Why Would Philippina Voehringer Wollenweber Refuse an Inheritance?

A question that cannot be answered yet. I am not even sure it is a valid question.

In my notes, my husband’s aunt, Ada Gorrell Thomason, wrote a note about her great-grandmother, Philippina Wollenweber.

“She lived in Wertenberg [Württemberg], Germany.  Two lawyers came to see her in Jeffersonville [Indiana] about an estate in Germany.  She would not sign papers. no one knew why -- may have been cruel to her.  She made a fair living sewing for soldiers (navy blue flannel).”[1]

Let’s break apart each of the facts as best we can. It is true that she was born in Württemberg, and it makes sense that Ada would spell the place phonetically.[2] Philippina lived in Jeffersonville from about 1870 to about 1907.[3] So, a lawyer coming to Jeffersonville makes sense. Lastly, the part about her sewing for soldiers can be broken down as well. Her occupation in 1900 was a seamstress.[4] There was a Quartermaster Depot in Jeffersonville that was active especially during the Spanish-American War. During that time 100,000 uniform shirts a month were produced.[5]

What I cannot answer at this point is whether lawyers really came to Jeffersonville, Indiana, to offer Philippina a portion of an estate. From an earlier post, we learned she came to the United States in 1857, that her sister, Mary Agnes, came in 1859, and her mother and four siblings came in 1863, leaving their father, Adam Voehringer, who died in 1873. Was it his estate? If so, the lawyer would have also come to see her siblings, as well.

How would I verify this?

• One, would be to hire a researcher in Bronnweiler, Württemberg, to search for probate or estate records for the father.

• Two, determine if Philippina or any of the siblings made a large purchase, such as property, after 1873.

Philippina did purchase a lot in Jeffersonville two months after her husband, Louis W. Wollenweber, died. The money could have come from his estate, perhaps money owed him from others. These records are available at FamilySearch but are locked from home. The siblings lived in Louisville. Buying property shortly after 1873 would not in itself prove there was an inheritance.

Lastly, the claim that there may have been cruelty directed toward her. Since the whole family left the father, Adam Voehringer, that might support a reason they left. It is also possible he just did not want to emigrate to America. I have the document the family needed to leave Bronnweiler for America but I cannot read all the handwriting. Perhaps, there is an explanation. I need to hire someone to read, transcribe, and translate the document for me.

For now, this claim cannot be proven, but it is certainly a great story.

#52Ancestors: Week 19 – A Question the Records Can’t Answer

This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

---

[1] Notes written by Ada May (Gorrell) Thomason, to her brother, George J. Gorrell; Gorrell Family Archive.

[2] "Wurttemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61023) > Oa, Reutlingen, Undingen u Unterhausen > Familienresgister, Index, Kommunion, Taufen u Heiraten 1724-1878 > image 955 of 1198, Taufen [baptism] 1808-1848, 1834, no. 13,  Philippina Margaretha Vohringer.

[3] 1870 U.S. census, Clark Co, Indiana, 3rd Ward, Jeffersonville, 464 (stamped), 46, L. W. Woolenweber.  Also Caron's Directory of the City of New Albany (C.K. Caron, publisher, 1880-81), p. 400, Philoepena H Wollenweber, imaged, "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/41199_2221301230_7536-00385 : accessed 23 Apr 2026) > Indiana > New Albany > 1880 > Caron’s Directory for the city of New Albany, 1880-81 > image 386 of 432.

[4] 1900 U.S. census, Clark Co, Indiana, Jeffersonville, ED 8, sht 8, dwelling 138/family 157, Philipena Woolenwebber.

[5] “Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffersonville_Quartermaster_Depot : accessed 4 May 2026).

---

[1] Notes written by Ada May (Gorrell) Thomason, to her brother, George J. Gorrell; Gorrell Family Archive.

[2] "Wurttemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61023) > Oa, Reutlingen, Undingen u Unterhausen > Familienresgister, Index, Kommunion, Taufen u Heiraten 1724-1878 > image 955 of 1198, Taufen [baptism] 1808-1848, 1834, no. 13,  Philippina Margaretha Vohringer.

[3] 1870 U.S. census, Clark Co, Indiana, 3rd Ward, Jeffersonville, 464 (stamped), 46, L. W. Woolenweber.  Also Caron's Directory of the City of New Albany (C.K. Caron, publisher, 1880-81), p. 400, Philoepena H Wollenweber, imaged, "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/41199_2221301230_7536-00385 : accessed 23 Apr 2026) > Indiana > New Albany > 1880 > Caron’s Directory for the city of New Albany, 1880-81 > image 386 of 432.

[4] 1900 U.S. census, Clark Co, Indiana, Jeffersonville, ED 8, sht 8, dwelling 138/family 157, Philipena Woolenwebber.

[5] “Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffersonville_Quartermaster_Depot : accessed 4 May 2026).

Copyright © 2011-2026 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.