Selected Families and Individuals

Source Citations


George Jacob WINTERMANTEL

1Census, Special, of Civil War veterans and widows - 1890.

2Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, p. 19, 5 Jul 1870. "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

3Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p.1of 21, Jun 1880. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

4Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI, Twsp of Franklin ED134 p.3A.

5Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co., WI, Bear Creek Twsp - roll 1429, p. 146 [504]  PO Sandusky, 25 Aug 1860. "Jacob Wintermantel   age 30   shoemaker   b. Baden
Agnes                                22                          Switz."

6Wisconsin State Historical Society - Veterans Museum, Civil War - Certificate of Service, Personal files of Dianne Z. Stevens, 1301 Reetz Road, Madison, WI 53711. "Certificate of Service

Civil War Service

Jacob Wintermantle

The Official Record: Entered Service October 29, 1864.  Into Company H Thirty-Seventh Wisconsin Infantry from Franklin, Wisconsin.  Drafted; Mustered out of service July 27, 1865

Engagements
Assault on Fort Steadman, VA
Assault on Petersburg, VA

Thirtyseventh Infantry.  The Thirtyseventh regiment was organized at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin.  On April 28 six companies left the State, two companies following a few days later, proceeding to Washington D.C.  On the 30th of May it left for the front, being assigned to the Ninth Army Corps.  On the 10th the Thirtyseventh marched to Cold Harbor where the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac and was assigned to the Ninth Army Corps.  It reached the enemies lines before Petersburg and participated in the charge on the rebel entrenchments on the 17th of June 1864.  From that time until the surrender of the Confrederates in the following April, the regiment was frequently engaged with the Ninth Corps in the numerous battles about Petersburg and Richmond.  After the surrender of Lee the Thirtyseventh participated in the Grand Review at Washington and remained about that city until the 26th of July, when it was mustered out of service of the United States, returned to Madison, Wisconsin, and was disbanded."

7Census, Federal - 1910 - Sauk, WI, Prairie du Sac Village, Ancestry p.1, line 40, 15 Apr 1910, Ancestry.com. "Line 40     Dwelling 12    Family #12

Wintermentel, Jacob   head     age 78    m 1st 50yrs   Ger   Ger   Ger    imm: 1849 nat   occ:  own income
                      Agnes                      73    m 1st 50yrs   Swit  Swit  Swit            1817    9 chil b/8 living."

8Doris Litscher Gasser, Drafted into the Civil War after Finally Reaching Freedom, Sauk Prairie Star; Thursday, October 12, 2006, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens. "Probably a number of people in the area have stories to tell of their ancestors serving in the bloody Civil War.  My great-grandfather, Jacob Wintermantel, who immigrated from Switzerland to homestead in a community that later became known as Irish Valley, was the only Civil War veteran whom I have heard much about, both from my grandmother and a letter circulated among relatives written by George Wintermantel to his people back home in Switzerland giving an account of the family life in the United States, in 1875.  There are fine Wintermantel descendants, both in Wisconsin and outside of the state who have done and are doing a great job of research. The only great-granddaughter left as a descendant of Jacob Wintermantel is Ruth Hehenberger of Sauk City. There are quite a number of Jacob Wintermantel descendants in the area with names as Bender, Becker, Moely, Sprecher, Ladd, Litscher, Steuber, Sorg, and Gasser.
After a long, hard, courageous, challenging journey, the Wintermantels from Switzerland were able to settle near Honey Creek, it wasn't long before Jacob and his two brothers found themselves soldiers in the Civil War.
If there would be anything glamorous about the bloody horrors of war it would be the uniform or the officer's club in time of peace.  As the picture shows Jacob Wintermantel's uniform seems to be some kind of thrown together civilian outfit, that wasn't too durable for the battlefield.  That was probably common attire for the soldiers.  Yet, somehow, they managed to spruce up their "uniforms" the best they could and stand with pride and dignity to have their picture taken.
George Wintermantel, in his letter to his people back in Switzerland, explained that it was hard for Jacob to leave his wife and children when he was drafted into the Civil War. Jacob reported that sometimes everything on the battlefield was like a cemetery for fallen soldiers.  He served in Camp Peterson and Richmond, Virginia for nine months.
The letter recorded that brothers Christian and William Wintermantel also served in the Civil War.  William was in many bloody battles and was in danger day and night between the southern rebels and enemy Indians.  Christian served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.  He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war era, Fredrichsburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.  He endured earth shaking cannon fire and saw blood streams on large and small battles.  He finally came back to Wisconsin after three years.  Two years later he acquired 160 acres of land in Kansas.  George believed that every soldier who had an honorable discharge was entitled to land.
The impact of the experiences of our ancestors in the Civil War lives on.  And how they have handled situations help us along the way in our present time.
Jacob Wintermantel and his wife Agnes Yoss Wintermantel moved to Prairie du Sac in his retirement.  His obituary, (1916) Sauk County News read, "He (Jacob) was faithful and loyal to the church of his choice, in which he served his God according to the dictates of his conscience, enlightened by the Holy Spirit."." Ruth Hehenberger is Jacob's granddaughter not his great-granddaughter.
Christian left Wisconsin and went to Iowa, so I'm pretty sure his 160 acres were in Iowa.
From the research of Julie Edwards it's been shown that Jacob's family immigrated from Ihringen in Germany, not Switzerland.  His wife, Agnes Joos, was from Switzerland.
The George Wintermantel whose letter in mentioned was a bother to Jacob, William and Christian.

9Obituary, unknown newspaper. "Obituary - Wintermantel

Jacob Geo. Wintermantel was born in Germany, February 27, 1832. He came to this country June 18, 1856, to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and was united in marriage to Agnes Joos in 1859; to this union were born nine children.  Over 50 years they shared the joys and sorrows of married life.  His life's companion passed into the better world June 29, 1915, One son also preceded him in death.
In obedience to the call of his country, he joined the army in 1864, and served in that capacity nine months, or to the war's close.  Having located in town Franklin, they made that their home until about fifteen years ago, when they moved to Prairie du Sac to retire from the strenuous farm life and rest from its labors.  Since the death of his lifemate he made his home with children in town Troy.  For sometime with his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Aug. Mellentine and Mr. and Mrs. Felix Sprecher, and the time just previous to his death with Mr. and Mrs. Fred Sprecher.  Here his children did all in their power to make life pleasant and comfortable for him in his weakness and infirmity.  He suffered much during the later years of his life, For the last few weeks his health failed rapidly, his strength left him and on the 17th of October, 1916, his end came due to apoplexy.  
He affiliated himself with the so called Schlosser's church of the Evangelical association near Leland many years ago, and when they moved to Prairie du Sac with the Evangelical church there.  He was faithful and loyal to the church of his choice, in which he served his God according to the dictates of his conscience, enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
He leaves to mourn his departure four daughters, four sons, one sister, two brothers, besides many other relatives and friends.
The daughters are Mrs. A. C. Hudson, Reedsburg; Mrs. Aug. Mellentine, Mrs. Felix Sprecher and Mrs. Fred Sprecher of Troy.  The sons are Jacob of Hull, Ia.; John of Prairie du Sac; George and Chris. of Reedsburg.  All were present at the funeral.  Funeral services were conducted in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Sprecher and in the Evangrelical church at Black Hawk by Revs Ph. Schneider and A. E. Happe. Internment was made in the Black Hawk cemetery." from a Wintermantel folder belonging to Ruth Sprecher Hehenberger.

10Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". " Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers."

11George Wintermantle, Letter from George Wintermantle to Mathilda Druschel 1/16/1908, Personal files of Dianne Z. Stevens, 1301 Reetz Road, Madison, WI 53711. Translation by Renata Schwertl - 1983. " The family of my brother Jacob has had much grief and heartache. He has about 118 acres, about 80 acres in hills and woodlands, and a few acres of swampland."

12Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI, Twsp of Franklin ED134 p.3A.

13Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Apr 2003, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

14Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

15Patsy Clark , Cemeteries - an Email, dated 9May2003. ""Father" s/w Johann J. Wintermantel, Section C, Row 5."

16Obituary, of George Jacob Wintermantel (1832). "(He)  was united in marriage to Agnes Joos in 1859."


Agnes JOOS

1Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI, Twsp of Franklin ED134 p.3A.

2Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co., WI, Bear Creek Twsp - roll 1429, p. 146 [504], 25 Aug 1860. "Jacob Wintermantel   age 30   shoemaker   b. Baden
Agnes                                22                          Switz."

3Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, p. 19 . "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

4Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

5Census, Federal - 1910 - Sauk, WI, Prairie du Sac Village, Ancestry p.1, 15 Apr 1910, Ancestry.com. "Line 40     Dwelling 12    Family #12

Wintermentel, Jacob   head     age 78    m 1st 50yrs   Ger   Ger   Ger    imm: 1849 nat   occ:  own income
                      Agnes                      73    m 1st 50yrs   Swit  Swit  Swit            1817    9 chil b/8 living."

6Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p. 1 of 21. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

7Obituary, unknown newspaper. "Obituary - Wintermantel.
Mrs. Agnes Wintermantel, wife of Jacob Wintermantel, died suddenly from heart failure at her home in this city Monday night.  Mrs. Wintermantel, although in failing health for some time, was about and attended to her usual duties the previous day, but sometime during the night passed away. No one knows when the end came, as she was found dead in her bed onTuesday morning.  She was aged 78 years, five months and 29 days." from a folder belonging to Ruth Sprecher Hehenberger.

8Paul Wintermantel Envelope, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens. This is a folder of information originally from Paul Wintermantel (Another Wintermantel line.) It was sent to me by P. Clark, June 2003.  It contains:
Letter from george Wintermantel to friends and relatives in Germany (1875)
Story of the Joos family journey to America
Extensive Genealogical chart of the descendents of Matthius Wintermantle and Elisabeth Schindlin (B abt 1740). "from "NOLD" by Mary Alexander (nee Ragatz)

Family of Johannes and Veronika Bandli when they came to America in 1847

1) Maria (16) m. Florian Nold   4) Agnes (11) m. Jacob Wintermantel

2) Ursula (14)                           5) Magdalena (6)

3) Elsbeth (13)                          6) Johannes (4)

Four Joos families were living in the district of Aretzen near the city of Versam (4 hours from Chur), Canton Graubunden, Switzerland.  They decided to move to America to give their children a better chance.  They bought the passport on March 16, 1847.  The cost of transportation to America was $525 and the Reise Pass was an additional $18.70.  Total cost was $543.70.

These four Joos families were made up of two sets of brothers and their families.  The two "sets" were distantly related. Johannes was a carpenter and his brother, Martin, was a millwright.  These two families shared a large remodeled home in Switzerland, built 1823. Above the doorway was carved (in German) "God Protect This House and they that go in and out, and bless them early and late 'til their labors end.  Praise and Honor God Alone." The other set of Yoos families were those of Hans Martin Yoos and George Yoos.

Each family had a covered wagon and a yoke of oxen.  They went by way of Chur, a transport ship across the Zurich Sea to the city of Zurich, on to Paris and then to Le Harve vies a boat on the Seine River. This portion of the trip took 8 days.  After selling wagons and oxen they boarded a sailboat and three weeks later entered the St. Lawrence River.  Shortly before seeing the shores of their new homeland, Martin Yoos took sick with a fever and died.  As the ship entered the St. Lawrtence they wrapped his body in a sheet and slid it off a plank into the water.  he was 45 years old and left his wife and four children.

Their sailing ship landed at Quebec, Canada, where their belongings had to be transferred to a river boat and later to a lake ship and then to a canal boat.  The horse had a path to follow along the shore and was driven by a man.  On one of those boats the daughter, Anna, was born to the widow Yoos, just three weeks after her father was buried at sea.  (Anna was a cousin of Agnes Yoos Wintermantel.)

After leaving the canal boat they had to take a ship down Lake Michigan to Milwaukee, and it was there they first set foot on American soil.  (Probably Jones Island).  Each family again bought a covered wagon and a team of horses.  They loaded their belongings and hired a teamster to drive the Widow Yoos team and to guide them to the Wisconsin River at Merrimac where a ferry took them, teams, wagons and all, across the river.  They were now heading for Sauk City, Sauk County, Wisconsin.  They bought their land a few miles west of the city in Honey Creek District.  Just a year after building their house in the new fatherland they received their first letter from Switzerland."

9Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

10Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.

11Patsy Clark , Cemeteries - an Email, dated 9May2003. s/w Johann J. Wintermantel, Section C, Row 5.

12Obituary, of George Jacob Wintermantel (1832). "(He)  was united in marriage to Agnes Joos in 1859."


William WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, Ancestry p. 19 of 20. "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

2Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

3Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information. gave exact birthdate.

4Wisconsin Vital Records Death Index, Sauk Co. vol 1, p. 224, reel 120, image 1712, sequence 423497.

5Patsy Clark , Cemeteries - an Email, dated 9May2003. s/w Johann J. Wintermantel, Section C, Row 5
gives age: 27 yr 2m 22d.


George F. WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p. 1 of 21. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

2Census, Federal - 1900 - Columbia Co, WI, Lodi ED15 p. 1B.

3Census, Federal - 1940 - Sauk Co., WI. "Name: Jessie May Cowles
Age: 53
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1887
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Wisconsin
Marital Status: Widowed
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Home in 1940: Reedsburg, Sauk, Wisconsin
View Map
Street: Willow
House Number: 119
Inferred Residence in 1935: Reedsburg, Sauk, Wisconsin
Residence in 1935: Same House
Sheet Number: 8A
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Salome Hudson 77
Jessie May Cowles 53
George F Wintermantel 66
Ruth Cowles 18."

4Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, obituary from unknown newspaper, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information. "Geo. Wintermantel Dies Suddenly Thurs.

George F. Wintermantel, 80, passed away suddenly on Thursday morning at his home at 541 Laurel Street in this city.
A native of Sauk County, he lived in and around Reedsburg for about 50 years. He was a member of the Methodist church and of the Knights of Pythias lodge.
He formerly operated a meat market in the city.
His survivors include three sisters, Mrs. Salome Hudson, with whom he made his home; Mrs. Sarah Sprecher, Prairie du Sac;  and Mrs. Fred Sprecher, Black Hawk.  He was preceeded in death by his parents, four brothers and one sister, and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral was held on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Bartlett-Schreier funeral home with the Rev. S. J. Lambright, pastor of the Methodist church officiating.  Burial was in Greenwood cemetery."

5Jan Bender phone conversation on 2 Aug 2003.


Christian WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p. 1 of 21. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

2Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI, Twsp of Franklin ED134 p.3A.

3Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, obituary from unknown newspaper, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information. "Obituary - Wintermantel

Christian Wintermantel, who died in Reedsburg Sunday, May 8, 1927, was born on August 18, 1975, in the town of Franklin, the son of Jacob and Agnes Joos Wintermantel.  After he grew to manhood he went to Prairie du Sac and worked at the butcher trade until 22 years ago when he, with his brother,George, went to Reedsburg, where they purchased a meat market which they conducted until about a year ago.
He is survived by four sisters and three brothers; Mrs. Sarah Sprecher  and Mrs. Rose Sprecher of Black Hawk; Mrs. Mary Mellentine of Prairie du Sac; Mrs. Salome Hudson of Reedsburg; jacob of Hull, Iowa; John of Prairie du Sac and George of Reedsburg.
Chris. Wintermantel, bother of John Wintermantel and Mrs. August Mellentine, of this city, died suddenly Sunday night of a stroke at the home of his sister, Mrs. Salome Hudson, in Reedsburg.  Funeral services were held Wednesday at the Reedsburg Methodist church and interment was made at Black Hawk cemetery.  Those from here who attended the funeral were, John Wintermantel, son, George, and daughter, Misses Lena, Agnes and Ella, Mr. and Mrs. Aug. Mellentine, Mrs. Jacob Danuser and Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Meng."

4Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

5Patsy Clark , Cemeteries - an Email, dated 9May2003. s/w Johann J. Wintermantel, Section C, Row 5.


William Frederick WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co, WI, Township of Franklin, Post Office White Mound (near Plain), Ancestry p. 9 of 14. "line   30       dwelling  1206       household #1187

Wintermantel, Jacob         age 61    farmer           value RE  $400      born Baden
                      Salome              60                                                               Baden
                      John Jacob       32    butcher                                               Baden
                      Mary                  28                                                                   "
                      William               22                                                                   "
                      Rosa                 18     in school                                                 "
                      Christian             16    in school                                                 "."

2Civil War Soldiers, American, Ancestry.com, 2354401.

3Civil War Certificate from WI State Historical Society, Personal files of Dianne Z. Stevens, 1301 Reetz Road, Madison, WI 53711.

4Census, Federal - 1870 - Madison Co, IA, Webster TWsp, PO Winterset, Ancestry p. 11 of 13. "Line 31       Dwelling # 75       Family # 76

Wintermantel, Wm               age 31      Farmer                  born Baden
                      Sarah                   21                                          NY


                                              Family # 77

Wintermantel, Shristian         age 27      Farm Laborer     born Baden
                      Matilda                  28                                        Prussia
                      Rosena                   3                                        WI
                      Matilda                    2                                        WI
                      William                 7/12                                      IA."

5Census, Federal - 1880 - Multnomah Co, OR Fulton Precinct ED92, ED 92, p. 23 . "William     Wintermantle     self    Married   Male    age 41  b. Baden     Farmer             fb: Baden    mb: Baden
Sarah H.                            wife  M             F                31      NY           keeps House       Bavaria         Prussia
George                              son   S             M                 9      IA              at school             Baden           NY
Mary                                  dau   S             F                  7      IA              at school                  "                "
Rosa                                 dau   S             F                  5      KS             at home                   "                 "
Sarah                                dau   S             F                  2      KS             at home                   "                 "."

6Census, Federal - 1920 - Multnomah Co, Oregon, Portland, ED # 111; Ancestry p. 14 of 29. "Line 95    819 Belmont St.  Dwelling 131   Household # 158

Stone,   Mary E.       Head  R   47  wd     IA  GER  NY   Occ: None
            Laurence O. son         24  s        OR IA      IA             Dyer in dye shop
            Bercha M.    dau         20  s        OR IA      IA             stenographer for US Shipping Board
            Emily E.        dau         18  s        OR IA      IA             telephone operator for Telephone Co.
            Rose M.       dau         14  s        OR IA      IA             none   (in school)
            Lois R.         dau           9  s        OR IA      IA             none          "

next page - Line 1

Stone, William W.   Father      81 m. yr imm: 1856  Yr naturalized: 1878   Ger  Ger       Ger     Occ: none
            Sarah A.      Mother     71 m                                                          NY  Bavaria France         none." *The  "William W. Stone" listed here in the 1920 census is actually William Frederick Winermantle b. 1838 in Ihringen, Germany.

7Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, West Portland; ED 98; ancestry p. 1 of 7. "Line 92       dwelling 146    household 147

Wintermantel, Wm    Head    Apr 1838   age 62   m. 33 yrs    Ger  Ger  Ger   yr imm: 1856  # of yrs in USA: 44  occ: farmer
                      Sarah wife      Oct 1848          51       33          NY  Ger  Ger   8 ch born/ 4 living
                 George H. son     Jan 1871         29  s                  IA    Ger  Ger                                                           merchant
                 Sadie        dau     Feb 1878         22  m                KS   Ger   NY                                                        dressmaker."

8Census, Federal - 1910 - Wasco Co., Oregon. East Dalles, ED # 302; Ancestry p. 3 of 14. "Line 27     Dwelling 153       Household 165

Wintermantel,  William    Head  age 71 m. 43 yrs                          Ger Ger Ger   occ: none   Home owned
                       Sarah A.  wife           64 m 43 yrs 8ch b./ 4 living  NY  Ger Ger           none."

9Census, Special, of Civil War veterans and widows - 1890, Oregon, Multnomah, Fulton; p. 2 of 2. "Line 23   212   217   Wintermantel, William   corporal  F company  3rd Wis Cavalry  enlist: 18 Jan 1862    

       dischrg  16 Mar 1865;  length of service 3 yrs 1 mos 28 das."

10Christian Wintermantel Pension Papers, p. 59 - testimony of Wm Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens. "59 – 4Feb1903 – William Wintermantel – brother – lives in Bingen, Wash.
60 – WWcont - “(Christian) came to Oregon the year...the Northern Pacific R.R. was opened. I think in October...It was in 1883 he came out here. He stayed with me that winter.”
61 – WWcont – describes how he and Christian moved to Iowa together and lived together until 1874 when WW went to Kansas, then on to Oregon in 1878. Christian followed him to Oregon. “When he was first home from the army he was pretty badly run down. He was just skin and bone.”
62 - WWcont -  In Iowa started coughing and spitting blood whenever doing hard work. “In 1886 we took a trip east of the mountains and then his coughing irritated me so much at night that I offered him $5 to stop it and he got angry.  That cough hung to him and kept getting worse until it killed him.”  
63 – WWcont – treatment for rheumatism in army, rheumatism in Iowa, none in Oregon
64 – WWcont – Feys and Wintermantels lived four miles apart in Sauk County."

11Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". " Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois."

12Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, Precinct 80, West Portland ED98, p. 7B.

13Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

14Christian Wintermantel Pension Papers.

15Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

16Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, West Portland; ED 98; ancestry p. 1 of 7.


Sarah Ann DENGEL

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Madison Co, IA, Webster TWsp, PO Winterset, Ancestry p. 11 of 13. "Line 31       Dwelling # 75       Family # 76

Wintermantel, Wm               age 31      Farmer                  born Baden
                      Sarah                   21                                          NY


                                              Family # 77

Wintermantel, Shristian         age 27      Farm Laborer     born Baden
                      Matilda                  28                                        Prussia
                      Rosena                   3                                        WI
                      Matilda                    2                                        WI
                      William                 7/12                                      IA."

2Census, Federal - 1880 - Multnomah Co, OR Fulton Precinct ED92. "William     Wintermantle     self    Married   Male    age 41  b. Baden     Farmer             fb: Baden    mb: Baden
Sarah H.                            wife  M             F                31      NY           keeps House       Bavaria         Prussia
George                              son   S             M                 9      IA              at school             Baden           NY
Mary                                  dau   S             F                  7      IA              at school                  "                "
Rosa                                 dau   S             F                  5      KS             at home                   "                 "
Sarah                                dau   S             F                  2      KS             at home                   "                 "."

3Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

4Census, Federal - 1920 - Multnomah Co, Oregon, Portland, ED # 111; Ancestry p. 14 of 29. "Line 95    819 Belmont St.  Dwelling 131   Household # 158

Stone,   Mary E.       Head  R   47  wd     IA  GER  NY   Occ: None
            Laurence O. son         24  s        OR IA      IA             Dyer in dye shop
            Bercha M.    dau         20  s        OR IA      IA             stenographer for US Shipping Board
            Emily E.        dau         18  s        OR IA      IA             telephone operator for Telephone Co.
            Rose M.       dau         14  s        OR IA      IA             none   (in school)
            Lois R.         dau           9  s        OR IA      IA             none          "

next page - Line 1

Stone, William W.   Father      81 m. yr imm: 1856  Yr naturalized: 1878   Ger  Ger       Ger     Occ: none
            Sarah A.      Mother     71 m                                                          NY  Bavaria France         none." *The  "William W. Stone" listed here in the 1920 census is actually William Frederick Winermantle b. 1838 in Ihringen, Germany.

5Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, West Portland; ED 98; ancestry p. 1 of 7. "Line 92       dwelling 146    household 147

Wintermantel, Wm    Head    Apr 1838   age 62   m. 33 yrs    Ger  Ger  Ger   yr imm: 1856  # of yrs in USA: 44  occ: farmer
                      Sarah wife      Oct 1848          51       33          NY  Ger  Ger   8 ch born/ 4 living
                 George H. son     Jan 1871         29  s                  IA    Ger  Ger                                                           merchant
                 Sadie        dau     Feb 1878         22  m                KS   Ger   NY                                                        dressmaker."

6Census, Federal - 1910 - Wasco Co., Oregon. East Dalles, ED # 302; Ancestry p. 3 of 14. "Line 27     Dwelling 153       Household 165

Wintermantel,  William    Head  age 71 m. 43 yrs                          Ger Ger Ger   occ: none   Home owned
                       Sarah A.  wife           64 m 43 yrs 8ch b./ 4 living  NY  Ger Ger           none."

7Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, Precinct 80 West portland ED98 p. 7B.

8Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

9Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, West Portland; ED 98; ancestry p. 1 of 7.


George H. WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1880 - Multnomah Co, OR Fulton Precinct ED92. "William     Wintermantle     self    Married   Male    age 41  b. Baden     Farmer             fb: Baden    mb: Baden
Sarah H.                            wife  M             F                31      NY           keeps House       Bavaria         Prussia
George                              son   S             M                 9      IA              at school             Baden           NY
Mary                                  dau   S             F                  7      IA              at school                  "                "
Rosa                                 dau   S             F                  5      KS             at home                   "                 "
Sarah                                dau   S             F                  2      KS             at home                   "                 "."

2George H. Wintermantle - death certificate, state # 109, local # 98.

3Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, West Portland; ED 98; ancestry p. 1 of 7. "Line 92       dwelling 146    household 147

Wintermantel, Wm    Head    Apr 1838   age 62   m. 33 yrs    Ger  Ger  Ger   yr imm: 1856  # of yrs in USA: 44  occ: farmer
                      Sarah wife      Oct 1848          51       33          NY  Ger  Ger   8 ch born/ 4 living
                 George H. son     Jan 1871         29  s                  IA    Ger  Ger                                                           merchant
                 Sadie        dau     Feb 1878         22  m                KS   Ger   NY                                                        dressmaker."

4Census, Federal - 1900 - Multnomah Co, city of Portland, Precinct 80, West Portland  ED98 p. 7B.

5Oregon Death Index 1903- 1998, Certificate # 109, Ancestry.com.


Rudolf JAEGER

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

2Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". " She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867."

3Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co, WI, Franklin Twsp. "Name: Rudolf Jaeger
Age in 1860: 41
Birth Year: abt 1819
Birthplace: Bremen
Home in 1860: Franklin, Sauk, Wisconsin
Gender: Male
Post Office: White Mound
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members: Name Age
Rudolf Jaeger 41
Frederick Jaeger 10
Ursula Hemmy 56."

4Ancestry.com, albertson Family tree.


Anne Marie WINTERMANTEL

1edited by Glazier and Filby, Germans to America, Vol 10, p. 88.

2Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co, WI, Township of Franklin, Post Office White Mound (near Plain), Ancestry p. 9 of 14. "line   30       dwelling  1206       household #1187

Wintermantel, Jacob         age 61    farmer           value RE  $400      born Baden
                      Salome              60                                                               Baden
                      John Jacob       32    butcher                                               Baden
                      Mary                  28                                                                   "
                      William               22                                                                   "
                      Rosa                 18     in school                                                 "
                      Christian             16    in school                                                 "."

3Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". " Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867."

4Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

5Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Apr 2003.

6Ancestry.com, albertson Family tree.


John Jacob WINTERMANTEL

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Madison Co, IA roll #407, Jackson Twsp., 25 Aug 1870. "Wintermantel, John        age 38   Farmer   b.Baden
                      Carolina          36                      Baden   cannot read or write
                      Peter               18                     PA
                      Caroline          16                     IL
                      Frederick         14                     IL
                      Henry               9                      IL
                      Charles            7                       IL
                      Emily                3                       IA
                      John               9/12                   IA (Dec)
Schoeplin, Mary                     73                     Baden." The first five children listed on this census are Carolina's from her first marriage to Peter Lotz.

2Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

3Margaret Ann Jenstad, "K & M Jenstad" , John J. Wintermantel data so far............., an Email dated 29 Apr 2003.

4Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co, WI, Township of Franklin, Post Office White Mound (near Plain), Ancestry p. 9 of 14. "line   30       dwelling  1206       household #1187

Wintermantel, Jacob         age 61    farmer           value RE  $400      born Baden
                      Salome              60                                                               Baden
                      John Jacob       32    butcher                                               Baden
                      Mary                  28                                                                   "
                      William               22                                                                   "
                      Rosa                 18     in school                                                 "
                      Christian             16    in school                                                 "."

5Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". " Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances."

6Census, Federal 1880, Madison Co., Iowa, Jackson twsp  ED 110, p. 36, Jun 1880. "Wintermantel, J.      age 50  head  Farmer    Baden  Baden  Baden   widowed
                       A. R.        12 dau                    IA        Baden  Baden
                       J. W.        10 son                    IA        Baden  Baden
Lotz, C. F.                        16 step-son            IL        Hesse  Baden."

7Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

8Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

9Wintermantel Cemetery, Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa - 18 Jul 1956. "Wintermantle Cemetery

The Wintermantle cemetery is located 6 1/2 miles west of Winterset on the West Star road.  It is strictly a private cemetery, and the earliest graves are not marked, but the earliest stone marked is dated 1871.  It is quite small in size, only about one-half an acre.  There are only five marked graves as follows:

John J. Wintermantle 1825-1894

Caroline, his wife, 1834-1871

Harriet, wife of D. Barber, died October 3, 1873, aged 24 years.

Charles Smith, died February 6, 1894 aged 34 years, 6 months, 17 days.

Prudence, wife of W. A.Taylor died  August 6, 1873, aged 53 YEARS, 9 months, 6 days.  Its inscription below the dates is as follows:

"Dearest mother, rest in quiet sleep
While friends in sorrow oe'r thee weep"

This cemetery is on virgin prairie sod: in the late summer is beautiful with native scariesa and other low, grassy flowers that are seldom seen.  Nearest surviving relative is Mrs. Mary Lotz of Winterset."


Carolina SCHOEPFLIN

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Madison Co, IA roll #407, Jackson Twsp. "Wintermantel, John        age 38   Farmer   b.Baden
                      Carolina          36                      Baden   cannot read or write
                      Peter               18                     PA
                      Caroline          16                     IL
                      Frederick         14                     IL
                      Henry               9                      IL
                      Charles            7                       IL
                      Emily                3                       IA
                      John               9/12                   IA (Dec)
Schoeplin, Mary                     73                     Baden." The first five children listed on this census are Carolina's from her first marriage to Peter Lotz.

2Margaret Ann Jenstad, 9 Mar 2004.

3Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

4Wintermantel Cemetery, Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa - 18 Jul 1956.


John Jacob WINTERMANTEL

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Madison Co, IA roll #407, Jackson Twsp., 25 Aug 1870. "Wintermantel, John        age 38   Farmer   b.Baden
                      Carolina          36                      Baden   cannot read or write
                      Peter               18                     PA
                      Caroline          16                     IL
                      Frederick         14                     IL
                      Henry               9                      IL
                      Charles            7                       IL
                      Emily                3                       IA
                      John               9/12                   IA (Dec)
Schoeplin, Mary                     73                     Baden." The first five children listed on this census are Carolina's from her first marriage to Peter Lotz.

2Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

3Margaret Ann Jenstad, "K & M Jenstad" , John J. Wintermantel data so far............., an Email dated 29 Apr 2003.

4Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co, WI, Township of Franklin, Post Office White Mound (near Plain), Ancestry p. 9 of 14. "line   30       dwelling  1206       household #1187

Wintermantel, Jacob         age 61    farmer           value RE  $400      born Baden
                      Salome              60                                                               Baden
                      John Jacob       32    butcher                                               Baden
                      Mary                  28                                                                   "
                      William               22                                                                   "
                      Rosa                 18     in school                                                 "
                      Christian             16    in school                                                 "."

5Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". " Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances."

6Census, Federal 1880, Madison Co., Iowa, Jackson twsp  ED 110, p. 36, Jun 1880. "Wintermantel, J.      age 50  head  Farmer    Baden  Baden  Baden   widowed
                       A. R.        12 dau                    IA        Baden  Baden
                       J. W.        10 son                    IA        Baden  Baden
Lotz, C. F.                        16 step-son            IL        Hesse  Baden."

7Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

8Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

9Wintermantel Cemetery, Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa - 18 Jul 1956. "Wintermantle Cemetery

The Wintermantle cemetery is located 6 1/2 miles west of Winterset on the West Star road.  It is strictly a private cemetery, and the earliest graves are not marked, but the earliest stone marked is dated 1871.  It is quite small in size, only about one-half an acre.  There are only five marked graves as follows:

John J. Wintermantle 1825-1894

Caroline, his wife, 1834-1871

Harriet, wife of D. Barber, died October 3, 1873, aged 24 years.

Charles Smith, died February 6, 1894 aged 34 years, 6 months, 17 days.

Prudence, wife of W. A.Taylor died  August 6, 1873, aged 53 YEARS, 9 months, 6 days.  Its inscription below the dates is as follows:

"Dearest mother, rest in quiet sleep
While friends in sorrow oe'r thee weep"

This cemetery is on virgin prairie sod: in the late summer is beautiful with native scariesa and other low, grassy flowers that are seldom seen.  Nearest surviving relative is Mrs. Mary Lotz of Winterset."


Eliza A. JAQUISS

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

2Findagrave, http://www.findagrave.com/, internet.

3Margaret Ann Jenstad.

4Margaret Ann Jenstad, 26 Oct 2003.


Paulus HEITZ

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

2Census, Federal 1910, Hutchinson Ward 3, McLeod, Minnesota. "Name: Paul Herty
[Paul Heitz]
[Heitz]
Age in 1910: 71
Birth Year: abt 1839
Birthplace: Switzerland
Home in 1910: Hutchinson Ward 3, McLeod, Minnesota
Race: White
Gender: Male
Immigration Year: 1865
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Rosalie Herty
Father's Birthplace: Switzerland
Mother's Birthplace: Switzerland
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Paul Heitz 71
Rosina Heitz 68
Edith Heitz 26."

3Patsy Clark Email, 17 Mar 2004.


Rosina WINTERMANTEL

1edited by Glazier and Filby, Germans to America, vol 10 p. 88.

2Census, Federal - 1860 - Sauk Co, WI, Township of Franklin, Post Office White Mound (near Plain), Ancestry p. 9 of 14. "line   30       dwelling  1206       household #1187

Wintermantel, Jacob         age 61    farmer           value RE  $400      born Baden
                      Salome              60                                                               Baden
                      John Jacob       32    butcher                                               Baden
                      Mary                  28                                                                   "
                      William               22                                                                   "
                      Rosa                 18     in school                                                 "
                      Christian             16    in school                                                 "."

3Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

4Letter from George Wintermantle to relatives in Germany, from papers received from Paul Wintermantel via Patsy Clark; June 2003. "January 31, 1875

Honey Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Since nearly 10 years have already passed since our emigration to America, and I have not entirely forgotten you who still live at my place of birth, I finally came to the thought to write again to you. Very likely, there are those of our relatives and acquaintances there who still think about us and would like to know how things are going with the Wintermantel family in America. This short report will give you some idea how we have fared.

After a wait of 2 days in New York we journeyed directly to Wisconsin and settled in Honey Creek, Sauk County, where we worked for the first few months for different farmers until August when our father moved a few miles farther and, in September, bought 40 acres of land for $1.00 an acre. Next spring we built a house on this land, and that is where the parents now live.

The first years father broke up 20 to 30 acres of land with the help of Jacob and William planted a vineyard and fruit trees, so that the parents have a pretty nice home. Both are still living. Father is still well and strong for his age. Mother is somewhat frail, but still pretty well. They live in well-to- circumstances and know nothing of want, for their land has produced MANY A GOOD HARVEST of wheat, oats, corn, wine and different vegetables with which you are acquainted too.

The land was still pretty wild when we arrived. The first ones came to this region about 10 years earlier, most of them from Switzerland, others from North Germany and South Germany and from the Alsace, still others from the eastern and southern states. Until 1846, wild people and wild animals were the only inhabitants of this region. And some of the original inhabitants are still present.

Now I will give you a brief report of all our relatives. M. Schmidlins live close by our parents. He had father's farm in rent for several years. but then they bought out an Irishman. The two older daughters are married. Several children were born in America, and several have died. The parents
and the rest of the children are healthy and well. Brother John Jacob was found by Brother William in Memphis in 1860 and then took the train to Wisconsin. He lived for several years with the parents. In 1865 he went to Iowa, bought land, married, sold the land again, moved farther west, bought other land at Winterset, Iowa County, Iowa, where he now lives. He is a widower, but lives in well-to-do circumstances. We never saw anything more of Brother Fredrich. According to J. J. Angaben he died in 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky. Sister Anna Maria has also died. She was married to Rudolf Jager, a
cobbler from Hanover. He died 3 years earlier in 1867. Brother George JACOB lives beside Schmidlin. He was married in 1859 to Agnes Joos, who as a little girl came from Switzerland with her parents. He does little as a cobbler, but in his farming he already has good help from his boys.

During the Civil War George JACOB'S lot came to go into the army, and he went to Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia. He returned to Wisconsin safe and sound at the close of the war. It was hard for him to leave wife and children. He told me that sometimes everything was a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. Brother William enlisted in the army in the beginning of the war. He served 3 years in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment, mostly under General Bloncl in the southwest, in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and in Indian Territory. He was in many battles and bloody situations, and in danger day and night between southern rebels and enemy Indians. In 1865 he moved with John Jacob to Iowa where he bought and sold farms several times, naturally not without profit. But two years ago he moved to Kansas where he again acquired 160 acres of land. Probably, according to law, every soldier with an honorable discharge was entitled to 160 acres of land. He sold a farm in Iowa, I think it was 730 acres. His wife was a daughter of a German preacher from Illinois. Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here.
Brother Christian was also in the war. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment He was in some of the largest battles of the whole war, near Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia and at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. He endured earthshaking cannon fire, he saw blood flow in streams in larger and smaller battles. After his three years of service in the army he came back hom from the war unhurt. After the war he married Mathilda Fei who came with her parents from Prussia to America. In 1867 he sowed 2 acres of hops on Father's land and made more than a thousand dollars from the hops. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the other brothers in Iowa.

Iowa, our western neighbor state, draws the people there because there it is not necessary to make a farm out of woodland like in Wisconsin, in most cases, for there on the large prairies you can see only heaven and grass for hundreds of miles. There the settlers can prepare 40, 50 or 60 acres of the nicest and fattest land with the break-plow and two teams of horses in one summer, and harvest 800, 1000 or 1500 bushels of wheat the next summer, and so with one stroke come to easy street. Of course, it does not always go so -well, but it does in many cases. The harvesting as well as the sowing and threshing is done with machines. Ten horses (5 teams) and 12 to 14 men are used for threshing when the grain and weather are dry, and 400 to 500 bushels of wheat or 700 bushels of oats can be threshed in one day, and in most cases, so well cleaned that it can be taken to the mill or to the market. Of course, the grain is cheap in the west and the workers wages are high. From myself, I cannot report such famous deeds and thrilling experiences.

Not like my brothers, I stayed in the same town and county where we settled in June, 1856. For five years I worked as a hired man for $140 a year. But in 1858 1 already bought 43 acres of land for $315. The following year I bought 20 acres more for $45. These 20 acres are hilly with much timber on them. In 1861 I made the beginning on this piece of land, and with the help of Brother Christian I cleared 8 acres of hazelbrush and burned it all in 8 days. We broke the land with a large plow and 5 yoke of oxen in 4 1/2 days. The next year I already threshed 157 bushels of wheat. The next spring I cleared five acres more on which I immediately planted corn and potatoes. Results were very good.

In December, 1862, I married Charlotte Rose, daughter of Fredrich and Katrina Rose, but after a short marriage of I year and 2 weeks, my dear Charlotte died. Eleven weeks before her death a girl was born whom I turned over to my sister, Salome, for her upbringing. She was a real mother to the dear child until I was married again the following year to Anna Kindschi. She came with her father and relatives from Switzerland to America. With her I have 5 girls. Two are going to school. They are being taught German and English.

On January 13th I received a letter from Brother Christian in Iowa in which he enclosed a letter from you which you sent to Christian Wintermantel in Iowa. Regarding this I wanted to write to you, and had a letter ready when I received 2 other letters from him, one was from you and one from my mother's oldest sister, Kathrina, very likely written by her daughter, Kathrina. The next morning I brought them to my parents and read them to them in the presence of their daughter, Salome, and the young Schmidlin. These 2 letters surprised us, and brought joy, but also sorrow. We blamed ourselves for great carelessness, that for such a long time we did not write to you, and if I should give the reason, I would not know what to say. After the letters were read, father gave me $10 which I was to send to my mother's oldest sister. But if she should not be living any more, one half of it shall go to Rosina, the other sister of my mother, but the other half to go to the oldest sister's daughter, Kathrina.

Now I could come to a close, but I cannot send empty paper to Germany. I will, therefore, write something about the price of land. Last spring a farm of 120 acres was sold in our neighborhood for $2,700. It is almost all level land, but perhaps 50 acres is usable, the other is woods. But the land is all fertile. Another farm of 200 acres, with 80 acres under plow was sold for $4,250. On it was a 2 story stone house which cost $1,200.

Now I shall also write something of the conditions of the state and church, but there isn't enough room. Finally, a hearty greeting from us all to you all. Next spring I want to write another letter, God willing. When you write again tell us how many gulden you received for the $10. Our address is,

George Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.". "Sister Rosina was married in October, 1861, and lives in Minnesota since 1865. This state is west of Wisconsin. And the place where Rosina lives with her husband, Paul Heiz, is probably 300 miles from here."

5Census, Federal 1910, Hutchinson Ward 3, McLeod, Minnesota. "Name: Rosina Heitz

Age in 1910: 68
Birth Year: abt 1842
Birthplace: Germany
Home in 1910: Hutchinson Ward 3, McLeod, Minnesota
Race: White
Gender: Female
Immigration Year: 1865
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Paul Heitz
Father's Birthplace: Germany
Mother's Birthplace: Germany
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Paul Heitz   71
Rosina Heitz 68
Edith Heitz 26."

6Patsy Clark Email, 17 Mar 2004.

7Patsy Clark Email, 17 Mar 2004.


George John Jacob HEITZ

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

2Patsy Clark Email, 17 Mar 2004.


Jacob WINTERMANTEL

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, Ancestry p. 19 of 20. "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

2Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p.1 of 21, Jun 1880. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

3Census, Federal - 1900 - Sioux Co, Iowa, Lincoln Twso, City of Hull, ED# 138. "Name: Jacob Wintermantle
Birthplace: Wisconsin
Home in 1900: Lincoln, Sioux, Iowa
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Amelia Wintermantle
Marriage Year: 1886
Years Married: 14
Father's Birthplace: Germany
Mother's Birthplace: Germany
Occupation: Dry Goods Salesman
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Jacob Wintermantle
Amelia Wintermantle 36
Emmet A Wintermantle 10
Anna Buttka 23 - sister-in-law      occ: dressmaker."

4Census, Federal - 1910 - Sauk, WI, Prairie du Sac Village, p. 1 line 40, Ancestry.com. "Jacob Wintermantel  age 78   m 50 yrs        immigrated 1849/naturalized   Ger   Ger   Ger
agnes                               73       50        9 children born/8 living                  Swiz Swiz  Swiz."

5Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain.

6Margaret Ann Jenstad. received via Karen Rose Ladd, 29Apr 2014.

7Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

8IA Genweb, Gravestone Photo Project.

9Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.


Amelia Johanne Helene BUTTKE

1Census, Federal - 1900 - Sioux Co, Iowa, Lincoln Twso, City of Hull, ED# 138.

2Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

3Obituary, unknown newspaper. "Mrs. Wintermantel Dies in Iowa

Mrs. Jacob Wintermantel passed away at her home in Hull, Iowa, Monday, January 26, 1931, aged 67 years, eight months and three days.  The deceased was unitedd in marriage to Jacob Wintermantel, a brother of John Wintermantel and Mrs. August Mellentine of this city, March 17, 1886, at Baraboo, Wis.  She was born in Posen, Germany and came to this country at the age of nine years and resided in Hull, Iowa since 1888.  Her funeral services were held Thursday, January 29.  Mrs. August Mellentine of this city, Mrs. Felix Sprecher of Troy and Geo. Wintermantel and Mrs. Jessie Coles of Reedsburg attended the funeral." In folder received from Ruth Hehenberger Nov 2012.

4Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

5Census, Federal - 1900 - Sioux Co, Iowa, Lincoln Twso, City of Hull, ED# 138.

6Obituary.

7Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel.

8Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.


Arthur Benjamin WINTERMANTLE

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.


Albert Culp HUDSON

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

2Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.

3Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.


Salome WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, Ancestry p. 19 of 20. "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

2Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p. 1 of 21. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

3Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

4Obituary, unknown newspaper. "Mrs. Salome Hudson Dies at 93

Mrs. Salome Hudson, 93, died Thursday morning at her home here.  She was born on July 30, 1862 in Bear Valley.

Surviving are her daughter, Mrs. Jessie Cowles, Reedburg: asister, Mrs. Fred Sprecher, Black Hawk; two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Four brothers and trwo sisters preceded her in death.

Funeral services were held on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Phelps Funeral Home.  The Rev. S. J. Lambright officiated and burial was in the Greenwood cemetery.

Here for the Funeral

Among those from out of town who attended the funeral of Mrs.Salome Hudson on Saturday were Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Wolff, Watertown; Mr. and Mrs. G. F. Wolff, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Wolff, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Henry, Madison; Zane Hudson, Sheldon, Ia.; Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Bergman, Elizabeth, Ill.;  Mr. and Mrs. Fred Sprecher, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Sorg, Mr. and Mrs. Cecil McCready, Spring Green; Mr. and Mrs. Carl Litscher, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Sprecher, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Sprecher, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Hehenberger, Sauk City; Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Riebe, George Wintermantel, Mrs. Oscar Becker, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Moely, Miss May Sprecher, Mrs. Meta Schaefer,  Mr. and Mrs. John Clavadatscher, Mrs. Rose Rahlmeyer, Fred Wintermantel, Prairie du Sac; Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Conkle, Arlington; Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Steuber, Lodi." In folder received from Ruth Hehenberger Nov 2012
A second obituary lists the city as "Reedsburg"
A third obituary contains the sentence, "On Dec. 2, 1885 she was married to Albert Culp Hudson of Lodi".

5Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.

6Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.


John WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, Ancestry p. 19 of 20. "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

2Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p. 1 of 21. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

3Census, Federal - 1910 - Sauk, WI, Prairie du Sac Village, Ancestry p.12, 22 Apr 1910, Ancestry.com. "Line 68         Dwelling # 188     Family # 174     6th St.

Wintermantel, John            head       age  43  m 1st 17 yrs    WI    GER    Swit    occ:  clerk/general store
                      Emma E.     wife                 43  m 1st 17 yrs    WI    Swit     Swit    5 chil b/5 liivng
                      George B.   son                 16  s                      WI    WI       WI
                      Caraline S.  dau                 13  s                         same
                      Agnes E      dau                 10  s                          "
                      Ella     M.     dau                 6   s                             "
                      Lillie    A.     dau                  4   s                            "
Ragatz, Caroline             mother-in-law     79  w                     Ger    Ger   Ger    imm: 1842      6 chil b/5 living."

4Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.

5Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI - Prairie du Sac, ED141, Jun 1900. "Wintermantel, John         head  b. Aug 1867    age 32     m. 8yrs   WI   Ger   Switz   drygoods salesman  owns free
                       Emma       wife       Dec  1867           32          8        WI  Switz  Ger    3 CH born/3 living
                       George B  son        Dec 1893             6                     WI  WI     WI
                       Carline      dau       Aug  1896            3                     WI  WI     WI
                       Agnes       dau        Nov 1899      6/12                      WI   WI    WI
Ragatz, Carolina  mother-in-law   Oct 1830             69   widow       Ger."

6Ancestry.com, Giese-LaTomme Family Tree.

7Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI - Prairie du Sac.

8Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.

9Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI - Prairie du Sac.

10Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.


Emma Elizabeth RAGATZ

1Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI - Prairie du Sac, ED 141, Jun 1900. "Wintermantel, John         head  b. Aug 1867    age 32     m. 8yrs   WI   Ger   Switz   drygoods salesman  owns free
                       Emma       wife       Dec  1867           32          8        WI  Switz  Ger    3 CH born/3 living
                       George B  son        Dec 1893             6                     WI  WI     WI
                       Carline      dau       Aug  1896            3                     WI  WI     WI
                       Agnes       dau        Nov 1899      6/12                      WI   WI    WI
Ragatz, Carolina  mother-in-law   Oct 1830             69   widow       Ger."

2Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

3Census, Federal - 1910 - Sauk, WI, Prairie du Sac Village, Ancestry p.12, 22 Apr 1910, Ancestry.com. "Line 68         Dwelling # 188     Family # 174     6th St.

Wintermantel, John            head       age  43  m 1st 17 yrs    WI    GER    Swit    occ:  clerk/general store
                      Emma E.     wife                 43  m 1st 17 yrs    WI    Swit     Swit    5 chil b/5 liivng
                      George B.   son                 16  s                      WI    WI       WI
                      Caraline S.  dau                 13  s                         same
                      Agnes E      dau                 10  s                          "
                      Ella     M.     dau                 6   s                             "
                      Lillie    A.     dau                  4   s                            "
Ragatz, Caroline             mother-in-law     79  w                     Ger    Ger   Ger    imm: 1842      6 chil b/5 living."

4Ancestry.com, Giese-LaTomme Family Tree.

5Ancestry.com, Giese-La Tomme Family Tree.

6Census, Federal - 1900 - Sauk Co., WI - Prairie du Sac.

7Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information.


Felix SPRECHER

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

2Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, obituary from unknown news paper, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information. "Felix Sprecher Passes Away Last Friday

Felix Sprecher, son of the late Andrew and Wilhelmina Sprecher, was born in Black Hawk in the town  of Troy, March 21, 1869, and died at his home in Prairie du Sac, Friday, June 20, 1941, at the age of 72 years and three months. he grew to manhood in the community of his birth and lived there all his life until ill health forced him to lay down his labors and retire to Prairie du Sac in 1932.
Mr. Sprecher was converted in the days of his youth and united with the Evangelical church, of which he was a faithful  member until his death. He took an active interest in his church, holding responsible offices in both the Sunday school and the church. He was also active in community interests. having at one time been a member of the school board.
On February 11, 1897, he was united in marriage to Sarah Wintermantel.  This union was blessed with three daughters, the youngest of whom, Florence, died att the age of two and one-half years.
For more than a year he had been confined to his bed, and was called upon to suffer much until the time of his release.  During those trying days he was sustained by the grace of God, and by the loving and patient care of the loved ones of his home.
He leaves to mourn his departure his sorrowing wife and two daughters, Mrs. Carl Litscher of Honey Creek and Miss May Sprecher at home, one sister, Mrs. Hattie Raschein of Baraboo, two brothers, Fred Sprecher of Black Hawk and Andrew C. Sprecher of Honey Creek, and four grandchildren, Marion, Doris, Lenard and David Litscher and many other relatives.  Two brothers and two sisters preceded him in death.
Servant of old, well done!
Thy glorious warfare's past,
The battle's fought,
The race is won,
And thou art crowned at last.
Funeral services were held at the local Evangelical chuurch on Monday afternoon, the Rev. C. A. Bender officiating.
Mrs. W. A. Schoephorster sang "Shadows" and "Sunrise." Pall bearers were six nephews - Wilbert Sprecher, Clarence Sprecher, Melvin Sprecher, Roy Sprecher, Florian Raschein and Geo. B. Wintermantel.  Burial was made at the Black Hawk cemetery.
Sympathy is extended to the bereaved family and other relatives."

3Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.


Sarah WINTERMANTLE

1Census, Federal - 1880 - Sauk Co, WI, Twsp of Franklin, ED# 251, p. 1 of 21. "Line 34           Dwellin # 8                Household # 8

Schmiedlin, Matheas       ae 59       Farmer           Prussia   Prussia   Prussia
                  Salomea            57       wife                    "             "             "
                  Matheas            27       son                     "             "             "      Occ: Farmer
                  Christian             19       son                  WI            "              "               Works on farm

line 38            Dwelling # 9              Household # 9

Wintermantel, Salomea        80      Ol Age             Prussia   Prussia   Prussia       disabled box is checked

line 39            Dwelling # 10           Household # 10

Wintermantel, Jacob           47        Farmer         Prussia      Prussia     Prussia
                      Agnes          42         wife             Switz         Switz        Switz
                      Jacob          19         son              WI             Prussia     Switz   health issue:  Dyspepsia
                      Salomea       17        dau                                     same   
                       Wilhelm        15         son                                       "
                      Johann         13         son                                       "                                     
                       Sarah            11        dau                                       "
                      Maria              9         dau                                       "
                      Geoge F.        7         son                                       "
                      Christian         5         son                                       "
                      Rosina A.       2         dau                                       "."

2Census, Federal - 1870 - Sauk CO, WI, Twsp of Franklin, PO Plain, Ancestry p. 19 of 20. "Line 25         Dwelling # 144       Household  #134

Smitty, Matthew    age 49    Farm Laborer    value PE $400     born: Bavaria
          Sarah                48                                                                      "
          Mathew             18   Farm Laborer                                              "
          Christian            11                                                                   WI
          Catherine            4                                                                   WI
line 30                                                   Household # 135

Wintermantle, Jacob    70   Farmer         Value RE $600  PE $150    Bavaria
                      Sally      70                                                                      "

line 32         Dwelling # 145               Household # 136

Wintermantle, Jacob Jr. 38  Farmer       Value RE $1200  PE $500   Bavaria
                     Agnes      33                                                                Switzerland
                     Jacob       10                                                                     WI
                     Sally           8                                                                     WI
                     William       6                                                                     WI
                     John          4                                                                      WI
                     Sarah        2                                                                      WI."

3Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856, unpublished, obituary, Marilyn Arnold, 3 Fraust Circle, Madison,WI 53711. a collection of loose papers in a yellow folder.  The papers include drawings by Doris Litscher Gasser, copies of photos, obituaries, and genealogic information. "Mrs. Sarah Sprecher Dies in Prairie du Sac

Mrs. Sarah Sprecher, 86, resident of Prairie du Sac for the past 23 years, passed away at her home on Thursday afternoon.
Surviving Mrs. Sprecher are two daughters, Mrs. Carl Litscher of the town of Honey Creek, and May, at home; four grandchildren; two sisters, Mrs. Salome Hudson of Reedsburg and Mrs. Fred Sprecher of Black Hawk, and many other relatives and friends.  Her husband, Felix, passed away 14 years ago.
Funeral services for Mrs. Sprecher were held Sunday afternoon at the EUB church in Prairie du Sac, of which she was a member, with the Rev. James Verduin officiating.  Burial was made in nthe Black Hawk cemetery."

4Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.

5Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.

6Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.

7Doris Litcher Gasser, Wintermantels Bound for America 1856.


Florence SPRECHER

1Jan Bender, Patsy Clark, Julie Edwards, and Margaret Ann Jenstad; about 2002, Descendants of John Jacob Wintermantel, Copy in Personal Files of Dianne Z. Stevens.