father: Lenz, (chamberlains at the court of the Elector Palantine of the Rhine
mother:

born:
married:
spouse: ?, ? (? -1886)
occupation: taciturn small official in Friedrichsburg, Germany
     child: Lenz, ? (son, mining engineer, died in Peru)
     child: Lenz, Aline (died of childbed fever; mother of Finfen)
     child: Lenz, Franziska (taught German to foreigners; arisocratic)
     child: Lenz, Josepha (quick tempered, but a favorite)
     child: Lenz, ? (daughter)
     child: Lenz, Caroline *
     child: Lenz, ? (son, dashing and elegant; died miserably and true to type))
died:

father:
mother:

born: in Bavaria, Germany
married:
spouse:
     child: Helburn, Hugo
     child: Helburn, Julius
occupation: tanner

Tanner in Bavaria. Did not want it to become part of Germany, so came to 'the colonies'. He set up a leather factory in Gloversville, and later one in Peabody, Mass.

Born Jewish, he abandoned the faith when he came to the US. He became a pillar of the West Side Unitarian Church.

father:
mother:

born:
married:
spouse: Meerwein, ? (attempted suicide at learning of Jacob's indiscretions)
occupation: petty official in law court (politcal reactionary)
     child: Muser, Berthold; (bachelor)
     child: Muser, Otto; (warm and easy, married to Fannie)
     child: Muser, Oskar *
     child: Muser, Franz; (fat, studied medicine)
died:

father: Helburn, ?
mother:

born: Dec 1858 in Bavaria, Germany
emmigrated: S.S. Odor from Bremen via Southampton to NYC (arriving 5 Jun 1864)
married: about 1885
spouse: ?, Elizabeth (b Oct 1870, at sea during immigration from England)
     child: Helburn, Lillian (b Nov 1889 in New York)
occupation: chemist

father: Helburn, ?
mother:

born: Oct 1851 in Bavaria, Germany
emmigrated: S.S. Odor from Bremen via Southampton to NYC (arriving 5 Jun 1864 at age 13)
married: abt 1882
spouse: Peyser, Hannah (b Apr 1860 in Saxony, Germany)
     child: Helburn, Willard
     child: Helburn, Theresa
     child: Helburn, Berthe (b 16 Jun 1892, artist, d Nov 1964)
occupation: leather merchant, tanner, leather company in Peabody

father: Muser, Jacob
mother: Meerwein, ?

born: Apr
married: Apr
spouse: von Poetz, Lina
     child: Muser, Elisabeth *
     child: Muser, Lenchen
     child: Muser, Margarete
occupation: lawyer in Offenburg, Baden, Germany
cofounder: Democratic Party in Baden; active in left liberal politics.

Oskar Muser, einer der führenden demokratischen Politiker Badens, nahm die prinzipielle Auseinandersetzung mit der Sozialdemokratie zum ersten Mal in einer großen Versammlung in Mannheim im Januar 1891 auf. Die sozialdemokratische Partei in Baden - Page 159 by Jörg Schadt - 1971

author: Demokratie und Block:" doktrinarismus" und" realpolitik" - 1908
            Die Stellung der Frau zum Staat und im Staat. Frauenstimmrecht - 1913
            Das Frauenstimmrecht vor dem Badischen Landtag: Zwei reden - 1918
died:

father:
mother:

born:
married:
spouse: Muser, Jacob
     child: Muser, Elisabeth *
     child: Muser, Lenchen
     child: Muser, Margarete
died:

father: Neilson, David
mother: Allan, Mary

born: 28 Mar 1869 in Doane, Perthshire, Scotland

"His father was his schoolteacher when he was growing up. His father died when he was just 12 years old, leaving no one as teacher. He was asked to teach and took over duty as a substitute teacher." [M.N.H.]

attended: University of Edinburgh, M.A. in Philosophy with Honors, 1891
emigrated: to teach in Toronto, Canada in 1891
attended: Harvard University, Ph.D., 1898
married: 25 Jun 1906
spouse: Muser, Elisabeth
     child: Neilson, Allan
     child: Neilson, Margaret
     child: Neilson, Caroline
worked: President of Smith College, 1917 to 1939
authored: The Origins and Sources of The Court of Love - 1899
            Smith College: The First Seventy Years, - 1946
died: 1946

father: Helburn, Julius
mother:

born: Nov 1883 in New York, NY
married:
spouse: Mason, Margaret
     child: Helburn, Stephen
     child: Helburn, Peter
     child: Helburn, Nick
     child: Helburn, Margaret
lived at: 38 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA
occupation: importer

Worked in his father's leather business and took it over, then lost it to the preferred stock holders in the early thirties after losing in the stock market. He then started his own importing business. Visited New Zealand many times and worked with people there to develop much better tanning techniques, including the freezer works and the making of suede.

In Willard Helburn, Inc. v. Commissioner, 214 F.2d 815 (1st Cir. 1954), aff'g. 20 T.C. 740 (1953), the facts were that in the purchase of lambskins for use in the taxpayer's manufacturing business, the taxpayer had incurred an obligation to a bank in pounds sterling to finance the purchase of lambskins, and before the obligation was paid, the pound sterling was devalued. As the basis of the lambskins, the taxpayer had used the United States dollar equivalent of the purchase price at the date the lambskins were purchased and had excluded the gain from the decline in the United States dollar equivalent of the obligation. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit indicated that the taxpayer could not both exclude the gain and have the higher basis in the lambskins. It was further held that the taxpayer correctly treated the credit transaction as a transaction separate from the underlying purchase of lambskins. Consistent with the treatment of the obligation as a separate transaction, the taxpayer was not required to adjust the basis of the lambskins by the gain from the obligation, but having treated the obligation as a separate transaction, and not having adjusted the basis of the lambskins for the gain on the obligation, the taxpayer was required to include the gain in gross income.

founded: Helburn-Thompson Co, Salem, Mass.
climbed: extensive mountain climber in Europe and New England with Margaret.

The redoubtable Willard Helburn contributed a chapter to the history of northeastern ice climbing by leading an ascent of the awe-inspiring chimney on Katahden in 1923. Helburn himself made no boasts, claiming the route was "easier than in summer," and his wife agreed. Having been with him on both winter and summer ascents, Margaret shrugged: "There's more soot than fire in Kataden's chimney." Neverheless, they did rope up for part of it, and were "glad to have our axes." ... The technical difficulty of these climbs by Helburn and his friends, while not great by modern standards, was as hard as anything done on Katahdin in winter until some forty years later. Yankee Rock & Ice: A History of Climbing in the Northeastern United States by Laura Waterman, Guy Waterman - 2002

died:

father: Mason, Frank
mother: (died young)
stepmother: ?, Sally

born: 10 Jun 1888
married:
spouse: Helburn, Willard
     child: Helburn, Stephen
     child: Helburn, Peter
     child: Helburn, Nick
     child: Helburn, Margaret
avocation: mountain climber

Active in Appilachian Mountain Club. Guppy (or Guppy and Willard) climbed all the French, Swiss and Italian Alps over 14,000 feet in one season. This is roughly one peak every other day.

died: May 1980 in Kennet Sq.,Chester, PA

father: Muser, Oskar
mother: von Poetz, Lina

born: 16 Jun 1882 in Offenburg, Baden, Germany
married: 25 Jun 1906
spouse: Neilson, William
     child: Neilson, Allan
     child: Neilson, Margaret
     child: Neilson, Caroline
authored: The House I Knew; Memories of Youth
died: 15 Oct 1968

father: Muser, Oskar
mother: ?, Caroline

born: 1886 in Germany
died: bef 1918 in psychiatric hospital in Germany

father: Helburn, Julian
mother:

born: 12 Jan 1887 in New York, NY
educated: Bryn Mawr College, Radcliffe
married:
spouse: Opdycke, John B. (aka Oliver Opdyke) (30 Mar 1907 - Aug 1983)
worked: poet, producer with the New York Theatre Guild

Theresa Helburn was theatrical producer for more than 30 years with the Theatre Guild and became more powerful and more influential than any American woman had ever been in the stage production of drama. Introduced Rogers and Hammerstein to each other. As executive director, she oversaw the production of more than a hundred Theatre Guild productions including John Ferguson, its first hit in 1919, through The Philadelphia Story (1939) to Oklahoma! She constantly fought censorship of theatre.

produced: The Fountain, Marco Millions, OKLAHOMA!, Most Happy Fella, Carousel!
died: 18 Aug 1959 in Weston, CT

father:

"My father, an insurance agent, had told me that on both sides my family had come from a suburb of Prague, the name of which was Nez da Sôv. Only recently did I discover that Nez da Sôv is not the name of a place, but means 'The Village of the Dolts'" [R.S.]

mother:

born: 8 Feb 1899 in Cleveland
attended: Dartmouth College, B.A., 1921
married:
spouse:
     child: Steiner, Antoinette (Toni)
director:City, The (1939)
       Pie in the Sky (1935)
       Cafe Universal (1934)
       Surf and Seaweed (1931)
       Mechanical Principles (1930)
       H₂O (1929)
cinematographerCity, The (1939)
       Plow That Broke the Plains, The (1936)
       Cafe Universal (1934)
married:
spouse: Neilson, Caroline
      step child: Oram, William A.
      step child: Oram, Kate
author: Arts and Their Mission (1964)
       A Point of View (1978) review
       In Spite of Everything, Yes (w Caroline Steiner)
       In Pursuit of Clouds, Images and Metaphors (1985)

"Ralph Steiner, the late, great photographer, would occasionally write me a funny, provocative letter after he had read one of my published articles. He would end with the words: 'But you still have not told me in which direction to point the camera--and this is what matters.' And he is right." - Bill Jay

died: Jul 1986 in Thetford, Orange Co, VT

father: Neilson, William
mother: Muser, Elisabeth

born: abt 1909

"He became ill with arthritus while away at boarding school. He came home and got a heart infection while in hospital. At home, an invalid, his younger sister Margaret became close to him and vowed that she would devote her life to taking care of him, but he died when she was about 14." [M.N.H.]

died: abt 1926 in Northampton, Hampton Co, MA

father: Neilson, William
mother: Muser, Elisabeth

born: 30 Jul 1912

Christmas 1920
"My elementary school years were with a private tutor in her basement in Northampton. I was only interested in animals, and she never made schoolwork interesting. I just remember her saying 'Hen tracks' whenever she looked at a paper I gave her." [M.N.H.]

attended: Smith College
attended: University of Massachusetts, B.A. in Agriculture, 1938
married: in MA
spouse: Helburn, Peter
     child: Helburn, Jean
     child: Helburn, Ann
     child: Helburn, Tom
died: 23 May 2005 at home in Bradford, Vt (obit)

father: Helburn, Willard
mother: Mason, Margaret

born:
contracted: polio at age 16 while at Exeter
attended: Harvard College, Harvard Littauer graduate school
married: ?, Mary (who married David Bell after Steve's death)
worked: National Resources Planning Board
published: Location of Industry, Journal of Land and Public Utility Economics, v. 253 (1943)
worked: speechwriter for FDR

Always did well in school, studies, sports, whatever. Attended Exeter, then brother Peter helped him get around at Harvard despite his parapelegia. Drove a car with hand controls so he could attend summer school in Wisconsin. Attended graduate school at Littauer, but quit before graduation to write speeches for FDR. Worked for Natural Resources Council until kidney stones and other ailments related to wheelchair life stressed his heart.

died: after 1950 of high blood pressure

father: Helburn, Willard
mother: Mason, Margaret

born: 18 Jun 1916 in Salem, Mass.

"I became a blacksmith, some in high school, more in small shops in NYC, where I worked through the hard depression of the early thirties, chasing jobs with the great and not so great artists of the trade." PH

married: Jan 1942
spouse: Neilson, Margaret
     child: Helburn, Jean
     child: Helburn, Ann
     child: Helburn, Tom
served: US Navy; Motor Machinist 2^nd Class; USS LCS (L)(3)-86; 22 Jan 1945 - 3 Dec 1945

The LCS had a dingy. Peter rigged it up with a sail, and whenever they were anchored Peter and the skipper would go out sailing. [William Mason, Yeoman USS LCS(L)86]

worked: self employed contractor, 1946-58
taught: Buckingham School, Warehouse School, Peter's School
sailed : Little Dipper, Little Chance, Apogee All Hands
established: Erections Unlimited, contracting firm to build windtowers.
died: 5 Feb 2002 at home in Tunbridge, Vt.

father: Helburn, Willard
mother: Mason, Margaret (Guppie)

born:
attended: University of Chicago (economic geography)
married:
spouse: ?, Tess
married:
spouse: Wiggins, Suzanne
     adoptive child: Helburn, Peter
     adoptive child:
worked: Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado at Boulder

father: Helburn, Willard
mother: Mason, Margaret (Guppie)

born:
attended: Radcliffe, BS with Honors, 1941
served: Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (essay)

Graduated October 9, 1943. She received flight training, then WASP training and was assigned to South Plains AAB in Lubbock, Texas, an advanced glider school where WASPs trained to tow CG-4A gliders at low altitude, mostly at night. She was then assigned to Eagle Pass AAB, advanced Gunnery School where she towed targets. After deactivation she worked for Republic Aviation as a test pilot who flew Seabees.

assisted: Aunt Terry Helburn with theatre chores
married:
spouse: Eric Kocher
     child: Kocher, Eric Glen
     child: Kocher, Chris
     child: Kocher, Terry
     child: Kocher, Debra
awarded: NYS Conspicuous Service Awards by Gov. Pataki

father: Neilson, William
mother: Muser, Elisabeth

born: 5 Jan 1917
attended: Smith College, B.A.
married:
spouse: Oram, ?
     child: Oram, William Allen

William Allan Oram is Helen Means Professor of English at Smith College. He has B.A. degrees from Yale and Merton College, Oxford, and a Ph.D. in English from Yale. He is coordinating editor of the Yale Edition of the Shorter Poems of Edmund Spenser and author of articles on Spenser, Milton, and other Renaissance writers. His current projects examine Spenser's treatment of character in The Fairie Queene and his tendency in later works to return to and criticize earlier ones.

     child: Oram, Kate
married: Steiner, Ralph
authored: A Walk in the Dolomites
authored: In Spite of Everything, Yes (w Ralph Steiner)
died: Sep 1993

father: Helburn, Peter
mother: Neilson, Margaret

born: 15 Sep 1943
attended: Brown University, Sc.B. in biology, 1965
married: 30 May 1964 in Lincoln, MA
spouse: Townsend, Charles Lewis
served: U.S. Peace Corps, Philippines XIV letters home
     child: Townsend, Benjamin David
     child: Townsend, Jeffrey Peter
joned in civil union: Brown, Janet
employed: Maple Leaf Farm in Underhill, VT

father: Helburn, Peter
mother: Neilson, Margaret

born: 10 Oct
attended: Brown University, A.B.
married:
spouse: Stephens, John
     child: Stephens, Julian
     child: Stephens, Monica

father: Helburn, Peter
mother: Neilson, Margaret

born:
attended: Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts
married:
spouse: Anna Marie Helton

Last updated: 12 Jan 2007