Funeral Card Friday - Praying for the Dead

Today, I'm not sharing one particular Funeral Card, but sharing/explaining something that many will see on Memorial and Funeral Cards, but may not understand. Indulgences.

Now, this isn't an "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Indulgences, But Were Afraid to Ask" post.  I'm not an expert on all the intricacies of indulgences nor do I feel that it is important to explain how the praying of an indulgence doesn't help every sin.  That's besides the point.  If you'd like to know more than what I'm presenting on indulgences you can check out more on "Catholic Answers".  What I want to do is explain why they are on these cards and why the living pray for the dead.

Catholics are taught that there is a Purgatory.  That when we die a soul goes to Purgatory until their sins are atoned for.  Purgatory is like jail for the soul.  If you are in Purgatory, you will eventually go to Heaven.  If you go to Hell, well, you go to Hell.  Sorry about your luck (but that really doesn't stop Catholics from praying for those either...forever hopeful).  We naturally like the thought of our loved ones getting to Heaven sooner, so we pray for them.  Does it help?  God only knows, but it couldn't hurt, right?

Card & indulgences in German

Catholics aren't the only ones to pray for the dead.  Other faiths have this practice as well, but Catholics may be the best known for it, because indulgences have been abused in the past as well as misunderstood by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  The bottom line on the abuse of indulgences, or the "selling" of indulgences is that we don't really know that God will accept them.  A corrupt clergyman "selling" an indulgence...well, I could sell you a bridge in New York too and that would be about as worthless.

Indulgences went out of practice in the 1960s, but I'm told that the Catholic Church was bringing them back to some extent.  So you may notice them on cards up to and including the 1960s and then not in more recent cards, but don't be surprised if they start appearing again!

So on the back of many of the cards, when you see a certain number of "days of indulgence" are granted for praying the card's prayer or for saying so many "Hail Marys" or "Our Fathers" we are talking about a period of time lessened for the person that died.

Why does/did the Catholic Church encourage the praying of indulgences?  "...To spur them to works of devotion, penance and charity...", and that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.

A "quarantine" is equal to 40 days

*Some interesting information in the comments below from someone a lot more familiar with the intricacies of Catholicism than this old Catholic! Check it out!

Sunday's Obituary - John Boegel

John and Bertha Boegel nee Rosbeck (sitting)

John Boegel is my husband's great grandfather.  He was the fourth son of eight born to William and Katherine Boegel nee Melzer.  William and Katherine's children were:

Unknown newspaper

William Boegel Jr (b. 25JUL1875 / d. 09AUG1939)
Maria Boegel (b. abt 1876)
Katherine Bonlender nee Boegel (b. 21FEB1877 / d. 29NOV1956)
John Boegel (b. 12NOV1878 / d. 02MAR1935)
Peter Aloysius Boegel (b. 07FEB1881 / d. 19SEP1945)
Raymond Boegel (b. 29SEP1883 / d. 10JAN1946)
Mary Strabel nee Boegel (b. 29JAN1886 / d. 20JAN1947)
Theresa Boegel (b. 08OCT1888 / d. 04JUL1949)

John married Bertha Rosbeck on April 24th, 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their children are all accounted for in the obituary below.  Their daughter, Leona, was my husband's grandmother.

The obituary is pretty standard.  Of course some of the women were merely listed as Mrs "so-and-so", but his daughter's name was actually listed with her husband.  Very interesting.  I was also impressed by the last paragraph.  It's evident that John was well respected in the community.  I wish I knew more about him!

"John Boegel

John Boegel, age 56 years, 3 months, and 10 days, a resident of the vicinity of St. Kilian, passed away at his home there at 5 a. m.  on Saturday, Mar. 2, after an illness of about a year due to a complication of diseases.

Mr. Boegel was born in the town of Ashford, Fond du Lac county, on Nov. 12, 1878.  Growing to manhood, he married Miss Bertha Rosbeck, who survives, on April 24, 1900, the couple coming to their present home 30 years ago.  Four children were born to the couple, three of whom survive their father as follows:  Roman at home, Leona (Mrs. Romand Kuehl) of St. Michaels, and Clarence of St. Kilian.  A son, Rudolph, predeceased his father 10 years ago.  Deceased also leaves one granddaughter, three sisters, and three brothers.  The brothers and sisters are William of Jackson, Peter of St. Bridget, Mrs. Gebbardt Strobel of Milwaukee, and Raymond, Mrs. Joseph Bolander, and Theresa of St. Kilian.

Funeral services for Mr. Boegel were held at 10 a. m. on Tuesday, Mar. 5, from the Miller funeral home at Kewaskum to St. Kilian's Catholic church, the Rev. John Reichl officiating.  Interment was in the parish cemetery.

Mr. Boegel was a man who filled his station in life with credit to himself, always giving the best that was in him to his family, his community, and his country.  His righteousness and sincerity gained for him the esteem of his fellow citizens and his family requited his devotion with love.  The memory of him will be kept alive by those who knew him best, the memory of a noble soul and a life that was worth living. The News extends its sympathy to the bereaved survivors."

[The clipping was hand-dated with John Boegel's date of death.  The newspaper's name and date of publication is unknown]

Sunday's Obituary - Who Died Again?

Don't you hate it when you get a nice juicy obit to only find that the woman isn't properly defined (or any of the women)?  Sure for the time period she's properly defined...Mrs So-n-so.  That's all you need to know.  Yes, and my husband would be jokingly saying, of course that's all you need to know (I love his humor)!  Unfortunately for a genealogist it's not what we'd like to see.  Luckily, I already had this woman in my family tree and this is supplemental information, but what could I do if I didn't have her in my tree already?  What if I stumbled across this obituary in the scrapbook passed on to me or as I searched through old newspapers?  I saw it and said, "George and Margaret Thalen [sic] Rosbeck are in my tree, so who is this?"

Well, the obit states her birth date and parents names (as mentioned).  That's enough to get me a birth certificate (if they're available for that time).  Her wedding date is in there too, so I can get that record, and with the publication information/death date, I can get the death certificate.  The obituary even tells you what church she belonged to so that opens up baptismal, matrimony, and other sacramental records if they are still in existence.  The Catholic Church is great with record keeping so unless there was fire or disaster, I should be good.  There is most always a way around a not-so-perfect obituary.

So who was Mrs. William Pesch?  Her name was Anna Pesch nee Rosbeck and she was the third of 9 known children born to George and Margaretha Rosbeck nee Thelen:  Frances, Bertha, Anna, John, Hermann, Martin, Adolph, Alfred, and Mary.

Commonwealth Reporter, 28OCT1965

I was delighted when I came across this obituary because I didn't have the names of her children in my tree yet.  Now I do, although I need to keep in mind that there may be children missing that died young and weren't mentioned.  The obituary does mention others that predeceased  her, but anything is possible.  Remember that obituaries are written during a time of grief.

Anna Pesch nee Rosbeck is my husband's great great aunt.

“Mrs Pesch Of Kewaskum Expires at 81

St. Mathias Church Service Announced; Survivors Listed

Mrs. William Pesch, 81, Kewaskum, died today at St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend.

She was born in the Town of Auburn Nov. 18, 1884, the daughter of George and Margaret Thalen [sic] Rosbeck.  She was married to Mr. Pesch June 27, 1905, at St. Killian.  She was a member of St. Mathias Catholic Church, Town of Auburn, Ladies Altar Society and the Apostolate of the Suffering.

Survivors include a son, Elroy, Kewaskum, R. 1; three daughters, Mrs. Albert Gross, Campbellsport, R. 2, Mrs. Erwin Guldon, Kewaskum, and Mrs. Joe Hammes, West Bend; 14 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and five brothers, Herman, Knowles, John, Minneapolis, Martin, West Bend, Alfred, Mayville, and Adolph, Milwaukee.  She was preceded in death by her husband and three sisters.

Friends may call after 2 p.m. Friday at Miller’s Funeral Home, Kewaskum.  Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mathias Church, Rev. Walter Morgan officiating.  Burial will be in the parish cemetery.”

[Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) Commonwealth Reporter, Thursday, October 28, 1965, pg 30]

Many times the same obituary is published in various newspapers, but don't make assumptions.  See the difference another newspaper can make.  Here we've got her first name, the first names of the daughters that married, and when her husband died.  You never know until you look!

The Sheboygan Press, 28OCT1965

"Mrs. Anna Pesch

Mrs. Anna Pesch, 81, of Kewaskum, died early today at St. Joseph's Hospital, West Bend.

The former Anna Rosbeck was born in St. Kilion [sic], Wis., on Nov. 18, 1884, daughter of the late George and Margaret Thelen Rosbeck.

She was a member of St. Mathias Caholic Parish, Town of Auburn, and the Ladies Altar Society and the Apostolate of the Suffering.

She married William Pesch at St. Kilion [sic] on June 27, 1905.  He died on April 6, 1950.

Surviving are a son, Elroy, R. 1, Kewaskum; three daughters, Mrs Albert (Ceceila) Gross, R. 2, Campbellsport, Mrs. Ervin (Celesta) Golden, Kewaskum and Mrs. Joseph (Lorraine) Hammes, West Bend; 14 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; five brothers, Herman, Knowles, John, Minneapolis, Minn., Martin, West Bend, Alfred, Mayville, and Adolph, Milwaukee.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mathias Catholic Church, Town of Auburn, with the Rev. Walter Morgan, pastor, the celebrant of the Requiem Mass.  Burial will be in the Parish Cemetery.

Friends may call at the Miller's Funeral Home after 2 p.m. Friday."

[The Sheboygan Press, October 28, 1965, pg 8]

It was also incredibly helpful that in this case I had a funeral card passed on to me as well.

Amanuensis Monday - Filling in Rosbeck Information One Name at a Time

It was so difficult to get a post up this evening.  The weekend was long and not very relaxing, although the Packers won, so that made me happy!  My oldest and the hubby were out camping with the Cub Scouts and the youngest and I did lots of running around, but we had some great snuggle time last night, staying up late and watching movies.  Of course, I paid for it this morning and it was all I could do to cheer on the Packers.  My mind was just too tired.  I attempted to transcribe an obituary only to realize that I had actually posted it a few months ago!  I thought I was going to be turning in without getting anything posted when I got my second wind.

Transcribing the obituary on Herman Rosbeck wasn't earth-shattering in any way, but it did give me information that I was missing from my family tree.  I now had a date for his death, and his wife's....and their marriage.  So while the transcription didn't give me any spectacular "Ah-ha!" moment, it did give me useful information.  Information that I can post online and maybe find someone researching my Rosbecks.  Information that I apparently had, but just hadn't gone through to enter it into my tree.  So even when I don't have time because of PTAing, Cub Scouting, and the various things that happen in our daily lives, I do realize that just getting something up on my blog helps me do a little with something I love so much.  So until I can give more time, I will tackle it (in this instance each Rosbeck) one name at a time.

"Herman J. Rosbeck

Herman J. Rosbeck, 81, Knowles, died Tuesday at Clearview Hospital, Juneau, where he was a patient for three months.

Mr. Rosbeck was an employee [sic] at Western Lime & Cement Co. in Nasboro for 30 years.  He was an active and long-time member of the Knowles Fire Department.

He was born on July 2, 1889, at St. Kilian to George and Margaret Rosbeck.  He married Sophia Schraufnagel on April 13, 1915, in Le Roy.

Survivors include one daughter, Mrs. Victor Schraufnagel, Route 1, Brownsville; one brother, Martin Rosbeck, West Bend; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his wife on June 23, 1969; three brothers, three sisters and one grandson.

Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Andrew's Church, Le Roy, with the Rev. Anthony Gundrum as celebrant of the Mass.  Burial will be at St. Andrew's Cemetery.

Relative and friends may call after 3 p.m. today at Koepsell Funeral Home, Mayville."

Published in the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, Wednesday, 28APR1971, pg42

Sunday's Obituary - Martin F. Rosbeck

Martin Rosbeck's military marker with flag

As I was looking for an obituary for today (and making sure I didn't repost one that I had already done), I noticed that I actually had 2 obituaries for Martin with slightly different information in them so I decided to post this one as well for any potential Rosbeck researchers out there!

"Martin F. Rosbeck, 81, 414 Third Ave., a retired farmer, died Sunday, Feb. 4, at St. Joseph's Hospital.  He had been hospitalized for about one week.

He was born Jan. 16, 1892, in St. Kilian. He married Theresa Kiefer at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Theresa on May 8, 1923.  After their marriage they lived in Milwaukee for about 15 years and then they moved to the St. Kilian area where they farmed for 22 years.  In 1961 they moved to West Bend.

He is survived by his wife, and four children, Mrs. Margaret Brill, of Menominee [sic] Falls, three sons, Robert, of Theresa, and Ralph and Norbert of West Bend.  He is also survived by three daughters-in-law and one son-in-law, 26 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

He was a member of World War I Barracks 2617 and they will hold services at the Miller Funeral Home, Kewaskum, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Visitation will be after 4 p.m. Tuesday at Miller's in Kewaskum and parish vigil at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.  The funeral services will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the funeral home, and at 10:30 a.m. at St. Kilian's Catholic Church, St. Kilian with Fr. Elroy Pesch, O.S.S., officiating.  Burial will be in St. Kilian's Cemetery."

[Hand-dated, Feb. 4 - 1973]

Martin was my husbands 2nd great uncle.

These clippings were passed on to me by my mother-in-law in Wisconsin.  Most are hand-dated and do not give the newspaper name that they were published in.  They would most obviously be from a newspaper in the St. Kilian and/or Green Bay area.

Martin, his son Raymond, and wife Theresa

Close up of Martin's veteran marker

Wordless Wednesday - A 4 Generation Photo

Four Generations of Women

I wish the photo was a bit clearer, but I'm just delighted to have it.  Only minor changes made to sharpen and get rid of flaws (unedited photo is on the bottom).

Sitting on the bench on the left - Bertha Boegel nee Rosbeck (my husband's great grandmother)

Child standing on the bench - Lorraine Ryan nee Kuehl (my husband's aunt)

Sitting on the bench on the right - Margaretha Rosbeck nee Thelen (my husband's great-great grandmother)

Standing - Leona Kuehl nee Boegel (my husband's grandmother)

Before photo corrections

Sunday' Obituary - Clarence Boegel

 





















[handwritten - Jan 29, 1977]

"Clarence Boegel

Clarence R. Boegel, 71, who was employed by Line Material Co. at Barton for 15 years, died Saturday at Samaritan Home, West Bend, where he resided for 13 years.

He was born May 29, 1905, in rural Campbellsport, a son of the late John and Bertha Rosbeck Boegel. He never married.

Surviving are a brother, Roman of rural Campbellsport; and a sister, Mrs. Leona (Romand) Kuehl of rural Campbellsport.  A brother preceded him in death.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Miller's Funeral home, 215 Forest Ave., Kewaskum, and at 10:30 a.m. at St. Kilian Catholic Church at St. Kilian.  The Rev. Arthur Kulinski will officiate and burial will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be after 4 p.m. today at the funeral home."

Clarence was my husband's great uncle.

Clippings were passed on to me by my mother-in-law, Dolores, Cayemberg nee Kuehl.  It is unknown which Wisconsin newspaper the clippings were from.

Tuesday's Tip - DANGER, Will Robinson!!!!!

I've never actually watched Lost In Space.  I guess that just shows how that phrase has worked it's way into our culture!  Anyway...

I was intending on posting the next census form this week, but I started messing about on Ancestry.com while waiting for an appointment and made some pretty good discoveries that I will be seeking to verify in the immediate future.  What discoveries, you may ask?  Well, after posting George Rosbeck's obituary yesterday, I figured that I'd try to locate his name on the passenger lists on Ancestry.com.  I do believe I found him and it wasn't terribly difficult.  The names are a good match as are the dates of birth.  Not having any other information yet to verify his parents or siblings, I will be digging deeper until I have conducted my "reasonably exhaustive search" (I loved learning all that stuff at the NGS conference!).

So what's my tip?  Well, after realizing that George and his parents arrived in 1857, I attempted to see if I could find them in the 1860 US Federal Census.  If they are my Rosbecks they hopefully found themselves a nice place in Wisconsin by then.  I couldn't find them.  I initially cursed the new Ancestry search, but then decided it would be more productive to adjust my search parameters.  After all I need to figure out how to use their new search since it's only a matter of time before they eventually take that "Old Search" button away!  So I stopped searching for an exact match with my "Geo* Rosb*" search and used the default settings.  It worked, but I was almost tempted to not click on the result.  Thank goodness my brain was working because this was what I found:

I guessed that the transcriber may have gotten the born in "Australia" bit wrong.  Since my husband's Rosbecks are from Germany (for lack of a better region at this point in my research...if you know the history of the region at all you'll understand what I mean!).   So once I pulled up the image it was exceedingly clear that George and his family were born in AUSTRIA not Australia. 

Excerpt of 1860 US Federal Census - for the city of Wayne, Washington County, WI - John Raseback household

Lesson #1 for today - Keep an open mind and expect errors in the indexes...we all make mistakes!

The surname, while listed as Raseback on the census is close enough to Rosbeck.  It is certainly possible that the name changed over time.  It is just as possible that the census taker wrote the name phonetically. Either way, the spelling difference isn't an enormous concern.

Now for Lesson #2.

I wanted to see what else I could find, so I went back and expanded my search to "all categories".  I was intrigued by the "Photos" section, but they were all private and the information didn't seem to match up very well, so I cringed and clicked on the "Family Trees" tab.  There were 147 trees.  The first few that I clicked on were submitted by people I had been in contact with.  I didn't explore them very far.  I just wanted to see if anyone had made the jump to having Anna and Johannes (John) as his parents and if they had, did they use more than the passenger list and census to make that jump.  I clicked on a few more trees and then came to one that was created by someone I did not recognize so I opened it up.

Yikes!  That's really all I could say at first.  This person had made the jump, but I was no longer really interested in looking at the sources, because of one huge, glaring error that s/he had not bothered to fix or annotate.  Can you see it?  I put some pretty arrows there in case you're feeling a bit tired today:

So daddy died about 11 years before his son was born?  According to this tree he did.  Father, Johan, died in 1841 and son, George, was born in 1852.  A medical miracle.  Particularly since daddy was on the passenger list in 1857.  What you can't see from the image above is that this person has daddy down as dying in 1841 in WISCONSIN.  Yep, that would be 16 years before the family arrived in America.  It could be a typo.  Either way, most genealogy programs will point out glaring errors like that.  Does that mean that all the other information on this tree is wrong?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I mean this person had a few more generations back for my husband's Rosbeck line, and the surname Hassel is vaguely familiar.

So, Lesson #2 - family trees that are posted (on any site) are subject to errors.  Some are subtle.  Some are pretty big.  Does that mean we shouldn't use these trees?  Of course not!  They can be a great way to try to further your research and get through a brick wall or two, but you need to verify the validity of the specific bit of information you are looking for and conduct your own reasonably exhaustive search.  Any researcher worth anything won't mind you testing their conclusions.  After all, researching our genealogy and family history isn't about us being right.  It's about the facts being right.

Amanuensis Monday - George Rosbeck Obituary

George Rosbeck

George Rosbeck is my husband's Great-Great Grandfather.  This obituary was sent to me by a distant cousin of my husband's, Dennis Wondra.  It's great when you find family members that want to collaborate, and sharing copies of the originals is extra awesome!

Thanks, Dennis!

Kewaskum Statesman, 17SEP1927

"GEORGE ROSBECK

After an illness of five weeks with dropsy, George Rosbeck, an esteemed and well known citizen of St. Kilian, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Boegel at St. Kilian on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 1927.  Deceased had attained the age of 75 years, 5 months and 9 days.  He was born in Germany on April 3, 1852.  When still a young man he came to America with his parents and settled in the town of Wayne.  he was married to Margaret Thelen 50 years ago at St. Martin's church in Ashford.  He is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Wenzel Janous, Mrs. Joseph Wondra, and Mrs. John Petersick, Besides he leaves, his wife and the following children:  Frances (Mrs. Peter Steichen) of Milwaukee; Bertha (Mrs. John Boegel) of St. Kilian; Anna (Mrs. Wm. Pesch) of New Fane; John of Minnesota; Herman of Knowles; Martin, Adolf and Alfred of Milwaukee.  The funeral was held Friday at 10:00 a.m. with services in the St. Kilian Catholic church.  Rev. John B. Reichel officiated.  Burial was made in the adjoining cemetery."

George Rosbeck, St. Kilian Cemetery, WI

Funeral Card Friday - A Double Rosbeck Whammy!

This beautiful picture is the back to Martin F. Rosbeck's funeral card

I previously posted the obituary for Martin F. Rosbeck and Theresa Rosbeck nee Kiefer. I thought I'd complete the set by posting both of their funeral cards today in one shot.

The center picture is the back to Theresa Rosbeck nee Kiefer's funeral card.

Sunday's Obituary - Theresa Rosbeck

"Mrs. Theresa Rosbeck (hand-dated Jan. 20 - 1981)

Mrs. Theresa Rosbeck, 83, of Menomonee Falls, a former resident of West Bend and St. Kilian, passed away at the Menomonee Falls Nursing Home where she had been a resident for six weeks.

Mrs. Rosbeck was born February 2, 1897, at Theresa Station, Dodge County, to the late Peter and Margaret Steinmetz Kiefer.  On May 8, 1923, she married Martin Rosbeck, who passed away on February 4, 1973.

She was a member of the St. Kilian Married Ladies Sodality, the American Legion Auxiliary, the VFW Auxiliary and was a Gold Star Mother.

Survivors include one daughter, Margaret (William) Brill of Menomonee Falls; two sons, Ralph (Delores) and Norbert (Sharon), both of West Bend; a daughter-in-law, Mrs. Audrey Rosbeck of Theresa; 26 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Bella Kiefer of West Bend and Mrs. Helen Rosbeck of Mayville; other relatives and friends.  Three sons, two brothers and two sisters preceded her in death.

Visitation at Miller's Funeral Home, Kewaskum, will be after 4 p.m. Thursday, with a rosary vigil at 8 p.m.  Services Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Kilian Catholic Church, St. Kilian, with Fr. Joseph McDonald officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Newspaper clippings were passed on to me by my mother-in-law, Dolores Cayemberg nee Kuehl.  They were collected by her mother, Leona Kuehl nee Boegel.  Unknown which Wisconsin paper they were clipped, but most likely from the Brown and/or Fond du Lac county areas.

Sunday's Obituary - Martin F. Rosbeck

"Martin F. Rosbeck (hand-dated Feb. 4 - 1973)

Martin F. Rosbeck, 81, of 313 Third Ave., West Bend, a retired farmer, died Sunday at St. Joseph's Hospital, West Bend.  He was born Jan. 16, 1892, at St. Kilian, a son of George and Margaret Thelen Rosbeck.  He married Theresa Kiefer at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Theresa, on May 8, 1923.

After the marriage they lived in Milwaukee for 15 years, then moved to St. Kilian where they farmed for 22 years and finally moved to West Bend in 1961.  Mr. Rosbeck was a member of World War I Barracks 2617.

Surviving are his widow; four children, Mrs. William Brill of Menomonee Falls, Robert of Theresa and Ralph and Norbert both of West Bend; 26 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Mr. Rosbeck was preceded in death by two sons, Greg, in infancy and Raymond John, who died in the Korean Conflict.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Miller's Funeral Home, Kewaskum and at 10:30a.m. at St. Kilian Church at St. Kilian.  The Rev. Elroy Pesch, OSF, will officiate and burial will be in the parish cemetery.

Family and friends may call after 4 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Newspaper clippings were passed on to me by my mother-in-law, Dolores Cayemberg nee Kuehl.  They were collected by her mother, Leona Kuehl nee Boegel.  Unknown which Wisconsin paper they were clipped, but most likely from the Brown and/or Fond du Lac county areas.

To Do List: Request military records for Martin.  Have a ton of these obits that I've only recently scanned and haven't thoroughly read, so I discovered Martin was a WWI vet when transcribing this.  So cool.

Sunday's Obituary - Raymond Rosbeck

"GI Returns

PFC Raymond Rosbeck, 19, of Kewaskum, seriously wounded in action in Korea Feb. 5, has been returned to the United States and is at Percy Jones General Hospital, Battle Creek, Mich.  A former employe of the Kewaskum Creamery, Raymond is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Rosbeck.  He enlisted in the Army last June and went overseas last October."

I have a large number of newspaper clippings passed on to me from my Mother-in-law's side of the family, but sadly they don't tell me which Wisconsin newspaper they were taken from and many don't have complete dates on them.  This first clipping had no date on it at all so I didn't realize until finding his obituary (below) in my collection, just how long he was hospitalized.  I was able to reason that this first article must have been published around April 1951.

"Cpl. R. Rosbeck Dies at Percy Jones Hospital

Cpl. Raymond Rosbeck, son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Rosbeck of the town of Wayne, who since April 4, 1951, had been a patient at Percy Jones hospital, Battle Creek, Mich., died suddenly on Monday afternoon.  Death was caused from injuries suffered in action near Chip(long), Korea, on Feb. 5, 1951, while serving with the 8th Cavalry Regiment.  He was first treated in a hospital in Japan, and was then flown to the United States for further treatment.  Cpl. Rosbeck was schedule to be released from the hospital on Sept. 11, and was awaiting arrangements for this transfer to Wood, Wis., when he was stricken.

He was born Nov. 20, 1931, at Milwaukee and came to the town of Wayne with his parents in 1938.  Cpl. Rosbeck enlisted on June 5, 1950, and arrived in Korea in October.  He was awarded the Purple heart in April of 1951.

Surviving are his parents, a sister, Margaret (Mrs. Wm. Brill) of Milwaukee; three brothers, Robert and Norbert at home, and Ralph of West Bend; a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law.

The body will be in state at the Miller funeral home in Kewaskum after 2 p.m. today (Thursday).  Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 10 o'clock at St. Kilian Catholic church, st. Kilian, the Rev. John B Reichel officiating.  Interment will be in the parish cemetery.  Military rites at the grave will be in charge of Robert J. Romaine post of the American Legion, Kewaskum."

I makes me wonder what his injuries were.  To be hospitalized for so long and so far from home and then to suddenly die of his injuries as he was preparing to be transferred closer to home had to have been particularly traumatic for his family.

I found in the "Korean War Casualties, 1950-1957" database an entry for Raymond that lists him as being "seriously wounded in action by missile".

To do list:  Request the death certificate and military records for Raymond.