1. John Ernest¹ Petzel was born Bef. 1838 in Germany, and died January 1909. He married Marie Berg.

Notes for John Ernest Petzel:

John Ernest Petzel and his wife, the former Miss Marie Berg of Berlin, Germany, came to Galveston in 1853. They went over to Houston and looked around but did not like that location, so, hearing of Corpus Christi, they went there and stayed to make their home.

Mr. Petzel was a wheelwright and blacksmith by trade and established himself in Corpus Christi in that business on the location now occupied by Capt. Andy Anderson's boat works.

Learned the blacksmith trade in the Germany Army before he embarked for Galveston and made his way down the coast to Matagorda Island

Notes for Marie Berg:

She worked as a nurse. She helped Dr. Spohn and Dr. A. G. Heaney with most of the child births in town. Sometimes the babies didn't wait for the arrival of the doctor. She presided at the births of most of the children of the Wrights, the Hatches, and the Petzels.

In those days folks used quinine and calomel as medicines. Mustard foot baths as a remedy for the fevers everybody had were recommended. Dr. A. Spohn advised the use of the water that came from the well in Artesian Park for a wide variety of ailments.

Marie Petzel died on July 18, 1898. When she died she was 76 years, 11 months and 5 days old (I believe that would make her date of birth 06/23/1821)

Children of John Petzel and Marie Berg are:

2. William² Petzel (John Ernest¹) was born June 02, 1852 in Hamburg, Germany, and died December 07, 1923 in Nueces County, Texas. He married Josephine Hill March 30, 1874 in St. Joseph Island, daughter of John Hill and Sarah Taylor.

Notes for William Petzel:

William was born in Hamburg, Germany. He was one year old when his father arrived from Germany well before the Civil War.

The William Petzels moved to Corpus Christi in the 1870's.

Texas Adjutant Service Records show William Petzel was a Texas Volunteer Guard in 1899. his call number was 401-208.

The Land Survey Abstract Indices of the Original Land Owners of Texas state the William Petzel owned land in Crosby County.

Notes for Josephine Hill:

Josephine Hill was born in a log cabin in Matagorda County on Caney Creek on April 6, 1855. She lived in Corpus Christi, Texas for 74 years. "It was just a cow town, then" she said. "Lighters came in from Aransas Pass, bringing in the freight from the Gulf. The ships couldn't come in. There was no Harbor."

It is uncertain the exact number of siblings Josephine had. Some reports say she had ten brothers and sisters, and some say eleven.

Josephine lived with her family on their sheep ranch on Matagorda peninsula. She lived in a virgin country where even children soon learned to be self reliant and independent. The Hill family was very well know in the vicinity of Indianola, Texas.

Even though she was very young during the Civil War, she says she was a staunch rebel. She used to help her brother mold lead bullets during the siege of her part of the country. "My brother and I would spit on the hard round lead balls, and whisper fiercely, "Get a Yankee. Get a Yankee."

When the Gulf Coast was blockaded by Yankee ships and Yankee soldiers were in the vicinity, some of the soldiers gave Josephine and her brothers United Stated bank notes. However, they were so fiercely loyal, they wanted no Yankee money. They burned the bank notes, because they used Confederate money.

Josephine and her sister got married in a double wedding on St. Joseph Island in March of 1874. Josephine married William Petzel and her sister, Louisa married Alexander Singer.

Women couldn't take it easy doing housework in those early days. "There were no new fangled ways of doing things. You had to use elbow grease." Mrs. Petzel remembered making soap in big iron kettles, and doing Most of the cooking in iron pots over the fireplace. She told the story of her mother who kept boarders at Indianola. "She bought a new $100 cook stove. She thought it would make cooking easier. But after she tried it for a while, she set it out in the back yard and went back to cooking over a fire place. She said she either let the fire in the cook stove go out, or she burned everything. It was too much to bother".

Mrs. Josephine Hill Petzel said she liked fire place cooking, too. She did not mind it at all. They lived in Mexico for two years, across the river from Laredo. She had nothing but a fireplace then. She said there was an oven underneath and an oven on both sides of the fireplace where you could keep things warm.

Marriage Notes for William Petzel and Josephine Hill:

They met at the Aransas Pass (now Port Aransas)

Children of William Petzel and Josephine Hill are:

3. Otto² Petzel (John Ernest¹) was born February 03, 1858, and died January 30, 1932. He married (2) Tiney. He married (3) Kate Berg December 26, 1877.

Child of Otto Petzel is:

Children of Otto Petzel and Tiney are:

5. Ronald S.³ Petzel (William², John Ernest¹) was born February 06, 1880 in Texas, and died November 1966 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He married Roxie Rogerson May 01, 1919, daughter of Roger Rogerson and Jeanne Robinson.

Notes for Ronald S. Petzel:

Mrs. H. R. Sutherland had a part in naming him Ronald Stuart Petzel after a Civil War General who fought with Gen. Robert E. Lee

He worked as a superintendent of county roads. He helped build the first paved road out toward Nuecestown, to Alice (when it was in Nueces County) and from Alice to Kingsville.

When his Mother was pregnant with twins Ronald was chosen to name them.

Notes for Roxie Rogerson:

She lived in Corpus Christi since 1901

Children of Ronald Petzel and Roxie Rogerson are:

7. Lee Tilford³ Petzel (William², John Ernest¹) was born February 01, 1885 in Texas, and died Bef. 1948. He married Rose Ann Acebo Unknown, daughter of Joseph Acebo and Anna Kelly.

Notes for Lee Tilford Petzel:

He was a local law enforcement officer.

Children of Lee Petzel and Rose Acebo are:

16. Ronald Stuart⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born February 04, 1920 in Texas, and died October 05, 1946 in Goose Bay, Labador. He married Etta Forest March 20, 1943, daughter of Charles Forest and Emily Hutson.

Notes for Ronald Stuart Petzel:

Ronald S. Petzel, Jr. joined the army at the age of 21 in the summer of 1941. Later he transferred to the Air Force and received his commission. He was transferred to Newfoundland and a short time after that to Labrador. He was killed in an airplane crash at Goose Bay, Labador at the end of World War II.

Child of Ronald Petzel and Etta Forest is:

17. Georgia Josephine⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born in Texas. She married Gordon Lee Walker August 20, 1950 in Matagorda County, Texas.

Notes for Gordon Lee Walker:

Owned business "Walker Painting and Yard Service"

Children of Georgia Petzel and Gordon Walker are:

19. Claudia⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born  in Texas. She married (1) Ray Ahlers Unknown. She married (2) Carl Nix Unknown.

Children of Claudia Petzel and Ray Ahlers are:

21. Nancy Louise⁴ Petzel (Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born  in Corpus Christi, Texas. She married Gary L. Hamilton January 31, 1964 in Long Beach, California, son of Lester Beasley and Elaine Dickinson.

Children of Nancy Petzel and Gary Hamilton are:

22. Rose Lee⁴ Petzel (Lee Tilford³, William², John Ernest¹) was born Aft. 1899, and died Unknown. She married Jack Jester Hill, son of Emmett Hill and Clara Jester.

Children of Rose Petzel and Jack Hill are:

24. Susan Etta⁵ Petzel (Ronald Stuart⁴, Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born 1944 in Childress, Texas, and died April 05, 1994. She married (1) Richard Graham. She married (2) Nevitt.

Children of Susan Petzel and Richard Graham are:

25. Betty Sue⁵ Walker (Georgia Josephine⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was private. She married Ron Steadham.

Children of Betty Walker and Ron Steadham are:

Child of Kathy Ahlers and Joel Camponova is:

30. Beth⁵ Hamilton (Nancy Louise⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born in Long Beach, California. She married Andreas Roman May 23, 1992 in Long Beach, California.

Children of Beth Hamilton and Andreas Roman are:

31. Raye Ann⁵ Hamilton (Nancy Louise⁴ Petzel, Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born in Long Beach, California. She married (1) David Sampson, son of Shirley Sampson and Jolinda. She met (2) Jim Homsany, son of O'Toole.

Children of Raye Hamilton and David Sampson are:

Child of Raye Hamilton and Jim Homsany is:

33. Jacky Lee⁵ Hill (Rose Lee⁴ Petzel, Lee Tilford³, William², John Ernest¹) was born Aft. 1920. She married LeRoy Everett.

Children of Jacky Hill and LeRoy Everett are:

34. Joanne⁵ Hill (Rose Lee⁴ Petzel, Lee Tilford³, William², John Ernest¹) was born Aft. 1920. She married Lynden Wilson.

Children of Joanne Hill and Lynden Wilson are:

35. Malcolm⁶ Graham (Susan Etta⁵ Petzel, Ronald Stuart⁴, Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born Unknown. He married Susan.

Children of Malcolm Graham and Susan are:

36. Ernest⁶ Graham (Susan Etta⁵ Petzel, Ronald Stuart⁴, Ronald S.³, William², John Ernest¹) was born Unknown in ?. He married Crystal Renee Reddick October 07, 1989 in Cayce, North Carolina, daughter of Warren Reddick.

Children of Ernest Graham and Crystal Reddick are:

54. Lynda⁶ Wilson (Joanne⁵ Hill, Rose Lee⁴ Petzel, Lee Tilford³, William², John Ernest¹) was born Aft. 1933. She married Michael Dyer.

Child of Lynda Wilson and Michael Dyer is: