 to 8-17-1911)

Born was born in Hesse, one of 10 children.  He apprenticed as a blacksmith and wheelright and worked in Marburg.  He immigrated to the United States in 1850 and landed in Baltimore.  He did not know anyone, nor one word of English.  Lucky for him, German was becoming a pretty popular language in the Baltimore area.  He found work within a few days working with Johann Meissner, a blacksmith located on Madison Street.  A few months later found another job that utilized both his smithing and wheelright skills.  Here at Diedrich Detterind’s shop he built, repaired and painted wagons.  He also practiced veterinary medicine.

After two years, he earned and saved enough to start his own business which he opened at 795 West Saratoga Street.  He married the following year to German-born Elizabeth Lischer.   By 1868 Born’s business had grown to the point he built a new home and a larger shop at 798 Waesche Street.  This eventually became the biggest wagon works in the city.  He employed 60 persons, most German immigrants.  They made delivery vans, huge beer wagons, bread and butcher carts.  They repaired wagons, did blacksmithing and tended sick and injured horses.

He had a street named after him, Born Court, running from Pine Street to Norris alley.  

Together Herman and Elizabeth had three boys and three girls.  A granddaughter once told the Sunpaper that he never lost sight of his ties with Germany.  German was the only language spoken in his home and shops.  

One of his greatest pleasures was gathering with his eight brothers, whom all followed him to the United States independently.  When gathered they would sing German songs.  He was active in his church and several charities.  He was one of the founders of the German Orphan Asylum.

He retired in 1903 on his golden wedding anniversary.  He turned the business over to sons Charles and John.  Even after his passing and that of his two sons (all within 15 years), the business continued as Herman Born & Sons, led by a great grandson, Richard L. Born.  It moved from wagons to truck bodies.  It continues today and is located  at 6808 Rolling Mill Road in Baltimore.  Their website:  https://www.hermanborn.com/. 

He is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery.

Brandt, Jacob (1-22-1812 to 1-12-1882)-Steamships 

Mr. Brandt came from a long and distinguished line and was a descendant of the old Baronial House of Brand or Brandt of Hamburg, Germany.  The Brandt’s arrived in the U.S. in 1674.  Randolph Brandt was a member of the House of Assembly of Maryland from 1671 to 1675.

Jacob Brandt is associated with the steamboat interests of Baltimore and was president of the Richmond & York River Line ; the Savannah Steamship Company and the Powhatten Steamboat Company.

Mr. Brant incorporated and financed the Safe Deposit & Trust Company at 13 South Street in Baltimore.  He lived at 14 East Mt. Vernon Place.

Jacob Brandt’s son, Jacob was born in Baltimore, educated in private schools.  He worked for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and worked for a period with the post office.  He entered the real estate business and began his firm of M. & J. Brandt.

Mr. Brandt is buried in Green Mount Cemetery.

Buchheister, George A. (9-15-1872 to 2-3-1934)-Tobacco

Mr. Buchheister was born in Bremen, Germany, son of Gustav Adolph Buchheister, a tobacco broker in Bremen.  After leaving school in Bremen, young George Buchheister entered the tobacco import firm of Papendieck & Co. in Bremen, where he served his apprenticeship for three years.  He became thoroughly familiar with various kinds and grades of tobacco. When his apprenticeship was completed, he left for Hanover and there served his military year with the 74th Regiment of Infantry.  He was promoted to the rank of petty officer before the end of the military term.

He left at the age of twenty for the U.S., where he had an uncle working for the Standard Oil Company in New York.  He landed in Hoboken, NJ., found a job as a bookkeeper and made it his home. 

Since his training was really in the tobacco field, that is what he wanted to do.  He heard from his father that a tobacco merchant, Mr. Henry Lauts, in Baltimore was looking for someone to work as a buyer and assist in purchases for American and European firms.  He applied and was accepted for the position.  He remained with the firm for over forty one years.  The family lived in Baltimore for a number of years, but during the World War bought a tobacco farm in Prince George's County, Maryland, where he lived until his death. 

Outside of business, Mr. Buchheister was active in the various German-American Societies of the city.  For many years he was a director of the Germania Club, and in his earlier years he was active as the secretary of this organization. He was a Director of the German Orphan Asylum and the General German Aged People’s Home of Baltimore and took great interest in these and other beneficial societies.

Dietrich, Andrew J. (10-15-1864 to 1943)-Steel

Andrew was German on his father’s side.  His father immigrated to the U.S. in 1847 and made their home in Baltimore.    Andrew was born in Baltimore and attended the public schools there.  He went to work with his father (ironmaker) in the Gunpowder Tunnel and worked there for five years.  He began Saddler’s Business College in 1881 and took a position with Payne & Brothers where he stayed for ten years, learning and gaining experience.  In 1893 he began working with Armstrong & Company, an iron and steel firm located on North Street.  He stayed there for three years.

In 1896, with his brother Hammond Dietrich, the company of Dietrich Brothers was formed.  They began with a few but became strong and employed at one time more than one hundred and fifty persons.  They grew and build a new plant (on North Street) that occupies an entire block.  They are the largest plant of that type south of New York.  The supplied the steel for the United States Fidelity and Guarantee Company, the Crown Cork and Steel Building in Highlandtown; the Notre Dame School; the Country School for Boys and Mercy Hospital.

From 1905 to 1909 he was president of the Baltimore Foundry Company.  He was a director of the Montebello Building and Loan Association and the Sagax Wood Company.  He is buried in St. John's Episcopal Cemetery.

Dietrich, Adam Clarence (12-14-1869 to 3-13-1933)

Adam, the son of Adam (above) was born in Baltimore on Harford Avenue and received his education in the public schools there.  He attended Knapp’s Institute and entered City College, where he graduated in 1884.  He then began working for General R. Snowden Andrews and the firm of Andres, Peters & Company, which were stock brokers.   He worked there for six years.  He began working for E. Scott Payne & Brothers, o0ne of the largest hardware establishments in Baltimore.  He served as bookkeeper, traveling salesman and eventually, while Mr. Payne was ill, he managed the business.  Upon Mr. Payne’s death, Adam and his six brothers took over the business and formed a corporation named E. Scott Payne Company.  The firm became a leader in the commercial world.  Mr. Dietrich is interred in St. John's Episcopal Cemetery.

Family Dohme

Dr. Alfred Robert Louis Dohme (2-15-1867 to 6-10-1952)

Dr. Dohme was the oldest child of Charles and Ida and was born in Baltimore.  He was educated at Friends School and then at the Johns Hopkins University where he graduated with a B.A. in 1886 and a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1889.  He took post graduate courses in chemistry, geology and mineralogy; studied chemistry, pharmacy and botany.  He studied abroad (1889-1891) at the University of Berlin and the University of Strassburg. 

In addition to being the second vice president of Sharp & Dohme, he was chairman of the scientific section of the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1898; a member of the American Chemical Society; the German Chemical Society at Berlin; the Society of Chemical Industry at London; the American Pharmaceutical Association and the German Pharmaceutical Association.  He is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Charles Dohme (1807 to 1852)

Charles was born in Obernkirchen, Germany and died in Baltimore.  He came to the U.S. in 1852 and settled in Baltimore.  He was successful in supplying brownstone for buildings in the area.

Louis Dohme (7-6-1837 to 12-10-1911 )

Louis was born in Oberkirchen, Germany.  He was an apprentice in the drug business of Alpheus Sharp, located at Howard & Pratt Sts.  He became the head clerk and the firm name was changed, in 1856 to Sharp & Dohme.  Prior to this they were involved in the retail drug business, but this year they extended their operations to the manufacturing of different preparations.  Charles, the brother of Louis, was sent to Washington DC., to gain knowledge and ideas regarding manufacturing operations.  Mr. Dohme died as president of Sharp & Dohme, Manufacturing Chemists.  He had achieved for the company a world wide reputation.

He served as President of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy from 1891 to 1896.  He was a graduate of that school.  When he stepped down as President of the Department of Pharmacy, his brother Charles Dohme took charge of the department from 1896 to 1906.

Charles Emil Dohme (3-12-1843 to )

Charles was born in Germany.  In the U.S. he worked for two years for Andrews & Thompson (one of the leading druggists of that time in Baltimore).  Charles then went to work with his brother Louis at Sharp & Dohme.  The firm developed quickly from the small retail shop to one of the leading pioneers in this field.  As manufacturing chemists, they employed a great deal of skilled labor.  When Mr. Sharp retired in 1886, Louis and Charles purchased  his interest and incorporated as Sharp & Dohme.  They had branches all over the U.S. 

Johann Conrad Engelbrecht (5-25-1758 to 1819)

Johann was born in the village of Aichig, Bayreuth, Bavaria.  He was the son of Johann and Catherine Mayer Engelbrecht.  He was eighteen years old when the US declared their independence and he was sent to help the British.  He fought in the battles of Philadelphia, Newport and Yorktown, where he was captured.  Captured soldiers were imprisoned in what is now called the ‘Hessian Barracks’.

At the conclusion of the war, the soldiers were given the option to go home or stay and Johann decided to stay.  He married Margaret Houx (daughter of a Lutheran schoolmaster) and together they had ten children, all baptized at the Frederick Lutheran Church.  He was known as ‘Conrad’ in his adopted land and was well respected and prospered at his profession as a tailor.

Engelbrecht, Jacob (12-11-1797 to 2-22-1878)

Jacob Engelbrecht was a tailor and a shopkeeper.  What makes his story so special is that he was the son of Conrad Engelbrecht, a Hessian soldier brought to the United States to fight the British.  Conrad was captured and a prisoner at Yorktown.  He married a local girl. 

Jacob’s biggest contribution was his diary.  He kept a daily diary which has become an ‘excellent photograph’ of the times in Frederick during that era.  He maintained the diary from 1818 to 1878.  He kept it open in his shops and encouraged the everyday folks of Frederick to write in the diary.   The diary contains priceless information such as births, deaths, marriage records, etc., at a time before the maintenance of those types of records were required by the government. 

Jacob was the mayor of Frederick at the end of the Civil War (1865-1868).  He spoke both English and German.  He also was involved in the German Lutheran Church in the area.  He played the French horn in the church band, which was called the Harmonies.

The diary consists of 21 volumes, several of which are on display at the Historical Society of Frederick County. Mr. Engelbrecht is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.

Fait, William (7-26-1855 to 6-24-1921)

William Fait was born in Baltimore to German parents, John (Bavaria) and Emelia (Saxony) who had immigrated a few years prior to his birth.  He went to school at the Professor Knapp’s Institute.  At the age of 14 he entered Professor Lozier’s Business College and at the age of 15 went to work in a cannery.  He was successful by the time he was 25.

He married Louisa Hehl and together they had two daughters (Louise and May) and one son (William).  The family lived on Patterson Park Avenue.  He decided to go into the canning business himself and in 1882 opened the firm of Fait & Winebrenner, which was located on Aliceanna Street.  This firm was replaced in 1892 by Fait & Slagle.

The William Fait Company prospered.  Some of his specialty delicacies were softshell crabs and oysters.  He sold not only in Maryland, but also Kansas City, Chicago, and Denver.  There were special packing guidelines, which William’s company could follow in their vast Canton cannery.  The softshell crabs were gently sauteed in butter and put in an oval tin, four to a tin, which were sold for two dollars a dozen.  His canning factory was the largest in Maryland, in size, scope and production.  It was then located at Boston Street and Patuxent Street (now Linwood).  The buildings took an entire block and over 600 people were employed there at one time. 

When the Eastern Shore canneries became the mega industry in the area, he closed his doors and turned his attention to the motion picture business.   He operated two theaters in downtown Baltimore, the Red Moon and the Lubin.  His other interests included a bank director, insurance executive and active in politics and civic affairs.

He returned to the canning business but shortly after the onset of WWI, he retired and moved to Springfield, Ohio.  He died there June 24, 1931.  He does have a street named after him, Fait Avenue.

Florenz, Frederick William Moritz (10-8-1875 to 12-22-1955)

Mr. Florenz was born in Cologne, Germany.  He was educated in the schools of his area, primarily the Königliches Gymnasium an Marzellen zu Köln.  He apprenticed for two years as a clerk with the firm of Ludwig Lüthgen in the iron, steel and coke industry.  He served one year with the German army before coming to the U.S. in 1896.  He arrived in Baltimore and taught at LoyolaCollege and the German Correspondent.  After a few years he entered the firm of Ed. C. Geyer & Co., dealers in leaf tobacco and salt fish.  In 1911, he became the sole owner of the business.  The firm founded as Geyer & Wilkins celebrated 100 years in 1955.  It was known to be the oldest salt fish business in the country.  The firm dissolved at the death of Mr. Florenz in 1955.

Friese, Philip Rudolph Joachim (10-20-1775 to 9-20-1857)

Mr. Friese was born, the second of eleven children on an estate called Fresenhede, in the small duchy of Hoya, Hanover, Germany.  He received a mercantile education as a clerk in a small firm named Brauer, in Bremen.  His father was a wool merchant and had a warehouse on his estate.  He collected the wool of the surrounding areas and shipped it to Holland by wagon. 

Mr. Friese came to the U.S. at the close of the 18th century as cargo bound for Baltimore, where his brother John resided.  His ship wrecked near Smith Island, so he didn’t make it directly to Baltimore.  To save the cargo and his commission he took measures to salvage any cargo from the shipwreck.

His firm operated under the name of his brother, John H. Friese.  The original capital was obtained by a secured mortgage of Fresenhede.  It was prosperous and after a few years dissolved, with each partner receiving their share, which was approximately $50,000 each, a considerable sum in those days.  John returned to Germany and Philip remained in Baltimore.  He carried on the old business in his name.  He became a naturalized citizen and loved his adopted country.  He pursued other businesses over the years, including the fur trade.   He later established a white lead factory and after a time, established a factory to manufacture window glass.  This was not the first attempt that someone made to manufacturer window glass.  The first was a failure.  After making a thorough study of the subject, having the necessary capital himself, he hired the necessary skilled workman (some bought directly from Germany, binding each for a period of six years).  The business was a success from the beginning.  Due to sickness, he relinquished the operations to his younger brother, John, whom carried the business successfully until 1830. 

During his career he supported the credit of the U.S. in the war of 1812 by providing a loan to the U.S.  He was active with the United States Bank, the Frederick and Reisterstown Turnpike Roads, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and others. 

Fuld, William (7-24-1870 to 2-24-1927)-the Quija Board

William Fuld was the son of Jacob and Mary Fuld.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  His father, Jacob was a Jewish German immigrant that left Büdingen, Hesse Darmstadt, Germany and arrived in the U.S. on September 7, 1854.  Jacob, joined the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church.   William was one of ten children.  He and his siblings often invented games to occupy their time.  He attended public schools in Baltimore and later attended the School of Art and Design.  His first job, at the age of seventeen, was that of a paint varnisher in1887.  He then began his work with Kennard Novelty Company, which opened in 1890.  It was here he began his work on the Ouija Board.  A patent was granted to William on July 19, 1892 to make improvements to the board.  The patent made improvements to the ‘talking board’.  On April 12, 1898, the Ouija Novelty Company assigned its assets and interests, including Ouija patents to Washington Bowie and Harry Rusk.   In November 1897, William and his brother Isaac founded Isaac Fuld & Brother.  On July 18, 1898 the Ouija Novelty Company signed an agreement with William and Isaac to manufacture and sell Ouija Boards for three years.  In 1899 the agreement was expanded.  The operations took place at 20 North High Street.  Royalties were paid to Bowie and Rusk.  When the agreement was renewed, it was renewed in William’s name only.  This caused a family feud, which lasted throughout the brothers lives. 

A trademark was granted in February 1902 for the ‘talking board’.  William held many other novelty and toy patents. 

William was a member of the Masons, Old Town Merchants and Manufacturers, Merchants and Manufacturers Association, the Democratic Club and the Toy Manufacturers Association of America.

William manufactured various boards and in 1918 built a new three story factory at Harford Avenue, Lamont Avenue and Federal Street.  On April 24, 1919, he became the sole owner of the Ouija board.  He saw the board through several company names including: The Kennard Novelty Company, The Ouija Novelty Company, Isaac Fuld & Brother, William Fuld, and William Fuld & Sons. 

It is said that William was very intelligent and could speak seven languages.  He was a Custom’s Inspector for the Port of Baltimore from 1896-1924.  In 1924 he ran and won a seat as a Democrat in the Maryland House of Delegates for the Third District.  He supported several charitable organizations.

He married Annie Schmidt at St. Luke’s Church in Baltimore in 1891.  They had seven children.   William died in a tragic accident at the factory when he fell from the roof. The children took over the business, but in 1996 sold the business and the Ouija Board to Parker Brothers.

Gail, Georg Wilhelm (7-8-1828 to 10-5-1905)-Tobacco

Georg Wilhelm Gail, son of Georg Philip and Susanna was born in Giessen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany and received his elementary education there.  He left for the U.S. in the spring of 1847.  He landed in Baltimore in May of that year.  He started a tobacco factory here, after hearing that the tobacco manufactured here wasn’t very good.  He returned to Germany in 1849 and remained until the spring of 1850 when he returned to Baltimore where he rented a house on the south side of Pratt, between Charles and Hanover and began his small tobacco factory.  He wanted to confine himself to German smoking tobacco.  Things went well and he realized he needed a sales agent.  He wrote to his father and his father selected Christian Ax.  Mr. Ax (See profile) arrived in Baltimore in 1851.  Mr. Gail then began to import German cigars, which was a real boost to his profits.  They were made in the home factory.  Because of new taxes imposed in 1865, this portion of the business became unprofitable, but he was also making chewing tobacco, snuff and domestic cigars.  Consumption of these products increased during the war and under the firm name G.W. Gail & Ax, the business boomed.  In 1891 they sold their interests to the American Tobacco Company.  A large factory was built at Barre Street in 1853 and an addition added in 1858.  In 1886 a large warehouse on the corner of Charles Street was added and another building on Lee Street.

Mr. Gail married Mary E. Feigner (2-8-1837 to 3-9-1891) both parents coming from Germany.  From this marriage there was one son and four daughters.  Mr. Gail remarried after the death of his first wife and they had one son.

Mr. Gail’s son-in-law joined the firm and after the death of Mr. Ax, his son, Christian Ax, Jr. joined the firm.  The firm became a branch of the American Tobacco Company.

Mr. Gail was a member of the Germania Club of Baltimore, the German Society of Maryland and the German Historical Society.

His residence on Eutaw Place became a notable landmark in Baltimore. (According to the 1990 census, the family lived at 2301 Eutaw Street..Ward 16, District 210, pg. 2).

Mr. Gail died at sea on a return trip from Germany.  The family is interred at Green Mount Cemetery.  The plot is graced by a wonderful Hans Schuler memorial.

A copy of an article that appears in “A Descriptive Review of the Manufacturing and Mercantile Industries of the City of Baltimore – Historical Publishing Company, Publishers, 1882”, reads as follows:

“The well-known house of Messrs Gail & Ax has a national and worldwide reputation as manufacturers of smoking tobacco, fine cut chewing tobacco and snuff of various grades.

The firm consists of Mr. George W. Gail and Mr. Christian Ax. The father of Mr. Gail, the founder of the house, began business at Glesen, in Germany, in 1807. The son began business in 1850 on Pratt Street near Charles Street, on a small scale. In 1853 the first wing of the present large factory was built on Barre near Charles Street, and in 1855 Mr. Ax joined the firm. In 1850 the present large factory was completed, and to accommodate a largely increased business, two additional wings were built making a structure five stories in height, 144×183 feet, giving employment to about 350 hands, including many skilled workmen. This establishment is supplied with the most perfect machinery in use for manufacturing purposes, for the making of smoking tobacco; fine cut chewing tobacco and snuff. One of the most famous brands of smoking tobacco turned out by this house is the “Little Joker”, which is popular all over the United States on account of its excellence. The bulk of the trade of the firm is in the long cut smoking tobacco. The house uses Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland and some imported tobacco in the manufacture of their goods. The annual consumption of this firm reaches between two and a half and three million pounds.

The trade of the house extends all over the United States and abroad. This is the pioneer firm in smoking tobacco in Baltimore, and has done much to build up permanently and substantially the tobacco trade of the city.”

Ganter, Francis X.  (12-25-1849 to)

Francis X. Ganter was born in Freiburg, Briesgau, Baden Germany to Peter Ganter and Albertine  (Georgii) both of Freiburg until emigrating to the US in 1872.  Francis manufactured show cases, bar fixtures, billiard supplies, as well as store and office furniture.  He operated a large manufacturing firm in downtown Baltimore, located at 9-13 W. Pratt Street, with a second location at 617 Columbia Avenue (now Washington Boulevard). In Frieburg his father was a cabinet maker and glacier, having a large establishment and doing an extensive business.  Mr. Ganter came to this country in 1870, two years before his parents. He located in Baltimore and in 1876 began business for himself on Hanover Street, at that time manufacturing showcases only. He became known as one of the premier case builders in the US.  His main factory was on Pratt Street, however, he expanded an additional 86,000 square feet when he purchased adjoining factory to the Wilkins Tobacco Factory.  This factory was under the supervision of Ganter himself and was said to be the best equipped manufacturing his line in the US. 

He was the sole inventor and patentee of twenty-four inventions, some of which were exclusively used by his factory.  Mr. Ganter, besides his business here, had, at one time, branches at 351 Canal street. New York: 40 N. Fourth street, Philadelphia, and 446 Pennsylvania avenue, N. W., Washington, D. C, furnishing the greatest number of cases used in the North, East and South.  He also exported throughout the entire world from his New York facility. 

Mr. Ganter was married to Christine Ganter and together they had four children, Charles F. W. and Arthur Ganter, both joining their father’s business, Josephine and Victoria.  The family was Protestent and Mr. Ganter a member of the Masons.  The family resided at 632 N. Gilmor Street in Baltimore. 

Gettemuller, John Fred (4-18-1860 to 7-29-1920) Paints

Mr. Gettemuller was born in Baltimore in 1860 and lived in Baltimore his entire life.  He was the youngest of two children.  His brother, H.J. Gettemuller  and Fred were both  prominent businessmen in Baltimore.   The parents, Herman H. and Annie M. (Kalmey) Gettemuller, were both natives of Hanover, Germany, and were married in that city.   By trade, the father was a miller, but after coming to this country in 1851, he engaged in the import business in Baltimore, where he died at the age of seventy-six.  The mother passed away in Baltimore at 59 years old.

He studied in public schools in Baltimore and began to assist his father in his business.  During his early years, he also learned the paint business and in June 1891 established his own store, which was located at 1045 Gay Street.  It was a wholesale and retail shop for paints, painting supplies, glass, varnishes, etc.  He was fair and honest and it proved well for him because he garnered a large patronage. 

He married  Mary Ann (Pfau 1862-1904), a native of the Baltimore.  They had two daughters Mabel E. and Eleanora B.

As a thirty-second degree Mason, Mr. Gettemuller was prominent and influential in Masonic Circles.  He belonged to King David Lodge No. 68, A. F. & A. M.; Adoniram Chapter No. 21, R. A. M. ; Monumental Command No. 3, K. T.; and Boumi Temple of the Mystic Shrine.   He was Lutheran. 

The family is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Grief, Levi Clothing

Arrived in the United States in 1852 and launched, what was for a time, the second largest men’s clothing company in the U.S.  He arrived when he was 14 and when he located to Baltimore, he opened a little furnishings shop in Fells Point.  By 1858, he had graduated from making overalls for sale in his own shop to creating tailored suites to sell wholesale to other vendors.  Greif & Brothers was one of the early clothiers in Baltimore to be approached by the Unions.  The Amalgamated Clothing Workers attempted in 1916 to unionize Grief, but were unsuccessful. Greif & Brothers was one of the buildings totally destroyed by fire during the Great Baltimore Fire.

Gross, Jacob (7-26-1819 to 10-16-1887)

Jacob Gross was born in the small town of Untergröningen in Württemberg.  His father, Johann Georg Gross (1778-1850) inherited the family owned brewery and inn Zum Adler, which his grandfather built in 1800.  His mother was Creszencia (Maier)(1777-1839) the daughter of a farmer.  Jacob was the youngest of twelve and the youngest of the two sons of Johann and Creszencia. Anton, his older brother entered the ministry.  Jacob’s father made his daughter Marian and her husband heirs to the brewery and inn.  Jacob had a very basic elementary education.  He did learn to read and write and basic mathematics, however, never learned a second language or any extensive history or science matters.  He and his parents wanted him to learn a trade.  In 1833 a distant relative, Wilhelm, who lived in Gmünd, a neighboring village, came to Jacob’s village to reapir the organ in the chapel of the Untergröningen Castle.  He offered Jacob an apprenticeship if he were to learn a little about music.  Jacob’s parents seized the opportunity and Jacob began piano lessons.  He learned the rudiments of piano technique and as such left home at the age of fourteen, traveling on foot to begin his apprenticeship[1], which he did on October 24, 1833. The apprenticeship was to last for three years

The apprenticeship with Wilhelm did not go as planned.  Mr. Wilhelm wasn’t as knowledgeable as he led to believe and the meals were meager and the pay even smaller.  He traveled and worked for several masters including carpenters and piano and organ builders, none with lasting potential until he began work with a man named Walker in Ludwigsburg.  He began his work here on May 30, 1837, two months before his eighteenth birthday.  He worked in several of Mr. Walker’s departments building organs. Unfortunately he was let go on December 5, 1837.  From here he traveled to several other towns.  He obtained his passbook so he could work in Prussia or Bavaria and did work for several other builders in Tübingen, Freiburg and even Switzerland, Spain and France.  He arrived in Murg and began work for a man named Haas.  From here, knowing he had fine-tuned his skills he emigrated to the US between 1848 and 1850.  In the early 50s he was living in Troy, New York building pianos with an associate named Hulskamp.  By 1857 he had moved to Baltimore.

His move to Baltimore was at the request of Charles M. Stieff.  He was asked to Baltimore to supervise the newly established piano factory of Stieff (see biography this page).  Gross brought to Baltimore one of the pianos made by he and Hulskamp.  (This piano after passing its prime was disassembled and many parts used in pieces of furniture including the name piece with Gross and Hulskamp, which is said to have been used on a marble-topped washstand and used in the home of his grandson George Jacob. 

Jacob married Katherine (Katie) Stieff (1833-1906), daughter of Charles and Katherine.  He and Katherine had five children, Charles Jacob, Kate, Nellie (Pfeiffer), Carrie (Boyd) and Clara.  (1880 Census)

On July 26, 1883 on his sixty-fourth birthday and the twenty fifth anniversary of his work with Stieff, he was presented an armchair.  The event was covered in all of the major papers.  He was well respected and liked among his peers.  He and his family lived at 143 Camden Street.

Mr. Gross passed away at the age of 69.  Jacob and Katherine are buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

[1] Apprenticeship: young people wishing to learn a trade would often learn under the guidance of a master craftsman.  In return for a fee (usually ½ paid at the beginning and ½ at the conclusion of the training), the craftsman would provide instruction, shelter, food and sometimes clothing and medical care in the event of illness.  The apprentice would ‘bind’ himself to the master for a specified period of service.  The agreement was in writing.  At the end of the apprenticeship the apprentice would present himself to a guild member for a practical examination, which would be followed by a written examination.  If successful, the apprentice would receive a certificate and could then further his experience as a traveling journeyman and work for wages.

Heinekamp, William (8-28-1826 to 2-25-1903)

William was born in Westphalen, Prussia, the son of John and Katherina (Kloth).  He began his education at home under his father, John, who was a teacher, as was his father before him and many of the male family members.  He then attended the schools in his town in Germany until the age of fourteen.  He then went to learn the trade of cabinet making.  He later learned to make pianos and continued this practice in Germany until the age of twenty.  At the age of twenty-three, he left for America aboard the vessel ‘Albert’ and after nine weeks landed in Baltimore.   With only a few dollars to his name, he immediately began to search for employment and on the fifth day after his arrival he secured a position in a factory manufacturing pianos, located on Hanover Street.  He remained with this firm until 1861 when he began his own business in a small building on Fayette Street.  His business prospered and in 1863 moved to larger quarters.  He, in 1867 built a piano factory five stories high on the corner of St. Peter and Barre Streets.   He later was located on Eutaw Street and then moved to East Baltimore Street. 

He was a Democrat and member of St. Martin’s Catholic Church.  He married twice, the first time in 1852 to Mary Marischen (also a native of Westphalia).  Mary passed away in 1881.  Together they had Elizabeth, William, Annie, Charles, Katie.  He remarried in 1882 to Alissa Marischen (neice of his wife).  Together they had three children, Mary, Francis and Rudolph.

Mr. Heinekamp’s brother Conrad, who was also born in Westphalia, was also a member of the firm.

Helwig, Christian A. (1861 to)

Christian was a sound businessman, operating a wholesale grocery and spice business at his location at 1209 East North Avenue.  His family was German, his father, Godfried, was born in Germany and immigrated to the US at the age of twenty five.  His father operated a shoe store in Baltimore and later operated the grocery business.  Godfried married Theresa Tames, also German born and together they had six children.

Christian was born in Baltimore in 1861 and was educated at the Knapp private school in Baltimore.  He began working as a traveling salesman at the age of twenty and worked for that particular firm for eight years until he felt experienced enough to open his own business with Louis.  Christian, with his brother, Louis, opened their spice business in 1890.  They shipped their products countrywide.

Christian married Maggie Hall and together they had two children, Albert and Vernon.

Hilgenberg, Charles (1-2-1829 to 1-23-1899)

Charles Hilgenberg was born in Melsungen, Germany.  In 1850 he arrived in Baltimore, which he made his home for the remainder of his life. He was engaged in a number of successful mercantile enterprises, taking at the same time an earnest interest in a number of social and benevolent societies.

In January 2010 a reception was held at the Maryland Historical Society to ‘kick off’ the The German Heritage Open House/Hilgenberg Archive.  Mr. John Hilgenberg (Project Founder) and descendent was a speaker.  Mr. Charles E. Hilgenberg’s 100th birthday was celebrated at the event! This project is currently digitizing the The German Correspondent, Baltimore, Maryland. The goal of the project is to to provide a digital archive that is completely searchable so that people will be able to find a family name or business name, article, etc. that is as specific or general as you would like it to be.   There is a Hilgenberg Family plot at Druid Ridge Cemetery.

Hofferbert, Henry William (9-17-1866 to 11-13-1936)

Mr. Hofferbert was born in Lindenberg im Odenwald, Thuringia, Germany. He came to the U.S. at the age of sixteen and learned the trade of custom tailoring, eventually working for his own business.  He later began manufacturing ice cream and extended his business, The Horn Ice Cream Company, to the point where in 1925, it was sold to a national company. 

At the time of his death he was president of the Pearl Street Perpetual Savings and Building Association and active in many German organizations and charities.

Hoffman, Richard Curzon (7-13-1839 to ) Railroad

Richard Hoffman (grandson of Jan Peter Hoffman who immigrated from Germany in 1745), was born in Baltimore on West Franklin Street.  He was a student at Chestnut Hill and McNally schools (two prominent schools of that time).  At sixteen he left school and began working for the Gilmor Hoffman stock brokerage.

After the war, he returned to Baltimore and began a partnership with D. Bowley Thompson, under the name of Hoffman, Thompson & Company.  They were iron merchants.  At the death of his partner, he continued the business under the name of R.C. Hoffman & Company. 

He became VP of the Seaboard Air Line Railway and the Baltimore Steam Packet Company in 1883. 

He served as director of the National Farmers’ and Planters Bank, the Baltimore Trust and Guarantee Company, the Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company and the Old Dominion Steamship Company.

(See also Military)

Hoffman, Peter (1742-1809)

Peter Hoffman was born in Frankfurt am Main.  He emigrated to the U.S. when very young, settling near Frederick on his own farm, which he sold in 1776 for a good deal of money.  He moved to Baltimore where he established a dry goods house that eventually became the firm of Peter Hoffman & Son.  Before Baltimore had even become an official incorporated town, Mr. Hoffman worked diligently to improve and beautify the town.  All of his children became prosperous merchants in the city and the one son, David became a lawyer.  Jacob, his oldest son established a sugar refinery in Alexandria, VA.  Peter, Jr., who operated the dry goods store with the father once lived in the beautiful mansion (formerly the Maryland Club) at the corner of Franklin and Cathedral Sts.  Peter was one of the incorporators of the Baltimore Orphan Asylum and the builder of the “Law Buildings” at St. Paul and Lexington Sts. 

Mr. Hoffman, Sr. is buried in the Otterbein Cemetery.

William H. Hoffman & Sons, State’s first Paper Mill

William H. Hoffman (son)  (1810 to 9-30-1886)

William and Susanna Hoffman, came to America from Germany, near Frankfort, about the year 1765, and landed in Philadelphia. He had learned the trade of paper-making in Germany, and after his arrival in this country worked for a Mr. Sheets at paper-making for two years, to pay the expenses incurred in coming here. After a few years, he rented a small paper-mill, near what was then called Dunkertown, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Having saved a small amount of money, about the year 1776 he went to Maryland, and selected the locality about two miles and a half from Mason and Dixon's line.  Here the original William Hoffman built the first paper-mill. The process of manufacturing paper was then slow, predominantly done by hand  He made a good deal of paper under the circumstances. Nearly all, if not all, the paper on which the Continental money was printed was made by Mr. Hoffman in that mill. Mr. Hoffman acquired a good deal of land there. He died at the age of seventy-one years, and he, with his five sons, who lived and died there are all buried in that area. His son, Peter Hoffman, inherited the mill and much of the property around it. He occupied his time between paper-making and a little farming. William H. Hoffman was Peter’s only son, and to him the property was left by will. He has associated with him his three sons, G. W. S., W. E., and J. W., who continued to operate the original mill, having rebuilt it.  They were updated with modern machinery so that making book and news paper, and manilla for paper bags, etc. could be accomplished.  Mr. Hoffman was a member of the Legislature in 1863, and voted for calling a convention to form a new Constitution. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1864, and advocated the insertion of the clause that slavery should no longer exist in Maryland.

The 1878 Baltimore County Directory shows:  Is 7 miles from Freeland. The Baltimore & Hanover R R., in course of construction, will run within 2 1/2 miles of the place. The Gunpowder Falls which flows through this village, furnishes excellent water power and numerous good mill sites. The paper mills of Messrs. Wm. H. Hoffman & Sons are located here; they manufacture four tons of paper per day, and employment to over 100 people. Land, easily tilled, ranges in price from $20 to $50 per acre; yields 15 to 20 bus. wheat, 30 to 40 corn, 40 oats, 150 potatoes, and 2 tons hay. M. E., United Brethren and Evangelical Lutheran churches, one public school. Population 200. .Wm. B. Hoffman, Postmaster.

Carl Christian Holzapfel (6-22-1874 to 5-8-1963)

Carl Holzapfel was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1874 to Carl August Holzapfel and Gottliebin Caroline.  It was there in 1888, at the age of 14, he was apprenticed to his uncle, a violin maker.  He did not choose his trade, that was done by his father, as was the custom at that time.  If today’s 14 year olds think they have it bad, Carl’s schedule began at 6am and lasted until 9 in the evening.  He continued to practice this early morning schedule his entire life and continued to use the tools of his trade that he learned as a young man, to make some of the most beautiful ‘fiddles’ in the world.  He was a most talented woodcrafter.  His entire life he made hand chiseled instruments using seasoned wood, chisels, files, planes and rasps.  When his training was complete, Carl headed to America.

He arrived in Philadelphia at the age of 17.  He worked in Philadelphia, in a instrument house, until 1896.  It was then that his boss decided to sell.  He was going west to do some prospecting.  He sold the business to his father and his brother-in-law.  They, in turn, asked Carl to move to Baltimore with them.  It was in 1898, in Baltimore, that Carl purchased the shop from them and became his own boss.

The Baltimore violin market was small, there wasn’t much demand.  He expanded his market by making other string instruments such as violas, cells and bass fiddles.  His shop, located on West Fayette Street, was there for 37 years.   It was a modest shop and inside housed two large glass cases holding his violins and violas.  He and his son, Carl Martin, worked at craftsman benches behind the shop.  Here they also repaired instruments.

It was at this shop that many came to purchase or just to play the instrument.  It was not unusual and was never rushed.  He was an expert craftsman and always willing to show his craft and assist the lay person in understanding this marvelous instrument.   His instruments were priced in the mid-1900s from $200 to $1,000.  There were also a few that would always remain his.  This included a copy of a Guarnerius del Geru that won first prize in the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.   

His violins were copies of the masters and as he once explained, turning out a good copy, is in the field of violin making, not forgery, as long as the copy is acknowledged as such.  He copied Guarnerius del Gesu, Stradivarius and Amati, each known for a particular quality.  Everything about the masterpiece must be duplicated from the size to the varnish.  It took Carl Holzapfel five years to complete the varnishing of one of the Stradivarius copies that hung in his shop.   He as proud of his collection which included a Nicolas Amati, made in 1640, an original Andreas Guarnerius (grandfather of Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu) from about 1697 and a bow made by the bow-maker Francois Torte in the 18th century.  He also had a Stradavarius that he purchased around 1908 from the violinist Sivori, when he played a concert in Baltimore.  Mr. Holzapfel’s son, a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and other musician friends loved playing the treasures held by Mr. Holzapfel.  He himself, did not play, but sensed the tones.  He after all, was a fiddle maker.

It is pretty conclusive that a good violin requires aged wood and the hands of an expert craftsman….that was Carl Holzapfel.

Carl married Mary Rhode and together they had two sons, Carl Martin and Herbert C.  He was a grandfather and great-grandfather and is buried in Lorraine Cemetery.

Source:  ‘All work and No Play’, by Elizabeth H. Moberly, The Sun Magazine, May 9, 1948.  The 1910, 1930 Federal Census

Hutzler, Moses (11-28-1800 to 1-13-1889)

Moses was the son of Gabriel and Beuleh [Baer] Hutzler.  He attended school in Hagenbach.  He immigrated to the United States in 1838.  He settled at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Exeter Street, and opened a tailor shop for women’s fashion in the city.  The business wasn’t successful.  He relocated to Frederick Maryland and opened a dry goods business.  He returned to Baltimore City in 1840 and in 1858, he and his son Abram (1836-1927) opened the company M. Hutzler & Son.  Abram opened a little shop at Howard and Clay Streets using his father's name because he was underage.  He later opened a wholesale business on Baltimore Street.  By the end of the Civil War the retail outlet became a large profit center and Abram concentrated his energies there with his brothers, Charles (1840-1907) and David (1843-1915), so the store became known as Hutzler Bros.  It developed and grew into a major department store in Baltimore.   Abram died at the age of 91was known for his many philanthropic endeavors, Charles known for introducing ready to wear to Hutzler's and David was active in civil affairs and stressed 'quality' as a major goal of the shop.  David was big on customer service and was known to greet customers at the front door acknowledging many of them by their first name.

He was the founder of the first Jewish Reform community, founding in Hutzlers, the House of Har Sinai Verein.  The meetings were first held in his house until 1855.   

Keyser, William (11-23-1835 to 6-3-1904)-Steel

Mr. Keyser was of German and English ancestry.  He was born in Baltimore and education in the private schools of Baltimore, including St. Timothy’s (then a prominent boy’s school).  He entered his father’s firm of Samuel S. Keyser & Company, iron and steel merchants on the southeast corner of Pratt & South Sts.  The business imported iron and steel in ships from Europe.  The senior Mr. Keyser retired in 1858 and the firm name was changed to Keyser, Troxell & Company and the business moved to Calvert and German (now Redwood) Sts. 

Mr. Keyser, in 1857 at the age of twenty two,  was appointed receiver of the Laurel Cotton Mill.  The mill regained its former financial standing.  It was also about this time that he associated with Horace Abbott in the shipbuilding business and was contracted to build a war sloop.  The vessel, ‘The Dakota’ was completed and became a part of the U.S. Navy.

In 1865 he was one of the incorporators in the Abbott Iron Company and served as chairman for many years.  He was a director in the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal Company and later a city director in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

In 1870, the firm name changed to Keyser Brothers & Company and a new warehouse at German just east of Calvert was erected (one of the first buildings in Baltimore to have an elevator).  A large three story warehouse was built at the site and stood until destroyed by the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.   

Mr. Keyser became involved in the copper business in 1883 organizing the Baltimore Copper Smelting & Rolling Company.  He became the first president of this firm.  The Canton plant smelted copper ores from all over the world.   In 1892, he organized the Baltimore Electric Refining Company, which was later combined with the Baltimore Copper Smelting & Rolling Company.  He was the first president of the South Baltimore Car Works, their plant being at Curtis Bay. 

Some of his other connections were with the Maryland Institute, the Enoch Pratt Library, the Hannah Moore Academy at Reisterstown and was key in the development of the Homewood campus of the Johns Hopkins Univeristy.  He was a member of the Franklin Literary Society; the Mercantile Library and the McDonough Fund.  A donation of 60 acres, matched by his cousin’s 60 acres was the beginning of the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University and neighboring Wyman Park.

He was appointed the chairman of the Emergency Committee following the great fire of Baltimore in 1904.

He built the stone church near Reisterstown and presented it to the All Saints’ Church parish in memory of his mother.

He retired to his beautiful estate ‘Brentwood’ in Reisterstown, near Glyndon.  He is interred at Green Mount Cemetery.

Klees, Henry (4-13-1812 to 12-23-1879)

Henry Klees was born in Holbach, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germay.  His father was an officer of the court and member of the bar and he had the same hopes for his son.  His son had different ideas.  He emigrated to England in 1832 and worked at one of the largest fur dressing establishments in London.  He was promoted to foreman, but later declined the offer to own part of the business.  He left for America in 1837 and arrived in Baltimore.  He discovered that furs were not made in America and found employment in the firm of James Carrigan, manufacturer of sheepskins.  He worked there for ten years.  At the end of the ten years he bought an interest in the firm of Henry Bitzler and when Mr. Bitzler died one year later, he continued the business in his own name.  He continued the manufacturer of sheepskins and later added a tanning department and a currier.  The business expanded rapidly and he brought his sons into the business.  He purchased the Linganore tannery in Frederick County and put that in the charge of his oldest son, John.  Henry remained with his father in Baltimore. 

Mr. Klees died due to injuries received from a fall from his horse. 

He was Lutheran when he left Germany, but soon after his arrival in the U.S. joined the United Brethren.  He subsequently helped found the East Baltimore German Methodist Episcopal Church (located at the corner of Lombard and Bond Streets).  This church spawned at least three other German Methodist Churches.  He was a director of the German Central Bank, a member of the Mountain Lodge, the Independent Order of Red Men and of the Shoe and Leather Board of Trade.  Mr. Keyser is buried at Green Mount Cemetery.

Klein, Jacob (7-23-1843 to)

Mr. Klein was born in Marburg, Hesse Cassel, Prussia and came to the US when he was nine years old.  His parents arrived in Baltimore in August 1855.  He obtained his education through the Baltimore City public schools and in his native public schools.  He began working at the age of thirteen as an apprentice to learn metal working with Collins, Hayward & Heath.  He did well and became a journeyman metal worker until 1866 when he opened his own shop on Pratt near Hanover.  He then partnered with Christian G. Nickel in brick manufacturing business.  When Mr. Nickel died, the business became Klein Brothers.  They manufactured up to seven million bricks each year. 

When the Civil War broke out Mr. Klein took sides with the South, enlisting in the First Virginia Cavalry under Colonel Wood. He served in the vicinity of Richmond, VA. 

He was fully involved with the Germania Männerchor, serving as their presiding officer for many years. 

He married, in 1867, Marie (Nickel). Mr. Klein was on the Board of Managers of the German Society of Maryland.   According to the 1900 US Federal census, Mr. and Mrs. Klein resided at 110 E. 25th Street with their children, Elsie (1879), Albert (1873), Adele (1880), and Rena (1883).  Albert also worked in the brick manufacturing business. 

Knapp, George W. (7-18-1847 to)

George W., son of John and Harriet was born in Baltimore County, and went to the public schools in that area.  He also received instruction from private tutors and took a series of courses in the study in the technical and scientific schools.  He spent his entire life in manufacturing.  He filed over 200 different patents (it was said in his day, this was second only to Thomas Edison). 

Early in his career he became associated with Matthai, Ingram & Company (see profile), manufacturers of tinware.  The firm employed between eight and nine hundred persons.  They marketed and sold their product throughout the U.S.  Mr. Knapp was in charge of the manufacturing department.  The business was taken over in 1899 by the National Enameling and Stamping Company. 

Mr. Knapp was the director of the Baltimore Trust Company.

Kranz, G. Fred (4-14-1860 to 1916)

G. Fred Kranz was born in Baltimore, son of George and Wilhelmina, both of Germany.  They immigrated to the U.S. in 1837.  G. Fred Kranz received his education in the city public schools and at City College.  Upon completion he was employed by Knabe & Company (see profile), piano manufacturers.  He was in charge of their Baltimore operations for more than fifteen years. 

In 1897, Mr. Kranz went into business for himself at the corner of Charles & Fayette Sts.  He made all types of musical instruments.

He was president of the Workingmen’s Building and Loan Association, the Kranz-Smith Piano Company, the G. Fred Kranz Music Company.  He was president of the Musical Art Club, a member of the Germania Männerchor and the Harmonie Singing Society.

Mr. Kranz was married to Regina.  Mr. Kranz is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Charles Lang married Jennie (Koenig 1891-1983).  Together they had four children, Elizabeth (1915), Charles (1917-2011), Charlotte (1922) and Robert (1929).

The family is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Sources: Charles Gottlieb Lang’s obituary, Sunpaper 8-28-195 and News American Article on the Lang Farm 10-12-1969; 1930 Federal Census

Marburg, William A.  (3-30-1814 to 7-16-1873)

Marburg, William A.  (7-19-1873 to 1931)

Marburg, Charles L.   (10-27-1842 to 2-2-1907)

Their grandfather, Charles L. Marburg was a successful merchant in Germany. 

William and Charles' father, son of Charles, was born in Wiesbaden.  Germany in 1814 and arrived in the U.S. when he was approximately sixteen.  Their mother was Christina Munder, a native of Baltimore and of German parentage.William, the father was a cigar importer on a large scale.  In 1864 his sons, Charles and Louis formed the company of Marburg Brothers.  They manufactured smoking tobacco and built the company to one of the largest of its kind in the South.  The business was located at 147 S. Charles Street.  In May 1891 the company was sold to the American Tobacco Company and William was elected vice-president.  Their warehouse was next to the McCormick Spice plant on South Light Street until it was demolished in 1989.

Charles received his education in Baltimore with two years attendance at a business college in Wiesbaden, Germany.  He began working with his father at the age of fourteen.  When the Civil War broke out, he

enlisted in Alexander's Battery, Baltimore Light Artillery, serving until the close of the war. He was captured at the second battle of Winchester (General Milroy, commander), and kept a prisoner for 22 days. During this period (in 1864) he was called home by his father and was granted a few days' furlough.  He returned to Baltimore and was informed that he was to be one of the new firm of Marburg Bros., tobacco manufacturers.  The business was established on S. Charles Street.  He returned to his command, remaining until the end of the war, being mustered out of the service June 16, 1865, and on the following day took up the management of the business of Marburg Bros.

William the other son joined the firm.  William Marburg was born in Baltimore.  He was a student at Knapp’s Institute and also had private tutors.

He was a director in the National Union Bank of Maryland, the Bartlett Hayward Company, the American Marine Steamship Company, and president of the National Water Company of Wisconsin.  He also served as vice-president and trustee of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  William Marburg traveled a great deal, but always lived in Baltimore.   

Following the death of the senior William in 1873, two other sons, Albert and Theodore became partners in the business.

The firm grew and new facilities were built at the corner of Charles and Barre Streets.  The business merged with the American Tobacco Company in January 1891.  Charles was retained as manager and William made second vice-president at New York. Albert was manager of the fine smoking department and Theodore retired to write. 

The Marburg's are interred at Green Mount Cemetery.  Two additional Marburg's (William A.) are buried here, in addition to a Charles, Edward, Frederick and Louis.

Matthai, John Christopher (2-24-1824 to 7-4-1899)-Tinware

John Matthai was born in Saxe-Meiningen, Germany and died at Linden Hill, Baltimore County.  He was educated in Germany and left for the U.S. after serving a three year apprenticeship to learn blacksmithing and edge tool making.  He made his home in Baltimore, where in 1846 he established a general wagon building shop on Pennsylvania Avenue and worked there for 20 years.  Post retirement he organized the firm of Matthai & Ingram in 1870 with his son-in-law James E. Ingram and began the manufacture of tinware.  The factory was established on Lexington, but soon moved to larger facilities on Howard Street.  George Knapp became a member of the company and the manufacture of japanned ware was added to the products produced by the company of Matthai, Ingram & Company. The warehouse on Lexington Street was destroyed by fire in 1886.  In 1888 they purchased property and enlarged buildings to build one of the largest plants of its kind south of New York City.  The company held a number of patents and at one time employed 900 persons.  The firm at one time had branches in New York and Chicago, but they were closed when the business was sold in 1899 to the National Enameling & Stamping Company, when Mr. Matthai retired. 

Matthai, William Henry (7-26-1856 to )-Tinware

Son of John, he joined his father’s firm in 1880.  In January 1899 the interests were sold to the National Enameling & Stamping Company, Mr. Matthai was elected secretary, a member of the executive committee and also the manager for Baltimore.  He was one of the incorporators of the United States Fidelity and Guarantee Company, the President of the Bancroft Park Real Estate Company; director of the National Exchange Bank and the Savings Bank of Baltimore and the Vice-President of the Merchants’ and Manufactures’ Association.  He was also a director in the Young Men’s Christian Association.

He was a member of the Maryland Merchants’, Baltimore County, the Baltimore Athletic and Maryland Country Clubs, the Maryland Historical Society and the Municipal Art Society. 

Mayer, Christian (1763-1842)

Born to Charles Frederick Mayer, an eminent Maryland Lawyer whose family emigrated from Ulm in Württemberg in 1784.  Christian Mayer was a man of prominence in the growing commercial town and held such offices as President of the German Society of Maryland, president of a local insurance company and consul-general of Württemberg.  He entered the mercantile business of Valk, Burger & Schonten of Baltimore and upon a change in ownership, he was admitted as a partner in Valk & Co.  In 1802 he entered a partnership with Lewis Brantz and they transacted the tobacco trade in Maryland.  He also assumed the duties of president of the Patapsco Marine Insurance Company and later the Neptune Marine Insurance Company.  He was the father of Brantz Mayer, another prominent Maryland attorney and one of the founders of the Maryland Historical Society.

Meinzer, Gerhard ( 8-21-1936 to 2-17-2025)

Gerhard was born on August 21, 1936, in Karlsruhe, Germany.   During the formative years of his life he had a healthy and traditional German childhood.  He was trained in the specialized field of stone and marble masonry, and he worked as an apprentice in masonry for three years.  When he graduated from trade school in 1953, he had the groundwork to be one of the finest operative and speculative masons in the world.

            Gerhard immigrated to Canada in 1959.  He had to find work, make new friends, and learn English.  He worked hard and found success. He became a member of the International Stone and Marble Masons Union at that time.

In 1961, Gerhard immigrated to the U.S. and chose to live in a Maryland suburb near Washington, D.C.  He was often invited to work on building sites that became part of the architectural future of our nation, specifically the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the National Presbyterian Church and the Smithsonian Institute.  The high quality of his work led to friendships and contacts and a position of leadership.  He became part of many of the successful events sponsored by the Concord Club, the Washington Saengerbund, the German American Foundation and the Arminius Club No. 25, where he served as a Master Mason.  Other accomplishments with the Masons, which he joined in 1982 was serving as Worshipful Master (87), Treasurer for many years and was recognized with the Knight Commander Cross of Honor and Inspectors General Honorary 33rd Degree Mason of the Scottish Rite. 

·        Gerhard also received the Arthur Sckler Gallery award from the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen in 1987.

·        Gold Medal of Honor by Grand Master Claude Charbonniaud of the Grande Loge Nationale Francaise in 1994.

·        Gold Medal of Honor by the Grand Lodge of Germany in 2015.

·        German Embassy in Washington, D.C., Gerhard has been given the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) and the Friendship Award of the Federal Republic of Germany  in recognition for his service to German-American organizations and his encouragement of friendships  between German and American citizens.

·        The Association of Teachers of German Chapter Award in recognition of his continued support of the German Society of Maryland’s education program and by providing the funding for one student per year to participate in a study trip to German.

·        Gerhard served as President of the Association of German-American Societies were one of his biggest successes was bringing people of German heritage together each year at the German American Friendship Garden each year on German American Heritage Day (October 6) in Washington D.C.

A long-time member of the German Society of Maryland, and major contributor to their Education Program, he was presented with their ‘Distinquished Service Award’ in 2017.

Gerhard Meinzer passed away on 17 February and is buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery, known as the German Cemetery in DC.

Meislahn, Carl F. (8-27-1847 to 9-5-1935)

Mr. Meislahn was born at Achim near Bremen, August 27, 1847 and died in Baltimore, September 5, 1935. As a youth he served his apprenticeship in the workshop of his father, who was a maker of fine furniture. As a journeyman he wandered through the German lands and spent several years in France; in 1865 he went to London, and in 1870 came to Baltimore. This apprenticeship gave him a competence and thorough knowledge of his craft which enabled him to begin business in Baltimore in 1886, as a master in the designing and making of high-class furniture. For many years he was a member of the Harmonie Singing Society, and took keen interest in all local German and civic activities.

Meyer, Ferdinand A.  (4-14-1848 to 1933)

Mr. Meyer was born in the village of Zwischenahn in Oldenburg.  The son of B.H. Meyer and Friederike, he immigrated to the U.S. when he was twenty years old.  He became a successful business man. He found employment with Goldsborough, Pitts & Co., a wholesale wine and liquor firm.  Eventually, he became head of the firm, which was renamed Meyer, Pitts & Co.  He worked until his death.  He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Mr. Meyer’s estate was worth nearly three million at his death.   To the German Orphan Home he gave $100,000; to Zion Church and to the German Aged Home he gave each $50,000; to the German Society of Maryland $20,000, and to our Historical Society $10,000.

Mr. Meyer took an active interest in the work of the German Orphan Home at Catonsville, giving a cottage. He was a Director of the German Society of Maryland and other charitable organizations. Mr. R. Walter Graham, Comptroller of the City of Baltimore, the friend and business associate of Ferdinand Meyer for fifty years, gave a memorial window to Zion Church, where Mr. Meyer was a member over forty years.

Source:  Goldsborough, Pitts & Co. (1875-1919)

Goldsborough, Pitts & Co. (1875-1878), Goldsborough, Meyer & Pitts (1879-1891), Meyer, Pitts & Co. (1892-1919)

25 Cheapside (1876-1886), 117 Commerce (1887-1904), 415 W Camden (1905), Exchange pl & Commerce (1906-1915), 308-310 Exchange pl. (1907-1919)  Ferdinand A. J. Meyer..profile-Wholesale Wine & Liquor

Miller, Daniel  Jr. (6-1-1849 to 12-13-1898)

Son of Daniel Miller, Mr. Miller was born in Baltimore and education in the Baltimore City school system.  He attended City College and graduated in 1867.  He entered the firm of Daniel Miller & Company in 1871, which was at the time being headed by Henry Clay.  When Henry Clay died and the firm was reorganized, Mr. Miller became of member of the new organization.  It was located on Baltimore street, near Howard.  It moved to Hopkins Place with a large warehouse and store. 

Mr. Miller was elected president of the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Assocaition in 1893.  He was a director of the National Exchange Bank, vice president of the Guardian Security and Trust Company and a member of the Board of Trade.  He was a member of the Reform League and the Civil Service Reform Association.  In 1891 Mr. Miller was the Independent Democratic Candidate for the office of State Senator of the Second Legislative District, but was not elected.  He was a member of the reform school board and served as its vice president.  He was married to Mary Warner (Kirkbride).  The family lived at 605 Park Avenue, where he died.  He is buried at Greenmount Cemetery.

 Mohlhenrich, John George (3-25-1865 to 7-30-1941)

Mr. Mohlhenrich was born in Baltimore, the youngest child of John George Mohlhenrich and Margaret (Schaberg).  His parents emigrated to Baltimore from Gellershausen, Waldeck, Germany.  His father died when he was very young.  He attended the public schools and a business training school.  When about eighteen he began working at the Reliable Furniture Company and in ten years advanced from apprentice to the point where he bought the firm out and renamed the establishment as Mohlhenrich Furniture Company.  His factory was located at the corner of President and Fawn Streets. 

He was a member of Martini Lutheran Church and later associated with Zion Church.  He was a member and director of the German Society of Maryland and held the office of Vice President at the time of his death.  He was also Vice President of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.  He was the father of the ‘Julius Hofmann Memorial Fund and served as a trustee until his death.

There is an older John Mohlhenrich (7-19-1830 to 8-5-1900) buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Newcomer, Benjamin Franklin (4-28-1827 to 3-30-1901)-Flour

Benjamin was of German-Swiss ancestry.  He was born at Beaver Creek, Washington County, Maryland to John & Catherine Newcomer.  (see Law & Politics).  The family moved between Beaver Creek and Hagerstown, the later where Franklin attended the academy in 1840 intending to become a civil engineer.  He chose to move back to Beaver Creek with the family and work on the farm.  He moved to Baltimore to look after his father’s interests in the newly established Newcomer & Stonebraker and built a large business in Baltimore (transacting about one tenth of all the flour business in the city).  He purchased his father’s interest in the business.  In 1862, Stonebraker withdrew and the business continued under Benjamin’s direction under the name of Newcomer & Company.  In 1853, Mr. Newcomer organized the first Corn and Flour Exchange in Baltimore. 

Mr. Newcomer was County Commissioner in 1846, State Senator in 1840-46, delegate to the convention which framed the new State Constitution in 1850 and County Commissioner again in 1859.

He was one of the incorporators of the Maryland Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, was the first secretary and was made treasurer in 1881.  His services covered a period of forty-four years, twenty years as the president.  There is a story that a young pupil had a remarkable talent for music and Mr. Newcomer sent him to the Peabody Conservatory at his own expense.

He founded the Washington Free Library in Hagerstown and was instrumental in the development of the Baltimore Hospital for Consumptives and the Washington County Home for Orphans and Friendless Children.  He was a member of the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Newcomer, in 1854 he became a director of Union Bank, then the National Union Bank of Maryland.  He was an incorporator of the Safe Deposit & Trust Company of Baltimore and served as it’s president for thirty three years.   He was also a director of the Savings Bank of Baltimore.  In 1861 he was elected a director of the Northern Central Railway Company and was made chairman of it’s finance committee, a position he held until his death.   He also served as president of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company. 

Mr. Newcomer is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Niemann, Eberhard (11-18-1833 to 9-9-1906)-Tobacco

Mr. Niemann was born in Quakenbruck, which was then in the Kingdom of Hanover.  He was educated there and after completion of his education he went to Bremen and entered his mercantile career.  He came to Baltimore in 1854 and went to work with Mr. Gustav Gieske.  They established the ‘Leaf Tobacco Commission House of Gieske & Niemann’.  Mr. Niemann was the accountant and filled several important positions before opening his own business.  He retired from business completely in 1898 and moved to Wiesbaden, where he died in 1906.

He was an active member of the Germania Club, the German Society of Maryland and the Maryland Historical Society.  He willed a large portion of his wealth to the General German Aged People’s Home, The General German Orphans’ Association and the German Society of Maryland.  He was treasurer of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland from it’s founding until 1890.

Mr. Niemann is interred at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Numsen, William (12-3-1803 to 12-16-1891 )

Source:  The National Magazine (a monthly journal of American history, Volume 11); November 1889-April 1890, William Williams, James Harrison Kennedy, pages 485; The Federal Census; Find A Grave;

William Numsen was born on December 3, 1803 in Delmhorst, Oldenberg, Germany.  He was the son of Peter and Sophia (Mendsen 1776-1850) Numsen.  He was the second of three children.  His father was not a good businessman and lost most of the family money.  The mother came to the United States where her brother was a Lutheran Minister in Philadelphia.  The father followed the family a year later.  The children including William were left in the care of the maternal grandparents.  At the death of the grandfather, the children were maintained by strangers and not always in the best of care. They were often hungry, abused and in the need of clothing.  The grandmother unable to take care of them persuaded a Moravian, sea captain to take them to the United States.  They did not make it due to a storm and were returned to Bremen.  William made the trip at the age of seventeen as a ‘redemptioner’.  He arrived in Baltimore and was apprenticed to a baker named Muth.  He worked off his debt and eventually rented a bakery shop for himself.  Eventually he brought his mother, brother and American born sisters to live with him. 

He eventually began pickling and hermetically sealing foods, especially cove oysters, peaches, pears and other fruits.  This was a novelty at the time, but grew in success. 

Mr. Numsen married Mary (Schneider 1804-1872).  Together they had a son, George (1837-1888).

He began in 1847 in Baltimore and moved to larger facilities with a warehouse on Light Street in 1850.  He took his son in law into the business under the firm name of Numsen & Thomas.  They ran an oyster canning business.  The firm changed over the years as Numsen took in his sons, John W. and Nathaniel G.  In 1862 Thomas left and S. John Carroll joined and the name became Numsen, Carroll & Co.; and when Mr. Carroll withdrew in 1868 it became William Numsen & Sons.   The packing house was on Jackson Street and has waterfront docks.  They were able to can 65,000 cans a day here.  They also had a three story packing house on German Street that was used for pickles and vinegar manufacturing and an establishment at Easton in Talbot County for preserving peaches.  They had a factory in York PA., for condensing milk and packing fruits, and a large packing house in Chicago, Ill., which they sold in 1876.  Mr. Numsen also owned a 540 acre farm in Baltimore County.   According to the 1880 census the family lived at 302 W. Lexington Street and in 1900 had moved to 2022 McCulloh Street.   Mr. Numsen also was proprietor for the Baltimore Condensed Milk Company, of which he was the sole agent for Borden. He also owned many pieces of real estate in and around Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and properties in Chicago, IL.

Mr. Numsen was a member of the German Reformed Evangelical Church until 1841 when he left to assist in the organization of the German Evangelical Association on Green Street.  He was married in 1823 to Mary Schneider.  Together they had fourteen children, of which four survived, John W., Nathaniel G., Peter and William. 

He is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery (H, 086 5/2 #4).

Parlett, John Fletcher (3-1-1853 to 10-14-1908)

Mr. Parlett was born in Baltimore.  He was active and prominent in political affairs of the city.  He was the son of Benjamin and Mary Parlett, natives of Maryland, the father French and the mother German.  Benjamin established a wholesale tobacco business in Baltimore in 1853 and in 1894 he added a tobacco manufacturing plant in Virginia with his sons.  He retired in 1884 and the sons continued the business under the name of the B.F. Parlett & Company.  John sold the business to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, where he acted as resident director and manager of the eastern territory.

In 1896, Mr. Parlett was nominated by Mayor Hooper to the position of city collector; the appointment was confirmed and he began his work on December 3, 1896.  He served under two additional mayers in that office.  He died at his home at 1617 Park Avenue.

Prior, Carl W.  (9-7-1879 to 7-2-1943)

Mr. Prior was born in Baltimore.  He was the son of Edward A. Prior, of the firm of Prior and Hilgenberg, leading importers of toys and china. 

He was educated at Deichmann’s private school in Baltimore and later when his family moved to Hannover, Germany, at Clausthal in the Harz.  He apprenticed with the firm of Fisher and Co., in Bremen, where he familiarized himself with the buying of tobacco.  In 1900 he returned to the U.S. and was employed by Wm. Lotmeyer, haberdasher and later by Gottschalk and Co., wholesale whiskey dealers.  In 1923 the tobacco firm of Henry Lauts and Co. was looking for a buyer.  Mr. Prior applied and was hired and entered into this line of business.  He was eventually admitted as a junior partner and upon the deaths of Mr. Robert Lehr and George Buchheister, he was the sole surviving member and owner in 1934.

He was president of the Maryland Leaf Tobacco Association.  He was a member of the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland, the German Society of Maryland, the General German Orphan Association, the Germania Club and a director of the Finance Committee of the General German Aged People’s Home.  He belonged to Zion Church.

Radecke, Dietrich (12-19-1807 to 3-15-1886)

Dietrich Radecke was born in 1807 in Hanover, Germany.  Here he learned the wheelright trade.  There wasn’t much room for advancement in Germany at the time so he left for America.  He landed in Baltimore with $8.00 in his pocket.

He apprenticed in the factory of James Getty and learned the boxmaking trade.  While learning the trade, he attended school at night to learn the English language.  Before long, he was taken in as a partner by Getty also earning a share in the business.  A short thirteen years later, he found himself owner of the largest box factories in the city.  He sold the business just after the Civil War to his son and a son-in-law.  He then bought a 68 acre farm.  It was called Gay’s Enlargement, located off Belair Road, then part of then, Baltimore County.

He married Sophia Margaretha (Wedermann)(1809-1900).  Together they had nine children:  John Dietrich (1836-1912); Anna Catherine (Duker)(1837-1921); Herman Henry (1839-1908); Anna Sophia (1841-1892); Margaret Anna (Gunther)(1843-1924); Sophia Maria (Sack)(1845-1923); Louisa Margaret (Stoll)(1848-1936); Henry Frederick (1850-1929); and Philip (1852-1917).

He had a street, actually an avenue named after him in that area.  

He moved with his wife, from the farm, in the 70s to 400 St. Paul Street, one of his many city properties.

He died in 1886.  He is buried at Baltimore Cemetery.

Rinehart, Samuel  (6-9-1813 to)-Merchant/Retail

Samuel was born in Greene County, PA, the son of Barnet Rinehart and Sarah (Hook).  He was of German ancestry on his father’s side and Scotch on his mother’s.  His grandfather, Bennett, emigrated from Germany.  Bennett was killed in Green County by Indians.  His father Barnet was a colonel in the war of 1812.  Samuel left home when he was fifteen and journeyed on foot to Point of Rocks, MD, where he found his first employment hauling rocks out of the Potomac.  It wasn’t long after that that he was given a job as a clerk at a local shop.  After a short time, he was made a superintendent for a lumbering firm in Harper’s Ferry.  He stayed there for two years and was then appointed assistant superintendent of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, which then had headquarters in Sharpsburg.  He dabbled in many businesses including the Iron works at Antietam.  He returned to the canal business and moved from Hancock to Cumberland.  He ended up settling in Hancock and opened a store.  He suffered financially when the canal company suspended operations.  He eventually did become prosperous and again moved, this time to St. Joseph Missouri, where he engaged in banking.  This lasted only a few years and he again returned to Hancock and resumed his business as a merchant. 

From 1856 to 1858 he was also a partner in a tannery in Fulton County, PA.  and in 1872 built a sumac and bark mill at Hancock.  In 1881 he added a sawmill. 

His bid for county commissioner in 1881 was unsuccessful. 

He was married to Eliza Bevans in 1838 and together they had seven children.

Simon Rosenbaum is shown in the 1920 census living with his wife, Fredericke (Ricke 63), son Morris (39), Ester (daughter in law 23) and son Ira (36), as well as two servants.  It shows Simon as a merchant in dry goods.  

Stuart N. Rosenbaum, co-owner of Rosenbaums, son of Morris and Ester, was a WWII veteran, born September 25, 1924 and date of death May 17, 2012.    Morris and his wife Ester (nee Bamberger) were the parents of Simon and Louise.

Simon and the Rosenbaum family are buried at Eastview Cemetery in Cumberland.

Schloss Family-The sons of Moses (dod 1913) and Yetta Schloss (dod 1902)

Schloss, Julius (1867 to )

Julius was the son of Moses and Yetta and was born in Germany.  He received a public education and a business college education.  At the age of sixteen he began his employment with Schenthal & Greenbaum, later becoming a partner at Schloss Bros. & Co.  He was a member of the Suburban club and the Phoenix club.  He attended Shearith Israel Congregation.  He was married to Florence ‘Whitehill’ and they had one daughter, Helene. 

Schloss, Meyer (4-15-1871 to 2-14-1933)

Meyer was the son of Moses and Yetta Schloss.  He was born in Baltimore and received both a public and religious education.  At the age of seventeen he began working as a stock clerk at Schloss Bros. & Co., and later became a partner.  He attended Shearith Israel Temple.  He married Bertie (1881-1941) ‘Frank’ and had two children, Irving and Hilda.

Mr. Meyer Schloss is buried at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery.

Schneidereith, Charles William (10-13-1886 to 9-3-1976)

Born into a family of printers, Bill was born in Baltimore and educated at Knapp’s Academy and the Baltimore City public schools.  He graduated from Baltimore City College in the class of 1905.  He learned to set type at an early age.  He entered the printing business when it was evolving from hand set type to mechanical type setting; and from carved wood cuts for illustrations to electrotypes.  He was a strong supporter of the new techniques.  In 1921, C.W. Schneidereith and Sons purchased a new building next to the print shop.  Bill and his father designed the new and modern plant.  It was completed in 1922 and at the age of 36, Bill became the executive officer.  He was a leader in both the state and national Printing Industries of America.  He developed training programs and educational programs for the industry.  He also took a leading role in developing curriculum for the Baltimore City public schools. 

He succeeded his father as a member of the Board of Directors of the German Children’s Home in 1920 and continued to serve on this board throughout his life.  He was actively involved in a building fund drive for the German Children’s Home at the time of his death.  He was active and served as president of the Rotary Club of Baltimore.  He was one of the seven founders of the Baltimore Bibliophiles in 1954.  He and his son planned a totally new printing plant, which opened in Southwest Baltimore in 1971.

He belonged to the German Society of Maryland and the Society for the History of Germans in Maryland.

The family is interred in Druid Ridge Cemetery.

Schwarzenbach, George A (12-1847 to )

The Schwarzenbach building, located at 128-132 Baltimore Street in Cumberland, was constructed by Wright Butler.  The business moved into the building in 1912.  The building belonged to George Schwarzenbach who founded the business in 1869.  George was a German immigrant (born in Prussia according to the 1880 federal census), .  The name was later changed to Schwarzenbach & Son.  The son John joined the firm in 1888.  The 1880 census says George was born in 1848.  He was born in Prussia and at the time of that census he lived with sons John (7), George (4) and William (1).  The 1920 census says George was 72, his wife 65.  The children living at home at that time were George (43), William (39), Henrietta (37), and Emil (35).The Schwarzenbach building at 128-130 Baltimore Street is unique to Cumberland’s business district.   Designed by Cumberland architect Wright Butler and was constructed in 1912.

Schwarzenbach’s men’s clothing store closed in the late 1970s but the building was subsequently renovated to serve as offices for the Maryland state government and has been used for multiple other purposes including home of the Cumberland Theater. 

Smyser, James A.  (2-4-1849 to)-Iron

James Smyser, son of Edward and Jane, was from a German family.  His ggggrandfather James Smyser was a farmer in Rugelbach, Lustenau, near Dinkelsbühl, Germany.  His gggrandfather Martin immigrated sometime in the mid 1700’s and he died in York, PA.  James A. Smyser was born in York, Pennsylvania and education in the public schools there.  He attended the York County Academy until he was sixteen.  He became an apprentice in his father’s shop in 1867, the E. G. Smyser & Sons.  He worked his way up to the office where he excelled and eventually led the Baltimore branch.  This office opened at the corner of Charles & Fayette Sts., April 10, 1877 and remained there until it was moved to 4 Light Street until it was destroyed during the Great Fire of 1904.  It then was rebuilt at 214 Clay Street. 

According to the 1900 Federal Census, he and his wife Mary lived at 1931 St. Paul Street.

Mr. Smyser was president of the Builder’s Exchange, the Columbia Paper Bag Company, vice-president of the Lauer & Harper Company and a director in the First National Bank of Baltimore. 

He is a member of the Concordia Lodge, No. 13.  He was a Free Mason, Maryland Commandery, Knights Templar and the Baltimore Yacht Club.  He was a Lutheran.

He was married on February 20, 1890 to Mary E. Townsend. 

The Kirk Stieff Company:

The Piano Stieff

Stieff, Karl Maximilian Stieff /Charles M. (7-19-1805 to 1-1-1862)

Karl Maximilian Stieff (Charles M.)was the first of the family to arrive from Germany.  He emigrated in the early 1830s.  He earned his living in the beginning, by giving piano lessons.  He also imported pianos from Germany for his pupils.  In 1850, his son John Louis Stieff went to the gold fields and with the gold he found he was able to help his father begin manufacturing pianos and launced a business which became known throughout the U.S.  He was known as Charles M. Stieff.  He received a formal classical education in Stuttgart, taught music there for a time and also in the Wuerttemberg School of Music.  He married Katherine Regina (Rosch) (1809 to 1890) in 1831.  They emigrated in 1831 living first in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania before moving to Baltimore. 

In 1837 he was offered a position at the Haspert School in Baltimore to teach music and languages.  He often gave private lessons after school and on weekends.  It was around 1842 when he began to import pianos for his students and other clients.  He rented a facility at 7 Eutaw Street in 1843 and outgrew that space and moved to 7 Liberty Street (1849 Directory).  He knew by mid century that he wanted to build his own pianos and in 1856 he opened a factory on Sharp Street.  It was here that he invited Jacob Gross, a German piano builder, to join his firm (see biographical on Mr. Gross on this page).  The Sharp Street factory was destroyed by fire on December 19, 1857 and a new location at Baltimore Street and Greene Street was purchased.  This location also was eventually too small and the factory moved to Nos. 84 and 86 Camden Street near Howard Street.  Charles died shortly after this move and the factory was taken over by his wife (until 1867, her dod 1890) and three of their sons.  One son left (John Louis in 1876-see Stieff Silver) and the youngest son, George joined the firm. 

The years before and immediately after WWI were the greatest years of prosperity.  They made grand, square, small square and uprights.  They introduced the 'Baby Grand' in 1870s, which became a huge seller.  In their advertising they described their pianos as built with only the finest, thoroughly seasoned grain woods and note that every instrument was strung with the best 'Pohlmann German steel wires on iron frames'.  Their pianos won many awards including the coveted 'Medaille d'Argent and the Diplome d'Honneur at the Paris Exposition in 1878.  Many other awards were taken in many state fairs including California, Washington DC., Massachusetts and North Carolina.

There are two articles in the Music Trade Review in the years 1900 and 1901 that speak of the Stieff's Picnic (the 58th and 59th) respectively.  It talks about an employee picinic at Darley Park where the day is celebrated with luncheons and speakers and the evenings the people are entertained by many of the singing societies of Baltimore.  The end of the articles indicate that it was an employee tradition to visit the gravesites of Charles M. and Catherine at Baltimore Cemetery and the grave of Jacob Gross (bio this page) at Loudon Park.  During this time, the articles indicate that Fred P. Stieff is President.

The Silver Stieff

The founder of the firm now known as the Kirk Stieff Company was John Louis Stieff’s youngest son, Charles Clinton (1861 to 5-26-1923), who left the piano company and became a wholesale silver distributor.  It was first located in a small shop on Cider Alley near Redwood Street.  This shop supplied sterling flatware to a retail store located on Liberty Street.  This shop had grown to five retail locations.   The first name of the firm was The Sterling Silver Manufacturing Company.  In December 1892, it was incorporated.  It became a national company represented in every major U.S. city.  By 1925 with the additional of the other retail locations, the Stieff Company moved operations to the large Wyman Park manufacturing facility.

The company was the first to introduce the Repousse style of ornamentation on silver in America.  This pattern, the original flower and foliage marketed as Kirk Repousse, is commonly known as ‘Baltimore Silver’. 

In 1939 they began to make reproductions of artifacts of Colonial Williamsburg, giving the company a new course in museum and restoration work.  The firm gained national recognization for their work in this area.  They were involved in restorations of Monticello, Old Sturbridge, the Newport Preservation Society, Mystic Seaport, Historic Charleston, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian Institution.

Rodney Stieff joined the company in 1946 after serving military service.  In 1948, Charles C. Stieff, II joined and in 1954 Gideon N. Stieff, Jr. 

In 1974, James W. Stieff, fourth generation, entered the firm.  Four years later the firm merged with the Samuel Kirk Silver Company, America’s oldest silversmiths.  In 1990, the finalization of a merger with Lenox, Inc., was completed.  According to the terms of the agreement, Stieff was guaranteed a five year lease of the Hampden plant so that the 200 employees would not be diplaced.

For an exceptional history of The Stieff Company, click here.  This site is maintained by Scott Perkins. The site includes a history of the company prepared by Gideon Stieff.

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

John B. Thomas was born in Frederick.  His grandmother was of German descent (see Father’s bio in Government/Law/Politics).  He was educated at Mercersburg College in PA. and desired to enter the drug business.  He matriculated at the Maryland College of Pharmacy and graduated in 1872.  He immediately began his business, serving as president of Thomas & Thomas company, the largest retail drug business in the city of Baltimore at that time.

He was a member of the Council of the American Pharmaceutical Assocaition from 1909 to 1912; president of the General Alumni Association of the University of Maryland from 1909-1910; president of the Maryland Pharmaceutical Association from 1909-1910.

Tochterman, Thomas George (1879 to 1938)                                            

Tochterman, Thomas George Jr. (10-20-1912 to9-5-1998)                

Tochterman, Edward (10-18-1916 to 3-9-2008)

Thomas, born in Pennsylvania, was of German descent and first opened his shop in 1916 on the first floor of his home on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore.  The family name was initially spelled Tochtermann, but the second ‘n’ was dropped during World War I due to the town’s anti-German sentiment.  He was employed at the Fish Market that stood where Port Discovery now stands.  While working here, he would bring home the leftover stock, primarily fish and crabs, to sell as bait.

The store has stood for 100+ years.  It hasn’t modernized but has expanded a few times taking in four of the adjoining buildings.  The shop was taken over by Thomas’ son, Tommy Jr. and then by Tony Tochterman, the grandson of the original owner.  

Thomas was married to Anna K. (Fries) (1889 to 4-11-1956).  Thomas Jr., married Antoinette (Kolojeski) (1913 to 2007).  The youngest son , Edward Tochterman also worked at the shop.  Edward was married to Catherine Carpenter in 1939.

1940 Census shows living at 1923 Eastern Avenue, Thomas as head and Antoinette as his wife.  His daughter Mary is also living there at the time.  In the next house at 1925 Eastern Avenue and lists Anna as head living with son Edward and Daughter in law, Catherine .  This is the founders family.

The Tochtermans are buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery.

von Kapf, Herman (4-29-1818 to 4-30-1892)

Mr. von Kapf was one of the best known German-American merchants in the city.

He was born in Lorngo, Duchy of Lippe-Detmold  and came to this country at the age of 21 years.  He also was an active member of many of the German Societies of the city and for a number of years was the honored president of the "German Society of Maryland."

 Wagner, Martin (7-24-1849 to 12-26-1903)-Cannery

Martin Wagner was the son of German immigrants.

Martin Wagner was one of Baltimore’s premiere canners with his ‘Dog’s Head’ brand tomatoes, peaches, apples, beans and peas shipping to every state in the Union.  He also shipped fruit and oysters.  He had a large plant in Baltimore on lower Boston Street, near tiny Wagner Street, named for him, but moved to larger facilities, a 50 acre tract of land above Curtis Creek.  The area bears his name, Wagners Point.  Here he was closer to the Eastern Shore growers and oystermen.  Here he built a large canning factory.  He also built the little town of East Brooklyn and here many immigrants lived and many worked for him.  

Martin married Elizabeth M. (12-23-1852 to 6-8-1932).  He died December 26, 1903 and is buried at Green Mount Cemetery.

Walpert, Frederick (9-8-1833 to 9-29-1898)

Frederick Walpert was born in Treysa, near Cassel. At the age of 15 years he came to America. For thirty-five years he was at the head of the well-known firm: F. Walpert & Co., Manufacturers of Mattresses, etc. At the time of his death he was also president of "The Economy Savings Bank" and one of the directors of "The American National Bank," occupying besides many other positions of trust and responsibility.

Weber, August Carl (10-5-1862 to 7-30-1915)

Mr. Weber was born in Baltimore, the son of Carl and Christina Weber.  He and his family emigrated to the US in 1865.  His father was a prominent business man.  In 1867 August was taken back to Germany and attended school there until he was twelve.  He was sent back to the US and finished his education here at the city public schools.  He graduated from Baltimore City College in 1883. 

He began his business career as a clerk with Kahn & Schloss, merchant tailors and after several years moved to the Torsch Packing Company.  He then began his long career with the George Gunther Brewing Company, where he served as their bookkeeper until 1900.  When the company was reorganized, he became a stockholder and the secretary of the George Gunther, Jr., Brewing Co.  He remained at this position until his death.  He also served as secretary of the Germania Building & Loan Association and the Lloyd Permanent Building and Savings Association, where he was a charter member. 

He was a Mason and an active member of Zion Church.

Wehr, August (1844 to )-Bricks/Property Investor

August Wehr was born in Prussia.  The family emigrated to the U.S. in 1858.  He became naturalized in 1866.  The 1870 census shows him in Baltimore County, living with parents Frederick and Johanna.  This indicates he was a painter.   He was first listed in the Baltimore City Directory as a ‘brick man’ with a house and business located on Philadelphia Road and Monument Street.  The company also had an office at the corner of Fairmount Avenue and Chester Street. 

August made some wise investments, purchasing properties from Francis Yewell, located on Eutaw Street.  Wehr bought four houses along the 2400 block in 1896.  He eventually retired to one of the houses at 2436 Eutaw Place. (1920 Census).

Wienefeld, Henry L. (1-27-1871 to 8-30-1955) 

Mr. Wienefeld was born in Rothenburg an der Fulda.  He owned a cigar factory.  He was president of the Zion church council.  He also was president of the Canstatter Volksfest Verein and organized the annual festivals.  He was at the head of the Sängerfest Association for their tri-ennial Sängerfest of the North-Eastern National group.  The event was held in May of 1938 and was a huge success.  It was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory.  He was a director of the Greisenheim, president of the Arion Singing Society and an active member of Sincerity Lodge.  He founded the Männerverein of Zion Church.

In 1907 he was elected to the Baltimore City Council and served several terms.  He visited the White House and met with President Truman to make a plea that the German clubs engaged in cultural and humanitarian endeavors maintain their tax exempt status. 

Wilkens, William (10-13-1817 to 1879)

Mr. Wilkens born in Osterlinde, Germany.  His father Christian Wilkens was a farmer and eventual dry-goods manufacturer.  The family moved to Hildesheim, where William received his education.  After he completed school he began his business career in a dry goods stored.  He felt that America would offer opportunities and decided to come to the U.S.  He left his home on June 23, 1836 and walked to Bremen (over 100 miles).  He arrived in New York on September 17, 1836.  He left immediately for Philadelphia where he worked at the factory of William Horstmann for about one year.  He journeyed to New Orleans and entered the furniture business.  That adventure did not last and he made his way back to Philadelphia in 1841.  He stayed there about 18 months and married his first wife.  He made a trip to Germany to visit his father.  During his first stay in Philadelphia, he boarded with H. Gerker who manufactured curled hair.  When returning to the U.S. from Germany, he came to Baltimore and began a ‘hair factory’.  There was no other in the area.  So in 1843 he commenced the curled hair and glue business in Baltimore.   The business was extremely successful and at the height of his business he was employing large capital and several hundred employees and manufacturing about 40,000 pounds of product per week. 

He was so successful he had to seek larger accommodations several times.  He built a factory on Frederick Road.  The grounds at one time covered over fifteen acres.  He also purchased an additional one hundred and fifty acres in the area, which were occupied by the dwellings of his employees.  The factory had a side track that was used to transport the product to all parts of the country.  It was also the first telephone introduced in Baltimore.  This telephone connected his factory on Frederick Road to his factory on Pratt and Howard Streets.  He had branches in New York, Chicago and St. Louis. 

Mr. Wilkens was a member of the Odd-Fellow and Masonic fraternities.  He was confirmed Lutheran at his family church in Germany.  In 1853 he took on an associate, Herman H. Graue, who conducted the business, with the sons of Mr. Wilkins upon Mr. Wilkins retirement. 

H.L. Mencken once commented that they didn't have to worry about the harbor smells because they had a rival perfume, that of the Wilkins hair factory on Frederick Rd.  When a breeze from the southwest, bouncing its way over the Wilkens factory reached Hollins Street, the effect was almost that of poison gas. 

Mr. Wilkens was married three times (Sophia Heyer, Heleln Schluter and Catherine Lorbacher).  He fathered seven children.  Mr. Wilkens is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.  His monument is made of a particular type of granite that is no longer available.

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