Marvin Wittmer’s recent obituary in the Tribune reminded me of an article I wrote about his grandfather, Henry Wittmer.

Friday, March 08, 2002

Marvin Wittmer’s recent obituary in the Tribune reminded me of an article I wrote about his grandfather, Henry Wittmer. Marvin furnished the information and a photo for this article which appeared in the Aug. 17, 1987, issue.

Now, with some revising, here again is the story of a Pickerel Lake Township pioneer who still has a significant connection to many of the area’s citizens.

Henry Wittmer was born on March 19, 1857, in Kohlgrund, Waldeck, Germany. He came to the United States in 1872 and ended up working for an uncle, Henry Schneider, in Pickerel Lake Township. According to Marvin, this uncle had paid his nephew’s passage to America and it took five years of hard work to pay off this debt.

In late 1879, Wittmer decided to return for a visit to his home village in central Germany.

Wittmer’s life in far off Freeborn County must have had an impact in Kohlgrund and several nearby villages. When Henry left Waldeck for Freeborn County, 42 people decided to join him and move to the new place known as Minnesota.

Marvin said his grandfather and the rest of the group from Waldeck went to a German port. One of the families encountered some legal problems and their departure was delayed. The rest of the group decided to wait until everyone could be on the same boat.

It’s a good thing their departure was delayed. The first ship they would have been on sank on the way across the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of everyone on board.

Joining Henry Wittmer in the March 1880 move to Freeborn County were his father Phillip, his brother Fred, and his married sister, Johanetta and her husband Christ Schmidt and their four children. Three sisters, Narie, Ernestina and Friedricka Wittmer, plus a future brother-in-law, Henry Behle, were part of the group. Also in the group were Henry’s future wife, Wilhelmina Mueller, her brother Fred and his wife and their two children.

This group of immigrants soon became farmers and settled in the then German-speaking area between Albert Lea and Alden. Many of these people became a part of Pickerel Lake Concordia Lutheran Church.

In February 1881, Henry married Wilhelmina Mueller. A few months later his father, Phillip, died and was buried in the church cemetery. (Henry’s mother had died a few years earlier in Germany.)

Marvin once told me that, &uot;My grandmother, Wilhelmina, was the neighborhood midwife and nurse.&uot;

Henry became a citizen of the United States in late 1896, according to court records. He became a prominent resident of Pickerel Lake Township, a successful farmer, and director of a state bank in Albert Lea. The Wittmers moved to Conger in 1935. Their son, John, and later grandson, Marvin, took over the farm operations. Wilhelmina Mueller died in 1936, and Henry died in November 1939.

Marvin once told me he grew up in a German speaking home and learned English after starting school in the early 1930s. As he grew up, the use of the German language for church services began to decline and by World War II English became the predominate language in this part of Freeborn County.

– – –

Right about here, let’s do a little backtracking and change the subject.

In the Feb. 10, 2002, edition of the Tribune’s Lifestyles section was an article I wrote about the Seliger Motor Co. In this article was the statement that this firm on North Broadway Avenue was the Dodge and Plymouth dealer for the Albert Lea area. I was either half wrong or half right; take your pick.

One of the Tribune’s readers said Mark Seliger was the city’s De Soto and Plymouth dealer. This fact has been confirmed in several editions of the older city directories. He was also the local dealer for the Valiant automobiles for a few years.

The De Soto automobile, incidentally, is another of those cars from the past such as the Hudson and Studebaker and so many other models which are no longer made or sold.

Feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears Fridays in the Tribune.