Call Number:

04

Repository:

Wissahickon Valley Historical Society

Extent:

0.75 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1880-1940 (bulk) and 1863-1994 (inclusive)

Creator:

Strassburger family

Abstract:

Ralph Beaver Strassburger (1883-1959) was a prominent businessman, newspaper owner, diplomat, and Thoroughbred racehorse breeder. His wife, May Bourne, was heiress to the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Strassburger was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and bought the Normandy Farm property in nearby Gwynedd Valley in 1913. This bulk of this collection is photographs of the Strassburger family and Normandy Farm estate (interior and exterior), circa 1880-1940. It also contains one letter from 1863, one postcard from 1932, and an auction catalog and history of Normandy Farm from 1994.

Ralph Beaver Strassburger (1883-1959) was a prominent businessman born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he entered the Navy as a young man, and later entered the diplomatic service during World War I. He married May Bourne, daughter of the president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, in 1911. He likely used his father-in-law's wedding gift to purchase the property Normandy Farm in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, which he named after his French honeymoon destination.

In 1921 Strassburger entered the newspaper business, combining two local papers into the Norristown Time Herald. An avid historian and genealogist, he published his family history in 1922, and a book on Pennsylvania German Pioneers in 1934. Strassburger was also well known as a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. After his death in 1959, Normandy Farm remained in his family until 1994.

Bibliography:

Normandy Farm Hotel and Conference Center. "History." Accessed December 12, 2011. http://www.normandyfarm.com/history.asp

Strassburger, Ralph Beaver. The Strassburger Family and Allied Families of Pennsylvania. Gwynedd Valley, Pa.: Private publication, 1922. Accessed December 12, 2011. http://www.archive.org/details/strassburgerfami00instra

The bulk of this collection is photographs of the Strassburger family and Normandy Farm estate (interior and exterior), circa 1880-1940. It also contains one letter from 1863, one postcard from 1932, and an auction catalog and history of Normandy Farm from 1994.