The death of Agathe von Trapp brought questions from my family on our relationship to the von Trapps and I thought I'd pass this on to the list. When I have answered their questions, I will post that as well, in the meantime what follows is the von Trapp connection to Bolton. A productive New Year to you all. Kathy Agathe von Trapp, 97, a member of the musical family whose escape from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for The Sound of Music, died Tuesday December 28 at a hospice in the Baltimore suburb of Towson after suffering congestive heart failure in November. Agathe was the oldest daughter of Austrian naval Capt. Georg Ritter von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. Their seven children were the basis for the singing family in the 1959 play and 1965 film. Her mother, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp was the granddaughter of Robert Whitehead, inventor of the torpedo. Robert was born in Bolton (1823) and went to Bolton Grammer School. At the age of 16 he was apprenticed with the engineering firm Richard Ormerod & Son in Manchester where one of his first jobs was the great span of the iron roof of Manchester’s London Road railway station. Approximately 1846 Robert left England to work in France and then in Austria (now Northern Italy) where he set up his own business as a consulting engineer. It was here that he developed the torpedo as it is known today. Even though he lived most of his adult life abroad he always maintained a residence and family ties in England. Robert Whitehead’s oldest son, John (b. 1854), married Princess Agathe of Breunner-Enkevoirth (b 1859). In 1912 their oldest daughter, Agathe (b about 1887), was invited to launch a submarine for the Austrian navy; she fell in love with the captain, Georg von Trapp, and married him in 1912. They had seven children together: Rupert, 1911–1992; Agathe, 1913–2010 ; Maria, 1914– ; Werner, 1915– 2007 ; Hedwig, 1917–1972; Johanna, 1919–1994; and Martina, 1921–1952. After World War I, Austria lost all of its seaports, and Georg retired from the navy. Agathe died in 1922 of scarlet fever. The family was devastated by her death and unable to bear living in a place where they had been so happy, Georg sold his property in Pola (now Pula, Croatia) and bought an estate in Salzburg. His second wife, Maria was hired in 1926 as a tutor for Maria von Trapp who was recovering from an illness. They were married in 1927.

That was really interesting, Kathy. Thanks! Carol McCullough Colvin Researching Bridge and Aspinall families, Bolton On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 2:54 PM, Kathy Swift Thompson <ksthompson@bresnan.net > wrote: > The death of Agathe von Trapp brought questions from my family on our > relationship to the von Trapps and I thought I'd pass this on to the > list. When I have answered their questions, I will post that as well, > in the meantime what follows is the von Trapp connection to Bolton. > A productive New Year to you all. Kathy > > Agathe von Trapp, 97, a member of the musical family whose escape > from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for The Sound of Music, died > Tuesday December 28 at a hospice in the Baltimore suburb of Towson > after suffering congestive heart failure in November. Agathe was the > oldest daughter of Austrian naval Capt. Georg Ritter von Trapp and > his first wife, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp. Their seven children were > the basis for the singing family in the 1959 play and 1965 film. Her > mother, Agathe Whitehead von Trapp was the granddaughter of Robert > Whitehead, inventor of the torpedo. Robert was born in Bolton (1823) > and went to Bolton Grammer School. At the age of 16 he was > apprenticed with the engineering firm Richard Ormerod & Son in > Manchester where one of his first jobs was the great span of the iron > roof of Manchester’s London Road railway station. Approximately 1846 > Robert left England to work in France and then in Austria (now > Northern Italy) where he set up his own business as a consulting > engineer. It was here that he developed the torpedo as it is known > today. Even though he lived most of his adult life abroad he always > maintained a residence and family ties in England. > Robert Whitehead’s oldest son, John (b. 1854), married Princess > Agathe of Breunner-Enkevoirth (b 1859). In 1912 their oldest > daughter, Agathe (b about 1887), was invited to launch a submarine > for the Austrian navy; she fell in love with the captain, Georg von > Trapp, and married him in 1912. They had seven children together: > Rupert, 1911–1992; Agathe, 1913–2010 ; Maria, 1914– ; Werner, 1915– > 2007 ; Hedwig, 1917–1972; Johanna, 1919–1994; and Martina, 1921–1952. > After World War I, Austria lost all of its seaports, and Georg > retired from the navy. Agathe died in 1922 of scarlet fever. The > family was devastated by her death and unable to bear living in a > place where they had been so happy, Georg sold his property in Pola > (now Pula, Croatia) and bought an estate in Salzburg. His second > wife, Maria was hired in 1926 as a tutor for Maria von Trapp who was > recovering from an illness. They were married in 1927. > > > :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: > > Except for personal messages, please post replies to the list. > Other people can learn from them! > > :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: :-+-: > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ENG-LAN-BOLTON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- <a href="http://www.upromise.com/guest/2130256601">Shop online through this link to help me pay for college!</a>