April
13th 2016
The
Hathenbruck Legacy or Fantasy?
A
Review from the Book Utah Gold Rush
F.W.C Hathenbruck and Family Circa 1920
Disclaimer
At
no time in this report is it my intention to slander, diminish or embarrass any
individual alluded to within, especially the ancestor FWC Hathenbruck. My
purpose is to inform Hathenbruck decedents that the only story concerning their
ancestor that has been published so far appears to be a complete fabrication.
In my mind, this was a blatant and intentional act to deceive the many
descendants of this man as to whom he was, or in this case, as to whom he was
not.
I
have compiled my findings that the descendants may know a part of truth
concerning FWC Hathenbruck. I don’t mind a good fictional fantasy story, but
when I spend my time, which I value, trying to learn the truth of my roots, the
last thing I will put up with are the vain imaginations of what appears to be
an intentional fraud for what seems to be for self-notoriety and self-gratification.
Each
of us from time to time discovers some colorful individuals in our past,
sometimes a frontiersman, famous outlaw, lawman, a founding father, or
sometimes even a member of the past Royal families. I don’t know about you but
I get a thrill in discovering my ancestry, learning of those whom I may have a
physical connection.
As
I research the many ancestors, from time to time we find some incredible
stories such as is the case with the enigmas FWC Hathenbruck. Who was he? And
where did he come from and are among the questions that would weigh on my mind.
Some
years ago while researching this ancestor of many; I stumbled across a web site
which seemed to have some considerable information concerning this elusive
character. What I read on the site seemed a bit incredible and later in years I
discovered a book which the same claims had been published.
The
individual from the web site and apparent co-author of the book claimed to be a
descendant of the subject at hand, this was not difficult to verify, as I
always find the most original source in my research and check the credibility
of the individual making such claims and because the claim seemed a bit far-fetched,
I just had to investigate the source material for those claims.
Making
contact with the individual who apparently is the source for all the claims
made on the now closed downed web site and the book, I was assured that the
information was in his personal possession but to this very day have never
received as promised the information to verify the claims made.
With
initial contact I took notes of things I was told, one of which concerning how
the ancestor in question lost his arm, I was told he lost it in a mill
accident, but as it would seem, the story has grown into an almost unbelievable
event.
Over
the years I have also checked the qualifications and character of the author of
the book, a man I would not suggest looking into, with what I would say is a
very questionable back ground. A relative of mine served as a Physiologist and
Captain at the Utah State Prison, he had known the author of the book quite
well having talked with him many times over in his career, while his residence
at the prison was had, I was told he served about 8 years for beating his wife to
death with a 2 by 4, needless to say, the credibility of this authors integrity
and qualifications were diminishing. More often than not some just believe or
want you to believe that just because they are decent of some firsthand
experience, that this somehow makes them an expert in the field.
However
giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, I continued to inquire and research
hitting nothing but dead ends in trying to verify the many claims made by the descendant
of FWC, which so far was the only truth I had found.
I
decided to start at the root of some of the claims and contacted several of the
Historic Royal societies in England, with today’s internet capabilities; it has
become much easier to track down not only contact information but resource
material as well, vital statistics, travel records etc...
One
such claim that almost seemed unreal and was the reason for contacting the pre
mentioned societies, is the claim that FWC was the illegitimate son of
Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia.
Frederick III, Father of Kaiser Wilhelm
Father of Kaiser Wilhelm I,
Not the Father of FWC Hathenbruck
To my surprise, none of
those contacted, had ever heard anything of the sort, no accounts of Frederick
III being promiscuous were among them, and none of them had ever heard of the
Fraulein Louisa Hudinburgh, (Hanna Louisa Haddenbrock, A Fictitious person, having supposedly been born 1825 entered on two Genealogy sites) in fact to this day I have not been able to verify that she ever existed
and with several different variations of spelling. After all these years I am
convinced she is a complete fabrication, perhaps someone can provide some form
of proof of her existence.
However
each of those whom I contacted suggested or was eager to tell me the story they
each felt the claim came from, and that it occurred at nearly the same time. It
would seem that it was not Fredrick III who had the affair, but Frederick III’s
Father Wilhelm I who was promiscuous, the Kaiser Wilhelm’s Grandfather or who
would have been the Grand Father of FWC IF in fact the claim made by the
co-author were true, from this point, the story relayed to me was near
identical in detail as to the story I was originally told by the co-author many
years ago, yet differs from the printed story in some detail.
Kaiser Wilhelm I, The Promiscuous one...
Father of Ferdinad Emil Weinrich
Not the Father of FWC Hathenbruck
It
would seem the well-known story among the Royalist History groups, was in that
Wilhelm I had an affair with the widow Bertha Caroline Shonborn resulting in
the bastard child Ferdinand Emil Weinreich being born in Konigsberg, East
Prussia, the illegitimate son of Kaiser Wilhelm I. This event occurred at
nearly the same time making Emil Weinreich about the same age as Hathenbruck.
Apparently it is a well-known story among the Historic Royalists. Emil
eventually settled in Denmark and married, some of his descendants joined the
Mormon Church and moved to Provo Utah and to my knowledge Emil Weinreich never
came to the states.
Ferdinand Emil Weinreich, the
illegitimate son of Wilhelm I,
King of Prussia and Half Uncle to Kaiser
Wilhelm II
(See Ferdinand Emil
Weinreich: His Life Story)
To
this day, I have never seen definitive or even remotely curious evidence that
shows even the slightest legitimacy of the story told concerning FWC being the
illegitimate son of Frederick the III, there is absolutely no evidence what so
ever not even the slightest implication other than the imaginative story fed to
the descendants of Hathenbruck, It would appear the story of Emil Weinreich has
been high jacked.
It
would seem from what appears to be reliable information depending on
Hathenbruck’s motives, What I have found believed to be true is that he arrived
in the States in 1866, when he got here it would appear he was married at age
17 or never officially married as I cannot find any record of it, in the 1900
12th Census he stated that his parents were both from France, he being born in
England. In 1920 in the 4th census, he answers the question again, Born in
England, Father being French and French listed as native tongue, but this time
he shows his mother as being from Holland and native tongue as Dutch, and he is
marked as a manager in a Slate Quarry. I do not know what to make of the
designation of the parents, personally I do not think Hathenbruck ever had the
idea in his head that his Father was the Kaiser, I believe it was created by a glory seeking nobody, I don’t care how much someone
would want to keep it quiet, he would have told someone.
From the 14th or 1920 census
Among
many other claims made in what appears to be the only source concerning FWC’s
origins and now appearing unreliable, my attention was drawn to the very tiny
photos found on page 210 and 211 in the book in question. I always wondered why
such small photos were used in the book when larger photos were in the
possession of the chest pounding story teller. I do not know where the story teller got the
photos but one source who knew the co-author in the 1990’s claimed he was told
by the co-author that he had stolen the pictures from two Hathenbruck brothers from Cedar City. If anyone recognizes the
photos presented here in as evidence to be weighed against the very large
claims made with each of the tiny photos found in the book, please do tell and
inform the rightful owner. It is rumored that other things were stolen as well.
Looking
at page 210 and 211 of the book in question of the co-author previously
mentioned, we see to first of several photos which are from the same early
1900’s photo shoot session with one exception being the photo in the top right
of page 211 with the text beneath it “Hathenbruck Wagon” This claim could very
well be true, as the middle individual even in this barely discernable picture
is without a doubt FWC, this photo is of a different source. So with that said,
let’s move to the other pictures which creates much concern and in my mind
destroys the credibility of the claims and deals a large blow to all other
information which has been used in the so called Hathenbruck Legacy. I wanted
to believe the wild stories of the ancestor, and although I suspected some
exaggerations, I had no idea how bad this exaggeration was.
Keep
in mind, the original photos in their large format were available to the
co-author at the time the book was publish, why would anyone use such small
photos when such large claims are being made?
Claim #1 page 120
Actual size as printed in the book
Now
when I first saw this page, having written many research articles, I could not
help but wonder why this image was so small, to my knowledge no camera takes
such small photos and if they did, why have the camera? The authors of the book
would have to scan the photo for publication so unless the operator of the
scanner was a complete idiot, there had to be a reason for the very small
photos, I can think of a couple.
Some
years ago a fellow researcher shared some old western photos from the basin
area with me, at the time I was not concerned with where they came from, I just
needed some old western photos, I had no idea he was handing me the very photos
which are used on the pages in question. Having looked at the photos many
times, I became familiar with them. It wasn’t until I opened the book again
years later and happened to turn to page 210 that I realized the photos were
one and the same. Wow! I thought finally I can see the outlaws in the photos,
needless to say I was very disappointed, and angry at the same time. I went
from photo to photo only to find the same disappointing results. This is the first
real time I made this research a matter of priority rather than accepting the author’s
word for it.
Lets
look first at the 2nd claim attributed to the photo and go right to the
specific individual in the photo mentioned. (Claim: Hathenbruck is third from
the right.)
Picture # 1 The Overall Larger Image
Now
please feel free to correct me if I am wrong but this man is definitely NOT FWC
and this man would appear to be about late 30’s to early 40’s but most
noticeable is this man has both arms. FWC had lost his arm long before this,
there isn’t one man in this photo shoot who is missing an arm. These pictures
although the exact date is unknown, were taken sometime around 1900 to 1906.
This same man appears in picture # 3 on the far left.
Now
lets look at the 3rd claim pertaining to this specific photo, it is said that
the man on the right with open vest is Matt Warner. The first claim of this
photo is that these are FWC’s gunfighters, but based on the overall picture
from this photo shoot, all men are carrying Shotguns, One man is holding the
kill of the day, a sage hen or pheasant, right by the pheasant is two bird
dogs, a Labrador and a Britney Spaniel, in another photo from this same photo
shoot not used in the publication is a dear hanging from a tree. Also one of
the men is wearing a shooting vest made for shotgun shells, not one man is seen
as wearing a pistol and since when do gunfighters run around in Wagons and a
carriage? Something just isn’t right.
Matt Warner Prison Photo
Matt Warner
The
same man above said the be Matt Warner is also in picture number 2 second from
the right with a strange man all the way to the right dress in white,
we’ll come back to him. He is also in picture # 5 back row and second from the
right. Now I am not line up expert but this is not Matt Warner, maybe you think
it is.
Now
let’s look at the second photo on page 210 on the right and second picture down
from top and the claims made with it.
Claim # 2 approximate actual size of
photo as it appears in the book
The
man on the left in the above picture is said to be FWC, this man is clearly in his
late 30’s to early 40’s, and as you can see, holding a shotgun with his missing
right arm is not possible, however just looking at him, it is clearly not
Hathenbruck. Also notice the man on the right wearing a shotgun shell vest and
at his right knee you see the head of a Britney Spaniel. This is the man who is
claimed to be “Elza” Lay in picture # 5, His name is actually Elzy.
The man in the middle is the one which
is claimed to be Matt Warner.
I
will leave it up to you to see if you can find a match for any of the names
mentioned as being in the photo.
Elzy Lay Elzy Lay? I don’t think so.
I
have no idea who Henry “Hen” Lee is except that he is mentioned in a book
written by A.C. Wlkerson nor Iowa J. Hall.
The
following images are according to the authors of the book in question, Bub
Meeks but they call him Bob in one photo and Bill in another, His real name was
Henry Wilbur Meeks (Bub)
Man Claimed to be Bub Meeks Same Man from other photo
Young Bub Meeks Older Bub Meeks
And from the third photo is
the same man, however the authors claim in this photo that this man is Butch
Casidy?
The
Conclusion for me is an absolute, this is not Bub Meeks, or Bill or Bob.
With
this let’s move to the 3rd claim on page 210 bottom left photo.
Approximate size of actual photo from
the book
Photo # 3
The
only real claim from this photo is that the man standing in the center is Butch
Cassidy shown previously.
Now
just in case the authors made a mistake, here are the two men to the right, and
the three on his left, and once again, I do not see Butch Cassidy in this
picture.
Butch Cassidy
Man in the middle said to be Butch
Claim # 4 Page 210
Now
I’m not certain what the author was implying here as there is no such thing
then or today as “Hathenbruck Crossing” or gunfighters for that matter. In case you haven’t put it together
yet this photo shoot was a hosted hunting party in the Uinta Basin area near Blue
Bell and likely the photos were taken somewhere between Sand Wash and Twin
Pots, wait till you see who the guest and primary host of this hunting party
was, the authors of the book apparently never saw it.
Claim # 5 page 210
We
have pretty much already covered each of these, in addition let me say Bub Meeks
was no small guy, said to be the second from the left, front row in the picture below.
Still no Elzy Lay
Keep
in mind in the following the authors of the book claim the photos to be form
1905-6, and this might be a good time to point out from much more reliable
sources, the Elzy Lay was arrested in 1899 and held in Prison until 1906,
according to the source he never saw the now defunct Wild Bunch Gang again.
Bub
Meeks was imprisoned in1897, he did at least 12 years, (1909) after which
several sources cannot agree.
Matt
Warner About 1896, while on a prospecting trip, was ambushed in a gunfight,
killed two, wounded a third, was arrested and convicted. After serving four
years of a five-year sentence for this shootout, he was pardoned and released
by Utah Governor Heber M. Wells in 1900. In the early 1900's he became a
Justice of the peace, deputy sheriff, night guard and detective in Price, Utah.
Matt Warner’s real name is Willard Erastus Christianson.
Butch
Cassidy or Robert Leroy Parker, made his plea for amnesty in 1896, while
awaiting, he happened into more trouble and as a documented fact he fled for
New York in 1901 and sailed to Argentina where he remained until
at
least 1908 where in it is said he was killed but at this point in 1908
historians cannot agree some believe he lived out the remainder of his life
under an assumed identity.
At
one time on the web site of the co-author, it was said that Kid Curry and Doc
Holiday were also among the men in these photos, however the web site no longer
exists. I guess it was discovered that Kid Curry died in 1904 and Doc Holiday
in 1907.
This
one is by far my favorite of the photo shoot but not for reasons you may think.
As you can see neither of the two man are Hathenbruck, how could someone as
familiar with Hathenbruck as the co-author not know? Was it because he thought
no one would ever see the large photos? The other man is referred to as a
companion ON A HUNTING PARTY? I guess it wasn’t as easy to hide the same dog in
this photo even by using a small photo as it was in two other photos with the
same dog.
I
do not know who the man on the left is, but I do know who it is not, but the
man on the right I do know who it is, and it is not Hathenbruck either, I can’t
understand for the life of me why the authors of the book did not see it.
Now
just to recap, nowhere in this photo shoot, and exempting the photo of
Hathenbruck’s wagon as it was not among the original photo shoot, Hathenbruck
is no where to be found and apparently has nothing to do with the photos.
Now,
who is this man on the right and primary guest of this hunting party? The Man
on the right is Kaiser Wilhelm II the very man the authors claim is
Hathenbruck’s half-brother? but as you have read there is a problem with this
claim.
Kaiser Wilhelm in 1899 Age 40
There
is no doubt in my mind that this is the Kaiser in this photo, the man on his
left is also in the other photos which ties the photos together, and so I ask,
what was the Kaiser doing here? Trying to secure the Gold of the
Rhoades
mine? Sounds good but I don’t think so; I think he had a much bigger fish to
fry. It is only fair to say at this point that the Kaiser did indeed have a
withered arm from birth and according to historians and the many photos of the
Kaiser, he was in the habit of hiding it from the camera, the reason he is seen
posing for a profile photo with his left side protected. Notice his pants are
torn which likely occurred in the overturning of the wagon shown in the photo
shoot.
If
the Kaiser were interested in the Rhoades mine, which is possible, would he
handle it himself or would he have used his right hand man, Baron Von Horst? We
know that land was being purchase at Sand Wash in Blue Bell prior to 1914, the
newspaper articles confirm it was the Kaiser who was buying the land, but the
name used in the transaction was his man the Baron Von Horst. I have yet to
obtain the earliest of records of the indicial purchase.
It
was rumored around 1914 that the German Kaiser had land in the Basin, there are
many articles relating as such.
From the Vernal Express 03-28-1913
This
is an interesting article as it shows communication “by correspondence” between
Hathenbruck, and Baron Von Horst, the Kaisers suspect representative, keep in
mind the man was also suspect of being a German spy in England and was arrested
as such and by record, shows to be frequently traveling around the world and
back and forth from the states to Germany. Did Hathenbruck have part in this?
The
interesting thing is, the Kaiser came to the Basin, likely to see the land for
himself, I would suspect Baron Von Horst set up the Hunting trip to the Sand
Wash area with the hunt taking place sometime prior to 1906, and brought the
Kaiser along with him but under a false name, the other hosts of the hunting
party likely never knew who he was. No one to my knowledge ever knew the Kaiser
came here but the evidences are difficult to refute. Below are the land records
showing Baron Von Horst was the man paying the taxes which he often lets go
delinquent. Recorded history of other sources does not show the Baron was even
in Utah but the many news
articles
shows he was without a doubt here, and was frequently in the Basin as late as
1928. The land in question in the below photo is Sand Wash near Blue Bell.
After
this recording is was always signed by his brother, E. Clemons Horst until sold
in 1942, prior to the entries above it was signed as Mrs. Baron Louis Von
Horst, the original purchase date was a company/corporation Call
T.
R. Watts which is a surviving company to this day and presumed to be one and
the same in Sommerset England, Patent Date was 1913
Hathenbrucks
efforts to lease enormous amounts of land on the Reservation came to a halt in
1905, of all the land the Kaiser could have had, why Sand Wash?
Now
let me bring you back to the mysterious man that shows in two of the photos. On
the co-authors web site the mysterious individual in this first photo was said
to be Josie Basset Morris, but this is not the case. It is also claimed the
photos were taken by FWC, which I suppose is possible.
The claim and photo which still exists on Pinterest.
SEE Claim # 6
So if FWC was taking the photos, how could he appear in some of the photos taken likely the same day? If you look closely, two different men in the claim photos accused of being Hathenbruck, are in this photo, so how could he take the photo?
Based
on all the evidence gathered from the picture, this whole photo shoot is a
hosted hunting trip, the host is most likely this individual due to his nice
dress, his presumed nice carriage he is standing by, and his guest is likely
the Kaiser. This individual is highly suspect of being Baron Louis Anton Von
Horst. I have searched for years for a photo of the Baron, and only recently
has one been made available. Judge for yourself.
In
reading the many articles regarding the Barons dealing in the Basin it is said
he was working with his brother. His brothers are; Ernest F. G. Horst, Werner
E. A. Horst, E. Clemens Horst, Paul R. G. Horst, Adolf E. Horst. I wonder if one of these brothers has an Alias?
Now
I can’t prove a thing at this time, But there is no record of Hathenbruck in
his 3 claimed trips traveling to the states twice, and once to Germany although
I suspect only one trip TO the states, obviously he was using another name,
what name was it?
The
genealogist in the Hathenbruck Family would like to believe that Hathenbruck is
an alternate spelling of some other form, I do not believe this. I believe the
very name Hathenbruck had no existence prior to FWC Hathenbruck and for some
reason he was traveling under either his real name, or another assumed name. I
would like just as much as any of you to learn the truth of this to discover
the true identity of the mysterious man Hathenbruck.
We
would all like to believe that the ancestor Hathenbruck was some Doc Holiday,
Kit Carson, Butch Cassidy, Thomas Rhoades and Aron Lee Ralston all wrapped up in
a ball, but I prefer to think there is a much more interesting and exciting
story behind this man, a story of secret agents spies, deceit, betrayal and
mystery.
How
can anyone of the Hathenbruck family know who they truly are until it is found
who Hathenbruck was? Because it would seem quite clear to me that the currently
believed fabricated story created by a couple of imaginative and creative minds
apparently seeking glory, is a complete and utter fallacy. I just don’t see any
truth to the claims of Doctor, Engineer, signing Custer’s death certificate,
etc…
Concerning
the claim of the 24 year old Doctor Hathenbruck, signing Custer’s equivalency of
a death certificate, the State of Montana had this to say,
“The
State of Montana does not have death certificate for the person listed below.
Montana was a territory at this time and not a State. We only have death
certificates starting from 1907 to present if reported to the state.”
Sharon
B.
Montana
Vital Records 406-444-4251
The
History of Custer written by qualified individuals states the following;
“When
the main column under General Terry arrived two days later, the army found most
of the soldiers' corpses stripped, scalped, and mutilated.[65] Custer's body
had two bullet holes, one in the left temple and one just below the heart.[66]
Capt. Benteen, who inspected the body, stated that in his opinion the fatal
injuries had not been the result of .45 caliber ammunition, which implies the
bullet holes had been caused by ranged rifle fire.[67]
Following
the recovery of Custer's body and that of his brother Tom, the remains were
buried on the battlefield side by side in a shallow grave, after being covered
by pieces of tent canvas and blankets.[68] One year later, Custer's remains and
those of many of his officers were recovered and sent back east for reinternment
in more formal burials. Custer was
buried again with full military honors at West Point Cemetery on October 10,
1877. The battle site was designated a National Cemetery in 1876.
It
would seem Captain Benteen who inspected the body had no issues about who the
body was, and the fact that he was dead, however a death certificate may have
been required in the State of New York where he was ultimately buried. However
their response received just seconds ago as I type this, was;
“The
New York State Department of Health (DOH) began filing birth records in 1880
and death and marriage records in 1881.
"For
records prior to 1881 you may wish to contact the registrar or historian of the
locality where the event occurred to see if they have earlier records. It is
possible that no official records may exist for such early events.”
Now
one more interesting tid bit relating to the claim of Hathenbruck being a
doctor, I was browsing the many newspapers of the past searching the earliest
publication of “Hathenbruck” when I discovered this article I had not seen… it
is a lengthy article from Salt Lake Herald, 1887-04-10, and so I will give the
two sections where in Hathenbruck is mentioned.
The
earliest mention of Hathenbruck is found in 1885, what I find interesting in
the article is in that Hathenbruck supposedly being a doctor at age 25 and apparently
qualified and important enough to sign the nonexistent death certificate of
General George Armstrong Custer and now has 35 years under his belt, is working
at the Territory Insane Asylum not as a Medical Superintendent, not a physician
or even a physician assistant, but as a Steward? Again the evidence doesn’t
match the tall tail.
The
earliest record of him in the states is 1867 “arrival” under census records,
but immigration year shows 1866.
All
in all, I don’t care what the truth is, as long as it is the truth. As it would seem, the credibility of the two so called authors has fallen to 0% for me.
There
are also many articles in the digital newspaper collections, I highly recommend
to any of Hathenbruck’s descendants to search them out at digitalnewspapers.org
this alone helped me to understand the man known as Hathenbruck much more. It
wouldn’t hurt to research Ferdinand Emil Weinreich, Baron Louis Anton Von Horst
and histories of the Kaiser Wilhelm II.
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