The Mattoon Mercantile Mystery

The Mattoon Mercantile Mystery

~SOLVED!!!~

By Patti Laessig February 14, 2009

It was 1982 when I was accompanied by a friend with a 35mm camera and a tri-pod to the home of my two bachelor uncles who had a trunk full of family photographs preserved by my grandmother, Mary Weber Laessig. She was the daughter of Webertown's founders, Christian and Anna (Kaiser) Weber, and the second wife of my grandfather, Frank (Francis Hubert) Laessig. The Michael and Elisabeth (Kaiser) Weber family immigrated from Freudenburg, a small village near Trier in Germany in 1865 relocating to Centerville in Manitowoc County. Michael and Elisabeth Weber's family consisted of nine children: Magdalena born 22 May 1842, Christian born 12 Oct 1845, Michael born 30 Apr 1848, Elisabetha born 17 Mar 1851, Johann born 24 Oct 1854, Angela born 04 Nov 1855, Henry born in 1860, Franz born 08 May 1864, and Peter born in 1867. To my knowledge, Magdalena, Christian, Michael, Henry, and Peter lived to adulthood.

Also immigrating to Wisconsin were some of the Kaisers. Andreas Kaiser came to America arriving in 1856, having also left Freudenburg, Germany on June 24, 1856.

Andreas first went to Ashford and established a farm there, where his son Nicholas remained to carry on the operation of the farm. There are records showing Andreas may have gone to Manitowoc County for a time, as his brother Jacob located there along with other relatives. Eventually he came to Marathon County in order to buy affordable land so his remaining sons could have farms and establish themselves in that area of Wisconsin.

According to the Kaiser family, Andreas Kaiser came to America with his three brothers and one sister. I have found information to confirm and locate three brothers, but there is evidence a brother Christianus also came with them but no information on him has been found. Andreas' brother John went to live in Cadott, Chippewa County, Wisconsin. John was born in 1830 and died in 1908. He married Appolonia Esslinger. Nicholas Kaiser born 11 Sep 1824, married Margaretha Esslinger, and Andreas Kaiser born 18 Jan 1815 married Magdalena Esslinger. The Kaisers brothers married the Esslinger sisters, daughters of Mathias Eselinger[sic] and Catharina Zehren. Their sister, Anna Esslinger born in 1814 married Nicholas Weber. One son, Peter Esslinger, born 13 May 1826, married Anna Esser and made their home in Stanley, Chippewa Co., Wisconsin.

Jacob Kaiser, half brother of Andreas went to Athens, Marathon County, Wisconsin according to family... however he was found to have been in Manitowoc County and his descendants were found living in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. Jacob, son of Nicholaus Kaiser and Margaretha Kaiser (nee Kaiser) married Magdalena Weber, 21 May 1863 at Centerville, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. She was the eldest daughter of the Michael and Elisabeth (Kaiser) Weber mentioned earlier.

I didn't know any of this information when we began laying the photographs one by one on the floor, getting them in focus under the camera on the tri-pod and creating a snap shot of each one. What a treasure I had in that gift from my uncles, allowing us to copy those pictures.

One photo in particular was an enigma. That of a grand old building labeled "The Mattoon Mercantile." No one could tell me the significance of it. From time to time I would come across the photo in my album and read with curiosity the note written on the back, "At one time owned by Christian Weber's sister, married to Mr. Kaiser." I made a few futile attempts to contact people in regard to the photo, but for years there was no information to be found.

Eventually with the advent of computers, I put queries around looking for information and still no further data could be found. Then a shirt-tail cousin sent me a copy of Peter Weber's Last Will & Testament, containing a list of heirs he left his property to. The cousin had figured out where most of the descendants of the Weber/Kaiser clan fit, but there were some names neither he nor I recognized.

In the trunk I found a photo of two little girls, with the name "Annie Lorrig" on it.

It took us three trips to the uncles to copy all the photos in the trunk, and each time we visited we chatted about the various photos, speculating on who they all were. It would take many years to identify them, and only a very few remain without names.

In a final attempt to solve the mystery of the Mattoon Mercantile photo, I posted queries listing the names Kaiser, Weber, and Lorrig. This was the right combination, and responses began to come and answers to long asked questions began to emerge, thanks to fellow researchers kind enough to assist.

One clue lead to a website that was created by Robert Lorrig.

On his website I found a photo of Francis Lorrig, same horse & buggy, same retaining wall as my photo of Mrs. Tuc Lorrig.

Robert Lorrig photo

I was very excited when I saw this photo, as I recognized the horse and buggy and the retaining wall in front of the house. I had copied a post card sent to my great grandfather from "Mrs. Tuc Lorrig" with a lady in a horse-drawn carriage in front of a retaining wall. The photo I had copied was of a different woman in the same carriage. Mrs. Tuc Lorrig.

Eventually I learned that Nicholas Lorrig was the owner-operator of the Mercantile, and his wife's name was Anna Kaiser. Shortly thereafter, A kind soul looked up the death certificates of the couple and there it listed Anna Kaiser's parents, Jacob Kaiser and Magdalena Weber. Immediately I knew where Anna Kaiser fit into the family and that she was not only my great aunt, but doubly so because her father, Jacob, and my great great grandfather, Andreas, were half brothers, and her mother, Magdalena Weber, and my great grandfather, Christian Weber, were brother and sister. Thus proving the notation on the photo…"Sister to Christian Weber married a Mr. Kaiser" … and it was their daughter Anna and her husband Nicholas Lorrig who operated the Mattoon Mercantile.

Soon more information was found posted by Robert J. Lorrig at Ancestry.com and from that I was able to fill in a lot of the missing information, as well as confirm what I already knew to be true. Plus I was able to make contact with Robert and exchange information with him, and solve his mystery as to the ancestry of his grandmother, Anna Kaiser Lorrig.

It was through the efforts of many people, including myself, that all the pieces of this puzzle finally came together. It really pays to never give up.

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For more information on these families contact Patti Laessig at or

Jacob Kaiser, father of Anna Kaiser Lorrig

December 9, 1836 - May 31, 1863