Courtesy Photo
The five Teitzel brothers — and one Teitzel sister — came to Washington from Germany in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This photo shows the five brothers and their wives, from left, Louis Teitzel, Helena Wilhelmina Hoerling Teitzel, Herman Godfried Teitzel, Emma Louise Schucart Teitzel, Anna Amila Mader Teitzel, Karl Heinrick Teitzel, Emma Wagenfeuhr Teitzel, Gustav Karl Teitzel, Inez Keene Teitzel and Fred Henry Teitzel, in the early 1900s. The family will have its 80th annual family reunion next weekend.
In eight decades, only one thing has stopped the Teitzel family from getting together on the first Sunday in June — a volcanic eruption.
“The only year we missed was when St. Helens blew, in 80 years,” said Shirley Simcoe. “We couldn’t hold it because there was too much ash in Centralia.”
Simcoe, 70, of Federal Way, who much of the family calls “Aunt Shirley,” is the granddaughter of the youngest of the six Teitzel siblings who came to America from Germany between 1860 and 1906, she said.
“There was five brothers and one sister that came from Saxony, Germany … and they settled in the Centralia/Chehalis area and in the Puyallup area,” she said. “My mother was the first American-born child of the youngest brother. My grandfather was the youngest brother to come from Germany.”
As they have since 1936, the Teitzel-Nix clan plans to gather again for their family reunion starting at 11 a.m. June 5 at Fort Borst Park.
The family has kept meticulous records of its long history in Western Washington, and particularly Lewis County. The duty of record-keeper is passed down through the generations, and is now Simcoe’s responsibility.
“I have five suitcases full of records, pictures, pictures from Germany, newspaper articles. We take pictures every year at the reunion,” she said. “I have genealogy, I have things that came down from Germany that are still written in German. Oh, goodness, I have birth records, I have pictures, I have obituaries.”
Each year, Simcoe brings most of the suitcases to the reunion so the 70 to 150 relatives who come can look through decades of family history.
Eventually, Simcoe said she’ll need to pass on the duty, which she inherited from her mother’s first cousin.
“I think it’s important to the family. I think it’s important to all the generations to carry this on. I’ve been doing it probably for 35 years,” she said.
Local relatives, as well as Teitzel descendants and relatives from around the country and world are welcome at the event. Because of the many families, there are always a few new faces at the reunion, Simcoe said.
“If you’re a Teitzel or related to the Teitzel or a Nix or related to the Nixes, please come and see us at the reunion,” Simcoe said.
