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WEYERSTALL FAMILY
The Weyerstall family of Ocean Springs was led by Otto
Weyerstall (1870-1941), a native of southern Germany. He came to
the United States in 1905, and to Ocean Springs in 1929. Mr.
Weyerstall was a retired banana plantation operator having worked
for the United Fruit Company in Guatemala. Otto Weyerstall had two
wives. At the time of his demise on October 1, 1941, at Oxford,
Mississippi, he was married to Laura “MiMi” Ynfazon-Moreno
(1889-1989), a native of Honduras. She was the daughter of Leopoldo
Ynfancon and Matilde Moreno-Betancourt. From Otto Weyerstall’s
first marriage three sons reached maturity: Otto Weyerstall Jr.,
Hellmuth Frank Weyerstall (1895-1970), and Albert Weyerstall. Otto
Weyerstall expired October 1, 1941, at Oxford, Mississippi.(The
Daily Herald, October 2, 1941, p. 6 and Robert W. Potter-June 2004)
Otto Weyerstall (1870-1941) and Laura Ynfazon-Moreno
(1889-1989)
(Courtesy of Robert W. Potter)
Laura
Ynfazon-Moreno “MiMi” Weyerstall was educated at the Teachers
College in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She taught in Honduras and
Guatemala. Her father was the Guatemala ambassador to Mexico and
England. In 1899, she was presented at the Court of St. James in
London. Her children with Otto Weyerstall were:
Henry Weyerstall
(1913-1987), Dr.
Margarita W. Mills Metzger (1916-2003),
and Elsa W. Sorby (b.
1919),
and Martha W.
Potter (1922-1988).
Mrs. Weyerstall’s corporal remains were interred in the Southern
Memorial Park at Biloxi.(The Sun Herald, May 1, 1989, p. A-4)
(l-r):
Margarita W. Mills Metzger (1916-2003), Martha W. Potter
(1922-1988),
Laura Ynfazon-Moreno Weyerstall (1889-1989),
Elsa W, Sorby (b. 1919), and Henry Weyerstall (1913-1987)
(Courtesy of Robert W. Potter)
In March 1931, Otto Weyerstall was the host to several
Central Americans who were domiciled at New Orleans. Among these
distinguished visitors to Ocean Springs were: A.E. Jimenez,
Guatemalan representative, and Consul Schmidt of Honduras and
family; Senora Soto and daughter; Marco Figuero (sic) (1903-1980);
and Pomp Romero. Three cadets from the Gulf Coast Military Academy,
Garcia, Valenzuela, and Matinez, were also among the guests.(The
Daily Herald, March 18, 1931, p. 3)
Hellmuth F. Weyerstall
Hellmuth F.
Weyerstall spoke fluent German and served in the American
Expeditionary Force in Europe during WWI. Here he earned the
moniker, Grey Ghost. Weyerstall would crawl out of the allied
trenches, cross no-man’s-land, and slip into the German
fortifications. Here with his superior knowledge of German, he
wrecked havoc upon the enemy. After the war, Hellmuth lived in
Butte, Montana and survived prospecting for gold in the Rocky
Mountains of western Montana. He was awarded the Bronze Star. Upon
Helmuth’s demise in 1970, President Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994),
called his half-sister, Martha Weyerstall Potter, to express his
condolences and appreciation to the Weyerstall family.(Robert W.
Potter, July 6, 2004)
Weyerstall homes
Before the
Great Depression, Otto Weyerstall acquired 60-acres on LeMoyne
Boulevard north of Gulf Hills. Although the family never lived
here, they cultivated pecans and called their orchard, “Laura
Acres”. For many years, the Weyerstall family lived on the
northwest corner of Iberville and Washington Avenue in a Queen Anne
cottage let from Arthur E. Westbrook (1884-1945) and Louise A. Ernst
Westbrook (1881-1962). This structure is extant at present day 1201
Washington Avenue and is a commercial rental today. MiMi
Weyerstall later rented the Charles W. Eglin (1883-1966) and
Gertrude “Gertie” Galle Eglin (1899-1951) bungalow also on
Washington Avenue. Long demolished, the Eglin home was situated
between the present day office of Hayden Dent, Esquire and Burger
Burger.(Robert W. Potter, July 6, 2004)
In August
1957, MiMi and her daughter, Martha W. Potter acquired a small
cottage at present day 411 Jackson Avenue, from Raymond H.
Schademann, a resident of Dade County, Florida. It appears that Mr.
Schademann was in the military and was probably stationed at Keesler
AFB before his transfer to southeastern Florida. While speculating,
it is very likely that Raymond H. Schademann was from Nebraska.
Most of the Schademann’s today reside in rural areas of eastern
Nebraska.(JXCO, Ms. Land Deed Bk. 170, p. 48)
Robert W.
“Bob” Potter and his spouse, Martha Weyerstall Potter, bought the
Jackson Avenue home of Mrs. Laura Weyerstall in March 1977. The
Potters were residents of Ozark, Alabama at the time. Bob Potter,
now a widower, resides in former Weyerstall home today.(JXCO, Ms.
Land Deed Bk. 938, p. 226)
1939 Iberville Landing Commemoration
[l-r]: Henry Weyerstall (1913-1987),
Beryl Girot Riviere (b. 1916), Merle "Sally" Girot Williams
Staley (1913-1961), Georgine "George" Girot Nicholson
(1918-1981), Annette Rose Saxon O'Keefe (1924-1998), Mary
Handy Lemon Wilson (b. 1924), and Alfred P. "Fred"
Moran (1897-1967), as Iberville. [Courtesy of Beryl Girot
Riviere]
Henry Weyerstall
Henry Weyerstall
(1913-1987) was born at Quirgua, Guatemala, on September 13, 1913.
He graduated from the Ocean Springs Public School with the Class of
1934, where he was an excellent athlete and football star. Before
he joined the military, Henry was employed at the Shearwater Pottery
and wrote a sports column for The Jackson County Times,
“Henry Chats”.
He coached the Ocean Springs Junior Greyhounds football team in the
fall of 1939. Henry Weyerstall married Mattie Mae Turner in 1942 at
Mobile. She was the daughter of Hiram Turner (1885-1968) and Bessie
Benjamin Turner Vick. Mr. Turner, a native of Conecuh County,
Alabama, was the L&N station agent at Ocean Springs.
Henry and
Mae Weyerstall had a daughter, Judy Derrel Slyfield Brokl, born at
Mobile in September 1943. After graduating from high school she
attended Youngstown State (Ohio) and graduated from the University
of Alabama in 1965 with a B.A. degree in European History and
English Literature. Later Derrell studied nursing in Minot, North
Dakota and finished this program at USM-Long Beach. She was
employed at Gulfport Memorial Hospital and is now retired from
supervising cardiac rehabilitation therapy. Derrell had married
William F. “Billy” Slyfield (b. 1943) in December 1965, at St.
John’s Episcopal Church. After this union ended in divorce, she met
Tom Brokl (b. 1941), a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, at New
Orleans. They wedded in October 1976.(JXCO, Ms. Circuit Court MRB
106, p. 374 and Derrel Weyerstall Brokl-July 6, 2004)
Military man
Henry
Weyerstall had an outstanding military career. He joined the
Mississippi National Guard and trained at Camp Blanding situated
near Starke, Florida. During WWII, he served in the Philippine
Islands after General Mac Arthur’s retreat from Corregidor Island in
1942. During the Filipino Liberation Campaign, Henry lived with the
Filipino natives and spied on Japanese naval and troop movements.
He was awarded the Bronze Star for his contributions here. Henry
retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel with the majority of
his military experience associated with intelligence gathering and
interpretation.(The Ocean Springs Record, January 29, 1987, p. 3
and Robert W. Potter, June 2004)
The
Weyerstalls lived at Mobile after the war, but later relocated to
New Orleans where Henry became engaged in the import-export
business. In retirement, they returned to Ocean Springs and lived
at 1608 Kensington Drive. Henry bought a pottery’s wheel and made
plates and bowls. He had his own kiln and glazes and also made
molds.(Mrs. H. Weysterstall, January 31, 2000)
Henry
Weyerstall expired on January 22, 1987 at Biloxi. His corporal
remains were interred in the Crestlawn Memorial Park cemetery in
Ocean Springs.(The Ocean Springs Record, January 29, 1987, p. 3)
Margarita Weyerstall
Margarita “Gita” Weyerstall (1916-2003)
was born July 18, 1916, in Guatemala. She attended Ocean Springs
High School and graduated in 1936 as Class
Salutatorian. Margarita was studying modern languages at the
Mississippi Synodical College (1882-1939) when it closed in 1939.
Located at Holly Springs, Mississippi, this small liberal arts
school, the successor of the Maury Institute, was merged with
Belhaven College in Jackson. Gita Weyerstall transferred to Ole
Miss and received her B.A. and M.A. Degrees in Spanish from that
Lafayette County institution, graduating in June 1941. She did
graduate work at the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, City,
Guatemala. Gita Weyerstall’s doctorate in Spanish was awarded from
the University of Jaime Balmes, Guadalajara, Mexico.(The Jackson
County Times, January 21, 1939, p. 3 and June 21, 1941, p. 4)
Margarita
Weyerstall married Roy N. Mills of Holly Springs, Mississippi in the
Presbyterian Church at University, Mississippi on January 15, 1939.
Mills was a technician with the Mississippi State Geological Survey
at Oxford. They had a son, Charles “Chuckie” Mills (b. 1949). Roy
later studied art at the University of Minnesota. He taught art
history at Youngstown State and was the assistant curator at the
Butler Institute of American Art, also located in Youngstown, Ohio.
Friends remember Roy as a “frustrated” concert pianist.(The
Jackson County Times, January 21, 1939, p. 3 and Robert W. Potter,
June 2004)
In 1946,
Margarita W. Mills had her first textbook published by Longmans,
Green & Co., called Easy Spanish American Reader.
It was co-authored by Raymond L. Grismer (1895-1979), of the
University of Minnesota. Mrs. Mills
nom de plume
was Margarita Molinos. Molinos is Spanish for “mills”.
By 1950,
Margarita was on the faculty of Youngstown College, now Youngstown
State University, at Youngstown, Ohio. She taught anthropology and
was the assistant professor of Spanish. While at Youngstown, she
founded the Los Buenos Vecinos, “The Good Neighbors”, a club for
Spanish language majors. In August 1951, Margarita taught at St.
Carols College for Women.(The Daily Herald, July 25, 1951, p. 3)
In August 1953, Margarita W. Mills (Molinos)
had a history textbook, Conquistadors y Defensores:
Stories of the Spanish
Conquest in the New World, and the heroic Defense of Their Homes by
the Indians,
published by the D.C. Heath Company, also with Raymond L. Grismer.
It was to be used by Youngstown College, Western Reserve, New Jersey
College for Women, and the University of Minnesota.(The
Gulf Coast Times, August 6, 1953, p. 5)
Circa 1958, Margarita divorced Roy N.
Mills and later married Dr. Donald J. Metzger, an anthropology
professor who taught at nearby University of Akron. He was a
graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and in 1989, co-authored a
Kent State University, archeological research paper titled,
Krill Cave:
A
stratified Rock Shelter in Summit County, Ohio.(Robert W. Potter,
June 2004)
Margarita
came for her mother’s 90th birthday in July 1979.(The
Ocean Springs Record,
July 19, 1979, p. 10)
Professor emerita
In retirement, Professor Margarita W.
Metzger-Mills was lauded as follows:
Dr. Metzger contributed greatly
to improving teaching across the curriculum by designing and
teaching courses in the Department of History and in the Department
of Sociology, in addition to her workload in the Department of
Foreign languages and Literatures. She also organized a cultural
exchange program for the students between Youngstown and Guatemala.
The awards she received throughout her career show her commitment to
teaching and service to the Hispanic community. She is a member of
various professional associations and has published articles on
Hispanic literature and indigenous people of the Americas. She has
established the Margarita Metzger Summer Study Abroad to encourage
and support Spanish majors at Youngstown State University.(www.as.ysu.edu)
 
Elsa Weyerstall
[L-R: Elsa at Mississippi State College, June 6, 1938 and Terry
Sorby and Elsa at Pensacola, Florida December 10, 1944. From the F.L.
Westbrook Jr. Collection]
Maria Elsa Weyerstall
Maria Elsa Weyerstall,
called Elsa, was born January 26, 1919,
in Honduras. She graduated from Ocean Springs High School in 1940.
Elsa was employed at the knitting mill in Pascagoula. On
November 18, 1944, during WWII,
she married Terry E. Sorby (1922-1977) in Harrison County,
Mississippi. Elsa had met Terry while he was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base
at Biloxi, Mississsippi. They moved to San Bernandino,
California where Mr. Sorby made his livelihood as a psychologist in
the civil service system. Elsa and Terry E. Sorby were the parents of:
Sherri S. Ortiz and Betty Anne S. Worthington. Mrs. Sorby resides
in San Bernadino, California today.(Robert W. Potter, July 2004
and Harrison Co., Mississippi MRB 66, p. 406)
Martha Weyerstall
Martha
Weyerstall (1922-1988) was born January 19, 1922 at “Agua Caliente“,
a plantation in Honduras. She attended Ocean Springs High School
and graduated with the class of 1942. Martha was employed at
Bailey’s Drug Store before her May 30, 1943 marriage to Robert “Bob”
Potter (b. 1919) of Rochester, New York. He was a civilian
instructor at Gulfport Field.(The Jackson County Times, June 5,
1943, p. 4)
Bob Potter is a veteran of WWII. He was
drafted into the Army Air Corps shortly after his wedding to
Martha. Bob served his country in the South Pacific in the 20th
Air Force as a flight engineer on board a B-29 Super Fortress. He
was stationed in India and Tinian and flew on twenty-six combat
missions in Southeast Asia against the Japanese Empire. He now
resides at 411 Jackson Avenue.(The Sun Herald, June 11, 2004, p.
A-5)
After WWII,
Bob and Martha commenced a Mink ranch at Norwich, Vermont. A son,
Robert W. “Billy” Potter II, was born at Hanover, New Hampshire in
At one time, the Potters resided at Ozark, Alabama. Mrs. Potter was
an award, winning artist. She attended Youngstown State University
and the Butler American Art Institute at Youngstown, Ohio, Penn
State University and in August 1953, the art school at San Miguel
Allende, Mexico. Mrs. Potter was the mother of Robert Potter II of
Plano, Texas. She expired on September 9, 1988 at Ocean Springs,
Mississippi.(The Gulf Coast Times, August 6, 1953, p. 5 and The
Ocean Springs Record, September 15, 1988, p. 3)
REFERENCES:
Chancery Court
Jackson
County, Mississippi Chancery Court Cause No. 6602,
“? v. A.C. Weyertall”,
March 1941.
Journals
The
Daily Herald, “Ocean
Springs News”,
March 18, 1931.
The
Daily Herald, “Otto
Weyerstall Dies”,
October 2, 1941.
The
Daily Herald, “Ocean
Springs News Paragraphs”,
July 25, 1951.
The Gulf
Coast Times,
“Translating Microfilm of Ancient Mayan Documents Accomplished by
Former Resident of Ocean Springs, June?, 1952, p. 1
The Gulf
Coast Times, “Mrs.
Mills and sister return from Guatemala”,
August 21, 1952.
The Gulf
Coast Times, “Mills
Family Here”,
August 6, 1953.
The
Jackson County Times,
“Mills-Weyerstall”,
January 21, 1929,
The
Jackson County Times,
“Mills-Weyerstall”,
January 21, 1939.
The
Jackson County Times,
“News From Camp Blanding”,
March 8, 1941.
The
Jackson County Times,
“The Column”,
June 21, 1941.
The
Jackson County Times,
“Pottor (sic)-Weyerstall”,
June 5, 1943.
The
Ocean Springs Record,
“Mrs. Metzger to visit Ocean
Springs”,
July 19, 1979.
The
Ocean Springs Record,
“Henry Weyerstall”,
January 29, 1987.
The
Ocean Springs Record,
“Mrs. Martha W. Potter”,
September 15, 1988.
The Sun
Herald, “Mrs. Laura
Weyerstall”,
May 1, 1989.
The Sun
Herald, “WWII bomber
shares stories”,
June 11, 2004.
Personal Communication:
Mattie
Turner Weyerstall-telephone interview, January 31, 2000
Judy Derrel
W. Brokl-telephone interview, June 8, 2004.
Robert
Potter-June 10, 2004.
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By
Ray L. Bellande
