Walter Christian Roesch

Young Walter with his mother and father

Mourning the loss of Walter Christian Roesch who passed away in Platteville, Wisconsin on Saturday, January 28, 2012 in the Heartland Nursing Home.  He was 86. 

Walter is remembered as a young boy carrying his violin to school as he took music lessons.  As an adult he played the piano and he played the organ in his church in Potosi, Wisconsin. 

He was the son of Clyde Earl Roesch and Julia Barbara Keehner.  Walter was born on August 9, 1925 in Potosi Villiage, Wisconsin.

Mr. Muscles

Grandpa Scott, not bad for a 70 year old mechanic.  Whenever he saw the WPA, (Works Project Administration) established during the great depression, pulling into his station, he would say, " Here comes the WPA, water, piss and air."  He knew when they stopped at his garage this would be all they would ask for, free service."

That First Kiss

Little did I know where it would lead when this young first year college man came to fill in as a temporary director for the junior choir I sang in at our church.  He certainly didn't make an impression on me, he was nineteen, too old for me to even take notice.  I was only 15 and not allowed to car date until I was sixteen. 

He chased after me for a couple of years and we went out on a date. He asked me once what I thought of him.  I told him we could only be friends.  

Then upon my dad's insistence I give him another chance.  This older man who always wore a suit, boring, showed up in sneakers and a sweatshirt to go on a picnic at the beach in beautiful Cape Cod.

I remember that I packed fried chicken and chocolate cake. We laughingly remember how enjoyable the cake was even if he did include a little beachsand.  Something changed for me that day when he kissed me for the first time.

I'm glad he didn't give up his pursuit.  We had a beautiful candlelight wedding ceremony on a Friday night at 7:00 pm.  It's January 18, 2012 and we are celebrating 49 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary honey.

Hawaii Wedding picture

We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in Honolulu, Hawaii and renewed our vows overlooking the beautiful blue water and Diamond Head. Then we took a cruise to all the other Hawaiian Islands. I wonder what we'll do for our 50th. 



Franklin, Eunice and Babies

Franklin Jones, my 2nd great grandfather had a twin brother, Freeman.  They were born in their parents home in Bridgewater, Massachuetts in the second floor bedroom.  The Hillside Cemetery where they rest is on the same street located no more than a half mile from the home where they were born.

Eunice is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Auburn St., Bridgewater, MA with her husband Franklin. Before her death, she was living with her daughter Laura and her son-in-law Joseph Smith.  You see her there in the 1910  census at the age of 80.  She died in 1911. The couple had six children that lived to adulthood.  Their youngest son died at the age of nine.  How many other babies they lost is unknown.

On the top of this stone it reads "Sammy and Our Babies. We know that Franklin and Nabby named their son after Franklin's father, Samuel and called their son Sammy. Sammy died at the age of 9. We have no knowledge of how many babies are buried here with Sammy.  This stone rests beside their father.

The name Franklin has continued on through the next four generations.  My father's middle name was Franklin, and I have a neice who has two middle names, one of which is Franklin.

Broken Heart = Teacups

My heart is broken and tears of sadness fell. I accidentally hit the corner of my teacup shelf this morning. The shelf tipped and all my beautiful teacups slid off and onto the floor smashing into a zillion pieces. What hurt the most was the loss of my great grandmothers’ and my grandmothers’ teacups. These special heirlooms can never be replaced. If you read my teacup story you understand my grief. 

 

Penn Fifteen Club

This branch of my family tree was one I hadn't really delved into until recently.  I knew that my 7th great grandmother, Grace Heaton Croasdale, was a Quaker Minister, and her daughter Ann Croasdale Hampton was as well. But now I was ready to learn more.

It was my 9th great grandfather, Robert Heaton and his wife Alice that came to Pennsylvania with their son Robert in the ship "Welcome" with William Penn arriving on Aug 27, 1682.

The Penn Fifteen Club was the group of Quaker settlers, led by William Penn, who founded the state of Pennsylvania. The King of England who was in debt to Penn’s dad gave the land of Pennsylvania to William Penn. Penn's dad died before the transaction took place the king gave the land to his son William.  It was commonly referred to as Penn's Sylvania or Penn's Woods.



Wrightstown Friends Meeting House
where Ann Croasdale preached.

                                                     

My 8th great grandfather, also named Robert, married Grace Pearson on March 7, 1700 in Pennsylvania. Their daughter Grace became a Quaker Minister.  She married Jeremiah Croasdale and their daughter Ann also became a Quaker Minister.  She married John Hampton September 17, 1748.  It was John Hampton's grandfather who was affiliated with the Quaker movement in Scotland in January 1669. They came to America in 1683 aboard the ship "Exchange" to establish a "New Scotland".     

The Quaker faith continued on through the next three generations: Anne's son David; then Aaron who moved to Erie, NY and was said to be a Friend of the most faithful kind; and then his daughter, Mercy Ann Hampton.  

Mercy, although a Quaker, married Russel Cardy of Irish descent and a Methodist in Hamburg, Erie, NY on August 25, 1842.   

Mercy Ann Hampton and Russel Cardey
My 3rd Great Grandparents

Robert Heaton (1637 - 1727)

is my 9th great grandfather

Robert Heaton (1671 - 1743)

Son of Robert

Grace Heaton (1703 - 1769)

Daughter of Robert

Ann Croasdale (1730 - 1775)

Daughter of Grace

David Hampton (1757 - 1790)

Son of Ann

Aaron Hampton (1780 - 1855)

Son of David

Mercy Ann Hampton (1813 - 1888)

Daughter of Aaron

Helen Janette Cardey (1845 - 1938)

Daughter of Mercy Ann

William Russell Roesch (1866 - 1941)

Son of Helen Janette

William Philip Roesch (1893 - 1960)

Son of William Russell

Elsie Louise Roesch (1927 - )

Daughter of William Philip

Kathryn Marie Smith

Daughter of Elsie Roesch

Besse Tombstone

His stone reads:

None knew thee but to love thee,

Nor named thee but to praise.

Her Stone Reads:

We loved her, yes, we loved her well,

We loved her more than tongue can tell,

 God loved her too, and He thought best

To take her Home to be at rest.

My 3rd great grandparents, Robert Besse and Abigail Gammons were married in Wareham, Massachusetts on June 12, 1828.  Robert was a stonecutter.  They had seven children.

Slaves of Houston

John C Houston II

John Carroll Houston II was the son of John Carroll Houston I and Mary Harvey.  He was born ca. 1788 in Beaufort, S.C. On May 2,1811 he married Elizabeth Susannah Christopher, born 1797 on Big Talbot Island, Duval County, Florida.  They were married by the Reverend Miguel Crosby of the Cathedral of St. Augustine, Florida.  Witnesses were Fernando de la Mayo Ardono and Antonia Seony (Scony).  John was about 23 and Elizabeth about 14 years of age.  They lived in Beaufort, Carolina, possibly on his father's plantation in St. Lukes Parish.

In 1814 they appeared as Nominal Residents of Big Talbot Island in the Spanish Census of that date.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Samuel Spicer Christopher and his wife Mary Greenwood.  Spicer was the son of John Christopher and Martha Watson. Mary was the daughter of William Greenwood of Virginia and Isabel Bryan of Georgia.

John gave his son, John C. Houston III, 10 slaves to help him build his new home and the slaves' quarters in a town Houston III named Arlington, and later changed to Eau Gallie, Florida.

Arlington was the name given to the settlement, which sprang up around the cabin of John C. Houston, (born 1813). A nephew of Sam Houston, he arrived here in 1859 after serving as a scout during the Third Seminole War. He walked here from Enterprise with his sons and about 10 slaves on the Hernandez/Capron Trail. His wife, Mary Virginia Hall, joined him when the cabin was completed in 1860.

John C Houston III

The cabin sat on his homestead of 160 acres, including all of the land lying north of Elbow Creek (now called the Eau Gallie River), east to the Indian River, and west perhaps all the way to Lake Washington. His home was built of crude logs chinked with clay and burnt oyster shells. Palmetto roots and green boughs were burned at night to create an anti-mosquito smoke screen. They had a sugar cane mill propelled by a horse or oxen, and also raised rice.

At the end of the Civil War, Confederate Secretary of War Breckenridge attempted to flee to Cuba by boat. Unfortunately for him, his boat developed a leak and he landed at Houston's dock. Houston, a Southern sympathizer, helped him on his way to Cuba.

Arlington had the second post office in Brevard County, established on June 30, 1871, with John Houston as its postmaster. Henry Titus had the contract to deliver the mail.

Slaves Quarters

It was in 1862 when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipaton Proclamation ending slavery.  But real freedom did not come until the Confederacy conceded to the Union and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment was signed prohibiting slavery, freeing approximately 4,000 slaves.  Houston's slave quarters now sat empty. 

Today this home is part of the Rossetter Museum in Eau Gallie, Florida that include the Roesch House, Rossetter House and the Houston Family Cemetery located on Highland Avenue.

Stories Vs Family Folklore

Some stories in history are found in printed sources and these are usually reliable.  Others are family stories that have been passed down through the years and most likely have changed over time. Pay attention to these tales for somewhere hidden in there is the truth.  Don't let these stories die.  Write down even those that contradict others.  Include the source of each.  Perceptions help shape people's lives and affect the future.  So try and get to the truth, just don't dismiss them.

Example:  I was always told that my 2nd great grandfather brought the first Black Angus cow to America from Germany.  In researching the Internet I found that my family wasn't the only one claiming fame to this  bovine history.

Truth:  He was the first to bring Black Angus cattle into the state of Wisconsin.  He bought them at the Chicago Livestock Show and shipped them to Potosi.  Further, I learned that they got out of the pen and some were found down at the creek and that it was quite the show to round them up.

My mother was a happy camper to finally know the real story.  Happy hunting.

Westward Passage

It is 1857 and you are living in Germany.  You worked with the underground, the Republican Party, trying to overthrow the monarchy.  At first you succeed, but then all is reversed and lost. You have already sent two of your sons to America so they would not be forced to join the German military. Now is the time, you decide, to take the rest of your family and join them in America for a better life. 

You gather passports stating that you wish to take up residency in Northern America, publish in the local newspaper of your intentions and that you have paid all your debts, then permission is finally granted with the statement that domestic and civil military authorities are to let you pass.

You hear rumors about young girls being preyed upon by sailors, so you cut your seventeen-year-old daughter's long hair short and change her name so others would think her male.  You pack your trunks of clothing, utensils and quilts and food of soft whey cheese and other salted or dried foods and flatbread and kegs of sour milk and beer.

You board the ship "William Nelson" and given accommodations of tween decks, normally used for cargo.  You are provided with wide family bunks lined on either side of the ship, one above the other with little room to move about.  You have oil lamps that provide you light in an otherwise dark environment, with instructions not to be used during bad weather for fear of fire and orders were issued as to when you must shut them off at night.  The captain attempts to foster good health and orders you to take exercise on the top deck.

You and many other passengers, particularly during rough weather, suffer from seasickness and you would vomit on the vessel's wood plank floor. The stench alone caused others to fall ill.  On each end of the ship there are long lines to stand in waiting to use one of the primitive oak barrel toilets that contributed to the lingering odor that hung in the air.  Despite your queasiness you had to take on some of the responsibility of washing the floor with chlorine and vinegar to help deaden the worst smell.  You live like this for 46 long and trying days. 

This was the life of my great great grandparents, Mathias Roesch and Magdalena Jehle and their children , Elenora (17), Philip (14), Herman (11), Regina (9), Magdalena (7), Josephine (3), and six month old  Maria as they travelled to America aboard the William Nelson. 

Mathias later learned that the German government gained a knowledge of the Republican Party and that he got out of Germany just ahead of them.

About the William Nelson

The US ship was built in Somerset, Massachusetts in 1850.  It sailed its last voyage from the port of Antwerp on June 1st, 1865.  On the 25th of June 1865 the ship caught fire, burned and sank with 426 German and Swiss immigrants aboard.  The captain and his crew were the first to abandon the ship.  Men woman and children were left to fend for themselves and die in fiery misery and confusion.

Regina

Regina Roesch was born on September 1, 1847 in Baden, Germany.  She was the daughter of Mathias Roesch and Magdalena Jehle. Regina sailed on the ship 'William Nelson' to America with her parents and siblings in 1857 when she was nine-years-old.  The family settled in Potosi, Wisconsin.

Three years later Regina's mother died of pneumonia leaving behind six children.  Her older sister Elenora married Ignatius Stoll seven months later leaving Regina to manage the household duties and care for younger siblings ages one, five, seven and nine.  A year later her father remarried relieving Regina from these duties.



Regina Roesch and her husband,
George Washington Cardey

Regina married George Washington Cardey on October 15, 1865, three weeks after her brother Philip had married George's sister, Helen on September 7, 1865. They had five children.

Regina wrote in a beautiful note of congratulations, "May your voyage of life be as happy and free as the dancing wave on the bright blue sea."

Regina passed away on February 25, 1925 at the age of  77.

Obituary

 "Mrs Geo. W. Cardey, nee Regina Roesch, was born in Achern, Baden, Germany, Sept. 1, 1847, and died at her home in Lancaster on Feb. 11, 1925, aged 77 years. She came with her parents from Germany to Potosi when she was a girl of nine years. There they made their home.

She was married to G. W. Cardey on Oct. 15, 1865. They continued to live in Potosi where they had been brought up. Five children were born to them all of whom survive. Her husband preceded her only six weeks ago.

The children are: Laura, Mrs. G. F. Gelbach of Albany; Albert W. of Lancaster; Herbert of Lancaster; Clara, Mrs. I. K. Walker, of Lancaster; and Gertrude, Mrs. Wm. Schiffman, of Potosi; besides 9 brothers and sisters and 17 grandchildren. Mrs Cardey came to Lancaster nearly 18 years ago and lived here until her death. for over a year she had suffered very much and for some months had been quietly approaching the hours of death, even wishing for it at times.

Mrs Cardey was a member of the M. E. Church (Methodist Episcopal Church) and was confident in her faith in the Lord and suffered no fear of the coming hour of her departure. The confession and witness of the Christian are rewarded by quiet confidence at the last."