In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1912) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1833
From History of Crawford County and Ohio : containing a history of the state of Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time ... a history of Crawford County ... biographical sketches, portraits (1881), History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens (1912)
CHRISTOPHER WALTHER, contractor and builder, Bucyrus, oldest son of Christopher and Elizabeth (Doll) Walther, was born
I June 16, 1833, in Baden, county of Durlach, Germany, where he went to school until 12 years old, when his parents came to the United
', States, landing at New York July 1, 1845.
j They came at once to Sandusky C!ity, where an uncle of our subject lived, and here they re-
! mained until September, when they came to Crawford County, settling on the Broken Sword,
[ in Liberty Township, where the father bought
' 50 acres of land and engaged in farming with
' good success. Until 18, young Christopher
I aided his father on the farm, when he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade with Michael Lutz. He worked over three years, only receiving $160. Dec. 4, 1859, he married Margaret Schuler, of Bucyrus, Ohio. Of their union five children are living — Annette C, Frank A., Frederick E., Lena C. and Lizzie E. Two children died in infancy. Mrs. Walther is a daughter of Frederick and Eve (StoU) Schuler. Her father was a native of Baden,
I Germany, who came to New York, 1832, where
' he married Miss Eve Stoll, August, 1837. In September, 1838, he came to Bucyrus, where he, for many years, followed the trade of shoemaker. Her parents are still living in Bucyrus, j and are among the few who still live to recall the struggles of pioneer times. After complete ing his trade, our subject went to Fayette Co., Iowa, in 1856, where he worked as journeyman and contractor until 1859, when he made a trip to Bucyrus, returning with his wife in the same year. They lived in Iowa until 1861. when he returned to" Bucyrus and located permanently. In the same year, he began taking contracts and
I has since employed from six to eight men. He has gained an enviable reputation as a first-class workman, having put up some of the largest public buildings and private residences in the
I city, among which may l)e mentioned the Union
School building, which he erected in 1867-68. Mr. Walther began life without capital, and has, by hard work and close attention to business, raised himself and family into comfortable circumstances. He and family are members of the German Lutheran Church, in which he has served as Trustee and other offices. He is a Democrat. His parents were both natives of Baden, where they were married, about 1830. and settled in Liberty Township of this county in 1845. They raised five children — whose names were Christopher. Magdalena, Philip J.. Caroline and Henry. The father died Aug. 14. 1879, and the mother died Sept. 9, 1873.
As printed in History of Crawford County and Ohio : containing a history of the state of Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time ... a history of Crawford County ... biographical sketches, portraits (1881). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
CHRISTOPHER WALTHER, one of the highly respected citizens of Bucyrus, O., now living retired after an active business career that covered many years, is. a native of Germany, born in Baden, June i6, 1833, and is a son of Christopher and Elizabeth (Doll) Walther.
Christopher Walther, Sr., was born in Baden, Germany, in 1802, a son of Christopher Walther, a weaver by trade, whose entire life was spent in Germany, although a part of his family came to America and settled in Ohio. Christopher was married in Germany to Elizabeth Doll, whose parents were small farmers and spent their lives in that land. Christopher Walther and wife continued to live in their natiAe section until six children were born to them and then determined to seek a land where there were wider opportunities and made preparations to immigrate to the United States. Before they were ready to embark on the sailing ship, however, in 1846, two of the children had died and it was with wife and four children that Christopher Walther started on the long sea voyage that then consumed thirty-six days. They reached the harbor of New York and then, by the old tedious ways of transportation, finally made their slow journey to Sandusky, O., where relatives had already established themselves. They remained there for eight weeks and then came by wagon to Crawford county, where, in Liberty township, Mr. Walther bought a small farm. They lived to see many years of prosperity, retiring to Bucyrus in the closing years of their lives. In Germany they had belonged to the Lutheran church but in their new home no organization of that faith had yet been established and they united with the Methodist Episcopal church and were among its worthiest members. They had the following children beside the two that died in Germany: Christopher; Magdalena, born October 14, 1836, who is the widow of August Kuntzman, and lives at Sandusky, O.; Philip Jacob, who was born October 17, 1838, and who lives on the old homestead in Liberty township and married Rosina Knappenberger; Carolina, born June 6, 1841, who is the wife of Christian Bertsch, a shoe manufacturer at Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Henry, born in America, December 12, 1849, who is a carriage builder by trade and lives at Sandusky, O. It is somewhat remarkable that no death has occurred among the children of Christopher and Elizabeth Doll since the family came to America.
Christopher Walther, eldest son of Christopher and Elizabeth Walther, remained on the home farm until he was sixteen years of age, when he learned the carpenter trade, serving an apprenticeship to the same for three years. In 1853 he came to Bucyrus and with the exception of the period from 1856 until 1861, which he spent in Iowa, he has been a continuous resident of this city. He has been a busy man, becoming a skilled mechanic in early manhood and later adopting building as his chosen line of work and as a builder erected many of the important structures in this city and vicinity. Many of the handsome public school buildings now standing give testimony as to his taste and skill, including the Union School building, while the large German Lutheran church edifice on Poplar Street, shows what he accomplished in that line of construction. For the past twelve years Mr. Walther has been more or less retired but there is probably no citizen of Bucyrus who more closely watches the city's material development and extension than he, having so long been closely connected with the same.
Mr. Walther was married at Bucyrus to Miss Margaret Schuler, who was born June 17, 1838, at Rome, N. Y., and died at her home in this city, April 5, 1900. This estimable lady was a daughter of Frederick and Ava (Stoll) Schuler, natives of Germany, who emigrated to the United States and lived in New York until 1840, when they came to Bucyrus. They were members of the Lutheran church. The only survivor or their family is Jacob Schuler, a retired business man of this city. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Walther, namely: two who died in infancy; Annetti, who is the widow of Paul Barraider, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Frank A.; Fred E., who died at Grand Rapids, Mich., in 191 1; Lena, who is the wife of Charles Flocken, of Bucyrus; and Lizzie, who is the wife of Philip Marquart, of Cleveland, O.
As printed in History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens (1912). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
Named in this biography: Michael Lutz (b. 1821)
Their biographies name Christopher Walther: Frank A. Walther (b. 1862)
The printed record stops around 1881. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.