We complete the transcription of the article on the disappearance of George Rothweiler from the Belleville News Democrat of 21 January 1905. There's a slight twist at the end.
[begin transcription]
"Rothweiler says he left home in the hope of bettering his condition, but that he has thus far failed to meet with success anywhere. He has traveled hundreds of miles, he says, but during his trips has failed to find a place as good as 'dear old Belleville.'
His wife states that she will not send him the money to get out of jail. The spouse, she says, failed to inform her of the fact that he intended to leave, and that now he could get back to Belleville in any way that he possibly could."
[end transcription]
Well that's an interesting, if understandable, response.
I'm still wishing that the wife was named specifically in the article. Going forward, I'm looking for additional references to George Rothweiler in GenealogyBank and other newspaper websites. The first part of this article suggests that there might have been other articles published about Rothweiler's disappearance when it was first noticed. He had been gone for several months when his wife received the letter that prompted this article. Those earlier articles may provide additional details on his family. It's important to remember that locals in the Belleville area would have known who George Rothweiler was so the additional details were not necessary to them in 1905.
And the question remains: did he come back to Belleville? Was there an eventual divorce?
This newspaper account located on GenealogyBank may be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Stay tuned.
A little searching on GenealogyBank located an article on an extended member of my Trautvetter family. Apparently Theodore Trautvetter wasn't the only member of his larger family whose disappearance involved a train.
The article transcribed is from the Belleville News Democrat from 21 January 1905 and was obtained on GenealogyBank.
[begin transcription]
Geo. Rothweiler in South Dakota
Teamster Who Mysteriously Disappeared from Here Four Months Ago
Writes Letter to Wife
States That He is a Prisoner in Jail for Beating His Way on a Train
The mysterious disappearance of George Rothweiler, a well-known teamster of this city, who has been missing from here for the past four months, has been cleared.
A letter received by his wife on Friday afternoon, dated South Dakota, imparts that he is a prisoner in a jail in South Dakota.
Rothweiler, it will be remembered, left his home four months ago to go to work. He failed to show up for work and also failed to return to his home in the evening.
The disappearance was reported to the police and every effort was made to discover a clue which would lead to the discovery of the whereabouts of the man.
Nothing, however, was discovered, and Rothweiler's wife concluded that her husband had met with foul play.
Her surprise, therefore, can be imagined when on Friday she received a letter from Rothweiler. In the letter he stated that he had been arrested for beating his way on a train. He also said in the letter that if his wife would send him $5 or more he would be able to get out of jail.
He says that he as been under arrest for the past two months, and that he is very anxious to get back to Bellville.
Rothweiler says he left home in the hope...
[end transcription]
Stay tuned...there's more to this item.
What's a little frustrating about the newspaper item at this point is that Rothweiler's wife is not named. I'm trying to make certain he's the same George Rothweiler who was a member of my extended Trautvetter family and my attempts to do that at this point are focusing on census records and city directories.
