Elisabeth Riedesel was born April 30, 1842 in Wunderthausen. She was the seventh of eleven children of Gabriel and Anna Elisabeth (Müsse) Riedesel of the house known as Bergmanns or Gabels. As many as six of the children eventually went to America (of the eight who grew to adulthood).
I believe that she came to the U.S. as a passenger on the ship Albert out of Bremen It landed in New York May 10, 1867. Also on board was her future husband and several others with recognizable Wittgenstein names. She evidently settled in to Rochester, New York, which was home to a sizable German population including a number of Wittgensteiners. About 1869, she married one of them, Jacob Baetzel who was originally from the nearby village of Elsoff (born July 1, 1845). His name took and takes several variations that undoubtedly had the same origin. His christening record in Elsoff uses the Baetzel spelling, somewhat surprisingly, rather than Bätzel. ‘Beitzel’ is known in Wunderthausen and ‘Batzel’ is also seen.
The couple was to have four daughters. She died in October 1917 in Rochester.