I can never forget the moment when I knocked at the door of a home in a small French village, a copy of my family tree chart in my hands as I stammered the phrase, “Bonjour. L’histoire de ma famille!“ to the startled teenage girl who answered. Thankfully, before long, with our fathers by our side—her father just so happened to be the mayor of Sondersdorf, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France—we managed to reach a mutual understanding of the fact that my father and I had ancestral roots in this village and would love to take a peek at the old records.
Sondersdorf, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France photograph, 2006; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2016.
This was ten years ago, when I first traveled to Europe. Along with a few days spent in Paris and the ancestral village of my mother’s German grandfather, we also paid a visit to the charming Alsace region of northeastern France where my father’s great-great-grandfather had lived and served in the Franco-Prussian War.
Joseph Lutz, the son of Francois Joseph Lutz and Switzerland-native Marguerite Meister, was born 31 May 1844 in Sondersdorf, Haut Rhin, Alsace, France.1 In his mid-twenties when the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 broke out, family lore states that Joseph served and was injured.2 Following the war and its German victory, the residents of the newly annexed region of Alsace were informed that they could remain French citizens by removing to France by the fall of 1872, or they could stay in their homes and default to German citizenship.3 Joseph’s parents, who were over seventy by this time, apparently opted to stay in Sondersdorf; a move to French territory may well have proven to have been a great hardship, no matter if they would have preferred to remain French.4 In any case, it was said that Joseph did not wish to live under German rule.5 Thus, at the age of twenty-eight, he left Sondersdorf for America, where he settled in Faribault County, Minnesota, near other relatives.6
Sondersdorf, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France photograph, 2006; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2016.
It was a treat to see Sondersdorf, although it was not quite the rugged and rocky village that my father had long envisioned. Although in a mountainous area with the snow-capped Alps within view, Sondersdorf boasted a tidy village situated among rolling green fields. We enjoyed exploring a beautiful old cemetery, where the Lutz surname was prominent, and paid a visit to the village church. If I recall correctly, it was a local who called down an inquisitive greeting from a shutter-framed window who directed us to the mayor’s home for our genealogical questions. After becoming acquainted with the mayor and his daughter in a mix of broken English, French, and German, we made plans to meet the next day to see the old vital records held in the local school building.
Ferrette, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France photograph, 2006; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2016.
We were treated equally well by the people of Ferrette, a larger village nearby, where we stayed the night. Hearty Alsatian meals and investigating the crumbling castle ruins on its picturesque hillside kept us well entertained until it was time to return to Sondersdorf. There, we met again with the mayor, who allowed us to page through the centuries-old record books, brown ink faded on the pages. Although we didn’t conduct in-depth research, not wanting to take advantage of the mayor’s time, it was incredible to see so many family names recorded in their original form. Upon our departure, the mayor kindly presented me with a book about the history of the churches of the region, in which he inscribed the date and the place—much as Joseph Lutz had inscribed his prayerbook upon his departure from Sondersdorf, long ago.
Copyright © 2016 Melanie Frick. All Rights Reserved.
SOURCES
1 Archives Départementales du Haut-Rhin, “Sondersdorf, Naissances, 1787-1852,” digital images, Actes d’État Civil (http://www.archives.cg68.fr/Services_Actes_Civils.aspx : accessed 28 April 2014), entry for birth of Joseph Lutz, 31 May 1844.
2 William “Bill” Catlin, conversation with the author, September 2002; notes in author’s files. The late Mr. Catlin was the grandson of Hedwig (Cichos) Lutz Rindfleisch and was acquainted with her until her death, at which time he was thirty years old, and Gerald and Fern (Thoma) Adam, conversation with Brian Adam, ca. 1985; notes in author’s files. Gerald Adam was the grandson of Joseph Lutz.
3 “Les Optants of Alsace Lorraine,” The French Genealogy Blog (http://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2009/06/les-optants-of-alsacelorraine.html : accessed 12 April 2016).
4 Negative search, “Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, French Citizenship Declarations (Optants), 1872” (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2016). A search was made for both the Lutz surname and the village of Sondersdorf; the names of Joseph Lutz, Francois Joseph Lutz, and Marguerite (Meister) Lutz of Sondersdorf were not located.
5 William “Bill” Catlin, conversation with the author, 2002.
6 Joseph Lutz prayer book, Adam Family Collection; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2016. The untitled German text prayer book is bound in embossed black leather. It is inscribed in French, “Le livre apartient A moi, Lutz Joseph de Sondersdorff [This book belongs to me, Joseph Lutz of Sondersdorf].” Included with the prayer book is a handwritten note in English, “‘Prayer Book’ from Switzerland, 1872, Anna Catlin.” Anna was a daughter of Joseph Lutz.
Homestead Genealogy 
Thank you! I have been tracing my family for 39 yrs., Germany, France, England, etc. I loved your story and envisioned myself being there. Beautiful pictures!!!!
Thank you, Sharon! It was such a treat to be there – thankfully, Google Maps does a pretty good job of helping me envision the many, many places I have yet to see! :)
Thank you Melanie for posting about our mutual grandfather (my GG), Joseph Lutz- love it. I am so envious of your trip and am glad you made it. Do you have these pictures and story on Ancestry? My Mom and Aunt are going to be happy about this (neither have computers), would like to try and copy so they may see.
Great to hear from you, Michelle! I’ll be happy to email you the text and pictures so that you can print and share them with your mom and aunt. :)
Wonderful post, Melanie. We visited Alsace several years ago during the Christmas holidays and it is a magical place. Your photos have that same beautiful light.
The holidays would be the perfect time to visit, Denise! It must be so festive!
Melanie,
I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today’s Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2016/04/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-april-15.html
Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I think we might be related!!!! Joseph Lutz and his brother Paul Lutz (my great great Granfather) arrived in New York on the passenger ship Nevada May 7, 1871. Paul Lutz, was the son of Francios Joseph Lutz and “his second wife”, Margurite (Meister) Lutz. Paul Lutz’s daughter Anna Julia (Lutz) Hasher (1879-1954) was my great Grandmother. I was in Italy last year for a wedding and decided to take a trip to France because I was so close. I had done very little ancestry research prior to this trip and had only a few sheets of paper with handwritten notes I had jotted down about family history. I landed in Basel, rented a car and about 1 hour later I was wandering around a graveyard in the middle of these fields in Oltingue, France. I speak no French and so when this lady came up and spoke to me I showed her the notes I had and pointed to the name “Lutz”. She became very excited and loudly yells in broken English, “Lutz, Lutz I am a Lutz”. “Some of my Lutz family went to Faribault County, Minnesota and Blue Earth, Minnesota”. I knew I had a hit, I have Lutz ancestors from both. Her name is Adrienne Schweitzer. She was also interested in family history and had done a lot of work. I spent the rest of the day and all of the next with her wandering around the area seeing where ancestors had lived, worked, attended church and were buried. This whole experience stirred unexpected emotions deep inside me. I long to go back there again and plan to one day.
Hello Melanie,
I was wondering when I discovered your story and pictures about your visit of Sondersdorf, my native village.
My grandmother Léonie Blind was married to Edward Lutz. The father of Edward, Morand Lutz was the cousin of Joseph Lutz the son of François Joseph and Marguerite Meister.
thank you for making our ancestors live in our memory !
Hello Karine! Thank you for your nice comment and for sharing how we are connected. Sondersdorf is such a beautiful village and I am so glad I had the opportunity to visit the home of my (and our) Lutz ancestors!
Hello,
My name is Ken Styles. I live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. My maternal grandfather was Emil Lutz.
He was the younger brother of Edward Lutz, the husband of your grandmother, Léonie Blind. My grandfather came to the United States in 1913. An older brother of Edward and Emil, George Lutz, had already come to the United States in 1910. Are your parents Helene and August Weber?
I was in Oltingue in 2002 visiting George’s grand-daughter and went to Sondersdorf as well as Ligsdorf. I found the whole area very beautiful
Ken Styles
Hi Ken, I appreciate your comment! I’m so glad to hear another Lutz descendant was able to see Sondersdorf. However, although I’m sure we’re related, Edward Lutz and Leonie Blind were not my grandparents. Joseph Lutz (1844-1887) was my great-great-great-grandfather; he was the son of Francois Joseph Lutz (1801-1881) and Marguerite Meister (1801-1876). Joseph left Sondersdorf for Minnesota in the early 1870s, and I am descended from his daughter Melanie Veronica Lutz (1884-1973). Hope that helps make the connection!
Hello Ken
I remember my Grandmother Leonie was often talking about the both brothers of her husband who left to United States. She had correspondance with one of them same years after they left Sondersdorf. She also received a photo of mariage of the daughter of one .she told me that they went to Ohio.
It’s very nice to hear about you!
Iam the daughter of helene and Bernard Weber. My parents house is in Sondersdorf. If one time you come again I would be very happy to meet you
Karine
Karine,
Recently while at my mother’s I came across a item that your grandmother Leonie sent sometime after Eduard Lutz’s death. My mom will be 100 in June and is the last of her generation. The note was among some things which my mom had stored for her dad (my grandfather) Emil Lutz, a brother of Eduard. I will send a copy to you if you like. I am not quite sure how to do that through email especially since my contact with you is in the public forum. Do you know the date of death of Eduard? Let me know how I can send you an attachment with the note. I hope you and your family are doing well.
Ken Styles, S. J.
Ken, I will share your message with Karine via email to make sure that she sees it. Thanks for commenting and I hope you two are able to connect!
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