time capsule buried at the church in 2024 for our future generations to uncover in the year 2074.

Germania is a small hamlet of about one hundred people. It is located a few miles from the northeast corner of Marquette County. The retired and active farmers here have well-kept homes of moderate size. The town is favored by having the Mecan River on one side of it and the beautiful little Comstock Lake on the other.It is not so much what Germania is but rather what it has been that makes it remarkable. It has a history—a glorious past, all out of proportion to its present size and influence.

Away back in the early history of Wisconsin, after Marquette County had been partly deserted by the Native Americans, the white settlers began to creep in and take up homesteads from the Government. Settlers had come from all over our country and some from Germany. A Mr. Abraham Peirce and wife settles on the banks of Comstock Lake in the year 1849. They were from Massachusetts. A son was born to them in 1850. In 1852 Mr. Peirce died and left a widow with their two-year-old son, Clarence. Mrs. Peirce returned to Grotten, Massachusetts, with her infant son. It was there she met a devout merchant by the name of Benjamin Hall, who was not a regularly ordained minister, but he believed in Second Advent of Christ. He preached to a few faithful followers. Miller had just previously predicted the world coming to an end in 1844. Strictly speaking Mr. Hall was not a follower of Miller, he believed in the "Millennial Dawn" but no set date.

Mrs. Peirce became a convert to Mr. Hall’s religion and also became his wife. Shortly afterward Mr. Hall moved to the Wisconsin home of his wife. As he was a man of considerable means for his time, he bought a large tract of land where Germania now stands. He had about 1200 acres. A dam was built, a grist mill established, a large general store erected. A number of Mr. Hall’s religious followers came to his new home in Wisconsin, and he built a large, colony house, where they might all live, work and pray together.
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They were truly a co-operative colony; all actuated by the same religious feeling. The property was put together and they all worked together. Mr. Hall was the leader and furnished most of the money, but he worked everyday side by side with the poorest member of the community. He cared more for the example he set than he did for the property he could accumulate. Members of the Colony were called to prayer meetings every evening and Sundays. Mr. Hall was the leader in trying to establish the Kingdom of the Lord upon this earth. He carefully watched his whole flock and took the full responsibility. They all ate at the same table; and all worked, regardless of how much or how little each one brought to the Colony. The Colony was called the Germania Company.

A real religious and moral ex-example was set by the Colony for the neighborhood for many miles around. The general store bought all the products of the farmers, including pork and beef and it was hauled to Berlin or Ripon by team. The same teams brought back goods to the store. Princeton at that time had no railroad. Mr. Hall was the banker for a distance of many miles. There was no bank in Marquette County. He kept the money in the Community house. Farmers came long distances to get money. They gave him, mortgages on their farms and he handed them the cash from his office in his home. He was respected by all. Many bought goods on time from the store. Aside from being a religious leader, Mr. Hall was easily the most prominent businessman and was probably the richest man in Marquette or any of the neighboring counties. He made frequent trips to Milwaukee to buy goods and make investments. Mr. Hall also developed the waterpower and started a woolen mill in Montello. Mr. Walter Kies of Germania was the superintendent of the mill and boarded with Dr. Pratt at Montello, in 1875.

After the death of Mr. Hall in 1879, at the age of 83, the religious colony known as the Germania Company, started to disintegrate. He was buried in the Germania cemetery where a modest monument still marks his last resting place. He had been the leader and soul of the Colony for a quarter of a century and it was too much to expect that his wife at her advanced age could carry on the work after he was gone. Members of the Colony withdrew and some of the older ones had died. So little by little parcels of the land were sold to strangers and the old religious Colony fade out. In the words of Shakespeare, “Ancient and holy things seem but like a dream.”

The large colony house was pulled down after the community began breaking up and dividing the property of Mr. Hall. Her son, Clarence E. Peirce, became the active director. He was a splendid type of manhood. He raised his family in a residence built beside the old community building. His mother died in 1893 and left him in full charge of what was left of the colony property. He was well thought of in the County and vicinity. He was elected to the Assembly and State Senate for several terms. His children attended the High School and University at Madison, and they now live in Minneapolis, Omaha, South Dakota and Madison.

Although the Colony had its influence in the vicinity under the leadership of Mr. Peirce’s stepfather, Mr. Hall, Mr. Peirce was more widely known and had a splendid influence on the community in which he lived. He was always constructive and helpful as a farmer, merchant, banker, citizen or friend. He was a leader in his County for more than thirty years. In the month of December in 1924, death touched his tired heart at the age of 72. He was laid at rest in Madison near the State Capital where he had so faithfully represented his people in Central Wisconsin.

Mr. Clarence E. Peirce was near and dear to the hearts of the people for more than twenty miles around Germania. He helped organize and was the vice-president of the State Bank of Westfield. He was well-known in Milwaukee and had the confidence of the best people here. His religion was to do good. He did not belong to any orthodox church, but he worshiped by doing service to his fellow man. His prayers were answered by the smiles of those he befriended. When we laid him away, we realized that the requiem of his funeral could not all be finished on that day. We felt like orphans, although we all had fathers and mothers of our own. We knew we had lost our best friend. In the future we must walk alone. He had served us with his time and his money. Taking him all in all, Mr. Peirce was such a man as Marquette County will not soon look upon again.

There are still a few descendants of the old colonial settlers in the little hamlet of Germania. Mr. Geo. Phillips is a grandson of Mrs. Hall. He has been County Surveyor for more than thirty years. Another grandson of Mrs. Hall is A.E. Hartwell. His father, S.N. Hartwell was a local poet of considerable ability. He depicted life in and around Germania in verse which Longfellow would not have been ashamed to own.

It is hard to tell just what the effect of the early religious life of the Colony had on the settlers who followed. But for a small place, Germania has sent out more people who have “made good” than many places of a much larger population. The first State Graded school in the County was located at Germania. Mr. James Madison of Oshkosh was its first principal in 1901. He afterward became County Superintendent of Schools and still has a residence in Germania. They young people have gone out into the world from year to ear and made enviable reputations in many walks of life. For example, Gilbert King, is now a famous mechanical dentist in Milwaukee; Frank Weckwerth is private secretary to the Superintendent of a large railroad Company in the Southwest; his brother Herbert is a Government civil engineer at Kaukauna. In fact, they have all done well. So far no one from Germania had been sent to prison.
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Germania is still an interesting small place. The homestead of the old colony community is now the home of Wm. Hoeft. As a boy and young man, he was a farm hand of the Germania Company. He attended their prayer meetings nearly fifty years ago. He was a faithful worker and absorbed some of their religious ideas. He is now the master in the house where he was once a humble servant. He is now an excellent farmer and so are many others in and around Germania. Mr. Hoeft knows the life of each and every one of that faithful group who came from their Massachusetts homes to help establish the Kingdom of the Lord in Wisconsin so many years ago. They lie in the little peaceful cemetery of Germania, clustered around their leader, Benjamin Hall.
A part of the old Community house still stands; the old store is used for a tool shed; the old furniture, spinning wheel and some old-fashioned tools and implements give mute evidence of former times. Also, what is left of the old religious library is a reminder of the solemn thoughts of those who have passed before us. 

Over 100 years of royalty in Germania …but nobody knew.

John Weckwerth, whose family goes back to 1853 in Germania, recently discovered royal blood in another long-time Germania family. Weckwerth’s sleuthing took hours of following clues and reading Scottish and English history. It revealed that Mary Queen of Scots is the 11th great aunt of Doug Bethke.

“All these years, living with royalty in Germania,” said Weckwerth at Saturday’s Germania Historical Society meeting at the Long Branch Saloon, “and no one knew it, Doug knew he was related but didn’t know the exact lineage.”

The search began with the name Stuart, a clue that Weckwerth jumped on, wondering if it connected Bethke to the Stuarts of Scotland. He obtained a copy of the Stuart family genealogy and the hunt was on.

Let’s back up. Doug Bethke’s great grandparents owned the Germania Hotel, now the Long Branch Saloon in 1919. Here’s a short history lesson on the Long Branch that you can find on their menu. The building was constructed by Warnke in 1898 as the Germania Home and Livery.

William and Sadie (Sarah) Friedrichs, those great grandparents of Doug Bethke purchased it in 1919, calling it Hunter’s Club. In 1959 their son and daughter-in-law Stuart and Loretta bought it and ran it until 1962. Hubert and Henrietta Kemnitz purchased it in 1962, renaming it the K & W Club. The name Long Branch began in 1966 when Walt and Helen Seehaver bought it, passing it on to Janet Seehaver from 1983 to 1984. Then came Jerry and Diane Kegal until 1985 who sold to Bob and Darlene Copeland. In 1988 it became Sisters Saloon for owners Sandy Schmidt and Jackie Ewerdt until 1991 when it returned to Bob and Darlene Copeland who gave it once again the Long Branch name. Don and Missy Heller, present owners, have had the place since 1992.

Returning to Germania royalty, William Friedrichs’ wife Sadie’s maiden name was Stuart. Thus, the connection to Scotland that set John Weckwerth on his hunt. After digging through the Stuart family tree, he identified the direct link between Mary, Queen of Scots and Doug Bethke.

Doug’s 11th great grandfather, James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray, is Mary Queen of Scots half-brother. Thus Mary, Queen of Scots is Doug’s 11th great aunt.

This also makes Doug the 12th cousin once removed of today’s Queen Elizabeth and the 13th cousin of Prince Charles.  So says John Weckwerth who spent hours counting those cousins.

Another interesting relationship is that Doug Bethke is the 1st cousin 12 times removed of Mary, Queen of Scots’ son, King James the 6th of Scotland, who became King James the 1st of England and Ireland as well. He was the first King of Scotland, England and Ireland simultaneously when it was first called Great Britain.

King James is the person that authorized the translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek to English and in 1611 the first edition of The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV), was published and it is still the Bible most people use today. King James also had many famous artists and authors on his court like William Shakespeare and Sir Francis Bacon.

You could say that Doug Bethke elevates the status of the Long Branch Saloon in Germania each time he honors it with his presence. His royal blue blood could bring a bit of old Brit to the Township of Shields wherein Germania lies. Perhaps the Longbranch could begin serving High Tea each day at five. But danger may lie ahead what with past relations between Germany and Great Britain and descendants of both countries represented in the Germania population. Not to fear, Germans have been marrying into the British Royal Family for some time and even Doug’s Scottish great grandmother married a German, so Doug Bethke, you’re safe when the Germania Historical Society holds an Octoberfest celebration come this fall.