2018-05-07/2019-02-11 - From the Builders Listing Editor - Overview of the Welte Family and Businesses The Welte family were from the town of Vöhrenbach, Germany. Michael Welte was the founder of the family business which produced mechanical musical instruments (player pianos, organs, and orchestrions) and player mechanisms for other builders. Michael's oldest son, Emil, emigrated to the United States in 1865 and established a show room in New York City, New York. The American branch imported instruments from Germany including pianos from other firms. In 1912 a new company was founded, the "M. Welte & Sons. Inc." in New York, and a new factory was built in Poughkeepsie, New York. Shareholders were predominantly family members in the U.S. and Germany. As a result of the Alien Property Custodian enactment, during the First World War, the company lost their American branch and all of their U.S. patents in 1917. This ended the involvement of the Welte family with the American branch of the company. The assets of the Welte firm were acquired by H. E. Mitchell, former Welte president, and sold to George W. Gittins of the Estey Organ Co. , 1919. The firm was renamed the Welte-Mignon Corporation; and continued manufacture and sales of organs and pianos with automatic playing devices. There is no clear path of corporate identity from 1919 onward. The Welte name appears in several variations, in a confusing array of independent companies, subsidiaries, partnerships, and undefined associations with other firms. Further research is needed to clarify the distribution of assets. Some of the staff can be traced to other corporations. The last itineration of the Welte name is the Welte-Trip Corporation established by Donald F. Tripp in South Beach, Connecticut, around 1930. It was acquired by the W.W. Kimball Co. in July of 1931.
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