CHAPTER I
IN GERMANY
The history of German immigration to North America really
began on October 6, 1683 with the arrival of thirteen
Mennonite families from Krefeld, Germany on board the
vessel Concord at Philadelphia harbor on the Delaware
River. During the following three centuries over seven
million German speaking people from Europe landed on the
shores of America. Today, approximately 28% of all
Americans are of German, or partial German, extraction; the
highest of any ethnic group. Over the span of time it is
noted that most of the immigration was motivated by the
desire to obtain religious freedom, enjoy economic
improvement and avoid the seemingly constant strife in
Europe.
Until Otto von Bismarck united Germany in 1871, the country
was composed of independent city states, duchies, grand
duchies and principalities. The Rhineland-Elfel area was
under Prussian domination and controlled by the Junker
aristocrats and their armies who wielded absolute and
complete authority. In the absence of any real leadership
or strategy, the peasants suffered an appalling loss of
life inflicted by the armies of territorial princes. Those
who survived were taxed more heavily than ever by way of
reparations. Thus, thousands of freedom loving people fled
from the autocratic governed country to America.
Within the Rhineland-Eifel area of western Germany lies the
small village of Kirchweiler. This is the locale of the
Wirtz family and thus it is only fitting to describe it in
detail. Kirchweiler is in Kreis Daun in the Eifel which
might be somewhat tantamount to comparing it as being in
the township or county of Daun. The village is situated
about 42 kilometers, (25 miles), east of the junction of
the Belgium-Luxemburg borders and about 52 kilometers, (32
miles), due north of Trier. Trier, Germany's oldest city,
was founded by the Romans. Because of its tiny size,
Kirchweiler usually appears only on local maps. If one is
interested in spotting the general location on a large map
it would he best to find Trier and then look for the
smaller town of Gerolstein to the north. Kirchweiler
is in the immediate vicinity.
The Eifel terrain was formed millenniums ago and is of
volcanic origin. The land combines woods and meadows over
soft rolling hills. Here and there are small round lakes
which are vestiges of ancient craters. The landscape is
somewhat similar to northern Illinois and southern
Wisconsin.
The Eifel is dotted with many small farming villages, all
much the same in appearance as Kirchweiler. Most buildings
are very old and little or no new construction has taken
place over the years. The population of the villages has,
for the most part, remained static. Today, Kirchweiler has
a population of only about two hundred at the most. There
is no industry other than Farming and until recent times
the inhabitants were very poor and had to farm with
implements that by today's standards would be considered
rather primitive.
I can remember my Father saying, ``yes, they were just poor
dumb Farmers,'' when telling me what he knew about his
forebears in Germany. But, contrary to my father's
statement, they were not dumb Farmers. Poor and uneducated,
yes, but not dumb. For after America gained her
independence from England, agents were busy in the farming
areas of Germany encouraging peasants to emigrate to
America to farm areas vacated by the Indians. It was known
that Germans were good farmers. By 1839 Indians had been
evacuated to the west of Illinois and Wisconsin as a result
of their defeat in the Blackhawk War. The American
government was anxious to settle the newly acquired,
fertile land. Hence, German farmers from the Eifel began
their trek to America.
It was after considerable research that I was able to track
down Kirchweiler as the birthplace of my great-grandfather,
Theodore Wirtz and his mother, Anna Oehmen. Correspondence
with the records office in Daun produced Wirtz family
lineage back to the late eighteenth century and, in
addition, the name and address of one resident in
Kirchweiler bearing the name of Wirtz. Contact by letter
was made with Frau Katherina Wirtz who took an immediate
interest in my query of possible long ago kinship. Indeed,
her husband, Julius, who was killed during the war in 1944,
was descended from the same Wirtz family line as I.
In the Spring of 1978, my wife and I journeyed to Germany
to meet Frau Wirtz. She had made arrangements for us to
meet the Wirtz and Oehmen families still living in the
vicinity as well as viewing points of interest through a
well planned itinerary. Her brother, Anton Schmitz, and his
family took us on a motor tour of the Eifel all the while
explaining the history of the area as well as answering our
multitude of questions.
The structure still stands where Anna Oehmen was born in
1811. It was built in 1803 as indicated by the inscription
over the doorway. At that time, the Oehmen's occupied an
area about ten feet by twenty feet as their living
quarters. The single room contained a brick oven for
cooking, a small window and was carpeted with a dirt floor.
Small wonder that Anna Oehmen decided to pack up and come
to America.
Nearby is the house where Anna, then married to Franz
Wirtz, gave birth to her first child, Theodore. It is
almost as old as the building in which Anna was born. Franz
and his brother, Theodore were also born in this same
house. In December of 1944, the house was severely damaged
along with several neighboring buildings due to fighting
going on at the time. The structure was not profitably used
for some time and since our visit has been demolished.
However, the building site is still referred to as the
``Wirtzenhaus'' by the villagers. At the time of our visit,
Frau Wirtz resided in a close by building that had been the
family home of her mother-in-law. It was built in 1839 and
Frau Wirtz lived there alone until a few years ago when she
moved to Bonn to live with her brother Anton and his
family. It was interesting to note that all of the older
buildings in the Eifel had small narrow windows and very
few of them. This is due to the fact taxes were levied on
the number and size of windows in buildings constructed at
that time.
The name Kirchweiler literally translated means ``church
village'' and the Catholic church lies in the center of the
village with its steeple standing out as the highest point
in town. The church building is, perhaps, the village's
oldest structure, dating back to medieval times. Directly
behind the church lies the graveyard, which, except for
being much smaller, is not at all unlike the one behind St.
Peter's Church in Volo. Indeed, many of the gravestones in
Kirchweiler are inscribed with the same names you see in
the cemeteries of McHenry, Johnsburg and Volo. Names such
as Pitzen, Molitor, Weingart and Mies are just a few to
mention.
As stated earlier, war and strife were not uncommon in the
Eifel over the centuries, and Kirchweiler was not spared
during the second World War. American forces fought a brief
skirmish in the village as they drove deeper into Germany.
Casualties were suffered among the combatants of both
sides. For such a small population, Kirchweiler lost many
of its sons to the tragedy of war. Two monuments stand in
the churchyard; one inscribed with the names of sixteen
persons lost in the First World War, and the other with the
names of twenty-four killed and ten missing in the Second.
Among the names is that of Julius Wirtz who lost his life
to French resistance fighters while he was a customs
officer at the Swiss border in occupied France. A brother
of Julius fell in Russia.
Frau Wirtz, who has a wonderful sense of humor, told us an
interesting anecdote, which occurred during the American
forces thrust through the Eifel. She had been housing
German officers who were commanding the troops defending
the village. She was aware that the Americans were near and
was apprehensive of what would happen if they came to the
village while it was still occupied with German troops. One
day she asked the officer in charge about it and was told
not to worry, that the Americans were still ten miles away.
Glancing out of a window, she happened to notice some tanks
coming over a hill not too Far away. She asked the officer
whose tanks they were if the Americans were still ten miles
away. Immediately, the officer alerted his men and the
battle began. The next day, after the Germans were routed,
two American officers ensconced themselves in Frau Wirtz's
house. One of the officers, who spoke German, asked her why
she kept it so cold in the house. She escorted him to the
rear of the building and pointed out a gaping hole caused
by the explosion of an American artillery shell.
The name Wirtz is still very much in existence in Eifel
communities and is a Fairly common German surname. Until
the year of 1843, depending on dialect, the name was
spelled in various ways; such as Wirz, Wierz, Wurtz, Wu*rz,
Wuertz, and Wiertz. Then a law was enacted which allowed no
further changes in spelling without special permission and
only under certain circumstances. Elsdon C. Smith, author
of ``American Surnames'' writes; ``During the Middle Ages'
the innkeepers and tavern keepers were prominent men. Apart
from monasteries and other religious houses, inns and
taverns were the only places of refuge for the weary
traveler. Quite naturally, the owner or operator of an inn
acquired the word as a surname. The German publican became
Krug, Krueger, or Wirtz." Thus some where in the dim past,
one of my fore bearers must have been a tavern-keeper in
Germany. For sure, some of the Worts family were here in
America.
Birth, death, and marriage records for Kirchweiler are kept
in the registry office in Dockweiler, a village in the
immediate vicinity, but only go back to the year of 1815.
Earlier records may probably be found in the Archives of
Trier. However, For this writing only the records found in
Dockweiler will be used.
From these records, it can be determined that Johann
Wiertz, born circa 1750, married a Maria Oehmen. They were
farmers and lived in Kirchweiler. How many children were
born of this marriage, I do not know. However, the records
indicate they did have one son, Mathias, who was born 1772.
He married a Margaretha Baur and they too resided in
Kirchweiler as farmers. They had at least two children,
Theodore and Franz. Mathias died October 22, 1833 at the
age of sixty-one years.
Mathias' sons married in 1835: Theodore to a Margaretha
Pauls in Gerolstein, and Franz to Anna Oehmen in
Kirchweiler. The marriage of Franz and Anna culminated with
the death of Franz after only three short years. During
that time, two children were born, Theodore and Hubert.
Theodore, the elder, was named after his father's brother
who was Theodore's godfather. The practice of naming a
child after its godparents was then, and still is, a
Christian tradition in the Eifel area. As will be noticed
later, this traditional practice was carried on by those
who emigrated to America. The second child of this marriage
was named Hubert, but he survived for only about six
months. Twenty-nine year old Frau Anna Wirtz must have been
a very sad and distraught woman in 1838 after having first
lost her husband and then her son within six months. Surely
she must have spent many hours pondering what to do.
Certainly the poor farming village of Kirchweiler did not
appear to hold a bright future for her being that she was a
young widow with a two and one-half year old child. Surely
her red hair must have sprouted a few gray ones.
In any event, about one year later, on March 6, 1839, she
entered into marriage with Johann Michael Winkels. He was a
thirty year old farm hand at the time of their wedding. He
was born on August 13,1808 in Dohm, (now called
Dohm-Lammerdorf). On December 24, 1839, the first child of
this marriage was born and given the name of Hubert. Then
on December 19, 1841, a second child, named Nicholaus, was
born. Up to this time, the Winkels and five year old
Theodore Wirtz were still living in the family Wirtzhaus in
Kirchweiler.
Sometime after the birth of Nicholaus, the Winkels changed
residence, perhaps moving to Koblenz, before emigrating to
America. Why or when the decision to move was made is
unknown, as is the fate of Hubert Winkels for he did not
accompany the family to America. The decision to come to
America included bringing young Theodore with them. One
wonders if they gave any thought to letting him remain in
Kirchweiler with the family of his uncle and godfather.
Franz's brother, Theodore, moved to nearby Hinterweiler
after Franz died and many of his descendants remained in
the Eifel vicinity. On the other hand, many members of
Anna's family, the Oehmens, came to America in later years.
It was probably a wise decision for the Winkels to leave
the Eifel when they did, for a severe famine struck the
area in the 1860's.
During our visit to Germany, our gracious hostess, Frau
Katherine Wirtz, introduced us to many members of the Wirtz
and Oehmen families. They were as pleased to meet us as we
were to meet them. We were welcomed to their homes and
enjoyed many hours of "gemutlichkeit" with them.
Conversation ranged among many topics, but they were mostly
interested in what happened to those that left the Eifel so
long ago. Also remarkable were certain physical
resemblances between the Worts family here and the Wirtz
family there, especially after so many generations. Indeed,
it was quite a festive occasion in that after one hundred
and thirty-five years, a "Wirtz" had returned to the land
of his forefathers.