Final family history tour

On Sunday, the descedents of Andrew Hammond Kauffman Jr. visited Kirkwood and Webster Groves.

The Kauffman family home at 494 W. Lockwood in Webster Groves, MO. Andy Kauffman Sr. built this home for his family in 1915. Here he raised his four children, Andrew Jr., William ("Bill"), Martha, and Sewell.

This home at 140 N. Rock Hill Road was the residence of Albert and Sarah Kauffman, and is where Andy Sr. lived when he met Caroline Wiegand.

Carrie Shook and Sara Hines in front of their childhood home at 836 N. Kirkwood Road in Kirkwood, MO. Their youngest brother George was born while they lived at this house, before the family moved to California in 1955.

The Shook sisters in front of 645 Scott Ave. in Kirkwood, residence of Harry and Gertrude Higgins, and childhood home of their grandmother Elizabeth Bissell Higgins Kauffman. Pictured: Sally Shook, Blythe Soria, Betsy Shook Fung.

Leslie Hail took this photo of Richard King Kauffman's residence at 338 Oakwood Avenue in Webster Groves. King was Andrew Sr.'s older brother.

Another of King Kauffman's homes.

Caroline Wiegand Kauffman attended the Mary Institute as a girl. It is still a private school, the New City School located at 5209 Waterman.

Sunday Brunch on Lafayette Square

On Sunday, the family met at Susie's beautifully restored home on Lafayette Square in St. Louis.

Our group poses in front of Susie's house on Mississippi.

Another form of the group at Lafayette Square park across the street. Pictured, front: Kari Miller, Nancy Ragan, Patty Fawcett, Louisa Forni & Ashley Kauffman kneeling, Sue Akins, Holly Pieper, Mickie Kauffman holding Katie & Logan Miller, Christy Kauffman, Porter Kauffman, Carrie Shook, Dana Pieper, Gary Pieper; rear: Ed McCann, Leslie Hail, Cameron Kauffman, Sally Shook, Jennifer Lasell, Kyle Pieper, Chris Hail, Mike O'Connor, Betsy Shook, Lowell Whiting, Blythe Soria, Andy Kauffman, Sara Hines, John Shook. Thank you to Chris Hail for identifying everyone, and Tom Fawcett for taking this photo.



Susie Kauffman Akins welcomes us to her home.

The family of Sewell and Mick Kauffman: Susie, Holly, Mick, Nancy, Kari, and Bob

Holly Kauffman Pieper's family: Kyle, Holly, Gary, and Dana.



Kari Miller, Gary Pieper, and Elizabeth Boone



The group walked down to the street to 2010 Rutger, the birthplace of the cousins' grandmother Caroline Wiegand Kauffman.



Cameron and Ashley Kauffman, offspring of Blair Kauffman.

William Porter Kauffman, his wife Kathy, and their daughter Christy.

Many thanks for pictures contributed by the reunion attendees, including Leslie Hail and Kathy Kauffman.

Saturday Night at Aunt Mick's

On Saturday evening we gathered at Mick Kauffman's house in Des Peres.

Aunt Mick welcomed us into her home. Her husband Sewell Kauffman passed away in August.

My mother Carrie Shook brought Caroline Wiegand Kauffman's wedding guest list book from 1912. Porter, Carrie, and others brought old family photos. They were piled on a table in the living room so everyone could take a look.

Old family movies from 1928-1930 were transferred to DVD so that we could watch. The films showed Andrew Kauffman Sr. and his four children playing in the backyard on the Fourth of July. We also catch a glimpse of other relatives, including Andrew's sister Kate, his brother George, and his brother Richard "King" Kauffman.

There was wine (California and Missouri bottled) and beer out on the walled porch.
Pictured: Patty Fawcett, Andrew Kauffman III, Kathy Kauffman, Christy Kauffman.

Ed McCann, Sally Shook, Louisa Forni, and Louisa's mother, Leslie Hail.

Paul Miller, his daughter Katie, Gary Pieper, and his daughter Dana.

Andy Kauffman III and his partner, Lowell Whiting

Saturday: Family History Tour

On Saturday, Porter, Kathy, and Susie took the out-of-town cousins on a tour of old family homes and burial plots. We squeezed into three vehicles and left from Susie's home on Lafayette Square.

This building at 2000 N. Broadway is the site of the Standard Stamping Company, which was owned by the Wiegand family. Caroline Wiegand was the wife of Andrew Hammond Kauffman.

The grave site of Caroline Wiegand Kauffman at Bellefountaine Cemetary in St. Louis. Caroline died of appendicitis in 1923. Her premature infant died the day before, and is buried next to her.



Caroline's mother "Mamo" is buried in the same family plot.

Mamo's mother has a simple marker. Her name was Eliza Porter Gilliland Rutherford.

Porter has studied Kauffman family history for years and guided us throughout the tour.



Our group at the Wiegand family plot. Pictured: Carrie Shook, Blythe Soria, Patty Fawcett, Porter Kauffman, Bob Hines, Kathy Kauffman, Ashley Kauffman, Sally Shook, Andrew Kauffman, Susie Akins, Sara Hines, Betsy Shook.

Next, we traveled to the Calvary Catholic cemetary. Here, Andrew Hammond Kauffman is buried next to his second wife, Edna Mittelberg. (Where is Edna's second husband Sam Mittelberg buried?) This photo includes Sara Hines' daughter Jennifer Lasell of Chico, CA.

Here is the Wiegand family home located at 35 Washington Terrace. The family moved here in 1908 when Caroline was 19 years old. Caroline married Andrew Kauffman in 1912, and a reception for several hundred friends and relatives was held at this home.



The gate to the Washington Terrace road. This is an exclusive street of grand homes, surrounded by lower-income areas.

Andrew's father Albert Bradford Kauffman and mother Sarah Cochran are buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Military Cemetary. Albert was a captain in the Union army. His son Andrew is named after an officer who married one of his daughters from his first marriage.

This home at 4416 Westminster Place belonged to Andy Sr.'s sister Kate and her husband Reuben Taylor. Their mother Sarah Cochran Kauffman spent her final years here after Albert's death.

Friday Night Dinner at the Lemp Mansion

The cousins organized the first event of the Kauffman family reunion: dinner at the Lemp Mansion. Built by the owners of the oldest brewery in St. Louis, this mansion has a tragic past and is supposed to be haunted.

Photos by Kathy Kauffman, Betsy Shook, and others.

The Lemp Mansion

Ashley Kauffman (of Portland, OR), Kathy Kauffman, and Teresa Kauffman.



Kathy and William Porter Kauffman, Jr.



Sara Kauffman Hines and Bob Hines



Mickie Kauffman and Ashley Kauffman speaking with William Porter Kauffman.



Ann Kauffman, Leslie Hail, Susie Akins, and Nancy Ragan



John Shook, Betsy Shook, Teresa and Brad Kauffman



Jennifer Lasell, Patty Fawcett, and Betsy Shook



Louisa Forni arrives from New York. Susie Akins and Elizabeth Boone clapping. Chris Hail in background.



Teresa Kauffman, Ashley Kauffman, William Porter Kauffman, and Chris Hail.



Sisters: Kari Kauffman, Nancy Ragan, and Holly Pieper.



Mike O'Connor, William Porter Kauffman Jr., and Chris Hail speaking with Aunt Mick Kauffman.

We took over the old Lemp dining room. Over 30 Kauffman cousins and their families attended.

Carrie Shook, Leslie Hail, and Ed McCann all journeyed from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tom Fawcett, Andy Kauffman III, and Lowell Whiting.