Henrich Widener and Catharina (Moll) Weidener- Tombstones
These original tombstones for Henrich Weidner and his wife Catharina Moll are in the Newton Historical Museum, Catawba County, North Carolina. They are carved out of soapstone native to the area, and were, of course, hand carved after the deaths of Henrich and Catharina, in 1792 and 1804, respectively. Soapstone is easy to carve, but also deteriorates easily. The Catawba County Weidner family donated the original headstones to the county historical society, to protect them from the elements as well as from vandalism. They have been replaced with copies where the Wideners were originally buried near Jacob’s Fork River.
The person who carved the stones used every inch of the stone, sometimes breaking a word with a few letters placed on the next line. The stones were carved in German, the language Henrich and his family probably spoke much of the time, especially in their early years in the colonies.
Closeup of Henrich Weidner’s Headstone (click to enlarge)
Translation of headstones:
Henrich We-
idner was
born in
year 1717 on
19 Octob-
er and is d-
ead in y-
ear 1792 on
31 July an-
d is age wa-
s 75 year-
s and 7 mo-
nths
ATMC= (Unknown)
Catharina We-
idner was b-
orn in ye-ar 1733 on 24 M-
ay and is de-
ad on 26 A-
ugust 1804 and
is age was 7[1]
years 7 months
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Images taken by James Whitener, July 2014, in the Newton Historical Museum, Catawba County, North Carolina.
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog, James Whitener, and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Heinrich Weidener Oak Tree Representation in the History Museum of Catawba County, Newton, NC. (Click to enlarge.)
This blog’s co-editor, Jim Whitener, has had a life-long wish to visit his ancestral lands in North Carolina. He finally fulfilled that dream recently with a trip to Catawba County that included his ever-so-genealogically-patient wife, their children, and grandchildren. He promises to share more of his trip (once he settles down from the awe and excitement? ;D), but I wanted to start it off with a few images.
The German immigrant Heinrich Weidener and his wife Catharina Moll were married in Pennsylvania and migrated to Catawba County, North Carolina, by 1750. Heinrich’s name, of course, has many spellings, including Henrich Widner and Henry Widener. No matter how you spell it, make sure you pronounce that ‘W’ as a ‘V’ like the Germans would, and make the last name be just two syllables.
These pictures are of the “Henry Widener Oak” in the History Museum of Catawba County in Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina.
Heinrich Weidener Oak Tree Representation in the History Museum of Catawba County, Newton, NC- closeup. (Click to enlarge.)
The artist included the family names of the many Weidner descendants.
Heinrich Weidener Oak Tree Representation in the History Museum of Catawba County, Newton, NC- closeup. (Click to enlarge.)
Sorry that the above picture is a bit blurry- too much zoom or too much excitement?
We genealogists are just so weird.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Images taken by James Whitener, July 2014.
2) Catawba County Museum of History: http://www.catawbahistory.org/catawba_county_museum_of_history.php
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm, and James Whitener.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Children of Newton Whitener and Sophia (Whitener) Whitener – (from left) Hazel Whitener, John Whitener, Birdie Caroline Whitener, 1907
Siblings often depend on each other throughout their lifetime, especially in previous eras. They would migrate together, work together, pray together, play together, and even raise children together.
Fredericktown, Madison County, Missouri 1904
The story goes that Sophie nee/Whitener Whitener (Yes, her maiden name was Whitener and she was a cousin to her husband.) delivered her last baby in September of 1904.
The child John Newton Whitener was very tiny. There is no recorded birth weight but it is apparent that he was premature. It is said that a small teacup would easily fit over his head.
Sophie was ill and had the premonition that she would not survive. She had also lost three other children that had deceased early in their lives. (This was in addition to five other children that grew to adulthood. It was a total of nine recorded children after her marriage in September 11, 1881.)
It is said that she called for her sister in law, Mary Whitener Sitzes, and gave the baby to her. “Mary, I want you to raise Johnnie. I don’t think you will.” (This was because of the baby’s tiny size- his survival was unlikely.)
John and Mary Whitener Sitzes accepted that challenge. They lived about three miles outside of Marquand, Madison County, Missouri.
On a cold November day in 1904 with heated stones to provide warmth for the child in an open buggie/wagon, John and Mary carried John Whitener from Fredricktown, Missouri, to Marquand, Missouri (15 miles) and then to their home (3 miles further). There they raised John.
Sophia Elizabeth (Whitener) Whitener, 1904
Sophie Whitener died 14 Nov 1904, two months after John’s birth.
John called Mary and John Sitzes “Mom” and “Dad,” but he knew that Newton Whitener was his biological father.
Newton Frederick Whitener (widower of Sophie) raised his other children but never questioned Sophie’s wish.
John Whitener, 1906
I believe that my brothers and I owe our very existence to the love the Aunt Mary Sitzes poured out on my dad, John Whitener.
By James Richard Whitener
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) John Newton Whitener was born on 15 Sep 1904, and lived to be 67 years old.
2) Family oral tradition per Ethel Underwood Whitener.
10) The Whitener Family from 1717 to 1965 – Vol. II – by Virginia Whitener Crowe and Fletcher Standefer Crowe (p. 42).
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog, pmm, and James R. Whitener.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Grave site of Charles Underwood – Old Trace Creek Church Cemetery, Bollinger County, Missouri
Armistice Day
Ethel Underwood Whitener always remembered where she had been on 11-11-11. (That was the 11th month, the 11th day and the 11th hour, 1918).
As a fourteen year old girl, she was walking across the field from her home down toward her grandparents home. This is probably a 20 minute walk on a pleasant day. At 11 A.M. the Old Trace Creek Church bells tolled indicating the signing of the Armistice. Although this was in Bollinger County, southeast Missouri, and in the US central time zone, it was a celebration of an event that had occurred earlier in France which officially ended World War I.
Just a few days before that she had been one of those who mourned at the burial of her uncle – Charles Underwood (1888-1918). He was a casualty of the Great Influenza Epidemic. His body had been returned to his home after service in the US Army. There had not been too many people at that service because of fear in the community of the contagion of the disease.
When she got to her grandparents’ home, her grandmother Elizabeth Adeline (Rickman) Underwood was standing on the porch. She said, “They won’t get any more of my boys.”
(Elizabeth was the mother of Emroe, Will, John, Zach and Charles Underwood. Ethel was the oldest daughter of Will and Nellie.)
By James Richard Whitener
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Whitener family oral history
2) Elizabeth Adeline (Rickman) Underwood on Find A Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5822248.
3) The “Spanish Flu” or “La grippe”outbreaks of 1918-1919 were more deadly than war. WWI caused the death of an estimated 16 million persons; the flu pandemic, however, killed over 50 million people worldwide, or one-fifth of the population. Young adults, a population normally not as widely affected by such viruses, were hit very hard by this influenza, as were the young and elderly. Over 25% of the US population was affected by this flu (ten times as many as were lost in “The Great War”, and life expectancy in this country decreased by 12 years in 1918. One half of the American soldiers lost in WWI died from influenza, not the enemy, as did Charles Underwood. Funerals were often regulated by the public health system to only 15 minutes, to avoid further spread of the disease.
“The Deadly Virus. The Influenza Epidemic of 1918.” A National Archives Exhibition (online). http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/. Accessed 11-12-13.
“The Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/. Accessed 11-12-13.
4) Photo: Grave site of Charles Underwood – Old Trace Creek Church Cemetery, Bollinger County, Missouri.
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog, jrw & pmm.
