Catalogue entry

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  • Emma Asplundh »
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Emma Asplundh was the mother of the founders of the Asplundh Tree Expert Company, now one of the leading providers of vegetation management and utility infrastructure services in the United States.¹ Born on July 4, 1867, in Herisau, in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland, she was the daughter of Arnold Steiger and Albertine, née Sneblye. In the early 1870s, her family emigrated to New York and later settled in Bryn Athyn. There, in 1887, she married Carl Hjalmer Asplundh, an immigrant from Stockholm. Tragically, Carl passed away prematurely in 1903, leaving Emma a widow with eight children to raise.
Emma Asplundh maintained a close relationship with John Pitcairn, father of Theodore Pitcairn and co-founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG), who regularly invited her to Sunday lunch after church. Emma is also remembered by her descendants as having acted as a surrogate mother to young Theodore, who lost his mother at the age of five. Her second daughter, Alethe, a trained nurse, cared for the severely disabled son of Theodore and Marijke Pitcairn over several years. Emma Asplundh died in 1931.

1. Asplundh, Company History, accessed in July 2025.