A Witt Family History

My great-grandfather Gotthilf WITT was older. He was born 1 Oct 1888 and would have been about 18 if he traveled at the same time as his parents. He is listed as being born in St. Levo Village, Romania. He was married in 1910 in Westover, Texas to Marie NEUFELD. In the nine years before her death children were born in Texas, Kansas and Idaho. When she died in 1919 Gotthilf's parents were already settled in the Karval area. When Marie died Lydia traveled by train and brought John and Bertha to the WITT family homestead southeast of Karval, Lincoln Co. Colorado. They were the oldest two children. I am still looking for information on Aganetha (Nita), and Albert. I know that the youngest child, about age two, Samuel Witt was legally adopted into the Jacob Harms family (wife Helena Klassen) and took up the name Wesley Harms. He was born in Idaho, his children in Oregon and Washington. There are photos of them with my grandparents other pictures and my father remembers taking trips to visit with them.

After Maria's death Gotthilf met and married Anna Bertha Theresa Frohreich. There were married in Holyrood where she was born and shortly after traveled to Lincoln County. John and Bertha moved in with them. Their home was 2 miles north of the original WITT homestead. John attended school at Blue Cliff and Pleasant Center. After graduating from Blue Cliff in  1927 (about 15 years old) he began working for local farmers and ranchers. In 1930 he met Gladys at Blue Cliff during church activities. Shortly after they met in 1930 the HUFF family homesteaded in Lincoln County. Their homestead was near South Rush, where her father Mont HUFF leased a coal mine. Gladys attended Liberty School and graduated the eighth grade in 1928. After she graduated she helped out around her parents farm until she was married in 1932 to John WITT. John and Gladys were married in Ordway. Crowley Co., Colorado by Reverend Lafoon of the Evangelical Church. 

In 1935, when Gladys's parents Mont and Opal returned to the HUFF homestead in Missouri, John and Gladys rented their farm. They lived on the Lincoln County HUFF homestead from 1935 until 1940. In 1940 they moved to John's grandparents homestead. Samuel and Lydia both died in Sugar City. I am looking into finding out when they moved there. John lived at the homestead until the day he died. John died in the house 30 Jan. 1990. Gladys lived there for a while in the care of her daughter-in-law Joyce and then was moved to Family Health West in Fruita, Colorado until she died 5 Oct 1998. They are both buried in Bucklen Cemetery, Karval. Gladys's memorial service was not held until 24 Oct, she was cremated in Grand Junction. John and Gladys have three sons. James, Robert and Ronald. James and Robert live in Grand Junction. The nursing home in Fruita was near them. Ronald presently lives on the original WITT family homestead in Karval. Gotthilf's homestead was sold in the mid 1990s to the neighbor who lives between the two homesteads. The house and other buildings are still standing. No one has lived there since about 1975. A few years after Gotthilf died in Dec 1973 his second wife Anna moved to Hutchinson, Kansas. I believe that Gotthilf also died in his house. 

  Draft of HIS 206 Final Paper (a work in progress)

 Links with information on the areas

Real Cool: Terraserver map photos: original WITT homestead 

Gotthilf's homestead   Bucklin Cemetery map photo, north of Karval Blue Cliff

Colorado maps: 1885 map Showing Rush Creek 1895 (HUFF Homestead Area)

Map: Karval/Sugar City   History of Tarutino

Moldova  Moldova Map & Placename Index  Lycos Travel: Moldova: History  

Vera, OK map Washington County