The Pohl Family of Marquette County, Wisconsin - STORY OF OUR FARM PART 1
This history of the Pohl family of Marquette County, Wisconsin, begins in 1858 at the port of Bremen, Germany, when Josef Pohl boarded a ship to emigrate to the United States of America. The ship Albert arrived at the port of New York on 24 May 1858. The ship’s manifest listed Josef Pohl as resident of “Schlesien.” The German word “Schlesien” translates as “Silesia”, a province in eastern Prussia. I have been unable to learn any other details of Josef Pohl’s life in Europe. His birthplace, the names of his parents, and the names of his ancestors are unknown to me at this time.
In the 9th and 10th centuries AD the region of Silesia was controlled by the Moravians and the Bohemians. In 1241, the Mongols led by Orda Khan invaded the region and defeated Moravian, Polish and German forces. The Mongols withdrew to the east when Orda Khan died, which allowed a newly-formed Polish state to gain control of the territory. In the 1300s Silesia became a possession of the Bohemian Crown in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1526, most of the region of Silesia and Bohemia became part of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy.
In 1742, Silesia was seized by Frederick the Great of Prussia, and thereafter remained a territory of Prussia. In 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Silesia became the Prussian province of Silesia. In 1871, Silesia became part of the unified German Empire under the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the German province of Silesia was divided into three parts by the provisions of the Potsdam Treaty. Nearly the entire province of Silesia became part of the Republic of Poland. Several small areas of Silesia became parts of the Czech Republic and Germany.
In the 1800s the Prussian province of Silesia was bordered by Poland to the east, Bohemia (part of the Austrian Empire) to the west, the Prussian province of Brandenburg to the north, and Austria to the south. A broad and flat plain dominated the landscape of central, western, and northwestern Silesia. The Oder River flowed across the Silesian plain from the Sudeten Mountains in the south to the northwest border of Silesia. From the Silesian border the Oder river continued on a northward course through the Prussian provinces of Brandenburg and Pomerania to the Baltic Sea. Mountains extended along 3 borders of Silesia – the Sudeten Mountains in the south, the eastern Sudeten and the Golden Mountains in the east, and the Kaczawskie Mountains in the north. Seventy-five percent of the Silesian population lived south and west of the Oder River. These people spoke German and were Protestants, nearly all were Lutherans. Twenty-five percent of the population lived north and east of the Oder River. These people primarily spoke Polish and worshiped in Roman Catholic churches.
The surname Pohl ranks as the ninety-first most common surname in Germany. The Pohl surname does not rank in the top five-hundred common surnames of any other country in Europe or Scandinavia. Therefore Pohl is a German name. The word “pohl” in low-German means pool, which suggests that the surname Pohl originally identified a clan of people who lived near a pool of water. Josef Pohl likely lived west of the Oder river in Silesia, spoke German, followed German cultural traditions, and worshiped in the Lutheran church.
Was Silesia the ancestral homeland of the Pohl family? I have not found any German or U.S. records that document the ancestral homeland of the Pohl family. Since Pohl is a German surname, the Pohl ancestral homeland was likely located within a Germanic realm, but not necessarily in Silesia. To look into this issue further I studied a genealogical database of 26,235 individuals with the Pohl surname. I searched the database for people with the Pohl surname who lived in the 16th century, the 17th century, and the 18th century. Each search of this database generates a list of up to twelve locations with the largest number of people of the Pohl clan for the span of years searched.
People of the Pohl clan – Geneanet.com database
Total UK U.S. Rhineland France Sweden Austria Slovakia
1500 AD - 1600 AD 79 31 27 12 15 0 0 0
1600 AD - 1700 AD 307 0 0 28% 36% 18% 18% 0%
1700 AD - 1800 AD 1,657 0 0 64% 0% 0% 30% 5%
The search of the database for the years 1500 AD to 1600 AD, inclusive, identified only seven-nine people of the Pohl clan. Of those identified, twenty-seven individuals were listed as residents of the United States, which is an error in the database. An additional thirty-one individuals were listed as residents of Buckinghamshire, England. Either these people were German immigrants who lived in Buckinghamshire during the 16th century, or this is another error in the database. Of the remaining twenty-seven Pohl individuals, twelve were residents of three small towns in the north German Rhineland near the city of Cologne, and fifteen Pohl individuals were residents of France, either as German immigrants or descendants of German immigrants. Although the numbers are small and diminished by the database errors, these findings are suggestive that the ancestral homeland for the Pohl clan was near the city of Cologne in the north Rhineland region of western Germany.
The 79 people of the Pohl clan, 1500 AD - 1600 AD, Geneanet.com database
Buckinghamshire, England (31) Düren, Germany (5)
United States of America (27) Thorr, Germany (4)
Troyes, France (8) Heppendorf, Germany (3)
Paris, France (7)
The town of Düren, Germany, is now located in the state of North Rhineland-Westphalia in western Germany, twenty-three miles west of Cologne, twenty miles east of the Belgian border, and forty miles south of the German border with The Netherlands.
A second search of the database was made for people of the Pohl clan for the years 1600 AD through 1700 AD, inclusive. Three-hundred-nine people were identified. They lived in four regions: thirty-six percent in Brittany, France, twenty-eight percent in the German Rhineland, eighteen percent in Stockholm, Sweden, and eighteen percent in Vienna, Austria.
The 309 people of the Pohl clan, 1600 AD - 1700 AD – Geneanet.com
Bignan, Brittany, France (93) Stockholm, Sweden (31)
Grand-Champs, Brittany, France (18) Tyska, Stockholm, Sweden (24)
Egesheim, Germany (32) Reichling, Neiderösterreich, Austria (17)
Erzhausen, Germany (27) Böheimkirchen, Niederösterreich, Austria (14)
Kröv, Germany (17) Wiensanktulrich, Vienna, Austria (13)
Wallbach, Germany (11) Niederösterreich, Austria (12)
Only twenty-eight percent of the people of the Pohl clan identified in the database for the 17th century lived in Germany. All of them lived in the German Rhineland and the majority of these people lived in the northern Rhineland within 100 miles of Cologne, suggesting that this was the Pohl ancestral homeland. During the 17th century seventy-two percent of the people of the Pohl clan in this database did not live in Germany.
The Thirty-Years-War was fought in Europe from 1618 to 1648. From 1618 to 1635 the war was primarily a civil war between German member states of the Holy Roman Empire with outside support from external powers. During this war an estimated four to eight million people died in Europe as battle casualties, or from disease outbreaks and starvation. Some areas of present-day Germany suffered population declines of over fifty percent. The war pitted the Catholic Imperial powers of Austria, Bavaria, and Spain against the Protestant powers of Bohemia, Sweden, Holland, Denmark, Norway, the Savoy, and Brandenburg. France, which was primarily a Catholic nation, fought with the Protestant forces in the later half of the war to weaken the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, which was seen as a threat by Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France.
The Thirty Years War may have caused many families to flee their homeland in Germany to become refugees seeking safety elsewhere in Europe. Of those people of the Pohl clan who elected to stay in the German Rhineland during the Thirty Years War many likely died from war-related wounds, disease or starvation.
A third database search was made for people of the Pohl clan for the years 1700 AD through 1800 AD, inclusive. This search identified 1,658 people. These people were located in three main regions: sixty-four percent in the north German Rhineland, thirty percent in Austria, and five percent in the region of present-day Slovakia.
The 1,658 people of the Pohl clan, 1700 AD through 1800 AD – Geneanet.com
Bergisch, Gladbach, Germany (317) Blomberg, Germany (239)
Vienna, Austria (142) Erzhausen, Germany (142)
Baddeutschschaltenburg, Vienna, Austria (142) Altenberge, Germany (105)
Hagen, Germany (102) Banksá, Stiavnica, Slovakia (89)
Darmstadt, Germany (87) Wiensankstephen, Austria (79)
Niederösterreich, Austria (73) Schwalbach, Germany(73)
The results of the third database search showed 1,064 people of the Pohl clan to be residents of Germany during the eighteenth century, and all of these people were located within one-hundred-ten miles of Cologne in the north German Rhineland. This reinforces the notion that the homeland of the Pohl clan was located in the Rhineland near Cologne, Germany. This third database search showed five-hundred-four people of the Pohl clan to be residents of four villages in Austria. All four of these villages were in or very near the city of Vienna, just twenty-five miles west of the Danube River and Bratislava, Slovakia. Josef Pohl or his ancestors may have been German immigrants living in Vienna, Austria, or in neighboring Slovakia. Silesia was located one-hundred-fifty miles north of Vienna.
Josef Pohl, great-grandfather of Margery Lutz Stone
Josef Pohl was born on 9 April 1826, possibly in the Prussian Province of Silesia. I have not found his birth certificate and have not found the names of his parents. Josef boarded the ship Albert at the port of Bremen, Germany, and arrived at the port of New York, New York, on 24 May 1858. There were 490 passengers aboard the ship Albert for the voyage to New York, including Josef Pohl. During the voyage 4 people traveled in the first-class cabins, 92 people traveled in the second-class cabins, and 394 people traveled in the below-deck steerage compartment. The ship’s manifest list for passengers in second class cabins for the voyage included: Joseph Pohl aged 32 years, a farmer, Matilde Prinz aged 25 years, Anton Voight aged 48 years, a farmer, and Carl Hildebrandt aged 22 years, a miller. All four of these passengers stated that their place of origin was “Silesien” and all four stated that their intended destination was “Monore,” which may have been a misspelling of Monroe [Wisconsin]. Since these 4 people were listed in consecutive order on the manifest, had the same country of origin and had the same destination in the United States, we can conclude that they knew each other, were friends likely from the same town in Silesia, and that they were traveling together to their destination.
The ship’s manifest also listed the final destination for each passenger. Here is a list of the most common destinations for the 1858 voyage of the Albert: New York - 144, Wisconsin - 50, Pennsylvania - 40, Ohio - 33, and Illinois - 21. The manifest also listed the occupation of the adult male passengers: farmers - 59, workmen - 26, shoemakers - 15, merchants - 8, blacksmiths - 6, joiners - 6, tailors - 5, millers - 4, plus 1 or 2 each of the following trades – printer, tanner, saddler, weaver, miner, physician, dyer, cooper, butcher, carpenter, mason, gardener, and engraver.
Joseph Pohl and Matilde Prinz
On 13 March 1859, about 9 months after their arrival in the United States, Joseph J. Pohl married Matilde Prinz at Harrisville, Harris Township, Marquette County, Wisconsin. In 1860, Joseph and Matilde lived in the Newton Township of Marquette County, where Joseph was listed as a farmer. Their real estate was valued at $100.00 and their personal estate was valued at $275.00. In 1860, the average value of agricultural land with improvements in Marquette County, Wisconsin, was $7.00 per acre, which suggests that Joseph Pohl’s farm was about 14 acres with improvements, or 40 acres of land without any improvements.
During the first 3 days of July 1863 the Battle of Gettysburg was fought between the forces of the Union Army (93,049 men) and the forces of the Confederate Army (71,699 men). The Union Army won the battle but suffered 23,049 casualties, a casualty rate of 25%. Due to the high casualty rates which occurred during most of the Civil War battles of 1862 and 1863, the Conscription Act of 1863 was passed by Congress, which required registration for military service by every male citizen of the United States between the ages of 20 and 45 years, and by every male immigrant in this age group, who had applied for U.S. citizenship. Single men in good health were eligible for military service between the ages of 20 and 45 years, whereas married men in good health were eligible for military service between the ages of 20 and 35 years.
In July-August 1863, Joseph Pohl registered for military duty in the 5th Congressional District of Wisconsin, which included Marquette County. In the registration documents Joseph was listed as 37 years old, married, white, a farmer, and a native of Prussia. Since Joseph Pohl was married and 37 years old, he did not fall within the parameters for enlistment in the Union Army at that time.
During the Civil War 91,000 Wisconsin residents fought in 56 Wisconsin Army Regiments (infantry, cavalry, and artillery). Of the Wisconsin men who served during the war 3,800 men were killed-in-action or died of their wounds after the battle, while 8,499 men died of disease during the war. Many soldiers returned home with disabilities.
On 18 October 1863 Matilde Pohl died at the age of 30 years. There is no death certificate registered in the records of Marquette County, Wisconsin. No children were born during Matilde’s brief marriage to Joseph Pohl.
Joseph Pohl and Rosina Louise Grambsch
In 1863/1864, widower Joseph Pohl aged 37 years married 15-year-old Rosina Louise Grambsch, a native of Breslau, Silesia. I have not found their marriage record. Louise was born in Silesia, Prussia, on 28 January 1849. She was the 3rd of 9 children born to Johann Christian Grambsch and Karoline Henschel. How did Joseph Pohl meet Rosina Louise Grambsch? The Grambsch family lived in Fort Atkinson and Johnson Creek in Jefferson County, Wisconsin from 1855 to 1860. Fort Atkinson and Johnson Creek were located ninety-eight miles and eighty-five miles respectively from Harrisville in Marquette County. The Gramsch family moved to Bloomfield Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin in 1860 and remained there for 49 years. Bloomfield Township was 45 miles from Harrisville in Marquette County. Possibly Josef Pohl knew Johann and Karoline Grambsch in Silesia, prior to their immigration to America in 1855.
Johann Gramsch was born on 26 December 1817 in Breslau on the Oder River in the Prussian Province of Silesia. His wife, Karoline Henschel, was born on 15 July 1820, also in Prussia. Breslau, Silesia is now the city of Wroclaw, Poland. Johann’s father was a shepherd in Breslau and had a family of seven children. A severe epidemic of measles took the lives of six of the children in the family. Johann Christian was the only surviving child. There is no record of his father’s name, only a history that he died quite early in life from a rupture [hernia]. Johann was eager to learn and wanted to become a teacher, but he was unable to attend school. Instead, he learned the cabinetmaker’s trade. He also attended military training as did all young men in Prussia at that time. As a young man he read the weekly village newspaper to the folks of the village at the inn. He was one of the few people in the village who could read. On 26 April 1842, Johann married Caroline Henschel, who was an only child. Johann evidently made a good living for his family as he supported his mother until her death in 1850, raised a family of four daughters, and saved money to come to America in 1855. He also loaned passage money to another family, the Sattlers, so that they too could come to America. The Grambsch family including, Johann, his wife Caroline, and their children (Augusta aged 10 years, Ernestine 8 years, Louise 6 years, and Pauline aged 3 years) left Kleinbriese [in Breslau], Silesia, on 26 April 1855 with their belongings packed in a large wooden reisekisten [travel chest], no doubt built by Johann. He brought all of his woodworking tools to start again in a new land. They traveled across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, Anna Delano, to New York city, then traveled the Erie Canal to Buffalo.
The ship's manifest showed that the Grambsch family immigrated to America aboard the ship Anna Delano, which departed from the port at Bremen, Germany, and arrived at the port of New York on 23 June 1855, eight weeks after leaving their home in Kleinbriese. Sailing ships usually required 25-35 days to cross the Atlantic from Europe to America. A steamer could usually make the trans-Atlantic voyage in 8-10 days. The ship’s manifest list of passengers on the “Poop and Tween Decks” included: C.H. Grambsch 37, his wife Caroline 35, and their children Caroline 10, Ernestine 7 ¾, Louise 6, and Pauline 3.
From New York city the Grambsch family would have traveled north on a steamer up the Hudson river to Albany, where they could then board a “packet boat” or barge on the Erie Canal for a 5-day westward journey of 363 miles at a maximum speed of 4-5 miles per hour to reach the city of Buffalo, New York on Lake Erie. The journey would have required passage through 34 locks. The packet boats were 60-80 feet long, 14 feet wide, and could carry up to 60 people. The boat was pulled by a horse or a mule that walked on a path alongside the canal. Bridges over the canal were low, so the boat driver would yell “bridge” as the boat approached to warn anyone standing on the boat to sit down. The Erie Canal was 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep when it opened in 1825. By 1862, the canal had been enlarged to 70 feet in width and 7 feet in depth. Most immigrant families arrived in America at the port of New York and used the Erie Canal to begin their journey west. By 1900, as over-the-road transport and railroads became established, traffic lessened on the Erie Canal. When the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, travel on the Erie Canal stopped.
At Buffalo, New York, John and Caroline Grambsch and their family boarded a train to Chicago, and from there they traveled to Fort Atkinson on the first railroad line constructed in Wisconsin, built in 1851. After settling at Fort Atkinson twin sons were born to the family – Robert and Carl Gustav in October 1855. Another son, Otto, was born in September 1857. At some time during these early years the family moved north a few miles to Johnson Creek, where on 1 November 1859 the first railroad accident in Wisconsin occurred practically in the front yard of the Grambsch home. A train of 15 cars carrying passengers to Chicago hit a bull which was standing on the track. The animal was killed and the train derailed into a creek killing 14 people and injuring 30 passengers.
The loan John Grambsch made to the Sattler family for their passage to America was finally repaid in the form of 40 acres of land in Bloomfield Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin. The Grambsch family, less the two older daughters Augusta and Ernestine, left their new home on 26 April 1860. They traveled by ox team and wagon, with the family cow and all their possessions, the 85 miles to Bloomfield, where John cleared the land and built a log cabin house for the family. German was the language spoken in the home, but John learned English and evidently was the first of the Grambsch line to become an American citizen. After the move to Bloomfield two more sons were born to the family – Charley on 11 February 1861 and Herman on 11 October 1864. Caroline died on 25 March 1903. John Grambsch died on 11 July 1909.
Joseph Pohl, 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Union Army
On 11 December 1864, Anna Pohl became the first child born to Louise Grambsch Pohl and Joseph Pohl in Newton, Marquette County, Wisconsin. In November or early December of 1864 Joseph Pohl must have received notification that he had been drafted for one year of military service in the Union Army. Joseph was instructed to report for active duty on 31 December 1864 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Joseph was mustered-in at Green Bay by Capt. C.R. Merrill on 31 December. The Wisconsin regimental records for the Union Army state that Josef Pohl was a farmer, 5’ 4.5” tall, blue eyes, light hair, and a ruddy complexion. Joseph was given the rank of Private and was assigned to Company D of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. Hollon Richardson. Captain Frederick Dearborn, and 1st Lt. William W. Machem, Jr. commanded Company D.
Here is a list of the Marquette County men drafted into the Union Army and assigned to the 7th Wisconsin in December 1864.
1. Johann Lamke (Newton), enlisted 29 Dec ‘64.
2. Christian Waack (Newton), enlisted 29 Dec ‘64.
3. Joseph Pohl (Newton), enlisted 31 Dec ‘64.
4. William Neal (Packwaukee), enlisted 31 Dec ‘64.
5. Ludwig Doms (Neshkoro), enlisted 31 Dec ‘64.
6. Walentz Gossinsky (Neshkoro), enlisted 31 Dec ‘64.
7. Fred Kluck (Neshkoro), enlisted 31 Dec ‘64.
The 7th Wisconsin was part of the famous Iron Brigade of the Union Army. At its inception the Iron Brigade consisted of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiments, and the 19th Indiana Infantry Regiment.
The Iron Brigade fought in all of the major battles with the Army of the Potomac from 1862 - 1865, and sustained high numbers of casualties during these battles. During the Second Battle of Bull Run [at Manassas Junction, Virginia] in August 1862, this brigade of Wisconsin and Indiana “westerners” fought fiercely and held their position against a superior Confederate force led by Stonewall Jackson. During the Battle of South Mountain in September 1862, this brigade fought against Confederate forces perched above them on a ridge. The “westerners'' successfully fought and maneuvered up the long incline and pushed the Confederates off the ridge. They also gained control of the National Pike Road through the Boonsboro Gap on that ridge. Gen. George McClellan, Commander of the Army of the Potomac, and Gen. Joseph Hooker witnessed the brigade’s push up the steep incline at South Mountain. Gen. McClellan asked, “Who are these men?” Hooker replied, “Gen. Gibbon’s Brigade of western men.” McClellan said, “They must be made of iron.” Gen. Hooker replied “By the Eternal, they are iron! If you had seen them at Bull Run, as I did, you would know them to be iron.” McClellan finished by saying “Why, Gen. Hooker, they fight equal to the best troops in the world.” McClellan’s comments provided this brigade of western men with the moniker “The Iron Brigade.” The men of the Iron Brigade wore white spats covering their lower legs and wore the tall 1858 Union Army “Black Hats,” instead of the blue kepis worn by most Union Army soldiers during the war. The tall Black hats and the white spats made the Iron Brigade easily identified in the field, even from a distance.
On the first day of fighting at Gettysburg, Confederate soldiers were heard to remark “There are those damned Black Hats of the Army of the Potomac.” The Iron Brigade fought fiercely against a larger Confederate force on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. This allowed the Union Army to form a coherent and defensible line of battle on the high ground of the battlefield, which was the key to the Union victory at Gettysburg. However, the Iron Brigade suffered devastating casualties at Gettysburg; the brigade was reduced from about 4,000 men to 639 men, an 84% casualty rate. After the battle the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment was added to the Iron Brigade and new recruits were enlisted from Wisconsin. The 2nd Wisconsin was so decimated that it was assigned to guard duty in the north. The remnants of the 19th Indiana were absorbed into the 20th Indiana.
The 6th and 7th Wisconsin and the 24th Michigan stayed together as the Iron Brigade. In December 1864, Joseph Pohl joined the 7th Wisconsin. In 1865, the 91st New York Heavy Artillery Regiment joined the 6th and 7th Wisconsin Regiments, while the 24th Michigan was reassigned within the Army of the Potomac.
Pvt. Joseph Pohl arrived in the field of combat on 6 February 1865 when he got off the troop train at the railroad depot near Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, with the 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.
The Appomattox Campaign. On 6 February 1865, the Iron Brigade under the command of Col. Hollon Richardson engaged Confederate forces near Dabney’s Mill in the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, which forced the Confederate Army of 26,000 men to stretch its battle line further west from their entrenchments at Petersburg.
On 1 April 1865, at the Battle of Five Forks, Virginia, Gen. Philip Sheridan ordered Col. Richardson to advance the Iron Brigade to attack the Confederate line and breastworks. The 6th and 7th Wisconsin of the Iron Brigade were in the front of the Union Army battle line and successfully drove the enemy in their front about 2 miles back from their breastworks, across 2 open fields and a woods. The Battle of Five Forks was a major Union victory which severed the Confederate Army’s only supply line. With the defeat at Five Forks, Gen. Lee was forced to abandon his position at Petersburg. The Army of Northern Virginia retreated to the southeast. Appomattox Courthouse was 17 miles southeast of Five Forks.
By the morning of the 2nd of April, Confederates had re-established an entrenched line, this time along the Burkesville Road southeast of Five Forks. Col. Richardson placed the Iron Brigade to the right of the road and the men of the 7th Wisconsin were deployed as skirmishers with orders to cover the front of the Union Army battle line. The Union army advanced to within 50 yards of the Confederate line as the sun set. After dark the enemy opened fire on the Union lines, and during the night the Confederates abandoned their position.
Col. Richardson and the Iron Brigade marched 65-75 miles from Five Forks to reach Jetersville Station on the Danville Railroad in the afternoon of the 4th of April. Major General Philip Sheridan’s Cavalry occupied that position at Jetersville Station with the enemy in strong force just beyond. Here the brigade formed in line of battle, weary and footsore, having traveled all day on foot, then up all night throwing up breastworks. Here they rested, awaiting an attack, until the 6th of April, when it was discovered that the enemy had taken flight again. Following the enemy on the 6th and 7th of April along the Appomattox River they reached High Railroad Bridge, where they found the enemy had crossed over the river and set the bridge on fire. On the 8th of April a long and tiresome forced-march was made by the Iron Brigade, being much impeded by the [supply] wagon train of the Twenty-fourth Corps. They camped in line of battle that night [with rifles by their side]. On the 9th of April the pursuit was again resumed, and the Iron Brigade had the proud satisfaction of assisting in the capture of the famous Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. The surrender papers were signed by Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at 3:00 pm on the 9th of April. The Union Army issued parole papers to 28,231 Confederate soldiers between April 10th and 15th at Appomattox Court House. President Lincoln was assassinated on the 14th of April. During the Appomattox Campaign the 7th Wisconsin lost 18 men killed-in-action and 52 men wounded. Company D of the 7th Wisconsin, with 90 - 100 men, lost 2 killed-in-action and 7 wounded.
A total of 1,342 men served in the 7th Wisconsin during the War. Of these 281 were killed-in-action or died of their wounds and 143 men died of disease. The regimental mortality rate was 31.6%. Forty-six percent of the 59 Marquette County men in the 7th Wisconsin died during active duty in the Civil War. Of the men who survived the war 34% came home with a disability. Two men died as prisoners of war at the Confederate Prison Camp in Andersonville, Georgia. I am not aware of any physical wounds suffered by Pvt. Josef Pohl during his active duty in the Union Army.
Township No./Men Died/Wounds Died/Disease Disability
Harris 20 5 5 (2-POW) 6
Montello 13 5 1 3
Westfield 11 5 0 1
Newton 4 1 0 1
Springfield 4 1 1 0
Packwaukee 3 1 0 0
Oxford 2 1 0 0
Crystal Lake 1 1 0 0
Buffalo 1 0 0 0
The Joseph and Louise Pohl family after the Civil War
Joseph Pohl returned home in July 1865 to his wife Louise and their infant daughter Anna on their farm in Newton Township, Marquette County. In 1870, Joseph and Louise Pohl’s farm in Newton was valued at four-hundred dollars, which was the value of approximately a forty to forty-five acre farm with some improvements.
By 1880, Joseph Pohl aged fifty-three years and his wife Louise aged thirty-three years lived on their farm in Newton Township with their eight children, aged two years to sixteen years. Joseph and Louise owned and operated a three-hundred-forty acre farm there: eighty acres of tilled land, forty acres of permanent meadow and pasture land, one-hundred-eighty acres of woodland/forest, and forty acres of unimproved land or old fields. Joseph had two horses, five milch cows, six other cows, seventeen swine, thirty barnyard poultry plus six other poultry, and eleven sheep plus the seven lambs that “dropped” during the year 1879-1880. The farm was valued at two-thousand dollars, with livestock valued at two-hundred-sixty-five dollars, and machinery/farm implements valued at eighty dollars. The farm had eighteen acres of mowed grassland, eighteen acres of mowed hay, and twenty-two acres of unmowed grassland. Farm production from June 1879 to June 1880, included: two-hundred-twenty-five pounds of butter, eleven fleeces clipped (forty-two pounds), and one-hundred dozen eggs. In addition, one acre yielded one-hundred-fifty bushels of Irish potatoes, three acres yielded ten bushels of buckwheat, twelve acres yielded two-hundred-sixty bushels of Indian corn, three acres yielded forty bushels of oats, thirty acres yielded three-hundred-seventy bushels of rye, and twelve acres yielded one-hundred-five bushels of wheat. The Pohl farm also produced twenty bushels of beans, one-quarter pound of sugar, twenty-four gallons of molasses, and ten cords of cut wood.
Seventeen children were born to Louise and Joseph Pohl during their marriage as listed here:
Anna M. (1864 - 1921), Herman J. (1866 - 1925), twins Amelia (1868 - 1925) and
Maximillian (1868 - 1949), Bertha Louise (1870 - 1951), Emma (1872 - 1957),
Minnie Amande (1875 - 1955), Frederick William (1876 - 1953), Johann Karl Frank (1878 -), Albert (1882 - 1952), twins Ida Mathilda (1883 - 1989) and Gustav Adolph (1883 - 1964),
Henry Rudolph (1885 - 1954), Otto (1886 - 1889), Selma (1888 - 1985),
Laura Amalia (1891 - 1988), and Reinhold Edward (1894 - 1918).
Joseph Pohl died in Harris Township, Marquette County, Wisconsin on 18 October 1908 at the age of eighty-two years. The names of Joseph’s parents were not recorded on his death certificate. Joseph died of chronic valvular heart disease, which caused three months of “cardiac decompensation” prior to his death. Joseph was buried at the Harris Cemetery, Harrisville, Marquette, Wisconsin.
In 1910, widow Louise Grambsch Pohl aged sixty years owned the house and farm in Newton Township. Louise lived there with two of her sons. Frederick aged thirty-three years worked as a common laborer, twenty-four hours per week. Reinhold aged fifteen years attended school and worked on the farm.
Reinhold Edward Pohl, World War I soldier
Reinhold Edward “Rhinie” Pohl was born on 21 November 1894 in Newton Township, Marquette County, Wisconsin, the youngest of seventeen children born to Louise and Joseph Pohl. He grew up on the family farm and attended the local schools in Newton. Reinhold aged twenty-two years registered for the WWI military draft in Divide County, North Dakota on 6 June 1917. At that time Reinhold worked as a farm laborer for Karl Dahlke in Corinth, North Dakota, but he listed his permanent address as Westfield, Marquette County, Wisconsin. Reinhold was described as caucasian, single, medium height, medium build, light brown eyes and light brown hair. He commented that he had broken his leg in the past and that his leg occasionally gave him some pain. Reinhold enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Army on 24 July 1918, and departed on that day from Montello, Wisconsin, with a group of selective service men scheduled to arrive in Europe by September. Reinhold Pohl, U.S. Service No. 3749722, was assigned to Company G, 310th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division. Reinhold boarded the troop ship Elpinor at Hoboken, New Jersey, on 24 August 1918 and arrived in France on 9 September 1918. He was killed in action at Champignelles on 20 October 1918 at the age of twenty-three years, in “Grandpre, Department des Ardennes, Champagne–Ardenne, France.” His death occurred twenty-two days before the Armistice was declared. Reinhold was buried in the Meuse–Argonne American Cemetery, Meuse-Lorraine, France, in cemetery plot F, row forty, grave thirty-five. Reinhold Pohl had less than thirty days of basic training.
World War I Casualties
Total deaths (military 15.4M + civilian 10.5M) = 25,929,638
Total wounded (military) = 34,038,600
World War I Casualties – France and her Allies
Military deaths Civilian deaths Military wounded
Russia 1,811,000 1,500,000 4,950,000
France 1,397,800 300,000 4,266,000
G.Britain 885,138 109,000 1,663,435
Italy 651,000 589,000 953,886
U.S.A. 116,708 757 205,690
During the 1920s the Gold Star Mothers’ Association lobbied for a federally sponsored pilgrimage to Europe for mothers with sons buried overseas. They realized that most women could not afford the trip to Europe. On 2 March 1929, Congress enacted legislation that authorized the Secretary of War to arrange for pilgrimages to the European cemeteries “by mothers and widows of members of military and naval forces of the United States who died at any time between 5 April 1917 and 1 July 1921, and whose remains are now interred in such cemeteries.” The Office of the Quartermaster General determined that seventeen-thousand-three-hundred-eighty-nine women were eligible for the pilgrimage voyage. By 31 October 1933, when the project ended, six-thousand-six-hundred-ninety-three women had made the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage trips occurred from 1929 to 1933, between May 16th and September 22nd of those years, when a safe voyage could be completed across the Atlantic. Each trip was fully paid for by the Federal Government, including the voyage to France, the hotel accommodations, and food provisions. No other family members were allowed to accompany the mothers and widows aboard the pilgrimage ships. In 1929, Louise Grambsch Pohl aged 79 years, of Route 1, Westfield, Marquette, Wisconsin, visited her son’s grave in Meuse, Lorraine, France.
In 1930, Louise Pohl aged eighty years lived alone in her home in Harris Township, Marquette County, Wisconsin, and no longer lived on the farm. The census notes state that she spoke German and English and could read and write. Louise Pohl died on 6 December 1932 at the age of 82 years, 11 months in Harrisville, Harris Township, Marquette County, Wisconsin. Louise is buried with her husband Joseph Pohl in the Harris Cemetery, Harrisville, Marquette County, Wisconsin.
Maximilian Pohl, grandfather of Margery Lutz Stone
Maximillian John Joseph Pohl, son of Josef Pohl and Rosina Louisa Grambsch, was born on 9 August 1868 in Newton Township, Marquette County, Wisconsin. Max completed school through the fifth grade. Max was not listed as a resident in the family home in the documents of the 1880 U.S. Census. He was twelve years old at that time. His absence may have been a simple omission by the census worker, or possibly Max worked at another farm and boarded there. Most of the 1890 U.S. Census population schedules were badly damaged in a fire in a Commerce Department building in January 1921, so we have no information regarding Max Pohl in 1890.
On 9 April 1896, Max Pohl aged twenty-eight years married twenty-four-year-old Agnes Schoenek in Weyauwega, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Max Pohl and his wife Agnes Schoenek Pohl lived in Oshkosh for a short time after they were married. They soon moved near Coloma in Waushara County, and later relocated to Marshfield.
Agnes Schoenek was born on 12 August 1872 in Weyauwega, the eldest child of German immigrants Ludwig Louis Schoenek (1842 - 1934) and Christina Krause (1849 - 1932). Ludwig Schoenek was born on 23 February 1842 in the Prussian Province of Posen. He fought in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 and emigrated to America the following year. He settled in Ripon, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. Ludwig married Christina Krause on 12 November 1870 in Ripon. Christina was born in Pomerania, Prussia on 18 February 1849. At the age of twenty-two years Christina came to America and married Ludwig Schoenek that same year. They lived in Weyauwega, Waupaca County, for two years and then settled in Junction City, Portage County, where they remained until 1927. Ludwig was a farmer and was elected Treasurer of the town of Eau Plaine. Ludwig and Christine were active members of the Lutheran Church. Nine children were born during their marriage, as listed:
Agnes (b.1872 - 1939), Emma (b.1874 - 1888), Clara (b.1876-), Carl Louis (b.1877 - 1972), William (b.1880-), Pauline Christine (b.1882 - 1965), Ferdinand August (b.1884 - 1971),
Martha L. (b.1888 -), Gustav Otto (b.1891 - 1946).
By 1900, Max and Agnes Pohl owned a farm in Richford Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin. Eventually, they established a farm in Buena Vista Township in Portage County, and later settled on a farm in Amherst Township, Portage County, near Scandinavia. The 1910 and 1920 U.S. census showed Agnes and Max Pohl owned a general farm in Buena Vista Township, Portage County, Wisconsin.
Eight children were born to Max and Agnes (Schoenek) Pohl during their marriage, as listed:
Henry Walter (1897 - 1949), Mabel Edna (1900 - 1979), Lenora L. (1904 - 1969),
twins Mattie Florence (1905 - 2006) and Harold August (1905 - 2000),
Arden Elvin (1909 - 1997), Herbert Reuben (1911 - 1976), and Estelle Lillian (1915 - 2003).
Of interest. Twenty-two-year old Lenora Louise Pohl, a daughter of Max and Agnes (Schoenek) Pohl and an older sister of Florence Pohl, married Adolph Ludwig Lutz aged 27 years on 20 October 1926 in Portage County, Wisconsin. Adolph Lutz was a son of John and Eliza (Bickel) Lutz and an older brother of Leo August Lutz. Their marriage took place two and one-half years prior to the marriage of Leo August Lutz to Florence Meta Pohl. In 1928, Florence Pohl’s twin brother Harold August Pohl aged 22 years married 19-year-old Edna Lutz. Edna Lutz of Almond Township, Portage County was the daughter of Henry and Annie (Henke) Lutz. Henry Lutz was the son of George Lutz, a native of Eckartsweier, Baden, Germany. Researching Edna Lutz’s lineage through 8 generations over 285 years showed that there was no common ancestor shared between the lineage of Edna Lutz and Leo Lutz.
On 20 October 1922, Max and Agnes Pohl of the Township of Buena Vista, Portage County, purchased one-hundred-sixty acres acres of land in Amherst Township, Portage County, from Frank Dulski and his wife Rose of the Town of Amherst, Portage County, for one dollar cash plus a nine-thousand dollar mortgage.
S1/2, NE1/4, SE1/4, Sec 11, Twp 23 N, Rng 10 E
SE1/4, SE1/4, Sec 11, Twp 23 N, Rng 10 E
W1/2, SW1/4, Sec 12, Twp 23 N, Rng 10 E
W1/2, SW1/4, NW1/4, Sec 12, Twp 23 N, Rng 10 E
In 1930, Agnes and Max Pohl lived on their farm in Amherst township, Portage County. Agnes was a member and President of the Ladies Aid Society at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Amherst. In March 1939, Agnes Schoenek Pohl died at the age of sixty-six years in Amherst. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Amherst, Portage County.
In 1940, widower Max Pohl aged seventy-two years lived on his farm in Amherst Township with his son Henry aged forty-three years, his son Harold aged thirty-four years, Harold’s wife Edna aged thirty-two years, and their two children Allen aged eleven years and Lilah aged five years. Max, Henry, and Harold worked on the farm about seventy-two hours per week, fifty-two weeks a year. On 9 August 1949, Max John Joseph Pohl died on his eighty-first birthday in Amherst Township, Portage County. He is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery with his wife Agnes in Amherst, Portage County, Wisconsin.
Florence Meta Pohl
Mattie Florence Pohl and her twin brother Harold Pohl were born on 9 August 1905 in Richford Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin, to Agnes and Max Pohl. The twins were born on their father’s thirty-seventh birthday. Florence attended Sunnyside School through eighth grade, then attended the Stevens Point Normal School (later named the Stevens Point State Teachers College), graduating from the Rural Department in 1923. Florence became a school teacher in Waupaca and Portage Counties.
On Wednesday afternoon 3 April 1929, Florence Pohl aged twenty-four years married Leo Lutz aged twenty-seven years in Amherst, Portage County, Wisconsin, at St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Amherst. The ceremony was officiated by Rev. G.H. Schilling, Jr., and the wedding march was played by Miss Lillian Scheider. Bridesmaids were Miss Estella Pohl (sister of the bride) and Matilda Lutz (sister of the groom). Herbert and Arden Pohl were the groomsmen, both were brothers of the bride. Forty-five guests attended a reception and dinner at the home of the bride’s parents in Amherst. The bride's grandmother Louise Pohl was an out-of-town guest at the wedding and the reception. Following the wedding Florence and Leo embarked on a one week vacation trip to Minneapolis, St. Paul and other Minnesota cities. They will reside on a farm of the groom’s parents, west of Amherst Junction.
In 1930, Leo Lutz aged twenty-seven years, and his wife Florence aged twenty-three years lived in a rented home and operated a dairy farm. A boarder named Albert Rast, single, aged twenty years, worked on the dairy farm. Their next door neighbors were Edward and Mary Lutz, their daughters Evelyn aged seven years and Lorraine aged two months, and their niece Nellie Phillips aged twelve years. Other neighbors included: Joseph Lorbiecki, Martin and Anna Gladowski, Emil and Emma Lutz with their children Anna aged twenty-three years and Carl aged twenty-two years, Leonard and Verna Dorscheid, Willie and Lucy Kjer with their ten children, Charles and Mary Rickman, and John and Sophie Kropislowski with their four children.
In 1940, Leo aged thirty-eight, and his wife Florence aged thirty-four owned their home and farm, valued at one-thousand-five-hundred dollars. Leo was working eighty-four hours per week, fifty-two weeks per year. Also in the home was Margery aged eight years, attending school, Alvin aged four years, and Richard aged two years. The census notes state that Leo had other income in addition to farming. Neighbors included: Jacob Lutz aged fifty-two years, his wife Ida aged forty-nine years, and their children: Gilbert aged twenty-two years, John aged twenty years, Adeline aged seventeen years, Otto aged sixteen years, Glenn aged thirteen years, LaVerne aged nine years, and Vergene aged seven years. Other neighbors included: Albert and Irene Pavelski, and Albert’s siblings – Eugene aged fifteen years and Dorothy aged nineteen years, Harry and Arnold Dusel, and Louis and Elizabeth Omersnik and their children: Roman aged fifteen years, Emil aged twelve years, Ramona aged five years, and Irene aged two years.
In 1950, Leo aged forty-eight years and Florence aged forty-four years owned their home and farm in Amherst, Portage County. Leo was farming, working at least seventy hours per week. Margery was eighteen years old and worked as a bookkeeper for a corporate service, Alvin was fourteen years old and earned some income independent of his work on the family farm, Richard was twelve years old and Gerald was eight years old. Neighbors included: Joe and Phyllis Leary, Henry and Delores Grashek, Frank and Suzanne Readel and their children Betsy aged seventeen years, Thomas aged eleven years, Marilyn aged nine years, Nancy aged seven years, Samuel aged five years and William aged one year, and Perry and Eugena Ward and their daughter Patricia aged four years.
Four children were born to Florence and Leo Lutz during their marriage:
Margery Adelle (b.1931),
Alvin Leo (b.1935),
Richard Elmer (b.1937),
and Gerald David (b.1941).
