Sketch of Crescentia "Nancy" Otteni Wald
1822 - 1864

Crescentia Otteni, daughter of Benedict and Christina Otteni, was born on 29 May 1822 in the village of Urloffen, Germany. Crescentia is many times referred to as "Nancy" and occasionally as "Anna".

Not much is known about Crescentia's early life. However, just prior to her 22nd birthday, she married Daniel Wald. The wedding took place on 23 Apr 1844 in Lancaster, Ohio. J. Young, a priest at St. Mary Church in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, officiated.

The name "Wald" was sometimes written as "Walt" in some of the early records. In the German language, when the letter 'd' appears at the end of a word, and is pronounced as a "t". Therefore, WALD is sometimes spelled as WALT. Other variations in spelling include Waltz and Waldt. Sometimes the different spellings were used interchangeably in records. This sometimes adds confusion in tracking family members.

By 1850, according to the U.S. Census, Crescentia and Daniel had started a family and were living in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. The census shows three children in the family. The census taker wrote their name as WALT.

At this point, there is some confusion as to the children. Church records at St. Mary Church in Lancaster, OH indicate that Dorothy and John are children of Daniel and Crescentia Wald but do not show Benjamin. However, baptismal records show, Daniel, son of Daniel and Crescentia, was baptized on 17 Feb 1847. This would make him 3 years old at the time of the 1850 census. In addition, Joseph Wald is also recorded in church records as a son of Daniel and Crescentia and was baptized on 2 Feb 1848. Joseph is not listed in the 1850 census.

These inconsistencies could be attributed to many things. One possibility is that Joseph died before the 1850 census and Benjamin could be only a partial name for Daniel. Until more evidence is found, it is assumed that the church records are correct in terms of Daniel and Joseph being children of Daniel and Crescentia and being born before 1850. Using a combination of church and cemetery records, the children of Daniel and Crescentia are:

According to German records, Daniel was born 23 Jan 1823 in Stollhofen, Germany to Franz Joseph Wald and Maria Anna Müller (Miller).

Per the Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, Catholic Church Records, 1678-1930, Daniel was baptized in December 1823.

• Name: Daniel Wald

• Baptism Date: 11 Dec 1823

• Baptism Place: Stollhofen, Baden, Deutschland

• Sex: Male

• Father: Josephi Wald

• Mother: Maria Anna Müller
  

Daniel was one of 13 children of which only six lived past the age of two. From a combination of German and American records, the children of Franz Joseph and Maria Anna Wald are:

Daniel's parents immigrated to the United States in 1836 with their 6 children from Stollhofen, Germany:

• Maria Antonia Wald Hance (1811-1890)

• Maria Anna "Mary" Wald Piper (1813-1893)

• Andreas (Andrew) Wald (1818-1902)

• Daniel Wald (1823-1885)

• John Ulrich Waldt (1826-1905)

• Mechtilde Wald Swartz (1829-1890)

Daniel and Andrew continued to use the WALD spelling for their surname. John Ulrich moved from Lancaster, Ohio to Indiana and then settled in St. Louis, Missouri and by the 1900 U.S. Census used the Waldt spelling as his surname.

 Public records show many marriages, births and deaths of Joseph and Mary's descendants. They include:

• Maria Antonia "Mary" Wald married Valentine Hance (Hanze/Hans) - sister of Daniel

The 1850 U. S. Census shows "Valentine and Mary A. Hans" living in Fairfield, County, Ohio in the household next to "Daniel and Nancy Walt." At this time Valentine and Mary Antonia had three children, Sara (age 13), Joseph (age 12), and Michael (age 6). Mary Antonia Hance is buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio.

• Maria Anna (Mary Ann) Wald married Frederick Piper (28 Feb 1804 - 12 Jul 1886) - sister of Daniel

They are known to have 3 children, Dennis, Ignatius and Clara, According to the 1870 U.S. Census, they had two children living with them at the time: Ignatius, age 21 who was a journeyman Blacksmith; and Clara, age 14, who was attending school. Frederick's occupation was listed as a Cooper. Mary Ann and Frederick are buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio.

• Andreas (Andrew) Wald married Elizabeth (3 Jul 1820 - 17 Mar 1897) - brother of Daniel

According to her obituary, Elizabeth was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. The newspaper article shows they had three children, William, George, and Henrietta Clementine. Andrew, Elizabeth and Henerietta are buried at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery  in Davenport, Iowa.

• Johann Ulrich (John) Waldt married Sara Melvina Sweitzer on 16 Nov 1851 - brother of Daniel

They are known to have 7 children, Andreas "Andrew", Joseph, Fannie, Bridget, Elizabeth, John and Edward. Records show that John and Malvina were living in Sullivan County, Indiana in 1867 and eventually settled in St. Louis, Missouri. John and Melvina are buried in Friedens Cemetery Mausoleum and Chapel, Bellefontaine Neighbors, St. Louis County, Missouri.

• Mechtilde (Matilda) Wald married John Swartz (Schwartz) - sister of Daniel

They are known to have 6 children: Minnie, Matilda, Mary, John, Charles, and Joseph. Maltilda and John are buried at St. Mary Cemetery. Joseph Swartz died at age 9 years, 26 days on 1 Sep 1859 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Fairfield County, Ohio.

Crescentia and Daniel lived in the Ewing Addition, Lot 18 (later known as Lot 530). Although the record of their buying this property was not located, the record of selling it was found. In January 1866, almost two years after Crescentia died, Daniel sold the property to Margaret Butler for $600.00.

When Daniel's father died on 17 Dec 1862, no will was left which meant that Joseph's two lots were divided among the widow, Mary Ann, and all their children. The children, however, assigned the two parcels of property back to their mother. This included Lot 2 of the White Addition and Lot 17 of the Ewing Addition in Lancaster, Ohio.

When Daniel's mother died on 13 May 1867, once again the two lots became part of the estate in which Daniel was an heir. On 9 Oct 1867, Daniel and his brothers and sisters sold their share of Lot 17 to their sister Mary Hance. Then on 9 Oct 1868, Daniel, along with his siblings, sold their share of Lot 2 to their sister Matilda Swartz.

Later on, Daniel was involved with buying a lot on Maple Street in Lancaster in 1878. He and Theodore Bush bought the lot for $600 with a land contract to Philemon W. Binneger at an 8% interest rate, payable in two years. On 6 May 1880, they defaulted on the mortgage owing $699.30 and the land was sold at a Sheriff's Sale for $550.00.

Crescentia died on 21 Apr 1864. At this time, it is not known what caused her early death. She is buried in Row 2 of Section H of Elmwood Cemetery next to three of her children, Mary M., Francis X., and Emily. A small, fading, headstone reads:

 Nancy Wald

 wife of Daniel

d. Apr. 21, 1864, aged 37Y 3M

This presents an inconsistency in her age at death. According to German birth records, she was born on 29 May 1822 which would make her 41 years 11 months old (1 year 6 months older than Daniel) at the time of her death. To add to the confusion, the 1850 U.S. Census (taken in July 1850) lists Nancy as 25 years old which would make her 38 years old at the time of her death. It is assumed at this point that accuracy of ages was not of prime importance in this era.

On 7 Feb 1866, Daniel remarried Mehitable Murphy, the widow of Joseph Murphy.

A land transfer from Joseph Murphy to the Columbus and Hocking Valley Railroad listed Mehitable Murphy, the widow of Joseph, now married to Daniel Wald. She sold Lot 24 in the Ewing Addition on 1 Oct 1867.

Daniel appeared in the 1870 U.S. Census with Mehitable and three of his children. The children listed were: John, age 21, working as a Railroad laborer; Joshua, age 18, working as an apprentice Blacksmith; and Christina, age 16, who was attending school.

It is presumed that Daniel moved to Columbus, Ohio to live with his sons, Daniel and Joshua on Park Street, sometime after 1880 since the 1880 U.S. Census lists Daniel's sons, Daniel and Joshua, residing at 95 West Friend Street in Columbus. They must have moved to the Park Street address between 1880 and 1884.