Herman Eldon Waltz

     Herman Eldon Waltz was born on 2 September 1916 at Anthony Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.¹ He was the son of James William Waltz and Mabel Arvella Waltz. Herman Eldon Waltz married, at age 23, Mary Evelyn Keller, age 22, daughter of Arthur Keller and Hazel Mildred Rishel, on Friday, 23 August 1940 at Anthony Baptist Church, Anthony Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.¹ Herman Eldon Waltz died on 22 June 1966 at Myrtle Beach, Horry County, South Carolina, at age 49 years, 9 months and 20 days. Unknown GEDCOM info: Drowning.¹ He was buried in the Valley View Cemetery, located in Hurricane, Putnam County, West Virginia.¹
     Herman Eldon Waltz was known as Reverend professionally. He was a Baptist Minister in 1948. The below information is from Joyce (Waltz) Daniels

Letter from:
Rev. A. Pierce Waltz
3209 Tauromee
Kansas City 2, Kansas (printed stationery)

4535 Mary Ellen Avenue
Sherman Oaks, Calif. (typed return address)
February 16, 1959

To:
Rev. H. Eldon Waltz
259 Madison Avenue
Madison, West Va.

Dear Brother:

I just received your welcome letter of the 11th and was glad to hear from you. I noticed that you are doing a marvelous work down there in West Virginia. Your work reminds me very much of my ministry. On my first field I drew the plans and supervised the building of a parsonage. My first field was with two churches in a new field in South Dakota, organized only three years in a territory opened to white settlers eight years. My next field was in western S. D. where I drew the plans for a church building and supervised the work. In my next field I drew the plans for a new church building; picture enclosed. This was a building that was recognized as the finest all through building in the country, using cut glacial deposit rock picked up in the same county. We gathered them and dressed them for laying in wall. They were of various colors of gray and different shades of pink. In my third field we planned for a new building but because of the depression we had to drop it for the time but then I went to another field in Nebraska to finish a building. The church got stuck financially and the pastor left.

Building was a natural for me as I had three uncles who were building contractors in Williamsport, and a brother a carpenter. However this was not all for in every field enlarged the membership in a very satisfactory way. I am retired now after 49 years in the ministry under paid service. Since then I have been in some very active work in my home church.

Well now about our genealogy! I am not sure that you are as much interested in this as I am, but it is interesting anyway to know something about our ancestry. I see that we, you and I, are not related very closely, but we do have some relationship. I am quite sure that your mother's grandfather was a brother to my grandfather. On page one of my copy I sent to you; first there is John Waltz who with his son Michael came from Germany in 1806. John George, son of John Sr. came from Germany in 1804. It is interesting to recognize that it took them, George and his group, from June 6th to September 18th to get here on their sailing. It's interesting to compare that with present air travel.

On page one I gave Michael's family but did not follow it any further. I personally knew some of their descendents but not very well.

Following John George's family you will find on page 4, I am quite sure that at the top of the page 4 the name John Waltz married to Mary Sheets who I am sure were your mother's grandparents. William Waltz married to Mary Hurr was my grandparents (my Grandfather). Now then my Aunt Barbara, daughter of my grandfather married Samuel Ulmer, bottom of page 6. Now go to page 16 you will find that Elizabeth Ulmer was married to Jacob C. Waltz, who you say in your letter was your father's brother. Further on page 18 you find Bertha Ulmer who married Henry Waltz. Bertha is a sister to Elizabeth. See page 8. These went to Nebraska and then because of her health they moved to the Ozarks in Missouri, but she did not live very long. I visited them in Mo. Then Edward their brother on page 8 was a pastor in Nebraska but they moved away before I got to see them. I had a letter from him after landing in South Dakota. Emma Ulmer, page 8 married Orville Sollenberger; page 18. They also moved to Nebraska and I visited them several times while I was working for Central Seminary. She passed away about 1-1/2 years ago. I do not know any Dr. Ulmer.

You mentioned in your letter the name of Conrad Waltz. Note that on page 2 you will find a Conrad Waltz, son of Michael Waltz who came from Germany with his father in 1806. But of course as I mentioned above I did not follow the records of that family.

I was interested to note that your mother's grandmother's name was Mary Sheets. My mother's name was Mary Sheets also. My mother had a brother George Sheets who was a minister. You may note that on page 2 there is a John Waltz married to Mary Sheets. William a brother of John was my grandfather. Maybe I mentioned that above. I am acquainted with the Anthony church and preached there once. My mother's people lived in that area.

I have been out west during all my ministry after I was ordained in 1910. The last ten years except two of my ministry I worked for the Central Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas in the department raising money for their expenses.

You will note that I am out here in California. I am here visiting my daughter who lives near Los Angeles. I expect to leave in about a week and go visit my brother in Florida for a few weeks. He and I are the only ones left in our family. I have a son who is a minister in Kansas City, Missouri who is doing a fine work and expects next may to receive his D.Th from Central Seminary.

I am sure glad to have your letter and hope that you might be able to meet him sometime. When you come to the annual American [Baptist] Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, I would be glad to have you come and visit us on your way. I am not sure that I will get to attend that meeting, although it is not so very far from our place.

Very cordially,

(signed) A. Pierce Waltz
P.S. I have some relatives in Williamsport. Some first cousins. George Waltz. 14 Maple Avenue and Mrs. Lewis Bluemle 401 Harding Avenue. Both are first cousins of mine. A.P.W. I have several cousins in Williamsport.

P.S.2 I have an english translation of a diary made by John George's father-in-law Catherine Kiess' [sic] father Page 2. I also have a copy of a short history of the Blooming Grove German settlement. From these I got a lot of my information. That diary was a report of their trip from Germany to Philadelphia.

(Handwritten draft of letter to A. Pierce Waltz from my father, H. Eldon Waltz . Notes included. I believe this was the letter of the 11th mentioned in A. Pierce Waltz's letter. - Joyce Waltz Daniels)

Eldon Waltz - Born 1916.
James W. Waltz Mabel A. Waltz
John W. Waltz ----- Heim Gottlieb Waltz --- Ann Bower
Died about 1916 Died about 1926

Rev. A. Pierce Waltz

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Dear Brother & Relative,

It was good to receive your letter and inquiry. I, too, am from Lycoming County, Pennsylvania and I had heard previously of you, and did not know your address. I knew there was one other Waltz who was a Baptist minister.

To let you know my family tree. -- I am the son of James W. Waltz -- a farmer of Anthony Township, from the farm surrounding the present location of the Anthony Baptist Church. My father lived on the farm from his birth in 1883 until about 1947. He then sold the farm, bought a house-trailer and made a trip through the western states. He and my mother visited some of his relatives in Nebraska and several other states, and maybe he got to visit you. I remember Mother had a sick spell and was treated by a doctor who was related to them -- A Doctor Ulmer, I believe. You probably know him. -- I think he is from the Samuel Ulmer family (bottom of page 6 in your 'Genealogy'.)

[drawings at top of second page - looks like two chairs jointed together. Also '3.8=66 in. wide' These doodles are possibly sketches for furnishings for the newly built sanctuary of the Madison Baptist Church]

I think your side of the family stayed in the Hepburnville area, and my grandfather and others of the 1804 pioneering stock came to the Anthony area. One other thing may help you locate my grandfather in the records. One of his brothers was named Isaiah Waltz. He was our neighbor at home. I can't recall for sure my grandfather's full name. I'm quite sure it was John Waltz, but I don't recall now his middle name or initial.

His wife, my grandmother, was a Heim. (I can't recall her first name.) I will write to my parents and see if they can check up on these details. I'm sure they'll be interested in your letter.

On my mother's side -- Her father was Gottlieb Waltz (probably related in the same family) Her mother was a Bower. I think her first name was Ann.

(The rest of draft is missing -- from A. Pierce Waltz's letter of 2/16/59, it appears that my father must have given a few more details, such as the name Conrad Waltz, and discussed his own ministry in West Virginia, which had resulted in the construction of two new church facilities up to this point. - Joyce Waltz Daniels.)¹