Anton Merkel

Anton Merkel is the brother of Jacob Merkel, my Great Grandfather. He born 8 June 1860in Iffezheim, Baden, Germany and died: 31 Jan. 1928 in Rochester, New York. His wife was Magdalena Weber 29 Sept. 1861 -  1946.

 

Here is a link to Anton Merkel.

 

Notes for Anton's wife Magdalena Weber

Magdalen's family also originates from Iffezheim, Germany. The same city as Anton Merkel. My search for the Weber families is incomplete at this time The following is an explanation on my research for several Weber families in Rochester.

There are 2 Weber families in Rochester that I'm currently interested in. Early in my research, I often wondered why my Great Grandfather, Jacob Merkel decided to come to Rochester in 1867 and not some other city. Later in my research I discovered that he had relatives and friends already in Rochester to meet him when he arrived. They were members of the Weber and Pfetzer families.

1. 1st Weber Family
My Great Great Grandmother was a lady by the name of Barbara Pfetzer. Barbara never made it to Rochester but she had a sister by the name of Juliana who arrived in Rochester some time around 1856 because she did marry a man in Rochester by the name of George Weber on Nov. 24, 1856. George was from Bavaria. I don't have any other information on George Weber at this time or whether George and Juliana had any children.

2. 2nd Weber Family   (Florian   and  Leonard - also from Iffezheim, Germany)

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Florian Weber:
born 4 May 1823 Iffezheim, Germany
died: ????
Immigrated to Rochester in 1847.
Florian married Cecilia Pfetzer ( see above ) on 6 Aug. 1854 in Rochester, NY.

Barbara Pfetzer, the wife of my great, great grandfather, Caspar Merkel and her sister Juliana Pfetzer had a cousin who also came to Rochester sometime around 1854. Her name was Cecilia Pfetzer. She married a man in Rochester by the name of Florian Weber. "Florian" may also be known as "Florent" or some other variation. Florian immigrated to Rochester, NY from Iffezheim, Germany in 1847. As far as I know Florian and Cecilia had five children in Rochester between 1860 and 1868. I've traced this Weber line back to Gottfrid Weber and his wife Catharina in Iffezheim, Germany. I don't no when Gottfrid was born but he died in Iffezheim, Germany in the year 1743. His wife, Catharina, died in Iffezheim in 1779. They were married the 28th of March, 1738 in Iffezheim, Germany.  My research in Rochester isn't complete on this family so I hope this little bit of information will be enough to help someone remember if any of these people could be your ancestors. You can find Florian here.

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Leonard Weber ( brother of Florian ) born 7 Nov. 1830 Iffezheim, Germany.
Immigrated to Rochester prior to 1856. Leonard and Florian may have immigrated together but I'm not sure at this time. Leonard did arrive prior to 1856 when he married Maria Friedman on 4 Feb. 1856 in Rochester, NY.

Leonard is the younger brother of Florian and the father of Magdalena Weber (Anton Merkel's wife). Leonard may have immigrated with Florian but I'm not sure at this point. He married Maria Friedman in Rochester, NY on the 4th of Feb. 1856. The name"Maria Friedman" may not be accurate. The records that I've looked at were difficult to read. The name "Friedman" is the best interpretation I can make at the present times. Leonard Weber and Maria Friedman had nine children, one of which was Magdalena. They also had a son by the name of Aloysius. Read "other interesting information" for details on Aloysius'  family.

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Other interesting information on this Weber family:

The following is part a letter to me from Nancee F. Fetzner dated March 3, 1997. It describes the family of Aloysius Weber (brother of Magdalena (Anton's wife) and son of Leonard Weber and Maria Friedman) and Aloysius' wife Maria Ruff (Maria Ruff is not from the same family as Balthasar Ruff).

"Aloysius and Mame had five daughters: Amanda, Kate, Mary, Berta, Jo. None of the daughters ever married. They lived on a farm not far from where I live at 1129 Weilland Road. Amanda and Kate took care of the other sisters after the death of their parents. Mary, Berta and Jo needed extra care since they were mentally retarded. After the deaths of of Amanda, Berta and Jo, Kate worried that if something happened to her they would put Mary in a home and since these kids were treated very well by Kate and Amanda, Kate made arrangements in her will for her friend and lawyer to care for Mary. It has been 3 or 4 years since Kate's death and none of us can locate Mary. Our letters are returned from the Weilland Road address. The old farm house and chicken coop still stand in the middle of newly developed housing. The Webers had hundreds of acres of land but little at the time Kate sold it off. I would estimate that maybe 5 acres are left with the old house. But it is a real mystery since none of us know where Mary is or even if she is alive."s

 

Here are several photos of the Merkel-Pfetzer-Weber families. They were sent to me by Nancee Fetzner.

Photos