this paper - Riedesel History and Genealogy

LostNoMore:TheFinalRestingPlace
ofOurAncestorsNearGalion,Ohio
Dr.PaulRiedesel,Minneapolis1
February9,2014
Thisarticlemakesatentativeidentificationofthealmost‐forgottenburialplace
ofLudwigandFlorentine(Althaus)RiedeselwhocamefromWunderthausentoCrawford
County,Ohiowiththeiradultchildrenin1845.Theirfivelivingchildren,manygrandchildren,
andrelatedfamiliesmovedontoWheatland,Iowawheretheybecamethenucleusofa
remarkablesettlementfromWunderthausen.
TheemigrantcoupleofwhomwewritehadmoredescendantsintheUnitedStatesthan
anyonecouldtrytocount.TheirfivechildrenwhocametoAmericahadatleast40children
andthosewhosurvivedoftenhadlargefamiliesoftheirown—allbefore1900.Withthe
closely‐relatedSchneiderfamiliesfromWunderthausen,theywerethemagnetthat
ultimatelydrewmorethan100men,womenandchildrenfromaremoteGermanvillageto
thefertilefarmlandaroundWheatland.
ThesearethefiveRiedeselsiblings,who,withtheirparents,livedforsomeyearsnear
Galion.Somereadersmayknowtheseancestorswellyetnotknowoftheirparents,Ludwig
andFlorentine.
L.Henry
1818‐1894
AnnaElisabeth
(Homrighausen)
1820‐1909
J.Ludwig
1822‐1910
George
1825‐1901
John
1829‐1904
OfLudwigRiedesel(b.1784)andhiswife,FlorentineAlthaus(b.1792)wehaverelatively
fewhardfacts.Nopictureshavecomedowntous.EmmaWetterHobbs’foundational1947
bookontheseandrelatedfamiliesgivesnodatefortheirdeaths.2Thesolecluewehave
comestousfromGerhardRiedesel,agreat‐grandsonthroughL.HenryRiedeselof
1Iamdeeplyindebtedtoshirt‐tailrelativeMikeHockerofGalionforhishelpinfindingandsharinghistorical
materialsfromthearea.Whileweagreeontheconclusionsdrawnhere,Iacceptresponsibilityforanyerrors
offactorinterpretationthatmaysurface.
2EmmaWetterHobbs,HistoryandGenealogyoftheWetter‐Miller‐Schneider‐RiedeselFamiliesinEuropeand
NorthAmerica.Ogallala,Nebraska,1947.Page84.
1
Wheatland.Gerhard’sfatherwastheRev.CharlesRiedeselandthetopicofthebookwas
hisfather’sministry.Inabriefhistoricalbackground,Gerhardwrote:
“Inabout1847adeadlyplaguestruckthecommunity.IntheRiedeselfamily
itstruckdowntheelderLudwigandFlorentineRiedesel,fatherandmother
ofLudwigHeinrich;Amalia,thewifeofLudwigHeinrich,andseveraloftheir
children.Otherrelativesandfriendsdiedtoo.Thevictimswereburiedin
whatwascalledthe‘SettlementCemetery.’Thegraveswerenotwellmarked
andsoonbecameunidentified;thepartofthecemeteryreceivedlittlecare
andmaintenanceandsoongrewupinbrushandwoods.”3
Whileitisunlikelythatactualplaguewasthekiller,epidemicdiseasewasnostrangerto
eitherfrontierareassuchaswesternOhiointhe1840sortoestablishedtowns.Cholera,
diphtheriaandinfluenzaclaimedvictimswithgrimregularity.InmanyyearsofresearchI
havefoundnofurtherinformationorfamilystoriesabouttheoldcoupleandtheirbrief
livesinthis“promisedland.”Civilregistrationofdeathswasnotyetinplacesothereareno
publicsources.
HowDidTheyGetHere?
WunderthausenwasandisasmallvillageintheformerGrafschaft(County)of
Wittgenstein‐BerleburgincentralGermany(seemapsattheend).4Mountainousand
isolated,thecountywaspoor.Bythe1800sfewpeasantsownedanylandoutrightand
wereburdenedwithmyriadtaxesandlaborowedtotheCounts.Thefeudalsystemwas
finallysweptawaybetweentheNapoleonicconquestandtheabsorptionofWittgenstein
intotheKingdomofPrussiafollowingthe1815CongressofVienna.Ourancestorsgained
the“right”tobuythelandstheyhadworkedastenantsfromthelocalnobility.
Out‐migrationfromWittgensteinhadbeengoingonforcenturies,giventhelimited
carryingabilityofthepoorsoil.MostsoughttheirfortunesinneighboringHesseorthe
industrializingRuhrarea,butalimitednumberofWittgensteinersmadetheirwayto
Americainthe1700s.AhandfulofyoungmenandwomenfromWunderthausen
immigratedtothemid‐Atlanticstatesintheearly1800s(Baltimore;WarrenCounty,New
Jersey;Pennsylvania).However,thegreatswellofimmigrationacrosstheoceanfrom
WunderthausenandtheGermanstatesingeneraldidnotbeginuntilthe1850s.Itpeaked
around1880.
LudwigRiedeselwasbornFebruary21,1784asthefifthchildofafamilylivinginwhatis
knowninWunderthausenasWeymershouse.5Hisfatherwasareasonablywell‐to‐do
peasantbuttenanciespassedbylawtotheoldestchild.Ludwigwasthusfortunateto
marrytheoldestchild,FlorentineAlthaus,ofanotherWunderthausenhouseknownthenas
3GerhardA.Riedesel,BlossomsontheThistle:AnAccountoftheLivesandChristianMinistryoftheRev.and
Mrs.CharlesH.Riedesel1871‐1960.Pullman,Washington.Page4.
4TodaypartofthestateofNorth‐RhineWestphaliabutjustovertheborderfromthestateofHessewith
whichthecountyhadcloserties.
5Tothisday,“housenames”arecommonlyusedinthevillagesandareanimportantpointofreferencefor
historicalresearch.
2
Haase.ItwasasmallhouseandIanticipatethatitcamewithless(rented)land.Shewas
bornApril8,1792andtheymarriedFebruary8,1818.Ludwigwasthusinlinetoinherit
thetenancyfromhisfather‐in‐law,whodiedin1824.
Thecouplewastohaveatotalofeightchildrenbetween1818and1836.Threediedas
children(asadbuttypicalrateofmortality).Whilethepromiseofliberationfromfeudal
dutieshadbeenmadeandthePrussianstatemaderespectableeffortstoincreasethe
prosperityofthisnewprovince,progresswasslow.Ludwighadnotonlyhisownfamilyto
supportbutamother‐in‐lawandsiblingsofhiswifewhohadremainedinthehome.One
wasElisabethGertraudAlthauswhohadason,LudwigDürrwhogrewupwiththefamily.
AnotherwasMariaElisabethAlthauswholeftforAmericain1833(apparentlywitha
brother,whodisappearedfromviewthereafter).
OnthesameshipthattookMariaElisabethAlthaustoBaltimoreweremanymembersof
theGerhardfamilyfromtheneighboringvillageofElsoff.6JohannesGerhardandhis
severalsonsreceivedlandpatentsinCrawfordCountysoonafterarriving.Sometimein
1834,sonChristianGerhardmarriedMaraElisabethAlthaus.Theirobituariesdifferasto
whethertheyweremarriedinBaltimoreorinGalion,andIhavefoundnootherrecords.
ButwhywouldtheGerhards,freshofftheboat,makehastetotheOhiofrontiertobuy
land?TheansweralmostcertainlylieswiththeSchumacherfamilieswhohadalsorecently
settledinCrawfordCounty.WhiletheSchumachershadlivedforacenturyinPennsylvania,
theytracebacktoJohannJostSchumacherwhocametoAmericain1738fromthevillageof
Elsoff(homeoftheGerhards).Theconnectionmayseemunlikelyafterthepassageofso
manyyearsbutthefactisthattheyownedlandveryclosetogetherinwhatwasoriginally
theJacksonTownshipofCrawfordCounty7;thevillageofCrestlineandthetownofGalion
lienotfartotheeast.
Themaponthefollowingpageisfroman1855Atlasofthecounty.Thefarmsofbrothers
DanielandAdamSchumacher(here“Shumaker”)aremarkedinyellow.Gerhard(here
“Gebhart”)landsaremarkedingreen.Noteparticularlytheclusteroffarmsstraddling
sections11and14.ThesectionlineistothisdayknownastheCrestlineRoad.Railroad
trackscutatanglethroughsection11.
6TheshipwastheJameswhichapparentlylandedonSeptember30,1833.
7TheTownshipwaslaterdividedwiththewesternportionwhereourpeoplelivedre‐namedtheJefferson
Township.
3
1855CrawfordCountyAtlas(JacksonTownship,partial)
Notethesymbolscircledinred.8TheyareonlandownedbyChristianGerhard.
KnowingaswenowdothatFlorentine(Althaus)RiedeselhadasisterinCrawfordCounty
removesthemysteryastowhytheRiedeselfamilylandedthere.Themoveactuallybegan
in1844whensonJ.LudwigRiedeselandhiscousin,LudwigDürr(seeabove)madethetrip
together.Therestofthefamily—includingCatherineSchneider,thefiancéeofJ.Ludwig,
andalmostcertainlyElisabethGertraudAlthaus,motherofLudwigDürr—arrivedin1845.9
8ThisisadetailMikeHockerpointedoutthatIprobablywouldnothavenoticed.
9Noshipsrecordsorotherdocumentsverifythesedatesofemigrationbuttheyarerepeatedinnumerous
familysources.
4
Itdatesfrombeyondtheendofourstorybutthis(messy)1873mapisalsorelevant.
ChristianGerhardstillownslandinbothsections11and14.Theirdaughter,Catherinehad
marriedPhillipHocker/Hokerasshown.Theyoungerdaughter,Elisabeth,hadmarried
GeorgeRiedeselandtheyweresettledbynowinWheatland(towhichtheChristian
Gerhardswouldretireandeventuallybeburied).Onecannowmakeout—ifbarely—the
symbol“CEM”ontheGerhardland.
5
Twomoreoftheseoldlandatlasesroundoutourstory.
1894:M.E.Gerhardwasinfactdeceasedbythenbutasliverofthefamilylandwasstillin
hername.CatherineHocker,herdaughter,wasonthetitleofmuchofthatlandthoughher
husband,Phillip,wasstillaliveandwell.Andthereisstilla“Cem”onthatland.
1912:TheelderGerhardsarelonggoneaswas
PhillipHocker.CatherinediedinNovemberof
thatyearbutstillheldtitletolandeithersideof
therailroadline.SonLewisHockerownedthe80
acresjustsouthofCrestlineRoad.
Wewillreturntothesmallsymbols.
6
ReligiousLife
WeknowthattheRiedesels—notablyL.Henry—wereinstrumentalinfoundingand
sustainingtheGermanReformedchurchinWheatland.Henryandhiscousin,LudwigDürr,
aresaidtohavestudiedtheologywiththeRev.MaxSterninGalionandtohaveledservices
atWheatlandbefore(andafter)aformalchurchwasorganized.BackinWunderthausen,
virtuallyeveryonewasborninto,baptizedandconfirmedintheprotestantchurch.10
Establishedchurcheswereneverlongonpassionamongthelaityorclergy.Nevertheless,
thehistoryoftheWheatlandchurchgivesevidencethatatleastsomeoftheemigrant
Wunderthäusertooktheirarticlesoffaithquiteseriously.11
HistoriesofearlyCrawfordCountynotethescarcityoftrainedministersbutrecordthata
numberofGermanReformedchurchesexisted.12Thosethatenduredtothepresenttime
werefoldedintotheUnitedChurchofChrist,ofwhichtheGermanReformedChurchwasa
majorpartner.Whiledoubtlessincomplete,earlyrecordsofthesecongregationsmakeno
mentionofRiedesel,Gerhard,SchumacherortherelatedSchneiderfamilies.13Nordo
seeminglycompleteinventoriesofburialsinexistingcemeteriesincludeanyofthisfirst
generation.14
Thisallseemsverycurious.GerhardRiedesel’sreportwasofanabandoned“Settlement
Cemetery”whereLudwig,Florentineandothervictimsofthe1847(orwasit1848?)
epidemicwerelaidtorest.YettheevidencesuggeststhatsomewereobservantReformed
souls,anditseemsunlikelythattheywouldnotatleastseekoutChristianbaptismand
burial.WesternOhiowasafrontierbutitwasnotthewildwest.
TheOldAtlasesHadtheAnswerAllAlong
Iamsatisfiedthattheanswertothisriddleliesinthesmallnotationsshownontheatlases.
The1874and1894indicationsofaCem(etery)areclearenough.Whetherthe1855atlas
says“CH”(asinChurch)or“CM”(forCemetery)isambiguousthoughthesymboltotheleft
couldwellrepresentabuilding—suchasachurch.Theyarenotpresentonthe1912map.
BytheturnofthecenturythesefamilieswereaffiliatedwithotherReformedcongregations
suchasWindfallEmmanuelonlyamilesouthandwereusingcemeteriessuchasFairview
whichwasestablishedin1900.
NotethatthecemeterywaspartofthelandownedbyChristianandMariaElisabeth
Gerhardandtheirestateuntilatleast1912.Thecemeteryobviouslyexistedby1855and
10Bythe1840swhenourpeopleleftGermany,theReformedandLutheranchurcheswereintheprocessof
unificationundertheleadershipoftheKingofPrussia.However,theirparishchurch—yokingGirkhausen,
WunderthausenandDiedenshausen—hadovertwocenturiesofstrictlyReform(Calvinist)preaching,
confirmationandritual.
11Themostcompletehistoryofthecongregation’sdevelopmentcomesfromtheir50thyearcelebrationin
1911,writtenmostlyinGerman.Rev.JohnGatermann,DenkschriftzumfünfzigjährigenJubiläumder
DeutschenRef.St.PaulsGemeindezuWheatland,Iowa,Wheatland1911.
12NotablythepublishersBaskinandBattey,HistoryofCrawfordCountyandOhio.Chicago,1881.
13TheSchneidersarrivedfromWunderthausenin1848.
14KudostotheCrawfordCountyChapteroftheOhioGenealogicalSociety;
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohccgs/index.htm
7
couldhavebeen20yearsolder.Familyburialplotswerenotuncommonandthisplotwas
almostcertainlyusedbytheGerhardfamily.PerhapsChristianandMariaElisabethhad
onlythetwodaughtersweknowof(CatherinaandElisabeth)buttheoddsarethatthey
buriedadditionalchildren,nowlosttohistory.Hisbrothersfarmednearbyandwouldhave
sufferedthelossoffamilymembersaswell.
Assumethatthisfamilyburialgroundwasestablishedbythe1840s.Thesisterandfamily
ofMariaElisabeth(Althaus)Gerhardhadcometotheareain1845andwithintwoyears
thatsister,herhusband,andothersweredead.Whereelsewouldtheybeburied?Withso
manydeathsinashortwhileandbeingyet‐pooremigrants,payingforstonemarkerswas
probablyoutofthequestion.
Itappearslikelythattherewasonceasmallchurchstructurebythecemetery.There
needn’thavebeenasettledminister.Theywerenotonlyscarcebutexpensivetomaintain.
Laypreacherswereknownintheareaintothe20thcenturyandweknowthatourpeople
continuedthecustomoflayministrywhileatWheatland.15
Sciencefavorsthesimplestpossibleexplanations,andcredulityisnotstretchedintheleast
byproposingthatthissmallgroupofGermanemigrantswithcommonrootsforgedtheir
ownreligiouscommunitywithameetinghouseandaplacetoburythedead.Christian
Gerhardwasasuccessfulfarmerbyallappearancessogivingupanacreorsowasasmall
sacrificehecouldmake.Asthefamiliesbecameassimilated,itwasnaturalenoughtojoin
upwithalargercongregationwitha“real”preacher.16Thechurchhouselostitspurpose
andatsomepointtheychosetouseactivecemeteries.Thusthefamilycemetery“received
littlecareandmaintenanceandsoongrewupinbrushandwoods”asGerhardRiedesel
wrote.
Ibelievethatwehavefoundthe“SettlementCemetery.”FollowingisanimagefromGoogle
Maps.Thefullsectionweseeissection14asshownonearliermaps.Aboveitissection11
wherethecemeterywasoncemarked(throughwhicharailroadstillcutsadiagonal).“X”
surelymarksthespot.
15ChristianLoberfarmedlandinsection14(notedabove)inthelate1800sandalsopreachedattheWindfall
ReformedChurch(justsouthofourfocus)andelsewhere.
16TheGermanwordGemeindecanmeanbothareligiouscongregationanda“community”moregenerally.
8
11
X
14
Afterthoughts
Attheageof60,LudwigRiedeselwasanoldmanafter50+yearsofunrelenting,hardwork.
HehadgonefrombeingasubjectoftheCountinBerleburgtooneofEmperorNapoleonto
oneoftheGrandDukeofHesse(briefly,1815‐1816)andthentheKingofPrussia,all
withoutleavinghome.Therewastheprospectoffinallyowninghisownproperty,butthen
againitisentirelypossiblethatthedebtsandotherburdensweresimplytoomuch.
PerhapsthepromiseofaneasierlifeandbetterlandinOhiowastoogoodtoignore.
Evenso,tearinguprootsathisagewasuncommonandcertainlywrenching.Perhapsit
washisadultchildrenwholobbiedforemigration.Afewothersfromtheirvillagehadgone
before.ItisprettycertainthattheRiedeselsneverownedlandinCrawfordCounty.They
workedforothersorperhapsrentedland,butwhentheydidaccumulateenoughcashit
wasinvestedinlandaroundWheatland,Iowa.17
OfFlorentinewecanspeculateevenless.Shewasn’tyet60butlifewashardforwomenas
wellasmen.ShehadburiedthreechildrenbackinWunderthausen.Yetassumingthather
sisterElisabethGertraud(motherofLudwigDürr)camewiththem,shewasatleastinthe
companyofvirtuallyallherimmediatefamily.
17WeknowthatthesmallhouseinWunderthausenwassoldtoDanielMüssebutIhavenoinformationabout
thetermsofthesale.AtbestitmayhavecoveredtheirpassagetoAmerica.Orperhapstheir“richrelatives”in
Americamadeitpossible.ItissaidthatLudwigDürrwhocamein1844hadhisfarepaidbysomeonein
exchangeforbuildingabarn,hebeingacarpenter.
9
Iseenocausetoblameanyoneforthedisappearanceoftheburyingground.Asnoted,
ChristianandMariaElisabethGerhardeventuallymovedtoWheatlandleavingthefamily
plotbehind.Idon’thaveahistoryatthistimeofthelandownershipinthepastcenturybut
itisclearthatfamilyconnectionstothelittlecemeterywitheredlongago.Later
generationsofGerhardsandHockersbelongedto“proper”churchesandwereinterredin
themore‐permanentcemeteriesofthearea.
FamilyrecordsconcurthatthefollowingdiednearGalionaround1847andare
presumablyallburiedinwhatwasoncethe“SettlementCemetery”alongwithanunknown
numberofearlierGerhardfamilymembers:
 LudwigRiedesel(b.1784inWeymershouseinWunderthausen)
 FlorentineAlthaus,wifeofLudwigRiedesel,(b.1792inHaasehousein
Wunderthausen)
 (Maria)AmaliaBeitzel,wifeofL.HenryRiedesel(b.1822inthehouseUnterder
LeyeinWunderthausen)
 AnnaElisabethRiedesel,daughterofL.HenryandAmalia(b.1842inHaasehouse)18
Inaddition,IamcertainthatElisabethGertraudAlthaus(b.1795inHaasehouse)isthere
aswell.ThemanydescendantsofLudwigDürr,herson,thusalsohaveatietothisOhio
field.
LassensiealleinFriederuhen.
##
18GerhardRiedeselalludedtootherchildrenbutIbelievethatinfacttherewerenoothersbelongingtoL.
HenryandAmalia.
10
Maps
ThetownofBerleburglegallyincludesasetofsurroundingvillages;thisareaisatthe
centerofthemap.NotetherelationtoFrankfurt,MarburgandCologne.
WunderthausenandElsoffareveryclosebymodernstandards—perhaps10‐12minutes
onthegoodroad.Thepinkborderjusttotheirrightistheborderbetweenthestatesof
NorthRhine‐WestphaliatothewestandHessetotheeast.
11