Dear List:
Family history tells that my grandmother, CLARA VON HOLSTEIN, went into an
orphanage in Dusseldorf (Catholic I believe) when her parents, CARL VON HOLSTEIN
and ELIZABETH LIEDTKE, died leaving a lot of money to the church and putting
her in their care.
Clara was born May 28, 1885. When she was about 13 years old, a couple came
from America and visited her. They were German and were referred to as "Aunt
and Uncle" and asked her to see them off when their ship was to leave. They
kept her on the ship and brought her back to America (New York City).
An older relative told me that he does not believe they were really related,
but Clara lived with them and worked at their knitting business. He believed
their surname was KUHLEN.
I cannot find CLARA HOLSTEIN (von) on any manifest. Could the couple have
smuggled her into the Country? Was this done?
Are there any records available for the orphanage records back then?
Claire Berger
USA
Hello,
This is a long shot, but I wonder if you contacted the diocese which
would include Düsseldorf, they would surely have historical data which may
include the orphanage. I think that Düsseldorf is/was in the diocese of
Köln. There is a website to the Catholic Archives of the diocese:
http://www.archive.nrw.de/home.asp?ebta-koeln
It is in German, but if you go to Google.com and run a search for "archives
of the diocese of Koln" you will get the same website. Then, click on the
"translate this page" option and and you get a page which includes many
dioceses--scroll down to the one for Köln and you will get the page (listed
above) in English. There is a place to email a question. Maybe you can
read German so that you can use the main German webpage. There seem to be a
number of articles online as well. By doing a search for "Waisenhaus
Düsseldorf" you may find what you need. I don't know German, but I think
that is the right word for orphanage.
You have an interesting story in your family and it would be nice to learn
all the details. I wish you success!
Barbara Stewart