I had never been in Richmond, Indiana. Until 1993, I didn't know that any Wettigs had ever been there. After I started work on the Story of the Wettig Family I found that this was the home town chosen by Johann Heinrich Ludwig Wettig (416) and his wife Maria (Kaiser) (418) in about the year 1862. I found that Wilhelmina (Wettig) (669) and her husband, Henry Grieve (670) had established a home in Richmond and her Father, Johann Heinrich Christian Wettig (308) lived with them, at least part time from 1867 to 1873.
I needed a local
sponsor for a Reunion so I called Patricia (Ward)Wettig (706).
- No, not the one who appears on Television; the one who married
Robert Wettig (705). - She said that I should talk to Bob. Bob
liked the idea, but I knew that it would be Pat who would take
the lead. I also called Jim Fahlsing (714), who represented a
different branch of the Ludwig family tree. He agreed to help
Bob & Pat, and the Richmond Reunion was left in good hands.
When I arrived at
the MCL Cafeteria on May 21, there was a large sign stating that
Wettigs should proceed to the front of the Cafeteria. There was
already a crowd at the table; having a ball! The hosts, Robert
and Patricia Wettig, were there with their daughter-in-law, Lisa
(Barker) Wettig (854), and her children, Lindsey (855) and Jeffrey
Tyler (856); and their daughter, Anne Chandler Wettig (711). Jim
Fahlsing and his wife Sharon were there. Clarice (Specht) Wettig,
widow of Virgil Wettig (540), was there. Dorothy (Wettig) and
Paul Funk were there also. All of these were descendants of Johann
Heinrich Ludwig Wettig (416) of Richmond. Also in attendance was
Donald Eric Wettig (454) and his wife, Lisa Reneé (Borning)
(1428) of Cincinnati, descendants of Karl Heiinrich Friedrich
Wettig (63) of Covington. Lisa and Don attended four of the five
Reunions.
After dinner, Pat
and Robert invited all of the Wettig Clan over to their beautiful
home, which was just a short distance away. The rest of the evening
was spent in telling stories, remembering little things from the
past and reviewing picture albums. I had no pictures of this branch
of the Wettig Family, and all of a sudden I was inundated with
several generations. of great pictures. I have since received
color laser copies of many of these and will use them in the forthcoming
story of Johann Heinrich Ludwig Wettig and the descendants of
this Richmond, Indiana, family. Dorothy (Wettig) Funk on the left
and Jim Fahlsing on the right in the picture, as we review some
of the history of the Wettigs of Indiana.
Bob and I went out to the Lutherainia Cemetery where many of the Wettig ancestors were buried. We tried to do some "rubbings" of the older markers but they had weathered to the point that this was impossible, There are two Wettig cemetery lots. The first of these was established at the time of the accidental death of young George Ludwig Wettig (674) in July of 1872. A tall monument marks the lot but the engraving is mostly illegible. The second side of the monument is engraved for Johann Heinrich Christian Wettig, who died in August of 1873. There are 6 graves on the lot. The identity of all of these has not been established, but it appears that none of them is the grave of Sophie Elisabeth Charlotte August (Glade) Wettig, wife of Johann Heinrich Christian. I am still searching for some reference to her in Cincinnati or in Richmond.
I didn't want to leave Richmond, but after such a nice time there, I was anxious to get over to Cincinnati-Covington to do it again