The Families of George F. Woltermann and Wilhelmina (Minnie) Ott

The families of George F. Woltermann and his wife Wilhelmina (Minnie) Ott had their roots in Germany. Efforts to determine the exact area of origin of the Woltermann branch of the ancestral tree have not yet been fruitful (editor note: any further family historic information would be appreciated – mailto:woltermann@yahoo.com?subject=Family tree information). The search will continue and if successful, details will be issued at some future date as a supplement to this summary.

The search for the Ott roots was successful, with ancestors back to about 1700 well documented. They hailed from the vicinity of Stuttgart, the old capital of the German state of Baden Württemberg in southern Germany. Stuttgart is on the Neckar River, the home of Mercedes Benz, and has appearances and topography very similar to Cincinnati and the surrounding hills.

During the period of 1800-1875 Germany was in political unrest. Prussia was the dominant state from the leadership and military sense and under the guidance of Bismark, brought about mostly by force, the unification of the German states into the German Empire with Wilhelm I as emperor. The date for the establishment of the empire was 1871. The citizens of the southern states of Germany, including principally Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, were milder, gentler people with a propensity for growing grapes and making wine and also of course some of the world’s best beers. This conflict of personalities and political philosophies caused many of the citizens of southern Germany to forsake their homeland for America. Many of those from the region Stuttgart migrated to Cincinnati, partly due to the similarity of climate and topography to those of the areas they were leaving. The area around Stuttgart is also known as Schwabeland and Cincinnati even today still has a Swabian Society for natives of this part of Germany.

The Mormon Church of Salt Lake City has made available microfilms of church and civil records of marriages, christenings, deaths etc. of virtually all the cities and villages of Western Europe, England, Ireland, and much of the United States. Local Mormon (Latter Day Saints) churches have library facilities with microfilm readers and computers with appropriate software to enable anyone interested in his ancestors to search at very nominal costs. These facilities made this search possible, and most of the pertinent documents are available as copies printed from the readout device.

In many of the records the occupations of the principals are given and by filling in voids by use of circumstantial evidence we can construct some feel for the life and times of these relatives who lived in Germany.

The Woltermann Branch of the Family

Gerard George Woltermann, the father of George F. Woltermann, was born in Germany but as mentioned previously, just where in Germany is yet to be determined. His birthdate is May 3, 1846. He came to the United States in 1849 with his brother and father. His mother was of a royal background and available information suggests that when she died, her husband and children either voluntarily or involuntarily left the castle in which they were living and came to the United States. It very probably was somewhere in Cincinnati. His burial site is still being sought, even his given name is not known at this time.

Gerard George Woltermann (later he went by the name of George, but all the records of his children’s baptisms and his marriage are in the name of Gerard George), on October 30, 1866 married Mary Gertrude Schroer at St. Francis De Sales Church in Evanston. George was 20 years old and Mary Gertrude was 19. The celebrant was J.J. Menge and the witnesses were Henry Laumann and Mary Plaspohl.

Some six years later in the Cincinnati Directory of 1872 (on the shelf of the Cincinnati Public Library) George Woltermann is listed as a grocer on Chestnut Street in Walnut Hills. In the period of 1868 to 1872 there are several other Woltermanns listed, in particular Nicholas Woltermann also of Walnut Hills and apparently a chair of furniture maker. Whether Nicholas and George are related and how is still a challenge to unravel at a future date.

Information has it that George suffered ill health and had to relinquish the store business and move to St. Leon, Indiana to live on a farm. He died in 1899 at St. Leona and was originally buried there. In November of 1904, however, he was moved to his present resting place in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston. His wife Mary is also there with their daughter Caroline (Carrie) Syron.

George and Mary had six daughters, and six sons, one of which (Francis) died as an infant in St. Leon. Mary Gertrude Schroer Woltermann died on August 20, 1924. She was born in August 1847 and hence lived to be 77 years old. She was born in Alsace Lorraine and came to this country when she was fifteen years old. Nothing more is known of her relatives at this time.

George F. Woltermann was the sixth child and was born in 1876 in Walnut Hills. After a few years his family moved to St. Leon, Indiana and he attended school at St. Joseph’s for awhile. The school was a good distance from the farm and the long trek was difficult for George because he had a bad leg. For this reason he went to live with his older sister Elizabeth (Lizzie) and her husband on Saratoga Street in Newport, Kentucky. We should note that it was George’s bad leg which necessitated his move to Newport where later on he was to meet his future wife. Had he stayed in St. Leon, this history, as recorded here would almost assuredly not have come into being.

The Ott Branch of the Family

Wilhelmina (Minnie) Ott was born on July 18, 1876 in Neckarwestheim, Germany to Anton Ott and Friederika Leeb Ott. Neckarwestheim is a small village on the Neckar River a few miles north of Stuttgart (Editor’s note: new map was added in place of the original)

When Minnie was five years old and in kindergarten she, with her mother, younger sister Mary and younger brother Charles, emigrated to the United States. Her father Anton had come to the United States earlier, and by this time had a job in the Cincinnati area.

Minnie, in her own words, related that on the boat trip from Germany, her mother on a number of occasions sent her to retrieve her brother Charles from the first class section of the ship. It seems that he preferred their accommodations. While on these missions Minnie recited poetry and sang German songs to the amusement of the first class passengers. They obviously enjoyed it because they encouraged her by asking for encores.

Minnie’s mother, Friederika, had a sister in Baltimore and in between the docking of the ship and the leaving of the train for Cincinnati they had a few hours to visit.

Minnie spoke often of a beautiful park in Stuttgart (Schloβgarten, reference map), where she played as a child. In 1979, Jeanne (her youngest daughter) and I walked the length of this park which is in the center of Stuttgart and over two miles long (editor’s note: I replaced the original map with one a little easier to see).

Near the end of the walk as we approached the Neckar River a young girl, about six or seven years old, left her touring group and picked a flower and with a curtsy presented it to Jeanne with a smile. It was an eerie, ‘déjà vu’ feeling as if Minnie was communicating vicariously to her daughter in a special place where she had been a century earlier. Needless to say it made a lasting impression on Jeanne.

Anton Ott was born in Sindeldorf, Germany at 3 A.M. on January 12, 1851. Sindeldorf is a short distance due east of Stuttgart, Germany. (see earlier map). His parents were Martin Ott and Catherine Barbara Volk; both were Catholic. They lived in Sindeldorf. After moving to this country, Anton became longtime caretaker at Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate, Kentucky. He helped move the body of George Woltermann from St. Leon to Evanston where he is buried. In fact he opened the coffin in 1904, five years after burial and straightened the beard on the five year old corpse. He stated that George as in remarkably good condition after being dead for this length of time.

Anton was the second born of eleven children but four died at or shortly after birth. His brother Valentine born on Feb 17, 1855 died on March 18, 1855. Records of this period indicate that infant deaths were more frequent than now and apparently those who survived without antibiotics etc. were a hardy lot.

Martin Ott was one of two children and the only son of Mathias Ott and Crescentia Hartwek. He was born on November 25, 1818 in Sindeldorf and his occupation was farming. He married Catherine Barbara Volk on November 21, 1848. His parents were Mathias Ott, a carpenter by trade, and Crescentia Hartwek of Sindeldorf. Martin and Crescentia had eleven children between 1849 and 1867 but four of them failed to live beyond tow months. Martin died in Sindeldorf on April 1, 1890.

Catherine Barbara Volk, the wife of Martin Ott, was born in Sindeldorf on March 10, 1830 to Joseph Volk and Ann Barbara Krempin. Catherine died on March 13, 1871 at 8:45 A.M. ate age of 41, after having given birth to eleven children from August 1849 to July 1867.

Mathias Ott was Martin Ott’s father. His christened name was Joseph Mathias Ott but as frequently happened in these times people went by their middle names. He was born in Bitrigen, Germany on February 25, 1784. He was a carpenter and married Crescentia Hartwek on May 28, 1816 at Sindeldorf. They had two children, a daughter M. Crescentia, April 1817 and a son, Joseph Martin, on November 20, 1818. Crescentia died on November 29, 1829 but Martin lived on until 1890. Once again we see how precarious a pedigree chain is. Martin was the only son and of the two children he was the one to live to be married and be father to Anton Ott. Mathias was found dead on January 22, 1848.

Joseph Volk, a miller, was the father of Catherine Barbara Volk (above). He was born in November, 1798 at Sindeldorf to Mathis Volk and Künigunde Kramlingen. He married Barbara Krempin on August 21, 1827 at the age of 29. They were to have eight children of which Catherine Barbara, Martin Ott’s wife, was the second born on March 10, 1830. The first born was Joseph Mathias on September 21, 1828, but he died on September 30 of the same year. Likewise their fourth and fifth children died before they were a year old. Joseph Volk lived to be 73 years old and died on December 23, 1871.

M. Barbara Krempin, the wife of Joseph Volk was born December 1, 1807 to Martin Krempin and Margaret Hirdin. The date of her death was not available in the records. Her parents were Martin Krempin and Margaret Hirdin.

Michael Hartwek, the father of Crescentia Hartwek, was born on June 25, 1733 at Sindeldorf to John Hartwek and Anna Hoenigin.

Maria Wildin was the daughter of John Wildin and Margaret Muethin. Their birth and death dates are not available but they were surely in the early 1700’s.

Matthew Volk, a master miller, born January 13, 1767 was the father of Joseph Volk and his parents were Francis Volk and Regina Steberin. Matthew died at 3 P.M. Jan 30, 1825.

Künigunde Kramlingen was born in 1763 to Joseph Kramlingen and Justina Estigen. She died in 1836.

J. Conrad Ott married Juliana Vogt and they were the parents of Mathias Ott. Their birth and death dates are not available but since their son Mathias was known to have been born in 1784 their birth dates are likely between 1750 and 1765.

The Zeeb Branch of the Family