Weppelman
USA
After the oldest son, Joan Bernard Weppelmann, born Feb. 1, 1759, and married to Anna Maria Reismann, had inherited the farm; it was next passed on to their daughter Anna Maria Elisabeth Weppelmann, born Mar. 1, 1782, and her husband Joan Gerhard Kettermann (married Aug. 10, 1801). Even now, it is customary in Münsterland for a man who marries on to a farm to adopt the name of his wife. (Here the husband called himself Joan Gerhard Kettermann „named" Weppelmann). This double name is still in use at the beginning of the 20th century.
One of the sons, Joan Henrich Kettermann-Weppelmann, born April 3, 1812 was a carpenter, and in 1836 he emigrated to the USA. That was recorded in the „Book of Westphalian Emigrants". Apparently he returned after a few years, because on Nov. 7, 1840 he married Anna Elisabeth Bandermann sive Haverkamp in Nordkirchen. They had five children. He must have told his children a lot about America and his voyage there, because almost all children emigrated later to different parts of the world.
Wilhelm Weppelman, born Oct. 25, 1844, a carpenter by trade was married
to Anna Maria Wiesmann on May 1, 1870, in Nordkirchen. In 1879 they
emigrated to the USA and settled in Pittsburgh
. From them descend all the Weppelman in the USA. At present there
are Weppelman in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Texas, and New York.
William Weppelman(n) *15.02.1871 - Son of Wilhelm Weppelmann, (the 1879 immigrant) and his wife Martha Kluth Their 12 children (next) |
Father William and his sons: William, Walter, Paul, Regis, Roger, Francis, Russel.
|
The Pennsylvania, USA, Branch of the Weppelman(n) Family
from Roger Weppelman
Wilhelm Weppelmann, who founded the Pennsylvania branch of the Weppelman family, was born in Prussia, October 24, 1844, the son of Johanne Heinrich (Kettermann) Weppelmann and Anna Elisabeth Bandermann. Wilhelm served as a Private First Class in Medical Detachment Number 2 of the Grand Corp in the War of 1870/71 and was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class in Berlin on January 19, 1873. Like his father, he was a carpenter by profession. He married Marie Wiesmann (born 1838) on May 1, 1870 and they had two children: Wilhelm Junior who was born on February 15, 1871 and Elizabeth.
On October 17, 1880, Wilhelm Senior was issued a Prussian passport at Dortmond for himself, his wife Marie, and their two children. On the passport Wilhelm Senior is described as 35 years of age, slender, with dark blond hair, gray eyes and oval features. The passport notes that he had a broken bone in his right leg. They emigrated to the US and settled in Western Pennsylvania in the town of Wampum. Wilhelm Senior died in 1913 and he is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery (Lot 107, section Y) in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Marie lived to be 103 and died in 1941. She is buried next to her husband in St. Mary's cemetery.
The daughter Elizabeth married a man named Quirin and they had at least one child, a son nicknamed Buzz, who was born about 1909. Elizabeth lived in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, and cared for her mother Marie during her final years.
The son Wilhelm declared his intention to become a US citizen on April 18, 1881 in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and he became a US citizen on August 10, 1889 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. His first name, "Wilhelm", was written in the English fashion as "William" on both documents. On the 1881 document, his surname is written in the German fashion as "Weppelmann" while on the 1889 document the name is written in the German fashion in one place and in the English fashion, "Weppelman," in another. Throughout the remainder of his life, William gave his name as "William Weppelman" using the English spellings.
On January 6, 1892, William married Martha Kluth in a Catholic ceremony
in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Martha was born December
14, 1874 in Cologne, Germany and had been adopted at a young age and raised
by John Kleppel and his wife who were her legal guardians. The marriage
license lists William's occupation as "mill hand".
The Pennsylvania, USA, Branch of the Weppelman(n) Family (continued)
William and Martha lived in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, especially in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Around 1920 they moved to Orchard Avenue in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh and near Allison Park, and they remained there for the rest of their lives. Throughout these times, William worked in the steel industry and eventually rose to become a steel rolling mill superintendent. Martha died in 1949 and William died, October 2, 1959. Both are buried in the Forest Hill section of Mt. Royal Cemetery in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania.
Martha and William had 13 children, one of whom, Kenneth, died within a few days of birth. The remaining 12 all lived to adulthood. Their names, birth and death dates, professions, and married names of the daughters are as follows: William, May, 1893-August 1960: steel worker; Helen (Schindler), September 8, 1895-October, 1973: housewife; Walter, July 31, 1899-February, 1982: office worker; Esther (Levick), October 3, 1901-May, 1977: housewife; Paul, December 26, 1903-October 1970: mechanic; Marie (Weber), August, 15, 1905-June 14, 1988: housewife; Theresa (Pfeiffer), August 23, 1907-December, 1976: housewife; Regis, 1909-1983: electrician; Roger, September 15, 1911-March 18, 1998: office worker; Francis, July 3, 1913-September, 1982: electrician; Russell, May 9, 1916-April 1985: office worker; and Martha (Pfeifer), May 18, 1918-: housewife.
Most of the children of Martha and William had children of their own
and there have been many descendents, with the majority continuing
to live in the Western Pennsylvania-Eastern Ohio region of the U.S.