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Oberhellmann and Brueggenjohann
Merchants at Holstein, Missouri (1885)
William Oberhellmann and August Brueggenjohann
(Of Oberhellmann and Brueggenjohann, Dealers in General Merchandise, Furniture and
Farm Produce, Holstein)
The above named gentlemen constitute one of the leading mercantile and business firms of the southern part of Warren county, and carry an unusually large and well selected stock of goods in the line of general merchandise, and buy and ship quite extensively farm produce of all kinds raised throughout their part of the county. The business was established originally by Ruge Bros. in 1876. They sold out to Hackmann & Russe, who, in 1881, sold to H. Oberhellmann & Son. In the spring of 1884 H. Oberhellmann, the father of William Oberhellmann, sold his interest in the store to Mr. August Brueggenjohann, who is now an equal partner with Mr. William Oberhellmann in the firm. They carry a stock of about $7,000 and do an annual business of over $20,000. There is no more popular and successful firm in this part of the county than theirs. "Fair Dealing, Large Sales and Small Profits" is the motto or sinnspruch under which they succeeded and hope to succeed.
William Oberhellmann, the senior member of the firm, was born and reared in Warren County - born November 25, 1849 - and is a son of Henry and Mary (Niemann) Oberhellmann, who came to this county from Germany in 1851. William, after he grew up, was married in 1874 to Miss Caroline Knapheide, a daughter of Ernst Knapheide, also originally from Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Oberhellmann have one child, Annette.
August Brueggenjohann, the junior member of the firm, is also a native of the county, and a son of William B. and Christine (Stineker) Brueggenjohann, who came from Germany to Warren county, in 1844. August Brueggenjohann was born on his father's farm, in this county, February 2, 1860. He was reared on the farm and received a good common-school education. He became a mmeber [sic] of the above named firm, as stated above, early in 1844. Mr. Brueggenjohann is a young man of good business qualities and is proving a valuable addition to the business house with which he is connected. In 1883 Mr. B. was married to Miss Louisa Knapheide, a daughter of Ernst Knapheide.
Source: History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren Counties, Missouri, Written and Compiled From the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources, Including a History Of Their Townships, Towns and Villages, Together With a Condensed History af Missouri; a Reliable and Detailed History of St. Charles, Montgomery and Warren Counties - Their Pioneer Record, Resources, Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens; General and Local Statistics of Great Value; Incidents and Reminiscences (National Historical Company, 1885), page 1,046.
The names mentioned in this brief history of the Oberhellmann and Brueggenjohann commercial establishment differ from the form they take in some of the other historical resources that document the lives of these families. Some of this may be attributed to Anglicization - Wilhelm becomes William, Brüggenjohann becomes Brueggenjohann. Some differences stem from colloquialisms - Friedrich Wilhelm Oberhellmann may have been known in the community as William Oberhellmann. However, I believe there are some inaccuracies in the writing and editing of this piece - "William B. and Christine (Stineker) Brueggenjohann" has been used instead of Heinrich Wilhelm & Wihelmine Christina (Stieneker) Brueggenjohann
In the second paragraph, the author has made a serious error. He states that William Oberhellmann was born in Warren County, Missouri on 25 November 1849 and that his parents emigrated from Germany in 1851, three years later.
This error is corrected accidentally in the biographical sketch entitled "Henry W. Oberhellmann," which follows immediately after this description of the Oberhellmann and Brueggenjohann company. The compiler of the History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren Counties, Missouri... seems not the least bit aware that the "Henry and Mary (Niemann) Oberhellmann" mentioned above are the same Henry W. and Engel (Niemann) Oberhellman mentioned in the biographical sketch.
Brief Genealogy
I have provided brief genealogies of the famlies mentioned or hinted at in the description transcribed above. The names presented here are more faithful to historical documents and are what you will find in the family database at this web site.
- H. Oberhellmann, the father of William Oberhellmann, is Heinrich Wilhelm Oberhellmann (1823 - 1902).
- William Oberhellmann is Friedrich Wilhelm Oberhellmann (1849 - 1908).
- Caroline Knapheide, the wife of William Oberhellmann, is Bernhardine Caroline Knapheide (1853 - 1906).
- Louisa Knapheide, the wife of August Brueggenjohann, is Friederike Louise Knapheide (1861 - 1884).
- Bernhardine Caroline & Friederike Louise Knapheide were sisters and the daughters of Ernst Wilhelm Knapheide & Maria Sophia Elisabeth Kalmerten.
- August Brueggenjohann is August Friedrich Wilhelm Brüggenjohann.