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Community > Businesses > Grocery and Meat Markets > Repp and Sinner Grocery

Repp and Sinner Grocery

John H. Sinner was born in Russia on August 20, 1884. He immigrated to the United States with his parents, Heinrich and Katharina (née Pfenning) in 1889 and the family initially settled in Nebraska. John came to Portland in 1901 and worked for a time as a carpenter building houses.

In 1908, John married Paulina (Pauline) Margareta Repp in 1908. Pauline was the daughter of of Conrad Repp, who owned a grocery store at 760 Union Avenue North (now 3536 NE Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard​) near Fremont Street. Conrad became partners with John around 1910 and the store was renamed Repp and Sinner.

Both the Repp and Sinner families emigrated from Norka, Russia and were long time members of the Zion German Congregational Church.

When Conrad died in 1916, his sons George and Adam inherited his ownership in the store and decided to open a new location at NE Union and Failing which they renamed Repp Brothers Groceries and Meats.

John continued operating at the original location until December 1, 1919 when it was purchased by Alexander and David Hildermann. By 1930, John had returned to working as a carpenter.

John H. and Pauline were the parents of John C. Sinner, who owned the Fremont Market from 1945 into the late 1960s. 

John H. Sinner died on December 12, 1959 in Portland.

Sources

Hoak, Ed. The Hildermann Family.

Lisa Sinner Hetzler

U.S. Census lists and Portland City Directories - Ancestry.com

Obituary for John Henry Sinner, Der Kirchenbote, Vol. 78, No. 14.
Last updated November 7, 2017.
Copyright © 1998-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About This Website
    • Reviews
  • 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
  • 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