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 - 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

Sunday's Obituary - Mrs. John Boegel

John and Bertha Boegel nee Rosbeck (sitting)

"Mrs. John Boegel

Mrs. John Boegel, 66, nee Bertha Rosbeck, of the town of Ashford, residing near St. Kilian, passed away Tuesday, June 3, at St. Joseph's hospital, West Bend, after an illness of nine months with carcinoma.

Born Aug. 2, 1880, in the town of Wayne, near St. Kilian, she made her home in the vicinity of St. Kilian most of her life.  She was married to John Boegel on April 24, 1900, at St. Kilian and he preceded her in death on March 2, 1935.

The deceased was the mother of four children, one of whom predeceased her.  Surviving are Roman of Theresa, Leona (Mrs. Roman Kuehl) of St. Kilian and Clarence of Barton.  She also leaves five grandchildren; two sisters, Mrs. Frances Steichen of Milwaukee and Mrs. Wm. Pesch of Kewaskum; five brothers, John, Herman, Martin, Adolph and Alfred Rosbeck; one daughter-in-law and on son-in-law.

The remains were in state at the Miller funeral home here from 7 p.m. Wednesday until the time of funeral services which were held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Mathias church in the town of Auburn, the Rt. Rev. J. C. Lederer officiating.  Burial was in St. Matthew's cemetery at Campbellsport.

Mrs. Boegel was a member of the Ladies' Altar society of St. Mathias parish, the members of which attended the services in a body.

Card of Thanks

Words cannot adequately express our deep appreciation for the many kind and sympathetic acts that came to us at the time of our bereavement.  We are grateful to all who helped in any way during the sickness and after the death of our beloved mother.  Mrs. Bertha Boegel, especially Rt. Rev. Lederer, choir, pallbearers, Lades' Altar society, for the floral offerings, spiritual bouquets, to the traffic officer, Miller funeral home and all who showed respect by calling at the funeral home or attending the funeral.

The Surviving Children"

Bertha was my husband's great grandmother. I feel very lucky to have a wedding picture of the young couple.  I need to ask mom if she knows who the other two standing in the picture were!  Since I try to type the obits as-is (no corrections...any differences are my own errors!), I need to specify that the paper got a couple things wrong or were omitted...

1)  Bertha's daughter, Leona, was married to a man named Romand Kuehl not Roman.  There is a "D" at the end of her son-in-law's name.  Her brother was just plain Roman.

2)  I really don't know why they mentioned that one of her son's predeceased her and then didn't mention his name.  Either way, his name was Rudolph and he died in a hunting accident on December 7, 1924.

I also wanted to note that since this obituary was passed on to me by my mother-in-law and was a clipping, I do not know for sure which Wisconsin newspaper ran the obit not the exact date.  It shouldn't be too difficult for someone wanting to track it down though!