It would appear that shortly after the death of Johann Albert Weßling on March 21, 1881 a number of events soon transpired which might indicate that his widow had planned to immigrate to America. At that time several of her children were already living in Boston, Massachusetts.

According to the records of the Standesamt in Lingen Bernhard, the son of Johann Albert, provided the information about his father's death. By November of that same year, Bernhard was in transit to Boston via the ports of Rotterdam and New York.

Prior to widow Weßling's departure for America she needed to dispose of the Neubauerei. The eventual purchaser was a Maria Adelheid Wenning¹, but before that sale could be finalized, it would be necessary to cure a defect in the property's title of possession. As several of Johann Albert's kin had been named in the title document, they were deemed, in a legal sense, to have had a legal claim on the assets of Johann Albert's estate. The solution was to obtain waivers from those potential claimants.

A daughter of Johann Albert's brother, Gerhard Heinrich, sent an affidavit,² dated February 15, 1882, from Cincinnati, Ohio in which she stated that her father never had had a claim because it was always understood within the family that Johann Albert would become the sole heir to the Neubauerei upon the deaths of his parents.

A similar affidavit,³ dated December 6, 1881, was received from Johann Albert's brother, Johann Hermann, who was the residing in Boston.

During this process another issue arose and it was necessary for the law courts in Lingen to resolve that matter. In May of 1882 Johann Albert's 2 sisters, Anna Adelheid and Anna Gesina, as well as Anna Gesina's husband petitioned the court that widow Weßling be required to use part of the proceeds from the sale of the Neubauerei for the maintenance and care of Anna Adelheid who was in poor health and unable to provide her own financial support.

The court ruled that 600 Marks must be paid to Anna Adelheid before widow Weßling and her children left for Boston.

On August 10, 1882 the 600 Marks were paid to Anna Gesina and her husband as trustees for Anna Adelheid and on the same date the title passed to widow Voss. The purchase price was 5,100 Marks.

1. Of the 5,100 Marks purchase price Maria Adelheid Wenning borrowed 3,000 Marks from widow Wenning, geb. Voss.

The property's chain of ownership seems to have been as follows:

1889 - Beckmann
1912 - Gerhard Wenning
1914 - Schmitz
1965 - Hermann Schmitz
1984 - Rosa Schmitz, geb. Beckmann

2. See Appendix I for the text of that document.

3. See Appendix II for the text of that document.