Notes
Made in Munich, Germany c. 1858. Given to 3yr old Marie Wurthner in 1858. Marie's parents, Erhard Wurthner and Anna Mueller immigrated to America from Wittenberg, Germany in 1851. He was a 25yr old boiler maker and she was 23. They settled in Dunkirk, New York where Marie was born March 15, 1853. They later moved to St. Joseph at least by 1870. Marie married John A. Schroer in 1876 and they lived at 1504 North 11th Street. They had a daughter, Ester, on August 12, 1878. Ester married Dr. Benjamin Toothaker in 1912 and they moved to 1502 North 11th Street. They had one son, Wayne, who also became a physician. His assistant, a registered nurse named Helen Ryan, was expected to marry him, so Ester presented her with the doll in 1949. Ester passed away on April 10, 1950 and her son, Wayne, took his own life with sleeping powder four days later. Helen Ryan kept the doll until the 1980s when she passed it to her cousin, Janice Frey Gimenez. Helen passed away in 2004 and in 2010, Janice gave the doll to her sister-in-law, Mary Frey for repairs. The doll was given to the doll hospital in Overland Park, but returned in December of 2012 with no repairs. The doll was donated by Mrs. Frey in 2016 to the St. Joseph Museums, Inc.