Ludwig Peter Meinheit was born Decemeber 21, 1858 in Stade, Germany. He arrived in the United States about 1880. It is unclear if he married Catharine Seitz in the States or in Germany before coming to the States.
They had 3 children:
Amanda Meinheit abt 1887
Fred John Meinheit (1889-1969)
William Adolph Meinheit (1892-1964)
The names written on the back of the picture at the top: children Bill (William), Amanda, and Fred and parents Ludwig and Katharine Meinheit
To the right are High School Diplomas:
William R Meinheit C/O 1942 (top let)
William R Meinheit c/o 1992 (bottom left)
Barbara Jean Matin c/o 1944 (top right)
Lynette Creighton ? NJHS (bottom right)
Ludwig passed away December 29, 1914 in Alameda County, CA and Catharine never remarried. She passed away April 12, 1941 in Alameda County, CA. It is unknown where they are buried.
According to The Berkely Daily Planet July 18, 2003
The Kenney-Meinheit Cottage was originally located at 2214 Addison St., east of Shattuck Avenue and next to Berkeley’s first volunteer fire department. The cottage was built in 1887 for Elizabeth M. Kenney, who operated a stationery store in the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at Center and Shattuck. She and members of her family, including a nephew, James Kenney, who would become Berkeley’s first fire chief, lived in the cottage until 1898 when it was sold to Ludwig Meinheit.
In 1906 Meinheit moved the cottage from the downtown to what was then a more quiet neighborhood on University Avenue. The Meinheit family, whose son William became a firefighter under James Kenney, owned the cottage until the early 1960s.
Sometime in the early 1970s the former Kelly Moore Paint Company building was constructed in front of the cottage and the cottage, at the rear of the lot, was adapted as a separate storage structure and essentially treated as a shed.
When a demolition permit application was reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2001, Jill Korte, a member of the commission, determined that the seemingly unimportant storage shed was a rare example of an early prefabricated building system designed and manufactured by William H. Wrigley in Ocean View (now West Berkeley).
Wrigley’s method of prefabricated construction was patented on Dec. 13, 1881, as a “Portable House.” Drawings and written explanation describe the modular system of upright posts grooved to hold vertical wall boards (panels). This created a double wall system that could be assembled off site. The Kenney-Meinheit House has no nails and is entirely built of redwood.
Of the five known “Portable Houses” constructed in Berkeley only the Kenney-Meinheit Cottage still stands. However, a shipment of Wrigley’s “Portable Houses” were sent to Australia, so there may be some still standing there.
The list below is the family from Ludwig and Catharine (Seitz) Meinheit and down:
Amanda Meinheit abt 1887
Marriage and children unknown
Fred John Meinheit (1889-1969)
+Elsie Grace Bartlett (1890-1953)
Harold Storm Heinheit (1912-?) Elsie’s son from previous marriage to Bennett F Storm
Barbara Jane Meinheit (1926-2003)
+ Unknown Paps
Donna C. Paps (1948-)
+Jack E Hengst
Deborah J Paps (1954-)
+ Blake D Deluca (1949-)
Ryan Allen Delua (1981-)
Ashley M Deluca (1989-)
+ Unknown Perry
William Adolph Meinheit (1892-1964)
+Elsa W Wemmer (1893-1977)
William Robert Meinheit (1924-2010)
+ Barbara Jean Martin (1927-)
William M Meinheit (1955-)
Kirk R Meinheit (1957-)
+Sheryl L Duncan
Jennifer A Meinheit (1989-)
Cody R Meinheit (1991-)
Todd G Meinheit (1963-)
+ Hillary H Hoggard (1971-)
Richard Adolph Meinheit (1928-)
+ Anna M Hunrick