Conrad and Anna Maria Bechtel

Conrad Bechtel was born in Germany in February, 1831. His wife, the former Anna Maria Wiederkehr was born in Germany on August 18, 1833. The database Germany, Marriages, 1558-1929, accessible at Family Search, provides a marriage record for Mr. and Mrs. Bechtel.

Johann Konrad Bechtel married Anna Marie Wiederkehr on December 22, 1853 in Hockenheim, Baden, Germany. The parents of Johann Konrad Bechtel were: Johann Bechtel and Barbara Graul, and the parents of Anna Marie Widerkehr were Christian Wiederkehr and Magdalene Schoepfer.

By the time of the 1860 Census, Conrad and Anna Maria were residing in Sandusky, Ohio. In 1860, they had a family of three children: Gertrude, age 7; Frederick, age 5; and Jacob age 3. All the children had been born in Ohio. By 1870, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Bechtel had five children. Sadly, at the time of the 1880 Census for Erie County, Ohio, Anna Maria Wiederkehr Bechtel had died, and Conrad Bechtel was a widower with four children still residing at home. The Bechtel children ranged in age from 12 to 22 years old. Anna Maria Conrad died on February 18, 1880, and she was buried at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Conrad Bechtel passed away in Sandusky, Ohio on July 15, 1903. His funeral was held at the home of his son-in-law, Jacob Richter, on Harrison Street. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. William Leonhardt of St. Stephen's Church. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Bechtel came to America in the mid-nineteenth century; they worked hard and raised a big family. The lovely tombstone honoring the memory of Conrad and Anna Maria Bechtel reminds us of the rich German heritage of Sandusky and Erie County, Ohio.