In February 1914, Elfriede (frequently spelled as Elfrida) Trinkler came to Mandan, claiming to have immigrated to the United States and survived the crossing on the RMS Titanic.
In an interview with The Mandan Pioneer newspaper reporter, she said she would never cross the ocean again, although her grandfather had sent her money to return to Bordeaux, France, due to her subsequent of fear of transoceanic travel.
RMS Titanic 1912
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Elfriede said she was fortunate to have been pulled out of the ship’s window into a passing lifeboat. Her two girlfriends, who shared the cabin, never escaped. The cries of the people left aboard the sinking Titanic and from those floating in the icy water were terrible and impossible to erase from her memory she said.
After being hospitalized for six weeks in New York with pneumonia and whooping cough, she stayed with an uncle in Delaware before traveling west to visit a friend in North Dakota. When she arrived in Stanton, her friend was nowhere to be found and left no forwarding address.
The Grand Forks Herald, The Bismarck Tribune and other state newspapers also carried the story in either one or two pieces. She was described as "an attractive little lady." The article goes on to say, "It is a thrilling tale she gives of the sinking of the great ship, and she tells it in very good English. She is a graduate of the high school in Bordeaux, France, speaks German and French fluently and in the two years since she has been in the United States she has picked up a remarkable knowledge of the English tongue."
Upon arrival in Mandan in February 1914, she found a job working as a housekeeper at one of the city's hotels. But after a few days, she accepted employment as a housemaid for Mr. and Mrs. Ed Morck. Mr. Morck was Morton County Clerk of the Court at the time.
The 1915 City Directory shows her working as a clerk at the 505 First Avenue NW business of H.H. "King" Williams who was a local merchant. The 1915 Census shows her living in Mandan in what is apparently a boarding house.
Elfriede showed a letter, claiming it was from her grandfather who had sent money for her to return to France. His health was failing and he was now unable to manage his businesses and requested her help. He had sent money for her return trip. But she would not go back due to her fear of another transatlantic voyage. She chose instead a much harder life as a domestic servant, although she said she planned to stay in Mandan and save money to study stenography and bookkeeping.
Elfriede left Mandan in 1916 and moved to Lake Benton, Minnesota with Henry August Kuhn who she married. They had their first child there.
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Elfriede Trinkler became a USA citizen in 1917 and is listed as "Fredericka Trinkler" in naturalization records.
But... her name does not appear on any lists of survivors of the disaster. Given her claim of an extended hospitalization and recovery time after the incident, it is unlikely (but possible) she was overlooked. A couple of clues suggest a possible explanation.
First the dates reported in the paper. Claiming the incident occurred on April 16, 1911 - Official reports cite April 14 as the date the ship struck an iceberg. And the RMS Titanic officially sank on April 15. While the date was off by a day, the incident occurred in 1912 not 1911.
Secondly, she showed a letter from her grandfather, Fredrick Vallais in Bordeaux France, who was reportedly ill at the time, which sent her money to return to France. According to the article, he was a doctor, owned and managed a hospital. But he sold the business as his failing health made him unable to continue. However she claimed due to the disaster, she would not risk recrossing the Atlantic again.
But assuming she was not on the Titanic - why wouldn't she go back to "France" and take the inheritance that her grandfather was going to share and possibly give to her. Didn't they have a common bond sharing their first names ("Fredricka" Trinkler on naturalization record)? Was she the only living relative her grandfather had? She choose the hard life as a domestic in a foreign country far away from family and friends. The newspapers inferred she had the money in hand. Was the letter true and it was from her grandfather?
The couple apparently married and had their first child, Stanley Floyd Kuhn, in Lake Benton, Minnesota in 1916. Later, a daughter, Audrey W, Kuhn was born to the couple in 1918 in Minneapolis, but apparently died in childhood. After a gap of 13 years, another daughter Jacqueline Lucille Kuhn was born in 1931 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. The family appears in the 1940 US Census records living in Owatonna, Minnesota.
With information found to date, a Elfriede Trinkler with matching month and year of birth as well as country of birth "France" died on March 6, 1981. If her, in death she did recross the Atlantic Ocean as she is buried at Friedhof Stammersdorf Zentral (i.e., Stammersdorf Central Cemetery) as "Elfriede Trinkler" in Vienna, Austria.
Recall when she came to Mandan she was fluent in both French and German. Was she really born in France? Could she have been born in Austria, where the national language was German? Why did she have significant money if not from a relative that she was unwilling to spend. If she was not on the Titantic and possibly not fearful of another transatlantic crossing - could have she been hiding from someone or something? Who (and why) did someone of means in Austria spend the money, time and effort to have her remains shipped and buried in Austria.
Unanswered questions remain... The investigation will continue.
The MHSoc's museum and office is located at 3827 30th Avenue NW; Mandan, ND 58554 Contact us at info@mandanhistory.org
