German immigrants who fought in the Civil
War and the Franco-Prussian War established the Deutscher Kriegerverein,
or the German Veterans Society, on December 1, 1889. Members paid dues amounting to $.10 per
month.
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| Albany Times, 3 December 1889 |
Gustav Zinserling, the proprietor
of the Hotel Columbia, was the leader of the veterans’ group for many
years.
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| Gustav Zinserling in uniform |
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| Gustav Zinserling |
They met monthly at the Hotel Columbia until 1901, then they met at the Grand Army Hall, located at 31 Green Street.
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| 1893 Albany City Directory ad |
In 1908 the society moved to its
final meeting place- the German Hall.
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| German Hall, 48 Beaver Street, Albany |
The Veterans’ Society celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary at Shafer’s
Grove. The group had 150 members in its
heyday; by 1897 membership included seventy-two members and two honorary
members, but by March 1918, membership had dwindled to twenty-nine individuals,
and the society dissolved itself after twenty-nine years.
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