Beer and Buehl family papers
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Abstract
This collection includes the papers of the families of Robert Louis Beer and Dorothy Buehl Beer, collected by their daughter Barbara Whitehead. The Buehl and Beer families settled in Brooklyn after emigrating from Germany in the mid-1800s and much of the collection centers on Frederick Max Beer's (Robert Louis Beer's father) career as an engineer in Brooklyn. Materials include correspondence, military records, apartment building floor plans, birth and death certificates, baptismal and confirmation certificates, diplomas, photographs, and an autograph album.
Biographical Note
The Beer and Buehl families both emigrated from Germany to Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1800s and lived in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island for a few generations.
Frederick Max Beer was born on March 16, 1885 in Germany. He married Pauline Sieber in 1917 and they had three children: Robert, Jeannette, and Stanley. Beer was a licensed professional engineer in New York and Pennsylvania and was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. During his career, Beer worked on tunnel construction for water supply and the subway system in New York City. He was a partner in the consulting engineering firm, Walton & Beer. During World War II, Beer was associated with the Empire Ordnance Company, the construction of Liberty Shipyard in Savannah, and the operation of the company's plants in Pennsylvania. From 1946-1956, he was the Chief Engineer of Wortman & Sons in New York City. Frederick M. Beer died on June 22, 1963.
Gustave Buehl was born September 24, 1883 in Brooklyn, NY. He worked as a musician, composer, and partial owner of Central Music Publishers until 1934. Buehl wrote piano teaching books, such as Kiddies at the Keys (1944) and New Self Instructor (1944). Gustave Buehl died on February 11, 1945.
Barbara Müller was born on September 9, 1890 in Manhattan, NY. She married Gustave Buehl on June 10, 1911. She was a member of the Federation of Women's Republican Clubs of New York State and worked as an Inspector of Elections in the early 1970s in Queens County. Barbara Buehl died on March 25, 1975.
Harold Buehl, son of Gustave and Barbara Buehl, was born on October 29, 1920 in Brooklyn, NY. Harold Buehl served in the U.S. Army in World War II and was stationed in New Caledonia. Harold Buehl married Marie Conley on October 16, 1949 and they later divorced. Sometime after being honorably discharged from the Army in 1946, Harold Buehl worked for Austin, Nichols & Co., Inc., a liquor distributor in Maspeth, Queens. Harold Buehl died on September 14, 1973.
Dorothy Buehl, daughter of Gustave and Barbara Buehl, was born on October 29, 1920. She attended Halsey Junior High School in Brooklyn and then Richmond Hill High School in Queens. She worked for the Johns-Manville Sales Corporation in Manhattan. She married Robert Louis Beer on November 24, 1944. During their marriage, Robert L. and Dorothy Beer lived in Washington, DC and on Long Island. She died on December 13, 1994.
Robert Louis Beer, son of Frederick and Pauline Beer, was born on September 5, 1918. He graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1941. He worked for Arnold M. Diamond Construction and served in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corps during World War II. He also worked for Nichols Construction Company in Washington, DC. He was a lifetime member of the American Society of Engineers. Robert Louis Beer died on August 24, 2006.
Other relatives represented in the collection include Louis Sieber and Mary (or Marie) Hildenbrand (Pauline Sieber's parents), Philip Müller (1861-1956) and Barbara Schaefer (Barbara Buehl's parents), Rosa Meta Lipfert Seitz (Robert L. Beer's grandmother), Jeannette Beer Lawson and Stanley Beer (Robert L. Beer's sister and brother), Sophie Buehl, Flo Purvis, Leola Witteck, Frederick J. Lawson, and Helen M. Jones.
Arrangement
The collection is primarily arranged by creator and/or subject, and then arranged chronologically.
Content Description
The Beer and Buehl Family papers cover several generations of the Beer and Buehl families. Most of the material relates to Frederick Max Beer's engineering career, including civil service examination test results, correspondence regarding employment and recommendations, engineering certificates and diplomas, plans and budgets from apartment buildings in Brooklyn he worked on, and his curriculum vitae and Walton & Beer portfolio.
Frederick Max Beer's papers also include grade school diplomas, religious ceremony certificates from Deutsche Evangelical Lutheran St. Markus Kirche in Bushwick, and correspondence regarding Susan Beer's plot at Lutheran Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens.
Gustave Buehl's papers include a copy of Kiddies at the Keys (1944), royalty payment receipts, and contracts from his work as a composer. Barbara Müller Buehl's papers include certification as an Inspector of Elections, a photograph of her, and birth and death certificates.
Harold Buehl and Robert Louis Beer's papers include military records from their service in World War II and correspondence. Photographs from Harold Buehl depict friends from the Army and his time stationed in New Caledonia.
Dorothy Buehl Beer's papers include a yearbook page, birth certificates, materials related to her work at the Johns-Manville Sales Corporation, and a 1975 sale deed for 88-35 74th Place in Woodhaven, Queens.
Photographs from the Buehl-Müller family and Beer-Sieber families from the early to mid-1900s depict family members, Gustave and Barbara Buehl's home at 42 Weirfield Street in Brooklyn, Frederick and Pauline Beer in Florida, and vacation photos from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Materials relating to other family members include an autograph book belonging to Pauline Sieber, prayer cards and other funeral materials, birth and death certificates, and wills. Barbara Whitehead's cemetery research and notes, and Beer-Sieber family tree are also included in the collection.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
The collection may only be used in the library and is not available through interlibrary loan. Requests to view the collection must be made at least 48 hours in advance of visit.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Beer and Buehl Family papers, 2017.015, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals of some of the birth, marriage, and death certificates included in the collection are held in the NYC Municipal Archives.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Barbara Whitehead, 2017.
Custodial History
Military records of Robert L. Beer and Harold Buehl and correspondence from Harold Buehl were originally donated to the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University in 2008. In 2017, Barbara Whitehead requested those items be transferred to the Brooklyn Historical Society. The Center for Brooklyn History received these items from the Nabb Research Center in 2021.
Appraisal
Due to space constraints and scope, CBH decided to receive and accession from the donor only those materials most related to Brooklyn and the family members who lived there.
Castanets that Harold Buehl brought back from Spain after World War II and a November 26, 1972 issue of LI: Newsday's Magazine for Long Island were determined to be out of scope and discarded with the donor's permission.
Separated Materials
Dorothy Buehl's 1937 yearbook from Richmond Hill High School has been transferred to Queens Public Library.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The archivist rehoused materials in archival folders and boxes. The archivist also created preservation photocopies of newspaper clippings. All folder titles have been supplied by the archivist.
