Wester family history

Acknowledgements

This history of the Wester family grew out of a project that Joseph Ferdinand Klein, a great-grandson of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester, started in the mid 1950s.  In its present form, this history is the result of the combined efforts, over many years, of a number of Wester cousins.

Special thanks to: Clare (Weyker) Engelhard, Ambrose Wester, Eugene Wester, Gertrude (Wester) Haines, Francesca (Wester) Carlson, Henry and Viola (Weiland) Wester, Olga (Wester) Schueller, Bea (Wester) Krier, James Wester, Joanne (Berns) Kita, Mildred (Madi) Giacinto, Elaine (Cloos) Williams, David and Virginia (James) Baker, Mike Stoffel, and all those other relatives who shared information and family pictures. Anita Kultgen Becker has also been very helpful as has the staff of the LDS (Mormon) Family History Center in Reno, Nevada.

Introduction

The information in this family history has been drawn from a host of written records including the 18^th and 19^th Century birth, marriage, and death records of the Communes of Bertrange and Dippach in Luxembourg, the vital records and land deeds at the courthouses in Port Washington and Sheboygan, the old parish registers of the Roman Catholic churches of  Sts. Peter and Paul at Bertrange in Luxembourg, St. Mary's at Lake Church, Holy Cross, St. Mary's at Port Washington and St. Nicholas at Dacada, census records, newspaper files, microfilm and other sources at the Port Washington Public Library, the Wisconsin State Historical Society at Madison, and at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and last but not least, gravestone inscriptions in the cemeteries at Holy Cross, Lake Church, Port Washington, and Dacada.

This genealogy report is the result of all this effort. This is a preliminary edition which J. W. and Mary T. Diederich prepared for distribution at the Wester family reunion at Belgium on July 10, 1994. It is by no means complete. The records at the Ozaukee County Courthouse and elsewhere have yet to be searched in order to fill in some of the gaps.

Although this report may not be updated, we welcome your corrections, changes, and suggestions. Please email: familyhistory007@gmail.com

Origin of the name

We do not know the origin of the name.  Westers are found throughout Northern Europe, especially in Sweden.  In the old church records of Bertrange and Dippach, the name is spelled both Vester and Wester.

Historical Background

Marguerithe Michels Wester, the widow of Michel Wester, and her seven surviving children came to the United States together aboard the ship, "Anna Elise", which arrived at the Port of New York on 17 May 1854. She had been born 3 March 1805 at Bertrange in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Nicolas and Marie (Drees) Michels. Her husband, Michel, had died ten years earlier, on 23 February 1844, at age 48, at Bertrange. Bertrange is a small agricultural village of about 1,100 people located less than three miles west of the City of Luxembourg.

Why did the Wester family pull up their roots and leave their friends and relatives to undertake a difficult and hazardous journey to a strange new land? The short answer is that they may have faced starvation, were desperate, and emigration was by far their best option.

During the late 1890s, Mrs. Kate Asaphine Everest Levi, who held a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin, wrote a paper entitled Geographical Origin of German Immigration to Wisconsin. Her paper was published by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in 1898 in Wisconsin Historical Collections, v. 14. Pages 374–379 describe Luxembourg and the events which led thousands of its citizens to migrate from there, many of whom settled in Wisconsin.

Another excellent source is Nicholas Gonner's book entitled Die Luxemburger in der Neuen Welt, which was published at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1889. About 25 years ago, we made copies of the relevant pages from the book held by the library at Marquette University and laboriously translated the Gothic text. Since then, an edited English language version has become available. The re-edition, Luxembourgers in the New World, was published in 1987 by Jean Ensch, Jean-Claude Muller, and Robert E. Owen, the three editors. It is an excellent book with much new material and a complete index of Gonner's newspaper, Luxemburger Gazette, which was published between 1871 and 1918.

Much of what follows is taken from these two works, and where they gave their sources, these are cited.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a small country (999 square miles) in Western Europe, bounded on the west and north by Belgium's Luxembourg province, on the east by West Germany's Rhineland province, and on the south by that portion of France called "Lorraine". It is 62 miles from top to bottom and 37 miles across at its widest point. Despite its small size, the eastern part of Luxembourg is closely connected to Germany in culture and language, while the western portion is tied to France and Belgium.

Within the country, Luxembourg is called the "Grand-Duche de Luxembourg", but to be consistent, we will use the English form: the "Grand Duchy of Luxembourg". Similarly, we will refer to "Belgique" as "Belgium" and "Deutschland" as "Germany". Incidentally, a hundred years ago, the local form was Grossherzogtum Luxembourg because German was then the official language; today it is French. Thus, Bertrange is the "French" name of the community from which the Westers migrated to Wisconsin. The German form is "Bertringen".

Luxembourg is situated on the eastern slope of the Ardennes Mountains. It is hilly and well-forested. Industry, agriculture, cattle-raising, and iron-mining are the principal occupations. The northern wedge, which consists of broad tracts of table land with an unfruitful soil and sparse population, is known as the "Oesling"; the southern portion bears the name of "Gutland". Gutland, as its name implies, is a more fruitful region, with rich fields, well-watered meadows, and a denser population. The Moselle drains the country; and along its banks, as in the Rhineland, the wine vine grows in abundance.

Belgium's Province of Luxembourg is larger than the Grand Duchy: 1,705 square miles. The terrain is similar. Iron-mining, slate-quarrying, and agriculture are the principal occupations.

Although French is the official language, most Luxembourgers prefer to converse in the "Letzeburg" dialect, a branch of the Moselle Frankish form of middle-high German. It is strong and irregular by reason of the peculiar pronunciation of the diphthongs and is colored with neighboring idioms, especially the French. French is also widely spoken.

Racially, Luxembourgers are mostly of German descent. They are of Frankish origin, mixed with the Saxon stock, which was introduced into this region by Charlemange; but they also contain some French elements, brought in to re-people the country after the devastation of the Thirty Years' War. See Geschicte des Luxembourger Landes, by Shottes, v. i, p. 304.

Over the centuries, Luxembourg was constantly exposed to the rapacity of stronger nations. An independent country today; in the past, Luxembourg's ownership has changed frequently. Thus, the character and disposition of her people bear many traces of foreign influence. In spite of the variety of foreign influences, however, the Luxembourgers have remained a comparatively distinct people, possessing their own characteristics and customs, and have remained true to the Roman Catholic Church.

As early as 1000 B.C., Celtic tribes settled the area. When the Romans, under Caesar, conquered Gaul between 58 and 51 B.C., they found the northern area inhabited by the Celtic Belgae. The Romans occupied the region until about 400 A.D. but did not actually colonize it.

During the Fourth and Fifth centuries, bands of Salian Franks migrated into northern Gaul and occupied the area between the Maas, the Schelde, and Lower Rhine. The Franks were converted to Christianity during the period from the Sixth to the Eighth centuries. Frankish power reached its summit under Charlemagne, King of the Franks during the long period from 771 to 814.

Magnificent as the Carolingian empire was, it rested too much on the power and ability of one man and covered too much geographical diversity to survive very long after Charlemagne died. In 843, with the treaty of Verdun, the Kingdom of the Franks was partitioned. New East and West Frankish kingdoms were created, separated by a vast "Middle Kingdom" called "Lotharingia" or "Lorraine", which stretched from the mouth of the Rhine River to northern Italy. Eventually, France evolved from the West Frankish Kingdom and Germany from the East Frankish Kingdom. Present-day Luxembourg was part of Lorraine.

The territorial wars continued and in 870, by the treaty of Mersen, Lorraine was divided between France and Germany. Thus, that part of Lorraine which included present-day Luxembourg became German territory. After the dissolution of the Carolingian empire, numerous principalities were set up. The county or countship of Luxembourg emerged as one of these principalities in the Tenth Century.

The various principalities attempted to establish their power by frequently changing alliances, and thereby to weaken their dependence on their suzerains, the neighboring great powers. For example, the duchy of Lower Lorraine was established about 1060. At the beginning of the 12^th Century, Limburg became a duchy as part of Lower Lorraine. In 1221–6, Limburg was united with Luxembourg. Lower Lorraine became Brabant, and in 1288, Limburg united with it. In 1355, Brabant united with Luxembourg.

In 1308, Henry VII, then Count of Luxembourg, ascended the German imperial throne with the title of "Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire". His reign ended in 1313. In 1354, Luxembourg was raised to the rank of a duchy. Three dukes of Luxembourg also served as emperors: Charles IV and his sons, Wenzel and Sigismund. Sigismund's reign ended in 1437.

Meanwhile the duchy of Burgundy, established in 884, became in the 14^th and 15^th centuries, the most powerful state between France and Germany. Beginning in 1384, the smaller states were conquered one by one: Flanders in 1384; Namur in 1420; Brabant in 1430; Hainault and Holland in 1433; Luxembourg and Limburg in 1447. When Luxembourg became a fief of Burgundy, several centuries of self-rule ended.

When Duke Charles the Bold, the richest and most ambitious of the Burgundian princes fell in battle at Nancy in 1477, Maria, his heiress married the Archduke Maximillian of Austria, a Habsburg prince. When his successor, Charles V, abdicated in 1566, his territories were divided, and Charles' son, Philip II of Spain, received the Netherlands, including Luxembourg. As a result, Luxembourg and its citizens became pawns in the various European wars, including the devastating Thirty Years’ War and the wars of Louis XIV of France.

In 1714, at the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Austrian branch of the house of Habsburg gained the Spanish Netherlands, including Luxembourg, during the peace negotiations. As a part of the Austrian Netherlands, Luxembourg and its citizens suffered during the periodic wars in Europe. After the French revolution in 1789, the Austrian Netherlands also revolted and declared themselves an independent republic under the title of the United Belgian States. Emperor Leopold II then restored civil rights, and Austrian troops were able to reoccupy the area in 1790.

Beginning in 1792, the new French Republic waged war on the Austrians and eventually took possession of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Luxembourg became a French department, while the Netherlands and Belgium were initially united as the Batavian Republic, then became the kingdom of Holland, and finally were incorporated into the French Empire. As a part of France, Luxembourg and its citizens again suffered during the ensuing wars, particularly the Napoleonic wars.

Following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 united Holland and Belgium as the "Kingdom of the Netherlands". Luxembourg was erected as a Grand Duchy, made a member state of the German Confederation but united with Holland through a personal union. The Grand Duchy was ruled by the King of the Netherlands, who also used the title of "Grand Duke of Luxembourg".

In 1830, Belgium revolted and declared its independence. The Dutch tried to suppress the uprising but failed. In 1839, Belgian troops occupied the Wor Walloon part of Luxembourg and then annexed it, as well as the western portions of Limburg. That same year, the Great Powers agreed to guarantee Belgium's neutrality. The Wor Walloon area of the old Grand Duchy thus became part of Belgium's Province of Luxembourg.

In 1842, the Kingdom of Prussia annexed the Grand Duchy and its capital city was garrisoned by Prussian troops. When the German Confederation was dissolved in 1866, Luxembourg severed its connection with Prussia, and in 1867 the Great Powers agreed to guarantee the neutrality and independence of the Grand Duchy. In 1890, the Luxembourg crown was inherited by the German line of the house of Nassau, and when Adolf of Nassau acceded as grand duke that year, he broke the connection with the Netherlands.

Thus, Luxembourg can hardly be said to have had any national life prior to 1867 and even then, it did not have a native ruler until after 1900. It neither shared the French nor the German regeneration of national feeling in the 19th century. The result of this was a degree of cosmopolitanism not generally found in Germany, and a hatred of military service, which had never been called out in behalf of their own country, but only for a foreign ruling power.

In its political history, however, Luxembourg did share the experience of Europe in the 19^th Century. Until the French Republic proclaimed the sovereignty of the people and the destruction of feudalism, Luxembourg had retained the feudal conditions of the middle ages. The reforms of Maria Theresa, the Austrian ruler, were not introduced into the Hapsburg's possessions in the Netherlands, and the old privileges of the orders and cities were not interfered with. See "Austria (Oncken Series)" by Wolf, p. 118.

During the union with Holland (1815–30), Luxembourg had much to suffer from the attempt to unite opposing elements in such differences as public spirit, religion, language, and industries. An attempt was made to introduce Dutch as the national language. New taxes were laid, which fell heaviest on the agricultural classes. It was these taxes, with a duty on wine, that started the emigration of Luxembourger across the sea, initially to Brazil, Argentina, and Guatemala in the 1820s. However, the climate, disease, and limited economic opportunities there made mass migration unattractive. In the 1830s, about 100 Luxembourgers migrated to the U.S., arriving in the ports of New York and New Orleans. Many who came through New York moved to rural areas along the southeastern coast of Lake Erie, while many who came to New Orleans moved to Ohio.

In spite of these wrongs, Luxembourg owes to the union with Holland the restoration of local government and the building up of education, both of which had suffered from French influences. The democratic constitution adopted by Belgium, in which freedom-of-the-press and direct elections were established and equality proclaimed, had a profound effect upon Luxembourg. When a restricted constitution was granted to the Grand Duchy in 1840, complaints grew so loud that it was revised in 1848. In the revision, censorship of the press was removed, and the suffrage greatly enlarged. See Handbuch des Oeffentlichen Rechts, by Marquardsen.

Emigration from Luxembourg was largely the result of economic conditions, which especially affected farmers and craftsmen in the rural areas. Within one generation following the Napoleonic wars, the rural middle-class became impoverished. The causes included:

Excessive partitioning of the farms

High interest rates which exceeded the rate of return that could be obtained from farming the land

Poor harvests

Declining infant mortality

The gradual disappearance of opportunities for extra income from handicrafts and manual labor

High taxes

Excessive partitioning of the farms resulted from two changes in the laws governing inheritance and transfer of farm land during the 1780s. From the time of the middle ages, the farms were nominally the property of the local lords. The communal lands did not belong to those who used them and, therefore, could not be sold. The right to use these communal lands and the farms passed from the occupant on his death to his oldest son. This practice meant that the younger children, as a practical matter, could not become farmers. They had to become craftsmen, tradesmen, or laborers, join a foreign army, become a priest, monk or nun, or marry a person who owned land. During the 1780s, the communal fields and pastures (but not the forests) became the private property of the farmers whose ancestors had long used them. Moreover, division of the farms among all the children became first the custom and then the rule. In less than 50 years, the farms became plots so small that economies of scale disappeared, and farming became a subsistence occupation.

 Those farmers who attempted to acquire more land in order to achieve economies of scale learned to their sorrow that the interest rates charged by the money lenders exceeded the income they could earn from the land. The result was foreclosure and loss of everything.

 The 15 years from 1841 to 1856 were hard times—due primarily to poor harvests. When the farms became small, crop rotation was abandoned. This wore out the land and contributed to the string of bad harvests. Bad harvests, due to weather, had a devastating effect because the margin of safety dropped below the subsistence level and famine ensued. Those with larger farms were unable to make their interest payments and lost their land to the money lenders.

The year 1841 brought a poor harvest. 1842 was better, but then a potato rot developed, and prices skyrocketed. The state had to support the poor in the cities. A mild, early winter in 1844 was followed by a harsh, late winter season. Terrible floods inundated the Mosel Valley, causing severe damage. In 1845, grain failed. Prices rose dramatically in 1846 and 1847, and famine broke out in the land. While the harvests of 1851, 1852, and 1853 were not failures, they rarely exceeded the historic average. In 1854, the harvest failed totally along the Belgian border as crop yields reached only one-tenth of the average. Fortunately, the potato infestation receded in 1853; otherwise, there would have been no end to the misery. The harvest remained far below the average in 1855 and 1856, and only after 1856 did it exceed the average.

 Thanks to improvements in hygiene, the population rose substantially due to improved infant-survival rates. But this meant more mouths to feed from the harvests of smaller farms and still smaller farms in the next generation due to more heirs subdividing the ancestral lands. Marriage customs required elaborate weddings, but more daughters meant more expense with fewer resources to pay the bills.

 Traditionally, there were opportunities for extra income, either from handicrafts or from labor performed for pay in neighboring countries. As the population rose, the larger number of potential workers exceeded the need for such laborers. Work became harder to find, and wage rates fell as well. Income from handicrafts declined because industrialization brought a flood of lower-priced competing products made by machine.

 High taxes, of course, only compounded the problems. The inheritance taxes wiped out savings and forced heirs to borrow from the money lenders. Even the regular annual taxes could not be paid because the small farms could not produce enough surplus to be sold to pay the taxes. The extra income normally earned during the winter months from handicrafts or migratory labor was not available either.

 In addition to the economic factors, the discontent that followed the restoration in 1839 and the restricted constitution, doubtlessly added to the emigrating impulse. Another cause was the dislike of military service, which was the result of foreign rule and the unwillingness of the people to expose their lives for a foreign nation. For that reason, many young men deserted the Holland and, later, the Belgian military services during the wars that occurred between 1830 and 1839.

 Another interesting factor was the reaction of the devout Roman Catholic farmers toward moral and theological liberalism among the younger clergy. Many of the clergy embraced the new doctrines espoused by Karl Marx, and as a result, religion and morals began to decline, particularly in the cities. By going to America, a bastion of conservative Catholicism, one could save one's life and one's soul.

 The heaviest emigration from Luxembourg began in the 1840s, primarily from the villages of Türpen, Selingen, Flaxheim, Battincourt, Herzog, Kleinelter, Guirsh, Küntzig, Offen, and Sterpenich. In 1842, New York and Ohio received most of these immigrants, but in 1845, large numbers came to Illinois and Wisconsin. Many immigrants headed for Chicago, settling in the city itself, especially the northern part and its suburbs along Lake Michigan. Other Luxembourgers made their new homes around Dubuque, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. Later, many migrated to the Plains states of the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas.

 Settlement in Wisconsin was due to the favorable reports which had been circulated. A letter quoted by Gonner from the Luxembourger Wort, says: "The State of Wisconsin is the region which the Luxembourgers prefer for settlement. The soil is productive, the climate similar to that in the Grand Duchy, the necessaries of life are cheap, and employment can be obtained." According to Gonner, another inducement for the settlement was the Luxembourger preference for the forest. In New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin, Luxembourgers chose woodland. Aside from the desire to obtain fuel and building material, this preference was due to the fact that the forests had become scarce in their native land, and a piece of woodland was regarded as a treasure; it marked the difference between the small and large peasant estates.

 The first arrivals in Wisconsin settled at Port Washington, in Ozaukee County, which had an excellent harbor. In the early days a busy trade was carried on there. Ozaukee County was a dense, hard-wood forest then, but the soil was good, and it was soon cleared. At that time, however, the area which now comprises Ozaukee County was part of Washington County. Ozaukee County was created 7 March 1853 from Washington County.

 The Eberhard Agnes family from Folschette and the Johann Weyker family from Flaxheim are believed to have been the first Luxembourger settlers in the area that is now Ozaukee County. Johann Weyker's passport showed that he and his wife and four children sailed from Antwerp on an American ship, the "Sylvanus Jenkins", and arrived at the Port of New York on 3 July 1845. See The History and Directory of Ozaukee County, by W.B. Krause published in 1899. About the same time, John Longeley arrived and opened a hotel and tavern at Port Washington.

 The Johann Weyker family settled in the wilderness now called "Holy Cross" ("Helleg Kräiz" in Luxembourgish) in the Town of Belgium, six miles from Port Washington on the road to Fredonia. Bishop Henni, the Roman Catholic bishop of Milwaukee, is said to have recommended that the Luxembourgers settle in the Holy Cross area because he hoped they might be able to convert the Indians living there to Christianity.

 Later in the year of 1845, a group of families joined the Weyker family in the Holy Cross area. They were:

These settlers were mostly from the Cantons of Redingen and Capellen in the Grand Duchy, and from Belgium's Province of Luxembourg. Most of them may have come over together, though one of the company had previously resided in Ohio. See Die Luxembourger in der Neuen Welt, pp. 93–99 and 262–268, and The History and Directory of Ozaukee County, published in 1899 by W.B. Krause.

 At that time, the Holy Cross area was a wilderness, an endless forest. Indians still roamed the area, and their presence stirred fear among the white settlers. Their first homes were log huts, and transformation of the dark, silent virgin forest into green, fertile fields and pasture required hard work. The group lost no time, however, in constructing a parish church of logs. A stone church was built in 1861, and that church was replaced in 1961 by the present church. In the early days, there was no money for a church bell; the Ave Maria was sounded with a shepherd's horn.

 The year 1846 brought many more Luxembourgers. The first to buy land around Lake Church in Town of Belgium included Nic Weiler, Th. Reimen, M. Ellenbecker, Th. Welter, D. Traufler, and D. Knaff who arrived aboard the sailing vessel, "Tallerand", which reached the Port of New York from Antwerp on 3 August 1846. By 1848, a log church was built to serve the new parish of St. Mary at Lake Church. This church was replaced by a stone church, which was struck by lightening and destroyed. The present stone structure was completed in 1884.

 Also aboard the "Tallerand" were Franz and John Gengler, John Warling, and Adam Even, who settled in Port Washington. In the same year, many families from the Belgian Province of Luxembourg settled in the Town of Belgium and gave the township its name.

In 1847, Luxembourgers from the Mosel settled in Port Washington, and with them were several families from the German areas near Luxembourg: the Rheinland, the Eifel, Hunsrüch, and from the Gâ or region between the Sauer and Mosel.

Others settled near Dacada, where the log church of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Nicholas was built in 1848. The log church was replaced by a frame structure in 1863. The present brick structure was built in 1911. Dacada is just over the Ozaukee County line in southern Sheboygan County. By 1848, there were nearly 80 Luxembourger families in that area.

 In 1848, about eight families from Machthurn and Niederdonven, on the Mosel, in the Canton of Grevenmacher, settled in Pewaukee, Waukesha County.

 Thus, between 1845 and 1848, perhaps 150 or more families, chiefly from the Belgian frontier and the region of the Mosel, had settled in Wisconsin.

 Due to the crop failures in 1854, emigration was especially large from 1854 to 1857. It is estimated that 6,000 people left Luxembourg during that period. While a few settled in New York and Ohio, most went to Wisconsin. A large number settled near Milwaukee and along Lake Michigan; some joined the small colony in Pewaukee and small groups located at Luxemburg in Kewaunee County, St. Joseph's Ridge in LaCrosse County and in the mineral region near Potosi in southwestern Wisconsin.

This is when the Westers came. Marguerithe Michels Wester of Bertrange, the widow of Michel Wester, and her seven children emigrated to the United States together aboard the ship, "Anna Elisa", which arrived at the Port of New York on 17 May 1854. On 6 July 1854, Margaretha Michels Wester purchased 120 acres in Section 35 of Town of Belgium from Amasa C. and Charlotte Moore for $600.

 The Wester family was one of many to leave Bertrange in 1854. According to Gonner, the newspaper, Luxemburger Wort, reported that as early as 1 January 1854 there were complaints from Bertrange that the region had suffered significant losses to emigration, not only from among the poor, but also from people of means who were not deterred by reports of accidents or troubles. Divine Providence, it was said, must have had a particular design to cause the emigration. Later reports showed that from in and around Bertrange, 77 people had left by 26 March and that many, even from the City of Luxembourg itself, were preparing to depart. A report dated 7 May announced that thousands were ready to emigrate.

 During the next 30 years, emigration from Luxembourg continued, and Wisconsin received a considerable part of it.

 By 1890, Luxembourgers, both from the Grand Duchy and from the Belgian province, were found scattered throughout the state. The largest settlement was in the neighborhood of Port Washington.

 The settlement extended northward for several miles into Sheboygan County, west from Lake Michigan into Washington County and for several miles south of Port Washington. By the mid-1890s, there were about 500 Luxembourger families belonging to the four Catholic congregations of Holy Cross and St. Mary's at Lake Church in the Town of Belgium, St. Mary's at Port Washington, and St. Nicholas at Dacada.

 The early settlers in Ozaukee County were young men with little means, and nearly all of the peasant class. They brought with them some tools such as axes, plows, hoes, even wagons, but they were unsuited to the soil. At first, times were hard and wages low. The settlers sold cord wood at the piers along the lake shore. Wheat, as first their only product, brought 40 or 50 cents a bushel.

 Before the turn of the century, the Luxembourger farmers around Port Washington had become prosperous and well-to-do even though their farms tended to be small; first because initially they could not afford to buy a lot of land; and secondly, because they retained the old Luxembourg custom of dividing their land among their several sons.

 Our Luxembourg Origins

 The Wester family can be traced back more than 200 years to a large feudal estate called the "Villa Beaufort" in the Commune of Dippach which now lies less than six miles southwest of the center of the capital city of Luxembourg.

 The Michels family can be traced back more than 300 years to the Commune of Bertrange and the nearby village of Strassen, which are less than three miles west of the center of Luxembourg City and about the same distance northeast of Dippach.

There is no way of knowing how long the Wester and Michels families may have been living in this part of Luxembourg. The Wester name is found throughout Europe, in Sweden, in Poland, and in Russia, for example. The Michels name is found in Germany and France.

 The earliest records of either family are found in the records of the Roman Catholic Church of Sts. Peter and Paul at Bertrange. These records begin in 1645, near the end of the Thirty Years’ war. Unfortunately, these records for the first 15 years are almost impossible to decipher due to poor penmanship and ink bleed-through. The first page of the baptism records, which began in 1645, are reproduced on the next page. There is a gap in these records between 1695 and 1723 and again between 1798 and 1800 during the French occupation.

Bertrange [Luxembourg] civil records:  Births 1803-1852 and 1828-1880

  The church at Bertrange served Dippach and surrounding areas. The first entry in the records of a Michels baptism occurred in 1671, when a daughter of Andreas Michels was baptized. The first entry in the records of a Wester baptism occurred in 1747 when Willibrordus Wester, legitimate son of Willibrordi and Maria (Burmesch) Wester was baptized.

 We have searched microfilm copies of the church and civil records of Bertrange and Dippach in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in order to identify our Wester and Michels ancestors and their relatives. These microfilm copies were made by the Genealogical Society of Utah to help members of the Mormon Church research their family histories.

 We have identified these family groups:

Christophre Michels and his wife, Barbe Funck

 Jean Michels  B. 16 Nivose An 11 (4 Jan 1804?)

 Michel  B. 2 April 1807

 Anne Marguerithe  B. 7 December 1809

 Lucie  B. 21 January 1813

 Anne  B. 21 April 1815

 Nicolas Michels and Marie Drees

 Marguerite  B. 11 Ventose An 13 (1 Mar 1805)

 Henri  B. 11 May 1806

 Marie  1 April 1809

 Jean Staar and his wife, Catherine Michels

 Jean Michels and his wife, Rose (Rosse?) Schumann

 Pierre  B. unknown

 Michel Wester and his wife, Marguerithe Michels

 Melchor  B. 15 March 1827

 Marguerithe  B. 10 July 1828

 Pierre Wester and his wife, Elisabethe Cornett

 Anne  B. 14 December 1828

1645 Baptism records

 Wester _______ Baptism records

The Immigrant Ancestors

In the pages that follow are the biographies of these immigrant ancestors:

Marguerithe Michels, widow of Michel Wester, and their children:

Melchior Wester = Francesca Antoine

Margaretha Wester = Nicholas Martin

John Wester = Elizabeth Meyer

Henry Wester = 1) Maria Possele (or Poncelet)

2) Mary Martin Goerend

Michael Wester

Anne Marie Wester

Anna Wester = Nicolaus Thul

Elizabeth Wester = Michael Weyker

Angelica Wester

Michel Wester (1798 - 1844)
Marguerithe Michels (1805 - 1856)

 Michel² Wester (Pierre¹) was born 17 January 1798 at Villa Beaufort, Commune of Dippach in the District of Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the son of Pierre and Anne Marie (Kiepgen) Wester. The record of his marriage gives his date and place of birth and the names of his parents.

He died 23 February 1844, age 46, at Bertrange, District of Luxembourg, in the Grand Duchy. According to Beatrice Wester Krier, who visited Bertrange in the fall of 1988, Michel Wester was buried near the Roman Catholic Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in the town square of Bertrange, but in 1920, his gravestone was removed along with others to make room for a new Catholic school. According to family tradition, Michel Wester froze to death one winter night when he sat down to rest while walking home from a friend's house. However, the record of his death which is attached to this biography says he died at one o'clock in the afternoon. This death record, which is in German, is loosely translated as follows:

In the year eighteen hundred and forty four, the twenty fourth of the month of February, at eleven in the morning, appeared before us Richard Wotter the mayor of Bartringen, Canton of Luxemburg, in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Nicolas Noche, aged thirty seven years, day laborer, neighbor of the deceased, and Johann Becker, aged forty years, carpenter, living in this community.

They declared to us that Michel Wester of Bartringen, aged forty eight years, plowman, had died in Bartringen yesterday afternoon at one o'clock. He was the husband of Marguerithe Michels in his first and only marriage.

Signed: Nicolas Noche Jean Becker

Michel Wester married Marguerithe Michels 28 November 1826 in a civil ceremony at Bertrange. Jean Francois Molitor, the mayor of Bertrange, officiated. The witnesses were Melchior Christen, Jean Gerard, Pierre Gindt, and Louis Glodt. This civil ceremony was probably followed by a Roman Catholic religious ceremony. A copy of the civil marriage record is attached, but we do not yet have a record of the religious ceremony. This is a loose translation of the civil record, which is in French:

In the year eighteen hundred and twenty-six, the twenty eighth of the month of November, at two o'clock in the afternoon, appeared before us Jean Francois Molitor, mayor of the commune of Bertrange in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Michel Wester, plowman, aged twenty seven years, born on the Beaufort farm, then belonging to the commune of Dippach, on the seventeenth of January in the year seventeen hundred and ninety eight, according to his birth certificate, now living at Bertrange, adult son of Pierre Wester, deceased in Bertrange twenty nine (?) years ago, though no death record could be produced, and hence a notarial record had to be drawn up by a notary on January eighteenth of eighteen hundred and twelve, of which the original served for the marriage of his sister Marie Wester, and of Anne Marie Kiepgen, deceased at Bertrange on the fourteenth of February in the year eighteen hundred and twenty, according to the civil record, the names and circumstances of the grand parents being unknown, and Marguerithe Michels, without profession, aged twenty one years, born in Bertrange on the third of March in the year eighteen hundred and five, living there, adult daughter of Nicolas Michels, deceased at Bertrange on the twenty fourth of November in the year eighteen hundred and twenty four and of Marie Drees, plowers living in this commune of Bertrange, present and consenting to this marriage….

…we declare in the name of the law that Michel Wester and Marguerithe Michels are united in marriage…in the presence of:

Christen Melchior, aged 50, laborer, living at Bertrange, uncle of the bridegroom,

Jean Gerard, aged 32, wagoner, living at Bertrange, brother-in-law of the bride.

Pierre Gindt living at Bertrange, neighbor,

and Glodt Louis, living at Bertrange, neighbor.

Signed

Michel Wester

Melchior Christen

Johannes Gerrard

Pierre Gindt

Louis Glod

It was noted that the bride and her mother could not write.

 According to the record of her birth in Bertrange civil records, Marguerithe Michels was born 11 Ventose An 12, the daughter of Nicolas and Marie (Drees) Michels. This date, based on the French Revolutionary calendar, is the equivalent of 1 March 1805. According to the marriage record cited above, Marguerithe Michels was born 3 March 1805 at Bertrange. A copy of the birth record is attached.

 She died 1 August 1856, age 51, at Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, and is buried in the Catholic cemetery at Holy Cross, Town of Belgium. Her burial is recorded in the records for 1856 of the Catholic Church at Holy Cross, as follows (translated from the Latin):

On 2 Aug. buried Margarita Wester,

born Michels, age 51, died 1 August.

 We have not yet located Margaretha's gravestone, and it may no longer exist.

 In an affidavit signed 2 August 1929, Anna Maria (Wester) Thul, daughter of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester, said that her father "Michael Wester died on or about the year 1843" and that her mother had died "on the first day of August, A.D. 1854." See Ozaukee County deeds, Miscellaneous Book 7, pp. 576–577. Anna Maria was but five years old when her father died and 17 years old when her mother died. She was 91 years old when she signed the affidavit so it is not surprising that these statements do not agree with the church records.

 Bertrange is today a small agricultural village of about 1,100 people, located less than three miles west of the City of Luxembourg. In the early 1800s, it was probably quite far removed from the built-up areas of the city.

 Marguerithe Michels Wester and seven of her children came to the United States together aboard the ship, "Anna Elise", which arrived at the Port of New York on 17 May 1854 from Antwerp. The names were listed on the manifest as follows:

 On 6 July 1854, she purchased 120 acres in Section 35 of Town of Belgium from Amasa C. and Charlotte Moore for $600. The land was deeded to "Margaret Michels" rather than "Marguerithe Wester". The deed was recorded 22 July 1854 in Ozaukee County deed book 2, pp. 484–485. The land is described as:

…the North West quarter of Section thirty five, 35, in Township twelve, 12, Range twenty two, 22, East, excepting the North East quarter of said North West quarter heretofore sold and conveyed containing one hundred and twenty acres of land….

 Donald and Eleanore Ansay owned the land in 1991, except for an 8.4-acre parcel at the intersection of County Highways A and LL. This small tract, containing an old farmhouse and barn, is owned by L. Bittner, who also owns ten acres on the north side of the road.

 The Wester farm was about two miles west of Lake Michigan, two miles south of the Village of Belgium, three miles east of Holy Cross, and four miles north of Port Washington. County Highway A is also known as "Sandy Beach Road". Highway LL was once designated as "Federal Highway 141". A long time ago, it was called the "Green Bay Road" because it linked Chicago and Green Bay. It had been built along the path of a major Indian trail.

 Since Marguerithe Wester died without leaving a will, each of the seven surviving children inherited an undivided one-seventh interest in the property.

 On 12 November 1857, Henry, Michael and Melchior Wester divided the 120-acre farm into three 40-acre parcels, and each took one parcel. They paid their siblings cash for their interests, but the amounts paid appear to be modest.

 The known children of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester were:

 Melchior Wester = Francesca Antoine

Margaretha Wester = Nicholas Martin

John Wester = Elizabeth Meyer

Henry Wester = 1) Maria Possele (or Poncelet)

2) Mary Martin Goerend

Michael Wester

Anne Maria Wester

Anna Wester = Nicolaus Thul

Elisabeth Wester = Michael Weyker

Angelica Wester

 Marguerithe Wester's birth record

Francesca Antoine (1841 - 1915)

 Melchior³ Wester (Michel², Pierre¹) was born 14 March 1827 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the son of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of his birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives his name as "Melchor". His birth record was witnessed by Mathias Neuen and Louis Glodt.

 He died 6 April 1899, age 72, at Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Lake Church, Town of Belgium. See Ozaukee County death records, v. 3, no. 345, for the dates of his birth and death.

 He married Francesca Antoine 25 November 1857 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Lake Church. The Reverend Michael Obermuller presided. The witnesses were Francis Antoine and Michael Michels. See the marriage records of the church. The marriage is not recorded in Ozaukee County marriage records.

 She was born 10 October 1841 at Halanzy in the Province of Luxembourg, Belgium, the daughter of Francois and Catherine (Genin) Antoine. She died 24 June 1915, age 73, at Town of Belgium, and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Lake Church. See Ozaukee County death records, v 6, no. 651, for the dates of her birth and death.

 Melchior Wester was a farmer, cheesemaker, and tavernkeeper.

 His widowed mother, Marguerithe, and her seven children migrated to the United States together aboard the ship, "Anna Elise", which arrived at the Port of New York from Antwerp, Belgium, on 17 May 1854.

 The Antoine family, including seven of the eight children, left Halanzy on 30 April 1855 and sailed from Antwerp aboard the ship, "Sea Garth", which arrived at the Port of New York on 15 June 1855. Both families settled in the Town of Belgium in adjoining sections so that their farms were across Sandy Beach Road from one another.

 On 6 July 1854, Marguerithe Michels Wester purchased 120 acres in Section 35 of Town of Belgium from Amasa C. and Charlotte Moore for $600. The land was titled in the name of "Margaret Michels" rather than "Marguerithe Wester" because it was apparently the custom for a widow to use her maiden name. The deed was recorded 22 July 1854 in Ozaukee County deed book 2, pp. 484–485. The land is described as:

…the North West quarter of Section thirty five, 35, in Township twelve, 12, Range twenty two, 22, East, excepting the North East quarter of said North West quarter heretofore sold and conveyed containing one hundred and twenty acres of land….

See the 1892 tract map of the township (not included here).

 Margaretha Wester died two years later without leaving a will so each of her seven surviving children inherited an undivided one-seventh interest in the property.

 On 12 November 1857, Henry Wester and his brother, Michael Wester, paid Melchior Wester and his sister, Margaretha, $200 for all their right, title, and interest in a two-sevenths undivided part of two parcels of land totaling 80 acres. This land was part of the 120 acres which their mother had purchased on 6 July 1854 and is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 9, p. 4, as follows:

The North West quarter of the North West quarter, and the South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter, all of Section Thirty five, in Township No Twelve North of Range No Twenty Two East, containing in both pieces Eighty acres….

The deed was witnessed by Herman J. Schulteis and recorded the same day.

 Also that same day, Melchior Wester paid three of his siblings, Henry Wester, Michael Wester, and Margaretha Michels (sic), $300 for all their right, title, and interest in a three-sevenths undivided part of a parcel of land totaling 40 acres. This land was part of the 120 acres which their mother had purchased on 6 July 1854 and is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 9, p. 5, as follows:

The North Half of the South West quarter of the North West quarter, also of the North Half of the South East quarter of the North West quarter, all of Section No Thirty five (35) in Township No Twelve (12) North of Range No Twenty Two

(22) East, containing in both pieces forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by Herman J. Schulteis and Francis H.J. Obluden(?) and recorded the same day. Thus was the 120 acres of land divided among three of the seven children of Margaretha Michels.

 The 1860 Census of the Town of Belgium was taken in July. On 10 July, Herman J. Schulteis enumerated four persons in the household of Melchior Wester. The names are typed as they are spelled in the census record:

His real estate was valued at $800 and his personal property at $250. According to this census, Melchior, Franziska, and Elisabetha were born in Luxembourg, and Margaretha was born in Wisconsin. See 1860 Census of Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, dwelling unit 842, family 729.

According to the 1860 Census of Agricultural Production, Melchior Western (sic) owned 22 improved acres of land and 18 unimproved acres. The cash value of his farm was $800. The cash value of his farm implements, and machinery was $100. On 1 June 1860, he owned two milch cows, two working oxen, four other cattle, and three swine. His livestock was valued at $100. His grain production for the year ending 1 June 1860 was 90 bushels of wheat, 120 bushels of rye, 75 bushels of oats, 20 bushels of peas and beans, 50 bushels of Irish potatoes, 60 pounds of butter, and 5 tons of hay. The value of animals slaughtered during the year was $30.

 On 7 July 1862, Henry Wester paid $100 to each of his six siblings, Michael Wester; John Wester; Anna Wester; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; and Melchior Wester and Francisca, his wife, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 20, p. 581, as follows:

The South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter of Section number thirty five (35) Township Number (12) North of Range Number twenty two East, containing forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 30 May 1868. This land was half of the 80 acres that Melchior Wester and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-seventh undivided interest in to Henry Wester and Michael Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 Also that same day, Melchior Wester paid $100 to each of his six siblings, John Wester; Anna Wester; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Henry Wester and Maria, his wife; and Michael Wester, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 20, p. 580, as follows:

The North Half of the South West quarter of the North West quarter, also the North Half of the South East quarter of the North West quarter, all of Section Number thirty five (35) in township Number twelve (12) North of Range No twenty two (22) East, containing in both pieces forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 30 May 1868. This land was the same 40 acres that Henry Wester, Michael Wester, and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-seventh undivided interest in to Melchior Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 Also that same day, Michael Wester paid $100 to each of his six siblings, Henry Wester and Maria, his wife; John Wester; Anna Wester; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; and Melchior Wester and Franciska, his wife, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 30, p. 305, as follows:

The North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section Number Thirty five (35) Township Number Twelve (12) North of Range Number Twenty Two (22) East, containing Forty Acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 25 February 1881. This land was half of the 80 acres that Melchior Wester and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-seventh undivided interest in to Henry Wester and Michael Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 On 1 October 1866, Henry Wester paid $475 to his brother, Michael Wester, for 20 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 18, p. 520, as follows:

The North Half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No Thirty five (35) in Township No twelve (12) North of Range No Twenty two East, containing twenty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and John Gengler. It was recorded 26 October 1866. This purchase increased the size of Henry Wester's farm to 60 acres.

 On 22 July 1872, Henry Wester and Maria, his wife, sold their 60-acre farm in two lots. They sold 50 acres to Nicolas Schanen for $2,350 and 10 acres to Melchior Wester for $450. The ten-acre parcel is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 28, p. 135, as follows:

The South Half of the North Half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No. Thirty Five, 35, Township No. Twelve, 12, North of Range No. Twenty Two, 22, East, containing Ten acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and John Mueller. It was recorded 24 March 1874. This purchase increased the size of Melchior Wester's farm to 50 acres.

 The 1880 Census of the Town of Belgium was taken in June 1880. On 5 June, 13 persons were enumerated in the household of Melchior Wester.

According to this census, Melchior Wester was born in Luxembourg as were his parents. Frances Wester was born in Belgium as were her parents. Wisconsin is listed as the birthplace of all of the Wester children. See National Archives microcopy T132, Roll 1441, pp. 38–39.

 According to the 1880 Census of Agricultural Production, dated as of June 1, 1880, Melchior Wester owned 30 acres of improved land and 10 acres of unimproved land with a cash value of $800. His farm machinery and implements were valued at $90, and his livestock was valued at $100. His livestock consisted of two milch cows, two working oxen, two "other" cattle, and six swine. He had 90 bushels of wheat, 120 bushels of rye, 75 bushels of oats, 20 bushels of peas and beans, 50 bushels of Irish potatoes, 5 tons of hay, and 60 pounds of butter. See 1880 Census of Agricultural Production, p. 19, no. 29.

 Both Henry and Michael Wester became United States citizens, but there is no evidence that Melchior did.

 Melchior's obituary was published in The Port Washington Star on Saturday, 22 April 1899 in v. 24, no. 27, p. 8: 

Holy Cross

On Thursday M. Wester died near Holy Cross at the age of 66 years. His remains were last Monday interred in the Lake Church Cemetery. He was an old settler of the Town of Belgium. Formerly he had a saloon on the Green Bay Road, and later he owned a farm and cheese factory there. And in 1894 he went in the cheese business near Holy Cross. He leaves six children, namely, Aloysius and Nicolaus, of Holy Cross, Henry of Lake Church, Adolph and Maggie, of Chicago, and Leona, of Minnesota, who mourn his departure. John Wester, of Sturgeon Bay, attended the funeral of his brother here, last Monday.

Melchior and Francesca (Antoine) Wester had at least 13 children:

 Margaretha Wester = Michael Joseph Even
Henry John Wester = Barbara Hemmen
Anna Wester = John Dondelinger
Magdalena Wester = John Wellenstein
Maria Wester
Elizabeth Wester = Peter Dondlinger
Mathilda Wester = John Krick
Adolph Wester = Mary Sinner
Melchior Nicholas Wester
Aloysius Wester = Therese Tholl
John Baptist Wester
Clara Caroline Wester
Nicholas Eugene Wester

Melchior Wester Birth Record

Nicholas Martin (1817 - 1897)
Mary Hansen (1825 - 1857)
Margaretha Wester (1828 - 1910)

 Nicholas¹ Martin was born 2 June 1817 at Eischen, Canton Capellen, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. His parents names are unknown but, according to his death certificate, his father was born in France, and his mother was born in Luxembourg.

 He died 17 November 1897, age 80 years, 5 months, and 15 days, at Port Washington, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. See Ozaukee County death records, v. 3, no. 54, which is the source of information about his birth and death.

 He married, first, Mary Hansen before 1847 at, probably, Eischen in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

 Mary Hansen was born about 1825 in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Her parents' names are unknown. She died 26 October 1857, age 32, at Port Washington, and she is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. Her death is recorded in Ozaukee County death records, v. 1, no. 180.

 He married, second, Margaretha Wester 7 March 1859 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Port Washington, Wisconsin. The ceremony was performed by the Reverend J.B. Weikmann. Witnesses were Henri Wester and Theodore Gilson. The marriage is recorded in the marriage register of the church. See also Ozaukee County marriage records, v. 4, no. 231.

 Margaretha Wester was born 10 July 1828 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of her birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives her name as "Marguerithe". Her birth record was witnessed by Nicolas Feyereisen and Nicolas Altenmaire.

 She died 31 May 1910, age almost 82, at Port Washington, and she is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. See Ozaukee County death records, v. 5, no. 496, for her date of death and the names of her parents. Her death record says she was born 11 July 1828.

 Nicholas Martin owned a foundry at Port Washington.

 By the terms of his will, set forth below, he bequeathed a life interest in his estate to his wife, Margaretha, providing further that it be divided equally among his children upon her death:

                   In the name of God, Amen!

I, Nicholas Martin, of the Town of Port Washington, Ozaukee County, State of Wisconsin, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being of sound mind and memory do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following, to-wit:

I give devise and bequeath unto my beloved wife Margaretha all my Real Estate and personal Property of what kind and nature so ever, which I own at the time when I die, to have and to hold the same to her and her heirs and assigns sole use, during her natural life, and after the death of my said beloved wife, said property shall be divided among all my children in equal shares, share and share alike, to have and to hold the same to their and their heirs sole use forever, and I hereby appoint my said beloved wife sole executrix of this my last will and Testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me made, and it is my desire that my said beloved wife shall become Guardian over the minor children of mine if there are any.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 23rd day of February A. D. 1871.

Nicholas Martin (SEAL)

However, despite the terms of this will, the County Court concluded that his widow was "the Sole Legatee under the will, and the only person interested in said residue" and "is entitled to all the personal property belonging to said estate, and to all the Real Estate that the deceased died seized of":

STATE OF WISCONSIN, COUNTY COURT, OZAUKEE COUNTY.

At a special term of the County Court of said County held on the second Tuesday of December 1898.

Present, S. EGHART, County Judge.

in the matter of the Will of

Nicholas Martin, deceased;

The application of Margeretha Martin, Executrix of the Will of Nicholas Martin, deceased, for the Assignment of the residue of said Estate to such persons as may be entitled thereto by the provisions of said Will, coming on to be heard at this term, and it appearing that the said Margetha Martin is the Sole Legatee, and the only person interested in said residue, and that no Notice of said application is necessary, and the said Executrix appearing by H. B. Schwin, her Attorney, and the Court being fully advised, the Court finds;

That The widow of said deceased, Margretha Martin is the Sole Legatee under the will, and is entitled to all the personal property belonging to said estate, and to all the Real Estate that the deceased died seized of.

That the deceased died seized of the following described Real Estate, to-wit;

The west twenty feet of Lot Number Ten (10) in Block twelve in the original plat of the City of Port Washington.

The undivided half of the East forty feet of Lot Number Nine, in Block number twelve, in the original plat of the City of Port Washington. And

The undivided half of the west twenty feet of Lot Number Nine (9) in Block number twelve, in the original plat of said City. And

The undivided half of Lot Four (4) in Block Seventeen (17) in the original plat of said City.

Wherefore, IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that all the personal property belonging to the Estate of said Nicholas Martin deceased, and all the foregoing described Real Estate be, and the same is, hereby Assigned to the said Margeretha Martin.

By the Court,

S. Eghart, County Judge.

According to documents filed with the County Court, the survivors of Nicholas Martin were his widow and four of his 11 known children.

 Margaretha Martin, his widow

 Mary Martin Wester of Holy Cross, wife of Henry Wester who was a brother of Margaretha Martin, widow of Nicholas Martin.

 Nicholas Martin of Grand Rapids, Wis.

 John Martin of Chicago, Ill.

 John Baptist Martin of Port Washington

 See Ozaukee County Court Probate file A-1800.

 Nicholas Martin's obituary was published in The Port Washington Star 20 November 1897 in v. 23, no. 5, p. 5:

 OBITUARY

Our people were startled on Wednesday morning to learn that Mr. Nic. Martin, an old and highly respected citizen, had suddenly expired that morning about six o'clock. He had been in fair health, and none outside of his family knew that he was seriously ill; indeed he had been up and around only a day or two before his death.

Funeral arrangements were announced for Friday morning and was very largely attended. The members of the various benevolent and church organizations to which the deceased belonged for many years attended the funeral in corpore, and many were present.

Margaretha Martin's obituary was published in The Port Washington Star 4 June 1910 in whole no. 1781:

 OBITUARY

Mrs. Margaretha Martin of this city passed away in death on Tuesday, aged 81 years, 10 mo., and 14 days. The funeral took place Friday morning with interment in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Rev. Kessler officiated.

Nicholas and Mary (Hansen) Martin had seven children:

John Baptist Martin 

Nicholas Martin

Margaretha Martin

Katharina Martin

Mary Martin

Peter Martin

 Nicholas and Margaretha (Wester) Martin had at nine children:

Melchior Martin

John Martin = Susan Kartheiser

Michael Martin

John Baptist Martin

Rose Martin

Elizabeth Martin

Henry Martin

Margaret Martin

Melchior Martin

Margaretha Wester's Birth Record

Elizabeth Meyer (1837 - 1928)

 John³ Wester (Michel², Pierre¹) was born 11 November 1830 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the son of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of his birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives his name as "Johann". His birth record was witnessed by Johann Ewen and Louis Glodt.

 He died 15 September 1915, age 84, of "old age" at Institute, Town of Sevastopol, Door County, Wisconsin, and he is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery at Sturgeon Bay, Door County. See Door County death certificates, v. ______, no. ________.

 He married Elizabeth Meyer 10 July 1862 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Lake Church, Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. Reverend _________________ presided. The witnesses were Melchior Wester and Dominic Mayres. See the marriage records of the church. This marriage is not recorded in Ozaukee County marriage records.

 She was born 2 July 1837 at the Commune of _____________, Canton of __________ in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of _____________ and _____________ (___________) Meyers. Her birth is recorded in ___________ birth records. She died 27 August 1928, age 91, of "old age", at North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin, and she is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery at Sturgeon Bay. See Door County death certificates, v. ___, no. ____.

 John Wester was 23 years old and single when he emigrated to the United States in 1854 and settled with his mother and siblings on the Wester farm on the old Green Bay Road in the Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.

 Family tradition holds that John was engaged to Elizabeth Meyer who remained in Luxembourg when the Wester family migrated. It is believed that John began to work in the copper mines in the upper peninsula of Michigan, soon after he came to the United States. After working a few years, he returned to Luxembourg to be married to Elizabeth in a civil ceremony there. The couple then traveled to the United States, where John continued to work in the copper mines around Copper Falls and Eagle Harbor, Keweenaw County, Michigan. Several of their children were born there. It was not until 1862 that John and Elizabeth celebrated their marriage in a religious ceremony at Lake Church.

 John and Elizabeth (Meyer) Wester had 11 children:

 Katherine Wester = Peter Netzinger

Michael Wester

Elizabeth Wester = August Andersen

Anna Wester = Matt Berns

Rose Wester = Joseph Jirtle

Margaret Wester

John Wester

Catherine Wester = Matt Stoffel

Frank Wester

Henry Wester

John Wester = 1) Angeline Webber

2) Emma Wilke

3) _______ Hoerres

  John Wester Birth Record

Henry Wester (1833 - 1907)
Maria Possele (1840 - 1880)
Mary Martin (1847 - 1933)

 Henry³ Wester (Michel², Pierre¹), nicknamed "Bartringer Hari," was born 1 March 1833 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the son of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of his birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives his name as "Henry". His birth record was witnessed by Johann Haupert and Henry Jung.

 He died 14 April 1907, age 74, of cirrhosis of the liver, at Holy Cross, Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, and he is buried in the Catholic cemetery there. His death is recorded in Ozaukee County death records, v. 4, no. 328. His gravestone reads: 

Heinrich

Wester

1 Mar. 1833

14 Apr. 1907

 Henry Wester's nickname, "Bartringer Hari"—was derived from the town in Luxembourg from which he came. Today, Bertrange is a small agricultural village of about 1,100 people located three miles west of the City of Luxembourg. Henry Wester was 21 years old when his mother and his six siblings migrated from Luxembourg to the United States aboard the ship, "Anna Elise", which arrived at the Port of New York on 17 May 1854.

 He married, first, Maria Possele (originally Poncelet but also spelled "Possely", "Possley", and "Pousely") 23 November 1859, at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church. The witnesses were Melchior Wester and Joseph Possely. The marriage is recorded in Latin in the marriage register of the church, as follows:

Die 23 Nov. vinc. matr. conjunxi Henricum Wester, Michaelis et Marg – Michels, nat. in Battringer, Lux. dom R22, S.35, To. Belg. et Mariam Possely, Josephi et Magdal. Steinbach, nat. in Kinzig, Lux, dom. R.22, S.32, To. Belg. Testes: Melchior Wester et Josephus Possely.

In English, this means:

On this day, 23 November, I joined in matrimony, Henry Wester, of Michael and Marg. Michels, born in Bartringer, Lux, resident of R(ange) 22, S(ection) 35, Town of Belgium, and Maria Possely, of Joseph and Magdal. Steinbach, born in Kinzig, Lux, resident of R(ange) 22, S(ection) 32, Town of Belgium. Witnesses: Melchior Wester and Joseph Possely.

This marriage is not recorded in Ozaukee County marriage records.

 Maria Possele was born 20 January 1840, at Küntzig (now Clemency) in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Joseph and Magdalena (Steinbach) Possele. According to the 1870 Census of Wisconsin, she was born in Luxembourg. (See National Archives microcopy M593, roll 1731, p. 27) However, the 1880 Census, taken after her death, reports she was born in Belgium. (See National Archives microcopy T9, roll 1441, p. 11) This would not be the case if she was in fact born in Küntzig. When her father and his brother and their families came to Ozaukee County in 1845, they were said to be from Battincourt in Belgium's Province of Luxembourg. Battincourt and Clemency are about six miles apart.

 She died 2 February 1880, age 40, at Holy Cross, shortly after the birth of her twelfth child, John, and she is buried in the Catholic cemetery there. Her death is not recorded in Ozaukee County death records. Her gravestone reads:

 Hier Ruht

Maria Possele

Ehe Frau von

Hein. Wester

Geb. 20 Jan. 1840

Gest. 2 Feb. 1880

Henry Wester married, second, Mary Martin Goerend, a widow, on 2 December 1880 at Holy Cross. The witnesses were Michael Wester and Elisabetha Hauswirth. See Ozaukee County marriage records, v. 6, no. 2.

 When the 1880 Census was taken, Mary Martin was listed as a "domestic servant" in Henry Wester's household. She was born 17 April 1847 at, probably, Eischen, Canton Capellen in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Nicholas and Mary (Hansen) Martin.

 This is the same Nicholas Martin who married Henry Wester's sister, Margaretha, after his first wife, Mary, died. Thus, Henry Wester was both a son-in-law and a brother-in-law of Nicholas Martin.

 Mary Martin Wester died 31 August 1933, age 86, at Holy Cross, and she is buried in the Catholic cemetery there. See Ozaukee County death records, v. 9, no. 987, which gives her date of birth and death. Her gravestone reads:

Maria

Wester

nee Martin

17 Apr. 1847

31 Aug. 1933

She married, first, Henry Goerend 20 February 1871 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Port Washington, Ozaukee County. The Reverend Henry Wilmes presided. Witnesses were Mathias Schmidt and Albert Wending. See the marriage records of the church. See also Ozaukee County marriage records, v. 4, no. 520.

 Henry Goerend was born _____ ______ _____ at _________ in Belgium, Europe, the son of Philip and Mary (Thill) Goerend.

 He died before 1880, but no record of his death or burial has been found.

 On 12 November 1857, Henry Wester and his brother, Michael Wester paid two of their siblings, Melchior Wester and his sister, Margaretha, $200 for all their right, title, and interest in a two-sixths undivided part of two parcels of land totaling 80 acres. This land was part of the 120 acres which their mother had purchased on 6 July 1854 and is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 9, p. 4, as follows:

The North West quarter of the North West quarter, and the South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter, all of Section Thirty five, in Township No Twelve North of Range No Twenty Two East, containing in both pieces Eighty acres….

The deed was witnessed by Herman J. Schulteis and recorded the same day.

 Also that same day, Melchior Wester paid three of his siblings, Henry Wester, Michael Wester, and Margaretha Michels (sic), $300 for all their right, title, and interest in a three-sixths undivided part of a parcel of land totaling 40 acres. This land was part of the 120 acres which their mother had purchased on 6 July 1854 and is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 9, p. 5, as follows:

The North Half of the South West quarter of the North West quarter, also of the North Half of the South East quarter of the North West quarter, all of Section No Thirty five (35) in Township No Twelve (12) North of Range No Twenty Two (22) East, containing in both pieces forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by Herman J. Schulteis and Francis H. J. Obluden(?) and recorded the same day.

 Thus was the 120 acres of land divided among three of the six children of Margaretha Michels.

 The 1860 Census of the Town of Belgium was taken in July. On 5 July, Herman J. Schulteis enumerated two persons in the household of Heinrich Wester. The names are typed as they are spelled in the census record.

His real estate was valued at $800 and his personal property at $200. According to this census, he and his wife both were born in Luxembourg and they had been married within the past year. See 1860 Census of Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, dwelling unit 840, family 727.

 According to the 1860 Census of agricultural production, he owned 30 improved acres of land and 10 unimproved acres. The cash value of his farm was $800. The cash value of his farm implements and machinery was $90. On 1 June 1860, he owned two milch cows, two working oxen, four other cattle, and three swine. His livestock was valued at $120. His grain production for the year ending 1 June 1860 was 15 bushels of wheat, 150 bushels of rye, 150 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of Irish potatoes, 20 bushels of barley, and 2 tons of hay. The value of animals slaughtered during the year was $25.

 On 7 July 1862, Henry Wester paid $100 to each of his five siblings, Michael Wester; John Wester; Anna Wester; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; and Melchior Wester and Francisca, his wife, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 20, p. 581, as follows:

The South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter of Section number thirty five (35) Township Number (12) North of Range Number twenty two East, containing forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 30 May 1868. This land was half of the 80 acres that Melchior Wester and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-sixth undivided interest in to Henry Wester and Michael Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 Also that same day, Melchior Wester paid $100 to each of his five siblings, John Wester; Anna Wester; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Henry Wester and Maria, his wife; and Michael Wester for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 20, p. 580, as follows:

The North Half of the South West quarter of the North West quarter, also the North Half of the South East quarter of the North West quarter, all of Section Number thirty five (35) in township Number twelve (12) North of Range No twenty two (22) East, containing in both pieces forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 30 May 1868. This land was the same 40 acres that Henry Wester, Michael Wester, and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-sixth undivided interest in to Melchior Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 Also that same day, Michael Wester paid $100 to each of his five siblings, Henry Wester and Maria, his wife; John Wester; Anna Wester; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; and Melchior Wester and Franciska, his wife, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 30, p. 305, as follows:

The North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section Number Thirty five (35) Township Number Twelve (12) North of Range Number Twenty Two (22) East, containing Forty Acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 25 February 1881. This land was half of the 80 acres that Melchior Wester and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-sixth undivided interest in to Henry Wester and Michael Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 On 1 October 1866, Henry Wester paid $475 to his brother, Michael Wester, for 20 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 18, p. 520, as follows:

The North Half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No Thirty five (35) in Township No twelve (12) North of Range No Twenty two East, containing twenty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and John Gengler. It was recorded 26 October 1866.

 This purchase increased the size of Henry Wester's farm to 60 acres.

 The 1870 Census of the Town of Belgium was taken in June 1870. On 9 June, S.E. Moore enumerated six persons in the household of Henry Wester:

His real estate was valued at $2,000 and his personal property at $700. See 1870 Census of Wisconsin, v. 1, p. 27.

 Until 1872, Henry Wester is listed as a farmer in the birth certificates of his children, but in the birth certificate of his daughter, Rosa, born in 1877, he is listed as a "proprietor of a public house" and thereafter as a "saloon keeper".

 On 22 July 1872, Henry Wester and Maria, his wife, sold their 60–acre farm in two lots. They sold 50 acres to Nicolas Schanen for $2,350 and 10 acres to Melchior Wester for $450. The 50-acre parcel is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 28, p. 146, as follows:

The South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter of Section No. thirty five, 35, in Township No. Twelve, 12, North of Range No. 22 East and also the North half of the North Half of the North West quarter of Section, Town and Range aforesaid, containing in all fifty acres of land….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Melchior Wester. It was recorded 28 March 1874. The ten-acre parcel is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 28, p. 135, as follows:

The South Half of the North Half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No. Thirty Five, 35, Township No. Twelve, 12, North of Range No. Twenty Two, 22, East, containing Ten acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and John Mueller. It was recorded 24 March 1874.

On 27 October 1873, Henry Wester paid $2,050 to Gerhard and Mary Mockley for a piece of property at Holy Cross described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 26, p. 607, as follows:

Lot No. ten (10) on the East Side of the North half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No. thirty two (32) in township No twelve (12) North of Range No. Twenty two (22) East Containing two acres of land more of less. And also a piece of land Known & described as follows to wit: Commencing nine (9) rods West from the North East Corner of the North half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No. thirty two (32) in town & Range above described, thence running West Eight (8) rods, thence South forty rods, thence running East Eight (8) rods, thence running in a right angle to the place of beginning being Lot No. nine (9) of the subdivision of the North half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of said Section 32 the just described tract runs 40 rods North & South & Eight rods from East to west….

The deed was witnessed by Aug. Meyer and Ched E. Chumbilin(?). It was recorded 28 October 1873.

The 1880 Census of the Town of Belgium was taken in June 1880. On 5 June, nine persons were enumerated in the household of Henry Wester.

According to this census, Henry Wester and Mary Martin were born in Luxembourg, as were their parents. Wisconsin is listed as the birthplace of all of the Wester children. See National Archives microcopy T132, roll 1441, p. 11.

 On 25 January 1881, Henri Wester declared his intention to become a United States citizen. See the attached copy of this document, the text of which is shown below. This is the only copy of his signature we have. He was naturalized on 6 September 1883. See the attached copy of the certificate of naturalization.

State of Wisconsin, }

OZAUKEE COUNTY, ss. }

Henry Wester personally appeared before the subscriber, Clerk of the Circuit Court in and for said County, being a Court of Record, and made oath that he was born in Luxemburg on or about the year Eighteen hundred and Thirty-three; that he emigrated to the United States, and landed at the Port of New York on or about the month of May in the year Eighteen hundred and Fifty four; that it is BONA-FIDE his intention to become a Citizen of the United States and to renounce all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatever, particularly to the King of Holland.

Subscribed and sworn to, before me, this 25^th day of January A.D. 1881.

/s/ H. G. Ruppert, Clerk

/s/ Henri Wester

According to Town of Belgium records, researched by Bea Wester Krier, Henry Wester served as constable in 1883 and justice of the peace in 1886 and 1887. He was treasurer of School #1 from 1883 through 1888. This school was across the street from Holy Cross Church. It opened in 1848 and was closed by the state in 1897 for "secular" teaching.

 Henry Wester held a liquor license from 1883 until 1907, when he died. His widow, Mary, was then granted a license and held it until 1912. Henry Wester's Inn and Tavern at Holy Cross is now known as "Useldings" and is currently operated by Helen Uselding Woltring, a granddaughter. This document is also attached to this biography.

 In 1885, the Town of Belgium paid him $4 for boarding a transient. In 1889, he was paid $6.65 for flour furnished to the poor. From 1892 through 1894, he was paid various sums for board, clothes, and merchandise for Dionizious Nickolay, a poor man. In 1898, he was paid $3 for boarding ten tramps. In 1899, the amount paid for boarding tramps escalated to $210. In early 1900, he was paid $111.40 for boarding tramps. Then, at the town meeting on 3 April 1900 it was "moved and seconded and carried that transient paupers or tramps shall not be supported by town hereafter." Henry Wester was notified personally by the town board to discontinue "tramp house" and told that the town board would not be liable for any such expenses after 10 April 1900.

 By the terms of his will, signed 31 January 1904, Henry Wester left his entire estate to his wife:

I, Henry Wester of Holy Cross, Wisconsin, being of sound mind and memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this my last will and testament, in manner and form as follows, to-wit:

First - After the payment of my just debts and funeral expenses, I give devise and bequeath unto my present wife Mary, my Life Insurance Policy in the Home Life Insurance Company of New York, with its proceeds and moneys to be derived therefrom, and also my Benefit Certificate in the Order of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, with its proceeds and moneys to be derived therefrom.

Second - I hereby nominate and appoint Mary my wife the executor of this my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the 31^st day of January 1904.

Henry Wester (Seal)

The above instrument, of one page, was on this 31^st day of January 1904 declared by Henry Wester as his last will and testament in the presence of us, who at his request, and in his presence and in presence of each other have signed our names hereto as attesting witnesses.

 /s/ Jno. P. Ney, residing at Holy Cross, Wis.

/s/ D. F. Watry, residing at Holy Cross, Wis.

/s/ Math Dimmer, residing at Holy Cross, Wis.

According to an inventory, dated 16 April 1907, filed by his widow with the Ozaukee County Court, his estate was valued at $3,000. It consisted of proceeds from life insurance policies, furniture, and stock of the business. See probate file 374.

 According to the records of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Lake Church, Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, and Ozaukee County vital records, Henry and Maria (Possele) Wester had 12 children:

 Margaretha Wester

Anna Wester = ______ ______ ______

Michael Wester

Johann Wester

Magdalena Wester = Ferdinand Diederich

Maria Wester

Mary Wester = Nicholas Klein

Margaretha Wester

Michael Wester = Anna Koehler

Elizabeth Wester = Robert Hertel

Rose Wester = John Peiffer

John Wester = Mary Ann Buchholz

Henry and Mary (Martin) Wester had four children:

Nicholas P_____ Wester = Lucy Thill

Mathilda Wester = Peter L_____ Uselding

Henry M_____ Wester = Catherine Margaret Besch

Melchior Wester = Mary M_____ Foltz

Henry Wester's Birth Record

Michael Wester (1835 - 1915)

Michael³ Wester (Michel², Pierre¹) was born 4 March 1835 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the son of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of his birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives his name as "Michel". His birth record was witnessed by Johann Haupert and Henry Jung.

 He never married.

 He died 24 April 1915, age 80, of lobar pneumonia, at 217 Pier Street, Port Washington, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. See Ozaukee County death records, v. 6, no. 356.

 According to his death certificate, he was a retired moulder at the Martin-Wester foundry.

 On 12 November 1857, Michael Wester and his brother, Henry Wester, paid two of their siblings, Melchior Wester and his sister, Margaretha, $200 for all their right, title, and interest in a two-sixths undivided part of two parcels of land totaling 80 acres. This land was part of the 120 acres which their mother had purchased on 6 July 1854 and is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 9, p. 4, as follows:

The North West quarter of the North West quarter, and the South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter, all of Section Thirty five, in Township No Twelve North of Range No Twenty Two East, containing in both pieces Eighty acres….

The deed was witnessed by Herman J. Schulteis and recorded the same day.

 Also that same day, Melchior Wester paid three of his siblings, Henry Wester, Michael Wester, and Margaretha Michels (sic), $300 for all their right, title, and interest in a three-sixths undivided part of a parcel of land totaling 40 acres. This land was part of the 120 acres which their mother had purchased on 6 July 1854 and is described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 9, p. 5, as follows:

The North Half of the South West quarter of the North West quarter, also of the North Half of the South East quarter of the North West quarter, all of Section No Thirty five (35) in Township No Twelve (12) North of Range No Twenty Two

(22) East, containing in both pieces forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by Herman J. Schulteis and Francis H. J. Obluden(?) and recorded the same day.

 Thus was the 120 acres of land divided among three of the six children of Margaretha Michels.

 On 7 July 1862, Henry Wester paid $100 to each of his five siblings, Michael Wester; John Wester; Anna Wester; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; and Melchior Wester and Francisca, his wife, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 20, p. 581, as follows:

The South Half of the South Half of the North West quarter of Section number thirty five (35) Township Number (12) North of Range Number twenty two East, containing forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 30 May 1868. This land was half of the 80 acres that Melchior Wester and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-sixth undivided interest in to Henry Wester and Michael Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 Also that same day, Melchior Wester paid $100 to each of his five siblings, John Wester; Anna Wester; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Henry Wester and Maria, his wife; and Michael Wester, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 20, p. 580, as follows:

The North Half of the South West quarter of the North West quarter, also the North Half of the South East quarter of the North West quarter, all of Section Number thirty five (35) in township Number twelve (12) North of Range No twenty two (22) East, containing in both pieces forty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 30 May 1868. This land was the same 40 acres that Henry Wester, Michael Wester, and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-sixth undivided interest in to Melchior Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 Also that same day, Michael Wester paid $100 to each of his five siblings, Henry Wester and Maria, his wife; John Wester; Anna Wester; Michael Weyker and Elizabeth, his wife; Nicolas Martin and Margaretha, his wife; and Melchior Wester and Franciska, his wife, for a quit-claim deed to 40 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 30, p. 305, as follows:

The North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section Number Thirty five (35) Township Number Twelve (12) North of Range Number Twenty Two (22) East, containing Forty Acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and Johann Ludwig. It was recorded 25 February 1881. This land was half of the 80 acres that Melchior Wester and Margaretha Wester had each sold a one-sixth undivided interest in to Henry Wester and Michael Wester for $100 apiece on 12 November 1857.

 On 1 October 1866, Henry Wester paid $475 to his brother, Michael Wester, for 20 acres described in Ozaukee County deeds, Book 18, p. 520, as follows:

The North Half of the North West quarter of the North West quarter of Section No Thirty five (35) in Township No twelve (12) North of Range No Twenty two East, containing twenty acres….

The deed was witnessed by A. Heidkamp and John Gengler. It was recorded 26 October 1866.

 This purchase increased the size of Henry Wester's farm to 60 acres.

 Michael Wester became a naturalized citizen on 15 November 1866. See the attached copy of the certificate of naturalization.

 Michael Wester Birth Certificate

 Michael Wester Certificate of Naturalization

Anne Marie Wester (1836 - 1844)

 Anne Marie³ Wester (Michel², Pierre¹) was born 27 May 1836 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of her birth from the civil records of Bertrange. Her birth record was witnessed by Jean Michels and Johann Haupert.

 She died 5 May 1844, at almost 8 years of age, at the Commune of Bertrange, and she is probably buried in the Catholic cemetery there. See attached copy of her death record. Her sister, Angelica, died two days earlier on 3 May so there may have been an epidemic.

 Birth Record

 Death Record

Anna Wester (1838 - 1937)

 Nicolaus² Thul (John¹) was born 1 January 1834 in ______, ______, Europe, the son of John and Catharina (Fisch) Thul.

 He died 20 February 1915, age 81, of myocarditis, at Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and he is buried in St. Boniface Cemetery there. See Cook County death certificates, v. ____, no. ___.

 He married Anna Wester 22 April 1879 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Port Washington, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. Reverend Henry Wilmes presided. Witnesses were Michel Wester and Anna Wester. See the marriage records of the church. See also Ozaukee County marriage records, v. 4, no. 1485. According to the marriage certificate, Nicolaus Thul was born in Europe.

 She was born 28 June 1838 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of her birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives her name as "Anne". Her birth record was witnessed by Francois Boch and Jean Hauten.

 She died 27 April 1937, age 98, of chronic myocarditis and arteriosclerosis, at Chicago, and she is buried in St. Boniface Cemetery there. See Cook County death certificates, v. ___, no. ____.

 At the time of their marriage, Nicolaus was a engineer and resided in Chicago.

 Nicolaus and Anna (Wester) Thul had three children:

 Michael Thul = 1) Unknown

2) Augusta Kloth

Anna Thul

Mathilda Francesca Thul

 Birth Record

Michael Weyker (1836 - 1895)
Elizabeth Wester (1840 - 1938)

Michael² Weyker (Nicholas¹) was born 11 December 1836 at Everling, Canton ________, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the son of Nicholas and Anna (Kaufmann) Weyker.

He died 30 April 1895, age 59, of carcinoma of the stomach, at Port Washington, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, and he is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. See Ozaukee County death certificates, v. 2, no. 753.

He married Elizabeth Wester 20 November 1859 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Lake Church, Town of Belgium, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. Reverend _________________ presided. The witnesses were Nicholas Weicker and Melchior Wester. See the marriage records of the church. This marriage is not recorded in Ozaukee County marriage records.

She was born 29 April 1840 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of her birth from the civil records of Bertrange. This record gives her name as "Elisabetha". Her birth record was witnessed by Jacob Schmit and Jean ____?______.

She died 28 July 1938, age 98, of hypostatic pneumonia following a cerebral hemorrhage, at her home at 1457 Catalpa Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and she is buried in St. Boniface Cemetery there. See Cook County death certificates, v. ___, no. ____.

Michael Weyker was a merchant.

The following is an article written about Michael Weyker in the Western Pub. p. 748:

Michael Weyker, dealer in general merchandise, Port Washington; is a native of Luxemburg, Germany; born in December, 1836; emigrated to the United States in 1847, and lived with his parents in the town of Belgium, Ozaukee Co. until 1860, at which time he was married to Elizabeth Wester; then purchased land, and followed farming about two years; then lived near Lake Superior one year when he returned to Belgium and continued farming. In 1868, he again removed to the Lake Superior country, and remained four years, at the end of which time, in 1872, he came to Port Washington, and in partnership with his brother, J.P. Weyker, did a general mercantile business under the firm name of Weyker Bros. In 1879, he purchased his brother's interest, and has since conducted the business alone. He is a Democrat in politics, has been Treasurer of the town of Belgium and is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The children living are John, Nicholas, Melchur, Mary, John P., Rose, Lizzie, Michael, and Margaret.

 

Michael and Elizabeth (Wester) Weyker had 13 children:

Anna Weyker

John Weyker

Julia Weyker

Peter Weyker

Nicholas John Weyker = Margaret Mary Hein

Melchior Balthazor Weyker = Mary Schmidler

Mary Weyker = John Peter Cloos

John Pierre Weyker = Mary Wilms

Rose Weyker = Bernard Boesen

Lillian Weyker

Michael Weyker = Katherine Schuermann

Margaret Weyker = Fred Farmer

Anna Weyker

 Birth Record

Angelica Wester (1843 - 1844)

Angelica³ Wester (Michel², Pierre¹) was born 8 March 1843 at the Commune of Bertrange, Canton of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the daughter of Michel and Marguerithe (Michels) Wester. See attached copy of the record of her birth from the civil records of Bertrange. Her birth record was witnessed by Jacob Schmit and _____?_____ Becker.

She died 3 May 1844, age one, at the Commune of Bertrange, and she is probably buried in the Catholic cemetery there. See attached copy of her death record. Her sister, Anne Marie, died two days later on 5 May so there may have been an epidemic.

Birth Record