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After the death of his father, Otto M. Vetter, in 1986, George J. Vetter was bitten by the "genealogy bug" while looking through some very old documents and family photographs that were found in his fathers attic. Intrigued by what he found, and spurred on by an increasing desire to learn more about his heritage, George set about the daunting task of researching his family tree. Little did he know at the time that this task would become his main focus in the coming years. In the connecting pages you will find the results this labor of love involving countless hours of research, hundreds of letters and emails to fellow genealogy buffs and government officials in Germany, and many, many more hours of sorting and compilation. The final results of this research...well, the results may never actually be finalized...as it seems that every stone which is over turned reveals several more which yet need to be overturned...are available by contacting George at gjvetter@hotmail.com A word from the genealogist himself... "I wonder if, in the year 2500 AD, anyone will even care to read or learn about their ancestors. At any rate, this is a story about three separate families who lived, loved and toiled for many centuries in the Holy Roman Empire of Europe. Then, when times were hard in the homeland, certain members of these three family's, hearing of the tremendous opportunities that abounded, emigrated to North America in the middle of the 19th Century. The lives of these three families eventually crossed paths and became interconnected when finally settling in a small town known as Portsmouth in the state of Ohio. While some of their offspring left the area to follow their dreams and ambitions, many family members spent the remainder of their years in this town, and in fact, some still live there until this very day! The three families were the Vetter from Bavaria, the Schmank from Hesson and the Scherer from Baden. (See map below) Interestingly, the paths of the Vetter and Schmank families would cross again in Europe in the year 1917 in "the war to end all wars". Otto Vetter, the son of a tailor and a second generation American born citizen, was sent to serve his country as a officer in the American Army. During this same time, a Joseph Schmank from Hessen was also serving his homeland in the service of the German Military. Both lads survived the trench warfare and at the end of the war in the year 1918, returned to the towns from which they came. Otto Vetter would eventually take a job working for newly emerging company known as National Cash Register and would wed his fiancé, a Miss Agnes Schmank, whom like himself, was a second generation American, born of German immigrant stock. Footprints in the sands of time.... It is my hope that viewers of the attached pages will find only a fraction of the fascination and enjoyment which I have found in uncovering and presenting this information to you." George J. Vetter Portsmouth, OH |
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dvetter@adelphia.net with questions or comments about this web site.
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