This report provides a chronological summary of some of the details concerning a parcel of land in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts which had been acquired and disposed of by the Germania Association of Roxbury.

June 9, 1887 (1775.635)¹
This file contained a copy of the land survey, dated May 24, 1887, which depicted the newly subdivided lots on the property owned by Hannah Dudley.

July 21, 1893
In 2144.275 Tondorf, Wessling, and Spang, as trustees of the Association agreed to purchase an improved parcel of land on Pynchon St. (later to be renamed as Columbus Ave.) known as Lot 27 from Mary D. Lewis, et al.

In 2144.277 several sections of the Association's constitution were made part of the record.

Article 3

establishes that there shall be 3 officers (President, Treasurer, and Secretary) elected by the members and who shall serve a term of 5 years. Those officers shall be the only members of the Board of Trustees.

Article 5

concerns the powers of the Board of Trustees to acquire and manage certain assets.

Articles 6 and 7

deal with the powers to make contracts and to finance the acquisitions of certain assets.

Article 11

mentions that "members" and "proprietors" are to receive a share of any profits on account of their having invested in the Association by having purchased "certificates". The trustees were granted the power to make investments with such funds.

Article 15

details how "unprofitable" investments were to be liquidated.

The above document was submitted by the secretary, Henry Wessling. It is assumed that Joseph Tondorf was the president and that Joseph Spang was the treasurer.²

In 2144.279 a mortgage in the amount of $1,365.00 was given to Lewis.

September 21, 1893
In 2154.104 the mortgage given to Lewis was discharged.

In 2154.105 the trustees authorized that a mortgage in the amount of $5,000.00 be given to Germania Co-operative Bank. Henry Wessling secured the loan by pledging 25 shares of Series 15 as collateral. (Monthly payments were $61.25.)

January 20, 1894 (2176.83, .84, and .86)
Joseph Spang was replaced by Valentine Baier as a trustee and 2 mortgages totaling $10,000.00 were authorized by the Board of Trustees regarding the property on Columbus Ave. ($9,000.00 was borrowed from a Theodore H. Tyndale and payable over 5 years. $1,000.00 would be paid to an Adelaide Francis after 1 year.)

September 9, 1895
In 2304.53 Tondorf, for his own account, purchased part of the property on Centre St. (Lot 42 "A") which abutted the parcel of land on Columbus Ave. and a mortgage in the amount of $5,000.00 to be paid over a 3 year period was given to the seller, John C. Williams.³ The file included a copy of a land survey showing that the lot had been subdivided into 2 sections: Lots 42 "A" and 42 "B".

The trustees had been authorized to spend no more than $9,200.00 to acquire Lots 42 "A" and "B" and the land and buildings were to have been added to the original holdings of the trust.

September 12, 1895 (2304.590)
Tondorf ⁴ conveyed Lot 42 "A" to the Association.

March 8, 1898 (2511.112
Williams assigned the loan to a Caroline B. Thacher.

January 27, 1899 (2583.243)
Tondorf, who had resigned his office because of poor health (It had been reported that he had been declared mentally incapacitated and had returned to Germany.), was replaced by Frederick Weisenberger as president as a result of a special meeting which had been held in October of 1897.

January 28, 1899
In 2583.295 the mortgage given to Williams was discharged.

In 2583.296 a portion of the property at 169 - 171 Centre St. (Lot 42 "A") was sold to Bernard Wessling⁵ because the property had been determined to be an "unprofitable" investment.

In 2583.297 Bernard Wessling gave a mortgage to the Germania Co-operative Bank in the amount of $3,400.00 and he secured the loan by pledging 17 shares of Series 27. (The monthly payments were $32.56.)

In 2583.300 the trustees of the Association gave a mortgage to the Germania Co-operative Bank in the amount of $3,000.00 as respects the property at the rear of 169 - 171 Columbus Ave. (that portion of Lot 42 "A" not acquired by Bernard Wessling) for the purpose of paying off an existing obligation. The loan was secured by Valentine Baier's pledging 15 shares of Series 27. (The monthly payments were $28.92.)

In 2583.360 Bernard Wessling gave a mortgage to the Association for $1,600.00 which was to be paid in 1 year.

February 17, 1899 (2587.245, .246, and .247)
Due to the poor quality of the records it was difficult to read them. However, the transactions seemed to have been concerned with the discharge of the mortgages recorded on January 20, 1894.

November 9, 1899 (2644.473)
Bernard Wessling sold his interest in that portion of Lot 42 "A" to the Association and they assumed his obligations payable to the co-operative bank.

On October 12, 1900 a special meeting of the "proprietors" of the Association was held and by a ¾ vote of the "proprietors", it was agreed to sell the land and buildings (Lots 27, 42 "A", and 42 "B") to the Archdiocese of Boston on account of the property having had been an "unprofitable investment". This decision effectively ended the existence of the Association.

November 5, 1900 (2717.49 and .50)
These documents discharged the mortgages referred to in 2583.297 and .300, respectively, as both of these lots were sold to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston. It would then seem the that the Archdiocese transferred the ownership of the property to a John J. Kennedy for a consideration of $11,000.00 with a mortgage in the amount of $9,000.00 given to the Institute for Savings in Roxbury.

February 17, 1904 (2949.614)
Indenture Agreement - The Institute for Savings in Roxbury extended the loan's term for 3 years. Both the Germania Association and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston were named parties to the transaction.

What was the reason for the Germania Association of Roxbury's acquisition of these properties?

Probably for the creation of a structure known as Germania Hall.

Prior to the establishing of Germania Hall in Roxbury, there were Germania Halls in East Boston and in Roslindale and they were used for meetings of various German cultural and social groups in the those communities.

Perhaps the Germania Association of Roxbury had as one of its purposes the creation the of Germania Court No. 93 of the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters⁶ and to provide for a place for it to meet. Germania Court had received its charter on February 26, 1893 and by the end of 1893 the Germania Court had about 40 members - 21 charter members, 11 initiated during the calendar year, and 8 transfers from other courts. Incidentally, 5 prospective members had been rejected.

The Holy Trinity Court No. 51 had been formed several years earlier and its meetings were held at a hall on Washington St. near the Holy Trinity Church. Given that many families of the Holy Trinity congregation had been living further away from the church's location, this new site would have allowed for the parishioners from Roxbury and Jamaica Plain to become more active in the parish's social organizations. Germania Hall was situated not too distant from the complex of buildings on Highland, Ellis, and Fulda Streets⁷ housing an orphanage, a home for the elderly, a school, and a convent for the nuns teaching at the school. All of these institutions were affiliated with Holy Trinity Church

An article in the diocesan newspaper stated that the Germania Court would host a "grand festival" on the evening of May 14, 1894. The program included a concert followed by a ball. Also, a number of door prizes were to be awarded. Admission was $0.50 per person. It was later reported that about 600 people attended that function which took place at the "Germania Building" on Pynchon Street in Roxbury.⁸

The diocesan newspaper made a reference to "Germania Hall" when it announced that the Germania Court would hold its second annual picnic on July 16, 1894 at Holliston Grove Pond. Tickets could be purchased at Germania Hall, 240 Pynchon Street or from the Committee on Arrangements (Joseph Tondorf, Joseph Kees, Fred Weisenberger, Anton Burkard, Henry Wessling, Christian Lambrecht, Theodore Kranefuss, William Vollmar, Henry Fein, Carl Niessel, and Valentine Baier).⁹

The first reference to the Roxbury Germania Hall found in the Boston City Directory was an entry in the 1894 edition giving its address as 240 Pynchon St. The hall would have been located between Penryth St. (which entered at 226 Pynchon St.) and Old Heath St. (which entered at 289 Pynchon St.) In the same directory it was stated that the Germania Court of the MCOF met two times each month at Germania Hall on Pynchon St. That site seems to correspond with the address of the property on Pynchon St. which had been purchased in 1893.

(An 1895 list of Holy Trinity parishioners indicated that Francis Lauinger's address was 240 Pynchon St. in Roxbury. In the 1895 city directory Lauinger and his son were at that same address with the son having been employed as a janitor at 240 Pynchon St. Also, see the 1900 federal census enumerating Lauinger, a son, and a daughter who were living at 171½ Centre St.)

At the end of June, 1895 the St. Othilia Court #118 was established. It was composed entirely of women under the auspices of the Germania Court, which had allowed the use of the Germania Hall for the installation ceremony of its officers. (In 1894 the constitution of the MCOF was amended at its annual convention so as to permit women to be elligible for membership by either joining an existing Court or one exclusively for women. The Germania Court had at this time had initiated a few women as members.)

Germania Hall's address remained the same until the city directory of 1897 showed the hall as being on Columbus Ave. at Centre St. (Columbus Ave. had been widened and extended so as to eliminate Pynchon St.) The hall would now have been located between Penryth St. (which entered at 1418 Columbus Ave.) and Old Heath St.(which entered at 1507 Columbus Ave.)

The address of Germania Hall, as per the 1898 edition of the city directory, was 1448 Columbus Ave.

Germania Court continued to hold its meetings at Germania Hall until 1906 when it met at Casino Hall as did several other courts (Holy Trinity No. 51, St. Cecilia No. 105, St. Othillia No. 118, and St. Boniface No. 119) having a sponsorship by Holy Trinity parish. Casino Hall was situated on Shawmut Ave., very near Holy Trinity Church.

Another intended purpose of the use of Germania Hall may have been as a parish hall of a new German church for which a group of Holy Trinity parishioners living in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain had petitioned circa 1893. Their petition was ultimately denied by the Archbishop of Boston chiefly on the objections of the pastor of Holy Trinity and of the parish council. At that time Holy Trinity carried a significant amount of debt on its financial books. If a large number of parishioners formed their own parish, then the remaining members of the parish would have been required to bear a greater financial burden. With Holy Trinity parish having been comprised mostly of the families of tradesmen and factory workers, the financial health of the parish would have been severely jeopardized.

However, the property did seem to find use as a parish hall for the new church which was constructed - All Saints Church.

All Saints parish was founded in 1894 as an offshoot of the St. Joseph's parish in Roxbury. The church was not dedicated until July of 1897, although religious services may have been held as early as 1896. One source gave the address of the rectory as 167 Centre St. whereas the city directory stated that the church's address was 165 Centre St. Elsewhere, the address of the church was stated as being at Centre and Penryth Streets. (Penryth St. entered between 167 and 169 Centre St.) Furthermore, the Columbia Court of the MCOF, which had been established in April of 1894, used Germania Hall for its meetings from as early as 1896. However, the parish to which this group was attached is not known. Also, In Roxbury there was a Highlands Court.

Since the Association had been an owner of the real estate at 169 - 171 Centre St., it would have been in very close proximity to the church and its rectory. The federal census of 1900 had enumerations at 169A, 169B, and 171½ Centre St.

Also, as early as 1891 the Germania Co-operative Bank held its monthly meetings at the offices of Charles V. Jaeger, which were located at 18 Pynchon St. (Roxbury Crossing), only a few blocks away from Germania Hall. As the co-operative bank had strong ties with Holy Trinity parish and since the officers of the Association were at various times officers of the co-operative bank and/or members of its committees, perhaps the Germania Hall had been envisioned as a future site for the co-operative bank.

The Boston city directory continued to list the Germania Hall in Roxbury as late as its 1921 edition.

1. Suffolk County, Massachusetts Registry of Deeds

2. Tondorf, Wessling and Spang were part of a group of parishioners from Holy Trinity Church which founded the Germania Co-operative Bank in 1885 and all 3 served as officers and directors of that organization. In 1897 Wessling succeeded Tondorf and in 1914 Spang followed Wessling. For further information about the co-operative bank, please see this file.

3. He was the Archbishop of Boston.

4. In the Boston City Directory for the year 1895 he had been listed as the Principal Assessor for the City of Boston.

5. He was the brother of Henry Wessling.

6. For more information about the Massachusetts Catholic of Foresters, please see this file.
(Tondorf, the 2 Wesslings, Spang, Baier, Weisenberger, and Lauinger were all members of the Germania Court.)

7. In 1888 Tondorf played a key role in the development of a large section of the former Ellis Estate for the Roxbury school. For a report on the Fulda Street plan, please see this file file.

8. "Pilot" article of April 21, 1894

9. "Pilot" article of July 7, 1894