History of Welte & Sons and successors in the USA
  Otto Kremp & Welte Mignon Piano Service Company

There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the history of Welte and
their succeeding companies.  As you possibly know, the buildings in
Freiburg were completely destroyed in 1944 and it's a real puzzle to
get things together again.  One piece of this puzzle I found in
Freiburg, but other pieces are hopefully to be found in the US.

In 1911 a technician at Welte in Freiburg, Otto Emil Kremp, went to
the US to became the technical leader of the newly built Welte factory
in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., accompanied by his wife Anna and his 1-year-old
son, also named Otto Emil Kremp.

In 1913 another son was born and baptized in Poughkeepsie.  In 1914 Anna
Kremp became ill and returned to Germany for an operation, accompanied
by her two little boys.  The Great War broke out, and the family was
divided.

Nothing is known about the history of Otto Kremp in the years after WW1
except that in 1930 he founded a Welte Mignon Piano Company and was
also in the 1930s president of a Welte Mignon Piano Service Co. in New
York.

Anna Kremp returned to her husband in New York in 1938, while the adult
children stayed in Germany.  Kremp may have become a US citizen in the
intervening years; there is also a green card in his legacy.  In 1951
both Kremps came back home to Freiburg; Anna Kremp died in 1972, Otto
Emil Kremp in 1973.  He lost his US citizenship again.

 [ Matthew Caulfield tells me that a non-citizen who is a legal
 [ permanent resident in the USA must carry a so-called "green card"
 [ at all times.  I believe that this identification card must be
 [ surrendered when the person becomes a US citizen.  -- Robbie

Otto Kremp's son in Freiburg is now 89 years old and still very fit.
His wife told me that her father-in-law had became an American citizen
in 1910, almost immediately after his arrival in the US.  He lost his
citizenship after his departure to Germany in 1952; he was not allowed
to stay abroad longer than one year without losing it (maybe it's a
law).

Most of the Welte people in Poughkeepsie had become US citizens before
WW1.  I'm sure there are still people from those families living in
Poughkeepsie, but I've had no success in finding them.  I'm still
hunting an old man named Nageleisen who worked at Welte, and is still
living in the US.

They're all dying before I can find them!  A few years ago I located
the widow of a Welte pianist and made a date with her for the next day.
Upon ringing the doorbell her grandson opened the door and told me
that she had died the night before.

There is still a part of the Welte family in the US, but I can't find
them after searching for more than ten years.  I once wrote about 50
letters to people named Welte.  I know about their whereabouts until
about 1950, but I lost every trail.

The documents in the photo images are nearly the only remains of the
Otto Emil Kremp family.  They were given to me by his 1910 born son
who lives still in Freiburg.  I hope that someone in the USA has the
possibility to help to play the puzzle.

Kind regards from the hometown of Welte & Sons

Gerhard Dangel-Reese, Augustinermuseum
Augustinerplatz 1-3 , D-79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
tel: +49-761-201-2528  fax: +49-761-201-2597

 [ See the photos at  http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/
 [
 [ Among other duties at the Augustiner Museum, Gerhard is the curator
 [ and historian of the legacy of Firma M. Welte & Soehne of Freiburg.
 [ -- Robbie