The story of my "rather homely, undeveloped, and uneducated great great grandmother Minnie Katzenberger is posted below. Born in Bavaria in 1867, Minnie went on to marry a Voll, my dad's mother's name. Christina Voll married George Meiners in 1912 and they had 10 children, one of whom was my dad Mel Meiners. So how did the Meiners family name launch in America? My son Simon turned up this research: "The oldest ancestor I can find is Mel’s great-grandfather, Johann Gerhard “George” Meiners (1835-1909). Came on a ship from Germany to New Orleans in 1857. First looked for work in Saint Louis but later settled in Louisville. Married Mel’s great-grandmother Maria Lemke in 1859. After she died of dropsy in 1884, he
Tag: family history
Another potential scalawag Meiners family member, the bird grifter
My son Simon does research for a living. He turned up the salacious 1884 info about Minnie Katzenberger and her father's unlucky 1904 duel with a rival suitor. Simon sent this intriguing story today. "I found this April 1, 1898 C-J article about a “C. Katzenberger” (not sure if he’s family, but it’s certainly possible). He was known for carrying around a much-coveted mockingbird that sang songs for people. Eventually he traded it to a grocer at Rubel & Breckinridge for a barrel of flour. He told the grocer exactly where to hang the cage. Then one day he returned, stole the bird, and traded it to a blacksmith for two sledgehammers. Cops arrested him for grand larceny. Gotta respect the grift,