Beiting Family History
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Beiting Family History

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Die deutschen Einwanderer! In the mid-1800s when they arrived in America they were determined that their future was just beginning here, and they never looked back. Yes, they held their European family relationships in high esteem and sent messages back home. But those letters were more likely to include an encouragement to book passage and follow. From their homes and farms in Germany their destination became either Cincinnati (Ohio), St. Louis (Missouri), or Milwaukee (Wisconsin). These American cities were rapidly developing, and needed skilled and willing workers. They had already accepted communities of German immigrants, and welcomed more. After the German immigrants settled into the surrounding neighborhoods, they became responsible American citizens, nurtured families, and prospered.

In 1985 a large Beiting family gathering was held at A. J. Jolly Park in southern Campbell County. We knew of the large Beiting family still living there, and especially Father Ralph Beiting, a Catholic priest serving in Eastern Kentucky. He was instrumental in establishing several parishes in Appalachia for the Diocese of Covington. During the construction of those early church buildings, volunteer craftsmen from Northern Kentucky were enlisted to help. The whole Beiting family responded to that need as they were skilled in the building trades.

Many Beiting family members gathered for the reunion. Names were entered on the large family rosters posted on the shelter walls. Combinated with the others lists, these showed how the individual family members were related. Robert Beiting and Richard Beiting had recently returned from Germany, and had visited Mesum where the Beiting family had once lived. They had brought back photographs, family information, and copies of old church records, and had compiled a history of the three immigrant brothers - Anton Beiting, Joseph Beiting, and Gerhard Beiting - who left Prussia in the 1860s to settle in the Greater Cincinnati Area.

The Campbell County Historical Society encouraged us to submit the Beiting Family History to the courthouse family archives at Alexandria. Bernard Joseph Beiting and his family resided in Newport in Campbell County, Kentucky. We contacted Joseph's great-grandson, Robert Beiting, who had helped organize the reunion in 1985. Bob and his wife Audrey graciously invited us to visit with them at their home in Fort Thomas. He fondly remembers that reunion, and shared many vintage family photos and stories. He had always intended to create a comprehensive Beiting family history but hadn't gotten around to the task. He had information about the eldest brother Anton Heinrich Beiting and his family too. Anton had come to America first, and had settled in the Over-the-Rhine district of Cincinnati. During their 1984 trip to Germany, Bob and Audrey had met the decendents of Elizabeth Christina Beiting-Veltrup still living in Mesum, and had their photos and family history.

Bob also suggested that we contact his cousin Doris Beiting Fedders for more help. We met with Doris and her sister Mary Louise Beiting Murphey, who shared their family story and photographs. They enthusiastically supported the project. Msgr. Ralph W. Beiting invited us to visit him in Louisa, Kentucky, where he is pastor of St. Jude parish. He has long been interested in his Beiting family history, and had many photos and stories to share with us. He is very busy responding to the needs of the people in Eastern Kentucky. He took time out of his hectic schedule to help us, and it was wonderful just being with him. The genealogical work for Gerhard Anton Beiting and his family had been created by Gerhard's second great-grandson, David Voelker, on the Rootsweb internet website. The Gerhard Beiting and his family lived in the Over-the-Rhine district of Cincinnati, Ohio. We contacted Dave and he supplied additional photos plus more family information.

So here we now are, the product generation of those three young Beiting brothers who made the bold decision to leave their ancestral homeland, and make a new life for us possible here in America. How can we not be thankful to them for this. The immigrant generation and the subsequent generations in America seldom spoke of or recorded their own life experiences much less that of their ancestors. We have only a few oral insights into their lives. Surviving photographs are becoming scarce too. Our children are now starting to ask the questions that we should have asked years ago when the answers might have been more easily provided - who are we; where did we originate; when did this all happen; how do we fit in.

In truth, it would have been better had we known in our youth to ask the questions that the new generations now ask of us. And it would have been more fulfilling to have heard the stories first hand from those who actually lived this family history which we are now attempting to record. Regardless, we have tried to pull all that is available into this family history story. We hope to have accurately presented all of the family information that we found, and regret any errors or ommissions that you may notice. Please feel free to submit corrections or additions through the http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~beiting/ website.

Every life is a treasure. Lives are often treasured because they are blessed in long living years; others because of the accomplishments achieved within a life span. Some will achieve fame, position, and comfortable lifestyles, while others must struggle against adversity just for survival. Sometimes life is taken back early, even in infancy, and those lives are precious too. A few cherished lives are snuffed out prematurely, because of accident, disease, child-bearing, or the violence of war. There are those who are beloved for their gracious, caring, and loving nature; others are remembered for a more stern, perhaps inflexible demeanor. There are those who have provided for us insight into their own life story; others prefer that their story is lost forever with the passing of time. Regardless, every life is a treasure. The Beiting family history is a part of our family's treasures.

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Contact Information
Norbert F. DeJaco
134 Burdsall Avenue
Fort Mitchell, Kentucky USA
41017
859 331-2967

Created 22 Jan 2012 with RootsMagic Genealogy Software