Wolterman Genealogy - Week 3

My husband’s paternal great-great-grandfather was Johann (John) Gerhard Woltermann. As mentioned previously, the name was spelled Woltermann in Germany. That is also the way it was spelled on the ship manifest when the Woltermanns emigrated in 1868. But the family seemed to drop the second “n” in America.

John was born 24 June 1829 in Stapelmoorheide, Ostfriesland, Germany to Gerrit Jans and Helena (Boze) Woltermann. He was baptized 28 June 1829 in Stapelmoorheide. John’s sister, Antje, was born in 1832.

Anna and John with family ~1886

On 6 May 1856, John married Anna Klaasen in Stapelmoorheide. He was 26 years old, and Anna was 21. Their first four children - Helena, Gerhard, Peter, and Gertrude - were born in Germany, while the last two - Anna and John - were born in the United States. I discussed their emigration to America in 1868 in the previous post, which can be found here. John was 39 and Anna 34 when they made the journey. The children were 11, 9, 6, and 1.

In the 1870 census, John and his family were living in Forreston, Ogle County, Illinois. John is shown to be employed as a carpenter. His 72 year-old mother Helena was living with them, as well as Anna’s mother Gertrude Peters, age  62. It is interesting that while I found a birth record in Germany for Anna Klaasen that lists Gertrude Peters as her mother, no father was indicated on the record. The fact that her name is listed as Gertrude Peters could mean that she never married Anna's father.

John and Anna's daughter, also named Anna, was born in Illinois about 1874. Their son John was born in Carroll County, Iowa in 1876. Obviously they moved from Illinois to Iowa between 1874 and 1876.

In the 1880 census the family was living in Wheatland Township, Carroll County, Iowa, where John was farming. His mother, Helena was still living with them at this time, but his mother-in-law was not. This is the only census that their daughter Anna appears in as she was born about 1874. Since she is not in the photograph above and I cannot find any other records on her, I'm guessing Anna died sometime between the 1880 census and the time this picture was taken.

John and Anna's farm in Iowa

Anna died 31 October 1901 in Breda. She was 67 years old. John died at the age of 78 on 30 November 1907, also  in Breda. They are buried in Saint Bernard Cemetery in Breda.

Anna and John's graves