B,
When I was a bit younger, actually quite young, I seldom made a factual statement that was wrong. These days I find my factual statements to be.......not always accurate.
If you are going to use Helen/Bob Corbin for a source, and they are two of the best, you need to reread chapter 1. On page 11 she shows the manifest of the Ship Olbers with Jacob Waltz and Jacob C. Weiss arriving in the Port of Orleans on November 17, 1839.
On page 8 she wrote:
"Often if a family was in particularly bad straits, a strong family member went ahead, alone, and would work until he had saved enough to bring other members over."
She was writing about Jacob Waltz at the time.
On page 13 Helen writes:
"Later, we can document eight of the clan leaving for Bremen late in the 1840s where they boarded the steamer Heinrich Von Gargaren, their port of entry also being New Orleans."......."Waltz family records from Missouri showed initially they settled in Medina County, Texas, (Castroville) in 1850. Ignote is recorded as is another Waltz, Sabastian, who wasn't on the federal census but did show up later on land deeds.
Jacob's sister, already married in the homeland, bore the name Schmidt. She and her husband eventually migrated to Lawrence, Kansas."
The only other brief mention of Jacob's sister is in connection with a $7,000 "Transmitting Draft On Accountable Warrant" sent by Jacob Waltz, to Lawrence Kansas. In my opinion, both the "Draft" and the Olbers Manifest have problems. I firmly believe that Helen/Bob's source firmly believed they were authentic, as did the Corbin's.
The impression given is that Jacob came to this country first, and his sister followed later.
Interestingly enough my friend Thomas, who has researched the Waltz family extensively, here and in Germany, makes no mention of the sister. I have never asked him about her, but will.
Back to the Holmes account: "Before I made plans for the next trip, I wrote to my sister in Germany and told her to send her son over to help me. I sent her several thousand dollars and told her there was lots more to be had. Soon after my nephew arrived in Phoenix, I took him out to the mine."
The quote is very explicit and detailed.
In the Holmes account it is clear that the person Waltz killed was his sister's son......his nephew. Holmes is the source, and his manuscript is the only original source for this story. Having said that, I don't believe a word of this particular story. To begin with, Jacob's sister was not in Germany, but in Kansas.......Toto.
I believe Waltz may have described the mine to Holmes, but gave another part of the range as the location.
I believe this should be the final word on the "nephew" story, but perhaps you have another source.
Take care,
Joe
This post is not double spaced. I have no idea why it shows up that way.