THE VOLGA GERMANS IN PORTLAND
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People > Our People > George William Robertson and Amalia “Mollie” Hohnstein

George William Robertson and Amalia “Mollie” Hohnstein

George William Robertson was born May 16, 1904, in Denver, Colorado. His parents were James Augustus Robertson, born February 8, 1873, in Colorado, and Grace E. Griffith, born January 1, 1875 in Iowa. By 1910, his parents had moved the family to Portland, Oregon.

Amalia “Mollie” Hohnstein was born September 9, 1905 in Norka, Russia. Her parents were Heinrich Hohnstein, born May 21, 1884, in Norka, Russia, and Catharina Margaretha “Alice” Seder, born July 12, 1883 in Norka, Russia.

​Anti-German sentiment had reached its peak in Russia, and the Hohnstein family knew they had to leave. Amalia, her parents, siblings, and grandmother traveled by train and ship to Liverpool, England, where they departed on March 8, 1913, on the steamship Canada. They arrived on March 19, 1913 at Portland, Maine. Their final destination was Portland, Oregon, where they would reunite with family members who had come to America before them.

George and Mollie were married on May 17, 1924, in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon. They had two daughters, and both were baptized in the Zion German Congregational Church. Julianne Louella was born August 6, 1924, in Portland and unfortunately died by drowning in the Pacific Ocean on June 21,1942 at Seaside, Clatsop, Oregon. Phyllis Jeanne was born October 6, 1927, in Portland and died September 12, 2011, in Boring, Clackamas, Oregon.

In 1930, they lived at 874 E 14th N. George was a route manager for a cleaner for a dyer company, and Mollie was a mender at a knitting mill. By 1940, they had moved to 4249 NE Skidmore. George worked as an automobile mechanic, and Mollie was a mender/knitting mill - possibly Jantzen Knitting Mill. In 1950, they lived at the same address, and George was a truck driver in road construction.

George passed away on February 21, 1969. Funeral services were arranged by Ross Hollywood Chapel, and interment was at Lincoln Memorial Park. Mollie lived 38 years longer than her husband. She died April 18, 2007, in Boring, Clackamas, Oregon, at the home of her daughter Phyllis Robertson Rogers at the age of 101. She is buried at Lincoln Memorial Park.

Sources

This article was contributed by Georgia Hohnstein Conway.
Last updated October 26, 2023
Copyright © 1998-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About This Website
    • Kind Words
    • Contact Us
  • History
    • Historical Timeline
    • Migration to Russia
    • Emigration from Russia
    • Settlement in America
    • Migration to Portland
    • Little Russia
    • A Short History of Albina
    • World War I
    • The Volga Relief Society >
      • Portland Volga Relief Society Subscribers 1921
    • World War II
    • Assimilation and Dispersion
  • Beliefs
    • Churches >
      • Albina Seventh-day Adventist Church
      • First United Mennonite Baptist Church
      • Ebenezer German Congregational Church
      • Free Evangelical Brethren Church >
        • German Evangelical Congregational Brethren Church
      • Second German Baptist Church
      • St. Pauls Evangelical and Reformed Church
      • Second German Congregational Church >
        • Evangelical Congregational Church
      • Zion German Congregational Church >
        • Rivercrest Community Church
    • Pastors
    • The Brethren
    • Denominations >
      • German Reformed Church
      • German Evangelical Synod of North America
      • Evangelical and Reformed Church
      • German Congregational Church
      • Seventh-day Adventists
      • United Church of Christ
    • Church Music
  • People
    • Our People
    • Notables
    • Pioneers 1881-1892
    • Stories
    • Photographs
    • Help Identify These People
  • Community
    • Characteristics
    • Businesses >
      • Bakeries Retailers and Services
      • Garbage Haulers
      • Grocery and Meat Markets
      • Restaurants >
        • Helsers on Alberta
        • McCormick & Schmicks
        • Wildwood
      • Saloons and Taverns
      • Suppliers and Manufacturers
    • Employers
    • Education
    • Sports
    • Maps
    • Documentary
  • Traditions
    • Foods
    • Folk Medicine
    • Expressions
    • Weddings
    • Holidays
    • Folk Music
    • Funerals and Burial Sites
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Books and Video
    • Works Cited