This is a genealogy about Andreas Halter (1664- ) and his wife, Margareta (1665- ) of Biberach, Wurttemberg (now Germany) and their descendants who lived in Wurrttenberg, Warsaw, Poland and Cleveland, Ohio. Andreas Halter (1664- ) is the earliest ancestor of this family that we have been able to identify. 

Family Origins 

The ancestral home of the Halter family is the villages of Biberach and Kirchhausen, Wurttemberg, Germany. These villages are about 1 mile apart and are located about 6 miles northeast of Heilbronn, in southwestern Germany. The family was of the Roman Catholic faith and were members of St. Alban Parish in Kirchhausen and Saints Cornelius and Cyprian Parish in Biberbach. 

 Wurttemberg was long under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire and became the Kingdom of Wurttemberg in 1806 when it joined the Confederation of the Rhine to join Emperor Napoleon I in his campaign against Prussia, Austria and Russia. The Kingdom sent 16,000 of its subjects who marched on Moscow, with only a few hundred returning. In 1813, the Kingdom deserted the French Emperor and by 1819 became a constitutional monarchy as part to the German Confederation.

The Village of Kirchhausen is the home of Castle Kirchhausen of the Teutonic Order built in 1570-1576. This was the home of the Teutonic Knights who in the early 1400’s, acquired ownership and local rule in Kirchhausen, likely as a reward for their protection of the Roman Church. The presence and influence of these Catholic Knights ensured that Kirchhausen remained Catholic during the Protestant Reformation and well into the 1800’s even though many of the other towns and villages surrounding Kirchhausen turned Lutheran. The only church in Kirchhausen was The Catholic Church of St. Alban. The church dates from a 15th Century Chapel. The tower of the present church dates from 1579 and the rest of the present Church was built from 1841 to 1846.

Halter Emigration from Kirchhausen to Warsaw to Cleveland, Ohio.

By the early 1840's, Franz Joseph "Joseph" Halter (1785-b1843) his wife, Maria Anna and three sons Wendelin, Maurice and Joseph had removed from Kirchhausen to Warsaw, Poland. By 1843, Franz Joseph and his wife, Maria Anna were deceased leaving three sons, who were in their twenties to fend for themselves. The three sons all married ethnic German girls in Warsaw in the 1840's. Wendelin converted to the Lutheran faith when he married Fryderyka Wagner (1820- ) in 1844. Maurice and Joseph remained Catholic. Maurice married first Carolina Witmajer (1827-1863) and second Katherine Wunsch (1845-1927). Joseph married Teresa Wunsch (1825-1891).  Many of the surviving children of these three Halter sons emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Wendelin's children moved to Cleveland in the mid 1870's where they were known by the family as the German Lutheran Halters. All of Maurice's children by his second marriage, moved to Cleveland in 1891, where they maintained their Catholic faith. Three of the children of Joseph that we were able to identify emigrated to Cleveland in the 1890-1910 period.

******Note About German Naming Conventions 

Early German baptismal names are in Latin and consist of at two first names. The first name is that of a favorite Saint believed to convey good luck to the child. The first name was normally not used by that person, except in official or formal church documents. The second name, or call or common name, is the name everyone called that person and the name that person was know by. In all families it is common to find that all the male children have the same first name for the families favorite male saint and the female children have the same first name for the families favorite female saint. They will all have different second names by which they are commonly known.

Family Trees

A family tree starting with the earliest known ancestor of this family is shown below. By clicking on any family members name in that tree that individual's personal page will appear showing what we know about them.

List of Family Members

A List showing all members of this family is shown below. Just click on that list and then on any person's name and their personal page will appear showing what we know about that individual

Notable People of Halter Family

You may also begin reading about selected members of the family by clicking on the names of Notable Persons in this family that are listed below.

Halter Birth and Marriage Records

Copies and translations of selective Halter Family Birth and Marriage records.

Halter Family Photos

Selective Photos of Family Members
Wincenty Halter Family ca. 1905 Fr. Row. Emily, Antonia, Mamie, Vincent, Wincenty, Antonia Back Row Victoria, Kate, John Halter

Halter Family Gathering - Jacob Smolinski Farm - Richfield, Ohio - Circa 1938

 

Front sitting or kneeling L to R:  Stanley Smolinski, Felix Nowowiejski, Arthur Majewski,  Joseph Burval Sr., Edward Smolinski, Eugene Majewski, Vincent Halter, Lucille Smolinski, John Halter, Mary Smolinski, Bernice Smolinski, Edward Halter, Estelle Smolinski, Christine Halter

 

Back Group Standing L to R:  Cecilia Halter with David Burval, Julius Smolinski, Pauline Jelinek Halter, Felix Majewski, Victoria Halter Smolinski, Vincent Nowowiejski, Anton Nowowiejski, Walter Smolinski, Ted Novak, Kate Halter Nowowiejski, Anna Lange Halter, Joseph Burval Jr., Fr. Hilary Halter, Emily Halter Majewski, Mamie Halter, Jacob Smolinski, Antonia Halter Smolinski, Grace Poslar Halter

Halter Gathering Smolinski Farm ca. 1939 (R1 - Joseph Burval, Arthur Majewski, R2. David Burval, Henry Smolinski, Felix Majeski, Eugene Majewski. R3, Ted Novak, Fr. Hillary Halter, R4 Walter, Stanley. Jacob, John and Julius Smolinski)