The Pflugs were a family of tailors. Leopold Pflug (born 1816), of Rüsselsheim, Hesse Darmstadt arrived in Brooklyn in the early 1850s with his wife Dorothea Elisabetha Dombmann (born circa 1816) and their five children. By 1870, they had settled in a house that today would be on Tulip Avenue in Franklin Square. Often, four or five German born tailors were living with the family. Soon after their arrival there, the family became active in St Paul German Presbyterian Church of Fosters Meadow. Leopold died in 1908 and is buried in St Paul Cemetery.

The children

Jacob (born 1841) joined the family trade and worked as a tailor. In 1870, he married Elizabeth Bauer (born 1849) at St Paul. They lived in Valley Stream and  had eight children as follows.

1871 Henry Leopold*

1873 Jacob Oscar* married Elizabeth A. Francis  1893

1875 Lillian

1877 Johannes Herbert* married Grace F. Smith circa 1908

1879 Phebe Emilie*

1880 Clara*

1884 Charles

1891 Maria Margaretha Elisabetha* married George W. Smith 1911

 

Daniel (1843-1915) was one who did not join the family business. Initially, he farmed in Franklin Square. After marrying Louisa Mildenberger (1856-1930) from Brooklyn in 1882, the family moved to the village of Hempstead on Henry St. Daniel worked as a teamster but soon became a partner in Pflug & Ackley which sold mineral water, beer and liquor from their location at 33 Greenwich St. in Hempstead. Daniel and Louisa are buried at Greenfield Cemetery in Hempstead. They had seven children as follows.

1882 Margaretha Louisa*

1885 Daniel Leopold*

1887 Dorothea Elisabetha*

1889 Louisa Franzis*

1890 Henriette Maria*

1892 Wilhelmine Caroline*

1897 Rose

 

Anna Maria (1845-1906) was known as Mary and married Lebrecht Reinhold Hartung (Reinhold) at St Paul in 1877. Reinhold was a laborer in Franklin Square who had immigrated from Germany in 1871 aboard the ship Algeria. Mary is buried at St Paul. They had three children as follows.

1878 Rosa Maria Elisabetha*

1881 Anna Albine Martha*

1883 Luis Leopold Daniel*

 

Leopold (1847-1930) eventually took over his father’s tailor business and married Anna Catharina Wich (1852-1913) in 1874. Their home in Franklin Square was always full with immigrant German tailors who worked in the family business. Surprisingly, their children do not appear in any census records living with their parents. Leopold and Anna are buried at St Paul. The children are as follows.

1874 Maria Margaretha*

1876 Phillipp* married Katherina Elizabeth Joice

1878 Caroline* married Gustav Kreischer 1900

1880 Emilie Margaretha* married Bass

1885 Leopold Daniel* married Maria

 

August (born 1852) never seemed to work in the family tailoring business. He married Maria Handlen (born c. 1845) at St Paul in 1876 and worked as a florist and laborer, primarily in Freeport. They had three children as follows.

1877 August F. 

1878 Heinrich*

1886 Georg Roscoe*

Phillip (1856-1930) was the only sibling born in the United States. For a time, he worked in the family tailoring business. At some point he became disabled, either through illness or accident, but continued to contribute to the family business by caring for the children of his brother Leopold. Phillip is buried in St Paul Cemetery. 

 

* Next to a child’s name indicates baptism at St Paul.  

 

Submitted by Paul Hoffman

August 2018 with the hope that a Pflug descendant will add to the story.

 

Email: PWH115@Optonline.net