A Berks County Biography: Frieda Researches Her Parents

As you may know, Fannie was an orphan pup found in the flooded areas of Kentucky six years ago.  She was taken in and fostered until she came into our lives at the age of 8 weeks.  She does not remember her mother, and never met her father.  So, she can relate to this story, told by Frieda Fritz Stiehl.

Alfred and Agnes: The Story of My Immigrant Parents was published in 2016 by Masthof Press.  It is now in the catalog of AncestorStuff.com.

www.masthof.com, 

The author, Frieda Fritz Stiehl, grew up on a dairy farm in Berks County, Pennsylvania.  She researched the past history of her parents, Alfred and Ages, and prepared this biography.  She tells the story of her German immigrant parents who experienced political and social events of the 20th century that pressed them to seek a better life outside of Germany.

After Alfred and Agnes passed away, Frieda realized how little she actually knew about her parents.  She had so many questions to ask of them, but they were not there to give her any answers.  We all go through that stage when a family member dies.  We wish we had that one last conversation with them to get the story of their lives, and learn about what happened to shape them into the people that they became.

Frieda Fritz Stiehl, like most of us budding genealogists, started from what she knew to be true.  Then she started her investigation into the lives of her parents.  She uncovered dark secrets and tells the family stories that had been past down to her.  She also discovers that some of the stories were just lore, and half truths.  But what was real were the struggles that her parents had to endure.  They had dreams, and actually achieved some of them.  And, as usual, to get what  they wanted and needed in life, they had to pay the price.  Sacrifice and love, Optimism and hardship, Big dreams and picking up oneself from failure...that what this story is all about.

This book has a list price of $38.00, with 314 pages, color illustrations, hard covered.

Fannie gives this book Three Paws Up, just for the way that it touched her heart and encouraged her in the quest for digging for her roots. Maybe it will inspire you to pick up your family history and dig deeper for the real stories that you never knew.