Arthur E. Flegel (1917 - 2018)

Born 6 Aug 1917 in Bentley, Hettinger, North Dakota, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Cleora (Reuscher) Flegel — married 27 Apr 1940 in San Joaquin, California, United States

Died 16 Mar 2018 at age 100 in Menlo Park, San Mateo, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Carrie Lippincott [send private message]

Biography

Descendant of a Black Sea German

Arthur was born on August 6, 1917. He was the son of Johann Flegel and Juliana Pflugrath. He graduated from Loveland High School in Colorado and went to work at JC Penney full time. In 1937 he was transferred to Stockton California, moving there with his mother and younger sister. In Stockton, he met Cleora, who he married in 1940. Together they had 3 sons.

He was actively involved with Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, where, working with the World Council of Churches, he chaired a resettlement committee that assisted over 200 refugees in resettling.

In the 1960s, Art became interested in genealogy and helped to found the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR). Eventually he also became a Certified Genealogist. Over the years, he collected a library of materials which was later donated to the AHSGR.

Art passed away on March 16, 2018.

Genealogy Legacy

• Arthur Flegel was the author of Extended Relationships Of The Kulm, Leipzig, Tarutino Communities In Bessarabia, Russia, published by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, 2005. (Details at the GRHC].)
• 2007 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO).
• Arthur is known for his instrumental role in raising funds for the publication of Dr. Karl Stumpp's “The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862”.
• He was among those involved in establishing the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and helped organize the Golden Gate Chapter
• The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection marks Arthur E. Flegel among the Significant Contributors to German-Russian History & Culture.
• Art served as a Village Coordinator for the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, covering eight North Caucasus villages (Alexanderfeld, Eigenfeld, Friedrichsfeld, Kronental, Lillienfeld, Marienbrunn, Markosowka, Rosenfeld) as well as three in Bessarabia (Kulm, Leipzig and Tarutino, Akkerman).
• The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia's collection of genealogical files is housed in the Arthur E. Flegel Genealogical Center.

Publications and Collections

• Flegel, Arthur, Kinship : Flegel, Pflugrath, Sauer, Beierle, Pfenning, Mueller, Mauch, Haussauer : a history and genealogy of our German from Russia ancestry and kinship on three continents., 1978 (Menlo Park, Calif.) (Alternate entries: 1, 2, & 3.)
• Flegel, Arthur; Flegel, Cleora, Reuscher-Schnell kinship : a century in America, 1875-1975, 1974 (Menlo Park, California).
• Flegel, Arthur E., The life story of Dr. Karl Stumpp, 2006.

• Interview: Arthur E. Flegel and Cleora Reuscher Flegel, Menlo Park, California : recorded at the Family History Center, West Los Angeles, CA, May 2000 during Heritage Fest., [Fargo, N.D.] : Produced by Roadshow Productions for the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, ©2001.
• Arthur Flegel; Cleora Flegel; Debra K Marquart; Allen Neuharth; Henry Schmick; Brian Schweitzer; Bob Dambach; Ryan Sailer; Dona B Reeves-Marquardt; Lewis R Marquardt; Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.; Prairie Public Broadcasting.; North Dakota State University. Libraries. It's All Earth and Sky, Prairie Public Broadcasting (Fargo, ND), 2010. Available on YouTube.

• [North Caucasus research and correspondence], AHSGR, 20XX.
• North Caucasus : [research on villages of Gnadau, Alexanderfeld, Eigenfeld and others], AHSGR, 19XX.
• North Caucasus : Markosovka, Marienbrunn, AHSGR, 19XX.
• [Markosowka amd Marienbrunn, North Caucasus : [research]], AHSGR, 19XX.
• [Bessarabia : [correspondence and genealogy research related especially to Kulm, Tarutino and Leipzig]], AHSGR, 20XX.
• Arthur Flegel research papers : [Babitzke through Burghardt], AHSGR, 19XX.
• North Caucasus : [research on the region for Caucasus presentation]
• Manifesto of Czarene Catherine II 25 July 1763 ( English translation of original German text by Arthur E. Flegel, Melno Park, California.), AHSGR.

• Flegel, Arthur, "Development of German-Russian Settlements in the North Caucasus" (Seminar), 2008 International Convention of Germans from Russia (GRHS & AHSGR), 2 Aug 2008.

• Stumpp, Karl, The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the years 1763 to 1862, Lincoln, Neb. : American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001. (Corrections... under the supervision of Arthur E. Flegel)

Sources

• Arthur E. Flegel (1917-2018), obituary published in San Francisco Chronicle from Mar. 25 to Mar. 28, 2018.
• Flegel, Arthur E. (I00001), in Kulm/Leipzig, Bessarabia Families by Art Flegel on BlackSeaGr.org
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 11 May 2018, 22:51), entry for Arthur E Flegel(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:L5JY-6JW); contributed by various users.
• MacLachlin, Karen, "Art Flegel wins Ellis Island Medal of Honor", The Almanac (California), 27 Apr 2007.
• Gulker, Linda Hubbard, "Arthur Flegel approaches his 100th birthday", InMenlo, Menlo Park, California, 31 Jul 2017.
• Arthur Flegel (April 2017), Village Coordinators of the Month, AHSGR.