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This page relates to members of the Altig family. Information contained on this page is the result of the work of many people, but special recognition needs to be given to Bill Altice, Deborah Altus, Del Altig, Dorothy Exley, Paul Edward Altig, and Joyce Jordeth who have spent many hours laboriously researching the family name.

If you read some biographies, you will probably notice common threads amongst the members of this family. We hear much talk these days about "family values," and you will sense family values throughout the biographical accounts of this family. Of course, there are exceptions, but you will notice the Altig tradition stands for a deep commitment to the following:

• A deep spritual commitment to God,
• A tradition of academic excellence and achievement,
• A desire to serve our fellow man.

As an Altig, I am proud of that tradition. Therefore I am compelled to share the accounts of this family with all who will read them. None of the Altig's are perfect, but we generally try to leave this world a better place than when we entered it. I hope you enjoy these pages. If you do, or you have information on family members that may add to this story, please get in touch with me by sending email to the webmaster.

There are many spellings of the name Altig. Some common ones are Altig, of course, but others are Altic, Altis, Altus, Altice, Altick, Aultice and Aultz. These are just the ones that Bill has found as a result of his research into his heritage.

We will begin the Altig family story with a plea for information on a family member for which we know very little.

Ironically, the related family lines who use derived spellings (Altick, Altus, Altice, etc.) can trace their lineage back to the original Altigs in 1680 Germany. However, today's Altig family is stymied in 1800 Marysville, Kentucky. Their search halts with Henry Altig.

Ruth M. Altig of Perry, Iowa brought this situation to Bill Altice's attention in September, 1997 when she wrote an information letter to Bill. The following is her account of Henry.

Ruth writes, "As you will notice from our enclosed genealogy charts, our particular branch of the tree has always spelled the name ALTIG, but I too have found many spellings. Records of Henry have used ALIO and ALTIE amongst others such as ALTIC and ALTICK."

"The trail for the genealogy of this family has taken nearly 20 years and I am unable to get back any further than Henry. Records of this family in Maysville, KY show that in order to correct some property left to Henry's wife by her father, Edmund Martin, was listed in Henry's name by error. To correct the title, the names of all of the children were listed with the exception of Francis who apparently died suddenly on the street before the lawsuit was recorded. I did find in the Ft. Wayne library a list of taxable adult males which listed Henry's name beneath that of Edmund Martin. Edmund owned a ferry which was run by Henry. One way to get ahead in this world is to marry the boss' daughter which is what Henry obviously did. This was in Ohio County in West Virginia.

"Records in Maysville once listed the name as Henry R. Could this be the ROELOFF who is lested in the Revolutionary records as being a witness to a man receiving his pay? No other mention of Roeloff. Another correspondent thought Henry was the son of a TILLMAN, another said he came from Virginia. Another interesting note is that Henry's widow spent several years in Brown County, Ohio which is just across the Ohio River from Maysville. She then moved her family west, eventually settling in Menard Co., IL when Menard was being formed.

"Abraham Lincoln surveyed the town of Petersburg where they lived in Menard County. The widow of James Micahah married for the second time Samuel Berry, a lawyer who was aquainted with Abraham. Maria had a daughter who married a RUTLEDGE, a brother to Ann of Lincoln's fame. Makes history come alive, doesn't it?"

Besides Ruth, there are several other contemporary family researchers trying to find Henry's roots. Dorothy Exley from Arlington, VA, Delbert Altig from North Platte, NE, Paul Edward Altig from Hunting Valley, OH and Joyce Jordeth from Fort Collins, CO.

By relating Henry's bakground, Bill Altice hopes to raise the collective awareness of all family members to the roadblock preventing contemporary Altigs from connecting to the family in Germany.

There is also a possiblity that Henry may not be a descendant of Daniel Altig who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749. Someone has mentioned that he could have been a Hessian mercenary who decided to stay in America after the Revolutionary War.

As you can tell, we just don't know that much about Henry Altig. If you have any bits of information that could relate to Henry Altig, please send them to webmaster so they can be shared with all family members who hope to learn more about Henry.

My grandfather was Jerome Baxter Altig. His father was William Francis Altig. I have been unable to learn much information about my great grandfather, himself. I remember as a young boy sitting on my grandfather Jerome's lap at his home looking at old pictures. We came across a photograph of a man with bushy hair, and a wild look in his eye. I asked my grandfather who it was and he told me it was his father, that he was mean man, and he didn't want to talk about him. We quickly moved on to the next picture and that was the end of the conversation. I have no idea why my grandfather said that to me, but have always wondered about it and why, feeling this way, Jerome named two of his sons, William Ward Altig, and Francis Martyn Altig, after his father. Consequently, I have since learned only the following:

• William Francis Altig had three wives. His third wife outlived him. My grandfather's mother was Elizabeth J. Short Altig, William Francis' second wife.
• At the time my grandfather was born, the family was probably living somewhere in Cass County, Iowa.
• William Francis Altig was a veterinarian. I learned this when the family was sorting through my grandfather's personal belongings after his death. Someone discovered a huge syringe and needle. Someone in the room said that Jerome's father had been a veterinarian and these items were the only personal items of his that remained.

All of this information has been learned word of mouth, and may contain innacuracies. I have never found any written documentation to substantiate any of the above information. If anyone has any more information regarding my great grandfather, William Francis Altig, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. You may contact me via email.