Hi Jean,

I also have a Phillip Hoelzlein in my family tree. He is the father of my maternal Grandmother Sarah (aka Sadie) Pauline Hoelzlein and possibly her sister Georgiana. I say possibly because I found a Lizzie Hoelzlein, or as the census taker wrote it Henslein, with a Philip, Bertha and Sadie in the 1892 New York Census. Georgiana's birthdate matches up with that of Lizzie - both being about 1891. Here's the puzzling part, in 1892, this Bertha is not Bertha Stark. She is Bertha Fendrich, also born in Germany. I have a Certificate of Baptism, written in old German dated 25 Sep 1891, with Phillip Hoelzlein of Legensdorf and Bertha Fendrich of Birkenau as the parents of Sarah Pauline Hoelzlein. It's issued by the Deusche Evangelical Church in Brooklyn, NY.
Here's another puzzle I've encountered. In the 1892 Census, Phillip, Bertha, Sadie and Lizzie are listed directly below the man that Bertha Fendrich will marry on 27 Nov 1894, George Gamber, or as the 1892 Census taker wrote it, George Gamper. George's first wife (Elizabeth Schneider) died in 1888, leaving George with two children still living in 1892 - George Jr (5) and Lizzie (9).

I also have a deed for a cemetery plot purchased by Phillip Hoelzlein for Bertha Fendrich at the All Faiths Lutheran Church in Jamaica, NY. This is where my Great Grandmother Bertha (Fendrich-Hoelzlein) Gamber and my Grandmother Sarah Pauline (Hoelzlein-Gamber) Kuster are buried.

It would appear that Bertha Fendrich and Phillip Hoelzlein divorced between 1892 and 1893, afterwhich he married Bertha Stark and she married George Gamber or they were never married in the first place.

If you have any clues for piecing this puzzle together, I would love to hear them. Also, If you like, I can make copies of the documents I mentioned available to you.

Jeff Bartow