Back in January of this year, I wrote about Viola IlmaThis post makes more sense if you first read Viola’s googliography., an older woman who influenced my childhood and who, it turns out, had a fascinating past.
Six months later, because the internet really is a giant serendipity dispenser, another person who knew Viola — Stu Gitlow — came across my post, as anyone googling Viola Ilma is now bound to do. He left a comment in which he mentioned Honor Holland, a frequent companion of Viola. She was often present when Viola and I spent those rainy afternoons researching stamps in her kitchen. Like Viola, Honor also wrote a book on philately, The Art of Postage Stamps.
Three months after that comment, I got the following email in my inbox:
Hello,
I am Elisabeth Reich from Geneva, Switzerland, and I believe you may know my grandmother’s half sister, Honor Holland, a philatelist in New York.
Unfortunately, since I have lost contact with her, I wondered if you might be in a position to give me her address.
She was 10 years older than my late mother and should therefore be about 88.
I hope to hear from you and thank you in advance for your kind attention.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
I did not have Honor’s address, but I was able to forward her Stu’s email address, and asked to be updated on the progress of her quest. The very next day I got a reply, which I reproduce verbatimLinks in the correspondence below were added by me. (with permission), as the story she tells is fascinating:
Hello Stefan,
I have written to Stu Gitlow and am now waiting for a reply.
However, I think I can give you some update on the reason of Haile Selassie’s photograph.In my original post on Viola, I had written: “I vividly remember a picture of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, hanging on a wall. I was under the impression she was related to him, for some reason.”
Honor’s grandfather (my great-great-grandfather) was a Swiss missionary in Ethiopia by the name of Theophilus Waldmeier.Here is a interesting description of his autobiography, on sale online for £500. He married Princess Yubdar and they had eight children, among them my great-grandmother Hannah and, I suppose, Viola’s mother or father. The family moved to Lebanon later-on and my great-grandmother was raised there. Mr Waldmeier founded the Brumana High School in Lebanon (still existing) and a psychiatric hospitalThe Lancet report on Waldmeier’s efforts in 1903.. My great-grandmother married a Mr Newson (who was Irish) and they moved to Cork. At my great-grandfather’s death (my grandmother was 8), the family moved to England where Hannah met Algernon Holland, Honor’s father.
When Haile Selassie was in exile in England, my great-grandmother spent a lot of time with him, as they were far away cousins. Therefore, she had the title of Princess Asfa Yilma. She even wrote a book about Ethiopia, Haile Selassie and their discussions. It’s title is Haile Selassie Emperor of Ethiopia (published in 1936)Found on this page, third book from the top. It, in turn, is mentioned in other books on Ethiopia. and can still be bought today. It was recently reprinted.
After World War II, Honor moved to Ethiopia with a woman, perhaps already Viola. She lived in the palace as far as I know, but started a revolution against Haile Selassie with the crown prince as she felt something had to be done for the poor and hungry. Well, as history tells you it went wrong and she had to flee to New York, where you have met her.This part is just stunning.
I hope above will lift some of your childhood mysteries. However, I will keep you updated on the success of my research.
Best wishes
Elisabeth
A day later, I received a third email from Elisabeth:
Hello again,
Here is the reply I got from Stu Gitlow:I’m sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings, but I now understand that Honor passed away several years ago. I’ve asked Dick Beresford to provide me with any details he may have so that I can pass the information along to you. I worked closely with Viola Ilma, Honor, and Dick for quite a few years while I was in high school. They were all always friendly and supportive, frequently surrounding themselves with young people sharing similar interests. I lost touch with them all after I left for college in 1980 but more recently began to hear from Dick again.
My apologies for this sad news.
Stu GitlowI had the pleasure to meet Honor several times in Switzerland. She used to come and visit us from time to time when I was a child and young adult. As I moved several times, and as my mother passed away at a relatively young age, we unfortunately lost track, but I always found her a fascinating personality. […]
Best regards,
ElisabethFuture Googlers, email me for Elisabeth Reich’s email, or she can leave it in the comments if she wishes.
Someone should write a book about these people.
Hello David, I can recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Their-Generations-Wega-Miller-George/dp/1612960499/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384014402&sr=8-1&keywords=1612960499
‘Serendipity machine’ is a perfect descriptor.
Having made a research on Th. Waldmeier, I would like to get into contact with Elisabeth Reich (but I can’t find her on the white pages).
Do you know about this document : Stephana Armbruster, “The Life and History of John Bell and his Descendants”, private ed., Palma de Mallorca ?, 1966. Stephana Armbruster is a grand-daughter from John Bell (daughter from Mary Saalmüller). Mentioned by J. O. Greenwood. I haven’t seen this document, but it certainly contains very interesting informations.
See .
Greetings
Hello Michel, I am related to Charles Hubert Armbruster and I have also been looking for this book, it is only available in a few academic libraries as far as I can tell, and they won’t allow me to access their copies as I am not an academic. There is a list here: http://www.worldcat.org/title/life-and-history-of-john-bell-and-his-descendants/oclc/264942765&referer=brief_results
Michel, I have now obtained a copy of this book from one of my elderly relatives. If you are still interested, please reply here and I’ll find a way to get a copy to you.
Hello Francis,
would be possible to get a copy of the book by Stephana?
Best regards,
Jean (Switzerland)
Hello Jean, Sorry for the delay, I actually lost this book for a while due to putting a lot of my things into storage. I have put a copy of the book at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1duzEg663zz95sQWuwbR0KYh2uR3JBCwJ/view?usp=sharing
Dear Francis,
Johan Bell was advisor of the great King of Ethiopia Tewodros II. He was married with a niece of Tewodros II. Susana Sara Bell has been married with the swiss missionary Theophilus Waldmeier. Mary has been marreid with the german missionary Sallmüller. Than came Hannah princess asfa Yilma and Stefana Saalmüller.
The familly Bell has a great origin in Ethiopia with the most popular King of Ethiopia.
Let me know if you are interested in the genealogical tree of Waldmier et Saalmüller families.
Hannah Waldmeier (a.k.a. Princess Asfa Yilma) was first married to a (distant) cousin of mine, Arthur Newsom whose residence was in Co. Cork, Ireland. His house was named, appropriately enough, “Brumana” at Rushbrook near Queenstown (now Cobh). As you may know Arthur died in 1910, aged only 40 years and his widow later married Algernon Holland. The Newsom name (a great Quaker one in Cork) has now as far as I can discover become extinct. Arthur and Hannah’s son John Charles Newsom married in 1947 and by then both he and his bride were over 40 years old. He died in London in 1980. His sisters May Olivia Waldmeier Newsom and Lily Augusta Newsom married respectively, Fridolin Heer (1920) and Frederick Alfred Dorer (1921) but I have no knowledge of whether there are any descendants alive today. Please fogive me if I have offered information of which you are already fully aware.
In about 1966 Brumana, Rushbrooke was bought by the Bernals and Godfrey was a brother of John Bernal, known as The Irish Communist.
Picasso once visited hir residence in London and did a stetch on the wall, about 1951.
Recently on display at The Tate Gallery with Picasso’s other works.
Hello, have been posting images relating to the Waldmeier and Saalmüller families for a while now including a pic of Stefana Armbruster taken in Cork. Couldn’t figure out why she would be there but after reading earlier comments it now makes sense…, she must have been visiting her cousin Hannah…, thanks.
My great-grandfather, Wilhelm Waldmeyer, emigrated to the U.S. from Hillikon, Canton Aargau, Switzerland in 1853. His proper name was changed to William by U.S. immigration and the family later dropped the “y” – and even later dropped the extra “e” – resulting in my spelling of the surname. What I’ve been trying to find out is (1) if Theopholis Waldmeier is a distant relative or (2) if the surname, in its various spellings, may just be a very common name in that area of Switzerland. I’ve done some extensive research on old Wilhelm, who joined the Union Army in 1863 as a member of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteers, fought at Gettysberg and elsewhere, died of the fever and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I’ve tracked our branch of the family back to the late 1700’s. But I cannot seem to find any early family history for Theophilus, only his education, birth and death dates and his marriage to the half-Ethiopian princess Susan and all the Brumanna background. I would be indebted to you if you have any information – or directions for finding some of this stuff. If you don’t, thanks for reading this.
Theophilus Waldmeier’s parents were Kaspar Waldmeier b. 18 Jul 1799 Moehlin, Aargau, Switzerland; d. 02 Apr 1873, Moehlin. and m. Agnes Huber, 03 Sep 1827.
Agnes Huber was b. 11 Jan 1794, Moehlin, d. 08 Jan 1866; her father was Josef Huber.
Kaspar’s father was Bernhard Waldmeier b. 19 Apr 1773, Moehlin. Kaspar’s mother was Maria/Marie Ursula Soder b. 09 Jan 1775, Moehlin, d. 16 Oct 1837, Moehlin.
Moehlin/Möhlin is 8.7km from Hellikon therefore it’s entirely plausible that members of the same family could could marry or move house/job within that distance, even in the 1700s.
Excuse the typo, please. The name of the Swiss village is Hellikon.
Hi Stefan,
I last saw Honor in the early ’90s in Saratoga Springs. Vi had passed away in ’89, but Honor was still living there at the time and seemed in fairly good health. She asked me to send her some thoughts on Vi for a tribute she was compiling. I did but never heard back from her, and am sad to say we did not speak again. Honor was a lovely person; I remember her telling me about losing a lover in the war, and then getting so shell-shocked (PSTD as we call it now) that after the war she had to go live on a farm for a long while, come back to herself by doing hard physical work, finding the rhythm of the days and the fields…
A little research has turned up a birth record for Honor S. R. Holland, mother’s name Waldmeier, in Poole, Dorset, England, between April and June 1917. If anyone wants to order a copy of the birth certificate, the reference is Volume 5a, page 345. Now it would be interesting to know what they were doing in Poole, but on Pat’s website there is a photo made in the studio of Debenham and Gould, Bournemouth, just a couple of miles from the Hollands’ address in Poole. Cannot help wondering if there is a link…
Hello all, sorry for not contributing to your family exchange. I am researching for the whereabouts of the “wedding cloaks” which Emperor Tewodros gave as a wedding present to two of the daughters of John Bell (Jewubdar Susan and Beletetch Mary) when they married Theophilus Waldmeier and Karl Saalmüller (1867). These cloaks had originally been meant by Tewodros to be used as a present to Queen Victoria whom he had asked to marry hím. One of the 8 cloaks is now in a museum in Berlin and two other cloaks were handed over to Queen Victoria in London in 1868. My question is: Does anyone participating in this blog conversation about the Waldmeier/Saalmüller families happen to know anything about these cloaks? Is there any documentation available on any of the three cloaks mentioned or on the remaining five? Any information about any of these would be very much appreciated.