Benecke Family Collection
The Benecke Family Papers, held by the State Historical Society of Missouri, contains several thousand items reflecting the lives of immigrants Louis Benecke (1843-1919) and his wife Josephine Amerlan Benecke (1845-1908), as well as the lives of their families, friends, and descendants. Josephine Amerlan Benecke was born in Prussia and married Louis Benecke in 1868, in New York. The digitized letters in this collection were sent to her by her relatives in Germany, above all her sisters Frieda Amerlan (a children's book author) and Auguste Amerlan Schorss. Please note that the digitizations are taken from photocopies of the original letters.
Archive: State Historical Society of Missouri
Source: Benecke Family Papers: Finding aid
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, c. January 30, 1901
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to her sister, Josephine Benecke, c. January 30, 1901. Frieda Amerlan initially began writing this letter on October 4, 1900, but she explains that she stopped midway through and then picked it up again months later.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, January 17, 1888
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, January 17, 1888.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, June 27, 1888
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, June 27, 1888.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, September 6, 1888
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, September 6, 1888.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, November 5, 1888
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, November 5, 1888.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, August 30, 1899
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, August 30, 1899.
Augusta Schorss to Josephine and Louis Benecke, October 10, 1907
Letter from Augusta Amerlan (Schorss) to Josephine Amerlan (Benecke) and Louis Benecke, October 10, 1907.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, October 26, 1907
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, October 26, 1907.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, November 2, 1907
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, November 2, 1907.
Frieda Amerlan to Josephine Benecke, October 12, 1890
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to her sister, Josephine Amerlan Benecke, October 12, 1890.
Frieda Schorss to Louis Benecke, December 3, 1909
Letter from Frieda Schorss to Louis Benecke, the widower of her aunt Josephine Amerlan Benecke, December 3, 1909.
Josephine Benecke to Lucia Zillman, June 29, 1907
Letter from Josephine Benecke to her daughter, Lucia Zillman, June 29, 1907, sent during her trip to Germany in 1907. This trip was Josephine Benecke's first trip back to her homeland in many decades.
Among the family members mentioned in the…
Among the family members mentioned in the…
Frieda Amerlan to Louis Benecke, September 1, 1919
Letter from Frieda Amerlan to Louis Benecke, the widower of her sister Josephine Amerlan, September 1, 1919. This was evidently her first letter to her brother-in-law in several years and describes the consequences of World War I for the Amerlan…