Gerl Vetters
GERL
Infant son of
W.C. & B.M.
Vetters
Born Sept. 24, 1897
Died Sept. 24, 1897
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
- Death Information
This infant son seem likely to be the child of Herman Clement Vetters and his wife Rebecca Ann Thomas. In the 1900 census (Nueces County, E. D. 130 p. 3B, beginning line 15), Mrs. Vetters testifies that of the four children she has borne, only 3 survive at this time. They are: son Charley born August of 1885, daughter Julia born June of 1887, and daughter Lelia born August 1889. This infant son is most likely the one she is reporting as already deceased. The father, Herman Clement Vetters was born Sept. 21, 1885 in Nuecestown and died on April 10, 1932. He is described in his obituary (Caller, April 11, 1932) as a member of “the pioneer band that defended the settlements†against raids and that on at least three occasions he helped herd cattle on the trails to Kansas. His mother and father had come to this country from Europe (the father from Hamburg, Germany and mother from Hanover) in 1853.
The mother of this infant, Rebecca Ann, was the daughter of Isom H. Thomas and Martha Lee Simms. She was born on June 29, 1866 on the Laureles Ranch where her father was a caporal, and she died on May 11, 1934. Clem and Rebecca married on March 6, 1883 in Nueces County, and lived most of their married life on Mesquite Street near other family members. Rebecca was a nurse and is described in her obituary (Caller, May 12, 1934 p.2) as “unselfish and untiring in that capacityâ€. Though both Herman Clem and Rebecca Ann are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery of Corpus Christi, Texas, they have many relatives buried in Old Bayview Cemetery. These include Rebecca’s parents, her sister Aseneath Downs nee Thomas, and her brother-in law Ferdinand C. Howell (husband of Minnie J. Thomas).
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission - Biography
Died September 24, 1897
The early death records housed in the Vital Statistics Office of Corpus Christi lists this child as “child of Stance Vetters, stillborn†on September 24, 1897 (early records page 102, #1522). “Stance†is the abbreviated form of W. C. Vetters’ middle name “Constanceâ€. William Constance Vetters was a native of the area, born in Nuecestown on May 25, 1860 and died on August 7, 1939 (see obit in Corpus Christi Caller, August 8 of 1939, page 2, col. 6 and Holy Cross listing of burials from Ward’s Cemetery Records). Records indicate William was married to Rosa May Maguire of Salem, Massachusetts. Rosa was born January 25, 1869 and died April 8, 1909 (see Ward’s Cemetery Records). She and William Constance Vetters were buried in Holy Cross Cemetery and were survived by four daughters and three sons. Possibly little Gerl was buried in Old Bayview because the little boy was stillborn and likely not baptized. It was often customary at that time (1897) to bury only baptized Catholics in a Catholic Cemetery such as Holy Cross. At any rate, another Vetters infant (child of H. C. and Rebecca A. Vetters) is also buried in Old Bayview Cemetery while those parents too are interred elsewhere—in Rose Hill Cemetery. Little Gerl is not alone in the old city cemetery as he rests with this small cousin among other relatives.
Research and transcription: Michael A. Howell