A History of how the Breuss and Waldis Clans Merged

John Baptiste Waldis immigrated to Roanoke, Virginia in 1882 with his wife Barbara Betsler Waldis (B 1840, D 1894) and their five children; John Amadeus, Elizabeth Caroline, Maria Magaretha, Ignacious Joseph, and Amazia Barbara. They settled in the Roanoke valley, now known as Roanoke City. 

            Barbara died in 1894.  John was left with a developing young family and no wife or mother to help raise them, so he wanted to immediately return to Switzerland to find another wife.  He traveled to the Philadelphia area where he was staying with friends before embarking on the voyage to Switzerland. 

During this time, March or April 1894, another family had just immigrated to the United States from Feldkirch, Austria.  Johann Bruess arrived with two daughters, Maria Rosa and Kreszentia and one son, John.  One of his daughters, Agatha remained in Austria.  They were also staying with the friends of John Waldis.   One evening John went to visit the friends and was at the house when Rosa came down the steps and he first met her. He looked at her and immediately said he did not have to return to Switzerland, he just met the woman he would marry.  Shortly thereafter he brought her to Roanoke and they were married in St. Andrew’s Church on December 10, 1894.

Rosa’s sister Kreszentia moved to Chicago, Illinois and married John Nicholas Lang. Her brother John settled in Silt, Colorado. Rosa’s father Johann also moved to Roanoke and lived there until he died 1901. He is buried in the Waldis plot in St. Andrew’s Cemetery.

            Rosa and John then proceeded to have another family of seven children.  John Sylvester (later known as Sylvester Edward) was born on November 1, 1895, died November 4,1964; Teresa Mary born March 10, 1897, died April 2, 1995; Anthon born June 1898, died August 24, 1899; Pauline Mary Cecelia born March 1, 1903; Arthur Bernard born August 10, 1905, died December 10, 1989; Rose Catherine born December 23, 1906, died October 16, 1979; and Andrew Joseph born January 15, 1909, died March 25, 1994.