The following information was submitted in March of 2006 by his granddaughter Nancy Siebern:
John D. Rockefeller was his patron and sent him to Italy, France and Greece to study art. He was a tall man and weighed over 300 pounds. He delighted nieces and nephews by thrusting his thumb through an apple without breaking it, since his hands and fingers were so strong from sculpting. Often he would pass his own children on the street without seeing them because he must have been thinking about sculpting. Among his works are busts of city councilmen that were displayed in the Hall of Patriots at CCNY, now warehoused in NYC. He also made the statues of William and Mary on the gates of W&M College in Williamston, Virginia. Since he made these at a time when anti-German sentiment was running high, he was advised to not attach his name to the works until after WW II was over and America ceased to scorn those of German descent. The College promised him his name would be restored but never followed through with this. I inquired into the matter in the late 1970s. and the curator's tireless efforts resulted in finding a receipt to him for the sculptures. Consequently, his name is now restored. He also was the first to use stainless steel in large statuary at the Astoria Park Swimming Pool: four large angels holding orbs above their heads. He sculpted a woman's bust embracing motherhood for the State of Ohio. It resembles a Gibson Girl hairstyle and had the word "Mother" engraved on it. He also designed and sculpted the Crest for the Bank of Montreal's Headquarters Building in Canada. Many of his works can be seen at the Rockefeller Estate in upstate New York. Word of mouth does indeed state he worked with Niehaus on the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Maryland. Niehaus refused to give him any credit, so he reportedly carved his name somewhere on that memorial, although I have never had the opportunity to see for myself.
His wife, Marie Karl Siebern, was also a nurse. She was among the first to try the "twilight sleep" medication for childbirth at Roosevelt Hospital. She died from cancer and is buried in Texas. They had 3 children: Vincent, Everit and Marie. Vincent is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and Marie and Everit (my father) are buried in Texas. In his later years, he devoted his time and talents to sculpting religious works, especially of the Virgin Mary. All these, safe one, were destroyed by my mother in a fit of rage. She first offered to have her half brother, Clarence Welsh, select his favorite and gave it to him. The rest were stored in our attic in Ossining, NY. Before leaving my father, she smashed the rest while he was at work.
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