Genealogy Data Page 111 (Notes Pages)

For privacy reasons, Date of Birth and Date of Marriage for persons believed to still be living are not shown.

Weichelt, Ernest (b. 25 OCT 1859, d. 18 APR 1958)

Note: About Our Grandparents

Background:

We, Mabel and Arnie Boehning, bought Mabel's grandparents' farm near Hewitt, Wisconsin, in 1950. At that thime there still wasn't any water in the house. First we dug a ditch for the pipes and piped the water in, then we were able to put in a bathroom. We also installed a furnace. The outbuildings needed new roofs and siding, so we kept busy fixing everything up.

Our story, however, begins more than half a century earlier. It begins in 1883 when a young couple, our grandparents, married in the small town of Stafenberg, Germany. Stafenberg was located near Chemnitz, now Karl-Marx-Stadt, in East Germany.

Two Anglo-Saxon families, the Weichelts and the Auerbacks, lived in Stafenberg. In 1883, children of those families, Ernest Weichelt and Augusta Auerback, married. I cannot help but wonder if, whatever the circumstances in which this young couple made their vows of fidelity and love, they could have imagined becoming the grandparents of such a large and varied family.

ERNEST AND AUGUSTA

Augusta was born in Chemnitz, near Dresden. Ernest was born in Stafenberg.

At the time of their marriage, Augusta was living with her grandmother, because her mother had died when Augusta was 12 years old. She lived with her grandmother until the time of her marriage. Her father remarried; She had one sister, Anna (Mrs. Adolph Wessel, who later lived in Greenwood, Wisconsin, which is thirty miles west of Marshfield.

Grandma Augusta often visited the Wessels, and members of the Wessel family still live near Greenwood.

Augusta also had three brothers, Louie, Fritz and Max, all children of her father's first marriage. In addition she had a step brother, Walter.

At the time of their marriage, Ernest lived with his mother. He had two sisters, Marie and Ernestine, both of whom died near Dresden, Germany, in World War II.

AMERICA

Just a few years short of a century ago, in 1890, Ernest and Augusta Weichelt decided to emigrate to America. By that thime, Augusta's grandmother had died, leaving her house to Augusta. Ernest was working as a baker and chauffeur. So with the sale of the house and his income, they had enough money for the fare to the United States.

Sadly, they left behind the graves of two baby girls, Dor and Marie, who were born and died in Germany. But they also had two healthy little boys, Bruno and Ernest Jr., who made the trip with them.

They landed in New York on April 2, 1890, and from there traveled to Hewitt, Wisconsin. Praise our Lord that they made the decision to come here, and had a safe passage across the ociean.

Grandpa Ernest and Grandma Augusta were a brave young couple to take a chance on leaving the old country behind and starting anew in this country. We thank them with our whole heart. It took a lot of courage and strength to pack up and leave family and friends forever.

Ernest would have liked to return for a visit to Germany, but the trip was expensive and they had purchased the bare farm in Hewitt. They had to build a house and barn, and clear the land of trees and stones before they could work it. It was a lot of very hard work.

They never returned to Germany, even for a visit. Perhaps if they had had airplanes in those days, they would have been able to make the trip.

ARRIVAL IN HEWITT

When they arrived in Hewitt, they stayed with friends of Grandma Augusta's named the Nestlers until they bought the farm near Hewitt. The farm is located on Day Road, and the address is now 11260 Day Road, Marshfield, Wisconsin, 54449. It is curently owned by their grandaughter, Mabel Weichelt Boehning, and her husband Arnold.

At first, Grandpa sold wood from the trees they cut down to clear the land and worked in Hewitt making charcoal. When the land had been cleared, they went into dairy farming, and raised pigs and chickens. They built the first house and barn of logs. Later they built the house and barn that still exist.

It was a hard life. They had to carry water in from the well outside. There was no central heat or indoor plumbing. Summer and winter, the cows drank water from a pond. Rain or snow or sleet, the family had to haul their water in from outside. Eventually they installed a pump, to pump water to the barn from a well they had dug by hand.

If it wasn't an easy life, still they worked hard and did well on their 57 acre farm. They ate well and continued in good health.

In 1892, a creamery was built in Hewitt, so they had a place to sell their milk. At that time, milk was 36 cents a hundred, which wasn't very much. They were paid from six to eight cents for a dozen eggs, and butter was ten cents a pound. It wasn't an easy living.

Also in 1892, Emmanuel Lutheran Church was organized in Hewitt and the Weichelt family began attending. All their children were baptized, confirmed and married at Emmanuel.

Grandma and Grandpa lived on the farm until 1945, when Grandma Augusta died. Grandpa Ernest lived with his children until his death in 1954.

Both Grandma and Grandpa Weichelt are buried in Hewitt cemetery. Again, we thank our grandparents very much for taking a chance and coming to the United States, because we are happy and fortunate to live here. And so we dedicate this book to them, a young and brave couple.

Source: (Birth)
Abbreviation: Wood County Clerk of Courts
Title: Wood County Clerk of Courts
Name: Footnote
Name: ShortFootnote
Name: BibliographyRepository:
Name: Marshfield Library
Address: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Address1: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Page: 633

Name: Page
633
Quality of data: 3

P
Note: Declaration of Intention, 28 Sep 1918, Wood County Circuit Court. Born in Scherfanstein, Saxony, Germany.

Source: (Individual)
Abbreviation: CastleGarden.org
Title: CastleGarden.org
Name: Footnote
Name: ShortFootnote
Name: Bibliography

Source: (Individual)
Abbreviation: Germans To America
Title: Germans To America
Name: Footnote
Name: ShortFootnote
Name: BibliographyRepository:
Name: Marshfield Library
Address: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Address1: Marshfield, Wisconsin

Source: (Individual)
Abbreviation: Wood County Clerk of Courts
Title: Wood County Clerk of Courts
Name: Footnote
Name: ShortFootnote
Name: BibliographyRepository:
Name: Marshfield Library
Address: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Address1: Marshfield, Wisconsin

Given Name: Ernest

Event: Circuit Court,
Type: Misc
Date: 3 OCT 1921
Place: Wood, Wisconsin, United States

Immigration: Date: 8 APR 1890
Place: New York, United States
Note: Occupation is listed as Painter.

Naturalization: Date: OCT 1921
15 OCT 1921
Place: Wood, Wisconsin, United States
Note: Oath of Allegiance, 3 Oct 1921, Wood County Court, Judge Bynn B Park, Judge
Witnesses: William Ohni, Farming, Marshfield, WI #5. Frank Cramer, Retired, Hewitt, WI