Volume 7, Issue 5
May 2011
Lucky Lindy in Missouri
WHAT’S INSIDE
By Charlotte McIntosh
Assistant Branch Manager
Although born in Detroit, Michigan on February 4, 1902, Charles
Augustus Lindbergh had two important ties to the state of Missouri. Following
an early and enduring love of aviation, Charles pursued the discipline it took
to learn to fly. After a season of barnstorming across the United States, he
was ready for a new challenge. He attended the International Air Races at
Lambert Field in St. Louis in October 1923. Realizing he would never be able
to afford these newer, faster, and technically more complex planes (he owned
a World War I “Jenny”), he enrolled as a U.S. Army Air Service Reserve cadet.
Never a good student, Lindbergh focused on his studies to the exclusion of
everything else. His hard work paid off, graduating at the top of his class in
1925. Lindbergh‟s first job consisted of flying the airmail route from St. Louis
to Illinois. He was recognized in 1926 for setting the world record for
emergency jumps. But, after a year of flying this route, Lindbergh was ready
for more challenges. The challenge of figuring out how to extend the distance
of a flight captured his imagination and led him to consider trying for the
Orteig Prize.
A French-born American hotel owner named Raymond Orteig had
offered $25,000 to any aviator who would make the first non-stop flight from
America to France, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh had several
obstacles to overcome, the first one was money. After several discouraging
interviews, Lindbergh was able to raise $15,000 from area St. Louis business
men. Lindbergh decided to have a plane built from scratch (because no
aircraft company was willing to put their reputation on the line for such a
gamble.) Lindbergh, along with the Ryan Aircraft Company in San Diego,
California worked around the clock to design and build his plane. At the end
of April, 1927, The Spirit of St. Louis was christened, named in honor of the
investors‟ home city. Lindbergh set a transcontinental speed record on his
flight from San Diego to New York with an overnight stop in St. Louis,
Missouri. And he was off to Paris…well, almost. He had nearly a week wait
due to bad weather over the North Atlantic Ocean. At 7:54 AM eastern
daylight time, May 20, 1927, Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field, New
York. Reporters had nicknamed him “Lucky Lindy” for he would need all the
luck he could find, battling fatigue, storms, and other elements out of his
control. With thousands of people cheering, “Lucky Lindy” deplaned at an
airfield near Paris, France after a flight of 3,600 miles and 33 ½ hours on May
21, 1927, at 10:24 PM. His life had changed. Everywhere he went from this
time on, he was the subject of public scrutiny, followed and at times, hounded
(Continued on page 2)
Charles Lindbergh in MO
Lindbergh’s 2nd Family
News Bytes Websites
Periodically Speaking
Class Calendar
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Proving a Second
Family: A Charles
Lindbergh Story
By Bill Tresenriter
Reference Assistant
When a genealogist adds a
member to their family tree there
is proof of this relationship or
circumstantial evidence which led
to that conviction. Proof must be
gathered in cases where a family
has heard of information that
suggests other marriages, children,
or scandals to determine fact from
fiction. First, see if it is plausible:
was the person(s) in that location at
the time of the event, were all the
people involved alive at the time,
did the person(s) have the
opportunity, means, and
association? Second, is there proof
that can be obtained: marriage
licenses, birth certificates, photos,
letters, deed records, etc. Finally,
does piecing all the information
together derive a conclusion based
on the proof/evidence gathered to
substantiate the conviction.
Could a person known all
over the world keep a secret family
i n t h e t we n t ie th ce n t u r y ?
According to the press Charles
Lindberg could and did until some
(Continued on page 2)
(Continued from page 1)
by reporters.
The second instance of Charles Lindbergh‟s
connection with Missouri happened just a short three
months later, August 1927. Charles had been asked to
participate in the ceremony to dedicate Kansas City‟s
newest airport. Located just northeast where the Missouri
and Kansas Rivers converged, this new airport became
known as Municipal Airport (now called Wheeler
Downtown Airport). Lindbergh landed his now famous
Spirit of St. Louis aircraft at the airport, addressed the
crowd and dedicated the new airport. Police had to
intervene several times during the parade that followed
because the crowds kept milling over into the streets.
Later that evening Lindbergh gave a speech at the Hotel
President, repeating many of his remarks he had made
during the dedication. An engineer of WOQ radio station
recorded his speech.
A year later, Lindbergh was head of a technical
committee to select headquarters for T.A.T.
(Transcontinental Air Transport…later Trans World
Airlines). A story has been told that someone sent
Lindbergh a recording of his speech to remind him of the
glowing remarks he had made about the new airport.
Lindbergh had been impressed at the time of his visit to
Kansas City, of the nearness of the airport to downtown
Kansas City and since Kansas City was centrally located,
Lindbergh had intimated that Kansas City would be an
important hub for air travel development. Lindbergh
persuaded the committee to agree on Kansas City for the
airline‟s headquarters. TWA‟s headquarters remained in
Kansas City until it moved to St. Louis in 1982.
The rest of Charles Lindbergh‟s life, the trials and
traumas of his personal life, the choices of his political
decisions have all been very well documented in numerous
books. Charles‟ 1953 account of his transatlantic flight, The
Spirit of St. Louis won a Pulitzer Prize in 1954. His wife,
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was a prolific author. Check for
these and more titles at your local Mid Continent Public
Library.
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(Continued from page 1)
thirty years after his death. This is the alleged story of
Charles Lindberg‟s secret life from 1957 on. Genealogically,
these claims have to be examined and documented. Its like
the old adage, “don‟t believe everything you read.”
The Atlantic Times, June 2005 article “The Lone
Eagle‟s Clandestine Nests: Charles Lindberg‟s German
Secrets” by Rudolf Schrock stated Lindbergh had fathered
seven children in Europe. This story began in 1957 in
Munich when two sisters, Brigitte and Mariette Hesshaimer,
were introduced to Lindbergh by his private secretary.
Wikipedia states that Dyrk (1958), Astrid (1960)
and David (1967) were born to Brigitte Hesshaimer, a
German hat maker. Astrid found more than one hundred
letters written from Charles to her mother. Charles, using
the alias Careu Kent, visited them once or twice a year.
[The alias, Careu Kent, was contrived by Charles and
Brigitte. Careu is Charles in Hungarian and Kent is the
derivative of Charles‟ mother‟s maiden name Lent]. All of
the children‟s birth certificates indicate an unknown father.
Lindbergh also fathered two sons, Vago (1960) and
Christoph (1966), by Brigitte‟s sister, Marietta.
BBC News reported on 29 November 2003,
Lindbergh „fathered two families.‟ DNA tests confirmed that
Dyrk and David Hesshaimer and sister Astrid Bouteuil were
the children of Charles Lindbergh. Morgan Lindbergh,
Charles‟ grandson, took part in the testing because these
siblings looked “hauntingly familiar.” The tests were
conducted in October by the University of Munich.
The book, Das Doppelleben des Charles A Lindbergh
(The Double Life of Charles A. Lindbergh), by German author
Rudolf Schroeck, asserts Lindbergh had seven secret
children. Two children were born from his relationship to
his private secretary, Valeska, a son (1959) and daughter
(1961). “Ten days before he died in August 1974, Lindbergh
wrote three letters... to his three mistresses and requested
„utmost secrecy,‟” and made monetary provisions for them.
A copy of the letter to Brigitte is in his book. Also Schroeck
writes that Marietta lived in a house that Lindbergh designed
in Rhone Valley some fifty miles from Lindbergh‟s wife‟s
chalet during the time of his affair.
On 8 December 2003, The Independent, London had
an article by Andrew Gumbel that included remarks from A.
Scott Berg, Lindbergh‟s biographer, who said it was
“chronologically and geographically possible” that Charles
could have fathered Brigitte‟s children. Brigitte begged her
children not to make public they were Lindbergh‟s children
while she was living. Her sister, Marietta, who is still alive,
refused to be involved and her children refused DNA
testing. Reeve Lindbergh wrote in her book, Forward from
Here, of her father‟s secret families and meeting with them.
National Geographic, 27 July 2009, “Did you know?
Charles Lindberg” was an article by Jeff Darnell, who wrote
of Charles Lindbergh‟s Swedish grandfather, Ola Masson.
Masson had eight children with his wife and started an affair
with a younger woman, Louisa, and they had a son,
Lindbergh‟s father – Karl Augustus. Ola changed his name
to Augustus Lindbergh and moved to the United States with
Louisa. They had six more children.
In summary, it appears that Charles Lindbergh‟s
second family is plausible, there are documents that could
be obtained and when all the proof is gathered a conclusion
can be made.
News Bytes Websites
Where is Help When You Need It?
Twila Rider
Reference Assistant
Sometimes you can only go so far with searching and you are ready for human assistance to help break down that brick wall and
come up with some fresh ideas to try. Here are some suggestions to help you find that helping hand.
*Note: The Midwest Genealogy Center does not endorse any of the professionals listed below. These listings are provided for
your information only.
FOR HIRE:
FOR FREE:
As a client, this site will help to link you with professional
researchers in various areas of expertise.
Directory of Genealogists: A Global Network of Professional
Genealogists: http://directoryofgenealogists.com/
Genealogy libraries may have folks who can help you with a
specific question on a very limited basis. Here is the link to the
guidelines for the Midwest Genealogy Center’s assistance.
Genealogy Research Requests http://www.mymcpl.org/
genealogy/genealogy-research-policy
Another researcher group to consider for professional help is
ProGenealogists, specializing in U. S., Canadian, and European
research: http://www.progenealogists.com/ They also provide
a Research Tools page (http://www.progenealogists.com/
resources.htm) which has many helpful links to assist in your
personal research.
The Midwest Genealogy Center provides the service of a one-on
-one appointment with a genealogy expert on our staff. Here
are the guidelines for that service.
Appointment with a Genealogy Expert http://
www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/appointment-genealogy-expert
The Midwest Genealogy Center provides a list of area
professional researchers on our web site:
Genealogical Researchers: http://www.mymcpl.org/
_uploaded_resources/MGC-genresearchers.pdf
On a less professional level, you might try social networking
sites, such as Twitter http://twitter.com or Facebook http://
www.facebook.com for connecting with other researchers. You
will need to sign up as a user to be able to access these sites.
Periodically Speaking
Bill Tresenriter
Reference Assistant
There are changes coming in the Periodical area in the Midwest Genealogy Center. The periodicals
will be put on the shelf in sections instead of alphabetically by title: such as, International (foreign periodicals
titles in alphabetical order within each country), Families/Surnames (in alphabetical by family surname),
United States (titles in alphabetical order within each state), and there are more section breakdowns. A
listing of all the periodical titles and the sections they will be found in will be available to aide anyone looking
for a particular title or area.
The hope is that this realignment of the periodical area will make it easier for the patron to find the
periodicals they are interested in and the patron will make better use the periodicals in their research.
Hopefully the convenience of going to one section to find the subject matter of interest instead of searching
all the shelves for each periodical will make the move a positive one for all.
CLASS CALENDAR
JUNE 2010
To register, please call 816-252-7228.
June 9, 2011, Thursday at 2:00 PM
BullDog with a Hatchet
Born in Kentucky and raised in Missouri, Carry A. Nation
used her hatchet to attack saloons and bars. In her bold,
outrageous way, Carry‟s aim was to save men from a
“drunkard‟s fate”. Meet Carry and learn about her
motivations as we gain more insight into her life and
times.
June 11, 2011, Saturday at 9:30 AM
Imported to America
It may be surprising to some that all Europeans coming to
America didn't come seeking the land of "milk and
honey." Some were "transported" as the sentence for
their crime of stealing, prostitution, or other non-capital
offenses. Others paid for their passage with years of
uncompensated labor. It's a riveting story, and an eyeopening look at a not-often-told side of Colonial
June 11, 2011, Saturday at 9:00 AM
America. In this class we break open the stories of
MGC's Anniversary Celebration
50,000 or more immigrants through the history of
It's hard to believe the Midwest Genealogy Center is documents they've left behind.
starting its third year! Join us as we celebrate our growth.
Refreshments, tours, and beginning classes will be June 16, 2011, Thursday at 7:00 PM
available throughout the day. Runs from 9-4:30pm.
Beginning Genealogy with Cindi Fournier
This class looks at the fundamentals of beginning a
June 2, 2011, Thursday at 7:00 PM
genealogical research project. How to organize, census
How to Research Your House's History
information, vital records, and where to look for
Ever wanted to learn more about the house you live in, information will be discussed.
or the property you own? Unlock the door to a number
of possibilities in this informative session. The presenter June 21, 2011, Tuesday at 10:00 AM
will share tips on what kinds of records are available at Women in Missouri During the Civil War
the Jackson County Historical Society's Archives, as well Barbara Hughes portrays Laura Flanery in a vignette as a
as other local government and archival repositories. woman who was forced out of her home and then
Pamphlet available for $2.
walked to Texas from Jackson County, Missouri! Other
selected women's stories will be shared through a
June 4, 2011, Saturday at 1:00 PM
PowerPoint presentation, music, and historic replicas.
Dear Jane Quilt Group
Dear Jane is the name of a quilt made in 1863 by Jane A. June 23, 2011, Thursday at 7:00 PM
Stickle. There are 225 different blocks in her sampler How to Use the Genealogy Library
quilt. Come make your own version of "Dear Jane". It is This tour of the Genealogy and Local History Branch is
said, "Jane's quilt is the mother of all quilts, and all of the conducted by a member of the Genealogy staff. The
quilts which we make are her babies." We invite all participant will learn about the genealogy databases on
quilters and non-quilters to join us on the first Saturday the library computer, and about the microfilm and
of each month.
microfiche collections found in the library.
Registration is limited; call for details (816-252-7228).
June 7, 2011, Tuesday at 7:00 PM
Beginning Genealogy with Ellen Miller
June 28, 2011, Tuesday at 10:00 AM
This class looks at the fundamentals of beginning a Writer's Block
genealogical research project. How to organize, census This group will discuss the writing and publishing process
information, vital records, and where to look for with guest speakers and each other. Time will be set
information will be discussed.
aside at each meeting to share your writing with other
struggling authors. One-and-one-half hours.
June 9, 2011, Thursday at 7:00 PM
Beginning Census Records with Tiffany Wright
June 30, 2011, Thursday at 7:00 PM
Join us for a trip through time using census records. Discovery with a Natural Advantage: DNA
Learn how to search effectively in Ancestry.com and Research
Heritage Quest. You will also learn other sources to tap The basics of DNA research are explained and related to
into when you cannot find your ancestor online.
genealogical research. Find out what it can and cannot do
for your family history.