Ferdinand Willius's Siblings
Gustav Otto Conrad Willius
Ferdinand Willius had only one sibling who survived to adulthood, a younger brother named Gustav. The two remained close throughout their lives. To avoid duplication much of the information on both will be found here.
The Minnesota Historical Society has an extensive collection of papers on Ferdinand: http://sites.mnhs.org/library. Enter the name "Ferdinand Willius" in "Catalogue Search". There are 9 boxes of material. Much of it deals with Gustav as well. The two brothers went into the banking business together and many letters between them can be found in the collection.
The chart below illustrates the extensive connections in the Willius family and will help identify family members that played important roles in Ferdinand and Gustav's lives. It is especially useful as a reference for the materials in the Minnesota Historical Society collections, particularly the correspondence. There are letters between Ferdinand and many of these cousins, aunts and uncles. The chart will help unravel relationships as you read the letters in the History Center.
The Minnesota Historical Society has an extensive collection of papers on Ferdinand: http://sites.mnhs.org/library. Enter the name "Ferdinand Willius" in "Catalogue Search". There are 9 boxes of material. Much of it deals with Gustav as well. The two brothers went into the banking business together and many letters between them can be found in the collection.
The chart below illustrates the extensive connections in the Willius family and will help identify family members that played important roles in Ferdinand and Gustav's lives. It is especially useful as a reference for the materials in the Minnesota Historical Society collections, particularly the correspondence. There are letters between Ferdinand and many of these cousins, aunts and uncles. The chart will help unravel relationships as you read the letters in the History Center.
Ferdinand Willius had two older sisters and one younger brother. Conradine was nine and Johanna six, the year Ferdinand was born. One year later his mother gave birth to a baby brother, Gustav. Two years later the children's mother died, and six years after that they lost their father. The girls were 14 and 17, the boys 7 and 8 when they became orphans. The tragedy didn't end there. The two teen age girls, Conradine and Johanna died the year after their father. The two small boys were left to the care of various family members, some of whom are listed in the chart above. Two uncles, Conrad Willius II, a brother of the boy's father, and an Uncle Niemann, related on the boy's mother's side of the family, helped support them financially. Two guardians were also appointed, Mr. V. Knippenberg and George Wilkin. We have hardly any information on Doris Niemann Willius, Ferdinand and Gustav's mother. We know only that she was the daughter of Gottliebe Niemann and Catherine Dorothea Tietzel. We also know that a Louise Knippenberg was the boy's aunt. She is married to a Carl Kippenberg. This side of the family was from Minden, while the Willius family originated in Cassel.
Ferdinand Willius Sibling Chart
From the Minnesota Historical Society Collection of "Ferdinand Willius Papers"
This letter from Fritz Willius, Ferdinand and Gustav's father, to his siblings was written nine days after his wife's death.
Frieda's Scrapbook
From Minnesota Historical Society collection of "Ferdinand Willius Papers"
After the children's father died, the relatives stepped in and tried to decide what to do about the 4 orphaned children.
Frieda's Scrapbook
The "calendar" below is almost like a diary and was started by Conradine right after her father's death.
From Minnesota Historical Society Collection of "Ferdinand Willius Papers"
The following letter written by a friend to an unidentified family member describes Conradine's last illness and death as well as the tragic death of her young sister Johanna, which came only one month after Conradine's.
