vom Saal Family History

Sharon Springs

This includes photos and information about the vom Saal property in Sharon Springs, NY, which was in the family for over 100 years. This property, called “The Park” at the northern end of the small village of Sharon Springs, formerly included bath houses, the main house, a bandstand, a tennis court, a barn converted to include a caretaker’s home, and the iconic “Magnesia Temple” which still stands today. I visited it often as a child.

Also see the video of the house in Sharon Springs made by my niece Jennifer Decker when she was young.

Also see the historic photos of Sharon Springs from my old website.

The Schaefer Brewing Company was founded in 1842 by Frederick and Maximilian Schaefer.  The company made Schaefer Beer and at one time was one of the largest brewing companies in the country.   Max Schaefer was my great-great-grandfather (my father's father's mother's father).  Information includes:

• some photos of Max Schaefer.

• a brief history of the Schaefer Brewing Company that includes a few main dates and events.

• a description of the relationship between Max Schaefer and the vom Saal family.

• a book about the history of the company that was published on its 100th anniversary in 1942.

Family trees

We have several family trees.  Most were generously provided by Steve Stumpp.

Family gravestones

Photos of family gravestones from locations in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, NY.  They may be useful in determining or confirming dates in our family history.  Also included are maps of the cemetery with information on locations of several family plots.

Friedrich Heppenheimer (he also used the English version of his name, Frederick Heppenheimer) was my great-great-grandfather (my father's father's tather).  He was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States in 1847, where he founded a highly successful lithographic printing company.

Information we have on him includes family trees and gravestones, a memorial book printed following his death, biographical information, a few photos of his wife Christina Hofer, and descriptions of his lithographic company.

Photograph Albums

(These are on the Photos website, WaltervomSaal.com)

I have two very large old velvet covered photo albums with photos of many family ancestors.  All of the pages have been scanned or photographed, photos have been edited, and keywords, titles, and captions have been added.  

Blue Velvet album. This includes 26 photos dating back to the 1880s.

Red Velvet Album. This includes a total of 299 photos dating back to the 1880s.  There are 43 full page photos, 38 photos of handwritten explanatory notes, 218 photos of the individual photos in the album.

Text lists of album contents.  This is not yet on the website.

We have a copy of an old book published in 1707 that shows family trees of families in Germany.  It includes a family tree of the von Heppenheim vom Saal family with entries from years 1019 to 1684.  These photos have been updated from ones in earlier locations.

A set of old documents including baptismal certificates, marriage certificates, and other church records from Germany.