Lillian Marie Louise Steinway

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Lillian Marie Louise Steinway (b. December 26, 1860 in New York City, d. October 4, 1904 in Gundelsheim near Heidelberg, Germany) was the eldest of three daughters of William Steinway's brother Henry Engelhard Steinway Jr. and Ernestine Hildegard Miller. Lillian married Lieutenant Matthias Hans Ludwig von Blumenthal, nephew of the German Field Marshall Count von Blumenthal and lived the remainder of her life in Germany.

After Henry's death in March 1865 in New York City, Lillian's widowed mother Ernestine married Charles J. Oaks and in November of that year left with the children for Braunschweig, Germany. (Diary, 1865-11-04) During the ensuing three year custody battle between Ernestine and William Steinway, Lillian and her sisters Anna and Clarissa lived with State attorney general Carl Koch and his wife Johanna (3), close friends of William and C. F. Theodor Steinway. Having regained custody of the girls Ernestine settled in Baden-Baden, Germany. William and attorney Koch administered the inheritance of the three girls, as stated in Henry's will. (2) The girls used Oaks as their last name. (4) William noted Lillian's engagement to Lieutenant Matthias Hans Ludwig von Blumenthal (Diary, 1883-04-24) and sent a congratulatory telegram for her wedding, (Diary, 1883-09-19) which however did not take place until October 22, 1883 in Baden-Baden. The young couple resided in Berlin where William visited Lillian to hand her a check of the interest due her from her father's estate. (Diary, 1888-06-16; 1888-09-18) Lillian and her husband were transferred to Gundelsheim, near Heidelberg, for a year but moved back to Berlin where Lillian wrote to William in New York asking him to invest 42,000 Reichsmark in first mortgages for her at 6% interest. (5)

Lillian and Matthias had four children: Hans George (b July 20, 1884, d in action August 5, 1915); Marie Louise Clarissa (b October 25, 1887, d May 24, 1971)(1); Matthias Kurt (b September 24, 1888, committed suicide with his wife Ilse de Gruyter on May 1, 1945, when the Russians occupied Vehlow)(6); and Ewald (b 1892, d 1894 at the age of 1 year and 9 months). (Diary, 1894-04-18)

Lillian and her sister Anna, who married Baron Heinrich von and zu Bodman, Minister of the Interior for Baden, contracted typhoid fever while living in Karlsruhe but recovered from it (Diary, 1890-09-03). Lillian and Matthias briefly visited New York City for the suit brought by H.W. T. Steinway then pending before the New York Supreme Court. (Diary, 1895-01-31)

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Sources:

  1. Familienforschung Peters, „Von Blumenthal,“ www.dirkpeters.net/datenbank
  2. Fostle, D.W. The Steinway Saga: An American Dynasty. New York: Scribner, 1995, p. 128.
  3. Koch, Carl, Letter to William Steinway, December 14, 1865, Steinway & Sons Collection, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, Fiorello H. LaGuadia Community College/CUNY, Long Island City, Queens.
  4. Oaks, Clarissa, Letter to Theodor E. Steinway, June 17, 1943, Steinway & Sons Collection, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, Fiorello H. LaGuadia Community College/CUNY, Long Island City, Queens.
  5. Von Blumenthal, Lillian, Letter to William Steinway, April 17, 1889, Steinway & Sons Collection, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, Fiorello H. LaGuadia Community College/CUNY, Long Island City, Queens.
  6. Ziegler, Henry Steinway, Letter to the Steinway Diary Project Library, NMAH, 1989.