Notes on Wilhelm Rosburg
Info per JF Thoma.

He was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery. He was a wagon maker /
blacksmith. Fritz H Rosburg found his estate records in the Vinton,
Iowa Benton County Court house records in the following location:
Estate book #14, Page 64, Estate #3534 dated May 2,1917. He also found
him on the 21 June 1870 Benton county, Luzerne, Iowa census on Page 3,
line 20. He was listed as 32 years old, a wagonmaker from Holstein with
a real estate value of $2500 and personal estate value of $400. That
would make his birthdate 1837. His "keeping house" wife, Mary was 23
and was from Mechlenburg. Her birthdate would then be 1847.

The following is information of their children:

    AGE 1870/1880           (COMPUTED YR OF BIRTH)
    M Charles      3/13             1867
    F Martha       1/11             1869
    F Rosa            9             1871
    F Amelia          6             1874
    M William         4             1876
    F Mary            3             1877
    F Ella            8 mo          1879

He came to the USA from Germany with his 17 year old brother, Henry, 
when he was 19 years old on the ship HM Wiser. It docked 1 June 1857 
in New York City. They lived and worked in Davenport for awhile, they 
moved to Clayton County, Iowa. They were married by Rev. Stokfeld. He 
first had a blacksmith shop in Giard, Clayton County, Iowa. He was 
'drafted' into the Union army on October 5,1964 by a group of men who 
came to his shop. One of his recollections in later years was his 
helping to burn Atlanta. His first child, Emma, was born and died 
there. (14 Aug 1864 - Oct 1865) He was discharged from Co B 13th Iowa 
Infantry under Generall Sherman in Louisville, KY on July 21,1965. 
The family then moved to Blairstown in 1868 and to Luzerne in 1869. 
He was a wagon maker there for many years. He was a respected German 
leader in this community. When WWII broke out the Germans of the 
midwest had no desire to send their sons off to fight thier uncles 
and cousins. And so it turned out that the German community of Luzeme 
came to see William Rosburg. They told him that all he had to say the 
word and they would not send their sons off to fight in Germany. His 
response was "I fought for my country once and I would do it again." 
That ended the discussion.

He was shot in the leg while he was in the service in the Civil War per 
Mary Peterman Kuester in her letter to Arlene Shogren on 12 July 1977.

He had always hope to be taken to the cemetery in a automobile hearse, 
but due to rain, he was taken by a team of horses to the Lutheran 
cemetery south of Luzerne. He was a member of the Lutheran church for 
45 years.

Wilhelm and Maria Rosburg also raised an orphan girl, whose parents 
died of diphtheria and left four children who were divided at the grave 
of the mother. Her name was Leasetta Blomker, who later married August 
H. Grimm, Rutland, Iowa.