Moritz Krembs by Steve Treanor
Moritz KREMBS was born 21 Sep 1837 in Württemberg, Germany. He died May 1907 in Chicago, Illinois and was buried 127 in Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.
Moritz was the 6th of 15 children. His father was a pharmacist to the German royalty. The Krembs family had a tradition of serving the German royal courts for many years. His mother, Louisa Von Grimm was of royal birth and a member of the same "Grimm" family that produced the Grimm Fairy Tales.
Moritz came to the U.S. with his family in December 1854. As a young man he studied pharmacy and chemistry. He started his business life in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. In the 1860's he was a bottler of soda and mineral water. Clean water was an issue during this era and Moritz apparently capitalized on the need by selling bottled beverages. Bottles with his name from that era are highly prized by collectors. In 1872 he is found in the Fond Du Lac city directory as importer of drugs, paints, oils and glass etc.
He was the only member of his family to move from Wisconsin. He located in Chicago some time between 1874 and 1876 and was well-known druggist and chemist in that city. Moritz' business seems to have evolved over the years from the pharmacy into a chemical manufacturing and metals business that was operated by his sons.
He had a drug store in at 183 West Randolph Street in Chicago in 1877. On Sunday, September 23, 1877 a man came into Moritz' store to find something to treat a head wound. Apparently an argument ensued and Moritz hit the man over the head with a pestle and inflicted a severe wound. Per a report in the Chicago Tribune on September 26, 1877 the case was heard by Justice Kaufmann. The outcome of the case is not known but it does not appear to have impacted Moritz's stature in the community.
A defining moment in Moritz' life was the marriage of his daughter Leone to a German national named Erich Muenter. Erich taught college-level German in Chicago and then Kansas. He eventually landed a job as a part-time instructor at Harvard. Erich and Leone had two children together.
During the second pregnancy, Erich poisoned his wife, Leone, with cyanide over a sustained period of time resulting in her death shortly after the birth. Erich was an immediate suspect, but he left Boston for Chicago after the death. He dropped his two children off with Moritz and Jeannette and disappeared without attempting to collect the life insurance he had taken out on his wife. The Boston officials found cyanide in Leone's body and began the search for Erich. Moritz initially came to the defense of his son-in-law. As the information unfolded and Erich continued to be a fugitive, Moritz realized his misplaced loyalty. Moritz died nearly 8 years prior to the apprehension of Muenter.
The Leone's children were initially taken in by Moritz and Jeanette after the murder of Leone. The name of Muenter was dropped from both of the girls and they were raised as Krembs children. Another daughter, Louise, took the children from the aging grandparents and raised them as part of her family.
