He married Anna Dorothea Hampe on June 17, 1888 in Boston, Massachusetts at Holy Trinity Church.

The groom was born in Estringen and baptised on May 7, 1861 in Lingen.
The bride was born on February 12, 1866 and baptised on the following day in Lingen.

Gerhard Hermann died on November 28, 1891 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Anna Dorothea died on March 2, 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts.

His parents were Hermann Bernard Wessling and Anna Katharina Haschen.
Her parents were Johann Andreas Hampe and Maria Theresa Hoge.

(Witnesses were named Conrad Hampe ² and Maria Theresa Wessling.³)

They were the parents of the following children:⁴

Johanna ⁵

No birth records were found but a death certificate did show that she died on November 7, 1891 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Theresa Maria

was born on May 5, 1889.
She married Ernest J. Hampe on June 17, 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts.
She died on January 18, 1981.
(Sponsors were Johann Heinrich Hampe ² and Maria Theresa Wessling.³)

John Gerhard Conrad ⁶

was born on December 14, 1891.
He was unmarried and died on February 10, 1977.
(Sponsors were the child's maternal grandparents.)

Some of the above information was provided by Dorothy Meehan.

1. In some records he was referred to as John Gerhard or Garret Wessling. He immigrated to America circa 1880.

2. He was the brother of Anna Dorothea.

3. She was the wife of Bernard Hermann Wessling, the brother Gerhard Hermann.

4. All of the children were born in Boston and baptized at Holy Trinity Church.

5. She may have been named Jennie. The place of death was 625 Dorchester, which was the same address of Gerhrad Hermann. Also, the names of her parents were given as Garret and Anna Dorothea.

6. On November 29, 1912 he legally changed his name to John Wessling Hovestadt, adopting the surname of his step-father, Bernard J. Hovestadt.