Valentin Roedel from Peru, Indiana

I found this original photo in Germany. Valentin Roedel was pretty easy to find in the records. Having immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1892, Valentin probably sent this photo to relatives back in his birth country.

I’ve also found a public family tree for Valentin on Ancestry, so I will try to make contact with the relatives and return this photo.

Valentin Rödel was born on December 10, 1874 in Bensheim, Germany to parents Carl Rödel and Anna née Schrader. I don’t know what brought the 18-year-old Valentin to the United States. Perhaps hope for better work opportunities?

Valentin worked as a machinist at the factory in Peru, Indiana. He married Martha M. née Butzin (1890-1968) on June 25, 1901 in Miami County, Peru. Their son Carl was born in 1903, son William in 1904 and daughter Ann Ernestine was born in 1911.

Valentin applied for a US passport on the same day that he was naturalised in June 1913. He was 38 years old at the time, 5 feet 7 inches tall, with blue eyes and sandy-coloured hair. He mentioned in the passport application that he had been living in the United States for 21 consecutive years and he intended to return to America within 3 years of travels abroad. I wonder if Valentin planned to take his family to Germany to finally meet all the relatives.

In July 1914, WWI began in Europe. Valentin was drafted in 1917 at the age of 43, but I’m not sure if he was called to actual combat.

I have a feeling that Valentin had a pretty good life in Peru. Already in 1910, Valentin and his family lived in a house they owned mortgage free. He travelled to Germany in 1929 with his daughter, and again in 1937. His children lived long lives, too.

Valentin passed away at 90 in March 1965 in Peru, Indiana, where he had been living for 73 years, 64 of them together with his wife Martha. His obituary sums up Valentin's life nicely:

Valentin's son Carl was a railroad repair man. He married Rejene Latherine née Smith in 1935. I don't think the couple had any children. Carl passed away in 1990.

Valentin's son William never married. He lived and worked in Peru, Indiana, all his life until his death in 1995.

I found Valentin's daughter Ann's 1928 Peru High School Yearbook photo:

Ann married Clyde Edward Amos in May 1934 in Grant, Indiana. At the time, Amos was a truck driver for wholesale groceries, but by 1950 Amos earned his living as a bartender at a fraternal club. Ann and Clyde had three children - Terry, Linda and Phillip. Ann died in 1994.

If you know the Roedels or are related to them, please let me know!