Weppners.org

A family history · Buffalo, New York

TheWeppnersof Buffalo

Seven generations of one Buffalo family. In September 1834 Augustus Weppner brought his family from the Rhineland, by way of Le Havre and New York, to a canal town of 15,000. From there the story runs through three generations of butchers, a brewer, a banker who saved his bank, a Navy veteran and two generations of doctors to the children growing up today.

7generations
1834arrived in Buffalo
116people

How this was built. From church and ship records, obituaries, county histories, city directories, newspaper transcriptions and public family trees, plus what the family has added. Where the records disagree, the notes on the Sources page say so.

The direct lineAugustus to today
  1. Gen IAugustus1783–1869
  2. Gen IIArnold1825–1903
  3. Gen IIIEdward Albert1867–1914
  4. Gen IVElmer Kraus1893–1961
  5. Gen VDavid Francis1929–2010
  6. Gen VIDennis MichaelPhysician · living
  7. Gen VIISeanDennisMeaghanPatrickTimothyToday

Dedication

For my father, Dr. Dennis Michael Weppner.

An obstetrician in Buffalo, son of Dr. David Francis Weppner, and father of five.

Sean Weppner · compiled 2026

The story

Six chapters, seven generations

  1. Generation I1783From the Rhineland to BuffaloAugustus and Barbara sell their farm near Worms, sail from Le Havre and reach Buffalo on 18 September 1834.
  2. Generation II1818Butchers, a brewer and the first Buffalo-born WeppnerJacob turns brewer, Arnold and Francis stay butchers, and Francis becomes the first Weppner born in Buffalo.
  3. Generation III1852The oldest meat market in BuffaloAugust runs “the oldest and leading meat market in Buffalo,” and his brother Edward, a banker, faces down a Boston promoter in the run of 1904.
  4. Generation IV1893Elmer and Mary LouiseElmer Kraus Weppner and Mary Louise Herger raise five children in Buffalo.
  5. Generation V1923The doctors' generationA Navy veteran, two doctors and the move to the suburbs.
  6. Generations VI–VIITodayStill in BuffaloDennis follows his father into medicine, and the seventh generation arrives.
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Family treeWho descends from whomEvery branch from Augustus down, open or closed as you like. TimelineTwo centuries at a glanceLifespans on one scale, and 91 dated events from the family and the city. PeopleEveryone in the recordSearch 116 people by name, place or year. Each one has a page. SourcesWhere this comes from87 records, and the questions still open.
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