SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Christian Gersmehl, Page 236

CHRISTIAN GERSMEHL, who died at his home in Adell, October 3, 1893, was prominently identified with the growth and upbuilding of Sheboygan County, and deserves mention among pioneer settlers, to whom is due a debt of gratitude for what they have done in the interests of the community and the advancement of the general welfare.  He was born in Germany, April 5, 1818, and was one of a family of six children, five sons and a daughter, whose parents were George and Elizabeth Gersmehl.  They were farming people, and the father carried on agricultural pursuits in his native land.  The daughter of the family was Helene, wife of X. Knuhr.

    Our subject was reared and educated in Germany, and after he had arrived at mature years married Miss Elizabeth (Gresser) Gersmehl.  Having determined to seek his home and fortune in the New World, he crossed the Atlantic in 1853 on an American sailing-vessel, which after a voyage of thirty-seven days dropped anchor in the harbor of New York.  Landing, they went by rail to Buffalo, and thence by boat to Milwaukee.  Mr. Gersmehl's first purchase was of one hundred and sixty acres of land where Adell now stands.  When he came here he had $900 in gold, but it was soon expended for his land and oxen, so in order to secure necessary funds for operating his farm he began working on the railroad.  As soon as possible he resumed the cultivation of his farm, and in course of time the once wild prairie was transformed into rich and fertile fields.  He experienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life, for the county was in its primitive condition, with Indians still in the settlement.  Bears and Wolves were to be seen, and deer and other kinds of wild game were very plentiful.

    Previous to her marriage with our subject, Mrs. Gersmehl was the widow of Daniel Gersmehl, a brother of Christian, and by that union she had three children, William, a farmer of Dakota; August, a farmer of Sherman Township; and Mrs. Rosa Garbish.  By the second marriage has been born a son, Ernst.

    Mr. Gersmehl voted the Democratic ticket and was a member of the Lutheran Church.  He lived a quiet and unassuming, yet honorable and upright life, and we are pleased to present to our readers the sketch of this representative and highly respected citizen, who so lately passed to his final reward.  Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Gersmehl has lived with her son, Ernst Gersmehl.