WILLIAM KURRELMEYER, who departed this life on October 9, 1957,
was born in Osnabrück, Germany, on January 17, 1874 and came to this
country with his parents when but a child of eight years. He attended the
Baltimore Public Schools, graduating with high honors from Baltimore City
College in 1893, and entered Johns Hopkins University in the fall of the
same year. Here he received the A. B. degree in 1896 and the Ph. D. in 1899.
In 1902 he married Carrie Herrmann of Baltimore, who died in September
1959. Surviving are a son, Dr. Bernhard Kurrelmeyer, Professor of Physics
at Brooklyn College, and a daughter, Dr. Carrie Zintl, Professor of German,
at Mt. St. Agnes College. With the exception of one year (1899-1900) as
Professor of Modern Languages at Franklin and Marshall College in Lan-
caster, Pennsylvania, he was connected during his whole life up to his
retirement in 1944, with the Johns Hopkins University.
In addition to his teaching and other routine matters, including the
co-editorship of the Hopkins publication Modern Language Notes, Dr.
Kurrelmeyer found time for a large amount of scholarly activity. His first
work of consequence was the publication of a pre-Lutheran bible (Die erste
deutsche Bibel) in ten volumes (Tübingen 1904-5) which brought him
well-deserved recognition both here and abroad. This work launched him
into the field of text-criticism that became his paramount interest for the
rest of his life. In the years 1928-39 he published seven volumes of the
standard edition of Wieland's collected works. This publication had been
preceded, however, by an exemplary study: Die Doppeldrucke in ihrer
Bedeutung für die Textgeschichte von Wielands Werken, published in 1913.
It was this important and fundamental monograph which earned for him
the signal honor of being invited by the Prussian Academy of Sciences to
collaborate with German scholars in the preparation of this definitive
edition of Wieland's works.
Of equal importance with the Wieland study were the text-critical
articles on Goethe's works. Kurrelmeyer showed in these articles, among
other things, that complete editions of Goethe's works were sometimes made
by unauthorized publishers, the so-called pirated editions, and also re-
printed by the authorized publisher without the author's knowledge, with
the result that the author was defrauded of his royalty.
Another rewarding undertaking of Dr. Kurrelmeyer was to search after
words not found in the voluminous Grimm's German Dictionary, or to find
occurrences of words which antedated those given in this dictionary. Pro-
fessor Kurrelmeyer unearthed hundreds of words, once used in German
writings, many of which were restricted to a given field, as for instance
military terms.
[115]
Apart from his academic duties and his research work Dr. Kurrelmeyer
is to be remembered as the founder and first president of the Goethe Society
of Maryland and the District of Columbia (1932-47). This branch of the
Goethe Society of America was the only one in the United States that
continued to function during World War II. In 1939 he was elected Presi-
dent of our Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland, an office
which he held until his resignation in 1952 when he became Honorary
President. He had been a member of the Society for about thirty-five years.
Another aspect of Dr. Kurrelmeyer's activities was connected with the
search for first editions of the works of prominent German writers. He had
the largest private collection of first editions of Goethe's works in America
and also a substantial collection of letters written by the most eminent
authors in German literature. All these books were bequeathed to the Johns
Hopkins University Library. Their value runs into thousands of dollars.
The letters alone were recently appraised at $11,000.
Professor Kurrelmeyer was deeply interested in music, particularly vocal
and symphonic. He was a regular subscriber to the symphony concerts of
America's leading orchestras and to the Metropolitan Operas that were
performed in Baltimore. On all his many trips to Germany he never missed
the opera season in Munich and Salzberg.
While a student Dr. Kurrelmeyer played on the Johns Hopkins lacrosse
and track teams. Even in later years he would frequently slip out to
Homewood to watch the games.
Dr. Kurrelmeyer was a keen and shrewd man in all his various activities.
Despite his meagre salary he was able by careful investments to amass
quite a fortune. This did not in the least affect his mode of life. He lived as
he had always done, for he was unable to outgrow a certain modest reserve
and caution in his dealings with his fellow-men. He assumed a brusque
bearing to hide a nervous temperament. But behind the exterior there was
a kind heart and an infectious humor.
We have in Dr. Kurrelmeyer an excellent example of the German immi-
grant lad, who, endowed with a superior intellect and by dint of hard work
and thrift, both good German virtues, brought honor to himself, his pro-
fession and his country.
EDWARD H. SEHRT
CHARLES HERMANN MIEGEL, the son of Theodore H. Miegel and
Caroline, nee Hermann, was born in Baltimore on Feburary 20, 1897. His
father was the superintendent of Wilkens Hair Factory on Frederick Road.
Both his parents were native Baltimoreans. The grandfather, John, had
come from the eastern part of Germany in the early seventies. Young
Miegel attended the German-English Public Schools of that time and
entered Baltimore City College, graduating in 1915. He completed in three
years his studies at Johns Hopkins University. World War I was on, he
volunteered for service, but while still in Officers Training in Southern
camps the armistice occurred. He went to the Law School of the University
of Maryland and was admitted to the bar in 1922. Starting out in a small
way as Miegel & Rollins, he later became associated with the law firm of
Moylan and McKeldin. At that time his mind turned to teaching in
which he found his true life calling. After a brief period in elementary
schools he came to the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 1922 as a teacher
of English. For thirty years to the end of his active life he was outstanding
member of the teaching force at Poly. He was endowed with the natural
[116]
talent of the true teacher. His genial personality made him a fascinating,
sparkling, inspiring master of his classes, who was never dry or prosaic.
He found additional outlets for "his teaching abilities, giving courses in
Journalism and Public Life at the Baltimore Evening High School at City
College and teaching German in Berlitz School and afterwards in the School
of Foreign Languages. In 1925 he joined the faculty of the Peabody Insti-
tute of Music as instructor in German. He was a rarely accomplished
linguist with a full and faultless mastery of German and well versed in
German classics. For the Peabody he made many excellent English trans-
lations of the German Lieder that have remained standard texts on the
institute's concert programs. His lively interest in music, in art in all forms
and in dramatics led to an association with Morris Mechanic as assistant
manager of the New Theatre. It became his happy hobby to write plays
for the amateur stage. Most of the colorful annual "Poly Follies" at the
school had him as author and all the annual Christmas Plays in thirty years
were written and staged by him.
Charles Miegel was a child of and a lifelong member of Zion Church,
where Pastor Hofmann baptized and confirmed him. It was this great man
who early recognized his unusual intellectual gifts and who directed his
boundless energy into a full use of his life in the service of others. In Zion
Miegel taught Sunday School for many years and in 1934 became a founder
and inspiring member of the Volunteer Choir under Theodor Hemberger.
He served for years as a member of the church council. On June 29, 1927,
Pastor Hofmann married him to Sara Elizabeth Meekins in Zion Church.
The young couple made a honeymoon voyage to Germany, his only visit
to the land of his forefathers. Their only child, Mark, died while a student
at Johns Hopkins University.
An organization of Young People that was to make a name for itself in
Baltimore as the Zion Church Club was started by Miegel and a few
enthusiastic friends. Every year the club presented a play with musical
and dancing numbers running for three nights before large audiences. Here
appeared some of the finest creations of his versatile mind. Notably among
them was "The Black Scabbard" which at a repeated performance filled
the 1,200 seats of the Maryland Casualty Auditorium and netted $1,000 for
the relief of the Mississippi flood sufferers in Louisiana. Another repeated
play was "Treasure Trove." "Tea Piping Hot" dramatized the burning
of the Peggy Stewart in the harbor of Annapolis. Historical background
also brought "Where Carroll Flourished," giving the story of the beginnings
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and a very cleverly staged scene of the
famous race between the steam locomotive and the race horse. For the
175th anniversary of Zion Church in 1933 our friend wrote a series of
historical scenes woven into a pageant with the title "The Walls of Zion."
In the field of history he contributed valuable historical articles to the
magazine section of the Baltimore Sun on Zion Church and its famous
parochial school, known as "Scheib's School.' His lively interest in German
tradition and life in Baltimore and Maryland naturally brought him into
the ranks of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland.
From 1934 to 1944 he served as the genial secretary of this Society, and his
annual reading of the minutes became a delightful and delectable item on
the intellectual menu of the meetings.
A tragic breakdown in 1952 put an end to all his activities. Under the
devoted loving care of his wife he lingered on with constantly waning
strength to his peaceful passing into eternal life on August 16, 1958. He was
interred in Moreland Memorial Park Cemetery.
[117]
Charles Miegel was an universally gifted man with an unbelievable
capacity for creative work in many lines at the same time. He possessed a
marvellous sense of humor, a driving zest for life and a deeprooted love of
mankind. Wherever he appeared there was life and hearty laughter. Under-
neath that was a sense of utter dedication to his duty. His help was easily
won, his friendship was enduring. Unstintingly he gave of himself in every
good and noble cause. He cannot ever be forgotten by those who shared
truly good years with him.
FRITZ O. EVERS
HANS RAID, a native of Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria), died in
Washington, D. C. on May 31, 1958 at the age 69. After a journalistic
career in his native country, Raid came to the United States in 1923. He
joined the editorial staff of the Cleveland Wächter und Anzeiger. Many of
his articles appeared also in other German-language newspapers throughout
the country because he contributed to the widely used stereotype service
of the German Press and Plate Co. in Cleveland. After several years in
Ohio, Hans Raid received a call to Pittsburgh where he edited the Volksblatt
und Freiheitsfreund until its demise in 1929. A brief service with the
Baltimore Correspondent followed. His excellent and comprehensive educa-
tion permitted him to apply for a position with the Internal Revenue
Service. Assignments in several cities preceded his coming to Washington
in 1940 which was to remain home to him until his untimely death. After
22 years in federal service, Raid retired in 1953. Throughout his career in
in government service he showed an active interest in German American
affairs. Among the many organizations to which Raid belonged during his
85 years in America, the Schlaraffia Washingtonia and the Society for the
History of the Germans in Maryland were the ones to which he felt closest.
The German element of Washington has sorely felt the loss which the
death of Hans Raid has meant in many respects. Often he was the spokes-
man for his fellow citizens. When he was already severely weakened by
the tragic illness which was soon afterwards to cause his death, he spoke
forceful and convincing words at the founding meeting of the Christian
Heurich Unit No. 85, Steuben Society of America, in Washington in 1957
which will long be remembered by his friends and by a young generation
of immigrants. On June 3, 1958 Hans Raid was laid to rest in the Con-
gressional Cemetery in the Nation's Capital.
KLAUS G. WUST
HANS KARL WEBER was born on May 24, 1887 at Belleville, Illinois,
as the youngest son of the Rev. William Weber and his wife Louise, born
Keveloh, who had immigrated from Westphalia, a northwestern province
of Germany, about 1885. William Weber had studied for the Lutheran
ministry in Germany. During his early years in the United States he
received his Ph. D. degree from Yale University.
H. K. Weber graduated from Belleville High School in 1906 and received
the Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics at the Univer-
sity of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the intention of becoming a teacher.
His interest in handicrafts enabled him to teach also these subjects, and his
great dexterity in the use of tools has left its mark in the many embellish-
ments of his home in Baltimore. From his German-born parents he learned
[118]
in his early childhood to speak German. It was natural that he also used
this ability in teaching.
His first assignment as a teacher was with the Conway Hall Preparatory
School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In the first World War he served with the
U. S. Army Medical Corps, teaching convalescent soldiers. This was
followed by a brief period as teacher at Hazelton, Pennsylvania. From 1921
on he taught at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. On October 12, 1923
he married Mildred Streets. He was well-loved by his students and es-
teemed among his colleagues as instructor of Mathematics and Physics
during thirty-two fruitful years. In the fall of 1953 a heart attack forced
him to retire from his active professional work. Hans Karl Weber died in
Baltimore on April 2, 1955, survived by his widow and two sons, William
Richard and Richard Karl.
PAUL HESSEMER
FREDERICK WILLIAM MORITZ FLORENZ was born in Cologne,
Germany on October 8th, 1875. He was educated at the "Königliches
Gymnasium an Marzellen zu Köln." Upon completion of his studies, the
next two years were devoted to serving as an apprentice and as a clerk
with the firm of Ludwig Lüthgen in the iron, steel and coke industry.
Thereupon he served his one year with the German Army before coming
to the United States in 1896. Upon his arrival in Baltimore, Mr. Florenz
taught German at Loyola College and was also associated with the German
Correspondent. Soon thereafter he entered the business firm of Ed. C. Geyer
& Co., dealers in leaf tobacco and salt fish. In 1911 Mr. Florenz became
the sole owner of this business. The firm, founded as Geyer & Wilkins,
celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 1955. It was known to be the oldest
salt fish business in the country, having imported salt fish from foreign
lands in the days of sailing vessels. The firm of Ed. C. Geyer & Co. was
dissolved upon the death of Mr. Florenz, December 22, 1955. Mr. Florenz
never lost interest in his native Germany. After World War I, he was most
active in helping raise funds for the "Quaker Child Feeding Campaign"
under the direction of the Honorable Herbert Hoover. Mr. Florenz was
married in 1915 to Miss Edith Gundelach of St. Louis, Missouri, who sur-
vives him as do two sons, Frederick W., Jr. and Theodore Carl Florenz.
E. G. F.
ROBERT T. CLARK. The untimely death of Robert Thomas Clark,
Jr., at the age of 51, means an irremediable loss not only to his immediate
family, his many friends, colleagues, and students, but to the discipline of
Germanistic studies in this country as a whole. There are very few, indeed,
who as teachers and writers have represented the American wing of the
study of German literature more honorably and impressively than Robert
T. Clark, Jr. His brilliant career, which has now come to an abrupt and
much too early end, has been richly deserved.
He was born July 27, 1906, in Nashville, Tenn., the son of Robert
Thomas and Elizabeth Frame Clark. During his undergraduate college
years and for the initiation into graduate studies he remained in his home
state, receiving his B. A. and M. A. degrees from Vanderbilt University in
1927 and 1928, respectively. There followed a year of study in Germany,
[119]
at the University of Leipzig, after which he felt ready to start his teaching
career. It led him via Vanderbilt University, Stanford University (where,
in 1932, he received his Ph. D. degree), Duke University to his first perma-
nent position at Louisiana State University (1933-1945) where, within nine
years, he rose from the rank of an Assistant Professor to a full professorship
and the chairmanship of the department. It was from here that his name
spread more and more and acquired a reputation which was to grow steadily
in the next twenty years; it was here that he met his life's companion,
Dr. Lucy E. Austin, then an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Classics, whom he married in 1936. In 1945 he was called to the University
of Texas as Professor of Germanic Languages, a position which he held until
1953 when he accepted the chairmanship of the German Department of the
University of California in Berkeley. Here he died on May 27, 1957, after
an operation which failed to halt the spread of cancer.
Early in his scholarly career, shortly after joining Louisiana State Uni-
versity, Professor Clark directed his interest toward the field of American-
German relations. His most important publication in this line, and the
one which made him fully deserving of the Corresponding Membership
granted to him in 1949 by the Society for the History of the Germans in
Maryland, was his research into "The New Orleans German Colony in the
Civil War" (Louisiana Historical Quarterly XX, 990-1015). For the Society
of the History of the Germans in Maryland this particular aspect of Pro-
fessor Clark's work is of the highest importance; yet it represents only one
facet of his numerous and varied interests. He reached his true eminence
in his studies of German literature and intellectual history at the end of
the eighteenth century, above all in his magnum opus, a definitive mono-
graph of Herder, His Life and Thought, a work which had been in the
making for fully twenty years, and which the University of California Press
could finally publish in 1955. A masterpiece of sound scholarship, yet
perfectly readable for the layman, highly judicious in the evaluations of
Herder's intellectual dispositions and philosophical achievements, well
balanced in the presentation of his friendship (and irritation) with Goethe,
Clark's Herder biography is not, and will not be, easily surpassed in any
language.
OSKAR SEIDLIN
HANS W. CONSTADT was born on April 12, 1890, in Erfurt-
Thuringia. He studied medicine first at the University of Berlin and later
at the University of Heidelberg—from which he graduated. He then joined
his father's practice and private hospital as an Ear-Nose-Throat Specialist
in Berlin. After his father's retirement, he carried on alone.
He left Germany in the fall of 1938 and came to Baltimore one year
later. He opened his office in the Medical Arts Building as an Ear-Nose-
Throat Specialist shortly after this—where he practiced till his death.
After a short and tragic illness, Dr. Hans W. Constadt passed away on
July 2, 1955. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth, his daughter Anne-
marie Constadt-Mayer, and his grandson Hans F. Mayer.
[120]