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The Weitz Family Line In attempting to document the history of a family, there is generally very little information about the people themselves other than names, family relationships, their birth dates and dates of death. This becomes especially true when one tries to look back much farther than one or two generations. Unless prior family historians have recorded recollections of the people who proceeded them, the information is usually lost forever. Another and perhaps better way to know the people in a family line is to understand the times they lived in and the context of the events that motivated them to move from one place to the next; often after many generations of living in one place. In the case of the Weitz family, one must start with the history of Germany where we know the family lived prior to immigrating to Russia in 1767. Most of the Germans who emigrated to Russia during the 1761-68 time period originated in the contiguous territories around the Hessian states of Kassel and Darmstadt and also the Palatinate (Pfalz). The largest city in this area is Frankfurt and Nidda, the town from which the Weitz family emigrated, is located a short distance North of Frankfurt. The Reformation and Resulting Wars of Religion The Reformation, which began in 1520, divided the German people (and most of Europe) into two opposing camps and was followed by a long period of religious wars that lasted for well over two hundred years. In the early years of the sixteenth century, a number of social, political, and religious trends began to converge and the result was that for the first time in centuries, religious doctrines were in open competition. Between 1517 and the death of John Calvin in 1564 revolutionary forces shook the hierarchical church to its foundations. A small group of influential religious theologians denied the authority of Rome, abolished Mass, broke the priesthood's control of access to salvation, created original systems of Christian doctrine, and founded new churches and sects. In less than forty years, they shattered the millennial unity of Western Christendom. In 1520 Luther published his three tracts -- An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On Christian Liberty. His writings were based on his interpretation of the scriptures; an interpretation that diverged sharply from that of the Roman Catholic Church. In this he was not alone. Other theological scholars of his time also began to question and form their own interpretations of the scriptures. Each considered his interpretation normative; each attributed other interpretations to the inspirations of the devil. From these divergent readings of Scripture sprang new varieties of Protestantism. In the sixteenth century the most important of these were Zwinglianism, Calvinism, and Anabaptism. The Lutheran religious revolution also coincided with a violent peasant revolt (1524-1525), the last and perhaps most desperate of a series of uprisings that had begun in the fourteenth century. While Luther was not responsible for the revolt, some of his doctrines were used to sanction it. This became a common theme throughout the period with most combative parties sanctifying their actions with their respective religious affiliations. Also, during this time, it should be noted that Germany was made up of some 266 secular and 65 ecclesiastical principalities with about 1400 noblemen who were sovereign rulers of their small estates. The resulting rivalries and antagonisms were the source of many of the problems that plagued the country. However, by the 1540's repression and persecution radically began to curtail the new religious freedoms and in 1555, the Peace of Augsburg provided each German prince with the right to determine the religious affiliation of the territory he ruled. The principalities enforced religious uniformity within their territories and thus the religious preferences of the princes overwhelmed those of their subjects. Thus the conversion of princes was important because it determined the religious geography of Germany. The diminishment of the Catholic Church's power along with the rivalries of German principalities and various religious sects combined to make sixteenth century Germany a place of internecine warfare fueled by ambition and sanctified by differences of religious opinion. This went on for about one hundred years with each battle and theological debate raising the stakes for those in power and for those who wanted power. Thus the stage was set for one of the most vicious conflicts that has ever occurred on the European continent. The Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648) stands out as one of the most brutal conflicts during this period and probably during most of Europe's recorded history. The violence first broke out in 1618 and soon extended all across the continent. It was much more brutal and destructive than either the earlier feudal conflicts or the more modern wars, which began during the reign of Louis, XIV in the later part of the seventeenth century. Not until the twentieth century would the Western world again know the wanton pillaging, raping, and killing of a semi-guerrilla force that no government could control. The war consisted of a series of bloody campaigns in which civilians often suffered more grievously than the soldiers. The war began in 1618 and as the years of costly campaigning progressed, the rulers began to run out of money which left the mercenaries to extract their wages in the form of plunder, rape, and senseless destruction. The Thirty Years War was followed by the War of the Netherlands (1672-1679) and then by the War of Succession in the Palatinate (1688-1697). The German principalities on the Upper Rhine were especially exposed to the destructive effects of these successive of wars and were left in a terrible condition. In some cases, population losses were as high as fifty percent.
The Exodus Begins In 1682, William Penn gained title to a tract of land between New Jersey and Maryland in the New World. With the intention of establishing a religious haven, he invited the persecuted German sects to come to Pennsylvania. In 1683 thirteen families from Germany arrived in Pennsylvania and settled in Germantown. This initial trickle of immigration eventually increased to the point where about 225,000 German speaking people relocated to the American colonies by the start of the Revolutionary War. Because of the substantial population reductions caused by the previous 150+ years of war and strife, the rulers of the German states tried to stop the exodus with limited success. However, with the outbreak of the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763) emigrations ceased for all practical purposes. It is against this background of on going and devastating wars that the first colonists to Saratov Russia sought peace and freedom of religious expression.
Reasons for Immigration to Russia The first emigrations from the Hessian provinces to the Volga region of Russia can be attributed mostly to the Seven Years' War, with its resulting destruction and burdensome taxes. On December 25, 1761, the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna died and her son Peter III came to the throne. To the chagrin of the Russian nobility, Peter III signs a treaty with Frederick of Prussia on April 24. His wife, Catherine, supported by the Imperial Guard, overthrows Peter and becomes Catherine II. Peter III dies on July 8, 1762 while held prisoner by the Orlovs. Catherine denies complicity. Russia at that time was a huge kingdom with a very small population and large relatively unpopulated regions. The Volga, longest river in Europe, and its environs had for centuries been a stronghold of nomadic tribes, thieves and fugitives. Catherine decided to populate and develop this area by inviting immigrants to the territory. Because she was of German origin (her father was a Prussian General), she preferred immigrants of German decent. On December 4, 1762, Catherine issued her first proclamation inviting people of all nationalities, except Jews, to come to Russia. However, this invitation received little or no response because most men were still off fighting in the seven years war. After the war ended, a great economic crisis enveloped Europe. When Catherine issued her second proclamation on July 22, 1763, it received serious consideration. In the proclamation, she offered: Free land, Considering the continuous strife and wars that had been going on, this offer represented an attractive opportunity and many people made the decision to emigrate. Saratov is a town located on the Volga River (longest river in Europe) about 500 to 600 kilometers North of the Caspian Sea and about 700 kilometers South East of Moscow. As great as the opportunity seemed, making the move was not an easy decision or without its risks. The people had few resources and the trip to Saratov was long and difficult. For the German colonists, the first part of their journey was by ship from a Northern German port such as Lubek to the Russian port of Cranienbaum, which is near St. Petersburg. From St. Petersburg, the colonists would have most likely traveled by smaller vessels across Lake Ladoga to Novaya and then up the Volkhov river to Novgorod. This part of the trip was probably about 100 miles and most likely took a few days at most. In Novgorod, they would have transferred the women, children, and baggage to wagons for the next leg of the journey to the town of Torzhok, which is a town on the upper reaches of the Volga River. All able-bodied people were expected to walk. Even though this leg of the journey was only about 100 miles, it was difficult going and many of the colonists died and were buried along the way. From Torzhok, the remainder of the trip could be made by boat along the Volga River. This sounds simple, but keep in mind, the Volga is Europe's longest river and the total distance covered was about 700 to 800 miles. When the first colonists arrived, the town of Saratov had a population of about 5,000. The region settled extended from Saratov to Tzaritain, which covered a distance of about 160 miles North to South, and about 65 miles East to West on both sides of the Volga river. Because the promised help and materials for building homes was not provided, the only shelters the first settlers were able to manage before winter were Russian style dugouts. They were damp and dark, but could be heated with only a small amount of fuel. Later, the colonists were able to build proper homes of wood or stone. Life along the Volga The oldest settlements made by the German colonists in the Volga area were founded between 1763 and 1768. The village where the Weitz family settled was called Yagodnaya Polyana. According to Gerorg Kromm, an early historian of the region, eighty families founded it on August 28, 1767. He also reports that this group was made up of 147 male and 122 female settlers (total of 269). Apparently, many wild berries grew in the area and thus the village was named Yagodnaya, which is a word derived from the noun yagada, which means berry. During their first years, the settlers had a very difficult existence. They suffered from the problems of bandits, rebel raids, wild animals, and sickness. Government officials also failed to fulfill many of the promises that had been made to entice them to the area. However things did gradually begin to improve. When Paul I succeeded his mother Catherine to the throne, he assumed a paternal attitude toward the colonists. With this and their natural industriousness, the fifty years between 1800 and 1850 represented a period of economic progress. However before two generations had passed, a crisis arose due to lack of land. The villages had been originally placed close together for mutual protection. With economic progress came a corresponding increase in population and the amount of available land became to small to support the population. In 1798, it is estimated that there was about forty-one acres per person. By 1857 this ratio was reduced to about eight and one-half acres per person. The next twenty years (1850 - 1870) was characterized by a change in the status of the colonists. The Russian people and officials were jealous of the special privileges received by the German colonists. In 1864, one hundred years after the first settlers arrived, the government passed legislation that introduced representative local government in Russia. On June 4, 1871, a decree incorporated the previously autonomous German villages into the new local government system. Finally, in 1874, a law was passed that made all citizens, including the Germans, subject to compulsory military service. About fifteen years after this, six Weitz brothers and one cousin assembled their families and forty-eight members of the Weitz family departed from Yagodnaya Polyana, Russia to arrive in New York on April 13, 1992 aboard the SS Elbe out of Bremen, Germany. The six brothers who were listed on the SS Elbe's passenger list with their families were as follows:
Adam P. Weitz b: Jan. 12, 1847
A Partial Genealogy of the Weitz Family A partial genealogy of the Weitz family starting with Johannes Weitz who was born in Nidda Germany in the year 1728 and leading to his great-great grandson Johann Conrad Weitz (who immigrated to America with his brothers in 1892) and Conrad's subsequent family is as follows: Johannes Weitz b: 1728 in Nidda, Germany d: before 1778; married Eva Catharina Schiesler together, Johannes and Eva Catharina had two sons: Johann Heinrich Weitz b. 1762 in Nidda, Germany married to Catherine Kingold b.1767 in Beideck, Russia (Beideck was the first settlement established on August 10, 1764 by the early German colonists)
Heinrich Weitz b: 1793 in Yagodnaya Polyana, Russia d: 1853 in Yagodnaya Polyana, Russia married to Anna Elisabeth Schneidmuller b: 1797 in Yagodnaya Polyana, Russia. Together Heinrich and Anna Elisabeth had three sons as follows: Peter Weitz b: 1835 The thirteen children of Georg Peter Weitz b: 1822 and Maria Elisabeth Scheuermann b: 1824 were as follows: Anna Maria Weitz b: 1832 (probably should be 1842) in YPR
Johann Conrad Weitz b: 1853 in YPR was married to a Maria or Mary whose maiden name may have been Mueller (as indicated on her daughter Matilda's death certificate). She is also known to have gone by the name of Catherine (per the 1910 census in Walla Walla, Washington). On April 13, 1892 the SS Elbe landed in New York from Bremen, Germany (family history center film #1027631). This was the route they took from Russia back then. On the Elbe, were 48 Weitz' from seven families. Their names were spelled as Weiz on the ship passenger list. Six of the family heads were brothers and the other was a cousin. The six brothers who were listed on the SS Elbe's passenger list with their families were as follows:
Adam P. Weitz b: Jan. 12, 1847
For Johann Conrad Weitz, the ship's passenger list reads:
Joh. Weiz age 37 (would have been born in 1853) male farmer Russia (Country citizen) Cansas (intended destination) and his family:
According to Patrice Miller (who provided me with much of this information - see her web site): "They tended to really mess up the ages of the children on this ship list. It appears they did not ask the age, just guessed and wrote something down, sometimes very far off. So the Joh. stood for Johann for Johann Conrad, both for the father and son. While I was 99% certain this was your Conrad, the children's names confirm it. August was a relatively rare name and so was Matilde. What is important is not the actual age of the children, but the birth order which matches your August, Conrad and Matilda. So who was Marie age 16? If the mother Marie was born in Oct 1856 according to the 1900 census, then she would have been 35 in April of 1892 when the ship landed. That means she would have had Marie at 19 which was very feasible. So Marie was probably their oldest daughter who was not with the family by 1900. Who was Catha? She may have been a twin to August or maybe not. If she was missing in the 1900 census then she died between 1892 and 1900. By the way, Marie was usually Americanized to Mary."
This family shows up eight years later on the 1900 Washington census: Found in the 1900 Census for Walla Walla Washington, Volume 19, Enumeration District 88, Sheet 9, Line 44. According to the census record, the family was renting a house at 724 Birch Street, Walla Walla, Washington. Weitz, Conrad, head of house, White Male, age 46, married 29 years, born in Russia, mother born in Russia, Immigrated in 1892. Rents his home, works as day laborer, not employed for 6 months, can read, write, and speak English. Weitz, Mary, wife, white female, born October 1856, age 43, married 29 years (she would have been 14 when first married), born in Germany, mother born in Germany, immigrated in 1892, does not read or write, does speak English, is mother of 6 children all of whom are living. Weitz, August, son, white male, born August 1884, age 15, born in Russia, mother born in Germany, immigrated in 1892, works as day laborer, not employed for 3 months, reads, writes and speaks English. Weitz, Conrad, son, white male, born June 1897 (This is clearly wrong. It should be 1887 or 88), age 12, born in Russia, mother born in Germany, immigrated in 1892, works as day laborer, not employed for 9 months, reads, writes and speaks English. Click here to read more about Conrad and how he died in World War 1. Weitz, Matilda, daughter, white female, born February 1892 (probably correct as the SS Elbe record from April 13, 1892 indicates Matilda was 6 months old –her death certificate indicates she was born February 26, 1889), born in Russia, mother born in Germany, immigrated in 1892,presently attending school, 9 years of education, reads, writes and speaks English. Weitz, Fred, son, white male, born May 1899, age 1, born in New York, mother born in Germany. Note that this census record indicates the Mother/Wife of Conrad was born in Germany. This is very improbable (though not impossible) as they both were married quite young and came from a place in Russia that was about 1,000 miles from Germany. Her daughter Matilda’s death certificate indicates she was born in Russia and that her maiden name was Lenore Mueller. Also, the census record indicates she had 6 children all of who were living in 1900. The records of the SS Elbe from April 13, 1892 indicates there were two other female children with them in 1892 as follows: Maria, age 16, born in Russia These two would account for all 6 children.
On March 13, 1910, Matilda Lenore Weitz (b: Feb. 26, 1892 d: Mar. 30, 1916) married William Raymond Sellars (b: July 24, 1886 d: Oct. 15, 1965). They were married by the Reverend John Isaac in Walla Walla Washington. The witnesses named on their Certificate of Marriage were Mrs. John Isaac and Mrs. George Krieger. I believe Mrs. George Krieger was Matilda's first cousin and the daughter of George Philip Weitz b: Feb 12, 1861 in YPR d: July 16, 1922 and Katherine Anna Schmick b: Oct. 1861 in YPR m: in 1881. Her first name was also Matilda. Records indicate she was born March 1890 in YPR and died about August 1970 in Lodi, CA. Her first husband was I.G. Krieger and they were married March 1907 in Hitchcock, OK. I.G. Krieger died some time before 1946. Matilda Lenore Weitz-Sellars (b: Feb. 26, 1892 d: Mar. 30, 1916) and her husband William Raymond Sellars (b: July 24, 1886 d: Oct. 15, 1965) lived together at 1511 J Street, Walla Walla Washington. Together, they had three children as follows:
Alice Elmina Sellars -- born August 8, 1911 and died 1963. When Alice died, she was only fifty-two. Rose wrote, "Alice had been owner-operator of the Paulsen Medical Hospital (in Spokane) and she was attending a medical meeting in San Francisco when she was stricken with a brain aneurysm. My mom and dad were deeply grieved, as was her daughter, Jackie. They were all in shock, and as I look back, I think I was also. I just couldn't stop to think, I just had to keep going as I had a responsible job along with estate problems etc. All this was made more perplexing because Alice had no will. Jackie (her daughter) had just turned sixteen."
Richard William -- born January 19, 1913; died at age 86 on March 13, 1999 in Abilene, Texas.
Rose May -- born March 5, 1916 and still living in Spokane, Washington. On March 30, 1916, Matilda Lenore Weitz-Sellars died of complications following childbirth. Of this event, her daughter Rose wrote in her autobiography that: "I was born in Walla Walla Washington on March 5, 1916. Two weeks later my mother died from peritonitis caused by inadequate care at the time of my birth. Her Physician's name was Dr. C.R. Garrett and he was obviously very inefficient resulting in much trauma, pain and loss. She is said to have suffered a very painful death. She worried during her dying as to what would ever happen to her children. She is also said to have been a very religious person as well as beautiful. She was of medium height with dark brown eyes, olive skin, dark brown hair and small features."
Her death certificate indicates she was placed to rest in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Walla Walla whiich is now called the Mountain View cemetery. In 1942, her daughter Alice made arrangements for the perpetual care of graves six, seven, eight, nine, and ten in lot fourteen in block sixteen. At that time, she also had a new monument placed for her mother.
The Weitz Family Today Through her father's brother's, Matilda Lenore Weitz had many cousins whose descendants are now spread throughout the United States; many still live and prosper in Washington, Oregon, and California. For much, much more information on the Weitz Family Line, visit Patrice Miller's very fine web site devoted to this family. Other Links: John Conrad Weitz, Jr. - killed only a few weeks before the end of WW1 on October 3, 1918 during the battle for Blanc Mont Ridge. This page includes some links to some very excellent sites with information about WW1.
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