The following history and information was taken from a book written by William H. Whitling in 1965, entitled "Whitling Genealogy."

In compiling the data for this genealogy I will constantly refer to the original ancestors. They were Henry Wettling, Sr., and his wife, Dorthea. They were natives of AIsace-Lorraine, France, or Germany. The name of the village where they resided in Germany was Bachdorf. Other information I have states that Henry Wettling was born in Neiderbachdorf and that Dorthea was born in Welesheim, Germany.

Emma Wettling, daughter of John Wettling, was on a European tour and visited the village and the Lutheran church where he was baptised and examined the baptismal certificate. Henry Wettling was born August 17, 1785, in AIsace-Lorrame, France, which has been disputed territory many times by war between France and Germany.

He was married and had a family of six children:

Dorothy, Henry Jr., Frederick, John, Magdalena, and George.

Henry, being dissatisfied with compulsory military training, did not want his sons to be impressed into the German army. He decided to take his family and go to the United States of America. I have been told they walked across the country, carrying what few possessi.ons they had with them, to the port of em- barkation.

They came on a sailboat, which was four months on the ocean. They landed at New York City Harbor in 1828. After landing, Henry and his family engaged in truck farming on Manhattan Island for about three years. He migrated to Beaver Township, Venango County, Pa., in 1831, and settled near the village of Pickwick, Pa., which post office has since been abolished. In 1840, Clarion County was organized and Beaver Township became part of Clarion County. Henry Wettling purchased a farm and pursued farming.He was also a top-notch carpenter and cabinet maker. Henry also worked for Joseph Fox on property that is now known as the Fox Estate in Foxburg, Pa.

The first Lutheran Church of St. Petersburg, Pa., was or- ganized in 1834. Henry Wettling helped in its organization and in constructing it from hand hewed logs. Henry and his wife were among the first members of the church, and he was ap- pointed one of the first trustees of the church.

In his later years Henry Wettling pursued carpentry and cabinet making until his death on Nov. 1, 1861. His wife, Eva Dorthea, was born December 27, 1783 and died June, 1858. They and part of their family are buried in a family plot in the Union Cemetery at St. Petersburg, Clarion County, Pa. Comment: Wettling, Whitling, Whittling.

A brief reference to our name. I thought it would be proper , since it is spelled in different ways. When our ancestors came to this country, as I stated before, they were of German ancestry. In this community where they settled, it was almost one hundred percent German, and they taught the German language in the schools. Henry Wettling, my Great-Grandfather, and some of the aolder ones, have their name carved on their tombstones as Wettling. As the community became more settled, the schools began to teach English, and in a course of time, the name Wettling anglicized to English, and is the course of time, the name Wettling anglicized to English, and was spelled Whitling. Of all the records I searched, it has been spelled Whitling since the year 1844.

However, John Wettling, son of Henry and Eva Dorthea, moved to Indiana, Pa. He and his descendants continued to spell their name Wettling, and do so to this day. In old records of deeds, wills, and Church records, I found the name Whitling spelled as follows: Whithling Wettling Wetling Weitling Wietling .Whitlinger .Whittling Wittling Whitling .Widling .Witling.