William Thomas Rissler

GEDCOM Note

From the notes of Kathleen Finley, spring, 2000. Willliam Rissler moved to Canada. He was the father of three daughters, Margaret and Francis married Canadian men and stayed there. Mary came back to Indiana and married Harold Barnes. They had one son, a pilot, with American Airlines. He is probably retired, he lived with his father. Mary died in about 1982 (not sure)

From a letter dated June 16, 2000, from Kenneth Earle Knight. Will Rissler took his three daughters to Canada after his wife died, where they married three brothers by the name of Messer. [2 did, Mary married Harold Barnes..pks] The farm he left in Harmony, Indiana was in our family until recent years. The connection with my family was quite unusual, as Will Rissler was married to Lulu Shults, Poland, IN--who was my grandmother, Ida Shults Knight's, sister. When Will left for Canada, he put everything he owned into barrels, and put the barrels and his wife and children on a train. Even the pigs went onto the train for the journey to Canada. The property in Indiana that Will had had, went to the Knight family.

From a conversation with Mary Margaret Messer Zielke: Mary Margaret believes that William Thomas was married a third time after his wife died to a woman named Cora who was stepmother to the girls. Frances was a twin, and the brother, Frank died in infancy, probably before he was six months old. Will and his wife had had one other son that also died. Mary Margaret believes that Cora and Will adopted a little boy, seen in some family pictures because he had lost all of his boys, but didn't have much information about this son or his descendents.

From a letter dated July 1, 2000 from Garry Mayerle: My mother (Elaine Mayerle) says that Cora married William when the children were leaving home. My mother does not think that Cora adopted any children. The child you are talking about was raised by the previous wife (Lula), and his name was Kenneth. (adopted) About the second wife: We have a copy of a fly leaf from a Bible which states that William T. Rissler and Francis L. Huckreid were married on Jan 3, 1901. Another note in this Bible says "This is to certify that William T. Rissler and Lucy Knight were united in holy matrimony January 3, 1901. ANOTHER note in this Bible says "Enard A. Huckried and Frances L. Schults were united in Holy Matrimony on March 15, 1894 and had a daughter Helen E., born Jan 5, and died July 25th the same year." This suggests that Francis L. Shults was married previously and was Huckried at the time she married Will, but her maiden name was Shults. Another memorandum indicates that she may have had a last name Knight. Some in the family remember their grandmother as Sarah Knight. Perhaps Sarah Knight, Frances Huckried, and Lula Shults are all the same person?! (Sarah Knight died in 1896, so it is Frances and Lula Shultz are probably the same person--related by marriage to the Knights...see notes for Ida Shultz and Kenneth Knight. Note also the various spellings for Lula's last name..pks)

__________

William Thomas Rissler appeared on the census of June 22, 1900 with his parents, Washington Twp., Putnam County, Indiana; a widower.