2000/10/01
Dear Family and Friends:
Hallo! Hello! ¡Saludos!
The BIG news this week is the launching of our family homepage: www.riefkohl.com. I hope that all of you have had a chance to see it.
Again, thanks a bunch to Tobi, our webmaster, for making this dream a reality. If you have any ideas or suggestions for making this website even better, please send us an email.
This week we welcome Alfredo Riefkohl. Here is what Alfredo wrote to us recently:
"I am one of the Riefkohl´s in México. It is a pleasure to see what Ernesto is doing in Puerto Rico!! Here in México the family is not very large and we all know each other. My father is the oldest of the family (Luis Riefkohl, 71 ) and I am his second son ( 40 ) . My older brother Luis (42) lives in Munich ( Germany ) and my sister Lisa(37) in Acapulco, México. Besides us , there is Alejandro Riefkohl(48) and his son Alejandro(20), Erik Riefkohl and his son Erik(14) and daughter Sabine (10) and Gustavo Riefkohl (53) and two daughters , both living in Australia ( one of them you have contacted recently ). In 1986 we visited the Riefkohls of Puerto Rico including Ernesto and Otto. Well , I just wanted to let you know that we are here!! Best regards!!"
Welcome, Alfredo. Please spread the word about our website among all your family and friends in México and Australia.
The answer to last week's Riefkohl trivia is Rear Admiral Frederick "Fritz" Louis Riefkohl (1889-1969). This week's mystery Riefkohls are two brothers who around 1933 were pioneers in the plaster and building industries. They were the sons of one of the Riefkohl brothers who migrated from St. Thomas to Mexico during the mid 1800s.
Family reunions:
Is your branch of the Riefkohl family having a family reunion soon? Please send us information about the reunion as well as pictures! The Riefkohls in Arizona are having their annual reunion October 21. I am personally very excited about meeting my distant cousins here. I will certainly take lots of pictures and some of them will be posted on our website. It's hard to believe that it's already October. The good news is that December is just around the corner...and that means lots of holiday gatherings. Please remember to let us know what your family plans are. And again, take lots of pictures so that we can post them on our website. If you don't have access to a scanner you can take them to Kinko's or a similar place where they will scan them for you. Or just mail them to me and I will have them scanned.
More genealogical discoveries...
We continue to find more information and leads about our ancestors in Germany. We hope to be able to share complete information with you soon. Just to give you an idea, it appears that prior to the 1600s, the Riefkohl name had several spellings, something quite common at that time. As we begin to follow the leads on several spelling possibilities we may be finding ancestors that could very well date back to the 1300s. There is also the possibility that there was a member of our family that was one of the first wave of Lutheran pastors shortly after the Reformation. At the same time, there are still lots of gaps in present day Riekfohls. As you review the information in Ernesto's website, please make sure that your branch is accurately represented. If you discover any gaps or mistakes, please let Ernesto know so that he can update the information.
Have a great week!