Christian Friedrich Pfundt 26 December 1848-27 May 1936

Christian Friedrich Pfundt

26 December 1848-27 May 1936

In our last blog there was a picture of people picnicking at Friedrich Pfundt property.  In the newspaper article it indicated that Pfundt was a fisherman.  Since the name Pfundt was not familiar to me, and I don’t recall any German fisherman listed in the archives I thought a little search was in order.  The the caption of the photo also mentioned that “Pfundt, his wife and five children lived at the mouth of Wollochet Bay on thew Cromwell side in 1888.  They moved away to Hood Canal very soon after.”

Unfortunately I was unable to find very much information regarding the family.  I did not find him listed on the 1880 or 1900 US census for greater Gig Harbor.  However in 1880 he and his family were living in Lick Mountain, Conway, Arkansas.  1900 the family was living in Dewatto, Mason County, Washington.  His occupation was that of farmer, not fisherman.  He may have fished for the family dinner table, but not, that I could find, commercially.

But, what else I did find follows:

Pfundt was born in Müensingen, Württemberg, Deutschland (Germany) on the day after Christmas, 1848 to Andreas Phillip Pfundt and Anna Maria Pfundt.  He was baptized on the 31st of December, 1848.

He arrived in America in 1866, met and married Katherina Jennie on March 29, 1875 in St. Louis, Missouri.  It appears they had a son and a daughter while living in St. Louis before they moved to Lick Mountain in Arkansas February 23, 1880.  They had two more sons while living in Lick Mountain, then back to Missouri for the birth of another daughter.

According to a Family History on ancestry.com, at age 37 (1885-1889) he was living in Dewatto, Mason County, Washington.  It was there that he homesteaded 160 acres and built a small cabin.  This entry states “Fred rowed the length of the Canal to Elliot Bay, then up the White River to Kent to take a job picking hops.”  

He and Anna had three more daughters while still living in Dewatto.  By the time he was 72, he moved to Holly, in Kitsap County, Washington and it was there he died in May, 1936.

This doesn’t reveal much about the Pfundt family, but definitely more than I knew previously.

But, if we look at Pfundt’s son, Henry born in Lick Mountain, Arkansas in 1880, we discover that he indeed was a fisherman, in fact a Deep Sea Fisherman.  Henry’s record is quite confusing however, because on a Family History it states his death as March 15, 1962, at which time he would have been 82 years of age.  

BUT, The Seattle Times, Friday, March 16, 1962 published a news piece which reads:  Auto in California Kills Blaine Man  MADERA, Calif., March 16 —(U.P.I.)  Henry Pfundt, 31, of Blaine, Wash. was stuck by a car and killed yesterday while walking across U. U. 99, two miles north of here.  The California Highway Patrol said Pfundt was hit by an automobile driven by Walter T. Harris, 77, of Fresno, Officers said Harris was traveling at 60 m.p.h. when his vehicle struck Pfundt.  

It the age shown as 31 a misprint?  Or is it the correct age?  Also, it states he is from Blaine, however he lived in Olalla, Washington.  Why was he in Madera, California?  At 81 years of age, in 1962, he would not have still been fishing commercially.  Vera, Ruby and Cecil, his children all lived in Olalla as well.  

So, is the Seattle Times death article I found on ancestry.com about Christian Friedrich's son, Henry, or an unrelated different Pfundt family?  Hopefully someone will be able to tell us.

The Peninsula Gateway published an Obituary for Fred Henry Pfundt on September 8, 1993.  I believe that would have been Christian Friedrich's grandson, his father being Henry mentioned above.  The obituary reads:  Fred H. Pfundt, who lived in Sedro-Wooley, died August 29 in Bellingham at age of 81.  He was born on August 28, 1912, in Olalla, the son of Henry and Melvina Pfundt. By the time he was graduated from South Kitsap High School, he had already started on what would be his lifelong career as a commercial fisherman.  He owned and skippered boats in Washington and Alaska.  Pfundt married Eva Nielsen on July 23, 1937, on Lopez Island.  He is survived by his wife, Eva; two sons, Niel and Noel of Bellingham; a sister, Vera Culver of Tacoma; a brother, Cecil, of Southworth; and four grandchildren, Susan, Adam, Joel, and Barry of Bellingham.  At his request, a private family service was to be held.

Notes:

• Ancestry.com
• The Peninsula Gateway

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