Written and contributed by: Charles Weidinger, great-great-great grandson of Johann ALBRECHT

JOHANN ULRICH ALBRECHT was born in Engelhardtsberg, Bavaria on 10 Nov 1824, the son of Ulrich ALBRECHT and unknown mother. About 1844, he married a young lady named Magdalena in Engelhardtsberg, and left Germany for America in 1845, settling for a time in Baltimore, Maryland. Their first child, Barbara Albrecht, was born in Baltimore in 1846. In 1847, the family left Maryland and traveled to Ohio, settling in the Ohio and Erie Canal village of Yellow Bud, Union Township, Ross County. What pointed them in that direction is not definitely known, but there was another ALBRECHT family in Union Township who may have been related. While living on a small farm just outside Yellow Bud, Johann ALBRECHT ran a grocery and general store in the little town.

On 27 Mar 1848, a son, Johann Georg ALBRECHT was born. This man later took the Americanized name John George ALBRIGHT, and from 1873 until 1931, became both wealthy and famous as a leading citizen, journalist, and real estate owner in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A daughter, Anna Margaretha ALBRECHT, was born in 1851. The records of the Reformed Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chillicothe, Ohio, shows that Magdalena ALBRECHT died in 1852, the exact date not recorded. Her burial site is also uncertain, which is a subject which touches many early residents of Union Township, Ross County.

On 20 Jun 1853, Johann married Barbara MEINFELDER. This marriage was short lived, for on 4 Jul 1858, Barbara remarried. On 6 Jul 1858, Johann ALBRECHT married Elizabeth Och SHAFFER, a widow from Cincinnati, Ohio. This marriage may not have been a "by chance" affair, for Elizabeth Och was born in 1828 in Kandorf, only about 10 kilometers from Engelhardtsberg, Johann ALBRECHT's home village. They may have, in fact, known each other as children in either of the small Bavarian farming towns. Of interest is the fact that the records of the Reformed Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chillicothe also revealed that a funeral was held on 16 Feb 1868 for one Catherina Och WOLF, who had married Johann WOLF in Bavaria on 21 Apr 1849. This lady was likely Elizabeth Och's sister, having been born in Kandorf on 11 Oct 1824.

On 5 Mar 1859, John George Albright's half-brother, George Frederick ALBRECHT, was born near Yellow Bud, Ohio. In the summer of 1863, Johann ALBRECHT and his wife Elizabeth adopted a baby girl born in Kansas on 28 Jun 1862. On Martha Ione ALBRIGHT's death certificate of 1938, her mother's maiden name was listed as "OBISH." My research revealed that no such person or family immigrated into the State of Kansas. Martha Ione ALBRIGHT turned out later to be my paternal great-great grandmother.

Johann Ulrich ALBRECHT died on 29 Jan 1866 of "Intemperance," per the records of the Reformed Evangelical Lutheran Church. His general store also included a saloon, which may mean that Johann may have drank himself to death, interpreting the meaning of "Intemperance" in that era. To this day, I have no clue as to what may have led Johann ALBRECHT to such a disastrous death. He was buried in the old Western Methodist Cemetery in Chillicothe on 01 Feb 1867.

About 1900, portions of this cemetery were relocated to Grandview Cemetery to make way for a new hospital which was to be built. Many graves were relocated, and that of Johann Ulrich ALBRECHT was one of them. However, no headstones were allowed to accompany them, an irrational move which remains unexplained to this day. Of the grave stones left behind, many were used by local residents as sidewalk pavement, and a few remain visible today.

In the Special Census of June 1870, Elizabeth ALBRIGHT was shown still living at age 42 in Dwelling No. 168, Union township, Yellow Bud. With her was her son, Charles SHAFFER at age 21; Anna, age 19; George, age 11; Martha, age 7; and two farm laborers, William Robson and Charles Litter, ages 23 and 19.

In 1880, Elizabeth ALBRIGHT was living with the farming family of Francis T. KENDRICK, at Dwelling No. 72, in Wayne township, Pickaway County, very near the Ross County Line. Solution to this mystery was provided by data from Latter-Day-Saints Records sent to me by Mrs. Thelbert Kendrick of New Market, Iowa on 05 Jul 1997. In Call No. 288391, Charles Curtiss KENDRICK, son of Francis T. KENDRICK was listed as Charles' father, and his mother was listed as Barbara ALBRIGHT. It is obvious that Elizabeth Och Shaffer ALBRIGHT lost a step-daughter in 1878 or 1879, and was drawn to help raise her children.

In 1911, Elizabeth ALBRIGHT accompanied her son-in-law, who had married her adopted daughter, Martha Ione ALBRIGHT, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. She died there in 1912, and was buried at Fairview Cemetery in a large plot belonging to John George ALBRIGHT. I visited this site in 1997, and found it a very emotional tribute to the memories of both Johann Ulrich ALBRECHT and John WEIDINGER.