Ringelstetter

In Germany, Ringelstetter was spelled in many ways in archive records, such as: Ringelstetter, Ringlstetter, Ringlstätter, Ringlstädter, Ringelstädter, Ringstetter, Ringsteter. Most common is Ringelstetter and Ringlstetter. 

Earliest known Ringelstetter in Bavaria:

The earliest known Ringelstetter was Erhardt Ringstetter whose birthplace is not known but he died in Tiefenbach in 1701 at age 83 years. Ringelstetter family history can be traced to the year 1654 in Tiefenbach. It is possible the Ringelstetter family previously came from the Dingolfing area, possibly from a nearby town called Ringstetten (earlier spelled Rinkenstatt). Names of possible sisters of Erhard Ringelstetter were found in the Dingolfing church book. Unfortunately, Erhard's baptism record was not found due to the church records being burned for the years including 1618 (his possible birth year).

More than 7 generations of Ringelstetters have lived in Tiefenbach. Following a direct line down from Erhardt to Johann Baptist Ringelstetter (more about him below), the descendants from Erhardt are Salomon (1669-1728) > Johann Wolfgang (1702-1771) > Andreas (1731-1806) > Georg Adam (1765-1838) > Johann Nepumuk (1799-1868) > Johann Baptist (1831-1924). Each of these men had many children and descendants. Except for Erhardt, they were all born in Tiefenbach. One could say that all Ringelstetters in Bavaria, and possibly including all of Germany, are related. 

Tiefenbach

There are several villages called Tiefenbach in Germany. The Tiefenbach of the Ringelstetters was in the county of Waldmünchen until 1972 when the county seat moved to Cham. This historic map from BayernAtlas shows how Tiefenbach looked in the mid 1800s: https://v.bayern.de/Wrk9R  Tiefenbach is northwest of Treffelstein and about 13 km north of Waldmünchen - which is near the border of Czech Republic. The Catholic church at Tiefenbach is St. Vitus. West of Tiefenbach via Hoffeld is a small village called Altenschneeberg, a distance of 3 km. Children from Altenschneeberg had to walk down the big hill to attend school in Tiefenbach. 

Altenschneeberg Ringelstetters who immigrated to Wisconsin

Of interest to Wisconsin Ringelstetters in Sauk County is John Ringelstetter and his family: 

Johann Baptist Ringelstetter was born June 24, 1831, at house number 29 in Tiefenbach, Cham, Bavaria, Germany. He was the son of Johann Nepomuk Ringelstetter and Eva Katharina Zangl, and he had six siblings. House number 29 is an old house number. The book, Tiefenbach, 1180-1980 (800 Jahre Tiefenbach): Chronik der Gemeinde Tiefenbach/Bayern shows house number 29 is now Waldbadstrasse 1 with an old house name "Schneiderkarl." Waldbadstrasse 1 is shown on Google Maps next to Gasthof Russenbräu: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vXbQ1id9y3wJuD7y5 At that location in 2026 is a business called "Indekostyle" (owned by Rainer Amann) in an orange house and is a vacation rental home called "Ferienvermietung Amann." 

Johann's wife was Francisca Huber born Sept. 8, 1832, in Großsteinlohe, Cham, Bavaria, Germany. Her parents were Georg Adam Huber (born in Steinlohe) and Anna Elisabeth Braun (born in Anger, Bohemia - now called Upor in Czech). The village of Anger no longer exists and is near Grafenried. Before his marriage to Francisca on May 12, 1860, in Tiefenbach, Johann purchased a house in Altenschneeberg from Wolfgang Räsch. 

The original house (number 13) where Johann and Francisca lived in Altenschneeberg, no longer exists. A small building now stands there. The historic map (mid 1800s) from BayernAtlas shows the location of the house: https://v.bayern.de/3xcZg Also check out this map with a red marker pointing to house #13: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gbmukJ2PdDrnFFC8A  It is located behind the current house number 55. Any reference to Johann living at house #45 is incorrect. Behind their house is a castle ruins with a large wooden cross on top. 

Johann owned several very small pieces of land in various places along the road that leads from Altenschneeberg to Poliztka (near Hoffeld). In March 1870, he sold all his fields and house. 

Johann and Francisca had 12 children (six died in infancy): The first two children, Johann Baptist (infant), and Andreas "Andrew" were born in Großsteinlohe near the Czech border. Children #3-9, unnamed infant son, Barbara, two infants named Johann, Franziska, Johann Evangelist (infant), and an unnamed infant were all born at house #13 in Altenschneeberg. Children #10-12 (Katherine, Michael, and Joseph) were born in Bear Creek Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin. The German children were baptized at St. Vitus Catholic Church in Tiefenbach. Their son Andreas (who married Catherine Pfeiffer) was illegitimate and given the last name Huber. When his parents married in 1860, he was legitimized and given the last name Ringelstetter. 

Immigration

Johann and Francisca and their 3 surviving children (Andreas, Barbara, and Franziska) left Germany at Bremen on the "SS Baltimore" and arrived at the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, on July 2, 1870. The family lived on a farm in Big Hollow in Bear Creek Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin where their last three children were born. 

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Johann was sometimes referred to as Johann but more often as John. Francisca, also Franziska, was called Frances. Andreas was known as Andrew. 

On November 1, 1880, John declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States. 

The June 10, 1886, issue of the Weekly Home News (Spring Green, WI) reported: "Big Hollow - J. Ringlestetter had a bee Monday, raising a log stable 22x26 feet. There was about twenty-five men engaged. Mr. R. will soon have his place looking like a village if he continues to build much longer."

John had a stroke on August 8, 1923, and went to live with his son Joseph and family in Big Hollow. John died at age 92 on February 11, 1924, at the home of Joseph. 

Research to find proof of a death date for Francisa Huber Ringelstetter: According to the obituary of John, his wife Francisca died on May 2, 1896; however, her tombstone was engraved with "1895." Her death record was not found in St. Luke's parish at Plain, WI, or court house records in Sauk and Richland counties, and an obituary or prayer card was not found. In medical papers of Dr. Marcus Bossard (seen at the 4th floor archive at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison), there is an entry for a visitation on Nov. 18, 1895 by Dr. Bossard to Mrs. Ringelstetter for a bad tooth. This could have been Mrs. John Ringelstetter or her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Catherine (Andrew) Ringelstetter. The 1895 Wisconsin State Census enumerated June 20 lists 1 female born in Germany; the female is presumed to be Frances Huber Ringelstetter. Newspapers in the area of Plain that were searched on microfilm with no results: Republican Observer (Richland Center); Richland Rustic (Richland Center); Sauk City Pioneer Press (German); Pioneer Am Wisc. Sauk City (German); Baraboo News Republic; Baraboo Republic; Sauk Co. Democrat (Baraboo); Weekly Home News (Spring Green). There was no Lone Rock paper for this time period. In 2010, an employee in the town hall (Rathaus) at Tiefenbach said there would be no record of Francisca's death in their birth records. It was not common that a German town was notified of a death of an emigrant to America. 

John and Frances are both buried at the old St. Luke Catholic Cemetery south of Plain. Their marker is located next to Johann Wachter who died Dec. 5, 1895, and he did have an obituary. It is possible that Frances originally had an iron cross marker. After John Ringelstetter died, a large tombstone was installed. The engraving shows the name "Francia" (which seems odd) and a middle initial "G." for John (his middle name was Baptist). The last name on the tombstone was originally engraved as "Ringelstter" which was corrected by Leo Ringelstetter in 1985 to "Ringelstetter." Pictures of their burial marker can be seen at their memorial pages: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21467917/johann-baptist-ringelstetter  and https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21467901/francisca-ringelstetter 

Click to see my Ringelstetter family tree at Ancestry.com (you'll need an Ancestry subscription to view the tree).

I also added Johann Ringelstetter and family to FamilySearch's public "world" tree which can be edited by anyone: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/K2YD-L4J 

Ringelstetter message board: http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.ringelstetter/mb.ashx