2000/09/10
Dear Family and Friends:
Hallo! Hello! ¡Saludos!
Last week we had heard from José Riefkohl. This week we have for you a short biography from Jeannette Riefkohl, who teaches Spanish in Atlanta, Georgia:
"I am Jeannette, daughter of Rafael, granddaughter of Jesús (I feel like in the Bible, " Samuel, begot Abraham, who begot ...". I am the sister of José and Rafael Juan. When I was 18, I married and went to live in New York City. I received my B.A. from Queens College, and then my M.A. from Carbondale, Illinois. I also took doctoral courses at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I was married twice. I seem to be like a magnet for "crazy men." :=) I have no children."
Here is an anecdote about Jeannette and her older brother, Rafael Juan, who still lives in Puerto Rico:
"Rafael Juan studied at Colegio San José, a Marianist college preparatory school in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. One day I was at the airport, as I was returning to the USA after spending Christmas in Puerto Rico. A man began to stare at me. I noticed that he was accompanied by his wife, so I was very intrigued that he watched me so intensely. Finally he dared to ask to me, "Are you by any chance Rafi's sister?" I acknowledged my relation to Rafael Juan. The man identified himself as one of his former classmates at Colegio San José. He asked me about Rafi, and I told him that he was a judge in Puerto Rico. He could not believe that Rafi was a judge... As the plane was taking off from San Juan, the man burst out laughing. Upon arriving in Atlanta, he and his family were headed towards another gate to catch their plane. I could still hear him laughing like a possessed person as he walked down the aisle."
About the Riefköhls who are no longer with us... This is a remembrance of Jeannette's grandfather:
"My grandfather, Jesús, studied engineering in Angola, Indiana (USA). Later on, like the Riefköhls who came to the New World during the 19th century, he worked as an engineer at a sugar cane plantation. When I was little, he and his wife, Angelita, lived at a sugar cane plantation in Juncos (Puerto Rico). There they had a lovely farm. As a child, I liked to play with a lamb and gather eggs with Grandma. I remember that if they was anything that needed to be fixed around the house, my grandfather, who was very ingenious like all the Riefkohls, would fix it. His hands were so strong that did not seem of this world... Even when he became old and ill, he could still shake my brothers' hands so hard that it seemed to crush their hands. What I liked the most about my grandfather was his sweet smile and, like all the Riefkohls, he was so handsome!"
Thank you, Jeannette, for sharing information and remembrances about your family. I am sure that your memories of your grandfather wll find resonance with the memories that we all have our our elders. For all other, keep them coming!
Many of you are probably wondering why we have not been able to find out information about the Riefkohls prior to 1660. A relative of our family, Tobias Cohrs, who studies at the University of Göttingen, informed me that many documents in Germany were burned during the 30 year War between 1618 and 1648. He indicated that it is very, very difficult to trace ancestors prior to this war, especially if your family was not part of the German nobility. Notwithstanding this difficulty, we will continue to research on both sides of the Atlantic to expand the information we have about our family.
Violence in West Timor. "The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, called the rampage the worst security incident that her agency had faced anywhere in the world. The commissioner identified the slain aid workers as Carlos Cáceres Collazo, an American from Puerto Rico, Samson Aregahegn of Ethiopia and Pero Simundza of Croatia." This is a real tragedy, especially for the families of these men.
Riefkohl Trivia: This Riefkohl was born in the 18th century and died during the 19th century. He had nine children (that we know of). All the Riefkohls from México and Puerto Rico are direct descendants of this Lutheran pastor. Who is he?
If you would like to share family pictures, PLEASE send them to me and I will include them in future newsletters. Today, I am including two pictures. The first one if of Adolf Ferdinand Maseberg (on the left), courtesy of Tobias Cohrs. Adolf was the son of Agnes Helena Riefköhl and Carl Friedrich Maseberg. Agnes Helena was the daughter of our mystery Riefkohl (see Riefkohl Trivia above.) She was also my great great grandfather's sister.
The second picture is of our two daughters, Bianca Elena (10) and Brianna Joëlle (3).
For those of you who will be watching the Olympic Games, if you watch the swimming events, please cheer for Klete Keller (400M free), Gary Hall, Jr. (50M and 100M free) and Toni Ervin (50M free). These three swimmers train with our children's swim team, the Phoenix Swim Club. We are so excited to have three Olympians on our team!
Carla, since you are living in Australia, can you send us a report from Down Under?
I hope that you are enjoying reading these newsletters. Please send me your comments and entries.
Have a great week!
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