Wildts were one of the first German-speaking families in Washtenaw County

Kathy Siler, chairwoman for the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau Communications Committee, sent me an email earlier this month telling me about some of the research she's been doing on the history of Washtenaw County agriculture. While reading an article by Dale R. Herter and Terry Stollsteimer, she saw the names of the first German-speaking families that settled in Washtenaw County, and one caught her eye. Imagine my surprise when the final name on the list was "Wildt."
I knew my family had some Michigan roots, especially near Homer, but I didn't know we had a Washtenaw County presence. It's very cool to find myself reporting on agriculture in Washtenaw County, the opportunity that brought my ancestors here almost 200 years ago.

Here's the full list:
Surnames of the first German-speaking families known to have settled in
Washtenaw County (1830-1832). All were from the Stuttgart area of Wuerttemberg.
Allmendinger
Aprill
Auch
Beck
Bissinger
Grauer
Gross
Haab
Haas
Hornung (Horning)
Kaercher
Koch
Laubengayer
Mann
Maeyle
Mueller (Miller)
Osius
Paul
Roth
Ruehle
Schilling
Schneeberger
Staebler
Stollsteimer
Wildt (Wild)

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