Anna Mary (Bernhardt) Wedewart bio by John C. Engel – Updated April 23, 2024

This article is Copyright ©2012, 2024 by John C. Engel. Please contact [email protected] to request permission to reproduce it.

Anna Bernhardt Wedewart's maternal DNA haplogroup appears to be T2b.

Anna Maria Barnhardt was born August 18, 1867 on her parents' farm in the Town of Forestville, Door Co., Wisconsin.

Although Anna's father was Catholic, Anna and her siblings were raised in St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Forestville, where their mother, Bertha, was a charter member. Anna was baptized there on September 22, 1867. She was confirmed there on April 10, 1881.

Anna worked as a cook before her marriage to Willie Wedewart. Among her places of employment were the Hotel Algoma, the Hotel French (Sturgeon Bay) and the Sherwood Point lighthouse.

On November 5, 1902 Willie married Anna Mary Barnhardt at her parents' home in Forestville, Wisconsin. Rev. A. Luebkemann of St. Peter's Lutheran Church officiated. Years later, daughter Martha Wedewart Poh recalled having been told that her parents had met while working at the Farmers Hotel in Sturgeon Bay.

On December 10, 1902, Anna Wedewart paid $800 for a home in Sturgeon Bay, on the road to the quarry, at what became 742 N. Cedar Street and later 1028 N. 3rd Avenue.

The original parcel Anna purchased was Lot 12 in Block 3 of Wagener's Second Addition to the City of Sturgeon Bay. It was 172 feet long x 287 feet deep. Later the road was named and the house was assigned the address 742 N. Cedar Street. In 1943 the city renumbered its streets and the address became 1028 N. Third Avenue.

An 150 x 500 foot area on the Wedewart property was the site of an old Indian village. It was between what was then the bay and a limestone ridge. The ground was covered with flint chippings and broken pottery. Some pieces of pottery featured finely ornamented rope patterns. Some arrow points, stone celts, and copper spears were also found on and around the site.

Martha Poh recalled being told that the house structure was already built when the Wedewart's bought it, but Willie needed to finish upstairs rooms and added on to the house on the first floor. He built the front porch, kitchen, bathroom, pantry, and cellar entrance. Before then, the only access to the cellar was through the trap door in the floor of the living room closet. At one time there was a small creek flowing through the back yard. The earliest photo found of the house shows what Martha said was a barn to the right and rear of the house.

Willie later dug a cistern below the pantry. Water entered through a tile drain pipe and there was another for overflow. A pump in the pantry brought water up for washing dishes. Later, Willie started to tear down the west wall of the cistern after it was replaced by running water. Potato and vegetable bins were kept along the wall to the west of the trap door steps.

On October 19, 1909, Anna also bought lots 10-11 next door. She apparently sold Lot 10 relatively soon but kept Lot 11 until some point between 1945 and 1950.

In 1951 Anna sold about half of Lot 12 to her daughter and son-in-law, Esther and Peter Javurek. The next year, after Willie's death, she sold the remainder with the house to her other daughter and son-in-law, Martha and George Poh.

Willie and Anna raised three children in their Sturgeon Bay home, across the road from the "Little Lake." First was Martha, born in 1903, the Milton "Mick" (b.1905), and Esther (b. 1910). According to Martha Willie attended his Methodist church in Sturgeon Bay and Anna worshipped at St. Paul's Luther Church. The children were raised in their father's church.

Martha later recalled that she knew very little English before she started school, because her parents spoke German at home. Since the children could understand the high German that Willie and Anna normally spoke, the parents would switch to low German when they wanted to keep the conversation private.

In the first years of his marriage, Willie worked as a "shingle weaver," making wooden roofing shingles. Then Willie worked as a carpenter for many years. But he was not a master carpenter, or a cabinet maker. He was more of a carpenter's assistant. According to Martha, Willie did carpentry work for Charles Anschutz and his two sons. She said that at other times he worked for John Gabert and his son. Both Anschutz and Gabert were contractors.

Many winters, when the carpentry trade was slow, Willie left for the north woods to do lumbering. He often worked for his relative, Fred Wedewart, who had a lumber camp in the area ofTipler and Long Lake in Forest County, Wisconsin. The lumbering lasted for many years. Willie's son, Mick, joined Willie at least one winter.

At home the Wedewarts tended large vegetable and flower gardens and had gooseberry and other berry bushes. Willie planted trees - some in the yard and some across the street on the shore of Little Lake. A garage included rooms in the back for Willie's workshop.

Anna Marie Wedewart died on December 30, 1961 at her home on 3rd Avenue in Sturgeon Bay, Door Co., Wisconsin. She had never been hospitalized a day in her life, even in her final illness according to her daughter, Martha.

6 July 1900, Algoma Record

Personal Items. Miss Annie Barnhart, who has been employed as cook at the Hotel Algoma, left for her home in Forestville on Monday, where she will remain for a short time.

23 November 1900 Ahnapee Record

Miss Anna Barnhart, who for a number of years was employed as cook in the Hotel Algoma of this city, lost all of her clothing in the burning of the Hotel French at Sturgeon Bay Sunday night. She was employed as cook in the hotel at the time of the fire, but did not sleep there that night, so was unable to save anything.

Nov 24 1900, DCA.

"Hotel French is burned; One life lost..." [A.B., a domestic, resided at the hotel, but stayed elsewhere that night.]

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All the servants in the Hotel French lost every stitch of their clothing and personal effects in the fire Monday morning. They were only too glad to escape in their night clothes. The proprietor and wife also lost all their ward-robe, including watches and jewelry. Among Mrs. French's losses were a $150 set of furs, a gold watch, diamond ring, etc.

24 November 1900 Door County Democrat.

"Meets death in flames; Hotel French burns to the ground; Servant girl the victim." [A.B. listed as cook at the hotel.]

22 August 1947 Door County Advocate

Personal Mention. Open house was held at the home of Wm. Wedewart in honor of Mrs. Wedewart's 80th birthday anniversary. Many friends and relatives called, making it a happy and memorable occasion. Among the many lovely gifts was an orchid corsage, presented by her seven grandchildren.

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Martha Poh raved about what a good cook her mother was. But then she added, "You wouldn't like it though." She said that kids that grew up with hamburgers and french fries wouldn't like the good old-fashioned cooking.

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One of a great grandson's earliest memories was being intrigued when his Grandma Poh said that Anna, her frail, home-bound mother, was going to church that Sunday morning. A little while later Grandma Poh gently led her mother to the rocking chair in front of the tall wooden radio cabinet for the church service broadcast for shut-ins, with organ music and all,

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One day one of the great grandchildren was playing at the picnic table in front of Grandma Poh's house while Grandma Wedewart walked around the back yard and garden. She used her bumpy wooden cane; which seemed to resemble a boney chicken neck picked clean of the meat. After a while Grandma Wedewart came up and held out her hand. She offered a handful of freshly picked pea pods, and even shelled some of them. This may not have been the first time the child ate fresh raw peas, but he has considered them a treat his entire life. He treasures this memory of Grandma Wedewart, as he treasured sharing fresh peas with his own children.

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"Grandma Wedewart's Meal Prayer" [Copied from back of Martha Wedewart Poh's "Blessed Be God" prayer book]

Aller Augen warten auf dich

HerGodtee

und du gibst ihnen Spiese zur rechten Zeit.

Du offnest diene Hand

und sattigst alles, was lebt,

nach deinem Gefallen.

- - The above roughly tracks Psalm 145,15-16.