Dad

Army Air Corps, 1944

1940 Census -- Hefenieder

Because I was fairly sure where the Hefenieders lived in 1940, I searched the newly-issued 1940 Census for them.  I was surprised to find so many peopoe in the house!  In addition to my grandparents, dad, and an uncles' family, I also found my aunt and her family!  I don'tknow if they were living there, or just happened to be visiting on census day.

Hefenieder, Adam, head, 65
Hefenieder, Anna, wife, 54
Hefenieder, Adam Jr., son, 24
Hefenieder, George, son, 31
Hefenieder, Amelia, daughter in law, 27
Hefenieder, Vivian, granddaughter, 5
Hefenieder, Carol, granddaughter, 3
Hefenieder, Ether, granddaughter, 1

and

Knowles, Roy, head, 46
Knowles, Marie, wife, 34
Knowles, Carol Jean, daughter, 17
Knowles, ? Henry, son, 14
Knowles, Phyllis Jane, 14
Knowles, Kenneth Lloyd, 13
Knowles, Joanna Marie, 4

I grew up in this house, and it was tight with four kids.  I can't imagine having 15 people there.

Grandpa was on line 29, which called for supplementary questions, but someone else was asked those questions.   I suppose because Grandpa's English was poor.

1200th Anniversary

Schlitz, in Hesse, Germany, is celebrating its 1200th anniversary as a settlement this summer.

From wikipedia:

The name Schlitz had its first documentary mention in 812.

Schlitz is known throughout Hesse for the town's five castles and is also called the Romantische Burgenstadt Schlitz (the Romantic Castle Town of Schlitz).

One peculiarity about the town is its so-called Burgenring, or Castle Ring, with the town built on a hill with its accumulated castles, towers, lords' houses, the town church and many half-timbered houses presenting a well preserved, compact, historic Old Town.

The Lords of Schlitz had built up their mastery in an autonomous fief from the Fulda Abbey. As of 1404 they were calling themselves Schlitz von Görtz (in documents also Gurz or Görz). After the Reformation came in 1563, and as a result of the Thirty Years' War, however, they broke away from Fulda. In 1677, they became Imperial Barons and, in 1726, Imperial Counts. In 1806, the area passed to Hesse-Darmstadt.

Sophia Hefenieder

Sophia came to America with her brother and his family -- My grandparents. Sophia is my great aunt.

From a tree published by Glenn LaRoy Sitzman, 2002
http://www.volgagerman.net/Villages/Huck/lettervideosreports/Glenn-manuscript.htm

The family of Conrad Kinsfather
11.5 Conrad Kinsfather of Toppenish, WA apparently believed he was born in Lincoln, NE, since this was the birth information provided in his obituary. He was, however, born in Huck, Russia, and arrived at Ellis Island, NY on 14 June 1892, at the age of eight. He arrived with his mother, Justina (Hardt) Kindsvater and two older brothers, George and John. He is said to have been born on 15. Dec. 1884. This date cannot be verified because the records at Huck have not been preserved beyond the year 1858. He lived for several years at Lincoln, NE and then for a few years at Shell Lake, WI where his mother died a short time before his nineteenth birthday.

The two older brothers moved to Billings, MT about 1908, according to the obituary for John, and about 1907, according to the obituary for George. It is not clear whether Conrad went first to Billings or to Lincoln from Wisconsin. What is clear is that Conrad married Sofia Maria Hefeneider at Lincoln, and that Roy, their first child, was born in Billings in 1909. Sophia had come from Norka, Russia in 1906. Sophia was born at Norka on 28 March 1887, and died at Yakima, WA on 18 July 1951, at age 63 years, 8 months, 10 days. Conrad died in Yakima on 13 May 1959, at age 74 years, 4 months, 28 days.

I have taken information about Conrad and Sophia’s children from various sources: from their cousin, Rachel Kinsfater, from obituaries, and from a biographical sketch in the book “Germans from Russia in the Yakima Valley prior to 1940,” published by the Central Washington Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and printed by Shields Printing, Yakima, WA 1990.

1. Roy Kindsfather, b. Billings, MT 1909; d. Yakima, WA 1973. Married Freda Harding
2. Leo Kindsfather, b. Billings, MT 12 Dec. 1911; d. 11 Dec. 1959 “He served in the military during WWII; he was a sergeant with the 358 Bomb Squad AAF.” Germans from Russia book
3. John Kindsfather, b. Billings, MT Lived in Lebanon, OR
4. Conrad Kindsfather, b. 29 Apr. 1917. Married Virginia Putnam; they lived at Yakima, WA
5. Elsie Kindsfather, b. in Toppenish, WA, 1919 “She married Mr. Burkhart.” She was called Mrs. James Hunt in obituaries for Conrad and Sophia.
6. Alfred Kindsfather, b. in Toppenish, WA, 7 Apr. 1921; d. 20 Apr. 1952
7. Clara Kindsfather lived in Portland, OR in 1990; she married Richard Owen.
8. Freda Kindsfather (Mrs. Alvin Charles) lived at Thorp, WA in 1990.

Elizabeth Hefenieder

From a Brehm family tree on-line:

Nicholas Krieger, born 30 August 1853 in Norka, Russia; died 1928 in Norka, Russia. He married Elizabeth Hefenieder on 15 Feb. 1900 in Norka, Russia. She was born about 1855 in Norka, Russia; died in Norka Russia

Pretty sure she's a relative, but what was her relationship to my grandfather? Aunt? Cousin? Elder sister? They married about the same time as my grandparents, but my grandparents were a generation younger.

Haffnieter in Colorado

Found the surname "Haffnieter" in the Colorado phone book. John and Doug in Boulder, and Karen in Grand Junction.

Possible descendants of John Hefenieder, my great uncle?

Hafeneder?

Ancestry is sponoring 15 days of free database searching. Tuesday's data base was WW1 Personnel Rosters from Bavaria, Germany.

There were 141 entries on men with the last name of "Hafender." Pretty close to Hefenieder, in my opinion. Clearly, more work is needed on this topic. Names included Georg, Heinrich, Johann, Josep, Franz, Xaver (Xavier?)

Hefenieder Origins in Germany?

I've found a bit of information from the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia suggesting that the original Hefenieder / Hefeneider / Hefeneder family that settled in Russia originated in the town of Schlitz, Germany.

Information found at: www.ahsgr.org/findancestors/GO/goNi.htm

This is a photograph of Schlitz from a German tourism website at Christmas time. An old watchtower is decorated as a candle.

Schlitz is about an hour and a half northeast of Frankfurt am Main. Binsfeld, believed to be the ancestral home of the Hammer family (mom's side) is about an hour and a half south of Frankfurt am Main.

There is an article in the "Stars and Stripes" with a couple of photos of Schlitz:
www.stripes.com/military-life/travel/drink-in-the-ancient-german-origin-of-schlitz-beer-1.79062

A Tragedy

A tale from "Memories of Norka," by Conrad Brill. Found here http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/colonies/russia/mother_colonies/colony_norka_memories.html

The Hefenieder branch in Portland spells their name, to this day, as "Hefeneader."

“A family named Hefeneader lived in the first row in Norka, at Unterdorf and Mitteldorf line. For years as a boy I heard gossip about how they got their wealth, so I always consider that part of it as a ghost story, but their death, later on, while I was a boy, and described to our villagers by a family friend, Adam, Soie ohmer schiezer Schwartz, was a truly tragic ending.

“The Hefeneader’s neighbors, the Aschenbrenner’s, used to tell that back in the 1860 70's, a Russian peasant came to the Hefeneader’s door on a cold rainy night, seeking food and shelter. They fed him and gave him a place to sleep in the cellar. At that time they had a poor man’s home like most of the neighboring villagers. What I can remember of the home in 1905 era, is a beautiful brick place, with brick or cement block outbuildings, a building with hewn, notched logs, (log cabin style) all with metal roofs, which was a sign of wealth. The place also had a solid wood fence around it, covered with metal.

“The story was that in those earlier days, the Hefeneaders were rewarded by this peasant, who stayed on with them, with money he made for them in appreciation for the food and lodging. As the story went, he had just been released from confinement for counterfeiting and supposedly had treasury plates or counterfeit plates in his possession. He was supposed to have made money for them, but was ready to leave, but they decided to keep him as a secret prisoner, forcing him to make more money. They built the nice brick home, then the outbuildings and fence. Later they built a flourmill in a Russian village near Saratov. Mrs. Aschenbrenner could tell for hours of the trips from cellar to house the Russian must have made dragging chains, which they could hear rattling as he was hauled back and forth in the night. She said he must have died and was eventually thrown into an old well and the log shed built over it when he died.

“In about 1905-09 period . . . a group of Russian bandits rode into the mill property shooting all of the employees and the old Hefeneader couple, too. Adam Schwartz was there working for them and was in his bedroom getting dressed when he heard the hoof beats of the riders coming into the yard, then screaming and shooting started, so he crawled into the bedding drawer under the bed, pulling a quilt down over himself, so he wasn't discovered.

“He walked back to Norka to inform our village councilors of the raid, and they sent three wagons to go to the mill and bring back any salvageable property they could. My brothers John and Conrad took a wagon, as did a neighbor Hessler, who was a relative of Hefeneaders. Garte Krieger was married to the Hefeneader’s daughter. The home of the Hefeneaders was taken over by the Russian government and used as the State owned liquor store after the death of the old couple. It was situated next door to the Aschenbrenner’s home. “