Albert August Otto Boettcher was the son of Wilhelm (William) and Johanna Boettcher and was born on April 3, 1896 in Bremen, Washington County, Kansas. He died on June 9, 1953 at the Odell Hospital, Odell, Nebraska. He married Rachel Elizabeth Singleton on February 15, 1920 at Hanover, Kansas. Rachel was born on October 17, 1896 at Wamego, Kansas and died March 11, 1985 in Topeka, Kansas. Rachel was the daughter of James Albert and Rhodabell Singleton.
Albert was born and raised on farms near Bremen, Kansas and was baptised at Zion Lutheran Church, Hanover, Kansas in 1896. He was a carpenter and a stone mason. Rachel quit school at about 14 or 15 years old and went to work in hotels and restaurants then in the telephone office.
Picture above is Rachel Singleton Boettcher in 1916 at age 18.
Children of Albert and Rachel Boettcher:
Ruth Clara Johanna Boettcher-- born January 12, 1922 at Bremen, Kansas and died June 18, 1987 at Topeka, Kansas.
Gilbert Boettcher-- (living)
Floyd Boettcher-- born August 1, 1930 at Bremen, Kansas and died November 20, 1998 in Marysville, Kansas.
Marilyn Boettcher-- (living)
Obituary of Albert Boettcher: Hanover News, June 12, 1953: Albert Boettcher Dies At Odell Hospital Monday. Albert Boettcher well known Hanover carpenter and stone mason, died at the Odell Hospital, Odell, Nebr. at three o'clock Monday morning, June 9th following an illness of several months. He entered the hospital four weeks before his death and on May 16th underwent major surgery as a vain attempt to save his life. Funeral Services will be held Friday afternoon June 12. Interment will be made in the Hanover Cemetery. Hanover business houses will close for the funeral following the established custom of closing for funerals of business and professional people of the town. Albert August Otto Boettcher was born April 3, 1896 on a farm near Bremen, in Washington County, Kansas and was 57 years 2 months and 6 days of age. He was united in marriage to Rachel E. Singleton on February 15, 1920. About 10 years ago he moved to the present Boettcher home in Hanover, and since that time has been one of Hanover's skilled carpenters and stone masons. "Al" as he was known to everyone was a well liked citizen at Hanover and many homes and other building in this community are the product of his building skill and knowledge. Mr and Mrs. Boettcher are the parents of four children: Mrs. M.D. Cain, Enid, Okla.; Gilbert Boettcher, Marysville; Floyd Boettcher, U.S. Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, Calif; and Marilyn of the family home. Also surviving are his aged father, Wm. H. Boettcher, who makes his home in the Adolph Niemier home near Bremen.
Obituary of Rachel E. Boettcher: Mrs. Rachel E. Boettcher, 88, 3627 Tecumseh Road, died Monday, March 11, at a Topeka hospital. She was born Oct. 17, 1896, at Wamego, the daughter of James A. and Rhodabelle Brazil Singleton. She spent most of her life at Hanover in Washington County, and lived in the Tecumseh community 22 years. Mrs. Boettcher was a member of First Lutheran Church. She was married to Albert Boettcher in February 1920 at Hanover. He died in June 1953. Survivors include two sons, Gilbert Boettcher, Wichita, and Floyd Boettcher, Marysville; two daughters, Mrs Ruth Griffith, Tecumseh, and Mrs. Marilyn Garrett, Topeka; 13 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and 14 step great grandchildren. Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Tibbitts-Griffin Highland Chapel. Later services will be at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church, Hanover. Burial will be in Hanover Cemetery. Mrs. Boettcher will lie in state after 6pm today at the mortuary
The following is the story written by Rachel Singleton Boettcher about what she remembered of her family and the life in the early 1900's. She was born in 1896 and was 78 years old when this was written. I have transcribed it exactly as she has written it except for a few personal remembrances and information about living individuals which I deleted.
"To My Children" by Rachel Singleton Boettcher, 1974
"I shall write everything down as I remember it. I will start with my grandad Brazzle who was my mother’s father. He said his father came to this country from Scotland and his mother came from Holland. They met here in America and married. His father was a cobbler by trade but they settled on a farm I think in Indiana. They had a big family but grandad ran away when he was just a boy. He came to Kans. and in time married a Gano girl they had 4 children. Bob, John, Susan and Marianne. His first wife died and in time he married his wifes sister, Rachel. They had 5 children: Phoebe, Etta, Marg, my mother Rhodabel and one brother Phillip, but they nicknamed him Bud. My father, James Albert Singleton, never knew much about his ancestors but said he guessed he was mostly Irish and some English. His father died at the early age of 28, leaving his widow with 4 small children. He died of T.B. The children were my Dad, Rose, Sinda, and Alvin. My fathers mother worked as a midwife and whatever else she could get to raise her children. My father grew up and at the age of 19 married my mother who was 17. They had 5 children: myself, Rachel; George, Phil, Mildred, and Gertie. My fathers sister Rose married Jess Walton and they had 2 children, Anna who married Barney Hatke and Lawrence who married Alice Clark. My father’s sister Sinda married Barney Sand and they had no children. His brother Alvin married Anna Sand, a sister of Barney. They had 5 children: Bud, Leona, Donald and Al, Jr.
Now let’s go back to my fathers mother, who later after her children were grown up she married a man by the name of Dodson. He had a son, John by a former marriage, who later married Marg Brazzle. My grandmother and Dodson had one daughter Maud who in time married Frank Brammer of Waterville, Kans, who was my mothers cousin. John Dodson and Marg Brazzle had 5 children: George, Etta, Guy, Bess and Johnnie. Some time later Dodson dies leaving my grandmother a widow again so in time she and my grandad Brazzle were married. They had a good life together for a few years but then my grandmother died of T.B.
I can remember when my brother George was born. I was four years old and Dad came to my bed and woke me up saying he rode old Dick our horse out in the river to get me a brother. We lived in Wamego when my brother Phil was born. I attended the Wamego school until I was about 9 years old then we moved to the country and Mildred was born there, 2 years later Gertie was born. We lived around Wamego on farms until I was 15 years old then Dad chartered a box car and moved all our belongings, animals and all and we moved to Hollenberg, Kansas, on a rented farm we lived there a few years, then sold everything off and moved to Hanover where my Dad worked in the railroad shops and raised a few sweet potatoes and melons. I quit school when we were in Hollenberg. I thot I was old enough to go to work and help support the family. I couldn’t get much so worked in restaurants and hotels and then finally got a job in the telephone office, but I had already met Albert Boettcher when I worked in the hotel. I went to a dance with a friend and her boyfriend and they introduced me to Albert, a German farmer.
I am getting ahead of my story again. Aunt Marg had married John Dodson and had 5 children: George, Guy, Etta, Bess and Johnnie. Ettie, who later married Bud Bond, John Bonds brother, they had 2 boys, Richie and Ray. Bess who later married Blair Ashbaugh they had 2 daughters: Waitstill and Bessie. Waitstill studied to be a Doctor and she married a doctor, Wendell Nickle. They have a big family and still live in Salina, Kansas.
I will have to go back again to when I was 5 years old. Dad had worked on farms to feed cattle but then he took a notion to move to Wamego so he went ahead by himself and rented a house and got a job on the railroad as a section hand. Then Grandad Brazzle took Mona and I and George down to Dad and in the meantime Emma had married Frank Burghoff a conductor on the railroad at Hanover, Kans. He and Em and their little boy Frankie Jr. went to Wamego and lived with my parents until Frank could make enough to rent themselves a house. Later when little Frankie was about 2 years. old he got summer complaint and died and Em. lost a small baby at the same time so Frankie and the baby were buried at the same time and Em couldn’t even attend the funeral. Then they had Goldie and when she was 5 yrs old they had a pair of twins Esther and Sylvester then Helen and Roy.
My mothers sister- Etta married Harry Fielder and they had Raymond, Nellie, Emma, May, Bernard, Rosie and Claude. Moms sister Phoebe married Phillip Cook; they lived on a farm near Waterville, Kans. but finally moved to Beatrice, Nebr. They only had 3 children Ida, Oliver and John, but they never associated with us much as Aunt Phoebe considered herself better that the rest of us, in fact she said she was on the top shelf of the Brazzle family. Then there was Uncle Bud; he and Ina Pelzer of Hollenberg ran away and got married and they came to Wamego and lived with my Mom and Dad until they rented a farm close by and Grandad helped them out with horses and wagon and a few tools and then as grandad was a widower by that time he lived with Uncle Bud for awhile and Uncle Bud had some children but I can only remember Bethel and Clifford.
Uncle Bob Brazzle married Mary Reedy and they had a big family; Frank, Marg, Liz, Willy, Nell, Rhoda and Walter. Uncle John married Kate a sister of Mary and they went out to Oleans Nebr. and staked out a claim on a farm and built themselves a sod house and they raised horses too. They had no children. Then Aunt Susan, Em’s mother married a man late in life who was Frank Hughes. Aunt MaryAnne married Jake Groves and they had a big family; Sam, Florence, Pete, Nell, Ida, Tiny and Arthur. I guess Arther lives here now in Topeka. All these people lived on farms around Wamego at that time and my Dads relation lived around Hanover.
Now about Alberts (my husband) relation as I know about it. His father Wm. Boettcher came to America from Germany when he was only 7 yrs old. They settled first in Wisconsin and raised hops but the price went down and they had nothing left so then in time they settled here in Kansas. They first had to live in a dugout, but built a house as soon as they could and its called the old Boettcher home to this day. There was a big family: William, John, Christ, Fred, Dora, Minna. In time Wm. married Johanna Schield and built a house on the farm between Bremen Kans. and Hanover. They had 2 children, Clara and when she was 5 yrs old they had Albert. John married Wm. Boettchers sister, Frieda and they had 7 children: one daughter Anna and 6 sons, and they had a farm near Wymore, Nebr. Christ lived on a farm north of Hanover, Kansas. and had 2 children Hilda and George. Hilda married but don’t remember who. I only seen her once that I remember. George married Hazel Maybern and they first lived close to the old Boettcher farm and much later retired and moved to town, but Hazel died of heart trouble, but George still lives in Hanover Kans. alone. Fred Boettcher married Mina Rover and they settled on a farm near Antelope, Kans. They had a family but I don’t remember how many children. Dora Boettcher married a Hollaway and lived near Marysville, Kans. Again I don’t know how many children they had. Alberts mother came to America from Germany by herself when she was 17 yrs. old. She was graduated from High School before she left Germany so to learn the American Language she worked for a farm family about a year and in time married Wm. Boettcher. "