I'm going to start my blog with what little I do know about my great-grandfather, Engelbert Mautz, since he was the family member that first settled in East Bristol, WI.
Nothing says classy biography like a bullet point list, but for your easy reading pleasure, here are some high level 'facts' that I found on the Internet and through information that my aunt had in the form of historical documentation, anecdotes, and photos.
Nothing says classy biography like a bullet point list, but for your easy reading pleasure, here are some high level 'facts' that I found on the Internet and through information that my aunt had in the form of historical documentation, anecdotes, and photos.
- He was born in 1858 in Burladingen, Germany
- He was a cabinet maker
- According to my aunt, he was a tall and husky German (see photo below)
- He came to America in 1890 first to somewhere on the East coast.
- He settled in East Bristol, WI in 1893
- His last name was actually Mauz.
- His first wife's name was Anna Heim. They had three daughters, Regina, Kate and Johanna. Anna died after giving birth to Johanna.
- His second wife's name was also Anna. Her maiden name was also Mauz. Were they related?
- At some point and for a reason I'm not sure of, the 't' was added to Mauz after arrival in America establishing their last name as Mautz. Spelling error perhaps?
- Anna and Engelbert had two more sons while still in Germany, Joe and Matt.
- After he was established in East Bristol, he sent for his wife and children in 1896 and they all joined him in East Bristol.
- They then had two more children born in America, Anna and Adalbert
- Adalbert was my grandfather (more about him in a future post)
- They ran a dance hall, inn and tavern business in East Bristol, WI (Mautz's Tavern). And he was a dealer in fine wines, liquors and cigars (see photo below).
- Engelbert died in 1923 in Columbus, WI. He was 64 years old.
Sources: findagrave.com; ancestry.com; Ancestral Sketches, 150 Anniversary of St. Joseph's Parish
Hi Staci, I am Sharon Chastain in Albuquerque, NM. Pretty sure I met you and your twin sister (very briefly) this past summer at the reunion of all my cousins in the Park in Sun Prairie. My maiden name was Mautz and I am the oldest of 7 children of Engelbert and Martha Mautz. My grandfather was Joseph Mautz, older brother of your grandfather, Adalbert. I can't tell you how excited I am to find this blog. I learned about it from my brother, Bill Mautz who you may know. He didn't send me the link so just I googled and found your blog. I just finished reading all your entries to date and hope you will continue to add entries because I can hardly wait to read them! I'm going to add some more comments to some of your other entries. God bless you for writing this blog.
ReplyDeleteSharon, I am so glad you are enjoying the blog and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you sharing your comments and stories. That is one of the reasons I started this, was to have a place to capture all the memories, personal stories, and history. Please continue to read and share! Did your family own the farm on the corner of Vinburn? The one that has the Mautz street sign? I live close to there and walk and run by there often.
ReplyDeleteHi Staci, Yes, that farm on the corner of Vinburn was our family home. The Mautz street sign was added years after my parents sold the farm! They then built a new home and lived up on the hill from the farm, on the old highway. Many years later they finally sold that home and bought a home in Sun Prairie. It's so fun to be doing this reminiscing!! If you're close to that area, where exactly do you live? I definitely will keep reading any of your posts and will try to encourage my siblings to do the same.
DeleteI live on Branch Road. The part of Branch Road that is a dead end road that ends right by Hwy 151. To walk from my house to your families farm is almost exactly 1 mile. I have MANY photos that were in the home - some go back as far as the 1800s. It's nice when I can put some life to some of the names that are penciled on to the backs of many of them and now I can be on the look out for ones of your grandfather.
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