In 2004, Skaneateles town historian Beth Batlle was asked to create a history of the Lemp family, whose jewelry and watchmaking operation began in 1890 and remains a touchstone in the region’s business community.

Tuesday at the Skaneateles Historical Society Museum at the Creamery, Batlle traced the Lemp family history from its origin in Bavaria, Germany to today. Batlle’s talk was part of a monthly program series presented by guests and members of the society.

Batlle planned to discuss the five generations of the Lemp family who continued the family jewelry and watchmaking business begun by their forbear, Michael, after his arrival in Syracuse in the late 19th century.

“There are lots of little stories to tell,” Batlle said last week.

One attention-grabber Batlle planned to present was the association between the family and King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The king is perhaps best known for his legacy of building the Romanesque revival palace the Neuschwanstein Castle, said to be the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

In 1841, Ludwig sired a son by a chambermaid and named him Yohann, himself later a father of 12 children. His eldest, Michael, would become a Syracuse jeweler and watchmaker. Today, Donald Lemp, a great-great-grandson of Michael, oversees M. Lemp Jewelers in downtown Syracuse and resides in Skaneateles.

Michael came to this country and took his tinkering expertise on the road, Batlle said. Wherever the train went, he’d disembark and walk door-to-door and offer watch and jewelry repair.

“And they would feed him,” Batlle said.

M. Lemp Jewelers, located at 300 S. Warren St., Syracuse, houses the historical 1903 Iroquois truck that Michael purchased for home deliveries. Despite being offered three times its worth, the family has refused to sell the vehicle that boasts a 12-horsepower, two-cylinder engine with a maximum touring speed of 25 mph.

“They ask, ‘How can we sell grandfather’s truck?” Batlle said.