Louise Albertine Kreischer Steinway

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Louise (sometimes Louisa) Albertine Kreischer (b June 10, 1848, in New York City; d June 30, 1926, in New York City) was the fourth daughter and sixth child of Caroline Haenchen and brick maker Balthasar Kreischer. Her marriage to Albert Steinway, younger brother of William Steinway, was celebrated on October 4, 1865, at the home of her parents.(3) As William described it, " Very affecting scene. We are all deeply moved."(Diary, 1865-10-04) The marriage produced two daughters, both born in New York City: Henriette Julia on March 1, 1867, and Ella Frederika on February 28, 1871. Albert Steinway died on May 11, 1877, leaving Louise at age 28 a widow with two young daughters to raise. Louise did not remarry, and she remained an integral part of the Steinway family and a close friend of William Steinway for the rest of his life.(2)

For the eleven-plus years of her marriage, Louise remained very much in the shadow of her active and energetic husband, raising her children, and socializing with Albert, William, and other members of the Kreischer and Steinway families. Many evenings were passed with the threesome of Louise, Albert and William playing "skat." In his diary, William more often than not referred to "Albert & wife," sometimes to "Mrs. Albert," and only occasionally to "Louise."(Diary, 1870-12-29, 1875-04-11) In this period, she survived a difficult miscarriage (Diary, 1874-03-17) and a carriage accident that resulted in painfully broken ribs.(Diary 1876-09-09) With the death of Albert, Louise, wrote William, "suffers dreadfully," and was "almost heartbroke."(Diary, 1877-5-17, 5-20) In accordance with the will left by Albert, William assumed responsibility for managing Louise's financial affairs.(1)

Judging by his diary entries, the recently-divorced William and the widowed Louise (now, more often than not, "Louisa") became very frequent companions, though the closeness of their relationship is difficult to judge. William reported many instances of visits to Louisa's house and meals taken with her, these sometimes in the company of other family or friends, sometimes not.(Diary, 1878-02-25) There were concerts and social events together, and letters written. In any event, in 1880 William chose to marry Elizabeth Ranft, and after that his new wife was likely to be included on occasions involving Louise.

As he did with other family members, William assisted Louise with personal affairs, including drawing up wills and mortgage arrangements. She was a member of a large group that accompanied William on a trip in 1888 to Europe.(Diary, 1888-05-12) At other times she traveled to Europe on her own.(Diary, 1891-05-19) When Louise's brother, Edward Kreischer, became an apparent suicide in 1894, she was one of the Kreischer family members he consulted at length about the affair.(Diary, 1894-10-11) Louise continued to visit William as he drew toward the end of his life in 1896. Her life continued on for another three decades after he was gone.
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Sources:
1. "Albert Steinway's Will," The Music Trade Review, June 3, 1877, p. 45.
2. Maniha, Ken, Steinway Family Genealogy
3. "Married," The New York Times, October 6, 1865, p. 5.