Bartensteins, Sonnenfelds, Apts

I have created this page for collecting random information on Dad's father's maternal ancestors and descendants. Dad's grandmother, Coelestine Silbermann, died before he was born (1904). She was born a Bartenstein, and one of her sister's, Johanna, married an Adolf Sonnenfeld. The Sonnenfelds had several children, including Waly, who married Heinrich Apt. One of their sons, Franz, is the one whose eulogy we have for grandfather.

Amanda Sonnenfeld

Dad's Memoirs:

Wrote books. Very chauvinistic about Kaiser, etc. Including Lustig Kameraden, supposedly about Eugen and Vally, among other children.[1]

German Wikipedia (Google translate):

Amanda Sonnenfels (actually: Amanda Sonnenfeld; born July 4, 1868 in Kosel , Upper Silesia ) was a German writer.

Amanda Sonnenfeld grew up as the daughter of a manor owner. Due to financial difficulties, the family moved to Breslau, where they began to write and adopted the pseudonym Sonnenfels.

Her works:

Ein Thronerbe. Roman. Dresden 1900.
Ein Beitrag zur Psychologie des Kindes. Vortrag gehalten in Breslau den 18. Februar 1904. Dieter, Breslau 1904.
Dichterinnen und Freundinnen unserer grossen Dichter. Tetzlaff, Berlin 1907.
Gefrorene Scheiben - Neue Märchen von Amanda Sonnenfels. 1908.
Die Geschichte von den lustigen Bären. Molling, Hannover 1910.
Aus denkwürdiger Zeit. Eine Erzählung für die reifere Jugend. Goerlich, Breslau 1912.
Der fliegende Mensch und anderes. Priebatsch, Breslau 1913.
Lustige Kameraden : Erzählungen für die Jugend. Nister, Nürnberg 1914.
Fliegende Blätter vom Welttheater. Böhm & Taussig, Breslau 1916.
Vom täglichen Brot. Goerlich, Breslau 1919.
Königin Luise von Preußen Eine Lebensbeschreibung für die Mädchenwelt. Stuttgart 1920.
Märchen für kleine und große Leute. Für die Jugend. Loewe, Stuttgart 1921.
Deutsche Frauengestalten. 10 Lebensbeschreibungen hervorragender Frauen für die Mädchenwelt. Stuttgart 1927.
Die roten Schuhe. Löwensohn, Fürth 1927.

Brümmer, Franz: Lexicon of German poets and prose writers from the beginning of the 19th century to the present. Vol. 6. 6th edition Leipzig, 1913.

Google translate of the article on Amanda Sonnefeld:

Sonnenfeld, Amanda, pseudon. Amanda Sonnenfels was born on July 4, 1868 in Koſel (Upper Silesia) as the daughter of the former owner of the manor Adolf S., came to her parents' manor in Kuſchnitzka, district of Koſel, at an early age, and received here from educators The brothers' private tutor provided excellent instruction, which also took their individuality into account . Her character development was strongly influenced by the solitude of country life , so that despite her lively and fresh temperament soon pursued a serious view of life that went beyond her years . At the end of her childhood her father sold his property, moved to Wrocław [Breslau] to spend a winter there and then to buy a new country estate . Suddenly the mother died and the stay in Breslau extended longer, until after a few years the father bought himself in Heidersdorf in the district of Wohlau . It was here that Amanda began her writing career. After four years the father sold his property; he had worked under difficult and unfortunate conditions and a considerable part of it lost his fortune. In Breslau, where the family moved again , Amanda resumed her work with renewed vigor and great energy . In the fall of 1907 she moved her place of residence to Berlin. S: Juditta (Ep. G. after a prose sketch by Roſenthal -Bonin), 1896.

– Fairy tales for small and large people, 1899. 5th A. 1909.
– An heir to the throne (R.), 1900. 2nd A. 1905 -
The Other (R.), 1903.
- A visit of Barbaroſſa in Rübezahl's kingdom (Patriot. Feſtſp.), 1906.
- The Emperor's picture "People of Europe, protect your most glorious goods" (Feſtſp.), 1906 .
—Poets and girlfriends of our great poets, 1907. Neue A. ud T.: Outstanding women; II, 1911.
– Frozen discs (Neue M.), 1908. – German female figures (10 biogr.), 1910.

Notes:

  1. So the two readers who started looking at the book agree. Mom found it a bore, and Stephanie Steinberg said "She read the first few lines and said it was very flowery and the just looked at me with “are you kidding?” eyes and I said she certainly didn’t have to if she didn’t want to. And she didn’t want to."