Résumé

Partner, [Francis J.] Berndt and Tegen, Architects, Portland, OR, 1909-1910. In 1910, Tegen's wife Winifred worked as a stenographer in the Berndt and Tegen architectural office.

Principal, Robert F. Tegen, Architect, Portland, OR, c. 1910-1918. Tegen developed a specialty in hospital design. In 1911, Tegen had an office in Room #701 of the Swetland Building, Portland. (See Portland, Oregon, City Directory, 1911, p. 1411.)His office operated his practice in the Morgan Building (Room #718) between 1914 and 1918.

Partner, Tegen and [J.M.] Main, Ship Brokers, Portland, OR. Tegen tried his hand at ship sales in 1917, working with J.M. Main in the Morgan Building.

Architect, New York, NY, c. 1930

Professional Activities

Member, Architectural League of the Pacific Coast, 1913. Allyn was one of the attendees at the league's annual conference in Portland, OR, on 06/09/1913. (See "League to Lead in City Planning," Oregon Daily Journal, 06/10/1913, p. 11.)

Relocation

Born in Germany, Tegen immigrated to the US in 09/1883, according to his naturalization ("Declaration of Intention") paperwork of 09/10/1918. As a four-year-old child, Tegen landed in New York, NY.

He spent some time in the Midwest. His mother and father settled in Manitowoc, WI, living there until 1916 and 1917, respectively. Robert Tegen would have learned architectural skills from his father, who was a significant architect in Manitowoc, and later gained some professional experience in Chicago, IL, He married there in 1904, before relocating to Portland, OR. He was active during the 1910s in Portland, Vancouver, WA, Walla Walla, WA, and other Northwest cities. (Some of this information was furnished by architectural historian Catherine Westergaard, email to the author, 02/05/2013.)

He and his wife, Winifred, seemed to have a somewhat unstable life together. They moved frequently, and lived apart for a short time (c. 1918), before some final break occurred c. 1920.

He and his wife Winifred lived on Washington Street in Portland, as per the 1910 US Census. At this time, he and Winifred had two boarders, both dressmakers, residing in their house, Katherine MacDonald (born c. 1870 in WA) and Isabel MacDonald (born c. 1872 in WA). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Portland Ward 3, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T624_1285; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0139; FHL microfilm: 1375298, accessed 08/22/2018.) The US Census put the address at 475 or 473, while Polk'sPortland, Oregon, City Directory, 1910, (p. 1093) listed it as 422 1/2 Washington.

In 1911, Tegen resided at 555 East Yamhill Street, Apartment #5, in Portland, OR. He and his wife lived in Apartment F5 at 434 Harrison Street in Portland in 1914-1915. (See Polk'sPortland, Oregon, City Directory, 1914, p. 1384 and Polk'sPortland, Oregon, City Directory, 1915, p. 1124.) They relocated to 330 East 29th Street North during 1917 and part of 1918.(See Polk'sPortland, Oregon, City Directory, 1917, p. 1128 andPolk'sPortland, Oregon, City Directory, 1918, p. 1228)

By 1918, Tegen lived in the Hotel Oregon in Portland, and Winifred lived back in San Francisco.

In 1919, both Robert and Winifred resided at 2872 Washington Street in San Francisco. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1919, p. 1595.) A year later, the 1920 US Census put their residence at 427 Pierce Street in San Francisco, CA. They continued to have lodgers in the their house, having four in 1920. They included Ina Kennedy (born c. 1890 in OR), William Clark (born c. 1860 in Canada), Lizzie Ackles (born c. 1865 in Canada) and Edith Foster (born c. 1893 in Canada). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 26, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_134; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 88, accessed 08/22/2018.)

It appears that Robert and Winifred either split up or the latter died in 1920 or 1921.

By 1921, at his second marriage, Tegen lived in Manitowoc, WI. His parents, ida and Christian Tegen, lived at 1108 14th Street in Manitowac in 1910. After this break with his wife, he seems to have returned briefly to his family's adopted hometown. Both of his sisters continued to live there in 1921.

The US Census of 1930 found Tegen in Apartment #300 of the building at 621 West 171st Street in Manhattan, New York, NY, He and his second wife paid $110 per month in rent, and he continued to work as an architect in New York. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 1089; FHL microfilm: 2341314, accessed 08/22/2018.)

At age 63, Tegen resided in Bayside, NY, in 1942. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of New York; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 08/22/2018.)

Parents

His father was Hans Christian Tegen (born 1853 in Hamburg, Germany-d. 03/17/1917 in Manitowoc, WI), his mother, Ida Emma Minna Tegen (born in Germany-d. 12/23/1916 in Manitowoc, WI).(See Source Information Ancestry.com. Hamburg, Germany, Births, 1874-1901 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, , accessed 08/22/2018.) Christian Tegen worked as an architect in Manitowoc, WI, in 1910. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Manitowoc Ward 3, Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Roll: T624_1718; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 0025; FHL microfilm: 1375731, accessed 08/22/2018.) According to his obituary, His father, known as "Chirst H. Tegen" was active in local fraternal circles and was well-liked. He designed a number of commercial and institutional buildings in Manitowoc, and won the commissions for two courthouses, for Manitowoc County (1906), and Oneida County (1908-1910), in Rhinelander, WI, both notable and similar Neo-classical monuments listed on the National Register in 1981. Christ Tegen had been in declining health by 1916, forcing his retirement. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage about three months after the death of his wife, who had dutifully nursed him during the previous year.

Robert had two sisters, Pauline (born 01/1881 in Germany), and Martha Tegen Healy (born 06/1882 in Germany). Pauline still lived at home in 1910 and worked as a stenographer in a lawyer's office.

Spouse

He wed Winifred F. Sweeney (born in Dublin, Ireland) on 11/22/1904 in Chicago, IL. She resided in San Francisco, c. 1918, according to the architect's World War I draft registration card. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Oregon; Registration County: Multnomah; Roll: 2240625; Draft Board: 02, accessed 08/22/2018.)

He married Pearl M. Huggins Kinney (born c. 04/1880 in Elkhart, IN-d. 07/25/948 in Queens, NY) on 11/19/1921 in Detroit, MI. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 160; Film Description: 1921 Wayne, accessed 08/22/2018.) She had previously wed William A. Kinney (born c. 08/1871 in IN) in 1899.

Biographical Notes

The architect's full name was "Johannes Frederick Robert Tegen," according to his World War I draft registration card. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Oregon; Registration County: Multnomah; Roll: 2240625; Draft Board: 02, accessed 08/22/2018.)

In 1918, at the age of 39, Tegen stood 5-feet, 10 and 1/2-inches tall, weighed 182 pounds, and had gray hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; (Roll 02) Declarations of Intention, 1914-1919; #401-2396, 1919-1920; #1901-2350; NAI Number: 2; Record Group Title: Naturalization Records for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, 1859-1941; Record Group Number: M1540, accessed 08/22/2018.)

Richard Ellison Ritz, in his biographical dictionary, Architects of Oregon, (Portland, OR: Lair Hill Publishing Company, 2002) spelled the architect's surname variously as "Tegen" (p. 40) and "Tegan" (p. 383). The latter spelling was drawn from a biography of the architect himself, (the former from a bio on his partner, Francis J.J. Berndt). After some searching of family records, the spelling "Tegen" appears to have been the correct spelling.

Tegen's professional library contained a copy of Albert-Charles-Auguste Racinet's (1825–1893), L'Ornement Polychrome; deux cent vingt planches en couleur, or et argent, contenant environ 4,000 motifs de tous les styles; art ancien et asiatique, moyen âge, renaissance, XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Recueil historique et pratique, Cinquieme edition. (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie, Imprimeurs de l'Institut, Rue Jacob, No. 56, 1888.) (This information came from Cathy Lilburne of Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints, in an email to the author, 08/13/2018.)

• Hamburg, Germany (Architect's Birth)
  Hamburg, Germany

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