These photographs were sent by ROBERT
J. WIDENMANN who supplied the following background for these people.
"My paternal family emigrated in the
form of three brothers. My great-grandparents, August Widenmann (1826-1884)
and Pauline Gärtner (1829-1915) came to Philadelphia in 1848 and 1849,
respectively, met there and married in Germantown in 1851. Immediately after
the wedding, they moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where they settled down. Pauline was
accompanied to Philadelphia by two sisters.
August was followed by two brothers.
Karl (Charles, 1833-1919) settled in Vallejo, CA and founded a minor dynasty,
with descendants still existing on the West Coast. Karl Friedrich
(Fritz, 1829-1909) settled in Ann Arbor, MI along with the oldest of the
brothers.
All of the above were living in
Stuttgart at the time of their emigration and carried on a lively
correspondence by mail after their arrival in the US."
These two mystery photos are among a
collection of more than 200 Widenmann photographs preserved in the museum.
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