l'histoire de la famille ERTEL en France (ERTEL FAMILY HISTORY IN FRANCE) by Patrick Ertel and Marcel Ertel
FranceGenWeb * Ertel en France * Biblioth�que G�n�alogique et GeneaBank * the Ertel page * AltaVista: Translation * Surname searches
ERTEL line of * Nicolas * Jean * Joseph * Antoine * Marcel * Patrick NOTES: "Between 1871 and 1918, Alsace (the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin) and the eastern part of Lorraine (now the department of Moselle) were annexed to Germany as a result of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. From 1919 to 1940 the area belonged to France. Controversies over state-run versus religious schools and attempts to suppress German newspapers contributed to an ultimately unsuccessful movement for home rule in 1920. From 1940 to 1945 the area was again controlled by Germany; it was returned to France in 1945." from Discover France France had spent years setting up Plan XVII: how to recover Alsace and Lorraine. The Battle of Lorraine was also called the Battle of Morhange-Sarrebourg. The French plan failed at the beginning of WWI. Map of Niderviller, on the Marne-Rhine Canal, between Nancy and Strasbourg * Map: Buhl north to Niderviller * Map: Baden

Soon after Joseph's birth, (1870?) France was defeated in a war with Germany, and all Alsatian Lorraine citizens became German by force. In school, they were taught in German, and were not permitted to speak any French.

Joseph left Buhl and moved to Niderviller. Both villages, Buhl and Niderviller, are near Sarrebourg.

Joseph married Anna INTERENER, born in 1871 in Niderviller. Anna was a descendant of the MANSUY family on her mother's side. Anna was the daughter of Catherine MANSUY who married a Mr. INTERENER in Niderviller. Catherine MANSUY INTERENER was the daughter of Marie MANSUY from Niderviller, who married between 1804 and 1815.

For some reason, whether because she wanted Anna to marry a native Niderviller boy or because of the competitions between inhabitants of the villages of Buhl and Niderviller, Anna's mother, Catherine, was opposed to her marrying Joseph. But the couple did marry, and had 7 children between 1893 and 1910: Marie (1893), Paul (1896), Antoine (1898), Jules (1900), Joseph (1902), Anna (1904), and Gustave (1910).

Their last child was born on the anniversary of Kaiser Wilhelm's birthday and all male children were obliged to be recorded under the first name of Guillaume. Instead, Joseph ERTEL waited and went to register the birth and name of his son Gustave the following day.

The Ertel's relationship with Anna's mother remained strained, even with grandchildren. One New Year's Day (January 1), Joseph and Anna felt obligated to send one of their children over to Grandma INTERENER's house to wish her a Happy New Year. The grandmother said, "You come to wish me Happy New Year so I will give you a coin?"

Anna died in 1913. She and later her husband were buried in the MANSUY vault at Niderviller which says (in German):

Joseph was required to serve in the German military in Berlin, but he rebelled, being undisciplined as a way of opposing his leaders, and spent a number of days in prison.

Joseph and his sons worked at the brickyards of Niderviller. When he retired, he became a forester in Niderviller and was remarried following the death of my Anna grandmother.

Sometime after Anna's death, Joseph remarried. His second wife was Anna "Cl�mentine" DUCHENE Joseph and Cl�mentine had at least three children, pictured here - Jean (standing next to Joseph), Emile, and L�on. Joseph died in 1930.

Joseph and Cl�mentine with Joseph (and Anna)'s older son, Gustave (back row, standing) and children Jean, Emile (?), and L�on (?)

Joseph and Anna Interener ERTEL had 7 children : Marie ERTEL 1893 - 1908 Marie died young, about the age of 15. Paul ERTEL in Niderviller, 1896 - 1945 or 1947? Paul was 18 when Germany declared war in 1914. He was mobilized into the German army to fight in trenches, and was gased. After the war, Paul left Niderviller because the village was destroyed and the men needed to find work. He found work in the steelmills at Firminy, west of Saint-Etienne, and sent for Tony to come, too. Paul married Antoinette LYONNET in Saint Paul en Cornillon. Antoinette was born in 1898. They had 1 child - Gabriel ERTEL. After being gassed during the war, Paul suffered terribly first with chronic bronchitides Paul was almost 51 years old when he died of tuberculosis in 1947 (1945?). Antoine ERTEL in Niderviller, 28 September 1898 - 30 June 1959 Antoine and his brothers, Paul and Jules left Niderviller in 1920, as the village was destroyed, and they needed to find work. They found work in the steelmills at Firminy on the west of Saint-Etienne. "Tony" married Marie "Honorine" LYONNET in Saint Paul en Cornillon, 15 km west of Saint-Etienne. They had 7 children there (see below) Jules ERTEL in Niderviller, 1900 - 1976 Jules and his brothers, Paul and Tony left Niderviller after WWI, as the village was destroyed, and they needed to find work. Jules trained to become an engineer, and had a career with the railroad. Joseph ERTEL in Niderviller, 1902 - (accident) 1906 Joseph was 4 years old when he died of an accident. Anna ERTEL in Niderviller, 1904 - 1920 Anna died young while still a teenager. Gustave ERTEL in Niderviller, 1910 - 1994 Gustave was born on the anniversary of the birthday of Kaiser Wilhelm. All boys born that day were to be named Guillame to honor the Kaiser. So to protest, Joseph ERTEL waited and went to register the birth and name of his son Gustave the following day. Gustave worked his way up from a domestic employee to the manager of a major hotel. There were some hard feelings between Gustave and some of his nephews. Joseph and Cl�mentine (DUCHENE) ERTEL had at least 3 children: L�on ERTEL ca 1915? - ? L�on (?) Jean ERTEL ca 1918? - ? Jean Emile ERTEL ca 1920? - ? Emile (?) and Cl�mentine

Like his parents and his brothers, Tony was fundamentally French at heart. His elder brother Paul was 18 on 3 August 1914 when the French declared war as the Germans had on 1 August, and he was mobilized to fight in the trenches, where he eventually was gased. The Invasion of Lorraine by the French army came in 1914. Tony was about 17 in 1915, and still not of legal age, when a battle took place at Nidervillers. French soldiers were killed on the hill called "the field of the juifes" ["Le champ des juifes"], and the German army made Tony and others bury the French soldiers. So Tony was mobilized against his will into the German army. He was assigned to Koblenz, date unknown, and Tony served as an artilleryman during WWI on the Belgium front. Seriously wounded, Tony was taken to a Belgium hospital. He remained there in a coma for a long time, and probably was hospitalized until the end of the war. When the Belgiums realized that he was from Lorrain, they apparently burned his uniform and identity papers. Tony could never remember the accident, the place where he was injured, the hospital, the city, or the faces of nurses who looked after him. Later attempts to verify either Tony's or Paul's military record with the German forces or where Tony had been hospitalized were unsuccessful. They were recognized neither by Germany or France, and they got no retirement benefits as veterans.

After the war, Lorraine and Alsace were in ruins. Niderviller was completely destroyed. Paul answered the call of fellow Alsatian Lorraine, Jacob HOLTZER, who was boss at the steelworks (10.0000 workers) at Firminy, 8 km west of Saint-Etienne. Mr. HOLTZER encouraged his fellow countrymen to come and he would supply them with work. Paul sent for Tony to come there, too, about 1920. That is how Tony came to be established here. He was a pocketmen whose job was to tear away the melting pot after it was soaked in a barrel of water to avoid burning.

Tony married Marie "Honorine" LYONNET, who was born 12 February 1900. They had eight children (see below) between 1924 and 1940.

During WWII...

Tony died 30 June 1959. Honorine Lyonnet ERTEL died 26 September 1976.

Several of Tony's family were buried in his mother's MANSUY family vault at Niderviller.

About 1926: Tony and Honorine with children Paulette and Jean Photo contributed by Marcel Ertel

July 1946: the family of Tony (Antoine) and Honorine Ertel. Back row: Yvon, Paulette, Jean, Yvonne, Marcel Middle: Anna, father Tony, and mother Honorine Front: Marie Photo contributed by Marcel Ertel

Antoine "Tony" and Marie "Honorine" Lyonnet ERTEL had 8 children : Paulette ERTEL 1924 in Cornillon - Paulette Jean ERTEL 1925 in Cornillon - Jean Yvonne ERTEL January 10, 1927 in Cornillon - December 22, 1927 in Cornillon Yvonne died in infancy. Yvon ERTEL 1927??? in Cornillon - (accident) 1981 Yvon Yvonne ERTEL 1929 in Cornillon - Yvonne Marcel ERTEL 27 June 1931 in Cornillon - Marcel married Marie Louise "Mady" DIGONNET on May 19, 1956 in his village, Cornillon. (see more, below) Anna ERTEL 1936 in Cornillon - lives in Niderviller ?? Anna lives in the ERTEL hometown of Niderviller, FR (??) Marie ERTEL 1940 in Cornillon - Marie

Marcel researches US pilots and soldiers from WWII who died and were buried in France in order to more accurately memorialize them and contact their family members. He maintains the web site US - Navy et le D�barquement de Provence 15-29 Aout 1944 with facts, pictures, and more.

Marcel and Marie Louise (DIGONNET) ERTEL had 3 children : Patrick ERTEL 5 Oct 1957 in Cornillon - Patrick married Lydia VAIENTE in 1979. Lydia was born 18 Nov 1957. They have one child, a daughter Emmanuelle ERTEL, who was born 17 March 1984. Anne Marie ERTEL 18 May 1959 in Cornillon - Anne Marie Guy ERTEL 7 Dec 1961 in Cornillon - Guy