Magdalena "Lena" Dreisinger: Waterloo Region Generations

Generation: 1

Magdalena "Lena" Dreisinger was born 1873, St. Jacobs, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown; was buried , Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA.

Other Events:

Name: Lena Dreisinger
Name: Magdalena "Lena" Weckelman
Eby ID Number: Waterloo-113273
Residence: 1891, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
Residence: 1896, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
Residence: 1905, Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States

Notes:

One's third and fourth cousins have the same ancestors and I've learned that they can be"goldmines" for pictures, documents and family stories. In my great-grandfather, ChrisDreisinger's family, I "found" his brother William's descendants when one replied to a letter Ihad written to a bunch of Dreisingers listed on the internet. We shared pictures, names, addresses,dates, lots of stories and now, he is putting together a picture history of the family.

All I knew about Chris' sister, Magdalena (Lena) was that she married August Weckelmann andmoved to Rochester. Because Lena's descendants wouldn't be close relatives, finding themwasn't a priority, but priorities become blurred when there are empty spaces on genealogy charts.Funeral home records of Lena's mother Christina (Braeuchle) Dreisinger, who lived in Elmira,showed that Christina died at 566 Hayward Avenue in Rochester NY and was brought back toElmira for burial. She must have been visiting with her daughter. My letters to Rochester funeralhomes and neighbours brought no replies, and I stopped looking \endash for a while.

Some time later I wrote letters to internet addresses of Weckelmanns in and around Rochesterthey netted two replies. However, after a few conversations I realized these were dead ends.(Readers might wonder why I didn't try other avenues, but writing letters can be done from homeat any hour, and that's what I had time for \endash and I like writing letters.)

Several months passed. An email came from a Gerry Weckelman, who said he was researchinghis family, and had a letter his uncle had got from me. Jackpot! Over the next year, we suppliedeach other with pictures, obituaries, addresses, dates, names. It was great! In David McKnight's Waterloo County Wills I found August's siblings listed with his mother's will. Gerry wasecstatic. Now, he could make more connections.

Gerry's queries to the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester gave almost "everything Iwanted to know" about Lena and August's family. What a sad story: the oldest son's death at 29was "suicide by shooting" (he was married, but no children as far as we know); the second son'sdeath at 19 was "suicide, carbolic acid"; the third son died of "pulmonary tuberculosis" at 25;daughter Nettie, died in her 70s. City directory records indicate that Lena was widowed ca1909,but we've yet to find a record of August's death.

Is that the end of the story? Except for August's death data, I had found out much more than Iexpected. But no, there's a bit more. My husband, Charlie, and I spent a day with Gerry and hiswife, Linda. We drove to several addresses where Lena and Nettie had lived. One still existed:566 Hayward Avenue. Several hours were spent exploring Mount Hope Cemetery, a beautifulfascinating old burial ground (see the web site www.fomh.org). One small, flat, lying loose-on-the-ground stone was the only Weckelmann marker: "Our Will / Asleep in Jesus / F. W. W."[son, Frederick William Weckelmann]. The rest of the family was buried side by side somedistance away and had no grave stone. "So," I thought, " this branch of the family fades intooblivion." After a few months of consideration, I decided to have a marker placed. It reads,simply, "Weckelmann Family."

Weckelman Family -- by Marion Roes (The Waterloo Kin newsletter, Waterloo Region Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society 2003, Vol. 3 No. 4)

Magdalena married August Weckelman 7 Jan 1890, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. August (son of William Weckelman and Christina) was born 1869, , Germany; died 1905, Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States; was buried , Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA. [Group Sheet]

Children:

2. Frederick William Weckelman was born 23 Oct 1890, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown; was buried , Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA.
3. Nettie Weckelman was born 1891, , USA; died Yes, date unknown.
4. August Weckelman was born 1897, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown.

Generation: 2

Frederick William Weckelman

(1.Magdalena¹) was born 23 Oct 1890, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown; was buried , Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA.

Other Events:

Name: William Weckelman
Eby ID Number: Waterloo-30943
Residence: 1891, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
Residence: 1905, Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States

3.
Nettie Weckelman (1.Magdalena¹) was born 1891, , USA; died Yes, date unknown.
Other Events:
Eby ID Number: Waterloo-84915

Residence: 1905, Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States

4.	August Weckelman (1.Magdalena¹) was born 1897, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. Other Events: Eby ID Number: Waterloo-84916 Residence: 1905, Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States