The Short Life of Emma’s Seventh Child

After the mill business in Olvenstedt turned out to be a complete disaster in 1883 at the very latest, P.F.W. Klopp and his wife Emma moved with their six children to Magdeburg- Neustadt. The people they dealt with, work prospects and accommodation remain a gap still to be filled in the family research. The fact is that Emma’s ninety-one-year-old grandfather Johann Christian Bauer of Jewish ancestry passed away on December 16, 1883, in Magdeburg-Sudenburg. What amount of inheritance he bequeathed to the Emma Klopp family can no longer be ascertained, but must have been considerable. For it secured the next six years of living expenses in Jersleben and must have formed the basis for the acquisition of a house and property in Wolmirstedt further down the road.

While enjoying the unexpected financial blessing, Emma was also thankfully looking forward to her seventh pregnancy. In August 1884 she gave birth in Magdeburg-Neustadt to her fourth son (seventh child) August Otto Wilhelm. Although Emma was briefly hospitalized in and around this time, the possibility of hospital birth in those days must be excluded. Besides Emma Klopp was of a robust physical constitution and always gave birth at home without any complications.