52 Ancestors 2018 -Lucky John Wiedrich

I wish I had a lucky story of someone winning the lottery, but my lucky story is of surviving an accident. My grandfather, Edward Wiedrich and his father John Wiedrich would go to the woods to cut wood to earn some money. John always wore a raggy sweater and my grandfather would warn him that is was dangerous when operating a chain saw. Sure enough, on one of their outings the sweater got caught in the saw and severed John arm. My grandfather made a tourniquet with his belt and was able to get him to a hospital in time to save his life. John was resilient and still found ways to get tasks done. When working in his garden he would tie a garden tool to his arm and dig or hoe or rake.

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #20 John Wiedrich

John Wiedrich

I have a picture of my great grandparents John H. and Sarah Wiedrich on the wall in my living room. I

John and Sarah Wiedrich

love that picture because they look like such a cute couple and full of mischievous fun. I was fortunate that I knew Sarah since she lived to be 100-yrs-old, but John died before I was born.

He was born 14 Sept 1857 in Stafford, Genesee Co., NY to Henry and Margaret Elizabeth (Ditman) Wiedrich. HIs parents were born in Alsace and Prussia making him a first generation American. By 1860 the family lived in Elba where he attended school. By 1875 he had moved to Pembroke and back to Elba by the 1880 census.

On 8 Mar 1896 he married Sarah Angeline (Corsett) Walworth, a widow who had a farm in Pembroke. In 1910 they left the farm and went to live in Batavia, NY. There he worked as a fireman and woodworker for the Wiand Plow farm implement factory. At times he served as a constable and inspector of elections.

During the difficult 1930s depression years he would often cut firewood with his son Edward, my grandfather. I often heard the story of how my grandfather would often tell him to stop wearing a baggy old sweater when they cut but he wouldn’t listen. Then one day when they were out in the woods his sweater caught in the chain saw and it cut his arm almost entirely off. My grandfather used a belt to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and get him to the hospital. The arm couldn’t be saved. After that he was very resourceful strapping whatever tool he needed to use to his arm stump and completing the task.

He died on 2 Jun 1942 and was buried in Maple Lawn Cemetery in Elba, NY. He and Sarah had seven children, Edward, Lydia, Helen, Chester, Bertha, James and John.

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