MS 1098 - Franz, Sauer and Rettig Family Papers
MLA Citation
Tags
| Title | MS 1098 - Franz, Sauer and Rettig Family Papers |
|---|---|
| Subject | Civil War |
| Introduction | The Franz, Sauer and Rettig Family papers consist of two record boxes dating from 1853 to 2005. The collection consists of family correspondence, literary productions, legal documents, financial documents, newspaper clippings, printed materials, and photographic materials, all of which supply details of the family history and activities. The collection was donated to the Center for Archival Collections through the cooperation of Kevin Rettig of Defiance, Ohio. The register was originally prepared by Andrew Thompson and revised and reprocessed by Annie Rose Adams in October 2009. |
| Biographical Sketch | Henry Franz was born on July 6, 1837 in Hessen, Nassau, Germany. In the spring of 1852, Henry along with his father, Johann Franz, mother, Christina George Franz, and siblings, William, Elizabeth, Jacob, Anna Christina, John August and Frederick immigrated to the United States aboard the Vista. The family settled in Galion, Ohio about three miles from town, but moved again in 1854, settling in Flat Rock Township, Henry County. Soon after the family moved, United States erupted into a Civil War, and Henry Franz enlisted in the Union Army, 68th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. Most of the Franz Family letters were written during the Civil War, from Henry to his family. Many of the letters were written shortly before and after the Siege of Vicksburg. Almost all of Henry’s letters are signed in his German name, Heinrich Franz, a name by which his German relatives would have known him. After the Civil War, Henry Franz married Mary Kemm and they had six children; Irene, Emma, Louise, Katie, Mary, Nettie and Adolph. Irene Franz first married William Herbolsheimer on September 2, 1889. William was the son of John Herbolsheimer, who may have known the Franz family back in Germany. This fact is supported by a letter found in this collection from John Herbolsheimer in Bluffton, Ohio to the Franz family. This is, however interesting, still speculation. A few years later evidence shows that William Herbolsheimer died and Irene then married Charles R. Sauer on May 12th, 1895. Charles R. Sauer was born on January 16th 1865 in Murr, Germany and died March 14, 1935. Charles and Irene Sauer had one child together, Emma Sauer. Emma Sauer married Kevin Rettig and had a son, Kevin Rettig. On February 22, 1959, Kevin Rettig married Vivian Marie Wagner. The Rettig family opened their own music store in the mid-1900s located in Defiance, Ohio. |
| Scope and Content | The collection consists of family correspondence starting with the Franz family before and during the Civil War, and then the Sauer and Rettig family correspondence which is dated until 1975. The Franz family letters consist of Henry Franz’s letters to his parents and siblings during his time in the Union army during the civil war. The original letters are all written in German, but still provide an intricate series of events during the Civil War as seen through the eyes of a young German immigrant. The correspondence of the Sauer family consists of three letters of varying years, the letter from 1975 provides Sauer family history. The Rettig family correspondence consists mainly of postcards to Raymond Rettig, but there is one letter from 1954 in which Louise Schriber provides Mrs. Ray Rettig (Emma Sauer) information of the family’s history and old photograph negatives. Other interesting information found in the Rettig family collection is different musical documents, such as piano recital programs and newspaper ads for their music store. The rest of the collection consists of varying Literary Productions including a memoir which describes the family’s initial immigration to the United States, Legal Documents such as Henry Franz’s military pension information, Financial Documents, newspaper clippings of the Rettig family’s music store, printed materials of various old books, and photographic materials, all of which supply details of the family history and activities. Researchers may be interested in this collection for its correspondence of Henry Franz while he served in the Union Army during the Civil War, the music information provided by the Rettig family, and the various other historic documents found throughout the collection such as war ration books and a Lane Bryant magazine from the late 1920s. |
| Series Description | CORRESPONDENCE CORRESPONDENCE-FRANZ FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE-SAUER FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE-RETTIG FAMILY SUBJECT FILES INDIVIDUAL FILES-SAUER INDIVIDUAL FILES-RETTIG LITERARY PRODUCTIONS MEMOIR LEGAL DOCUMENTS ABSTRACTS OF TITLE DEEDS PENSION FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS LEDGERS-SAUER FAMILY BILLS AND RECIEPTS-FRANZ FAMILY BILLS AND RECIEPTS-SAUER FAMILY SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS-FAMILY OBITUARIES NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS-RETTIG FAMILY MAPS, CHARTS, DIAGRAMS, GRAPHS, LISTS, ETC. MAP PRINTED MATERIALS CERTIFICATES-SAUER AND RETTIG CIRCULARS OTHER PUBLICATIONS PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS POSTIVE PRINT-FRANZ POSITIVE PRINT-SAUER POSITIVE PRINT-RETTIG ARTIFACTS ARTIFACT |
| Inventory | Box 1 Folders
Box 2 Folders
Box 3 Folders
|