Maria Rupp and Richard Kroether

"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Maria Rupp was born in Freinsheim, the daughter of Conrad Rupp and Barbara Fett. She was christened on 20 Jul 1862.

Maria was the first of the five Rupp siblings to immigrate to the States, although she was proceeded by her half-sister Elisabetha Bloch. Maria married Richard Kroether in Manhattan on 25 May 1881. She was almost certainly the Maria Rupp who arrived in NYC five days before the marriage aboard the SS P Caland out of Rotterdam. The reason I think this is that when Richard applied for a passport for himself, his wife and his children on 02 Aug 1894, he said that he had arrived in NYC on 20 May 1881 about this same ship. However, he's not listed on the passenger manifest. I have to wonder if he used Maria's arrival records instead of his own.

Richard was himself from Freinsheim, the son of Wilhelm Kroether and Elizabeth Selzer. He was born on 29 Dec 1860 and christened on 13 Jan 1861. (His great-great-great- or great-great-great-great-grandfather Johann Nicolaus Krether had a daughter who married Johann Peter Hohl.) I haven't been able to find him on any passenger manifests. On a second passport application dated 13 May 1904, he said he arrived in NYC on 05 May 1881 aboard the SS Gallant out of Rotterdam. There was no ship with the name operating at this period. Richard's passport application stated that he sailed from Rotterdam and arrived in NYC on 20 May 1881, with no ship named.

Richard was naturalized on 13 Oct 1887. At the time he (and presumably Maria and their children) were living at 1811 2nd Avenue. He was working as a driver. His naturalization was witnessed by Patrick Connolly, which may suggest that Maria's brother Frank had not yet arrived in the States.

As far as I can tell Richard and Maria had six children, of whom two died young:

In 1894 Richard, Maria and the surviving four children went abroad to Germany for three months. Richard's passport application on 02 Aug 1894 was witnessed by Frank Rupp. Richard's occupation was given as merchant. However when the family returned to NYC on 30 Oct 1894 aboard the SS Noordland out of Antwerp, Richard was described as a saloon keeper.

The edition of the New York Times published 16 Feb 1900 reports that Francis J Schnugg had transferred a property on the east side of 2nd Avenue, 76.2' north of 91st Street, to "Richard Krother and wife" on January 31. The acquisition was apparently paid for by a mortgage of $20,000 granted to Richard by George Ehret. In the census taken four months later, the "Kragen" family was living at 1754 2nd Avenue, which fits the description of the property. Richard owned his own saloon - where 15-year-old Frank worked as a bartender.

Richard applied for a second passport on 13 May 1904. Apparently the children didn't go along on this trip. Mr and Mrs "R Krother" of 1754 2nd Avenue in NYC returned from Germany on 02 Sep 1904 aboard the SS Moltke out of Cuxhaven. Note that this trip overlapped a trip by Maria's brother Frank, his wife Helene and their son Arthur to Luxembourg in July-August 1904.

Nothing much had changed in the 1905 NY State Census, except that 17-year-old "Tillie" (Mathilda) was no longer in school and was doing housework.

On 31 Jan 1906 Richard transferred the title for 1754 2nd Avenue to George Ehret. Six months later, the New York Daily Tribune published 17 Jul 1906 reported the transfer of 627 and 629 East 137th Street from Sigmund Glauber to Richard Krother.

On 29 Nov 1906 Richard and Maria's oldest son, Frank, married Louise Ulmer. Like Frank, Louise was the daughter of German immigrants. She was born 30 Jul 1885 in Manhattan to Samuel Ulmer and Katharina Bopp.

1909 and 1910 were unusual years for real estate in the Kroether family. On 11 Oct 1909 Richard transferred the property at 627-629 East 137th Street to Frank. This may have been done to protect the property from legal action. On 20 Nov 1909 the New York Herald published notice of a pending legal action by Arthur G Muhlker against "Richard Krother et al" concerning 627-629 East 137th Street. The notice specified that the purpose of the action was to set aside deeds. Muhlker was a builder and contractor turned real estate broker, a fairly active one judging by the number of newspaper notices attached to his name from the late 1890s to the early 1930s. On 12 Apr 1910, Frank transferred the property back to Richard. Apparently Muhlker had been dealt with.

The census conducted in April 1910 enumerated 14 households at 627-629 East 137th Street - none of them the Kroethers. Richard, Maria and their three younger children were renting quarters at 373 East 156th Street in the Bronx. Richard was working at a cafe. His job is described as something that looks like "Cheb Goods." Mathilda had no job outside the home. William was working as a surveyor for a brokerage firm and Cora as a milliner.

Cora married Duncan Augustus Whelan in Manhattan on 04 Jan 1913. Duncan was born on 10 Dec 1888, the son of Canadian immigrants John Whelan and Alice "Hesie" Johnston. He was born in Cambridge, MA, but his family had moved to Connecticut by 1890.

A year before Cora's wedding, on 07 Jan 1912, the New York Herald published the following notice:

SALE or exchange, four 6 story Apartment, 627 East 137th st. Bargain. Agent, afternoons.

I know that the Kroethers still owned the building at that point because ten days later, the New York EveningPost reported that Martha Stauffer was suing the landlord at "827" East 137th Street, William Kroether. On 06 Dec 1911, Ms Stauffer had tripped over a loose board on a staircase while carrying her three-year-old daughter. Both she and the child were thrown to the bottom of the staircase. She was suing William for $85,000 on her own behalf - the equivalent of more than $2 million dollars in 2017 - and "a like amount" on her daughter's behalf.

I wasn't able to find out whether not Ms Stauffer was successful in her lawsuit. However, this is the last time I've been able to find that any connection between 627-629 East 137th Street and the Kroethers was mentioned in print. My working hypothesis is that the Kroethers exchanged this property for the one three blocks east at 373-375 East 137th Street, which they certainly owned by March 1915.

On 03 Mar 1915 the New York Press reported that Richard Krother had transferred 373-375 East 137th Street to Louis Hubener in exchange for 336-338 East 156th Street. Richard's address was given as 747 Melrose Avenue, which is on the NW corner of Melrose and East 156th. It's slight east of the address at which the Kroethers were enumerated in 1910 and a bit more than a block east of the new property. On the same day the New York Times reported that Richard Kroether had been granted a mortgage on 336-338 East 156th Street by Herman Wiebke.

Three months later, on Friday 28 May 1915, the Press published a notice of pending legal action by Frank John Nageldinger against Richard Krother et al regarding the foreclosure of the mortgage on 373 East 137th Street, i.e., the property that the Kroethers had transferred to Louis Hubener. I'm not sure how Mr Hubener felt about this. It almost sounds as if Richard had been in trouble with his mortgage at 373 East 137th Street, so he exchanged that property for another one, then took out a mortage with a different mortgagee on the new property. Nice work, Richard! With a lawsuit filed, he understandably felt the need to protect his assets. The following Wednesday, the New York Herald reported that on 29 May 1915, Richard had transferred 336-338 East 156th Street to William.

The New York Press reported that 373 East 137th Street was sold at auction to John Nageldinger on 08 Feb 1916. (I'm still wondering how Louis Hubener felt about this.) A month later both the Mount Vernon Daily Argus and the New York Times reported that William had transferred 336-337 East 156th back to Richard. (The ArgusM scooped the Times by five days, publishing the item on 03 Mar 1916.)

The Kroethers were back in business. On 20 Apr 1916 the New York Sun reported that Richard and Frank had rented the corner store on the NE corner of Melrose Avenue - i.e., across the street from 747 Melrose - for four years from Anna M Scheele. Articles in the New York Evening Telegram and New York Evening World described this corner as the location of a saloon owned by Richard "Crothiers."

William married Reina Florence Loasby in the Bronx on 17 Sep 1916. Reina was born in Manhattan 14 May 1895, the daughter of English immigrants Samuel Loasby and Charlotte Smith.

By January 1920, only Richard, Maria and Matilda were left at 747 Melrose Avenue. Richard was still operating a cafe. Maria died on 19 Feb 1920 and was buried in St Michael's Cemetery.

1921 ended some excitement. Richard's saloon at 401 East 156th Street - the NE corner of 156th and Melrose - was held up on 03 Dec 1921. The thieves collected $1,000 from Richard and 11 customers and escaped in a green automobile.

On 13 Apr 1922 Richard and Mathilda applied for passports, stating that they intended to visit Holland, Germany, France and Switzerland They planned to leave aboard the SS Vestris on 20 May 1922 and return within one year. Richard witnessed Mathilda's passport, but his own was witnessed by Samuel Ulmer, probably Frank Kroether's brother-in-law but possibly his father-in-law.

Richard and Mathilda were gone for six months, returning to NYC on 24 Nov 1922 aboard the SS George Washington out of Bremen.

I don't know if this had anything to do with their trip, but on 15 May 1923 Hans Sitzler arrived in NYC aboard the SS Mount Clinton out of Hamburg. Hans had been born in Freinsheim 11 Apr 1901. He left behind his stepfather Wilhelm Katz at Herrenstrasse 9, Freinsheim, and was going to join his "uncle" Richard Kröther at 147 Melrose Avenue in New York. Almost six months later on 01 Nov 1923, Rosa Katz and Lotte Brueckmann arrived in NYC aboard the SS Cleveland out of Hamburg. Both were both in Freinsheim, Rosa in 1904-1905 and Lotte in 1905-1906. Rosa left behind her father Wilhelm Katz, while Lotte left behind her father Konrad Brueckmann. Both were going to join their "uncle" Richard Kröther at 747 Melrose Avenue.

I don't think that Richard Kroether was Hans', Rosa's or Lotte's uncle in the strictest sense. He seems to have had five brothers but no sisters. And obviously he didn't marry Konrad Brueckmann's sister or Wilhelm Katz's sister. There definitely seems to have been some kind of connection among the families though. It might help if I knew the names of Konrad Ludwig Brueckmann's wife (Charlotta's mother) and Wilhelm Katz's wife (Hans Sitzler's and Rosa Katz's mother). Or they may have simply all been close friends.

On 31 Jan 1924 Richard and Mathilda returned from another trip abroad, but not to Europe. They arrived aboard the SS Arcadian out of Bermuda.

Richard Kroether died at 747 Melrose Avenue on 05 Feb 1926. He was buried in St Michael's Cemetery.

"Charlotte Bruckman" married "John Sitzler" in the Bronx on 09 Oct 1926. Then in 1928 John and Lotte went back to Germany. When they returned on the SS Albert Ballin out of Hamburg, Lotte's sister Margaretha came with them. On 15 Mar 1929 Maria Rupp Kroether's nephew Arthur Frank Rupp married Margaretha Brueckmann, at which point Richard would have become, if not John Sitzler's uncle, at least the uncle-by-marriage of John's wife's brother-in-law.

After her father's death, Mathilda went to live with her sister, Cora Kroether Whelan Bassett and Cora's second husband, Fred. The 1930 census found them living in Queens at 8773 118th Street, along with Cora's daughter Marion Whelan. During the 1930s Mathilda ("Tillie") accompanied the family on trips up to Henry Keyser's farm in Schoharie County. By 1940 Marion was gone and the family had moved to 8521 119th Street, AKA Lefferts Boulevard. Mathilda died there on 25 Jul 1940.

Mathilda was buried at St Michael's along with her parents - and with her brother-in-law, Duncan Whelan. In fact, she shares space with Duncan on the pillar that serves as a grave stone. Cora must have decided that since she herself would be buried with Frederick.

If you look at the side of the pillar showing Maria and Richard's names, there appears to be a third pair of names to their left, one for someone who was born in '83 and died in '85, the other for someone who was born in '81 and died in '93. I believe these to be Charles and Richard Jr, Maria and Richard's first two children. (The photos are courtesy of VJS at findagrave.com.)

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In memory of Janet A Werner, 1931-2015