Watzke History From Auschine To America

    My name is David M. Watzke,youngest son of Charles Alexander Watzke Jr. and Lois Audry Guidry.I was born on Sept.13,1961 (Mercy Hospital) in New Orleans,Louisiana. Grandson of Charles A. Watzke Sr. and Geraldine Dodge. Great-Grandson of Charles A. Watzke and Pauline Pabst.Great-Great-Grandson Alexander Constantin Watzke and Elizabeth Butscher and 4xGreat-Grandson of Johann Watzke & Charlotte Dubois.5xgreat-Grandson of Johann Franziskus Watzke & Katharina Sieber and last but not least 6xGreat-Grandson of Johann Georg Watzke & Anne Marie Paligin.

          Below is a newspaper article concerning the death of Alexander Constantin Watzke ( Founding Father of the New Orleans branch of the Watzke Families).

   Below is a copy of an e-mail I recently received from a distant cousin Professor Jerry (Gerard E., Jr) Watzke and recent photo and would like to gratefully thank him for his input and look forward to any and all info. he may have to fill in the gaps as we continue our quest into the past. 

Tonight let me just give a time perspective on documents which you have used.  Fritz in Berlin gave me the family tree (in German) in 1972 when I lived in Berlin.  I exchanged a few notes with him later in the 1970's.  In 1980 Betty Tegtmeier from New Mexico contacted me in her search for her line (Wilhelm W.)  She had no luck but told me about the work of Rev James Watzke (a PhD psychologist in Chicago who was working on the midwest clan.)  

One of us (Betty or myself) sent him the family tree in German.  He turned it into English (the one you posted) with some additions and made a trip to Berlin and Czechoslovakia to see what he could see.  He worked hard at trying to find Auschine.  He wrote the letter which starts "Dear Relative Far and Near" in 1985 to his Watzke address book and he included maps and a postcard from Usti Nad Labem in Bohemia, as well as the document from Dr Erich W in Austria which had been sent to me by Fritz. 

So...with that background on information flow, Fr James confirmed that Anton and Franz emigrated to Wisconsin in 1851and that Alexander and Ferdinand arrived a year or so later in New Orleans.  Ferdinand Rudolph left New Orleans to establish himself in Chicago.  So...the part under Alexander's picture and obituary should be changed to say that while Anton and Franz, the uncles of Alexander and Ferdinand, arrived in Wisconsin in 1851, the nephews went from Prenzlau to New Orleans the next year.   (The Germans were aware that Ferdinand later moved north to Chicago or Wisconsin but have no date and they recorded nothing more about either of them).

Also,to be technically correct, Germany as a country did not exist when they left Prenzlau. Prenzlau was in Prussia...Preussen in German... (which I think was a kingdom then, just as was Bohemia when they left there)  As side notes, in the first relevant census roll I could find, AW gave his place of origin as Prussia.   The census taker spelled the name Watsker because this is how it would sound in English when said in German....but in the next census it was spelled correctly. 

      Well, before we tell all about Alexander and the New Orleans branch, I suppose we should start from the beginning with Johann Georg Watzke whom was married to Anne Marie Paligin and began the tree leading up to present day Chicago, Il., Madison, Wi., and New Orleans, La. Watzke families.

        Below is a tree that will bring you from Auschine in 1740 (which is present day Usti on the Elbe River, Czechoslovokia) to early 1940's America.