Great2: Ludwig & Kraus

sketch by Heinrich Ludwig of Heidelberg University in Ohio

great-great grandparents
Heinrich Ludwig Jr.
born in Rotweil, Germany 1838
father Heinrich Ludwig Sr., Minister to Kaiser of Germany*
died 1894, Ohio presumed
Maria Krauss
born in Indiana 11/30/1852
parents George Kreys and Zarelda Gabbert
died 9/8/1931

Previous marriage: Thomas Jefferson Christie
(children: Virginia, Paul and Luano Christie)

Children
1. Henriette Wilhelmina Ludwig b: 18 MAY 1877 in Cleveland, OH
2. Louisa "Lou" Amelia Ludwig
3. Gustave Johan Herman Ludwig
4. Adolf Ludwig
5. Charlotte Christine Maria Ludwig
6. Victoria "Tori" Clara Ludwig
7. Martin Ludwig
8. Amalia Ludwig

Notes of Arnold Heyman concerning his father-in-law, Heinrich Christoph Ludwig (1838-1894): "Heinrich Christoph Ludwig was born in Rotweil and studied in Stutgart. Before he came to America he did tutoring in Germany. His father [Heinrich Ludwig Sr.] was a German minister. It was told that his father at one time was a minister to the Kaiser. Heinrich came to America as a young man. (In some notes I found it says he came when he was 30 years of age.) The family did not know why he left his folks and came to America alone. The family surmised that he may have gotten in some trouble and had to leave Germany. The family also learned from other friends who came from Germany that when his nurse too him for a walk as a small boy he had to wear white gloves. This was supposed to be a badge of distinction. As Mr. Ludwig met ministers of his denomination, they induced him to take up the ministry.I never learned if he went to theological seminary. (Another set of notes says he went to seminary at Eden, Illinois to study for the ministry.) There he met his future wife's brother and was invited to Heinrich Kraus' home during a vacation. At that time Maria Kraus was 17. Her father was also a minister. He is remembered as being a very kindly, refined old gentleman. From the time Maria was quite a young girl, she practically took the place of a mother in the family. When Heinrich Ludwig met Maria Kraus, he asked her to marry. They were married when she was 18 and he was at a place called Pharma near Cleveland. He passed away before I [Arnold] became involved with the family. However I did see his libary in his study. One whole wall of the study from floor to ceiling had shelves full of books of commentaries, theology and philosophy. I concluded that if he had gone through all of those books, he must be a learned man. However, being a learned man, my sweetheart told me that he was not a success as a minister and was quite impractical in the home - not even having the ability to put a stove pipe together. Rev. Ludwig's parishes were mostly in small country villages and farming communities. His services were more philosophical than religious and did not appeal to that type of people. Rev. Ludwig died in his early sixties when most of the family consisting of three boys and four girls had a siege of typhoid fever. This left the family a state of destitution . The youngest baby girl died about that time."

sketch of a classmate by Heinrich

About Maria Kraus Ludwig "I can remember my mother talking about her childhood. Her father's salary often consisted of farm produce, either meat or vegetables, and that her mother Maria was a wonderful cook and could even make the plainest food taste delicious From what she told me I gathered that her father in his later years became an alcoholic and that life was very difficult for Maria. In spite of all her trials she was reported to have a wonderful personlity, always caring for people, and doing many things to keep her children as happy as possible. My mother Henriette says she was her father's favorite child because she loved so much to read and study. Whenever she was reading in her father's study and the other children wanted her to come and help with dishes and other housework her father would announce that Henri was studying and should be left alone." Inez Campbell December, 1986

*German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck's pragmatic Realpolitik. Bismarck sought to extend Hohenzollern hegemony throughout the German states; to do so meant unification of the German states and the elimination of Prussia's rival, Austria, from the subsequent empire. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany...

Bismarck himself prepared a broad outline—the 1866 North German Constitution, which became the 1871 German Constitution with some adjustments. Germany acquired some democratic features. The new empire had a parliament with two houses. The lower house, or Reichstag, was elected by universal male suffrage. However, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas. As a result, by the time of the great expansion of German cities in the 1890s and 1900s, rural areas were grossly overrepresented.

Legislation also required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states. Executive power was vested in the emperor or kaiser..."