Erndtebrück in Westphalia, Prussia, has already been mentioned in the blog posts. There, among other people, was born (on 1 November 1791) and lived Johann Heinrich Geistweid, a shoemaker. When he was 34, the man married Miss Gertrude Roth, the daughter of a charcoal burner Herr Friedrich Roth and Margarethe Weyandt. The marriage ceremony took place on 21 June 1826. Gertrude, the bride (born on 8 August 1807), was 18 then.
The couple had three children. Their oldest son Jacob came to this world in Erndterbruck on 19 March 1826, Johann Heinrich was born on 8 September 1829, and the youngest boy Wilhelm on 30 August 1833. The boys were baptized at the Evangelical church. Wilhelm's baptismal ceremony took place on 1 September and it was Pastor Basse who christened him.
When Wilhelm was 11, on 11 November 1844, his mother passed. About five years later on 17 June 1849, the father Johann Heinrich died as well. Possibly, it was a sister of the boys' mother (Christina) who took care of the nephews then.
Johann Heinrich and Wilhelm decided to leave Prussia and emigrate to Texas. I have already written about that in the article regarding the elder brother Johann Heinrich. Jacob stayed in Erndterbrück.
The two brothers arrived in Galveston on 18 December 1853. Later, they
went to New Braunfels and then, Fredericksburg. Both Johann and Wilhelm
worked there, doing odd jobs, to make the ends meet. They attended Zion
Lutheran Church, where Wilhelm met Anna Elizabeth Röhrig, his future
wife. Anna (born on 7 September 1838 in Röhrigshof) was the daughter of
Gerhard Röhrig and Anna Elisbeth Kolb.
The young ones, Wilhelm and Anna, were married on 29 December 1854 (1) by Pastor Zizelmann.
They settled on Beaver Creek, where they built a house a few years after their marriage.
♦ Daughter Marie was born to Wilhelm and Anna Elizabeth on 9 December 1855.
♦ Second child and daughter as well came to the family in December, two years later. It happened on Christmas Eve and the girl was named Wilhelmina Louise.
1858 - Wilhelm bought 320 acres from his father-in-law Gerhardt (2).
Two years later, the man was granted American citizenship, and then, the spelling of his surname was changed from Geisweidt to Geistweidt.
♦ Third daughter Elizabeth was born on the second day of Christmas in 1862.
In 1864, the man served with Mason County Minute Man, he was on the Fort Mason Muster Roll.
♦ The first son Johann Heinrich was born on 1 January 1866.
♦ Another boy, William Jr., arrived on 3 January 1869.
Census 5 June 1870 (3) - Elizabeth, Wilhelm, and their 5 children were recorded in Mason County (post office Loyal Valley).
♦ The third son was born to Wilhelm and Anna on 21 February 1872.
Wilhelm and Anna Elisabeth Geistweidt were of Lutheran faith. They helped to organize St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Mason.
Anna's mother passed in 1873, subsequently, Mr. Gerhard Röhrig gave some of his land and livestock to his daughter and her husband Wilhelm.
In about 1873, Anna's father Gerhard married the second time. His new wife was Carolina Heisig.
♦ Daughter Olga was born on 19 September 1874.
♦ Son Frank joined the family on 4 June 1877.
Wilhelm was a farmer. He owned 109 leagues (3) of land (1 league = 4,428 acres).
Clipping source: The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 217, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 1, 1877,
newspaper,
December 1, 1877;
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth464444/:
accessed October 19, 2021),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Abilene Library Consortium.
♡ 17 May 1878, Marie, the oldest daughter, married Mr. Christian Friedrich Löffler. I am going to write more about them and their eight children in the next post.
About a year later, on ♡ 27 November 1879, Mina Louise started her own family too. Her husband was Fritz W Leifeste, born on 14 February 1858. The two had eight children:
- Adele (b. 23 August 1880),
- Albert Maximilian (b. 21 December 1881),
- Lee Frederick (b. 13 January 1885),
- Monroe Reubin (b. 12 February 1887),
- James W (b. 27 January 1889),
- John Wesley (b. 17 July 1891),
- Emma Elizabeth (b. 15 July 1894),
- Minna Medora (24 June 1897).
1880 Justice Precinct No. 4, Mason County Wilhelm and family 6 children + two laborers Antonio Gorsa (23) and William Arudo (4).
♦ The youngest child Emma Christina was born on 6 June 1881.
♡ 16 March 1884, another wedding took place in the family. Elizabeth was married to Mr. August Kothmann (born on 3 May 1861), the son of Heinrich Friedrich Kothmann and Sophie Hartwig. Elizabeth and August had five children:
- Edgar (b. 12 February 1889),
- Marvin Wilhelm (b. 2 November 1886),
- Olivia (b. 31 July 1891),
- and Ida Emilie (b. 10 March 1894).
With the help of his son John Henry, Wilhelm ran the biggest store situated west of San Antonio. Farmers bought supplies in his store on credit. The people paid their dues after harvest when the crops were sold and they had money to deal with.
Clipping source: The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 48, No. 303, Ed. 1 Monday, February 24, 1890,
newspaper,
February 24, 1890;
Galveston, Texas.
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth469400/:
accessed October 19, 2021),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Abilene Library Consortium.
♡ 18 January 1891 was the day of son John Henry and his bride Theresa Caroline Lemburg's wedding. Theresa was two years younger than John, she was born on 2 March 1868, to Johann Karl Lemburg and Sophie Carolina Dannheim. John and Therese's children were:
- John William (b. 23 January 1892/ d. 2 October 1892),
- Ervin Carl (b. 23 August 1893),
- Eugene Henry (b. 26 October 1895),
- Rose May (b. 29 May 1897/d. 30 May 1899),
- Carrie Esther (b. 27 February 1900),
- Florence Nettie (b. 25 August 1902),
- Arthur Frank (b. 29 December 1904),
- Nell May (b. 11 October 1907),
- and Ernest William (b. 8 October 1912).
In the summer of ♦ 1892, Anna Elizabeth, Wilhelm's wife, got sick with typhoid fever. Grievously, the mother of the family did not overcome the disease. She passed on 2 July of the same year.
♡ William Jr. and Emma Ellebracht's union in marriage was celebrated by the family in the wintertime as well, a few years later. It was on 22 February 1894. The groom was eight years Emma's senior. The lady was born on 16 October 1877, her parents were Friedrich Albert and Sophie (Behrens) Ellebracht.
The children born to Will Jr. and Emma:
- Meda (b. 11 February 1895),
- Olivia (b. 20 February 1896),
- Elizabeth (b. 20 November 1899),
- Nettie (b. 12 July 1902),
- Edgar William (b. 22 August 1906),
- Perry (b. 26 January 1916).
♡ Charles and Ida Ellebracht's wedding took place on 21 February 1872. The bride (born on27 April 1873) was his sister-in-law (Emma's sister). Charles and Ida had six children:
- Oscar (b. 9 September 1897),
- Pearl (b. 24 December 1899),
- Hattie (25 August 1901),
- Ewald William Fritz (b. 8 January 1904),
- Elgin Clarence (b. 31 July 1906),
- Lillie (b. 29 November 1909).
Grief and mourning came a few years later when Wilhelm's daughter ♦ Elizabeth Kothmann died on 12 August 1896.
Two years later, on ♡ 29 September 1898, Olga married Mr. William Carl Eckert (born on 14 April 1875), the son of Karl Ernest Eckert and Minna Schupp. Olga and William Eckert had two children:
- Arthur (b. 20 February 1904) and
- Nettie Theresa (b. 1 August 1908).
Not long after Olga's wedding, on ♡ 10 November 1898, the family celebrated Frank's marital union. His bride was Miss Cornelia Ott (born on 19 July 1878), the daughter of Jacob Ott and his wife Friederike Huhne.
1900 - Wilhelm, his daughter Emma (18) son Frank (22) + his wife Cornelia (21), Albert Fleischer (32) laborer, Edgar R Dabney (24) school teacher, and sheepherder Joseph M Fresine (31) lived in Justice Precinct No. 4, Mason County (5).
In the same year, on 9th September, Frank's young wife
♦ Nellie passed and left behind a baby daughter Gertrude Isabel, born a month earlier (on 10 August), and the child's 23-year-old father.
Frank remarried two years later, on ♡ 17 February 1902. His second wife was Milda Apelt who was 6 years his junior. She was born on 9 December 1883 to August Karl Apelt and Augusta Angelita Leifeste. Four children were born to Frank and Milda:
- Ryland (b. 14 September 1905),
- Anita (b. 19 July 1908),
- Roy (b. 15 February 1913),
- and Alice (born on 19 August 1915).
Wilhelm Geistweidt Sr. was a co-founder of German American Bank of Mason, which formally came into being in January 1904.
Clipping source: The Daily Express. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 17, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 17, 1909,
newspaper,
January 17, 1909;
San Antonio, Texas.
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth441873/:
accessed October 19, 2021),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Abilene Library Consortium.
A big transaction took place in July 1907.
Clipping source: The Daily Express. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 186, Ed. 1 Friday, July 5, 1907,
newspaper,
July 5, 1907;
San Antonio, Texas.
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth441972/:
accessed October 19, 2021),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Abilene Library Consortium.
♡ Emma Christina, the youngest child of Wilhelm's, was married on 20 January 1909 to Benjamin Abraham Brandenberger (born on 29 December 1883), the son of Georg Heinrich Brandenberger and Johanna Pluenneke. Emma and Ben Brandenberger had one son Howard George, who was born on 2 September 1915.
Wilhelm Geistweidt lived in Justice Precinct No. 3 in Mason County with his son Frank, daughter-in-law Milda and their children. In 1910, they had two boarders, a hired man by the name of Alfred Hahn (age 15), and a teacher John S Broyles (born in Tennessee) who was then 19 (6).
♦ Wilhelm Sr. died of a heart attack on 9 October 1915. Wilhelm Geistweidt lived 82 years. He was buried next to his wife in the family cemetery.
Clipping source: The Houston Post. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 197, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 17, 1915,
newspaper,
October 17, 1915;
Houston, Texas.
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth607736/:
accessed October 18, 2021),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu;
.
In 1934, on 13 March, Franks' wife Milda passed. The man's third marriage took place on 30 April 1936, and Selma Pluenneke (born on 23 January 1888) became his spouse.
Resources:
"The Gestweidt Family Book. Germany: 1560-1914, Texas 1853-1994.", Geistweidt, Schmidtzinsky and Geistweidt, 1994.
"Mason County Historical Book", Mason County Historical Society, Mason County Historical Commission, 1976,
1. "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VXGC-L6F : 10 March 2021),
William Geistweidt and Elisabeth Rohrig, 29 Dec 1854; citing Gillespie,
Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 982,801.
2. Homestead: Family Ranch Marks 150 Years
3. Land in Mason County
4. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXGQ-SRP : 29 May 2021),
Elisabeth Geistvesdt in entry for William Geistvesdt, 1870.
5. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFJM-BVX : 20 February 2021),
Wm Geistweight, Precinct 4, Mason, Texas, United States; citing
enumeration district ED 104, sheet 499C, NARA microfilm publication T9
(Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.),
FHL microfilm 1,255,319.
5. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3PK-6S5 : accessed 19 October
2021), William Geistweidt, Justice Precinct 6, Mason, Texas, United
States; citing enumeration district (ED) 52, sheet B, family 79, NARA
microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and
Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,658.
6. "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2Q4-J5D : accessed 19 October
2021), William Geistweidt in household of Frank H Geistweidt, Justice
Precinct 3, Mason, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district
(ED) ED 203, sheet 3A, family 63, NARA microfilm publication T624
(Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982),
roll 1576; FHL microfilm 1,375,589.
