Ok, my faith was shaken recently as to the parents of Theodore. Not so much from Elizabeth but from "who was Frederick?" See Frederick's Notes. So to be sure, let's break down Catherine Elizabeth Vualle.

My train of discovery was this.
The emigration record of Theodore and Louisa. This contained Theodore's known DOB. Known from HS and obit. It also contained Louisa's DOB of 12 Aug 1812. This led to a match of baptism indices for both. Louisa's was a perfect match and Theodore's was close... 9 days. Now, I cannot account for the 9 days. But the general belief is these baptism indices are solid. This led to the other children, whose parents are as follows...

12 Aug 1812 - Mar. Louise Richter - Friedr. Richter & Cathr. Elisab. Vualle
29 Jul 1814 - Johann Bernard Richter - Friedrich Richter & Cathr. Elisab. Vualle
03 Aug 1816 - Joan Theodor Richter - Friederich Richter & Elisab. Vualle
18 Mar 1819 - Franz Henr. S. - Friedr. S. Or Richter & Elis. Vualle
16 Aug 1821 - Cath. Doroth. Richter - Friedr. Richter & Cathr. Elisab. Vualle

This was further fueled by the marriage record...
Name: Friderich Richter
Age: 40
Spouse's Name: Elisabeth Vualle
Spouse's Age: 23
Event Date: 16 Jun 1812

ALL of these events occurred in Olfen. This has GOT to be correct. No problem.

Now, the Matricula Online data is available. We can see these records for ourselves rather than just the indices. The only hiccup to this point had been Franz Henr. S. Upon viewing it, yes, it raises questions. The record actually says...

Franz Henr. Richter - Friedr. Strockman geb Richter & Eliz. Vualle

Ok. Admittedly, I don't know what to do with that. It suggests that Friederick Richter was born Strockman and Richter could be hofnamen. However, we're back on track with Cath. Doroth. I still don't know what to do with this. I put a pin in this.

But we have more data from the images. Namely the marriage record, which lists the FATHERS. This is big. Friederick's father is "Ludovich Richter zu Vinnum Bauer" or "Ludwig Richter from Vinnum - farmer" - perfect. Elizabeth's father is "Johan Henr. Vualle in Sülsen Bauer" or "Johan Bern. Vualle from Sülsen - farmer" - interesting. I was hoping Sülsen was close enough to Olfen to be reasonable for travel, but far enough away to warrant Elizabeth being baptized somewhere else. (Sülsen is 6 miles from Olfen.) I was hoping this because I searched the Olfen baptism records for Elizabeth. Given her age of 23 on the marriage record, this would suggest a 1789 year of birth. I searched 1785-1793. I found only one that was close...

23 Mar 1790 - Anna Elizab. Vualle with parents of Joan. Henrich Vualle geb. Quam. & Anna Elizabeth Vualle (damn you HOFNAMEN!)

Well, I don't know. Let's look around some more. While NOT connected to the child Theodor, someone put together an interesting set of people on familysearch.com...

Anna Elisabeth Volle
Born: Mar 1790
Bapt: 27 Mar 1790
Died: 30 Nov 1834
Father: Johann Henrich Rohmann gen. Volle (1764-1830)
Mother: Anna Elisabetha Brömmelkamp später Volle (1765-1832)

Married: Friedrich Richter 16 Jun 1812
Married: Henrich Sölker 18 Oct 1831

Oh, interesting. Did Friedrich die? Then she remarried? Let's check her death info. Now, I can't read much of this, but what I can read is certainly interesting...

#48 - Elizabeth Sölker gb. Tualle (V? T?) ???????? Friederich Richter (well... that all seems to indicate this is correct.) age 46 (close)

Hmm. I think this is all coming together. Let's check her 2nd marriage record...

#13 - Henrich Sölker - age 30, never married & Eliz. Richter gb. Tualle (again with the V?T?) age 39, NOT never married (don't know what that says), father is Johan Diedrich Tualle gb. Mengelkamp from Sülsen - farmer (oh boy...)

Well, other than a few hiccups, the data is not terrible. But is it true? I don't know.

It was about this time I remembered a glaring detail... Theodor and Louisa's emigration record. It was witnessed by Friederich Richter. His father... right? Well. Maybe not. Also, there's a Frederick Richter who died in Burlington in 1877. He's buried in St. Mary's (HS and interment record confirm). This is widely accepted as Theodore's father... even by me. I had no doubts... until now.

So, here I am, putting all my thoughts down in these notes. My next step is to look for Friederich's death sometime between 1821 (last child) and 1831 (Elizabeth's 2nd marriage). But all of this led me to question Elizabeth as the mother of Theodore. I still feel confident about Friederich and Elizabeth being the parents... but the DETAILS... stay tuned. - 04 Jul 2024