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Note: Dora Vanduzen, born March 11, 1880, was the daughter of Peter Vanduzen and Mary Kalb. Peter, Dora's father, somehow left the family; there is no death notice or divorce decree. Mary Kalb Vanduzen, who was raising Dora as the head of household per the 1880 census, married Nickolaus Buehler on September 11, 1884. Buehler adopted Dora; thus her name at the time of her marriage to Frank Guetermann, on June 17, 1896, was Dora Buehler.
After being widowed on March 27, 1906, Dora later married Frank Hartwig. Her address at that time was 1727 Elm Street. They had one child together, Joseph, who died as a baby. The date of her second marriage was June 9, 1909. Hartwig died on December 22, 1943, leaving her a widow again
According to notes by her grandson, Joseph Seiler, dated January 22, 1966:
' 'Mutzie', as most people called her, was an incessant talker who occasionally displayed a violent temper, yet was a very likeable person in her own simple, uncomplicated way...she was about 5' tall, but weighed at least 180 pounds, and had brown hair and eyes. She apparently obtained some strength from her extra weight, being capable of more than most women. Mutzie had a sense of humor along simple lines, and had no need of an education beyond being able to read and write, and was often as child-like as the grandchildren and great-grandchildren she doted on. She often said, when cuddling a baby in her arms, that she understood what the child was saying to her by its gurgling and happy sounds. I like to think that, considering her simple views and aspirations, it really was so.'
She died at the home of her daughter, Blanche Guetermann Seiler Rottmueller, at 2409 Highland Avenue in Mt. Auburn, and is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery; the gravesite is Lot 141, Section 2, owned by John Hartwig. The cause of death was listed on her Death Certificate as arterioschlerotic heart disease. Her age at the time of death was 73 years, 9 months, and 28 days.
Her name at the time of her death was Dora Hartwig. Her full name would then have been: Dora Vanduzen Buehler Guetermann Hartwig.
I have only two faint recollections of my great-grandmother and of her death. I recall that she once gave me a few coins to spend at the Holy Name Catholic Church Carnival, held only a few blocks from our home. And I remember seeing her lying dead on the couch, prior to the undertaker's arrival, in her daughter Blanche's upstairs apartment in our home.
There exist a few photographs of this woman. One that leaps to the front was taken on the front steps of our house in Mt. Auburn; she, her daughter Blanche, her grandson Joseph Seiler, and her great-grandson, (me) Dale Seiler, are in the picture, taken in about 1951.
Dale Seiler February, 1999
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