Estelle was born 26 October 1874, daughter of Mary Louise Wertz amd Miles D. Ryan. This family is believed to have lived in Maywood, Illinois, but it is not known if Estelle and/or her brother, Charles Ryan, born 16 August 1876 were born there. Her great grandparents, Andrew Wertz and Magdalena Berkey lived in Holmes County, Ohio by 1830, where most of their children were born. Estelle's grandparents, Christina Wertz and Mary Fairchild have not been located in any census records as yet, so it is not known just where they lived.
Estelle married William J. Snyder, and they had two children: Ryan Lowman snyder and Ethel Estelle Snyder. As yet we have no dates for her marriage, or the births o her children, so it is difficult to say how thee events influenced Estelle's interest in her family history.
Perhaps it was some newspaper article regarding the reopening of the Paul Wirtz inheritance case in Europe about 1910, that first stirred Estelle's interest in genealogy. We do know that in October 1911 Estelle was the chief organizer of the first Wertz family reunion, held in Rock Island County, Illinois. In the 1911 and 1912 years she wroth many letters that have survived in the files of the Newberry Library in Chicago.
These letters tell of her efforts to invite "anyone bearing the name of Wertz, or related thereto" to join her Wertz Family Association. Dues in 1912 were $1.00 for membership, and an addtional $1.00 for postage if you whished to receive mailings on family news, the Paul Wirtz inheritance case, or upcoming family reunions. The second reunion was held in Harrisburg in October 1912. The event was well documented, and over one hundred paged of records still survive. Most of these are compiled in the form of a booklet titled "Stenographic Report of proceedings had at the second reunion of the Wertz family, held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, October 25, 26, 27, 1912." In addition, records and letters from and to Germany have survived, some regarding the Paul Wirtz inheritance case, some seeking records of Estelle's Wertz ancestors at Bretten.
(A summary of those early reunions and several samples of Estelle's letters can be found on our Family WERTZ CD.)
Probably the greatest contribution Estelle made to our generation was the compilation of a large map-size chart outlining the descendants of emigrant Hans Jacob Wertz, and his ancestors in Bretten Baden, Germany. Although her handwriting is hard to read at times, and we can only guess at some of the manes and dates, this outline has provided invaluable help in locating records of our Wertz family and their relatives.
Unfortunately, from all of these records, we know very little about Estelle and her immediate family. We do know that in 1912 they lived at 1305 Ashland, in Chicago, Illinois. What happened to them after 1915 is totally unknown. Did her interest in the Wertz family continue? Were other records compiled? There are so many questions yet to be answered.
We would love to add another chapter to her story! If you can fill in any of the blanks, please share them with us.
Carolyn Cell Choppin
