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RudBlatterCover.indd 1 6/15/10 4:24 PM T h e F a m i l y h i s T o r y o F Rudolph & Elizabeth Weber BlaTTer Compiled Histories of Rudolph, Elizabeth, Their Children & Spouses by Lynn Blatter ©2010 Lynn Blatter Background cover photo, by William Zimmerman, is used by permission of the Museum of Idaho. Printed in the United States of America Designed, published by emCole Design LLC 920 Heritage Park Blvd., Ste 200B, Layton, Utah 84041 www.emcoledesign.com No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without prior written permission of the publisher. Lynn Blatter 2212 North Red Cedar Circle Cedar City, Utah 84720 Introduction The Blatter family has a rich heritage. and others left a rich and detailed description of To more fully appreciate it and make it their experiences. As for Rudolph’s name in its available to all the descendants of Rudolph various spellings etc., Cheryl Blatter Graham, my and Elizabeth Blatter, I was inspired to compile the sister, notes that in looking at the microfilm of J. available history in a book. I did not rewrite or alter Rudolf’s baptism in Tenniken, Switzerland, he these histories as they came to me. After publishing is listed as “Joh. Rudolf”. It is a diminutive of his Taylor Mountain Homesteaders about those who father’s name Johannes and they intended to call originally occupied the dry farm him Rudolf from the very beginning. land later owned by John and Reed All his legal documents are in the Blatter and seeing how thrilled and name of “Rudolph” but his personal appreciative they were to have their signature on his pension application histories gathered and published, it he signed as “Rudolf”. was an incentive for me to start on This has been a work of great this project. joy and satisfaction to me and I This book is limited to the nine hope it will be appreciated by all children of Rudolph and Elizabeth the descendants of Rudolph and and their children’s memory of Elizabeth Blatter. them. Some of the families left a —Lynn A. Blatter very meager account of their lives iiiiii Acknowlegdments This book was made possible by the readily made available to me which was so greatly generous contributions of the descendants appreciated. My grandson, sixteen year old Brandon of Rudolph and Elizabeth Blatter in Blatter, was most helpful in converting the PDF furnishing histories, documents, pictures and first histories into Microsoft Word and my daughter hand accounts of Rudolph’s family. Everyone I Jan Blatter Kotter for reforming that converted contacted was most willing to help. Eva Blaylock text. A special thanks to my sister Cheryl Blatter and Kay Blatter, children of William Blatter, the Graham as our family genealogist for keeping track youngest child of Rudolph and Elizabeth, were of Rudolph and Elizabeth’s nine children and their very helpful in locating relatives and histories. Velta descendants so I would have a direct source to Cleverly was wise and thoughtful some years ago in contact to obtain the histories. She made available gathering memories of their mother Dora from the the chart which links which histories go with which ten children of Gottlieb and Dora who knew her descendant line. and made them available to me. I am grateful to my I express appreciation to Lane Blatter for daughter in law Dawnika Blatter for typing those furnishing the Blatter “Coat of Arms” and its English 40 pages of Dora into Microsoft Word making translation. Cherlynn Blatter Thomas, editor of them ready for the graphic artist Matt Cole, who the Weber/Baumann organization newsletter does the layout and format for the printing. contributed extensively to much needed material. Kevin, Allen and Gary Blatter, my nephews, had This has been a great cooperative effort for which I previously done extensive research on Rudolph’s am most grateful. Civil War experience and life in Illinois which they —Lynn A. Blatter iv Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v Coat of Arms & Explanation of Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Pronunciation of Blatter Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viii Rudolph Family Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Rudolph Family Descendants Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .x Histories: 1. Rudoph Blatter & Elizabeth Weber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Rudolph’s Land Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Perry County Illinois, Township 4 S. Range II W. (1902 Map) . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2. Rosina K Blatter & William Lincoln Volmer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 3. John Blatter & Bertha Hoffman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4. Andors Casper Blatter & Margaret Hiatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 5. Frank Blatter & Mary Caroline Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 6. Elizabeth Mary Blatter & John Krupp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 7. Lilly Blatter & Frank Ritter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 8. Trecie Blatter & Joseph Waisath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 9. Gottlieb Blatter & Dora May Hiatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 10. William Blatter & Olga Vollenweider. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 11. Josephine Francisca Von Euw and John Henry Gernand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 v Coat of Arms BLATTER FAMILY: Of Tenniken, BRANCH (BASEL) Shield: Silver-Red Helmet: Fisier Cover: Rot-Silber Zier: Guardian Lions Legend: Family which was known before the 18th century in Tenniken Basel 16th Century Registration Nr.: 133 Origin of the coat of arms: Basel Coat of arms book, and old seals, in the Bern Historical Museum Cost: 5 Swiss Franks Institute for Heraldic und Genealogy T. Mogg Biel-Bienne vi Coat of Arms Confusion over the term “Family Crest” Meaning Behind Symbols probably arose from an understandable Color Meaning abbreviation of the terminology used in Gold – Generosity and elevation of the mind heraldry for an important part of a coat of arms. It is not difficult to see how the term “Crest” could Silver – Peace and sincerity have become synonymous in common use with the Red – Warrior or martyr, military strength, term “Coat of Arms”, since one is a part of the other. magnanimity Through time the “Crest” has been associated with Lion – Dauntless courage, bravery, strength, family names, independent of the Coat of Arms. ferocity and valor Coats of arms are not awarded to a family name, The coat of arms borne on a shield notes that but to an individual. The coat of arms and crest was “family” identification was practiced in Northern granted to someone with that name many years Europe even before the Norman Conquest. ago. This is why there is often more than one coat Regardless of their origins, coats of arms became of arms associated with a given surname. military status symbols. The “Crest” is the adornment with colors and figures on, above, and around the shield. The depiction on the shield is the “Coat of Arms.” vii Pronunciation of the Family Name “Blatter” As many of you will know, the “Blatter” name the Swiss-German Mission. Having a love for and comes from the German-speaking part of being familiar with German from his mission, on Switzerland. It is the plural of the noun, hearing the original pronunciation, Elder Young “Blatt,” meaning in English, “leaf,” “petal,” “newspaper” was taken aback and commented in order for the or “sheet” (of paper). In the original German, the family to be closer and more accurate to the original plural is made by placing two dots over the “a,” called pronunciation, they should call themselves Blatter an “umlaut,” or is sometimes written with an “e” (rhyming with “hotter.”) So from then on, they did. following the “a” to let the reader know that it is plural Reed was apparently enthusiastically supported in and also of the changed pronunciation. In both cases, this change by his friend and Stake President, Cecil the plural is pronounced Blaetter (rhyming generally, Hart, who himself a former French missionary, was but not exactly, with the English word “letter.”) In familiar with Europe and European languages and any event, it appears that the original leader of the presumably liked to preserve their original sound. family, Rudolph Blatter, who came to the United Other members of the extended family States from Switzerland in 1854, presumably in thought the new pronunciation presumptuous and order to make it simpler for Americans reading and continued to call themselves “Blatter,” (rhyming speaking his name, called himself “Blatter.” Rhyming with “matter”) to the present day. But regardless of with “matter.” That is how the pronunciation of the pronunciation wherever they live have been proud name remained until 1948. to be part of the extended family and related to According to members of the Reed Blatter each other. They have distinguished themselves as family, their altered pronunciation of their last patriotic and productive Americans, have raised name, now rhyming with “hotter,” came about when faithful and law-abiding families, have been faithful Reed was called to be a member of the South Idaho and serving Latter-Day Saints, and have made their Falls Stake Presidency at the Stake Conference communities and country better places to live in. As held in Idaho Falls on May 30, 1948. The presiding a family, we are proud of them all. authority at that conference was the senior Information provided by Sharlene Tobler Blatter president of the Seven Presidents of Seventy, Elder and her brother Douglas Tobler, retired BYU professor. Levi Edgar Young, a former professor of History at the University of Utah and former missionary in viii Rudolph Blatter Family Portrait, 1913 ix