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AutorenbildPhotos Without Families

Eugen Alfred Keiler from Estonia

Aktualisiert: 27. Dez. 2023



Updated! This original photo has gone home to Eugen's sisters family!


This handsome man was Eugen Alfred Keiler, 26 years old in September 1906. I found his photo in an antique store in Estonia. The little piece of paper was clipped to it, so looks like someone already did a bit of research on him.

I wonder why the photo still ended up in the pile of lost photos despite someone taking such interest in recording his details. I did some fact-checking and this is what I found:


Eugen Alfred Keiler was born on November 13 (new calender November 26), 1880 in Tallinn, Estonia. He was possibly of Baltic German heritage, but I'm yet to confirm. He had 4 sisters: Agnes Hermine (Keiler) Fliegenring, Selma Elisabeth (Keiler) Adler, Frieda Ludmilla Keiler and Erna Dagmar (Keiler) Hljupin. But he was the only son of his parents Karl Leopold Keiler and Maria Amalia née Tolck and the only heir to his father’s business.


Eugen’s father Carl (also: Karl) Leopold Keiler was an editor, a typesetter and a print house owner. Between 1904 and 1906 the popular Estonian family magazine “Rahwa Lõbuleht” was printed at his father’s printing house "Karl Keiler", with his father and Victor Jacobson as chief editors.

Source: Dea.digar.ee


The magazine spread articles and short stories on family, humour, culture and science on 32 pages and was published twice a month:

Source: Dea.digar.ee


When Eugen’s father passed away in April 1909, Eugen took over his printing business.


Eugen married Katharina Amalie Anna Danelius on September 6, 1909 at the St. Olai’s Church in Tallinn, in the same church his parents had wed in 1878:

St. Olai's Church (Oleviste kirik), Tallinn, 1909. Source


Katharina was originally from Latvia (possibly of Baltic German heritage?). And Katharina was not the only one Eugen married that day. In fact, Katharina brought her little daughter Herta-Marie into the marriage too. Little Herta was almost 2 years old at the time, and Eugen was probably the only father she ever knew. Although it looks like Eugen never legally adopted Herta (she shared her mom's maiden name Danelius into the 1920s), Herta's confirmation record from 1923 lists Eugen has her father,


For a while, life was bliss for Eugen. His daughter Agnes Elise was born on June 29, 1910. He was running a successful printing business. But in February 1911, life took a tragic turn. Baby Agnes died at just 7 months. Katharina was pregnant with her third daughter Erica Anna at the time who was born at the beginning of May and died just 3 weeks later. Within 3 months, the Keilers lost two of their three small children.


It was probably little consolation when he was honoured for his 10-year-service in the volunteer fire department a few weeks later.


On top of that, WWI would soon begin and Estonia would be sucked into it, too. I don’t know what exactly happened, but in September 1916, at just 37 years of age, Katharina passed away. With Eugen in military service during WWI, I don’t know who took care of the 10-year-old Herta, perhaps Eugen's mother.


After WWI ended for the rest of the world, Estonians fought their Independence War against Russia for another 2 years. Finally, on February 2, 1920, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed and Estonia declared itself a sovereign democratic republic. Eugen helped pave the way to democracy and independence, as he served in the Estonian Army during the Independence War. Here's a photo of his regiment in 1920. Perhaps Eugen was in this photo too?

Source: Wikimedia (Põhja-Lääne armee Narvast Nõukogude Venemaale ärasaatmise eel, 1920)


I don’t know what became of his printing house. Strangely, in 1921, Eugen's occupation was carpenter. He was living in apartment 8 at 23 Uus Str. in the old town of Tallinn. his church, the St. Olai’s, was just a walking distance from his house (located just behind his block).


Source: GoogleMaps


According to the St. Olai’s list of congregation members from 1928-1939, Eugen was living in that house together with his mother Marie. He never remarried.


I don’t know how the rest of his life turned out or how long his life was. In 1940, the Soviets occupied Estonia and put brakes on Estonia’s independence for the next 50 years. Did Eugen witness the devastating bombings of his city during WWII? Or how his house was nationalised by the Soviets? I don't know. I hope that despite all the curveballs life threw at him, he lived a fulfilling life.


I will add his photo to his Geni page and will try to make contact with its administrators. Perhaps I can return this photo to the family. In the meantime, enjoy the Keiler siblings' line-up - Eugen and his sisters (from the left, click on name for source) Agnes, Erna and Selma. A stunning family for sure!



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