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The Peltz Family 1890-1960
This electronic edition (c) 1992 R.G. Boyd. Used with permission. DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS
EMIL AND ANNA PELTZ Note:
Elizabeth Peltz Morin _______________________________________________________________ Foreward In order to preserve what is known about the Peltz family we have decided to republish this booklet which aunt Elizabeth (Peltz) Morin put down on paper in 1960. Much has changed in the more than 30 years since it was written and we are considering bringing the work up to date. To do this we will need a lot of help and family data which can only be supplied by you. We are trying to find out more information on Ferdinand Pelz of Germany. According to the book "German American names, George F. Jones, pub 1990, Genealogical Publishing Company, the name is listed as: Peltz, Pelz, Peltzer, Peldner, Peldtmann, meaning [pelt, hide worker, fr the Latin] (pelis). We wish to thank aunt Elizabeth for her efforts in writing a history of the Peltz family. If she hadn't taken the time to write it down most of it would probably have been lost in the mists of time.
Richard and Jerri Lynn Boyd The Peltz Family 1890-1960
OUR PARENTS
Emil Augustus Peltz, son of Emilie Tobian Pelz (Belz) (who later married Julius Schultz) was born in Kiel*, Germany on January 20, 1867. When he was still very young he and his mother and stepfather came to the United States and settled in Detroit. Work was hard to find and when Dad was nine years old on September 10, 1876 they boarded a steamer bound for Crawford's Quarry from which they came to Moltke Township and homesteaded the land now owned by Charles Sorgenfrie who purchased it from Dad's half brother Julius Schultz (Jr.). Dad grew up on this homestead with six half brothers. He used the spelling of Peltz rather than Pelz (Belz) because he was not aware of the correct spelling*until he became an adult. Anna Marie Rieger Peltz was born in Detroit, Michigan on September 14, 1873. Her parents were Stephen Rieger and Caroline Schmeckel Rieger who had also come here from Germany to get away from the Militaristic government and seek the freedom of America. Grandpa operated a saloon in Detroit for a few years, but not profitably so they too moved to Moltke Township and homesteaded some land just east of the Radio Station WHAK on M-68 between the Adolph and Arnold Karsten farm. The land was later owned by Edward Bruning. Emil Peltz citizenship papers *My research shows the original spelling was Belz as found in the International Genealogical information (IGI) sheets of the LDS church. The record reads: Emilie Belz married Julius Schultz 30 December 1878 in Gross, Neudorf, Posen, Prussia. (It is important to understand that in German the letters "b" and "p" are pronounced the same and are often substituted for one another. And according to the Lutheran Church Records in Gross, Neudorf, Posen, Prussia, Emil Augustus Belz, son of Emilie Belz, was born 21 Sept 1872 at 11AM in Dembinke and baptized on the 29th. Father was not listed. Emilie's father was the deceased Gottfried Belz/Bels of Posen, Lubionke, Prussia. Gottfried
Bels/Belz is listed with wife Elizabeth Krueger, son Ferdinand Bels
born
page 2. This area was
then all
woods and there was just a path to Rogers and Grandpa Rieger
would
walk this path periodically for provisions from Rogers. Log
buildings
were built by these pioneers and land was cleared with many
hardships
for these Grandpa Rieger was one of the founders of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Moltke. The congregation was organized in his house and in the beginning services were held there also. Rieger Family Mother and Dad
(Emil and Anna)
met in Moltke and were married by Pastor Druckenmiller on
October
26, 1890. They had seven children, 4 girls and 3 boys. Anna Maria Henrietta Rieger was confirmed 2 May 1886 by the Rev. Joel David Druckenmiller in the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church of Rogers City, MI. Her memory verse for life was Isaiah 43:1. This
record from Immanuel [Moltke] - St. John's [Rogers City] is
interesting. For a short time
before his
marriage Dad taught in the rural school. All during
his
life he maintained an interest in education and
encouraged
us to learn as much as possible.  page 3 He served as
treasurer of the
Moltke Township School District No. 2 for 45 years. He was also
Township
Supervisor of Molke for 20 years. He was sincerely interested in the
progress
of Presque Isle County and more particularly of Moltke Township.
Emil Peltz family in 1920 census Dad was
sometimes
stern but always ready to help us if we were in trouble. Dad had
a heart condition for some years but was confined to bed only a
few
days before he died January 24, 1941.
Emil and Anna Rieger Peltz In Anna's Garden Mother was quiet
and unassuming,
she lived for her family and was always most happy to have us come home
to visit. She sent us off to school and church
and taught us our prayers. She did a great deal of sewing
to
keep us clothed. Most of our clothes were
remodeled
and it wasn't very often we could afford
anything
new. She was a good cook and gardener and raised wonderful
strawberries. page 4.
She said so many
times that
we should try to make the best of whatever situation
arouse.
She hoped that we would be dependable and
faithful. She was usually
very patient
but would punish us if we pushed her too far. Mother
suffered one heart attack prior to her sudden death
on
2 June 1941. Mother and dad lived to
celebrate
their golden wedding anniversary which took place As
children we
had no radio or phonograph or
planned
community activities as today. Our fun consisted of
simplethings;
such as, playing in the woods with our cousins and
other
neighbors. Our picnics consisted of lunches in
the woods where we picked wild strawberries,
raspberries,
and blueberries. On July 4th there
usually was
a community picnic and dance at the bowery. We looked forward to
this
all year and saved our pennies so we could buy ice cream
cones,
if we had 35 cents we were rich. At Christmas we remember
going
into the woods
The
Peltz Family Photo -1940 page 5. We were all
confirmed in St.
James Lutheran Church and went to grade school in Moltke
and
learned the three R's. Whatever we learned about music depended on the
teacher's interest. We all sang in the church choir
at
one time or another. Our
SISTER HELEN Helen
was the
oldest of our family and was born and lived most of her life in
Moltke
until she married Albert Luetzow. For a
short
time they lived in Rogers City but Albert
was a farmer at heart and came back to
Moltke
where the Immanuel Lutheran Church records has Helen's baptism: BAPTISM
1920 Census LIETZOW,
Albert,
head, 35,
owns debt free, born Michigan, father born Pommern, Does anyone know what happened to Vida Eldred? Helen was a very
good housekeeper
and good manager. She loved her garden and enjoyed music.
She
had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed a good story.
For
about ten years prior to her death she was
ill
and could not enjoy life as others page 6. Helen
died at
the early age of 58 from the heart
and circulatory disease that plagued her for so long. Our
brother-in-law
Albert is a man of Christian faith who The family had two sad experiences in their lives. Their home was destroyed by fire and late the same year they lost their infant son Emil. The three remaining
Luetzow
children all live in the area, Lydia at home with
her
father and Genevieve and Herman in Rogers City. SISTER ELENORE PELTZ 12 September 1894 - 12 Oct 1967 Nora lived in
Moltke until
she grew up and went to Detroit to seek employment. She
came
back to Moltke and married Fred Tulgetske born 10 June 1891 and
died
7 March 1946. Fred and Nora spent most of their lives
on a farm in Moltke adjacent Nora loves
sewing and
cooking and most of all enjoys having company. Nora and
Fred
would have the house full of company most every Sunday. A few
years
after Fred passed away Nora took a course in
Practical
Nursing and loved her work. page 7.
Fred
was always
willing to help anyone in need. We probably remember him, too for
his calmness in any crisis. He passed away at the age of
57following
several years of bronchial trouble. Their children Mable and
Ernest
live in Hawks. Mable born 3 June 1915 m.
William
Schaedig, 16 Nov 1933. William died 21 March 1951 and Mable
married
Louis Kreft 12 June 1965. Louis died 17 Feb 1984. Ernest
was
born 15 Sept 1918 and died 15 June 1982. He married Doris
Dodge.
Elenore married John Schaedig, 15 December 1953. John was born 8
Feb 1891 and died 12 Dec 1970. John enjoyed fishing and
church
activities. (Mable Schaedig Kreft) BROTHER ARTHUR Arthur lived in Molke until his early adult life when he left to seek employment in Detroit. There he met and married Irene Tulgetske and both came back to Rogers City early in their marriage. Arthur and Irene's wedding Photo Arthur
spent part
of his life as a car salesman and at the time of
his
death he was operating a tavern in Hawks, Michigan.
He
enjoyed baseball and followed the activties of he Detroit
Tigers
with a keen interest. He also enjoyed and loved to play with his
children. page 8. He died suddenly at the very early age of 45 of coronary heart disease. During their life together they experienced the loss of their son Norval who died at the age of 6 years following a very brief illness. Irene
was left
with six children the seventh one yet unborn when Arthur died. It
is a credit to her that she managed so well under such difficult
circumstances. Six of Arthur's children are married.
Harvey,
Arlene, Elsie, Dorothy, and Joyce live in Rogers City, Leora in Belknap
and Marilyn plans to enter Wayne State University in the fall.
BROTHER ALFRED PELTZ Alfred has spent
his
entire life in Presque Isle County. He has been employed
at
Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company for over 25 years and currently
is a supervisor there. When he was quite young he married Helen
Wyant
and the family page 9. Freddie (as we call
him) has
an unusually good sense of humor and can injest something humorous into
almost everything. He can laugh at himself
and
enjoys visiting and retelling humorous incidents that happened in
our family. He loves the Freddie was the
victim of a
very serious accident at the plant when he was first
married.
An engine and nine cars backed over him and
he
sustained a broken neck and very serious lacerations all over his
back. He was hospitalized in Bay City for some time
and
fortunately became well and was able to work with little disability.
Both
children of
the family, Shirley and Helen are married and live in Rogers City.
page 10.
BROTHER EMIL PELTZ Emil
attended the
local high school, The Athenayum in Fort Wayne, Indiana and
Ferris
Institute in Big Rapids. He taught school and then he and
his
cousin Carl Schultz founded the Rogers City Hardware now owned by
Emil's sons. Emil's interest in outdoor sports, in fish and wild
life led him into Conservation and finally into politics. He served as
a Representative in the Michigan State Legislature
for
16
Emil was a man of many projects; such as, photography, building radios, playing cards, fishing hunting and even baking fruit cakes. He put his heart and soul in every project. He also served as an officer in the church for a number of years. It was said of Emil that he had a million friends and stood for what he believed was right and that he could not be bribed. Emil
enjoyed a
good time and lived life to the fullest. He
married
Adelia Bruder, and the two are the parents of 5 children. The
family
made their home in Rogers City. Wedding Photos of Emil and Adelia and etc. page 11. Adelia Bruder is
quiet and
helpful, a good manager and a good cook. She always makes you feel
welcome
at her home. Emil died of a heart attack on 5 Feb
1960
at the age of 58. Their children Elaine,
Wallace,
and Myron live in Rogers City, Donald in Toledo, and
Gerald is a student at Michigan State University. SISTER ANNA PELTZ After Anna finished high school in Rogers, she came to Detroit and worked for the Detroit Bank until her marriage to Jerry Levinson. She was a housewife for a short while and since then has held various secretarial positions. At this time she is secretary to one of the owners of Shayder Bros. of Ecorse. She takes an active interest in her employers. Anna loves to travel by air, enjoys reading mystery stories and eating out. She has the ability to choose attractive clothes and wears them well. Anna and Jerry now live in Trenton and usually spend their vacations back home in Moltke. Jerry is a generous brother-in-law; we all enjoy his quick wit. He is
Assistant
Manager of a Branch Office of the Detroit Bank and
Trust
Company. page 12.
ELIZABETH PELTZ With the generous help of members of my family, I was able to finish Nurses Training at Harper Hospital in Detroit in 1932, following my graduation from Rogers City High School. For one year after I finished training I worked at Herman Kiefer Hospital in Detroit. This fall I will have completed 25 years with the Detroit Visiting Nurse Association, during which time I attended night classes at Wayne State University. My work as a nurse is very interesting, it has brought me in contact with many different kinds of people, and I feel I have learned a great deal by these contacts. I also enjoy cooking, sewing, entertaining and oil painting. Arthur Morin and I have been married for almost fifteen years and live in Trenton close to the Levinsons. Art has
always
been most considerate of me and my family. I
think
you are all almost as fond of him as I am. He is
Electronics
Supervisor at Great Lakes Steel Corporation in Ecorse.
page 13. In January of 1947 Anna and Jerry and Art and I purchased the Peltz farm from Aunt Emma Beyerchen who bought it shortly after Mother and Dad died. We are pleased that so many of you visit us when we are at the farm. We hope that you will always feel welcome to come at any time when we are there. God has been good
to the Peltz
family in many ways and we are grateful to Him.
Let
it be one of our goals that if
misunderstandings
arise (we all have our weaknesses) that we put the best
construction
on the actions of others and "Judge "Bear
ye one
anothers burdens" Gal. 6:2. We pass this way only once, so let us
be kind to one another always.
19 June 1960 |
