Oscar Schultz Kriebel Gets Married
On June 30, 1891, Oscar Schultz Kriebel and Corinne Miller (daughter of Wells Waite Miller) got married. The couple apparently met while attending Oberlin College.
As you notice, Wells needed to fill out the marriage license for his daughter and, thereafter, she’s referred to as Mrs. Oscar S. Kriebel, typical for the times. When considering the two main men in Corinne’s life (her father and her husband), I have to wonder what she thought about her father’s Civil War service.
Schwenkfelders were often conscientious objectors of the war although some of them proudly served. In fact, just today, I learned that a Schwenkfelder named Henry Boyer died in the war. A relative? Not sure. My relatives served in Pennsylvania units just like Henry did, and there are other Henry Boyers in the family tree. Sadly, it looks like this Henry lost a daughter before he died at the young age of twenty-one.
In Henry’s obituary (or, rather, the Resolution of Respect), we learn how he was mortally wounded in the battle at Fair Oaks, Virginia.
Sneden, Robert Knox. The Battle of Fair Oaks, Va. Fought 31st May. [to 1865, 1862] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/gvhs01.vhs00250/.
Berlin, Germany
Shortly before the wedding, the young couple had applied for passports so that Oscar could further his studies at the University of Berlin in Germany.
In his passport, Oscar was described as being five foot, nine and a half inches tall with a broad face and a broad and full forehead. Eyes: grayish blue; nose: rather large + thick; mouth: firm; chin: prominent; hair: dark brown; and complexion: dark.
Meanwhile, Corinne’s passport indicates that they lived in Berlin from October 1891 through August 1892, also traveling to England, Scotland, and Holland.
Birth of Frieda Kriebel
On April 17, 1892, Florence Frieda—the first grandchild of Wells and Mary—was born. One biography of Oscar Kriebel notes that, with this birth, “Family cares were increased, lightened and sweetened by the arrival of the first-born daughter, Frieda.” But, the text continues, leaving no doubt about what was most important, “these were only incidental and secondary events, the primary purpose being the pursuit of theological studies in preparation for his life work.” (January 1936 issue of the Perkiomen Review)
A few months later, Wells and Mary’s son, Amos Calvin Miller, and his wife Jeanne Amelia (nee Gilbert) Miller had a son: Gilbert Allen Miller on September 19, 1892.
Back to Oscar and Corinne
What Oscar enjoyed about Germany: the Berlin library. What he didn’t like: “German smoking, beer drinking, cooking stoves.”
We also get a glimpse of Corinne as a person in her own right (although she’s referred to as “Mrs. Kriebel”): she “is studying music and German and has been declared a very thorough scholar.” Love of learning and music were clearly shared interests between the two of them.
At the same time, Oscar was frustrated: “time is too short, one’s head too small, one’s capacity too limited.” His education was mostly from lectures without opportunity for questions and answers. Attendance was optional. So, Oscar went to the lectures and read in the library, taking sightseeing breaks with his wife to Wittenberg, Leipzig, Eisenach, Weimar, and Dresden.
Post-Europe
Before Oscar and Corinne headed off to Europe, he’d been offered a teaching job at Ursinus College. On his return, however, he became the first paid minister of the Schwenkfelder church along with the principal of the first secondary school under the establishment of the church.
Wells Waite Miller: Exploration of His Life and Times
Although it’s the battle of Gettysburg that caused me to become interested in Miller, my research about his life over the past several years has gone far beyond those three days in American history. So, I’ve decided to share my research on this blog, doing so in ways that I imagine Miller might have written his own more comprehensive life story.
If you read this material and have additional information that’s directly tied to Miller or sets context about his life—or you’ve spotted errors—please email me at kbsagert@aol.com. Thank you for being part of this adventure! Here is more of my research:
- Wells Waite Miller’s America
- Marching Towards Gettysburg
- Great Puritan Migration
- Scandal in the Colonies
- Calm in the Eye of the Storm
- Grandparents, Parents, and Siblings
- Ohio Bound
- Castalia Massacre
- Pickett’s Charge and 43 Bonus Years
- Glory Days to Invalid Corps
- Oberlin Years: Fierce Debates About Abolitionism
- A Look at Lodowick G. Miller
- Calvin Caswell
- Ohio Antietam Battlefield Commission
- Obed Caswell And Walter Caswell: Story Of Brothers
- “Speaking the Names: A Tale of Two Brothers” at Ashland University’s Black Fork Review