Strassburger family

Ralph Beaver Strassburger (1883-1959) was a prominent businessman born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he entered the Navy as a young man, and later entered the diplomatic service during World War I. He married May Bourne, daughter of the president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, in 1911. He likely used his father-in-law's wedding gift to purchase the property Normandy Farm in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, which he named after his French honeymoon destination.

In 1921 Strassburger entered the newspaper business, combining two local papers into the Norristown Time Herald . An avid historian and genealogist, he published his family history in 1922, and a book on Pennsylvania German Pioneers in 1934. Strassburger was also well known as a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. After his death in 1959, Normandy Farm remained in his family until 1994.

Bibliography:

Normandy Farm Hotel and Conference Center. "History." Accessed December 12, 2011. http://www.normandyfarm.com/history.asp

Strassburger, Ralph Beaver. The Strassburger Family and Allied Families of Pennsylvania . Gwynedd Valley, Pa.: Private publication, 1922. Accessed December 12, 2011. http://www.archive.org/details/strassburgerfami00instra

From the guide to the Strassburger family photographs, Bulk, 1880-1940, 1863-1994, (Wissahickon Valley Historical Society)