Is it possible to find actual birth certificates from 1871 in NYC without being a relative of that individual?
I'm stuck on how to factually document his life before 1916. I've found a bit of info on his wife, Gertrude Helen Tenzer, but it's very spotty in newspaper articles.
I'd very much appreciate any help/guidance. I've found his SS# and his wife's, but that didn't take effect until after his name changed. His art appeared in a few magazines early on when he signed his work as Lindner.
Sabine,
In the many articles I've found written about this artist, the wordage and stories all seem to have come from a single source. He wrote his memoir probably during the time when he and his wife Gertrude began to use the name Lindneux. I am in contact with his relatives who have the memoir and am hopeful that I can eventually read the entire 400+ pages. I've seen about 40 pages of it when I did some research at the History Center in Denver, CO. I cannot verify most of his claims with any factual information. And, I keep hitting dead ends with regards to where he was actually born. The claims and names he 'drops' from his early 'studies' in Europe are likely very exaggerated. I've only been able to nail down one fact which was that he was not actually a student, but likely studied privately with one particular artist.
All of this begs the question of WHY did he fabricate all of this? Probably not because of the one article you found where he sold a painting twice..Although, that IS intriguing. I found one article re a Robert Lindner in a Brooklyn NYC paper re a paternity issue, but the dates don't line up. There were several Robert Lindner's during that time period. One in particular kept popping up, but the social activities just don't fit.
My sincere thanks for taking your time and efforts. I'd be very interested in learning about the German newspaper you found indicating he visited Karl May's house. He very likely read May's books, especially if he grew up in Leipzig, Germany. They would have kindled his desire to come to the U.S. and travel to The West. He may have seen Buffalo Bill while in Europe, but it seems far fetched that he met him. He did return to Germany about the time Hitler went into Vienna. Photos he took at that time are in the Denver Public Library.
Much of what you saw in Ancestry was added to the family tree by his relatives and are not corroborated factually, as you indicated. I've begun entering info with the Lindner name to that tree in hopes of gathering new info through that search engine.
One of the quirkier aspects of his life was that he was a self promoter. I found many articles about him speaking in various cities promoting his work.. He painted many paintings of himself painting, painted in department stores in Denver where people could watch, and painted himself painting in a cage with wild animals with a guard with a gun to kill the animal if he attacked. 
Again, thanks for taking your time.
Kathe
Sabine,
The timeline you generated is so very helpful. I had't considered putting the Lindner and Lindneux timelines side by side. You've taught me how to do it more precisely. I need to go back to my timeline, now, and reconfigure it in this format which will be very beneficial.
And, thank you, also, for the newspaper articles from Paris. I had thought that the photos I had of him with the Cowboy Club were in Germany. I've attached some of the documentation that confirms some of his story about his 'first' time in Europe.
I've emailed the Karl May museum to see if they have any documentation/information about his visit in 1938. And to inquire about Patty Frank, who I believe was the first museum director there.
You are correct that I'm a novice in this adventure. As I have never used History Hub before, I don't know the protocol. Is it appropriate for me to ask if you would be willing for me to contact you personally? Again, please pardon me if this is not ok to ask.
The Lindneux family members with whom I am in contact have populated much of what you see on Ancestry.com. I've tried to put only verifiable facts on the tree I've generated for Lindner.. But, again, I am a novice at this and hope I am doing this carefully and appropriately.
I began down this path when I became a docent at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK. We had one of his pieces hanging and had no biographical information to share with visitors so, I was asked to write a short bio about him. I only found what I now know was from his memoir that was on the Lindneux web site created by his family. But, something didn't feel right about what I read and it's stuck with me for over 9 years now. When COVID hit, and our museum closed, I thought I'd do a bit more research since I had time. That was when I reached out to his family and they finally shared the marriage certificate that blew a hole in everything about his early life. And, so I began searching...
His work is very unusual and often criticized artistically, but notably several of his pieces are in almost every article or book written about the Trail of Tears or Native American history, especially in Oklahoma. Not to mention the huge piece of Buffalo Bill. However, there has never been a book written about his life as you would typically find in a museum bookstore where his work is displayed. There's nothing. I think I understand why, but am undeterred. His life after 1916, except for the first few years that they were in Billings, is pretty easy to document with census reports and newspaper articles. But his stories about being with trappers and tribes is unverifiable. I've searched newspapers.com in Ancestry and find nothing about his stories about living with them or being named a part of their tribes. Newspaper articles often regurgitate what he supplied.
I have been able to get my hands on only 50 pages of the memoir where he recounts his early years. (All of which, I believe, were fabricated.)
Several artists with German heritage did change their names in order to shed any stigma during the WWI and WWI years. But certainly not all, significantly, Albert Bierstadt,
[Moderation Note: This reply has been edited to remove an image that contained personally identifiable information (PII).]
Thank you, Sabine. You have been so hugely helpful and I am very grateful,
Kathe
