KNEPPER Emile

(Georg) Emil KNEPPER was born in Echternach in 1875. His father, born in 1834 as Jean Pierre and later called Jules, was initially a member of the corps de chasseurs luxembourgeois (with the rank of lieutenant) and, upon the dissolution of the corps in 1868, he became Steuer-Einnehmer (receveur des contributions) in Echternach. He died in 1898.
In 1901 Emile KNEPPER founded a company with Victor THIRY (1847 – 1909) Minendirektor in Esch sur Alzette, and shortly afterwards (1902) married Victor THIRY’s niece Louise THIRY. Emile KNEPPER’s occupation in the marriage register was recorded as Kaufmann, resident in Esch sur Alzette.
The object of the new company was “An- und Verkauf von Kohlen, Koaks, Roheisen und Eisenerzen”.
Ten years later, in November 1911, Emile KNEPPER died unexpectedly at the age of 36. Louise’s brother-in-law Nicolas KERSCH-THIRY briefly stepped in until the business was sold in January 1912 to Pierre BALDAUFF, a Luxembourg engineer working for a steelworks in Aachen.
BALDAUFF kept the company’s name as “Emile Knepper-Thiry, P. Baldauff succ.” and in 1929 restructured it as a société anonyme under the name of FERROKNEPPER.
The company is still operating in 2023, albeit under the name of FERROKNEPPER-BUDERUS (since 1994).

FamilySearch database (GK2W-RH8)