Capt. Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp was born on 4 April 1880 at Zadar, Grad Zadar, Zadarska, Croatia.¹

     An abstract of Georg;

Austrian Naval Officer. He was the patriarch of the talented von Trapp Family, who were the inspiration for the 1965 American musical drama film, "The Sound of Music." Unfortunately, the musical takes some liberties with the true story of the von Trapp Family. Born Georg Trapp in Zara, Croatia in what was then a part of the Austria-Hungary Empire, he followed his father's Navy career by entering the naval academy in Fiume. Graduating in 1898, he completed two years of cadet training, including a trip to Australia. In 1900, he was assigned to the cruiser "Queen Maria Theresia" and was decorated for his performance of duty during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Fascinated by submarines, in 1908, he transferred to the newly created U-Boat Division, and in 1910, he was given command of the newly commissioned Austrian submarine U-6. On March 1, 1912, he married Agathe Whitehead, an Englishwoman; they would have seven children. On April 22, 1915, he took command of the submarine U-5, conducting nine combat patrols, and in October of 1915, he was given command of the captured French submarine "Curie," which was redesignated as the U-14, conducting ten additional war patrols. Overall, he sank 12 cargo ships, totaling 45,670 tons, and two warships, the 12,600-tons French cruiser "Leon Gambetta" and the 225-ton Italian submarine "Nereide". In May of 1918, he was promoted to Captain and given command of the submarine base on the Gulf of Cattaro. Although the Austria-Hungary Empire was defeated and collapsed at the end of World War I, he was awarded for his war service the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresia and a knighthood, thus adding the titles Ritter and von to his family name. Settling in Salzburg, Austria, tragedy struck the family in 1922, when his wife died of scarlet fever, and he became the sole care giver of his children. In 1926, the Mother Abbess of the Nonnberg Benedictine Convent sent the young novice Maria Augusta Kutschera to be the governess to the children of Captain von Trapp. Very quickly, he and the governess fell in love, and on November 26, 1927, he married Maria, and she became the stepmother of 7 children. Two years later, Rosemarie von Trapp was born, the couple's first child, and in 1931, Eleonore was born. During the Great Depression with the banks collapsing in 1935 and the family business failing, he started a poultry farm to support his family. In 1936, his wife and family friend Monsignor Franz Wasner began the Trapp Family Singers, and they soon became well-known when they received high honors at the 1936 Salzburg Music Festival. In 1938, Austria and Nazi Germany were united in the Anschluss Union, but he made little secret that he was horrified at the rise of this powerful political force. Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler invited them to sing at his birthday celebration, but he declined. The Nazi Forces also offered him a commission as a Captain, with the command of a submarine base; again, he refused. With increased Nazi pressure to embrace the new regime, the family decided to escape the deteriorating political situation in Austria for the United States. After touring through several European countries, they emigrated to the United States, initially settling in Merion, Pennsylvania where their last child, son Johannes von Trapp, was born. In 1942, they purchased the old Gale Farm in Stowe, Vermont, which in 1950 became the von Trapp Family Lodge, offering guests sweeping mountain views in an Austrian-style main lodge. After his death, his wife published in 1950 the family story in the book, "The Trapp Family Singers," which eventually was turned into a stage play in 1959 and the award-winning movie, "The Sound of Music" in 1965. Among the many awards that the film "The Sound of Music" received were five Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress, and in 2001, the United States Library of Congress selected the film to be archived in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and preserving his family's story perpetually. Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson.¹

     Georg, married Agathe Whitehead in 1911, Mother of the first seven von Trapp children.²

     Georg, married Maria Augusta Kutschera in 1927.³

     The U.S. officially entered World War II on 8 December 1941 following an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Just about a year before that, in October 1940, President Roosevelt had signed into law the first peacetime selective service draft in U.S. history, due to rising world conflicts. After the U.S. entered WWII a new selective service act required that all men between ages 18 and 65 register for the draft. Between November 1940 and October 1946, over 10 million American men were registered. The Fourth Registration, often referred to as the "old man's registration", was conducted on 27 April 1942 and registered men who born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 - men who were between 45 and 64 years old - and who were not already in the military. Georg filled out a draft card for World War II on 27 April 1942 (at age 62), while living at 252 Marion Road, Marion, Montgomery, Pennsylvania. He was listed as self employed.⁴

     Georg died at age 67, on 30 May 1947, at Stowe, Lamoille, Vermont. His cause of death was listed as "Myocarditis.".¹

     Georg was buried at Trapp Family Lodge Grounds, Stowe, Lamoille, Vermont.¹

     Hedwig Maria Adolphine Gobertina von Trapp was born on 28 July 1917 at Zell Am See, Salzburg, Austria.¹

     Hedwig was naturalized on 21 January 1944, at District Court, Burlington, Vermont.²

     Hedwig died on 14 September 1972, at Thumersbach, Zell am See, Zell am See Bezirk, Salzburg, Austria, at age 55,¹ and was buried at Trapp Family Lodge Grounds, Stowe, Lamoille, Vermont.³

     Johanna von Trapp was born on 7 September 1919 at Zell am See, Zell am See Bezirk, Salzburg, Austria.¹

     Johanna was naturalized on 21 January 1944, at District Court, Burlington, Vermont.²

     Johanna, at age 28, married Ernst Florian Winter on 29 March 1948, at Carmelite Church, Closter, New Jersey.

JOHANNA VON TRAPP WEDS
Member Of Famous Singing Family Bride Of New Jersey Man

Stowe April 15— Announcement is made of the marriage of Miss Johanna Von Trapp of the Trapp Family Singers of Stowe to Ernst Florian Winter of Tenafly, N.J., in Carmelite church Closter, N.J., Easter Monday, March 29. Mrs. Winter has withdrawn from the Trapp Family Singers but her withdrawal will not change concert plans made by the group a spokesman for the family said.³

     Johanna died on 25 November 1994, at Gersthof, Wien Stadt, Vienna, Austria, at age 75,¹ and was buried at Friedhof Gersthof, Vienna, Wien Stadt, Vienna, Austria.¹

     Johannes von Trapp was born circa 1939 at Massachusetts.¹

     Maria Agatha Franziska Gobertina von Trapp was born on 28 September 1914 at Zell am See, Zell am See Bezirk, Salzburg, Austria.¹

     Maria was naturalized on 21 January 1944, at District Court, Burlington, Vermont.²

     Maria died on 18 February 2014, at Stowe, Lamoille, Vermont, at age 99,¹ and was buried at Trapp Family Lodge Grounds, Stowe, Lamoille, Vermont.¹