Although I am not much of an educated historian, it appears to me that today’s Berliner Kehler family does not have a great deal of information about Maria S Kehler (Taunte Marie). Perhaps the greatest challenge lies in the fact that she died at an early age of 23, in childbirth of her twins, Jacob and Heinrich on February 21, 1909. Maria’s only daughter Anna Ethel Kehler Penner was one and a half years old upon her passing, and Tante Marie’s husband Abram (Abraham) Henry Penner remarried but passed away 10 years later, from Typhoid Fever on November 19, 1920 in Medicine Hat, AB.
Recently, I was contacted by Tante Marie’s great-granddaughter, Sharon (Ratzlaff) Chadwick. Sharon Chadwick is the Editor of The Davis News, a hometown newspaper in Davis, Oklahoma. Sharon had this photo of Tante Marie, and was hoping to pass it on to someone within the Berliner Clan. Imagine my surprise to be the recipient of this photo of Taunte Marie. The framed photo arrived safely, with a couple of surprises in the package.
A very lovely image of Tante Marie, it is likely taken somewhere between 1905-1909. This Ambrotype photograph is printed on glass, the back of the glass coated with a lacquer. The Ambrotype name was derived from the Greek word ambro, meaning “imperishable”. A rather fitting word to describe Tante Marie’s picture, over 110 years later!
Thank you, Sharon Chadwick, for allowing the Berliner Kehlers to keep this heirloom!
Brad Kehler, a 3rd generation Berliner Kehler, resides in Mitchell, Manitoba — near the original Berliner Kehler Ebenfeld Homestead.