The shotgun had been displayed in a supper club in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, for several years in the early 1960's, and Mr. E. L. Pingel, the grandson of Fred Pomrenke, took out an insurance policy at that time. I have the policy and original display card, with the story of how the gun was acquired, along with a handwritten version. There was no intention of selling the gun until Mr. Pingel's daughter consigned it to the pawn shop in 1993.

I traced the Pomrenkes through the emigrant landing records in "Germans to America", Scholarly Resources Inc., Wilmington, Delaware. The family of Friederich and Friederike Pommerintje of Prussia is shown landing in New York from the Freihandel, out of Bremen, on June 1, 1866. Pommerintje is an alternate spelling of Pomrenke, since the "ke" or "intje" is gutteral, and the date is consistent with Mr. Pingel's statement on the display card that the gun was brought to America in March, 1866. An arrival in New York on or about the first of June would probably mean an March departure from the Brandenburg area of Prussia. Friederich Pommerintje's occupation is listed as "farmer". Most likely hunting guide was a seasonal job, after the harvest, when farmers had a lot of free time. Wilhelm probably had a full time gamekeeper, who hired local help as needed.

The hunting accident as told by Fred Pomrenke sounds realistic enough: he was only a witness, did not claim to perform any heroic feat, and only ended up with a shattered gun that was useless to the King, and that Fred could not even afford to have repaired properly. However, to date I have been unable to find any background information on King Wilhelm's involvement in a hunting accident, or being injured in any way, in 1861. As this was a critical time in Prussian politics, with Wilhelm unable to get the Arny's budget approved by the Prussian legislature, and almost ready to resort to appointing Bismark prime minister, there was no paparatzi, and Prussian royalty did not believe that the public had any right to know what they were doing, this is not surprising. Indeed, the incident may have been treated as a military secret. Nor have I been able to obtain any information on F. Mundt, the gunsmith. Neuwedell is now Durow, Poland, and the only books in English on European gunsmiths cover the later age of breechloading arms.

If anyone reading this speaks German, and has access to material on Prussian gunsmiths or diaries or detailed biographies of the Prussian royal family I would appreciate any help you could give. Please email me at [email protected] Just click the address in blue for email, if supported by your browser

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