Our family, together
The Hilpert family
This is a place for our family to get to know the people who came before us—and to share the memories we carry today. Take a look through the photographs, read a letter, or follow a story across the Hilpert, Harjo and connected branches of our family. Whether these faces are familiar or you’re meeting them for the first time, you’re welcome here.
The family bookshelf
The Lives of Otto and Milly
A book made with love, filled with photographs, letters, and memories of Milly and Otto. Open it and turn the pages, beginning with the dedication to the next generation.
Open the book →In their own words
Otto and Milly’s letters
Follow their conversation through handwritten pages, typed transcriptions, and a continuous listening playlist.
Read and listen →In the family’s own words
Hilpert family letters
Read the connected family story and explore thirteen letters in their original handwriting, alongside English translations and the historical copies.
From Prussia to the Skookumchuck
David August Hilpert — His Life and Story
1827–1906
A silk weaver from Prussia, David’s journey led him to Washington Territory and the farm beside the Skookumchuck River that would become home to generations of Hilperts.
Follow his life through family letters, photographs and land records—and discover how surviving letters changed a story about his brother August that had been repeated for generations.
Read David’s life story →Brothers, sisters and the next generation
Meet David August Hilpert’s Family
Begin with David’s brothers and sisters, then get to know the family he and Magdalena raised.
David’s brothers and sisters
Their letters carry news of work, separation and family life between Germany and America.
David and Magdalena’s children
Otto Hilpert
Read Otto’s story →Phillip Hilpert
Read Phillip’s story →Hattie Hilpert Teeter
Read Hattie’s story →Selma Hilpert Pitzer
Read Selma’s story →Pauline Hilpert
Read Pauline’s story →Hannah Hilpert Schaefer
Read Hannah’s story →Helena Christina Hilpert
Read Helena’s story →Otto and Milly
Follow their story through Eileen and the generations that followed.
Milly’s roots
Milly’s Family — The Dortzbachs and Falkenraths
Meet Milly’s parents, Peter and Ida, and follow their families from Europe to Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington.
Milly’s father · 1863–1942
Jen Peter Dortzbach
A tanner and shoemaker from Schleswig, Peter crossed the Atlantic in 1883 and met Ida in Racine. His recollections follow the family through shoe shops, a Colorado farm and their later home with Milly and Otto in Centralia.
Meet the Dortzbach family →
Milly’s mother · 1866–1944
Ida Falkenrath
Ida came from Germany to Wisconsin with her family. She and Peter raised four children, and her work taking in boarders and helping run a hotel sustained the household through its Colorado years. Eileen later remembered her grandparents as part of the Hilpert home.
Meet the Falkenrath family →Shared family treasures
Images donated by Linda Hilpert
Family faces, life on the farm, and notes that help us remember. Browse 190 scans with descriptions: 187 photographic scans, two newspaper clippings and a handwritten back.
Open each image to read its story, follow the names and explore related photographs.
Browse Linda’s collection →Recognize a face? See photographs with unidentified people or share a family memory.
The next generation
Leonora’s life in music
Meet Selma and Carl Pitzer’s daughter, Leonora (1895–1920), through her studies in Germany, performances with the Pitzer Trio, family photographs and surviving letters.
Read Leonora’s life story →In her own words
Beulah’s childhood memories
Read My Childhood Memories Of Life On The Family Farm by Beulah Carol Hilpert—her memories of school days, family celebrations and growing up on the Hilpert farm.
Read Beulah’s memoir →