Weidner Robinson Cemetery, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina. (Click to enlarge.)
A recent visit to the Weidner Robinson Cemetery was an opportunity to see the burial spot of Henrich and Catharina Weidner, as well as their replaced tombstones. To keep the ravages of time, weather, and vandals at bay, the original tombstones were moved to the Newton Historical Museum, Catawba County, North Carolina. (See last week’s Tombstone Tuesday: Heinrich and Catharina Weidner.)
Their replacement stones have the original German inscriptions, although in a more readable way than just getting every letter possible on each line with words broken between lines.
Henrich Weidner- Replaced Tombstone in German. Weidner Robinson Cemetery, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina. (Click to enlarge.)
English versions of the inscriptions were added to the other side of the replacement tombstone.
Henrich Weidner- Replaced Tombstone in English. Weidner Robinson Cemetery, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina. (Click to enlarge.)
Catharina’s replacement tombstone is also in German on one side.
Catharina Mull Widener- Replaced Tombstone in German. Weidner Robinson Cemetery, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina. (Click to enlarge.)
The other side also features an English inscription.
Catharina Mull Widner- Replaced Tombstone in English. Weidner Robinson Cemetery, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina. (Click to enlarge.)
Weidner Robinson Cemetery also includes a stone with information concerning the family history of the Henrich Weidner-Catharina Mull family.
Weidner Monument with Family History. Weidner Robinson Cemetery, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina. (Click to enlarge.)
Thankfully it is all in English.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Heritage Ramblings post on the original Weidner stones- https://heritageramblings.net/2014/08/05/tombstone-tuesday-heinrich-and-catharina-weidner/
2) All photos taken by James R. Whitener, July, 2014.
3) Weidner Robinson Cemetery on Find A Grave- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2227187&CScn=weidner+robinson&CScntry=4&CSst=29&CScnty=1668&
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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Map of North Carolina highlighting Catawba County. Wikimedia, public domain.
Catawba County, North Carolina, previously a northern part of Lincoln County, was formed in 1842. Those with ancestors in Catawba Co. might also want to search records for adjacent counties, as the area had also been a part of Bladen County until 1750, Anson County 1750-1753, Rowan County 1753-1777, and Burke County, 1777-1782. Catawba County is located in North Carolina’s Piedmont, in the western portion of the state.
Catawba County sits amidst ridges and rolling hills in the northern section, and flatter areas in the south, with the Appalachian Mountains off to the west, and the coastal plain as one heads east. It is rich with waterways, important for early colonists for many reasons, including transportation.
Homestead of Heinrich Widener descendants, near Heinrich’s original homestead, Catawba County, North Carolina.
Named after the Catawba Indians who roamed the area in the early years, German settlers migrated there in the late 1740s, as did English and Scots-Irish families. The Northern Irish Presbyterians, ‘Orangemen,’ Scot-Irish, English, and Scottish immigrants settled mostly in the southeast portion of what is now Catawba County.
Homestead of Heinrich Widener descendants, near Heinrich’s original homestead, Catawba County, North Carolina.
The higher section of the county was similar to the Rhine Valley of French Germany, and many of the German families migrated to this area. They would have not been as homesick, perhaps, living here, and would have known the crops and animals that would thrive in such an area. The Germans included Rhenish Palatines, Swiss, Saxon, and other groups. Their religions included Lutheran, Mennonite, Moravian, Dunkard, Reformed, Anabaptist, and other Protestant sects.
Many of these settlers later moved to Southeast Missouri, which is what happened in our line of Whiteners.
Catawba County was the home of Heinrich Widner and his wife, Catharina Moll. The couple were German immigrants who married in Pennsylvania, but, like many, migrated to the Carolinas by 1750, probably using the Great Wagon Road. They would have submitted their land claim to the Crown through the Governor.
Henry Whitner Land Grants. Excerpted from NCGenWeb. Note the Mull families nearby- possibly a relationship with Catharina (Moll) Widner?
The land is still owned by Widner descendants- one generation after another has inherited the Widner land, which has never been sold after receiving the original land grant.
Henrich and his wife settled near a spring to have fresh water. That same spring feeds the above lake on property owned by his descendants.
The French & Indian Wars were occurring regularly during this early settlement, and the families would have been very isolated due to frequent raids and depredations along the frontier. The American Revolution influenced those in this area as well- battles at King’s Mountain, Cowpens, and Ramsours Mill would have taken their sons, their livestock and crops, and caused much hardship among the settlers.
It most probably was not as romantic a time as seen in the movies. But the colonists persevered, and descendants now can walk their paths in Catawba County, North Carolina.
Notes, Sources, and References:
Please Note: As stated above, the Weidner homestead and cemetery are on privately owned land. The original Weidner headstones have been moved to protect them and may be seen at the museum of the Historical Association of Catawba County; see http://catawbahistory.org/museum-of-history for more information. Also, the Weidner-Robinson Cemetery has been recorded on Find A Grave and 86% of the stones have been photographed- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2227187&CScnty=1668&CSsr=201&
Photos by James Whitener, taken on his family trip to Catawba County, NC, July, 2014.
Don’t forget our search box if you want to learn more about this family!
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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog 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.
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.
The Payne Family. From left, Ninetta Wiley Eames Payne; little Maude McMurray & young Edward McMurray, Lynette Payne McMurray’s children; Lynette in front and her father, Edward B. Payne, in back. Taken at Wake Robin Lodge, Glen Ellen, California, c1907. (Click to enlarge.)
It is fitting to add this post today, on the anniversary of Edward B. Payne’s birthday, July 25, 1847.
Sorry that I haven’t been posting much due to real life, which sometimes interferes with genealogy. 😉
I have also recently had an article about Edward B. Payne (fondly known as EBP in our house) published in The Russian River Recorder, Spring 2014, Issue 124, which is the journal of the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society, Sonoma County, California. The article took a lot of time to write, mostly because I was supposed to distill this complex man and his long life into 1200 words. I just couldn’t do it. I was so happy that they expanded the issue and I was able to use 1500 words. I will be posting the article soon.
The Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society currently has a wonderful exhibit called “Visionaries, Believers, Seekers, and Schemers: 19th Century Utopian Communities of Sonoma County.” The community founded by Edward B. Payne, “Altruria,” although short-lived, was “… a glorious failure” according to some writers. The Russian River Recorder has four articles about Altruria, plus numerous articles about the other three Utopian communities founded in Sonoma in the late 1800s. They are a very interesting read.
There were no known images of Altruria, as far as my research or that of others, until I contacted the Huntington Museum a couple of years ago. In some of Charmian London’s scrapbooks, the archivist found two images of Altruria. I requested a copy of the whole page, to get the images in context, and was surprised to see that there was also one image torn from the page- I would love to know more about that missing image! (I would be matching up the torn back of any loose photos with the remains in the scrapbook, but alas, the archivist states there are no loose photos.) These images too will get posted here on the blog, but I do need to get permission from the Huntington first; they did give their kind permission to publish in the journal above. It has been exciting to email back and forth with curators, archivists, and librarians for this research. They are all unsung heroes in my mind.
Edward B. Payne lecture advertisement. Possibly c1920, October 9. (Click to enlarge.)
When Edward B. Payne could no longer preach due to his ‘pulmonary affliction’ (he acquired tuberculosis when he lived in New England), he earned a little income from lectures he provided throughout the Bay Area of California.
Lots more to come on EBP.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) The Healdsburg Museum has a wonderful exhibit of the four Sonoma County Utopian communities through Aug. 3, 2014, plus their June 2014 The Russian River Recorder details these communities. See http://www.healdsburgmuseum.org for more information. They are planning an online video tour of the exhibit, so watch for that soon.
2) Images from family photo archives.
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog 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.
