The Quest for the heimat (home) of George Wachter, Forefather of the Wachter families of Frederick, and Western, Maryland

By Joseph Rodney Wachter, Version 3, April 2004

Foreword:

Please notice that this is version 3 of this document - if you have never seen the previous version don't worry about having missed anything.  Each successive version of this document is, I hope, an improvement of the previous versions.  Successive versions provide the latest genealogical data concerning George Wachter Aus Memmingen, Württemberg, and his relations and descendants. To reduce confusion - and dissemination of incomplete information - it might be wise to destroy previous versions of this document. 

In version 2 of this document I stated the hypothesis that the forefather of the Frederick, Maryland and Western Maryland Wachters immigrated to the American Colonies from Memmingen Württemberg, and that he married Veronica Wachter (who was perhaps a relative).  This version of the document explains the substantiation of the first of the hypothesis and likely impugns the second.

In this version of this document I intentionally spell George Wachter's first name as "Georg" when referring to his origin in Württemberg, and spell it George (as he did) after he settled in the American Colonies.  Also I refer to his landkries (county) of origin as  Württemberg.  That landkries is now part of Germany (in fact it is now named Baden-Württemberg), but Germany,  as we now know it, did not exist as a nation until one hundred fifty years after Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen immigrated to the America Colonies.

1.  Introduction

I have been fascinated; one might say obsessed, with the lineage and history of the Wachter family from which I am descended.  I have been fortunate to have assistance in my research from those who are listed in the acknowledgement section of this document, and by the many sources of information that has become available in modern libraries and on Internet sites.

The information in this narrative will be supplemented and improved with new information, references, and source citations as they become available.

 I am descended from Charles William Wachter and Gladys Leona Limppo.  Charles Wachter was born in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, the son of William Albert Wachter and Gleda Eva (Goldie) Stottler.  William Albert Wachter was born in Frederick, Maryland, the son of Uriah Calvin  (Jack) Wachter. Those vital statistics trace the origin of my near term ancestors back to Frederick, Maryland.  I can provide genealogy narratives of that lineage in paper copy, or the documentation can be found in the Viatic genealogy site at www.viaprocess.com/viatic

I was fortunate during a “shot in the dark” query about the lineage of the Wachter families located in Frederick, Maryland to contact Joseph William Wachter of Frederick, Maryland, who informed me that his son, Kenneth Jerald Wachter, had a copy of the genealogy document prepared by Noah Wesley Wachter, in 1909.

Noah Wachter’s document contained the lineage of many, but not all, of the Wachters living in Frederick, Maryland, prior to 1909, back to a George Wachter who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the middle of the 18^th century.  Kenneth Wachter provided me with a copy of the document and it has been a keystone in my, and others, research into Wachter family origins and relationships.  Copies of Noah Wesley Wachter’s document are available from me, and can be accessed on the Internet at www.viaprocess.com/viatic .

2.  Analysis of the Document "Genealogy of the Wachter Clan", Compiled by W. N.. Wachter in 1909

Noah Wesley Wachter states on page 2 of his document;

“George Wachter of Wurttemberg, Germany  … and Jacob Wachter, brothers, and as I believe Michael Wachter their father, came from Württemberg, Germany in the vessel “Speedwell” commanded by Captain James Creagh, they landed in America at Philadelphia, Penn., Sept 25, 1749.”

“All trace of Jacob Wachter and his father are unknown to me, as all efforts to trace them have failed thus far.”

On page 4 of the document he states;

“The record (meaning the source document in which he identified George Wachter) was in German language.  I was permitted to have it translated by a relative friend”

He gives the following information about Michael Wachter, who, he believes, was the father of George Wachter;

“The first name on the record was Veronica Wachter, born Dec. 23, 1751 in Upper Hanover, Phila., Pa.  The parents were Michael and Maria (Maurer) Wachter, Baptized Sept. 14, 1781, by Rev. Lenard Wise a Reform minister.  Witnesses, Phillip Reed and Veronica his wife.”

While there is no record of Jacob Wachter, son of Michael, other than his name on the Oath of Allegiance, many of George Wachter’s descendants seem to be namesakes.

Concerning Noah Wachter's statement that Michael, George and Jacob arrived in Philadelphia in 1749, see the copy of the Oath of Allegiances for immigrates who arrived in Philadelphia, aboard the ship Speedwell, on September 25, 1749.  All male passengers over the age of sixteen were required to sign the oath, or make their mark.  Of course, there were the inevitable errors of spelling and “best guess” interpretations of the passenger’s names. The document can be seen in the book “Pennsylvania German Pioneers, a Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia From 1727 to 1808, Pennsylvania German Society, Norristown, Pennsylvania, 1934.”

The entry for the arrivals of the Wachters  arriving on the Speedwell in 1749 is hand-written as follows;   

 Jacob (XX) Wachter

The X indicates that the passengers were unable to write their names, so they made the X and the ship captain, or clerk, added the given and surnames.  Since  there were only two Xs by Jacob Wachter's name , how do we account for there being three Wachters aboard the ship?  One plausible explanation is that one of the Wachters was less than 16 years old, the age after which the signing of the oath was required. If the Wachter less than 16 years old was George Wachter, then 3 Xs would not have been required.

Now, using age as a factor to try to find out as much as possible about George, we know that George’s first child was born Oct 7, 1769 – almost 20 years, to the day after his supposed arrival in Philadelphia.  Since the “normal” age of marriage among the German immigrations of the reformed religion was 18 years old, it follows that George, even if he was zero years old, upon arrival in American, was behind schedule.  Further, it is interesting that Noah Wachter does not give the date of George’s marriage nor the name of the spouse; however the files of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) shows that when George Wachter, fourth son of George Wachter Sr, was born Oct 4, 1777, his mother was listed as "Veronica Mrs. Wachter". 

Now still using age information in this analysis, it is recorded by Noah Wachter, (using the family record written in German as the source), that George and his wife had nine children born between Oct 1769 until Oct 1789 – a childbearing period of twenty years.

So I believe that George was about 20 years old in 1767  I speculate that George did not arrive, as an infant, with his father and brother in 1749; instead I believe that George arrived in Philadelphia aboard the ship “Sally” on November 10, 1767. See the Oath of Allegiance for the Ship Sally, which arrived in Philadelphia on November 10, 1767.  He might not have been the son of Michael Wachter and the brother of Jacob Wachter. But since both Michael and George resided in the Upper Hanover Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania it is very possible they congregated because they were related.  Another clue that George might have had relatives (father, uncle or cousin) in the Philadelphia area is the fact that he signed his name as;

   Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen. The translation is George Wachter from Memmingen, Württemberg, Germany. 

Temporary note; new information found in March 2004

The theory that Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen is the forefather of the Frederick Maryland and Western Maryland Wachters seems plausible because I have found no record of any other George Wachter in the American Colonies between the years 1749 and the year George Wachter’s son George Wachter, was born in 1777.

Further evidence that Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen was the George Wachter who lived in Upper Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1769 was found in the book "Genealogical Information Published in the Philadephishe Correspondecz by Melchior Steiner in 1784 of German settlers in Philadelphia/Germantown and the Surrounding Area".  Note;  Yes, the foregoing is the long title of the book. In that publication it is stated that an inquiry (an attempt to find) was made on October 26, 1784 as follows, "Georg Wachter, merchant, of Memmingen, who was married in 1769 at Upper Hanover (Montgomery County) to a daughter of Michel Rith, Shoemaker”. Note;  the Philadelphische Correspondenz was published by Benjamin Franklin. 

 We know, but the inquirer did not know, that George Wachter had moved from Upper Hanover, Pennsylvania to  Adams County, Pennsylvania about 1772, then to Frederick, Maryland, about 1783.

It is a fair assumption that the person who made this inquiry;

knew Georg Wachter,

knew that Georg was a from Memmingen,

knew that Georg was in the colonies prior to 1770,

knew that Georg had married (and mostly likely lived) in Upper Hanover, Pennsylvania,

and knew that Georg had married the daughter of Michel Rith.

The above is further evidence that George Wachter, the forefather of the Frederick Maryland and Western Maryland Wachters, who lived in Upper Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1769, before moving to Adams County, Pennsylvania about 1772, and on to Frederick, Maryland about 1782 is the Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen who arrived in Philadelphia on November 10, 1767.

Based on that inquiry, from a person who knew the name, the occupation, the previous adobe, the marriage date, and the surname of George Wachter's bride; and an International Genealogy Index (IGI) record from the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Achieves showing that a Veronica was the wife of George and the mother of all the children listed as George’s offspring in Wesley Noah Wachrer’s document, it can be concluded that George Wachter's wife's maiden name was Veronica Rith.  While the source of the information in the IGI record is not known, it appears that the information was not taken from Wesley Noah Wachter’s document because information about christening, death and burial, which is given in Wesley’s document, does not appear in the IGI record.  If a genealogist went to the effort of creating the IGI record for George and Veronica’s offspring from Wesley’s document, they most likely would have recorded the christening, death and burial information.  Therefore, I believe the IGI record came from a different source, but do no know the origin.

3. Interpretations and Assumptions

Wesley Noah Wachter states, “The record found was in German language.  I was permitted to have it translated by a relative friend.”  He does not state that the record was a family bible.  But it would be helpful to our research if the original text could be found.  Examination of the original text might provide information or clues that Wesley overlooked.

According to Wesley’s document the first name listed was Veronica Wachter daughter of Michael Wachter and Marie (Maurer) Wachter.  He does not state that Jacob or George was listed; instead he stated “Note; Michael Wachter was the father of George Wachter, Jacob Wachter and of Veronica.”  But earlier in the document he states “George Wachter and Jacob Wachter, brothers, and as I believe Michael Wachter their father, came from  Württemberg commanded by Captain James Creagh…”.  I believe the truth of that statement cannot be verified.  While we know from the Oath of Allegiance that Jacob arrived on that ship, and that there was one related male over the age of sixteen with him, there is no evidence that George Wachter was aboard.

 4. Conclusions

Fact – Jacob Wachter, and another male over sixteen years old, arrived in Philadelphia in September 1749.

Fact – In 1751 Michael Wachter and Marie (Maurer) Wachter lived in Upper Hanover, Pennsylvania when Veronica was born.

Fact – There is no record of a George Wachter being in southeastern Pennsylvania until a Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen arrived aboard the Ship Sally in 1767.

Fact – Michael, Marie, Veronica and George Wachter all lived in Upper Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1769 when George’s child , Michael Wachter, was born.

Fact - I find the Michael, George, Jacob naming pattern in  Memmingen records of the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th century.  I have not found that naming pattern in any other records of Wachter families in  Württemberg.  This leads me to believe that the George Wachter, who signed his name Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen on the Oath of Allegiances, is the same George Wachter whose descendants also were named in that pattern.

Fact – It appears that the record from which Wesley Noah Wachter composed his genealogy does not show the marriage information for the descendants of George Wachter.  But it is obvious that the practices of George’s religion, the Reform Church, considered the recording of Christening and death information to be important.  It can be seen in Wesley’s document that Veronica Wachter was christened into the Reform Church in 1781, some 30 years after her birth.  And she appears in the same document as George’s children.  I surmise that Veronica, being George’s wife and the mother of his children, all of whom had been christened in the Reform Church, converted from her previous religion to the Reform Church in deference to George’s, and her children’s affiliation.

Opinion – Michael Wachter was related to, but might not be the father of George Wachter Aus Memmingen.

Opinion – George Wachter signed his name as Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen in order to provide a clue to his relations in Pennsylvania that he had arrived in the Port of Philadelphia.

Opinion – Since there is no proof that Georg Wachter Aus Memmingen was Michael Wachter’s son, I surmise that George might have been a nephew, cousin, or other collateral relative.

5. Purposes and Intent

An advantage to documenting the conclusions, theories, and opinions is to make them available to other genealogist, in the hope that they will provide information to collaborate or dispute my analysis.  That process is the best chance we have of getting the primary evidence needed to establish the relationships between Michael and son Jacob, and daughter Veronica and Georg Aus Memmingen. 

In my version of the lineage of the descendants of George Wachter I have unlinked George from Michael, and I do not show George as Michael's son.  Further, I have shown Veronica Rith, daughter of Michel Rith, as the wife of George. 

I hope this analysis will encourage others to contribute data and insight that will further validate and extend our Wachter lineage.

6. Testing of the Wachter From Memmingen Theory

I visited Memmingen in June 2003, and examined town and regional documents, and church records to try to establish that Michael Wachter and relative George Wachter did in fact migrate from Memmingen,  Württemberg. I have at hand a copy of the “Graveyard Memmingen Inventory” and a copy of the Wachter section of  “Memminger Patrizier” (Memmingen Patriots).  Interestingly, the title page of “Die Memmingen Patrizier gives special thanks to Otto Von Wachter for his aid in preparation of the book.

 I also have at hand a book that shows the pictorial history of Memmingen.  I will post some of the most significant pictures from that book at www.viaprocess.com/viatic. A preliminary translation of those sources from Old German to English does not reveal the direct ancestors of Michael and George Aus Memmingen, however a more complete translation might.  I can say that it appears that the record of the Memmingen Wachter gives several clues that the Württemberg origins of the lineage of Wachters is based in the area in, and around, Memmingen.

I am in contact with the Stadarchiv (state archive) in Memmingen and will continue to gather records from there to try to establish a documented link between the Wachters of that town and the descendants of George Aus Memmingen.

I had previously planned to arrange analysis of DNA from me and from a male with the surname Wachter, from Memmingen, who believes he is a descendant of a Wachter male who lived 250 years ago, in order to prove the link between me and Wachters still living in Memmingen.  However, based on convincing evidence that Georg Aus Memmingen is, in fact, the George Wachter, proven to be my ancestor, I do not consider the DNA test and analysis to be necessary. In fact the probability of relationship between me and a distant relative in Memmingen base on DNA samples might not be greater than he probability of the relationship based on collaborate documents.

6.  About Memmingen,  Württemberg, Germany

Memmingen is a town of about 41,000 populations, about 50 miles (80KM) south of Ulm, Germany and about 50 miles north of the Boden See (Boden Lake), which is on the border between what is now Germany and Switzerland.  The area known as Württemberg was the scene of constant conflict between the various European kingdoms and dukedoms and between religious factions for most of its recorded history.

 As I give the following translation of some documents concerning the history of Memmingen, look for the given names of those with surname Wachter.  Those given names are very common in the Wachter lineage.  The significance of the common surnames is important because, invariably, the Württemberg families almost always named their first-born male after the father and the second born male after either the fraternal or maternal grandfather.

7. Wachters in Memmingen,  Württemberg History

The following is translated from old German, or Old Dutch, as accurately as the old text and script can be deciphered. 

“From the Doderlein of Memmingen chronicle S.90/91 ( - Thomas Wachter of Constance [(a town south of Memmingen on the Boden See (lake)] here, while the name Wachter is already represented here, he is of no relation.” Note; I have not been able to establish the date of that that entry.

“Wachters already in Memmingen include Chaplain Wachter of St. Martin in Leutkirch, Hans Wachter, born 1410, a town official in Isny, Hans Wachter, a pot maker in Kempten, Konrad Wachter a citizen in St. Gall in April 4, 1468, on April 24, 1547 Thomas Wachter has a house in Memmingen, in 1550 Peter Wachter was a mayor in Leutkirch, in 1630 Hans Wachter was a beer brewer in Memmingen (death before 1577).”

“Thomas Wachter (born October 29, 1550) came from Constance in 1576.  He was a distributor of linen and salt, and “came to high appearance”. Note; Constance is on the Borden See.

“Wachter, Jacob (born November 1, 1577, death February 13, 1662/63) was a councilman.”

The Doderlein Memminger chronicle S. 90 states that Mayor Jakob (Jacob) Wachter died in 1663 in the 86^th year of life.  Jakob had a son named Thomas Wachter.  The town official Jakob Wachter was given, in 1688, by Kaiser Leopold, 1^st nobility.  The confirmation of the nobility for the other family members for the other family members resulted under emperor Karl ordinances in 1727.”

Note; this confirmation of nobility was, most likely minor nobility, such as baron, or baronet. Notice that in 1727 the family had achieved “nobility status”, but 20 to 40 years later the males of the family were migrating away from the city.  So one of the tasks in this quest is to determine what happened during that period to cause that migration.

8. Genealogy is a thing of the past!

History is, for the most part, written about events, genealogy is about our forefathers who were born, established families, had adventures and misadventures, and died within the framework of those events,

We were fortunate to know some of our ancestors, but most of them we can only know of by researching, recording, and preserving information about their life and the events of their time. It is my intent to continue, God willing, the genealogy research for several more years and to pass the information to my descendents.  A genealogist’s work is never done, there are new discoveries to be made about ancestors, ever more descendents to be recorded, and corrections to be made on data misinterpreted or recorded incorrectly.

Most genealogist do not work alone, we are dependent on information from many libraries, archives, government sources, other genealogist researching collateral lineages, and most important, related persons who are willing to share data.  Any data about related persons is important, and information about the life experiences of our forefathers (and foremothers!) can be intergraded into the lineages and narratives which become our, and future generations, legacy.  Feel free to make copies of this narrative to pass to relatives, or to other interested parties, or request additional copies from me.  This narrative and other genealogy information can be found at my genealogy website – www.viaprocess.com/viatic.

Please share any data, information, pictures, or personal thoughts concerning our ancestors with me – I treat such information with the up most respect.

There is an axiom that we do not know who we are until we know where and how we became us.

Sincerely;

Joe Wachter

2131 South Main Street

Burlington, IA 52601

319-752-3206    Viator_US@hotmail.com

Acknowledgements;

I, and others, are indebted to the following people for their contributions to this genealogy effort - 

Kenneth Wachter – for providing the copy of the Wesley Noah Wachter genealogy document

Staci Porter – for her dedicated research, she entered much of the lineage data in the genealogy data file

Christoph Engelhard, Stadtarchivar, Memmingen,  Württemberg – for providing documents, in the German language, about those with surname Wachter in Memmingen