Vivia May Ripley

Vivia was born 26 January 1874 to Pleas and Fannie May Nelson Ripley in LaVernia, Texas. She was the oldest of 7 children. four of her siblings did not survive childhood. Her father and mother moved to San Antonio where her father became a lawyer and her mother a teacher.

Her marriage to John Steinfeldt occurred 10 July 1893. She was deliriously happy for the first few months, but as time wore on and John was gone a lot, leaving her alone in her melancholy. She had trouble adjusting to the solitude. She kept journals for the majority of her life and some of these feelings are recorded there. Cecile, being born 10 months after her marriage, helped keep her busy.

After their second child, Bob, was born they bought land and built house on Garden Street in San Antonio. This was to be their primary home until they died. They had a second home at Morgan Point, where they spent the summer months with friends and family. Her children, mother, and sister enjoyed the cottage.

She taught part time for awhile and then John and she started the San Antonio School of Music. This kept him busy and her alone. Her mom and grandmother were friends as well as family and they did things together. When Cecile was old enough and started teaching a big to do was had by the papers since she became the fourth generation of educators.

John was very good at writing her while he was traveling around. The constant letters helped keep her focused. He traveled to Paris, London, Chicago, and New York, as well as places in North Dakota and Montana.

John Jr. came along in 1909 and Eric in 1917 shortly before her second grandchild was born. All her children were exceptionally gifted and bright keeping her busy. Family is very important and they had many gatherings at both of their homes with family and friends.

When Eric was 7 John took her to Europe on the ship Paris. They arrived back in New York 26 August 1925. This picture of her Children was taken around that time. Cecile was close by again because of Theo, her husbands, untimely death. Her children and Eric were close in age so they did things together.

Ten years past and she had been diagnosed with liver cancer. They don't know much about how treat her or how it will affect her life. She did ok for awhile and could keep up with the business side of things, but not the physical.

She declined very quickly as you can see from the letters Cecile (1,2,3,4,,5, 6) and her mother (1,2,3,4) wrote to her son John in California. She died 9 February 1936. John had her body interred at the cemetery for St. Mary's Catholic church in San Antonio, Texas.

Images with utsa in the file name are from the John M. Steinfeldt Family Papers, 1819-1993, MS 35, Archives and Special Collections, University of Texas at San Antonio Library. Other photos in possession of family members. Other documents obtained from Court Records, digital images on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and microfilmed records.

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Research and website done by Tresa Tatyrek. This site was last updated 01/23/12