Magdeburg

August Otto Wilhelm Klopp (1884 – 1886) – Part I

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The Short Life of Emma’s Seventh Child

After the mill business in Olvenstedt turned out to be a complete disaster in 1893 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.

Bahnhof Magdeburg Neustadt - Foto: geolocation.ws

Bahnhof Magdeburg Neustadt – Foto: geolocation.ws

While enjoying the unexpected financial blessing, Emma was also thankfully looking forward to her seventh pregnancy. In August 1884 she bore in Magdeburg-Neustadt her fourth son (seventh child) August Otto Wilhelm. Although Emma was briefly hospitalized in and around this time, the possibility of a 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.

Remark: Every once in a while I need to remind my readers, who praise me for the research on the Klopp family, that the author of this amazing story of our ancestry is not I but Eberhard Klopp, a distant cousin of mine. After an intensive research over a period of many years in the 90’s he published the results in Germany under the title “Ein Brief an die Nachfahren der Familie Klopp aus Altendorf/Brome und Wolmirstedt“. Since many of the descendants have spread all over the North American continent and most of them no longer speak German, I endeavored to translate the relevant parts of his book into English.

Anna Rosa Klopp (1881 – 1924) – Part II

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Futile Rescue Mission for Brother Friedrich

Klopp Family Tree – Chart I – II

Already in the middle of 1919 the Diesing family resettled in Gommern near Magdeburg. Mother Emma, having to abandon her place in West Prussia, which now belonged to Poland, found temporary shelter with the Diesing family. From here according to a postcard written from the inn “Gasthof zum Stern” Emma made contact with her son Ferdinand in Elbeu.

City Hall of Gommern - Photo Credit: wikipedia.org

City Hall of Gommern – Photo Credit: wikipedia.org

In 1921 Rosa made a last-ditch attempt to seek reconciliation between the family members most of them leaning towards the Emma Klopp faction and the few others of Emma’s eldest son Friedrich (see the Klopp Grandparents VIII for more details on the bitter family feud that lasted half a century). Friedrich had been written off and treated as an outcast by the rest of the family.

Magdeburg - Monastery of Our Lady - Photo Credit: wikipedia.org

Magdeburg – Monastery of Our Lady – Photo Credit: wikipedia.org

So August Diesing, acting on Rosa’s urgent plea, got together with his brother-in-law Friedrich Klopp. He acquired by auction an abandoned school building with the intention to open up a construction business. The plan seemed to be a promising one, since August with the expertise in masonry and carpentry was well qualified for the envisioned new venture. Friedrich, however, in view of his impoverished financial situation, could at best offer merely his good will and hands for this new type of business.

In a time, when August faced the fate of many others in Germany and struggled with financial problems and increasing unemployment, he gave up his noble plan to help out his wife’s eldest brother with employment and a modest income. Instead, he turned to the other financially more robust members of the Klopp family to support his business. This treachery according to an oracle pronounced by Friedrich’s mother-in-law in Zielitz could not be left unpunished. “Whoever gets involved with the Klopps should know exactly, what he is letting himself into.” How this oracle is being fulfilled will be the subject of the next post on Anna Rosa Klopp.