Waehlte line


This is an outline of my great-grandfather Fred Matthew Waehlte's family tree. I created it as a quick reference for those who may be particularly interested in his line but don't want to go searching through all my posts to find out whether or not, say, Carrie Reich had any siblings. Also, it'll let folks who stumble on this blog quickly get an idea if my Waehltes, Reichs, and Schulzes are their Waehltes, Reichs, and Schulzes.

A quick note on pronunciation and spelling: the Waehlte family hails from eastern Germany, from the area between Dresden and the Polish border. The "proper" German spelling is "Wählte," which a German-speaker would pronounce "vayl-tuh"; but my American relatives write "Waehlte" and say "Welty." This is a challenging surname to research, as it is frequently misspelled in English (I've seen everything from Woehlte to Wachte), and the German spelling coincides with the word for "choose."

Be advised that I don't have documentation outside of family sources for some of the information you'll find here; other info is taken from census records, online marriage indexes and other databases, or bio sketches published in local histories. Right now, I really have very little in the way of official documents to back up my data--and because this is intended as a quick reference, I have not attempted to show any sources.

So take what you find here with a grain of salt, but without further ado I give you--

The Waehlte Line


My great-grandfather Fred Matthew Waehlte's parents were  
  • Rev. John Charles Ernst Waehlte  (22 Oct 1841-30 Jul 1916), and 
  • Caroline "Carrie" Reich (7 Nov 1856-6 Dec 1931)
The children of Charles and Carrie were as follows (not including three children who died in infancy):
  1. Lillian "Lilly" A. (14 Jun 1877-23 Dec 1971); married George F. Aden
  2. Anna (29 July 1879-c. 1967); married Lloyd Freeman
  3. Rev. Charles John (4 Feb 1883-Jun 1969); married Olga A.
  4. Rev. Fred Matthew (31 Jan 1885-10 Feb 1951); married Stella Lowen Barnett
  5. Clara Rose (12 Jun 1887-27 Sep 1987); married Fred W. Ekstrand
  6. Carolyn "Doda" (7 Nov 1890-Nov 1979); married Wolford A. Dawes
Rev. John Charles Ernst Waehlte was born in Germany, where he was christened Johann Karl Ernst Waehlte. His name was anglicized after he emigrated to America in 1872. He went by "Charles." His parents were
  • Johann Gottfried Waehlte (10 Oct 1820-?)
  • Anna Rosina Schulze (19 Jun 1820-?)
Caroline "Carrie" Reich was an only child. Her parents were
  • Joseph Reich (9 Mar 1810-c. 1875)
  • Marianne Zimmerman (c. 1820s?-1889)


The children of Johann Gottfried Waehlte and Anna Rosina Schulze were as follows:
  1. Johanna Christiane (14 Aug 1844-23 Jul 1846)
  2. Anna Christiane (12 Dec 1847-?)
  3. Rev. John Charles Ernst (22 Jul 1850-5 Nov 1913); married Caroline "Carrie" Reich
  4. Ernst Friedrich (11 Nov 1852-?)
  5. Emil Heinrich (10 Oct 1855-26 Dec 1931); never married; emigrated to U.S. in 1877, changed his name to Henry E. Horn, and returned to Germany after WWI
  6. Wilhelm Emil (4 July 1857-?); married a woman named Pauline
My genealogically-inclined cousin Ellie Reich has traced both the Waehlte and Schulze lines in German records, but I'd like to learn a bit more about those records before posting here what she's shared with me.


Joseph Reich was born in Obereschach, Villingen, Baden, Germany. He emigrated to America prior to 1845 and settled in the area around Glasgow, Missouri. Two of his half-brothers, as well as another brother (probably another half-brother, but this is unconfirmed), a nephew, and two nieces, subsequently followed him. His parents were
  • Johann Reich (19 August 1779-7 Oct 1857)
  • Brigitta Rottler (8 Oct 1777-23 Feb 1814)
Much more detailed information about the Obereschach Reich family may be found on my website, here.

Marianne Zimmerman was born in Switzerland. I don't know when she emigrated or who her parents were, but census records show that she had at least one sister in the U.S., plus a brother who was born in this country and bore the Zimmerman surname, so her father must also have emigrated. The sister is Elizabeth Ann Zimmerman (born in Switzerland between 1824 and 1828, married Joseph Graf), and the brother is William Tell Zimmerman (born in Missouri around 1840, never married). All three Zimmermans eventually ended up living in northern California. A third California Zimmerman (Rosina, born in Switzerland around 1832; married Richard J. Whitton) may also be related, but I can't prove it.


The known children of Johann Reich and Brigitta Rottler were as follows (they very likely had more):
  1. Maria (c. 1808-22 May 1850); married Johann Georg Schlenker
  2. Joseph (9 Mar 1810-c. 1875); married Marianne Zimmerman
  3. Catharina von Senis (9 Apr 1812-21 May 1850); never married
After the death of his first wife, Johann Reich married Petronella Rottler. Petronella may or may not have been related to Johann's first wife, but she was certainly related to him: they had to get special permission to wed because of a close degree of blood kinship. Their children were as follows:
  1. Regina (14 Aug 1816-?)
  2. Ferdinand (18 Oct 1817-21 Oct 1817)
  3. Caecillia (6 Nov 1818-?); married Anton Zahn
  4. Karl Boromaeus (4 Nov 1820-?); married Gertrud Flaig; their son Karl (later Charles) Reich emigrated to the U.S. in 1871 with his cousins Petronella and Scholastika Reich
  5. Ferdinand (10 Oct 1823-?); married Ludwine Doerflinger; their daughters Petronella and Scholastika Reich emigrated to the U.S. in 1871 with their cousin Karl/Charles Reich
  6. Anton (12 Jun 1825-?); may have emigrated to the U.S.
  7. Anna (11 Jul 1827-?); married Joseph Schelling
  8. Luzia (21 Nov 1828-?); married Matheus Rauss
  9. Martzel (16 Jan 1832-?); emigrated to the U.S. and married Olive Christine Sherpy (who apparently went by Christine and was the sister of Ignatius Reich's wife, Caroline Christine Sherpy)
  10. Ignatius (22 Jan 1834-before 1900); emigrated to the U.S. and married Caroline Christine Sherpy (who apparently went by Caroline and was the sister of Martzel Reich's wife, Olive Christine Sherpy)
  11. Viktoria (5 December 1836-?)
I don't know anything about Johann Reich's parents.

Brigitta Rottler's parents were
  • Georg Rottler (4 Apr 1740-12 Feb 1815)
  • Maria Wintermantel (?-before 23 Feb 1814)
but that's all that I know about them.

Again, more information about the Obereschach Reichs may be found on my website, here.
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