Following is a summary of the Riedesel emigrants to America. I have a variety of information on many of them, but will limit this document to their names and where they settled. The largest number came from the village of Wunderthausen, and I have organized them around their houses of origin. These traditional house names … Continue reading Overview of Riedesel Emigrants to America
This Ludwig Heinrich Riedesel was born in the house known as “Weisse” in Wunderthausen on December 23, 1839. He was the second-oldest of at least nine children of (another) Ludwig Heinrich Riedesel (1816-1886) and Luise Althaus (1816-1872). His older sibling died young, so he would have been in line–by tradition–to take over the house, but … Continue reading Ludwig Heinrich Riedesel (1839)
Johannes Riedesel was born October 20, 1810 in the Wunderthausen house known as Weymers. He was the fourth of eight children of Johann Georg and Catherine Elisabeth (Fuchs) Riedesel. With two older brothers, his economic prospects were limited. According to his naturalization papers in November/December 1842, he had come to America in March 1837. Those … Continue reading Johannes Riedesel/John Radle (1810)
What Does the Name Mean? Were they Germans or Prussians? What’s with Those First and Middle Names? I Have Riedesel Ancestors But Don’t Know Much About Them Why Did They Come to America? Aren’t We Really von Riedesel? What Is the Correct Way to Say Riedesel? Is It Easy To Visit the Places Where Our … Continue reading FAQS
Im Jahre 1980 habe ich ein Büchlein über die Riedesel Familien in den USA veröffentlich. Unter anderen Themen hat ich meine Mitbürger ein Überblick des Lebens in früheren Jahrhunderten um Wunderthausen anbietet. Damals gab es fast keinen anderen Quellen in der englischen Sprache. Leider ist das auch heute der Fall. Viele Jahre später hat mein … Continue reading Riedesel Familien in Wittgenstein
Johannes Riedesel was born October 15, 1842 in Wunderthausen. He was the fourth of five known children of Johannes and Florentine (Ruppert) Riedesel who lived in the house then known as Känels, which no longer exists. The family was most likely poor even by the local standards. It is almost certain that Johannes/John came to … Continue reading Johannes Riedesel (1842)
Ludwig Heinrich Riedesel was born January 26, 1836 in Wunderthausen in the house known now as Hanjosts though historically as Altehäusers. He was the fourth of sixth children of Johann Jost and Maria Gertraud (Dreisbach) Riedesel. He married Katharina Elisabeth Dickel on May 27, 1862. Rather than trying to set up their own household, the … Continue reading Ludwig Heinrich Riedesel (1836)
The Johannes Riedesel of St. Louis is almost certainly the Johannes Riedesel who was born in Försters am Lotzenberg house in Wunderthausen on January 27, 1846. He was the son of Georg Ludwig and Luisa Gertraud (Bender) Riedesel. He was the fourth of five children. I believe he was the 20-year-old John Riedesel aboard the … Continue reading Johannes Riedesel (1846)
This man was presumably born in Stralsund in Vorpommern about 1848. He could have come to America with his parents about 1873 but other records say 1881. We know only his father’s name of Charles. They lived in Chicago. On October 2, 1872 he married Dorothea Roast in Elgin, Kane County which was home to … Continue reading Johannes/John Riedesel (c1848)
Johannes Riedesel was born in Wunderthausen on December 4, 1814 to Johannes Riedesel and Catherine Elisabeth Pott. He came to America with his parents about 1815 where he died in Adams County, Pennsylvania at the age of 17 on September 13, 1831.
Johannes Riedesel was born September 15, 1787 in Wunderthausen. He was the son of Johann Ludwig Riedesel and Anna Elisabeth Spies in the house known as Wetzels. He was married to Catherine Elisabeth Pott–whether “officially” or just by common law, we don’t know. She was born on November 28, 1793 in Wunderthausen. The evidence we … Continue reading Johannes Riedesel/John Rittase (1787)
Joachim Carl Friedrich Rietesel was born February 21, 1851 in Muucks, Vorpommern. His parents were Johann Joachim Rietesel and Maria Dorothea Holfreter. The parents evidently went to America first but by the time young Friedrich (as he was known) was married, only his father was reported as being alive in Chicago. His wife was Amalia … Continue reading Joachim Carl Friedrich Rietesel (1851)
Dina Riedesel would have been born in Germany about 1853 though no entry for her can be found in the Wunderthausen church records. She was the daughter of Georg Gabriel (known as Ludwig) Riedesel and his second wife Elisabeth Amalia Knoche. They settled in the Kansas City area. The only record of her existence is … Continue reading Dina Riedesel (1853)
To this day, Mannus Riedesel (1662-1726) is revered in Wittgenstein as a master craftsman and builder of his era. Ten of his structures are still known to exist in Wittgenstein. There were once many more. In April 2024, a memorial stone was dedicated to him at the centuries-old church in Raumland where he was baptized … Continue reading Mannus Riedesel in Pictures
Peter Riedesel (1839-1891), born in Leidenhofen, moved to the then-German area called Diedenhofen in what is now called Thionville in the French province of Lorraine. He had ten children from two marriages; three from the second marriage eventually went to America. (Do not confuse this location with Diedenshausen, a neighbor village to Wunderthausen).
Four Riedesels from this town in southern Wittgenstein came to America. Brothers Ludwig and August settled in Texas. Siblings Karl and Luise settled in Minnesota though Luise (Pieper) and her family wound up in Texas as well. Clicking on these thumbnails will open full-size images.
Clicking on the following thumbnails will open full-size images. Map of Wunderthausen streets today (Adobe Acrobat pdf format)
Luise Riedesel was born September 19, 1860 in Erndtebrück as the seventh of 12 children of Johann Heinrich and Maria Elisabeth (Wiekel) Riedesel. We know that she was married in Germany to a Schneider and had a son, Henry (Heinrich). What became of the marriage or the husband is not known. It appears that she … Continue reading Luise (Riedesel) Pieper (1860)
Karl Riedesel was born March 24, 1854 in Erndtebrück. He was the third son/child of Johann Heinrich and Maria Elisabeth (Wiekel) Riedesel. There were to be a total of 12 children in all but only Karl and his sister, Luise, went to America. Johann Heinrich was a shoemaker, a trade Karl would follow. Even German … Continue reading Karl/Carl Riedesel (1854)
Friedrika Riedesel was born about 1859 in or near Stralsund in western Pomerania. We know that her father’s name was Charles and that he brought her and other children to America, perhaps all in 1873. The name of Friedrika’s mother is unknown. She was dead by 1880. The family lived in Chicago. On December 28, … Continue reading Friedrika (Riedesel) Mahnke (1859)