A Guide to the Wupperman Family Papers, 1878-2010

Biographical Note

The Wupperman’s were a family of Texas Germans, with ties to various other Texas German families such as the Herman Lungkwitz family, the Petri family, and the von Rosenberg family. Otto Wuppermann immigrated to Texas from Germany around 1848, married Elise Tips in 1850, and returned to Düsseldorf, Germany in 1863. They had seven children, of which Walter Otto Wupperman (b. 1875) was the only child born in Germany. In the late 19th century, Walter immigrated to Texas and married Else von Rosenberg, the daughter of Ernst von Rosenberg and Helene Lungkwitz von Rosenberg. Else’s maternal grandfather was the German-Texas painter Hermann Lungkwitz. Furthermore, Walter attended the University of Texas, graduated in 1916 and became an accountant. Walter and Else lived in Austin, Texas and had four children. In his spare time, Walter sketched many views of Texas and Düsseldorf and translated texts from German into English. He returned to Germany several times to visit his parents, during one trip he sketched Ima Hogg, who was a passenger on the same ship. Ima Hogg, during the 1960s, was a friend of Else Wupperman. Walter Wupperman died in 1950 and Else Wupperman in 1967.

Scope and Contents

The Wupperman Family Papers include extensive correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, sketches and sketchbooks, legal documents, diaries, and books. The papers document the Wupperman Family’s activities in Texas as well as the interactions between the Wupperman Family and members of the von Rosenberg family and the Hermann Lungkwitz family. The first series contains the papers of the Walter and Else Wupperman Family. The bulk of the correspondence is between Walter and Else Wupperman before and after their marriage between 1900 and 1931. However, there is also a significant amount of correspondence with their respective parents and grandparents. Along with this correspondence, the papers hold general correspondence as well as Else’s correspondence with Ima Hogg from the 1960s. The papers also include the sketches of Walter and his brother R. L. Wupperman, along with an Albrecht Dürer print and photo-reproductions of two Friedrich Petri paintings. Petri was the brother-in-law of Herman Lungkwitz, Else Wupperman’s maternal grandfather. The papers also have Elise Petri’s book of religious songs. Furthermore, the papers contain some of Walter Wupperman’s scholarly translations from German to English, his diploma from the University of Texas, his confirmation certificate, and various printed materials from Düsseldorf, Germany. The second series consists of genealogical material concerning the Wupperman, Tips, von Rosenberg, and Lungkwitz families.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

Related Material

Separated Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Wupperman Family Papers, 1878-2010, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Megan Mummey, April 2010.

Detailed Description of the Papers