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THE WEISS STORY, SELZ TO FOX VALLEY

  • FRANZ ADAM WEISS, 1741 -- 1816
  • FRANZ WEISS, 1779 -- 1868, born Brucksal, Baden-Wuerttemberg
  • KARL JOSEPH WEISS, 1814 -- 1895, born Glückstal, Odessa district
  • JOSEPH WEISS, 1852 -- 1921, born Selz, Odessa district
  • CONRAD WEISS, 1882 -- 1948, born Selz, Odessa district
  • REMIGIUS WEISS, 1919 -- 1988, born Fox Valley homestead

FRANZ ADAM WEISS. The 1842 marriage record of Franz Weiss in Selz identified his parents as Adam Weiss and Margaretha Schnepf.  According to church records, this Weiss family lived in the town of Bruchsal, near Karlsruhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg.  From these records I learned Franz's mother was Margaretha Braunstein (not Schnepf), who died when Franz was only two years old.  Franz Adam Weiss died in Bruchsal in 1816.  Economic and political factors encourged a mass migration of Germanic peoples to South Russia at the turn of the nineteenth century.  Approximately one hundred thousand Germans made the trek to the steppes of South Russia, with the peak years of emigration being 1763, 1804, 1808-1810.  His son Franz left for Russia in 1804.

FRANZ WEISS. The 1816 census for the village of Glückstal, as published by Karl Stumpp, lists a colonist in Household # 32 as Franz Weiss, 37, with wife Henrika, also 37, and three children: Eva Maria 4, Magdalena 2 1/2, and Karl Josef 1 1/2. The low household number indicates Franz & family were in Glückstal by 1805. All subsequent Archive records indicate the name of Franz's wife as Magdalena. The 1835 marriage record of daughter Magdalena to Georg Welk of Kandel provides the name of the bride's mother as Magdalena Koessele. I next found a baptism record for Henrietta Magdalena Goessele, born 24 Feb 1775 in Beihingen, Freiberg, Württemberg. The Goessele entries in the Beihingen Familienbuch state that Henrietta Magdalena Goessele married Franz (surname unknown) from Bruchsal in 1804 and left for Russian Poland. Subsequent searches in the Bruchsal and area records reveal lots of Weiss families, and a few Schnepf families, but thus far, a baptism record for Franz Weiss, born about 1779, has yet to be found. Franz and wife Henrika also appear in the 1810, 1812 and 1814 census for the German colony of Glückstal. But the 1818 census indicates that the Franz Weiss family was no longer living in Glückstal.

The next reference to Franz Weiss I found on the 1820 Selz Voters List. Then the 1828 Selz Debtors List shows Franz Weiss in Household # 21, now with 4 males and 2 females. If these numbers are accurate, it would appear that two more sons were born into the family in addition to Karl Josef. The two females would be Franz's wife and daughter Magdalena. Daughter Eva, age 17, is likely living in another household as a servant, or she married young. Eva did marry Josef Deis from Kandel, but I do not have any births for this couple prior to 1836. I am guessing that Franz moved from Glückstal, a Lutheran colony, to Selz because it was a Catholic colony. And Selz is where the rest of the Weiss story plays out.

Magdalena Weiss, nee Goessele, wife of Franz, died in Selz 17 Apr 1836.

On 03 Mar 1842, Franz married Marianna Wagner, nee Derschamm, daughter of Adam Derschamm and Anna Elizabeth Koehsler, in Selz. Franz and Marianna are listed in the 1852 Kutschurgan Church List for Selz, Household # 27. Franz died in Selz on 29 Jan 1868 at the age of 95. The survivors were listed as wife Marianna, and children Karl, Eva, and Magdalena.

KARL WEISS. I have archival records which show that on 17 Sep 1833, Karl married Christina Mastel, daughter of Nicolaus Mastel and Marianna Hartmann.  Birth records from Selz indicate Karl and Christina had at least three children:  Catharina (1834), Philipp (1837), and Margaretha (1839).

Karl and his family are listed in the 1852 Kutschurgan Village Church Lists, in the village of Selz.  This "census" lists the household with Karl 39, Elizabeth 33, Philipp 15, Ludwig 5, Catharina 17, Helena 9, Cecilia 2.  Living with them are Karl's father, Franz 73 and wife Marianna 67.  So Karl has a new wife in this census, and daughter Margaretha has died. It appears that this daughter died as an infant, and possibly the mother, Christina, died at the same time. I don't know when Karl married Elizabeth Degenstein, daughter of Peter Degenstein and Theresia Peter, but in 1840 they had a daughter who was also named Margaretha. Karl and Elizabeth had eight more children. Elizabeth died 01 Feb 1873 at the age of 54. Her survivors were listed as husband Karl, and children Joseph, Johann, Helena, Zizilia. The status of Karl Joseph's household and property holdings is outlined on pages 84 and 85 of the 1892 Statistical Journals on Odessa Uyezd villages, Odesa State Regional Archives, 274-2-18. When Karl Joseph died in Selz on 11 Feb 1895, his age is given as 83 years, and he was survived by a widow, Barbara Meier. 

CHILDREN OF KARL JOSEPH WEISS:

  • Catharina, b. 14 Aug 1834
  • Phillip, b. 24 Jan 1837
  • Margaretha, b. 20 Feb 1839
  • Margaretha, b. 27 Dec 1840
  • Helena, b. 25 Dec 1842
  • Otilla, b. 14 Dec 1844
  • Ludwig, b. 15 Dec 1846
  • Anton, b. 19 Feb 1849
  • Cecilia, b. 26 May 1850
  • Joseph, b. 01 Jun 1852 -- my great-grandfather
  • Johann, b. 14 Jul 1854
  • Roch, b. 05 Jul 1857

JOSEPH WEISS. My great-grandfather married Margaretha Goldade around 1872. Margaretha was born 23 Mar 1849, the daughter of Stephan Goldade and Genevieve Thomas. The Goldade family was one of the founding families of Selz. Birth records again reveal that Genevieve died around 1891. Joseph married a second time in Selz to Franziska Weichel, on 22 Nov 1893. According to EWZ records, Joseph died in Selz in 1921.

CHILDREN OF JOSEPH WEISS:

  • Joseph, b. 12 Jun 1874
  • Anton, b. 24 Oct 1876
  • Elizabeth, b. 11 May 1880
  • Konrad, b. 09 Dec 1882 -- my grandfather
  • Dorothea, b. 26 Mar 1885
  • Genovieve, b. 18 Oct 1887
  • Margaretha, b. 21 Jul 1890
  • Jakob, b. 31 Jul 1894
  • Fransisca, b. 21 Jan 1899
  • Brigetta, b. 01 May 1901

KONRAD WEISS. My grandfather married Brigetta Fetsch on 10 Aug 1908 (see marriage record) in Selz. Brigetta was born 10 Jan 1888, the daughter of Michael Fetsch and Barbara Schwab. The Fetsch family was one of the founding families of Selz. Konrad and Brigetta had three daughters born in Selz before they emigrated to Canada in 1913. One daughter died before they left. Konrad and Brigetta homesteaded near Fox Valley, Saskatchewan, and raised their family in that community. Both are buried in the Fox Valley Cemetery. Conrad died 02 Dec 1948. Brigetta died 09 Dec 1966.

CHILDREN OF KONRAD WEISS:

  • Emelia, b. abt. 1909
  • Barbara, b. abt. 1910. Died in Selz.
  • Agatha, b. 1912
  • Joseph, b. 15 Sep 1914
  • Frank, b. 28 Dec 1915
  • Julia, b. 22 Nov 1917
  • Remigius, b. 05 Jan 1919 -- my father.
  • Eugenia, b. 13 Oct 1920
  • RoseMarie, b. 29 May 1922
  • Nicholaus, b. 1924
  • Dan, b. 25 Jul 1925
  • Anne, b. 14 Feb 1927.

REMIGIUS WEISS. My father was born on the Weiss homestead northeast of Fox Valley. He attended school first in Beiseker, Alberta, and then at Tigh and Snowdown schools near the Weiss family farm, seven miles southwest of Fox Valley. He worked on the family farm with his parents until he was drafted into the Canadian military. Dad married Rosie Schafer of Golden Prairie, SK on 27 Dec 1943. After the war they returned to the farm to raise their family. Dad died on his sixty-ninth birthday in 1988.

Konrad and Brigetta Weiss with their children Dan, Rem, RoseMarie, Frank and Ann. Missing are Joe, Eugenia and Julia. Taken about 1938, on the Weiss farm where I was raised.
About 1942 standing in the Weiss garden. Conrad, Johann Klug (neighbor), Brigetta, Frank and Rem.

Descendants of Karl Joseph Weiss, 4 Gen