Reitz
History 101
(condensed
from the Reitz Family History by Ron
Reitz)
--The name “Reitz” is an ancient name
with no obvious meaning. Its closest meaning is “one who served as a magistrate
or government official.”
--Our earliest-known ancestor—ADAM
REITZ—was born in Kassel, in the province of Hesse in Germany, in 1806.
His wife—Margaret Hanselman—was also born there in 1810.
--They were
married In Kassel, Germany.
--They came
to America in 1838 from the port
of Bremen, landing in Baltimore on June 23rd, aboard the Minerva sailing
ship.
--They originally
settled in Tiffin, Ohio, and then moved on to Jay County, Indiana, where they
had four children.
--One of the
four was our direct ancestor was Joseph
J. Reitz.
--Joseph
Reitz married Anna Obringer, who came to America in 1853 at the
age of 4. She was the oldest of 9 children. She remembered that the sea journey
took 4 weeks and there were many hardships, especially storms and shortages of
food and water. Her family also moved to Jay County. She had lots of suitors
but she liked Joseph J.(a great whistler) best. They married in the old Trinity
Church in 1869
--They lived with his parents for the first year of their marriage and had one child there.
--They lived with his parents for the first year of their marriage and had one child there.
--They
then moved to an 80-acre farm full of
trees along Limberlost Creek. From the trees they built a log cabin and a log
barn. In this log cabin, the next 13 of
their children were born.
--They moved to a much bigger log cabin which was actually 2 cabins joined, with the top story simply one big room for sleeping.
--They moved to a much bigger log cabin which was actually 2 cabins joined, with the top story simply one big room for sleeping.
--After the
harvest, they’d wash the straw ticks and put in clean straw to sleep on for the
next year.
--They lived near the convent, school and church. Monday through Friday they would keep students who lived too far from school to walk back and forth daily.
--They lived near the convent, school and church. Monday through Friday they would keep students who lived too far from school to walk back and forth daily.
Joseph and
Anna would attend 5 a.m. Mass every day at the convent, even in winter when
they had to carry a lantern to light the way.
--When only 11 children remained at home, they built a new frame home with 8 rooms plus a kitchen and pantry. Tragedy struck while it was under construction.
--Their youngest child Adam died in April 1893; Joseph J. especially grieved. He took ill on his 49th birthday and died 3 weeks later. Anna was left to raise 11 kids by herself and she was now deep in debt because of the new house. Only two of the boys lived to adulthood—William and Joseph F (our ancestor).
--In 1895, their daughter Philomena (“Minnie”), age 11, developed a hip problem that was so severe she couldn’t attend school. A doctor operated on her hip on the kitchen table but it didn’t help. They had to take her to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in January. The roads were unpaved and nearly impassible.
--When only 11 children remained at home, they built a new frame home with 8 rooms plus a kitchen and pantry. Tragedy struck while it was under construction.
--Their youngest child Adam died in April 1893; Joseph J. especially grieved. He took ill on his 49th birthday and died 3 weeks later. Anna was left to raise 11 kids by herself and she was now deep in debt because of the new house. Only two of the boys lived to adulthood—William and Joseph F (our ancestor).
--In 1895, their daughter Philomena (“Minnie”), age 11, developed a hip problem that was so severe she couldn’t attend school. A doctor operated on her hip on the kitchen table but it didn’t help. They had to take her to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in January. The roads were unpaved and nearly impassible.
They planned
to put her in a rocking chair in a surrey to take her to Bryant (7 miles away) and
from there she’d get the train, but they had to saw the runners off the rocker so
the chair would fit in the surrey. She survived for a week in Ft. Wayne, and
then died. Anna had to bring her home in a casket.
While Anna and Minnie were in Ft. Wayne, the big barn caught on fire. One of the sons—Uncle Will—ran into the barn to let the livestock out and was badly burned. When Anna returned home she saw that the barn had burned down and then buried her daughter the next day.
The neighbors helped cut logs for a new barn and it was ready for the harvest in the same year—1896.
Uncle Will Reitz was married in April 1904 . Joseph F, our ancestor, married Veronica (“Froney”) Kleman August 23rd, the same year in Glandorf, Ohio.
While Anna and Minnie were in Ft. Wayne, the big barn caught on fire. One of the sons—Uncle Will—ran into the barn to let the livestock out and was badly burned. When Anna returned home she saw that the barn had burned down and then buried her daughter the next day.
The neighbors helped cut logs for a new barn and it was ready for the harvest in the same year—1896.
Uncle Will Reitz was married in April 1904 . Joseph F, our ancestor, married Veronica (“Froney”) Kleman August 23rd, the same year in Glandorf, Ohio.
.
In 1907, “Joe” and Veronica wanted a try at adventure, so the family—Joe, Veronica, and two children—Wilbert and Mary—moved to Nazareth, Texas (near Amarillo) to live. They bought a prefabricated house from Sears and had it shipped by train to their Texas property.
In 1907, “Joe” and Veronica wanted a try at adventure, so the family—Joe, Veronica, and two children—Wilbert and Mary—moved to Nazareth, Texas (near Amarillo) to live. They bought a prefabricated house from Sears and had it shipped by train to their Texas property.
They lived
there for 5 years of terrible drought with crop failure and little to eat. They
didn’t know it but they were living over an enormous aquifer about 300 feet
down, one of the world’s largest, the great Ogallala aquifer which had just been discovered. [As of 2016, the aquifier has been nearly pumped dry.] The year
after they left, there was a good harvest. Had they stayed an extra year we
might all be Texans. Those who stayed on eventually became wealthy landowners
whose descendants still live in Groom, Texas.
The house in Trinity that had been built to accommodate the large family of 11 kids was bought by Uncle Will and his wife and they hoped to fill the place with kids. In April of 1909 Uncle Will not only lost not only his newborn daughter but also his wife. In the same month Joe and Veronica lost their daughter Mary in Texas. This was the straw that broke their spirit and they returned to Jay County, Indiana.
Five generations of Reitzes attended Holy Trinity School. At the turn of the century the students learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and they learned catechism in German.
Religion: Fr. Fleisch had a difficult time walking from the rectory to the church in winter without getting snowflakes in his mouth. This would have prevented him from receiving communion. They were that strict.
Wedding of Joseph and Veronica in Glandorf on August 23rd, 1904. They were married on a Tuesday. Monday was spent baking cakes, pies and cooking chickens.
The house in Trinity that had been built to accommodate the large family of 11 kids was bought by Uncle Will and his wife and they hoped to fill the place with kids. In April of 1909 Uncle Will not only lost not only his newborn daughter but also his wife. In the same month Joe and Veronica lost their daughter Mary in Texas. This was the straw that broke their spirit and they returned to Jay County, Indiana.
Five generations of Reitzes attended Holy Trinity School. At the turn of the century the students learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and they learned catechism in German.
Religion: Fr. Fleisch had a difficult time walking from the rectory to the church in winter without getting snowflakes in his mouth. This would have prevented him from receiving communion. They were that strict.
Wedding of Joseph and Veronica in Glandorf on August 23rd, 1904. They were married on a Tuesday. Monday was spent baking cakes, pies and cooking chickens.
It was a
beautiful day. The bride wore white. They had the wedding dance in the barn on
the Kleman farm. Joe Reitz was a member of the choir at Holy Trinity Church in
Trinity, Indiana, and he invited the choir to his wedding in Glandorf. At noon
the choir sang the Angelus in English. At dinner later that day, the bride’s
custom was observed and someone sang a song in German about the wedding wreath
she wore in her veil. After that she didn’t wear her veil. That was the custom
then.
When Joe and Veronica and three or four of their children moved to the “home place” in Trinity that many of us remember, he worked 7 days a week until he died in 1929. He died at the age of 50 years and 6 months, from a splinter he got in his hand while working on a farm wagon. Leonard and Edward, age 9, were with him when it happened.
When Joe and Veronica and three or four of their children moved to the “home place” in Trinity that many of us remember, he worked 7 days a week until he died in 1929. He died at the age of 50 years and 6 months, from a splinter he got in his hand while working on a farm wagon. Leonard and Edward, age 9, were with him when it happened.
At the
hospital in Portland (or Bryant), the doctors and family members could see the
infection daily going from his hand up his left arm. In the days that it took
him to die, he had plenty of time to say goodbyes to his wife, brother, and his
9 children (8 boys and a daughter Rose, the youngest.) His oldest son Wilbert
later called him an “old young man.” He died of blood poisoning , complicated
by diabetes, which they didn’t know he had. Penicillin had not yet been
invented, but it probably would have save his life.
Ed served at the funeral mass. He noticed knot holes in the bottom of his dad’s casket as it passed by and that sight remained in his mind until he died in 2012.
It’s
difficult to imagine. A father of 9 dying at age 50 (as did HIS father), in the
months preceding the Great Depression. Fortunately they lived on a farm. The
“boys” always said that with 9 kids their mother had no time to get depressed
or “down.” Too many people were depending on her constantly.
Joseph weighed about 170 lbs, was a good entertainer and full of fun. He could play several musical instruments and wanted each of his children to play one. He was often among the first to try a new machine or farming technique where the old Germans preferred to do things the way they’d always done them. He was ridiculed for buying one of the first tractors in that area.
Right after they moved to the “home place” in Trinity, Joe and Veronica had to build a barn. Joe bought 3 acres of woods and from that came the lumber, for the barn which still stands. He paid $24 for 3 acres.
Joseph weighed about 170 lbs, was a good entertainer and full of fun. He could play several musical instruments and wanted each of his children to play one. He was often among the first to try a new machine or farming technique where the old Germans preferred to do things the way they’d always done them. He was ridiculed for buying one of the first tractors in that area.
Right after they moved to the “home place” in Trinity, Joe and Veronica had to build a barn. Joe bought 3 acres of woods and from that came the lumber, for the barn which still stands. He paid $24 for 3 acres.
They had to
saw down the trees by hand, haul them to a sawmill, then have the lumber cut to
specifications. Where the barn stands today, there had been a fishpond formed
by the dirt they had removed to make bricks. Where the driveway is now was full
of brick fragments when this part of the farm was a brickyard.
The first car in the Reitz family was a 1913 Ford bought by Uncle Will in 1914. It had kerosene lights which had to be lit with a match, and the motor had to be cranked by hand. There were no side windows, just curtains and it had 20 horsepower. There were only 3 cars in Trinity in 1915. The car had 32 inch wheels (compared to 18 to 20 inches today) with 85 pounds of pressure (compared to 32 pounds today). It was like riding on a rock. They’d stick a ruler in the tank to determine how much gas they had, then they’d measure the gas in buckets. Uncle Will eventually gave this car gave to Joe.
The first car in the Reitz family was a 1913 Ford bought by Uncle Will in 1914. It had kerosene lights which had to be lit with a match, and the motor had to be cranked by hand. There were no side windows, just curtains and it had 20 horsepower. There were only 3 cars in Trinity in 1915. The car had 32 inch wheels (compared to 18 to 20 inches today) with 85 pounds of pressure (compared to 32 pounds today). It was like riding on a rock. They’d stick a ruler in the tank to determine how much gas they had, then they’d measure the gas in buckets. Uncle Will eventually gave this car gave to Joe.
Joe replaced
that car in 1926 with a Chevrolet. He and Veronica were so impressed that they
were surrounded by glass and could see it snow without getting wet and cold.
They were “warm” even though there was no heater in the car. The nearest gas
pump was in New Corydon about 2 miles away.
The roads were mud; there were lots of rail fences which were used to get cars out of the mud and the rails would be left in the mud. When mud was so bad that vehicles couldn’t be used, they’d use a mud sled which. The mud sled was pulled by horses in mud up to their knees. The horse’s tail would be tied up to keep it out of the mud.
Their first electricity was installed in 1937. They used an inheritance of $200 to pay for it. Harold and Walter took a course in wiring and they did the first rough wiring. Grandma thought she now was in the lap of luxury. It was the first time in her life that she had indoor water. She could now have light without using a match. Ed installed a hand pump in the kitchen which brought water from the outdoor cistern. She thought having water indoors was unbelievable.
Their First radio cost $20.00, four weeks wages at that time. They pooled their money and bought it from Sears in the early 1930s. It worked on a 2-volt battery which had to be charged every 2 weeks. Now they could listen to baseball games and the news. Everyone thought the new technology was just amazing. They could listen to music and political speeches. Grandma liked “soap operas.”
Laundry: for Anna Reitz (grandmother of “the boys”) and Veronica laundry day was extremely labor intensive. When they first moved to Trinity Joseph dug a pit, lined it with stone and let it fill with water. The women would fill the bucket with water from the pit and lug it into the house. They would use firewood to heat the water on the stove. Then they’d use a soap made out of meat cracklins and lye, rub the soap in by hand and then scrub everything on a washboard. The soap would be cut off in slices, just like you were slicing potatoes. They’d spend the whole day, 8 hours, doing the family laundry. They’d also be ironing and baking at the same time.
The roads were mud; there were lots of rail fences which were used to get cars out of the mud and the rails would be left in the mud. When mud was so bad that vehicles couldn’t be used, they’d use a mud sled which. The mud sled was pulled by horses in mud up to their knees. The horse’s tail would be tied up to keep it out of the mud.
Their first electricity was installed in 1937. They used an inheritance of $200 to pay for it. Harold and Walter took a course in wiring and they did the first rough wiring. Grandma thought she now was in the lap of luxury. It was the first time in her life that she had indoor water. She could now have light without using a match. Ed installed a hand pump in the kitchen which brought water from the outdoor cistern. She thought having water indoors was unbelievable.
Their First radio cost $20.00, four weeks wages at that time. They pooled their money and bought it from Sears in the early 1930s. It worked on a 2-volt battery which had to be charged every 2 weeks. Now they could listen to baseball games and the news. Everyone thought the new technology was just amazing. They could listen to music and political speeches. Grandma liked “soap operas.”
Laundry: for Anna Reitz (grandmother of “the boys”) and Veronica laundry day was extremely labor intensive. When they first moved to Trinity Joseph dug a pit, lined it with stone and let it fill with water. The women would fill the bucket with water from the pit and lug it into the house. They would use firewood to heat the water on the stove. Then they’d use a soap made out of meat cracklins and lye, rub the soap in by hand and then scrub everything on a washboard. The soap would be cut off in slices, just like you were slicing potatoes. They’d spend the whole day, 8 hours, doing the family laundry. They’d also be ironing and baking at the same time.
The boys
never knew Veronica was having a baby until after it arrived. The doctor came
to the house and charged $5 for a maternity case. On those days when a new baby
was coming into the world, the younger boys were allowed to sleep late. When they awakened they’d notice Dr. Shank’s
horse and buggy tied outside to the mailbox. It wasn’t considered good taste in
those days for pregnant women to be seen in public. Women would go into
“confinement” when the pregnancy became evident.
To be continued.
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