New Search - HELP

[Susan Higginbotham]

I don't see any obvious relationship between Clara Pix Ritter and the mysterious Chris Ritter. I did some poking around last night and found a few tidbits (some of which had already been found by John Stanton).

Henry T. Ritter and Clara had two children, Agnes and Washington, before separating and ultimately divorcing some time after 1870. Clara returned to her family in Galveston, Texas, where she died in 1924:



Henry T. Ritter served with the Union army for only a couple of months in 1861, but it was enough to get him a berth in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Bath, NY, where he died in 1908. (I confirmed his identity through looking at his file there, which lists his daughter Agnes as his next of kin.) There's a photograph of the young Henry at Find-A-Grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi...id=1121644

Washington Ritter, Henry and Clara's son, got into a spot of trouble in 1890 when he deserted his wife and children, embezzled some money from the firm where he worked, and ran off with his girlfriend to Galveston. He was caught and sent back to New York for trial, but got off with a suspended sentence after everyone agreed that he had been led astray by his new love. His uncle (Clara's brother) in Galveston promised to give him a situation in Galveston, where he died in 1896, shortly after his 30th birthday. He's buried in the same cemetery as Clara.

Incidentally, the "Dr. and Mrs. R." that Clara mentions in her letter to Weichmann are likely her future in-laws, Dr. Washington Ritter and his wife. Dr. Washington Ritter died in 1875.