The following is an excellently researched post from local high school student Ella Vincent. Ella is a Junior at Providence Academy here in Plymouth. She has volunteered previously and wrote this piece because of her personal interest in research and genealogy.

The Plymouth Historical Society Collection contains many pictures donated by Plymouth families. This
photograph of a group of children tells a wintry tale of Plymouth’s past.

The picture, which is part of the Mengelkoch Collection, was likely taken around 1920. The inscription on the back of the photograph reads: “Verniece Schiebe; Lucile Roehl; Adaline Rippe; Margaret; Emma; Elise
Stienberg; Gladys; Esther; Doris”. Most of these Plymouth Township children, at once posed in the
outside snow, grew up to have long-standing connections with Plymouth.

Verniece Scheibe

Verniece Margaret Scheibe was born in 1910, and lived in Plymouth for at least 10 years before moving to
Robbinsdale. Verniece was a third generation Plymouth resident. Her grandfather, Gustavus Frank Theodore Schiebe was born in 1848 in Prussia, Germany. He came to America and married Wilhemina Siebert in 1879 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Gustavus lived in Plymouth Township for at least 5 years until his death in 1922 at the age of 73.

Gustavus Schiebe had a son named Albert Schiebe who was born in 1883 in Plymouth Township. Albert married Clara Amanda Manthey in 1907 and lived in Plymouth for 35 years. He died in 1950 and was buried in Parkers Lake Cemetery. During his life, he had at least 3 sons and 4 daughters, one of which was Verniece Schiebe who is pictured above.

Verniece Margaret Schiebe lived in Plymouth at least until 1920, before moving to nearby
Robbinsdale, MN. She married Douglas Bernard Knoll . They had at least one child, a daughter
named Delores Knoll who was born in 1934. Verniece lived a long life and passed away in 1978.

Lucille Roehl

Another schoolgirl listed in the picture is Lucille Roehl, who was born in 1909. Her father,
Mathias Roehl married Mary Ann Freund in 1909, farmed in Independence, MN, and lived in
Plymouth Township where he died in 1953. Lucille’s mother, Mary Ann Freund, was the
daughter of Caroline Mengelkoch Freund (the Mengelkoch Family is the donor of this picture).
Lucille married Philip Leuer in 1933, had 5 children and at least 16 grandchildren. They lived for
at least 40 years in Plymouth. Lucille died in 1987 at the age of 77 as a resident of nearby
Hamel, MN. It is interesting to note that her husband Philip’s grandfather, Franz Anton Ditter,
was one of the earliest settlers of Hamel/Medina, MN in the late 1800s.

Adaline Rippe

Another angelic girl pictured was Adaline Rippe. She was born in 1910, and lived with her
grandfather John, father Ludwig, mother Anna, brother Ludwig Jr., and sister Gladys. Adaline’s
grandfather John was a widower who had emigrated from Germany. Adaline’s father Ludwig
was born in Minnesota in 1875. Adeline’s mother, Anna, was born in Plymouth Township
around 1879 to Nicholas M. Faber and Mary Ann Henkes. Anna lived in Plymouth until her
death in 1950.

Adaline Ella Elizabeth Rippe grew up in Plymouth Township. In her 20s, Adaline lived with her
then widowed mother, Anna, and older sister, Gladys. She worked as a Cashier in the
Newspaper Industry. Adeline remained in Plymouth most of her life until her death in 1980.

“Margaret”

It is plausible that the “Margaret” in the snow angel photograph is Vera Margaret Mengelkoch.
Records show that Vera Margaret was born in 1908, a similar year to the other girls listed. As
mentioned, the Mengelkoch family donated the above picture to the Plymouth Historical Society.
This familiarity may be the reason “Margaret’s” last name is not written.
Vera Margaret’s parents were Henry Mengelkoch and Susan Raths. They lived in Plymouth
before she grew up and married Thomas Walker Hansen. Margaret lived in Plymouth until at
least 1930, and passed away in 1999 as a resident of El Paso, TX.

“Emma”

It is likely that the snow angel “Emma” is Magdalena Emma Mengelkoch. Records show that
Magdalena Emma was born in 1909, and is listed in census records under her middle name.
Her parents were Henry and Anna (Ernst) Mengelkoch. Henry was born in 1865 in Plymouth,
and lived there until his death in 1952. Anna was born in 1871 and lived in Plymouth from at
least 1895 to 1940. Emma lived in Plymouth until at least 1940. She died in 1968. As
mentioned, the Mengelkoch family donated the above picture to the Plymouth Historical Society.
This familiarity may also be the reason “Emma’s” last name is not written.

Elise Stienberg

This angel is likely Elsie Steinberg, who was born in nearby Wayzata around 1910. She grew up
around Plymouth Township and lived in Plymouth during the 1920s. Elsie later married Lyle
Waxon, moved east from Plymouth. She died in 1934, and is buried in the St. Croix/Hudson, WI
area along with her infant son.

Elsie’s father, Frank Steinberg, was born in Denmark around 1881 and emigrated to the United
States in 1904. Elsie’s mother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Faue) Steinberg, was born in Minnesota
around 1889. Frank and Lizzie lived in Plymouth until at least 1930 before moving to Wayzata
by 1935 and to Los Angeles, CA by 1950.

“Gladys”

“Gladys” is likely Adaline Rippe’s older sister, Gladys Rippe. Like Adaline, Gladys grew up in
Plymouth Township and appears to have lived in Plymouth the rest of her life, near Medicine
Lake. Gladys died in 1988 and is buried, along with her parents Ludwig and Anna, at St.
Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in Plymouth.

Interestingly, Gladys Rippe is mentioned on declassified FBI documents associated with the
espionage trial of Martin Sobell, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. However, Gladys was not a spy. She was a Deputy Clerk in the United States District Court.

“Esther” and “Doris”

The “Esther” in the photograph is likely Esther Margaret Steinberg, Elsie Steinberg’s older sister.
Esther was born around the year 1908. Not much is known about Esther Margaret Steinberg,
but we do know that she lived in Plymouth during the 1910s and 1920s, together with her sister,
Elsie, father Frank, mother Lizzie and other siblings.

More needs to be known before we can identity the “Doris” in the photograph, but the tales of
the other snow angels above reveal that most stayed in Plymouth for a large portion of their
lives. While their stories took different turns, the roots placed in Plymouth at an early age grew
strong and supported their families for many years.

Note: The information in this article is taken from Ancestry.com FamilySearch.org, FindAGrave.com, and FBI.gov.