(November 1, 1835 – March 19, 1884)
A military officer and gifted engineer, Godfrey Weitzel was born Gottfried Weitzel in Winzeln, some 20 miles north of Villingen. His parents Ludwig and Susanna Krummel immigrated to the U.S. in 1837, and the family settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the spirit of becoming Americanized, Gottfried became Godfrey, and Ludwig became Lewis. Many accounts have Weitzel being born in the U.S., and he never corrected them. He preferred to be thought of as American born rather than an immigrant. His father owned a grocery store in the Over-the Rhine section of the city and was active in the Democratic Party and served as a city commissioner and on the local school board.
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