SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Carl Roehrborn, Page 505

CARL ROEHRBORN.  Since 1848 this gentleman has been an honored citizen of Sheboygan County, and is now the owner of a desirable farm and pleasant country home, which is located on section 21, Wilson Township.  He was born in Prussia, Germany, April 30, 1834, his parents being Christopher and Caroline (Poly) Roehrborn.  He is the eldest of eleven children.  William is a resident and farmer of Wilson Township, and is a married man; Mena became the wife of Mr. Seifert, who is also a farmer of the township; Fred is a resident of Wilson Township; Herman, a butcher by trade, lives in this State; Caroline is the wife of William Schleider, who is engaged in farming in Lyndon Township; Emma, Anna, Theodore and Albert reside in Marathon County, Wis.; and Emil, the youngest of the family, makes his home in Sheboygan.

    Christopher Roehrborn was a native of Germany, born in 1802, in Prussia.  He was reared and educated in his native land, and always followed agricultural pursuits.  His wife, whose birth occurred in 1804, died about 1841.  The family set sail for America, leaving Bremen in a vessel which proved to be unseaworthy.  They experienced terrible storms while on the Atlantic, and it was seventy-seven days ere they landed in New York.  They continued Westward, taking a steamer for Albany, thence going by canal to Buffalo, and by the Lakes to Sheboygan.  The father purchased eighty acres of raw timber-land in the depths of the forest, the only access to which was an Indian trail, as there had not yet been a road laid out in that locality.  Their first home was a log cabin, 16 x 20 feet.  Indians were still plentiful, but did not molest them, though they often came to the cabin to beg for food.  The eighty-acre farm, for which he had paid $3 an acre, they at once set about improving, and, continued to make their home thereon for a quarter of a century.  At that time it was found advisable to sell the farm, and the money was invested in one hundred and sixty acres, at $3 an acre, in Wilson Township, where our subject still makes his home.  The father was a man whom every one respected, and was regarded as a man of merit and honor.  In politics, he upheld the Republican party until his death.

    Carl Roehrborn landed in the Badger State when he was a youth of fourteen years.  Prior to this time he had been quite well educated in his mother tongue, and afterwards became proficient in the English language.  He was of great assistance to his father in clearing the new farm, and he remained at home until reaching the age of twenty-six years, when he married and settled down in life.  His wife was formerly Miss Martha Seifert, a native of Germany, and a daughter of Fred Seifert.  She was born in July, 1832, and was married to our subject June 20, 1860.  Eight children have been born to Mr. Roehrborn, and they are all living.  Bertha and Laura are twins, the former being the wife of Henry Pfifer, of Sheboygan; and Laura is the wife of Henry Mueller, a real-estate dealer of Chicago; Gustave is married and lives in Sheboygan, Edward is a farmer of Wison(sic) Township, Mina is at home; Louisa is in Chicago; and Emelia and Charles are at home.  Mr. Roehrborn was called upon to mourn the death of his first wife in 1869, and in December of that year he married Miss Louisa Meyer, a native of this county.  The younger children were born of this union.  The mother's death occurred in 1883.  The present wife of our subject was formerly Mrs. Christian Wildgrube, who is a native of Germany, where she received a good education.

    Mr. Roehrborn is a sterling old German citizen, and was well acquainted with Wilson Township when it was a wilderness.  His homestead comprises one hundred and sixty acres of fertile and well-cultivated land, which has good buildings and a neat residence upon the place.  In politics, the owner is a Republican, but is quite independent in his views, and votes for the man rather than the party.  His first Presidential vote was cast for Gen. John C. Fremont, at the birth of the Republican party.  He has been a valued official in his township, having served as Supervisor for two terms, Town Clerk for four years, and for a like period of time having been School Treasurer.  He is a stanch friend to educational measures and in favor of good schools and teachers.  Religiously, he is a member of the Lutheran Church, has aided in building the churches of the township, and in all worthy benevolences.