Walter

It all started with a photo from my cousin. It was labeled Walter Weber – 1912. So now I start thinking who is Walter, but I start looking at other photos he sent me and I forget about Walter. A couple of weeks later, while researching known relatives on Ancestry.com, I came across a census record where Walter is listed as a grandson living with one of my Great Grandmothers. I don't know a lot about Walter, he was born February 13, 1890, about a year before my Grandpa. In the next two census he was still living in Milwaukee, and had two totally different occupations, In 1910 Walter listed his occupation as a sheet metal worker, then in 1920 his occupation is listed as a druggist. This photo shows a young man reading or studying, if the date is correct he was about 22 years old. If you look closely at Walter, it appears he's wearing a wedding ring. Did he get married after the 1910 census? After 1920 I have not been able to find any information on him. Weber is a fairly common name, who did Walter come? Where did he live, did he stay in Milwaukee? Did he join a sister who moved to California?

Barbara Fleischmann Gleitzmann

My Great great Grandmother came to the United States from Bavaria sometime around 1853. She was about 12 when she arrived in New York with her widowed father and three brothers. I've been told that she passed the voyage by knitting long stockings and that other passengers were impressed by her dexterity for such a young girl. This past year I received a package of tablecloths and such from my Mom. Amongst the items in the package I found a pair of hand knitted stockings. From the other items with it I know these stockings are over one hundred years old, hmmmmm, could they be...
After living in the Grafton area for just a few years and eighteen years old, she meet and married Adam Gleitzmann also of Grafton, They married on November 27, 1859. They remained in Grafton for a short time before settling for good in Cedarburg. They enjoyed over sixty years of marriage and were blessed with nine children, seven of who survived to adulthood. Barbara and Adam were two of the oldest residents of Cedarburg. Her husband owned and ran the cooperage. The homestead still stands and is now a private home. Barbara was a friendly woman who would entertain people with her pioneer stories of traveling by oxen and Indians who passed through the village. When the first railroad was built in Cedarburg, Barbara boarded the employees. Then when her husband volunteered for service during the Civil War, Barbara showed what a strong woman she really was, while raising an infant son and her young brother, she not only boarded the employees of her husband's cooperage,but kept the business running and successful. She was remembered as a kindly and whole-souled women who was well respected by her peers and community. The only negative thing I have heard was a story from my Grandma. She told me a story of a feud between Barbara and one of her daughters. Grandma didn't have the complete story, just that one of the daughters got really mad at her mother and refused to talk to her until Barbara's death.
Barbara lived a long and interesting life and although I know a bit about her, I still have questions about her. The biggest questions I have are: Who was her mother? What was her life like in Bavaria? Why did her father feel the need to move his family to a new country? Did they have relatives in the Grafton area?