Martin and Anna Waldvogel

My third great grandfather, Johann Martin Waldvogel was from the small town of Stetten, Switzerland. He was born November 29, 1830.

Anna Waldvogel was born July 30, 1830. She grew up in the same small town.

When I say small town, I mean pretty tiny. If you're from the Monroe area, I'd say it's comparable to Ida, MI. Stetten is right on the border of Switzerland and Germany. When I was in Europe around 2008, we stopped there just to see it. As we trace our family history on this line, we see the same three names pop up. In Stetten, there are only about 4 family names that populate the area.

I think it's safe to say that this was the highlight of the trip for my mom. I've mentioned it before, but there's something amazing about traveling to the places you know your ancestors once were. And then to see Ehrat, Bucher and Waldvogel over and over on the headstones in the local cemetery...so cool. (Anna's mother's maiden name was Ehrat. Martin's mother's maiden name was Bucher. If you were wondering about that connection.)

Anna and Martin were probably cousins. They didn't come to America until 1872. They would have been about 42 then. Here's where I have to do some supposing. Why would they come to America?

From what records we've found, it looks like they lost quite a few children to sickness in Switzerland. Not just babies, but older children as well. I'm going to suppose that they figured they didn't have anything else to loose. Why not come to America? Thank goodness they did, or Rose might never have been born and then where would I be?

They came over on a steamer ship called the "City of Limerick". It left from France October 9, 1872. It belonged to the Inman Line, one of the three largest British passenger ship lines of the 19th century. (Cunard and White Star where the other two. Fun Fact: White Star Lines were the owners of the Titanic.)

I can't find a record of Martin on that ship, though I do find Anna and number of her children. It was always told that Martin came over ahead of the rest of the family to find a job and a place for them to live. Entirely possible.

They settled in the Toledo, OH. My great great grandmother, Rose, was their youngest child. She was born in Toledo.

Martin is listed in the Toledo city directory in 1879 as working in a saloon. I wonder if he was a bar tender?

We know he farmed some too. Most likely he took a job where he could find one. He passed away of chronic pneumonia, March 5, 1898.

Anna lived with Rose and her family until her death, January 12, 1915. She was 84. It makes me think about Rose and her life again. When I look at the dates, I realize that not only was she a widow with 5 small children, but she had her elderly mother living with them as well. Wow!

Both Martin and Anna are buried at Hitchcock Cemetery in Temperance, MI.