Ferdinand Heinrich Strecker

Ferdinand Strecker emigrated from Wurttemberg, Germany in 1831.(1) A sculptor and architect, who trained under the great Italian sculptor Antonio Canova and the Dane, Thorvaldsen, Ferdinand was forced to flee Germany due to a religious dispute with his family. Ferdinand made a living in America as a stone mason, specifically a marble cutter. He established his own marble works shop. In 1846, Ferdinand moved the family to Reading, PA, His notebooks, written in numerous languages, as well as a couple of business cards are in the collection of the Mayborn Museum. (2)

Sources: 1. ngrid Figueroa, “TheShipsList,” RootsWeb, comment posted October 15, 2006, http:// archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/TheShipsList/2006-10/1160940942 2. Milton W. Hamilton and E. L. Hettinger. "Dr. Herman Strecker - Artist and Scientist," Historical Review of Berks County (Berks County Historical Society) 11, no. 4 (1946): 98.