William and Johanna Hauser Wetz wre born in Eppelsheim, Germany. He was
     the second of six children born to wilhelm and Barbara Anhauser Wetz, and
     Johanna was the daughter of Anton and Anna Marie Hauenstein Hauser.
       In 1855 William came to America and settled in Green County, Illinois,
     working for a farmer in that area. In 1865 Johanna also came to America
     to join her older sister in Carrolton, Illinois. Johanna and William were
     married in Carrolton, December 12, 1870, and settled on a farm near Harvel,
     Illinois.
       A family story is told that shortly after William came to America, a
     friend of his from Germany, a Mr. Marx who later was in the firm of Hart,
     Schaffner, and Marx, offered to sell him some land. Wiliam reportedly
     replied that he was not interested in the old swamp land ... that land is
     now part of "The Loop" of Chicago.
       The Wetzes became the parents of five sons and two daughters; however,
     one son and one daughter died in infancy. William, Jr., Anna, Tony, Fred,
     and Herman grew up on the family farm near Harvel.
       In the 1890's William, Sr. became interested in Barber County, Kansas,
     where the Hauser and Achenbach families, also from Eppelshein, had moved.
     He bought land in the area of Kiowa, both in Barber County and in Alfalfa
     County, Indian Territory. The three younger brothers moved to Kansas with
     their parents and farmed the land, while William, Jr., stayed in Illinois
     and farmed the home farm until he retired and moved to Kiowa. William, Sr.
     divided his time between Kansas and Illinois until his death in Kiowa,
     July 18, 1919. He was buried in Harvel, as was his wife following her 
     death, January 26, 1924.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 482 
     Submitted by: H. Edward Wetz, Jr.