Memory Keeper's Notes

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Ottillie Jaeger was born On October 31, 1878 in Alsace Lorraine." Ottilie is a female given name stemming from the medieval German boy's name Otto and meaning "riches", "wealth" or "prosperity". It has never become very popular in modern culture and has remained very low on popularity rankings only reaching its peak in 1880 when it reached almost 600th position in the US. Ottilie is a much more common first name in German-speaking countries."

She came to America with my Grandmother, Gertrude Grossholtz and arrived on October 14, 1895 aboard the ship Le Gerciogne. By 1910 she was living at 464 Amterdam Avenue in Manhattan with her future husband, Frederick Christian Solz who was 40 years old and was born in Germany around 1870. He had immigrated from Germany in 1881.

At that time Frederick was listed as working in a delicatessen. Ottilie married Frederick Solz on June 13, 1916 in Manhattan. In 1925 Ottilie returned to France probably to visit family. She sailed back to America on the Suffren leaving from Le Havre, France. She was 46 at the time and her husband Frederick traveled with her.

Ottilie and Frederick continued to live in Brooklyn and they ran a boarding house in the 1930's and 40's. At one point my grandmother's relative George Grossholtz lived in Ottilie and Frederick's boarding house and was listed as a nephew in the 1920 Census he immigrated to America in 1911 when he was 16 years old and was born in 1894 on August 10th, according to George's World War II Draft Registration Cards in 1942.

George was born in Neuhausel, Alsace, Germany and immigrated to America from Antwerp, Belgium leaving Belgium on October 15, 1910 and arrive on the Vaderland on October 15, 1910. On September 8, 1921 he petitioned for Naturalization. At this time he was married to wife Grace who was born on February 16, 1901 in Munich, Germany. The couple had two children, Grace Josephine born April 20, 1921 and George Joseph born July 23, 1922. In 1921 they lived at 1692 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. He died in August 1971 at age of 77 and his last place of residence was Suffolk County, New York.

My mother was named after Ottilie when she was born. Her Godmother was Ottilie Solz a wonderful women who remained friends with the family until her death. When my sister, Barbara Ann Koferl was born my mother asked her godmother, Ottilie to be the godmother.

They returned a number of times to France to visit relatives, Ottilie had a brother, Joseph Jaeger who owned a farm in Neuhaeusel at 47 Neuhaeusel 67, France. When Frederick died Ottillie returned home to France to live on her brother's farm for the rest of her days. Her last know resident in the states was 234 Berkeley Place, Brooklyn. She died at the age of 87 on July 2, 1966. She is interred at the cemetery in Neuhaeusel.

Eva Jaeger Buchert

Eva Jaeger was born on June 12, 1879 in Neuhaeusel the same town where my Grandmother was born. Along the way she met my Grandmother and they became friends. Around the age of 17 they were ready for an adventure and left their homeland for America. Why they both left their homeland at the same time is unknown. Perhaps they were looking for a new start in life. A chance to better their lives. They arrived on a Monday, October 14, 1895. The stormy weather made the trip difficult for the girls.

Previously Alsatian came for many reasons; “In 1815-16 Alsatians who wanted to emigrate had already had a path mapped out for them for over a century. This path led to an Eden of abundance and liberty which contrasted notably with the economic and psychological conditions in Alsace after the Napoleonic wars. It was not going to be easy because even if conditions were favorable across the ocean they first had to overcome enormous difficulties, maybe even face death. “https://amct.pagesperso-orange.fr/migrants_eg.htm

“The Franco-Prussian War, which started in July 1870, saw France defeated in May 1871 by the Kingdom of Prussia and other German states. The end of the war led to the unification of Germany. Otto von Bismarck annexed Alsace and northern Lorraine to the new German Empire in 1871. France ceded more than 90% of Alsace and one-fourth of Lorraine, as stipulated in the treaty of Frankfurt. Unlike other members states of the German federation, which had governments of their own, the new Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine was under the sole authority of the Kaiser, administered directly by the imperial government in Berlin. Between 100,000 and 130,000 Alsatians (of a total population of about a million and a half) chose to remain French citizens and leave

Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen, many of them resettling in French Algeria as Pieds-Noirs. Only in 1911 was Alsace-Lorraine granted some measure of autonomy, which was manifested also in a flag and an anthem (Elsässisches Fahnenlied). In 1913, however, the Saverne Affair (French: Incident de Saverne) showed the limits of this new tolerance of the Alsatian identity.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace

“The Treaty of Frankfurt gave the residents of the region until October 1, 1872, to choose between emigrating to France or remaining in the region and having their nationality legally changed to German. About 161,000 people, or around 10.4% of the Alsace-Lorraine population, opted for French citizenship (the so-called Optanden); but, only about 50,000 actually emigrated, while the rest acquired German citizenship.[6] The sentiment of attachment to France stayed strong at least during the first 16 years of the annexation. During the Reichstag elections, the 15 deputies of 1874, 1881, 1884 (but one) and 1887 were called protester deputies (fr: députés protestataires) because they expressed to the Reichstag their opposition to the annexation by means of the 1874 motion in the French language: « May it please the Reichstag to decide that the populations of Alsace-Lorraine that were annexed, without having been consulted, to the German Reich by the treaty of Frankfurt have to come out particularly about this annexation. »[7] The Saverne Affair (usually known in English-language accounts as the Zabern Affair), in which abusive and oppressive behavior by the military towards the population of the town of Saverne led to protests not just in Alsace but in other regions, put a severe strain on the relationship between the people of Alsace-Lorraine and the rest of the German Empire.

Under the German Empire of 1871–1918, the annexed territory constituted the Reichsland or Imperial Territory of Elsaß-Lothringen (German for Alsace-Lorraine). The area was administered directly from Berlin, but was granted limited autonomy in 1911. This included its constitution and state assembly, its own flag, and the Elsässisches Fahnenlied ("Alsatian Flag Song") as its anthem.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorraine

It is not know if they were being met by anyone or if they had to make their own way finding a place to live as well as a job. The next record located is their marriage license. Eva was married to Gottfried Charles Buchert on May 14, 1898. In 1900 the family lived at 1702 2nd Avenue a part of the Yorkville Neighborhood. By 1910 Federal Census they were married twelve years and had two daughters Dora and Elsie. At that time they were living on 306 91st Street in Manhattan. Gottfried or Charlie for which he was known by his family and friends a was an upholsterer. The apartment building was in the Yorkville neighborhood located in the upper east side. The building that is there today was built in 1925.

“For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Yorkville was a middle- to working-class neighborhood, inhabited by many people of Czech, Slovak, Irish, Polish, German, Hungarian, and Lebanese descent. The area was a mostly German enclave, though.[12] The neighborhood became more affluent.[13]

From 1880, Yorkville became a destination for German-born immigrants. However, by the 1900s, many German residents moved to Yorkville and other neighborhoods from "Kleindeutschland" (Little Germany) on the Lower East Side after the General Slocum disaster on June 15, 1904. The ship caught fire in the East River just off the shores of Yorkville, leading family members to move closer to the site of the incident.[14] Most of the passengers on the ship were German.[15][16] In addition, the general trend towards moving to the suburbs reduced the German population in Manhattan; by 1930, most German New Yorkers lived in Queens.

On 86th Street, in the central portion of Yorkville, there were many German shops, restaurants and bakeries. Yorkville became the melting pot of populations arriving from various regions of the Prussian-dominated German Empire and its colonies, where many cultures spoke German. In the 1930s, the neighborhood was the home base of Fritz Julius Kuhn's German American Bund, the most notorious pro-Nazi group in 1930s United States, which led to spontaneous protests by other residents.[17] Yorkville was a haven for refugees from fascist Germany in the 1940s, and from refugees from communist regimes in the 1950s and 1960s. The neighborhood is the site of the annual Steuben Parade, a large German-American celebration.[18]”

Property Research in New York City: A Case Study Part 2

In April I started to tell you about my search for a property record that would tell me why my Aunt who was pictured in a photograph from the 1920’s was standing in-front of a property for sale sign. Was it the future sight of my Grandfather’s second bakery or was it property that her husband was interested in purchasing.

I must admit that I know very little about the geography or layout of the city. Mainly because I have lived and worked on Long Island most of my life. This has made my research more difficult then for other genealogist and why I often refer to some resources that I will mention throughout this article to provide a guide for my research.

The New York City Municipal Archives is a great place to do research. In 2016 they published an authorized guide to the Archives. Although a little old it is still useful and is currently available electronically for purchase from the New York Genealogical and Biological Society. If you are doing a lot of research in New York City this resource is strongly recommended. Chapters 7 thru 9 cover property records.

Prior to 1966, New York City records are in several places an in different formats. Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens records are in the city register office in the borough that the property is located. Brooklyn records are in Queens City Register Office. They are on microfilm. Staten Island records are in the Richmond County Clerk Office.

Property cards existed between 1930 thru 1970. They were designed to assist the Department of Finance with property tax assessments. They give ownership, building classification and assessed valuation. Unfortunately This resource is not going to help me in my search because Property Cards were started in 1930. I am looking for resources covering the 1920-23 period.

The next resource are Business records. License and filings are held by the issuing agency. Older records are held at the state or county archives. In NYC the older records between 1818 - 1938 are held at Division of Old Records, New York County Clerk’s Office and can be reached at 646-386-5395. This seems like the next place to do research for my Grandfather’s bakeries. Of course the business records are arranged by owner. Therefore I will check under my Grandfather’s name as well as my aunt’s husband’s name, John J. Clark. When I contacted the Division of Old Record, I was given an email address to contact the person by email, Jvannost@ nycourts.gov and I waiting for a response.

I know most property record searches are done using deeds. In NYC from 1966 to present there is an electronic database ACRIS, Automated City Register Information System. https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/taxes/acris.page of course when we refer to NYC we are covering Manhattan, queens, Brooklyn and Bronx.one can search by lot and lot or by owner. This database would not help me in my research but is useful to know about.

Another resource is the Family Search database which has indexed New York State deeds and indexes up until 1880’s. There are a number of resources available on Family Search that include land records from the United States. The New York Land Records 1630-1975 database is an index that can be searched by property owner’s name, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/New_York_Land_and_Property. When I searched this database, I my grandfather or aunt’s husband name did not appear.

Other resources to try include land auction catalogs, real estate tax records, newspapers, census records and Department of Buildings Records. Resources such as Assessed Valuation Real Estate Ledges. Again these resource is located in the Municipal Archives. If your not to familiar with the neighborhood as I am searching for neighborhood histories might give you a better background for doing research. I found some Google books that can provide backgrounds on neighborhood histories.

Other Resources:

The New York Public Library has a number of helpful Research guides that are online to help with your research. Visit the following hyperlink. https://libguides.nypl.org/househistory

New York Municipal Archives Blog:

https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2022/1/7/department-of-buildings-manhattan-block-and-lot-collection-1866-1977

https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2021/4/30/building-history-part-2

You can also contact the Division of Land Records using their electronic form. https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/about/contact-by-email/contact-recording-documents-general.page

I have used this electronic form and I am awaiting their reply.

Bronx County Office: 3030 3rd Ave, 2nd floor Bronx, NY 10455
Kings County Office: 210 Joralemon Street, 2nd floor Brooklyn NY 11201
New York County Office: 66 John Street, 13th floor New York, NY 10038
Queens County Office: 144-06 94th Avenue, Jamaica, Queens 11435

Property deeds for Staten Island are kept at the Office of the Richmond County Clerk.

Although I have not been successful as to finding out who own that particular property around the 1920’s. I know that there might be an answer coming soon in my email. I certainly feel that I have learned a lot about how to do property research in New York City.

Map Resources

Base Map of New York City showing street names

https://www.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/publications/maps/nyc-base-map.pdf

Map Collection Brooklyn City

https://mapcollections.brooklynhistory.org/

Another resource for the history of New York City and it’s neighborhoods can be found below.

Other Resources:

The New York Public Library has a number of helpful Research guides that are online to help with your research. Visit the following hyperlink. https://libguides.nypl.org/househistory

New York Municipal Archives Blog:

https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2022/1/7/department-of-buildings-manhattan-block-and-lot-collection-1866-1977

https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2021/4/30/building-history-part-2

You can also contact the Division of Land Records using their electronic form. https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/about/contact-by-email/contact-recording-documents-general.page

I have used this electronic form and I am awaiting their reply.

Property deeds for Staten Island are kept at the Office of the Richmond County Clerk.

Map Resources

Base Map of New York City showing street names

https://www.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/publications/maps/nyc-base-map.pdf

Map Collection Brooklyn City

https://mapcollections.brooklynhistory.org/

Another resource for the history of New York City and it’s neighborhoods can be found below.

Property Research in New York City: A Case Study Part 1

To me one of the most interesting parts of doing genealogy research is the human interest stories we find behind the facts. After Bill Cole’s presentation in January, I started going through some photographs of my mother’s family. I remember looking through them before and wondering why my Aunt Gertrude would have a photograph taken in front of a property for sale sign. I do know that my Aunt was born in 1902 and died in 1923. Looking at this photograph I would guess that the picture was taken between 1920 to 1923.

Looking closer at the sign I noted that the sign listed the realtor, ended up searching the Internet to see if I could fine information on the realtor, Herman Ringe and this revealed part of a story. Ringe was known to the community as a very civic minded person. The Internet revealed a wonderful article about Herman Ringe by the Newtown Historical Society website ( https://www.newtownhistorical.org/maspeth-history/the-legacy-of-herman-ringe ) Mr. Ringe was very active in his community were he was raised. The area was known as Metropolitan because it was between Fresh Pond Road and Flushing Avenue on both sides of Metropolitan Avenue. Besides growing up in this area his family owned a General Store in the community on the same street as his Real Estate Office.

Herman Ringe first worked in the Queens Tax Office as a clerk and later as secretary to chief clerk to the highway department. In his obituary he was praised as a business man as well as a civic leader. Although this and other articles pointed to the importance of the realtor and the area, it still did not answer my original question as to why my Aunt had her photographed in front of this sign.

Therefore I decided to continued my investigation by trying to find out who owned the property around the time of the photograph. One of the thoughts that I had was who would have taken the photograph. Was it my Grandfather, Gottlieb Ohnmacht who owned two bakeries at the time. That thought lead me to do a property search to determine who had purchased the property as listed on the sign. I tried both New York City Public Library and Library of Congress Digital Map collections. The Sanborn maps were designed to be large scale maps that showed insurance agencies the fire hazards related to where the buildings were located. They often depicted the structure showing size and shape of buildings and surrounding property and streets. Sanborn designed maps for over twelve thousand cities in United States, Canada and Mexico.

Sanborn Fire maps are good resources when doing property searches. They usually have street indexes which lead to plate numbers. Knowing that the photograph was probably taken between 1920 -23. I found a map that showed the specific area. The Atlas 137A of Queens V. 3, 1914 Plate No. 57 [Map bounded by Metropolitan Ave., Fresh Pond Rd., Grove, Prospect Ave.] showed a wagon shed and other structures. One can also see the paper road, Vincent Street designated with dashes as it meets Metropolitan Ave.

Unfortunately I haven’t located a more recent Sanborn Map depicting this area around the early 1920’s. In my next part I will discuss other resources that I checked to locate the name of the property owner around this time.

Photograph of map taken from:

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1884 - 1936). Queens V. 3, Plate No. 57 [Map bounded by Metropolitan Ave., Fresh Pond Rd., Grove, Prospect Ave.] Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/90df2048-fd72-05a8-e040-e00a18065fd4

Monday, November 4, 2019

Chateau de Lutzelbourg

The Château de Lutzelbourg is a medieval castle ruin, above the town of Ottrott, in the Bas-Rhin department of eastern France (Alsace).^[1]

Château de Lutzelbourg is a castle founded by Pierre de Lutzelbourg in the eleventh century on a rock high above 322 m the valley of the Zorn in France, Lutzelbourg, Moselle. It is the subject of a classification as historical monuments since February 1930.Pierre's father in Lutzelbourg Frederick Monbéliard is very noble lineage as related to the powerful House of Savoy. At his death in 1092, the magraviat Susa - as inherited by Agnes de Savoie his wife, daughter of Count Peter I, Count of Savoy - was claimed by the Emperor Henry IV, it can therefore return to Pierre. By Pierre duty must be established on ancestral lands between Philippsburg and the Zorn Valley. 1100 Pierre negotiates the exchange of Saint-Quirin Priory with Lutzelbourg castle of the Abbey of Marmoutier in Alsace. Reginald will be the only son of the union of Pierre and Ita, his death a few days after Christmas 1142 left the county without descendants. The bishop of Metz receives sovereignty in 1150 and gives custody to the first Lords of Lutzelbourg.In 1840 the ruins of the castle of Lutzelbourg were saved from demolition by Adolf Germain, notary in Phalsbourg because the owners wanted to sell the materials of the ruined companies who built the railway line.After several successive sales Eugène Koeberlé, professor of medicine in Strasbourg, bought the site. Around 1900 he decided to consolidate the ruins, to excavate and built the neo-Romanesque hall. In 1909, he published his work in Strasbourg Ruins of Castle Lutzelbourg where it reports its findings and assumption.

The castles of Ottrott were built on the plateau of Elsberg about 500 metres above the surrounding land. Two ruins, separated by barely fifty metres, now stand here: the "Rathsamhausen" on the west of the site and the "Lutzelbourg" in the east.

Recent excavations uncovered the foundations of a primitive castle between the current ruins of the castles. This primitive castle, named Old Lutzelbourg, was most certainly built before 1076 on the initiative of the counts of Eguisheim solicitors of Hohenbourg's monastery (Sainte-Odile) located some kilometres away.

This first structure was destroyed by the Hohenstaufens at the beginning of the 12th century but was immediately raised again by them to be finally enfeoffed to Conrad de Lutzelbourg in 1196. In 1198, it was destroyed by arson by the Eguisheim-Dabos.

The construction of the new castle, known in the middle of the 16th century as "Rathsamhausen", was begun by the beginning of the 13th under Otto of Burgundy who had decided to take back control of the region.

The works must have ended after 1220, the Lutzelbourg being always present on the scene, because in 1230 Elisabeth de Lutzelbourg was appointed abbess of the monastery of Hohenbourg. By the middle of the 13th century the castle presently called "Lutzelbourg" was built just below "Rathsamhausen".

Plan of Lutzelbourg

Visitors to the site notice that the defences of "Lutzelbourg" are turned towards its neighbour, always in the hands of the Hohenstaufen. Historians suppose that it was built on the initiative of the Bishop of Strasbourg, Henri de Stahleck, to gain control of the imperial possessions.

During the works, the defenders of "Rathsamhausen" were not idle and built an impressive keep facing its neighbour.

By the end of the 13th century, the Hohenstaufen had already lost all their influence on the Empire and some kind of agreement was probably found between Rudolph of Habsburgand the episcopal party. In 1392, "Lutzelbourg" was enfeoffed to the counts of Andlau who ceded their rights the following year to the Rathsamhausen-Ehenweiers already in possession of the nearby castle. They undertook to reconstruct both at the beginning of the 15th century.

"Lutzelbourg" was again destroyed between 1470 and 1570, probably in 1525 during the War of the Boorish, whereas "Rathsamhausen" was successively enfeoffed in 1424 to Henri de Hohenstein and then to his son-in-law, Daniel de Mullenheim.

Important Renaissance style renovation works were begun by the Mullenheims between 1520 and 1530. Conrad de Rathsamhausen finally bought back the castle by 1557 from Caspar de Mullenheim.

It has since been known as "Rathsamhausen", the name it has today. The castle was plundered and ruined during the Thirty Years' War.

The castles of Ottrott are nowadays private property. They have been listed as Monuments historiques since 1985.^[1

It has since been known as "Rathsamhausen", the name it has today. The castle was plundered and ruined during the Thirty Years' War.

The castles of Ottrott are nowadays private property. They have been listed as Monuments historiques since 1985.^[1]

Friday, April 20, 2018

Anthony Koferl: A Life of Sorrow

At the end of the Civil War, Anthony Koferl was born in October 1864. He was the son of Henry and Amelia Koferl and the brother of my Grandfather, Henry Joseph Koferl. There were seven children born to Henry and Amelia. Anthony known as Tony was one of the seven children and was listed in the 1880 census as a glassworker or glazer is " a skilled tradesman responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass." What did that mean in the 19th century"Many Glassworkers learned their trade as an apprentice or from another Glassworker. Anthony's father was listed as a Jeweler on the 1870 Census, so Anthony would have apprenticed with another Glassworker. It is impossible to know of his level of mastery or skills that Anthony possessed. I am not even sure of where he worked. Glassworking is the main skill of a glass smith. The smith can create lenses, mirrors, dishware, small toys/art pieces, and windows all from his use and knowledge of glassworking. In most cities glass is for the rich and powerful. Gold and silks can be draped about by any fool, but glass is for those who can spend money."

Anthony met and married Annie Hoffman in 1892 in Kings County. According to the 1892 census, Anthony was no longer working as a glass worker but rather on a buttonhole machine. They lived on the same block and building as Anthony's parents. At the time of their marriage Anthony was eight years older then Annie. In 1900 they continued to live at 43 Johnson Avenue with their four year old son, John her mother Katie Hoffman and Anthony. According to the 1900 census Annie had four sibblings who predeceseaded her by this time. It also states that Katie Hoffman was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1860 and a widow.

We know that somewhere between 1900 and 1904 the family moved to 248 Montrose Avenue, Brooklyn. It was in 1904 on October 22nd a tragedy struck the family. On that day their son, John at age 10 tried crossing the street while a large delivery truck came down the street. John was struck by the front wheel of the vehicle and he was killed instantly. The driver of the vehicle, James Hart was arrested and taken to the Stagg Street Police Station, as depicted below. James Hart was exonerated of all criminal action at a

corners inquest. The minutes taken by the stenographer at the inquest were destroyed and no further information exist on the inquest.

One can imagine how Annie felt when she heard of the accident and came to identify her son who was lying on the street where she lived with her family.

The next year sees Annie and Anthony living in the same neighborhood. According to the census records from 1905. Annie is 32 and Anton is 40 years old and is listed as a tailor. At this time they are living on Bushwick Place and Manhattan Avenue.

Bushwick Avenue developed in the late nineteenth century as a residential center of industry in North Brooklyn. German brewers and other manufacturers built large villas and commissioned churches and other cultural institutions along the avenue. Smaller speculative row houses, infill tenements, and other multifamily dwellings from the late-nineteen to the early twentieth centuries housed the workforce and middle management of this small industrial enclave, and characterize the rest of the street and the remainder of the neighborhood. The elevated subway runs along Broadway, one block southwest, providing a few small shops and other commercial establishments, while at the west of the avenue, where it turns to the north, lie the historic breweries, warehouses, and other buildings that provided the economic foundation for the neighborhood's early growth. At their pre-Prohibition height, the fourteen breweries in Bushwick produced a peak output of 2.5 million barrels, supplying nearly 10% of all beer consumed in the United States. However, the advance of inexpensive rail transportation and mechanical refrigeration allowed entrepreneurs in other cities to make inroads into the market and brewing in Brooklyn declined. The closing of the remaining industry created an economic depression of the area. The population of Bushwick remained predominately German until the 1930s and 40s, when they were supplanted by Italian-Americans. In the late 1950s and 60s, African-Americans and Puerto Ricans migrated to the neighborhood, comprising more than half of its population by 1970. The economic downturn of the 1970s was keenly felt in Bushwick, when New York City's fiscal crisis prompted cuts to fire department service in the area at a time when abandoned buildings were subject to frequent fires, further devastating the neighborhood. Redevelopment efforts began in the 1980s and continue to this day.

On September 21, 1906 Annie passed away leaving Anthony as sole survivor and inherits $500 of real property. He then moves in with his brother Frederick and his family as seen in the 1910 census. He is listed as working in the trimmings business as a driver. They are living on Troutman Street in Brooklyn. On December 8 of 1910 Anthony passed away and is buried at the Evergreens Cemetery in Flatbush, Brooklyn. More research is being done on the cause of death Anthony and Annie and burial information.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Mystery of the Miamogue Hotel Fire in South Jamesport

My Uncle Henry half brother to my father, Joseph was involved in a mysterious crime taking place in 1932. So far I haven't found any information proving who committed the arson. My attempt at checking the newspapers from 1932 gave me the information that I have reported in my article.

Built in 1875, this four-story waterfront inn had the distinction of being the tiny hamlet’s first big hotel. Destroyed by fire in 1895, the Miamogue was rebuilt two years later and expanded further when its owner, I. Seymour Corwin, purchased and then demolished a smaller neighboring hotel, the Sunnyside House. In 1932, the County Review reported that the Miamogue’s new owners, Henry A. Ramsauer and Henry Koferl, had been charged with second-degree arson for allegedly setting fire to the hotel in order to recover a $50,000 insurance policy. Nobody was injured in the incident, which took place before the hotel opened for the summer season. The Riverhead men were acquitted of the charges in May 1933, possibly because a defense attorney successfully indicated the fire was actually caused by two of the prosecution’s witnesses. The Miamogue Hotel was never rebuilt.

On April 27, 1932 a fire broke out in the attic of the Miamogue Hotel located in South Jameport, Long Island. Jointly owned by Henry F. Koferl and Harry A. Ramsauer it was recently purchased by the two plumbers who had a plumbing business in Riverhead. When firemen entered the fourth story of the hotel they found a lit candle near some oil soaked debris. Due to the find the fire was believed to be arson and the two owners were charged with second and third degree arson. Their lawyer, Harry Saxstien, of Saxstien & Scheinberg, filed a plea of not guilty and were secretly indicted by a Grand Jury. They were released on $7000 bail and were acquitted before Judge Hawkins on Monday after a jury had deliberated only 15 minutes.

Sometime after purchasing the hotel and between October 1931 and April 1932, Henry Koferl and Harry Ramsauer increased the insurance that they held on the hotel from $20,000 to $50,000. Two witnesses to the fire Jack Gerhardt, 40 of Riverside, and William Janis, 16 of Riverhead did not claim to know what started the fire were taken into custody at a local jail. They were released in May of that year after they had waived immunity rights and agreed to testify in front of a grand jury.

The owners Harry Ramsauer and Henry Koferl were working on the hotel preparing it for the summer guest when the fire took place.

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