May Ancestral Newsletter #18. Welcome to the 20 th century!

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1 May 2013 Ancestral Newsletter #18 Welcome to the 20 th century! So many changes were taking place from the time the Hutters came to America to the arrival of the Weitzers. The Second Industrial Revolution (around 1850) brought changes to almost every aspect of daily life. One of the greatest changes was the railroad. The Civil War had divided the country but when the tracks were joined at Promontory Point in Utah, it united America and brought along with it progress and prosperity. People could now travel from New York to San Francisco, a distance of 3,000 miles, in just 7 days. Goods from the Pacific Coast could find their way to Atlantic Coast markets. Refrigerated cars made it possible to ship meats and produce all over the country. By 1898, U.S. Trains carried 800 million tons of goods. Happy shoppers found stores well stocked and prices low. Railroad lines expanded to reach more towns, which meant more steel was needed to manufacture more rails, which meant more jobs. Steel was also used to build bridges and buildings. The majority of people, about 60%, still lived on farms or in small rural communities. Prior to the Civil War, it took about 61 hours of labor to produce an acre of hand grown wheat. By the 1890's, the new farm machinery, such as the automatic thresher and the self binding harvester, could yield the same amount in 3 hours and 19 minutes. That is, if you could afford it. Many inventions from the 1800's were being improved and even mass produced and they fascinated the general public. The telephone, the refrigerator, the typewriter, the sewing machine, the camera and electric light bulbs were just some of the new gadgets. Life just kept getting better. America had become the industrial giant of the world. Anton Weitzer must have felt his dreams were coming true. From Newsletter #7: In Anton's reading habits, he evidently found scientific conjectures of the future and would tell his family, in the evening, of the day when flying above in the air would be common, and horseless carriages would be normal. Anton dreamed of moving the whole family to wonderful America. Anton Weitzer managed to move the whole family to America. And, in his lifetime, he witnessed so many technological advances which profoundly impacted the lives of the average man, and not just the very rich. Anton really was a man of his time and he may have felt on top of the world. Or maybe the death of his wife, Barbara, changed all that. They had less than 10 years together in America. He was left with a farm and young children to raise. But he also had daughters who, no doubt, were already helping with domestic chores. Three of those daughters, Catherine, Marie and Theresa, are the subjects of this newsletter. America entered the 20 th century full of optimism at the direction the country was moving. Never before in history had there been such a sense of forward momentum and prosperity. Yet, the three Weitzer girls were moving in a different direction. All three became Nuns of the Franciscan Order, sometimes called Poor Clares and they gave up their worldly possessions in order to better serve God. Are you up for a movie tonight? Consider renting the Audrey Hepburn classic, A Nun's Life which takes place around the early 1900's, the same time period the Weitzer women joined the convent. The last page is an addition to the pedigree charts found in newsletter # 10. Hope you enjoy this newsletter. Debby Klug S. Wind Lake Rd. Wind Lake, WI debby524@netzero.com

2 Anton and Barbara Weitzer had ten children. Three of their daughters became nuns. 1) George 2) Andrew 3) Cathrine (Sr. Donalda) 4) John 5) Anna 6) Marie (Sr. Damian) 7) Theresa (Sr. Junilla) 8) Barbara 9) Alois 10) Anton Cathrine Weitzer Marie Weitzer Theresa Weitzer Cathrine was born on February 23, 1878 in Stockarn, Oberfaulz, Germany and grew up on a farm. She was about 16 when she emigated, with her family to America, around Marie was born on June 13,1887. She was born and raised on the family farm in Stockarn until the age of 7, when she came to America. The family settled on a farm south of Plain, WI. Theresa was born in Stockarn, on February 4, She was only 4 years old when she left Germany to come to America. A not so honest friend sold Anton a farm in the hills between Plain and Spring Green, which was not the best (having many stones, and not much level ground). News #7 The road was not as accessible as it looks in this postcard and it may have kept the Weitzer family somewhat isolated in the early years. Quote from the Weekly Home News in 1890 about the Spring Green Road:

3 One pounds over stones of all sizes which had been covered with sand but washed off with the first rain. Following this, came the sand banks known as a small desert, where a load of any size tested the strength of the horses. And another quote from The History of Plain : The Pete Beaver hill was high and rocky. Many times the wheels of the wagons had to be locked by a log chain, to get down the hill. With a rainy spell and whenever the frost came out of the ground, wagons would bump along the roads while sinking nearly up to the hub in the mud. In winter, the roads would be locked in with banks of snow. The fences would be lowered and bobsleds would glide over the hills and fields. Well--- at least the bobsledders were having some fun. Perhaps the demands of farming and the difficulties of traveling on hilly, dirt roads kept the Weitzers from frequently visiting the town of Plain. Then again, they made the difficult transatlantic trip to get to America; maybe a rough dirt road didn't phase them. I like to imagine George and Andrew borrowing Dad's wagon to take their younger siblings to some of the happenings in town. Maybe they stopped at the Farmer's Rest store to meet up with friends before going to a dance, or maybe there was a taffy pull or a wedding they could attend. No doubt the Weitzer girls had plenty of chores on the farm including taking care of their younger siblings, especially after their mother became sick with T.B; but I just want to believe that Cathrine, Marie and Theresa had opportunities to have some fun times before their mother passed away and before they entered the convent. Sister Damian wrote down her memorial days from when she first entered the convent in 1904, (the year after her mother died) to the time she took her perpetual vows in The front of the prayer card reads: Entrance to the Convent And everyone that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall possess life everlasting.

4 Sister Junilla Sister Damien Sister Donalda

5 I don't have any information on when Cathrine (Sr. Donalda ) or Theresa (Sr. Junilla) entered the convent. Maybe they all signed up on the same day. Or maybe not. I do know that they all were parishioners of St. Luke's Catholic Church and they became Franciscan Nuns. A postulant, entering the convent, begins with a probationary period of 6 months to a year. If, at the end of that time, she and the Order believe she may be suited to the religious life, she will receive the habit of the Order, with some modification to distinguish her as a novitiate. Her veil may be white instead of black. The novitiate period usually lasts one to two years and during that time she is living the life of a nun without having taken her vows. After that, she takes her temporary vows which can last from one to six years. Finally, she will petition to take her perpetual solemn vows. The Franciscan and the Dominican Orders take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. In the early 1900's, the main purpose of religious life was to develop personal holiness. Service to others was considered a secondary purpose. Below is a horarium, or hourly schedule for the novitiate: 5:00 A.M. The Sisters shall rise to the first sound of the bell without giving way to sloth. Entertain themselves with holy thoughts, while dressing with great modesty. Make the sign of the cross and recite morning prayers. Then, while prostrate, they shall say three Aves while in spirit kissing the Blessed Mother's hand. After having kissed the floor, before and after the three Aves, they shall kneel and with arms extended. Say one Pater and Ave in honor of their yearly Patron. Assemble in chapel for meditation. Assist at Holy Mass 4:30 Visit to the Blessed Sacrament Breakfast 5:00 Study or instructions Manual work/study until 11:45 6:00 Supper, followed by recreation Particular examen of conscience 8:00 Silence 12:00 (in silence) 8:30 Night Prayers Te Deum in Chapel after dinner 9:30 Lights out---sister is strictly Daily chores in refectory, kitchen or department commanded to be in bed. After these charges, recreation 1:30-3:00 Study/ manual labor 3:00 Spiritual reading Source: Building Sisterhood: A Feminist 3:30 One-third of the rosary History of the Sisters, Servants of the IMH 4:00 Free time

6 I don't know if the Weitzer Nuns stayed in Plain for awhile or if they were immediately sent somewhere else. The following is from an unsigned letter about St. Luke's during the early 1900's: First Mass was celebrated at the home of George Neuheisel in 1857 by Fr. Spitelsburger who also married the first couple of the community. The first school was staffed by Dominican Sisters. They were replaced by Franciscans 10 years later and after the tornado of 1918 we find Dominicans on the scene teaching a full school which operated until the orders of Governor Vernon Thompson instigated complete efforts to re-district all public schools. This led to a Central High school in Spring Green, the death knell of St. Luke's High School and the gradual dissipation of a one-time very prosperous grade school. Sister Junilla Died on June 10, 1915 at age 25 She was buried in Campbellsport WI (south of Fond du Lac) Sister Donalda Died January 2, 1944 She was also buried at Campbellsport WI Sister Damian Died on March 3, 1957 Buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Milwaukee, WI Sister Damian with Weitzer nieces and nephews Junilla, Victor, Harold and Lorraine Sr. Damian, Barbara Weitzer, Sr. Donalda and their niece Florence Haas

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