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Archiver > OHTUSCAR > 2003-07 > 1058407612


From: Patrick or Cynthia Karl <>
Subject: [OHTUSCAR-L] Looking for Karl/Rentz information
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 21:07:02 -0500


We are Elizabeth Karl Churchett, daughter of/and Patrick Karl, son of
Leo Karl, son of John Karl, son of Philip Karl, son of Johann Karl.

Johann Karl and his wife, Elisabeth Rentz, emigrated from Germany in
1850 through (Le) Havre on the ship, Leander. They, along with their
eight children, ranging in age from 18 years to 9 months, arrived in New
York City on 27 May 1850. In August, 1850, they were enumerated in Buchs
Township, Tuscarawas County, by the censustaker for the 1850 US census.

When Peter Karl, the 2nd oldest of Johanns children, died in 1915, it
was said that his birthplace was Wertzviler.

In the various censuses in which Johann or his children can be found
(and its not always easy: in the 1850 census Johanns last name is
given as Charles), their country of origin is given as Germany,
Bavaria, or ReinBeim.

I am currently trying to answer the following two questions:

· where did the Karl family come from? That is, where were Johann and
his wife and children born/baptized? Where were Johann and Elisabeth
married?
· How did it happen that they went so fast from landing in New York City
to being in Tuscarawas County (where they remained the rest of their
lives + 1865/1897 resp.)?

On the first question, we have located several potential candidates:

· Wörschweiler, Saarland, Germany.
· Werschweiler, Saarland, Germany.
· Wirschweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
· Würzweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
· Wentzviller, Alsace-Lorraine, France.

The first two are not considered actual possibilities anymore, after
consultion with some local experts in the regional genealogy..

The reason that Wertzviler is not on the list is that there is no
longer such a place that we can find. An Internet search shows that
Werschweiler went by the name Wertzweiler at one time. The reason that
Bavaria itself doesnt turn up on the list above is that the Karls were
probably (possibly?) from the so-called Bavarian Palatine, a possession
of the Bavarian king, so that they would therefore put themselves forth
as Bavarian to the censustakers. I suspect that the two villages listed
above as being in Rheinland-Pfalz may well have been in the Bavarian
Palatinate at the appropriate time, namely, the time of Johanns birth.
I have a correspondent who claims that Wentzviller was also in the
Bavarian Palatinate.

Does anyone have any information on either of these questions?

Thanks,
Patrick Karl


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