Landgraf-Klein Genealogie » Mary Augusta Sprong (1904-1996)

Personal data Mary Augusta Sprong 

• She was born on October 18, 1904 in Richmond, Wayne, Indiana, USA.Sources 1, 2
• (Find A Grave Number) : 66409522.
• She died on November 25, 1996 in Richmond, Wayne, Indiana, USA, she was 92 years old.Sources 1, 2

  Mary A. Sprong is a very special person to me. I knew her as an instructor of piano and music theory in the 1970's. She is one of those people that, no matter how many years pass, you remember and cannot forget because of the positive impact she had upon you.
  
  There was so much that I did NOT know about Mary before attempting to set up a Memorial for her. Fortunately, because of the age that we live, that is with genaological resources at one's fingertips, finding out more about Mary has been easier than it would have been had I attempted to do the same thing a decade or so ago.
  
  Mary A. Sprong was the sole child born to Otto H. Sprong and Bertha M. Garwood. Otto and Bertha were married on November 20, 1900 in Long Beach Township, Los Angeles County, California by Thomas Armstrong, Pastor of the Friends Church of Long Beach, California (A common name for the Friends Church is Quaker Church.). Sometime between 1900 and 1904, the couple moved from California to Richmond, Indiana. Otto had spent part of his childhood in Richmond. Bertha had been born in Spiceland Township, Henry County, Indiana and spent some of her youth near Richmond and in Keokuk, Iowa, before moving to California, then back to Indiana.
  
  By 1910 Otto and Bertha, along with Mary and Otto's widowed Mother, Augusta Frederica (maiden name unknown) Sprong, are living in Richmond, Indiana.
  
  Mary is living with her parents in the 1920's Census, but Otto's mother has died. Bertha's Mother, Mary E. (maiden name unknown) Garwood is living with the family and probably did so until her death in 1925.
  
  Mary was a graduate of the class of 1922 at Morton High School in Richmond, Indiana. She is listed in the school's yearbook, "The Pierian" as a member of the M.H.S. "B" Orchestra and a pianist and that her future field of study will be "Vocational Music". In addition, the Pierian notes that "Mary walks with a board in her back and plays the piano as a nice young lady should".
  
  Those last words, in today's world, would be viewed as insensitive, politically incorrect and chauvinistic. I was very aware, during my time as a student of piano with Mary (at that time "Mrs. Mary Kellner") that she wore a full back brace that and that, often, it would be bothersome or just annoying to her. She would have to position herself in a particular way with a student in order to oversee their work and not be in discomfort. I did NOT realize that this affliction of having to have her back artificially supported was one that Mary had dealt with most, and perhaps, all of her life until looking at the yearbook!
  
  There have been several other things, when I dug deeper into Mary's life, that surprised me. Most notably, was her first marriage to Loran Roscoe Snelson, Son of Allen Roscoe Snelson and Beulah Hollifield. Mary and Loren were married sometime between 1930 after the Federal Census was taken and 1932. Mary is listed as "Mary A. Snelson" in 1932 and is teaching piano at Maryville College in Maryville Township, Blount County, Tennessee. In addition, she is attending Miami University in Ohio and will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in 1932. Mary will continue teaching at Maryville College at least on a part-time basis until 1936.
  
  According to Mary's marriage license to her second Husband, she and Loren Snelson were divorced on August 5, 1939. The record does not state where the divorce took place. By 1940 Mary is living in West Elkton Township, Preble County, Ohio. She is listed as a boarder and her occupation is that of teacher.
  
  On August 21, 1942, John Edward Kellner and Mary Snelson applied for a marriage license in Wayne County, Indiana. On August 23, 1942, Arthur W. Hammond officiated at the marriage of John Kellner and Mary Sprong Snelson. This union lasted until John died on February 16, 1962 in Richmond, Indiana. John Kellner was the great love of Mary Sprong's life. There were times that, in the course of a lesson, she would remember certain things about John Kellner and tell me (and I suppose others) about them. They were just little tidbits, but knowing those tidbits made researching John's immigrant Polish family a LOT easier than any immigrant family with which I've dealt in the last twenty years or so!
  
  Mary's wisdom and way of dealing with life in general was inspirational to me, in particular to when it came to the subject of dealing with others that you disagreed with and/or had a conflict with. One of Mary's phrases of wisdom to me (and I suppose others) was "If you don't like someone, you can always learn something from him or her."

• She is buried in Glen Haven Memorial Gardens, Richmond, Wayne, Indiana, Verenigde Staten.Source 1
• A child of Otto H Sprong and Bertha Myra Garwood

Household of Mary Augusta Sprong

(1) She is married to Loren Roscoe Snelson.

They got married on August 5, 1939, she was 34 years old.

(2) She is married to John Edward Kellner.

They got married on August 21, 1942, she was 37 years old.

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Timeline Mary Augusta Sprong

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