Margaret Pfister

Lifespan: August 16, 1876 – February 17, 1962

Summary

Born August 16, 1876 in Fish Creek, Door County, Wisconsin. Daughter of John Pfister and wife. Married Emil Mielke (Apr 29, 1881–Apr 20, 1970) on October 16, 1902 — the marriage record renders her surname as “Pfisterer,” the older German agent-noun form of Pfister (literally “baker”). Emil was ~5 years younger. Five children (2 sons, 3 daughters). Divorced from Emil before 1930 (per 1930 census) — both eventually remarried separately. Margaret kept the Mielke surname and lived in Fish Creek the rest of her life except the last 10 years with daughter Hazel in Green Bay. Died February 17, 1962 at St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin, age 85. Services at West Side Moravian Church, Green Bay. Buried at Bayside Cemetery, Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin — same cemetery as her ex-husband Emil and his second wife Tillie.

Relationships

• Father: John Pfister Sr. (Jun 19, 1830, Wittenberg, Germany–Jan 2, 1908, Gibraltar, Door Co, WI). See Pfister/john-pfister-sr.md.
• Mother: Unknown — one of John’s two wives (both preceded him in death)
• Brother: Casper Pfister — Sturgeon Bay, WI (1962). Relationship to John uncertain — see john-pfister-sr.md notes.
• Siblings (7): John Jr., William, Mrs. Matt Felhofer, Mrs. Louis Miller, Mrs. Richard Lyman, Mary, Frank
• Uncle: Phillip Pfister — died in the Civil War, 1863
• Husband: Emil Mielke (1881–1970) — m. October 16, 1902; divorced before 1930 per the 1930 census. Both later remarried separately.
• Children (5 — 2 sons, 3 daughters):
  • Charles Mielke — Milwaukee, WI (1962)
  • Earl Mielke — Sturgeon Bay, WI (1962)
  • Mrs. Harold (Mildred) Gritzmacher — Milwaukee, WI (1962)
  • Hazel P. Mielke (Jul 12, 1902–Apr 8, 1987) — direct line. m. Gerald Martin Sr., then Clarence Lau. Green Bay, WI (1962)
  • Mrs. Pearl Klien — Milwaukee, WI (1962)

Sources

• Obituary, Green Bay newspaper (Feb 1962) — primary source. Names parents (Mr. and Mrs. John Pfister), all 5 children, brother Casper Pfister, church, burial.
• Find A Grave: Memorial at Bayside Cemetery, Sturgeon Bay — birth/death dates, birthplace Fish Creek
• Hazel P. Lau obituary (1987) — names parents as “the late Emil and Margaret Miekle”
• Marriage record (Door Co, WI?): marriage to Emil October 16, 1902; her surname rendered “Pfisterer” on the record.
• 1930 US Census: Emil and Margaret listed as divorced.

Research Notes

• Born in Fish Creek, Door County — a small village on the Door Peninsula, about 25 miles north of Sturgeon Bay. Pfister is a German/Swiss surname.
• Father: John Pfister of Fish Creek. Brother Casper Pfister of Sturgeon Bay. Pfister family rooted in Door County.
• Moravian Church — services at West Side Moravian Church, Green Bay. Moravian Church has Bohemian/Czech origins but was well-established in Wisconsin. This is the first non-Lutheran, non-Catholic denomination in the tree.
• Lived in Fish Creek her entire life, then last 10 years (~1952-1962) with daughter Hazel in Green Bay
• Died in Green Bay but buried in Sturgeon Bay — family’s home base
• Emil remarried after the divorce (date unknown): Tillie H. Karnopp (1883–Sep 19, 1967), also buried at Bayside Cemetery. The previous “late-life remarriage after Margaret’s 1962 death” framing is wrong — the divorce was decades earlier; Emil’s second marriage could have been any time between the divorce (pre-1930) and Tillie’s 1967 death.
• All three (Margaret, Tillie, Emil) buried at Bayside Cemetery, Sturgeon Bay — divorce notwithstanding.
• “Pfisterer” surname variant: the marriage record’s spelling is the older German agent-noun form (Pfisterer = “baker”), with Pfister as the contracted modern form. Same family, different spelling convention. Worth checking John Pfister Sr.’s civil records for whether his birth records used Pfisterer.
• Three of five children settled in Milwaukee (Charles, Mildred, Pearl). Earl stayed in Sturgeon Bay, Hazel in Green Bay.
• Next steps: Search for John Pfister in Fish Creek, Door County — census records 1870-1900. Casper Pfister in Sturgeon Bay may have descendants with more family info.