The Stehlin and Wittekind Ancestors
“The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” George Santayana
CAROL WRITES: My long journey digging back into my ancestral tree has been both exhilarating and humbling. Against impossible odds, both Stehlin and Wittekind ancestors made terribly long and dangerous sea journeys from Germany as they immigrated to a new land in the mid-1840s.
In order to follow the Stehlin and Wittekind stories, it may be helpful to refer to my family tree. Each Stehlin cousin would use their own name instead of mine and substitute their father’s name for my father’s name. The Schmidt cousins would use their own name and substitute the name of Aunt Dolores for my father’s name.
On the Stehlin side, the history begins with Martin Stehlin (50), his wife Anna (34), and their three young children—Martin (9), Anne (8), and Marie (4). The full name of Martin’s wife was Anna Maria Linder. I have a copy of an immigration card in the name of of 9-year-old Martin with the port of entry listed as New York on a ship named Burgundy. The date notation is May 1844.
I believe the young children Martin, Anne, and Marie must have died as children because I could find no further records of them as adults.
Two of Great-great grandfather Martin’s children were born after they settled down in the Dry Ridge, Ohio, area. Both children lived long lives. Martin’s daughter was named Catherine, and Elias was her married name. Martin Stehlin was listed as her father on Catherine’s death certificate.
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Joseph Frank Stehlin, my great-grandfather, was the other child of Martin Stehlin’s who survived to adulthood. A church ledger from 1847 has recorded Joseph’s birth, including the names of his parents—Martin Stehlin and Anna Maria Linder.
I have inherited three photos of Joseph.
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| Joseph Frank Stehlin |
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| Joseph Frank Stehlin in the buggy |
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| Joseph Stehlin seated on far right in first row |
In 1886, Great-grandfather Joseph Frank Stehlin married Mary (Kunigunda) Roppelt. Discovering this original source record in dark, readable ink was a thrill.
Their two children were Joseph Stehlin (1887-1900) and Mary Stehlin Sunderhaus (1888-1938). Shortly following the birth of their third child in 1890, Mary Kunigunda Roppelt died, as did the baby.
Joseph’s second marriage occurred the following year in 1891 to Margaret Weigel (1859-1907), and together they had 4 children.
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| Margaret Weigel |
My grandfather, William Julius Stehlin, was the third child of Joseph and Margaret. I can only judge from pictures I have, but by all accounts it appears Grandpa Stehlin lived a fairly comfortable life, having fashionable clothing of the time and free time for socializing. Grandpa is pictured below with brothers Edward and John (the original owner of Stehlin Meats).
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| Left to Right: Grandpa Stehlin, brother Edward, brother John |
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| Grandpa Stehlin on left, brother Edward on right |
Cousins of mine will immediately recognize how much our cousin David resembles young Grandpa Stehlin.
In his early 20s, Grandpa started courting young Cecilia Wittekind, who lived with her many siblings in a grand house on Forest Avenue.
A handsomely dressed Grandpa Stehlin is pictured here in front of the Wittekind house on Forest Avenue.
Incredibly, on Facebook I recently I discovered that this house is still in existence and was admired and fondly remembered by many who used to live in the neighborhood.
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| 7350 Forest Avenue today |
I have a few pictures of young Cecilia Wittekind,
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| Cecilia on the left |
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| Cecilia on the right |
who worked in one of the many tailor shops that Mt Healthy was famous for in the early 1900s. I love this photo of my grandmother—not only for the wonderful picture of her—but also for the Mt Healthy tailor shop history that the photo illustrates.
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| Cecilia is far left in the back row |
Now I know why Grandma Stehlin was so good at embroidery and making clothes—her skills were honed as a young woman in a Mt Healthy tailor shop. In turn, I was taught how to embroider at Grandma’s side at a very young age. One of my first samplers under Grandma’s tutelage was at the age of 9 in 1957.
On October 4, 1917, William Julius Stehlin married Cecilia Wittekind.
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| Wedding day: October 4, 1917 |
In the last year of his life, Grandpa Stehlin's father, Joseph, lived with Grandma and Grandpa Stehlin after they were married. Within 7 months of her wedding, Cecilia gave birth to a set of premature twins, Arthur and Lucille, who died within a few months. They all shared a little house on the west side of Mt Healthy, and that house still exists. This is the house where Joseph and twins Arthur and Lucille all died within 6 weeks in 1918.
My great-grandfather Joseph was buried next to his second wife, Margaret Weigel, in St John the Baptist cemetery in Bevis.
Joseph’s death certificate lists his father as Martin Stehlin but his mother’s name as “Unknown.” At least that’s the way Grandpa Stehlin filled it out.
In reality, Joseph’s father, Martin, must have had a huge breakup with his wife Anna Maria Linder, as no one seems to have known her name for death certificate purposes. So, what ever happened to Joseph’s mother Anna Maria Linder, who seemed to have faded into the background? The answer is in the Catholic Church records at St. John the Baptist parish in Dry Ridge.
German immigrants to Southeastern Ohio brought their Roman Catholic faith to their new homeland. In 1860 the second parish to be organized outside the city of Cincinnati was Saint John the Baptist on Dry Ridge Road. The Reverend Franz Karl Julius Voet was the second pastor to serve at Saint John the Baptist.
In a hand written notebook Father Voet recorded the death of (Anna) Maria (Linder) Stehlin at the age of 84 in 1895. I can only surmise the marriage discord with Martin was so bad no one kept touch with her.
I found this picture of Father Voet in the photos that were passed down to me. His name is written on the back of the photo. He must have been a close Stehlin family friend for this picture to be passed down in the family for nearly 100 years.
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| Father Julius Voet: Year on back is 1900 |
After the loss of the twins, Cecilia had four healthy children within 6 years.
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| Left to Right: Grandpa, Vin, Ralph (seated), Bill, Norb, Grandma |
Once again, the clothing in this picture from around 1928 (based on my father’s approximate age of about 4) paints a picture of relative prosperity. At one time Grandpa was the proprietor of a saloon, as indicated in the 1920 Federal Census, then subsequently went into the carpentry business as a home builder in Mt Healthy.
For a number of years William and Cecilia, along with their growing family, lived in a house on the east side of Mt Healthy at 1069 Hoffner Street. After a much-needed break in childbearing for six years after the birth of my father (Ralph) in 1924, two more children (Bob and Dolores) were added within 16 months of each other. Grandma finally had a girl!
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| 1069 Hoffner: This house was built in 1905 and was the Stehlin family home for many years in the early 1900s. |
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| I suspect this pic of Grandma Stehlin at the water pump was taken outside the front door of the above house at 1069 Hoffner St. |
Grandpa grew their fresh food in a very large garden, perfect for picture-taking.
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| 1933 |
I have very few baby pictures of any of my aunts and uncles with the exception of this precious one of Vin and Norb. I am not sure where I got this identification...
Vin was the oldest of the Stehlin boys and the first to get married. Cousin Tommy was Vin and Roseanne’s first child and Grandpa and Grandma Stehlin’s first grandchild.
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| Vin and Roseanne |
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| Cousin Tommy, first grandchild |
After the tragic death of the twins, all six of William's and Cecilia’s succeeding children were born healthy and lived long lives into their 80s.
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| Left to right: Bill, Vin, Dolores, Norb, Ralph, Bob |
All of them married and had families.
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| Left to right front row: Bill & Ruth, Dolores & Gene, Shirley & Ralph. Left to right back row: Vin & Roseanne, Bob & Marian, Norb & Marian |
Ultimately, Grandpa and Grandma had 22 grandchildren! For me, growing up in Mt Healthy near all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins was the best childhood I could imagine.
In 1942 Grandpa Stehlin built a new home for his family at 1465 Hoffner Street on land next door to the house they had been living in since early in their marriage. In 1958 when I was 9 years old, my parents bought the home at 1465 Hoffner Street from Grandpa and Grandma. This is the home where I grew up and lived in until I left home in 1971.
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| 1465 Hoffner St, my childhood home |
Around 1956, my grandparents built a 2-bedroom home for just the two of them at 7355 Elizabeth Street,
where they both lived until they died in 1975.
Incredibly, pictures of the inside of this home are still available on Zillow! I downloaded all of them, then sat back and enjoyed a wonderful, amazing trip back through time. So little of the house, both inside and outside, had changed since Grandpa built it in 1956. I marveled at:
the very same front door,
the living room with the fireplace where Grandpa refused to burn wood,
the original wood-paneled dining room,
the kitchen where I can picture Grandma frying up the best hamburgers—and goetta—in her cast iron skillet.
The kitchen had a door to the back patio,
which has not been modernized in any way and apparently still has the original metal roofing and supports from nearly 70 years ago!
Most poignant for me is the photo of the only bathroom in the house. Grandpa installed pink fixtures for the sink and tub in the original build, so this is probably the original sink.
Sadly, this is the room in the house where Grandma, now living alone after Grandpa’s death in January 1975, had a fatal medical emergency (probably a stroke) and passed away during the night on September 9, 1975. She was found the next morning by family. She had never gotten over Grandpa’s death just 9 months prior. Only in hindsight do pictures reveal how quickly her health went downhill.
If it isn’t obvious by now, the fact is I adored my grandparents on my father’s side. We lived only one street over from Grandpa and Grandma Stehlin and visited frequently. We had cousin sleepovers on their living room floor. Every Christmas Eve the entire family gathered for memorable family reunions in the basement. Grandma taught me how to sew, which has remained a lifelong hobby of mine to this day. She called me by a pet name of Lena, which I never understood until one day I discovered baby Lucille Lena’s death certificate. Obviously, I felt a very special bond…
Early Years of the Wittekind Family Story
A segment of the story on the Wittekind side of the family has already been told in recounting Cecilia Wittekind’s years as a young woman who worked in a Mt Healthy tailor shop before she got married. However, the much earlier immigration side of the story started in 19th century Germany, the same as it did with Martin Stehlin.
The Wittekind family had deep roots in northwestern Germany in the state of Lower Saxony, along the Weser River.
I have an old family photograph of land on either side of the Weser River that has hung framed in my home for years after I inherited it from my grandmother Cecilia Wittekind (1896-1975). There is German writing at the bottom of the picture that mentions Wittekindsburg, the town where I was told that my Wittekind ancestors owned land until it was confiscated by the first king of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm I.
On the Wittekind side of my father's family, immigration to the US occurred via Great-great-grandfather Peter Wittekind (1823-1913), obviously some time prior to December 1861 when his son John Wittekind was born in Ohio. Immigration records show that 23-year-old Peter Wittekind, along with his widowed mother (Regina), immigrated on the packet ship Java from Rotterdam to New York in 1846.
Peter Wittekind was naturalized on October 16,1888, at the age of 65.
One of my most sentimental keepsakes is a picture of Peter Wittekind's son, John Wittekind, on John's wedding day to Franciska Roettele on November 12, 1884.
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| Dated November 12, 1884 on back of picture |
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| Marriage license for John Wittekind and Franciska (Frances) Roettele |
Just 16 years later in the pages of the US Federal Census of 1900, John and Franciska were recorded as having 9 children. John’s occupation was listed as a laborer at the brickyard; nevertheless, they somehow owned a large 2-story home on Forest Avenue where they raised their large family until they both died in the early 1900s. Sadly, neither John nor Franciska lived long lives, both dying in their early 40s.
My grandmother Cecilia Wittekind was the 7th child of John and Franciska. In 1917 she married William Julius Stehlin, and the Stehlin story recounted above takes over from there.
Final Thoughts
Over the years, as I have woven together the pieces of my family history, I have taken many moments to reflect on how thankful I am for the courage of our German ancestors who bravely took a chance to find a better life for their family.
I have done many years of travel blogs about our extensive road travels, but this is the first blog about my family history. Obviously, this one is most special.
If you know of any errors I have made or details to add to the above story, especially if you know what happened to that family Bible that Grandma Stehlin showed me one day, please let me know. My brother, along with cousins Beverly, Ron, Michele, Nancy, and Rick all know how to reach me.
Carol Stehlin Galus
Photo-Blogger
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