Bernard Wellman and Teresa Merschman were married on September 12, 1916. Ben is Walt’s great uncle.

Bernard Wellman was born January 4, 1887 t0 Gerhard and Maria Wellman in West Point, Iowa. He was their oldest child. I wrote about Gerhard here and there are many posts that mention Ben, including some of Georgie’s Memories. I also wrote about the families syrup making in this post. This picture is Ben as a young man taken around 1905.

Theresa Merschman (also spelled Merschmann on some documents) was born on April 15, 1894 in Fort Madison to Henry and Mary Holterhaus Merchsman. Henry worked variously as a day laborer and a clerk over the years. To the best of my knowledge, Theresa was the oldest of 8 children.

Ben & Theresa get married

Ben and Theresa married on September 12, 1916. My notes from Georgie say that they were married at at St. Mary of the Assumption in West Point. The record for the state says they were married in Fort Madison, Iowa. The record was sent to the state several months later, so I will have to do more research to see where the correct location is. Theresa’s family lived in Fort Madison, and Ben’s family loved in West Point, so either is possible. The record says they were married by Peter J Kern, priest, who was later buried in Fort Madison, but I haven’t been able to see where he was working at the time.

Ben and Theresa had 11 children. Their 2nd oldest daughter, Delores, was the subject of this post. The picture below has their three oldest children.

This picture is labeled Germaine Wellman, Dolores Wellman, Robert Wellman, Evelyn Brune, Georgina Link. I know that Georgie is the 3rd girl, so I’m not completely sure of the order of the others.

Ben died on March 5, 1951. Theresa died on April 5, 1962. Ben and Theresa Wellman are buried in Calvary Cemetery in West Point.