Joseph Wegscheid was born on May 31,1899, the second child and the oldest son of Gregor and Susan Wegscheid. Where or when he met his bride, Margaret Peters, born September 3,1905, is not known; but they only lived one mile apart. The only courtship picture was of them sitting on a rock pile that could be found anywhere around Bluffton.

They were married February 17,1925. They first rented west of Bluffton and bought the farm nearby in 1927, where they lived all their married lives. They had nine children: Norman, Lorraine, Loretta, Elmer, Gilbert, Wilbur, Gloriann, John and Marjean. Life was, as any family, with its ups and downs, until June 5, 1966. Norman, his wife Dorothy and John were all three killed in a car accident. Five children were left orphaned. Lorraine, wanting to keep the family together, took them in along with her seven children. Tragedy struck again on March 30, 1973, when Lorraine was killed by a train. Soon after, in November 1973, Elmer and his family were held hostage in their home for 33 hours by two jail escapees. The Wegscheid name became a household word as news of the hostage incident went worldwide. When it ended, Paul Harvey said, “It’s all over in Wadena. The Wegscheids have escaped. The fugitives have been taken into custody.” After that, life returned to normal until 1979, when Joseph was burning off a meadow and his clothing caught fire. He died shortly after on December 9, 1979. Margaret moved to Bluffton, where she lived until she died of cancer on March 27, 1991.

May God bless them and all their off spring.

From this marriage came 9 children, 44 grandchildren, 102 great-grand-children and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

Elmer