New Light on Freistatt, Missouri
The Fritz, Groh, Waiss and Wiedman Family Legacies Meet
by
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Hopefully the reader will easily identify the thematic patterns nestled in the documents and notes, and use them as tools of interpretation. The themes keep the book from morphing into a mere genealogical tract or collection of mini-biographies. Rather, the thematic patterns are a contextual matrix for the actors who walk on this stage. The book’s first theme is the content of the courtship letters and later family letters and documents. Paragraphs above describe the content and importance of these stand-alone source documents. The book’s second theme is the legacy of the four families that came together when Irwin and Margaret made their marriage vows in Freistatt on Margaret’s maternal grandparents were Andreas Gottlieb Waiss and his spouse Margaretha (Barbara), who came to John Gottlieb Wiedman and his wife Maria were anchors on the side of Margaret’s father. They immigrated to Irwin’s paternal grandfather, Johann Groh, landed on these shores in time to fight in the Civil War as a volunteer Union cavalryman. He later married Katharina Raithel, a young lady from the small Bavarian town where he was born. When her life ended prematurely, he became something of a man on the lam. The Fritz family was Irwin’s heritage on his mother’s side. August Fritz and his spouse Anna were two of the founders of Freistatt and of Irwin and Margaret inherited the family heritage of these four legacy couples and their ancestors. In turn, Irwin and Margaret’s descendants, and other descendants of the four couples, shared family genes, histories, experiences and traits over the years. All four legacy couples emigrated from The book’s third theme is how Freistatt and its Lutheran congregation were established, and how they matured. This theme is woven throughout the book. Photographs show the development of town and congregation, just as other photos illustrate the four family legacies. I pursued new leads on the geographical origins of Freistatt’s settlers and how the founding families were interrelated (see Appendix A for data on the founders from the 1880 The fourth theme of the book is the host of descendants of Margaret and Irwin Groh, and the ancestors and descendants in the four family legacies that came together in their marriage. Appendix D includes short biographies of many of the ancestors and descendants, although the list is not exhaustive.
Formats Book Details The village of Freistatt, Missouri was founded in 1874, and nearly fifty years later Irwin and Margaret Groh represented four families when they married there. This book traces the back story and legacies of the Wiedman, Waiss, Groh and Fritz families, and the roles they played in founding and developing Freistatt and its Lutheran church. This slice of Americana covers the ancestors and descendants of these families. New light shines on all of Freistatt's founders, and the book measures the initiative of spirit and openness to the future that pulled German immigrants to new lives in the United States. John E. Groh received his doctorate from the University of Chicago and brings a wealth of experience to his writing. He grew up in the small town of Freistatt, Missouri, and this book makes a major contribution to its history. Groh tells the story through primary documents and hard-hitting historical research. He has written two volumes on the USAF Chaplain Service and other books and articles, and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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