Today’s birthday boy is Wilhelm Herman Grosze, who was born on August 19, 1888. That means today would be his 135th birthday. Wilhelm was the son of Gustav and Margaretha (Weber) Grosze. At this point, let me say that a lot of people in this family tree spelled their name, Grosse, but Wilhelm apparently went his whole life using the Grosze spelling. Wilhelm’s grandfather, Ferdinand Grosze, can be seen on the passenger list of Johann Georg when he arrived in America with other members of the Stephanite immigration in 1839. You can see the Grosze spelling on this list. Ferdinand was one of three Grosze brothers who were all shoemakers.

Ferdinand Grosze was one of the charter members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg, so it is not surprising that Wilhelm was baptized at that church. His baptism record from that congregation’s books is displayed below. Wilhelm may have been one of those babies that was named after his sponsors. One of his sponsors was Wilhelm Kuntze, and the other one was Herman Weber.

Wilhelm is found in the 1900 census at the age of 11. His father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Wilhelm in the 1910 census. He was 22 years old and working on his father’s farm. As it turns out, this would be the last census in which we find Wilhelm living in Missouri.

I think it was not long after this census that Wilhelm moved north, and it was there that he got married. So, let’s take a look at the woman who would become his wife. Her name was Dorothea Louise Meyer, who was born on March 10, 1896 in Deschler, Nebraska. Dorothy was the daughter of John and Augusta (Schwitters) Meyer. She is found in her first census in 1900 at the age of 4. Her father was a farmer in Deschler.

The Meyer family relocated during the next decade. When the 1910 census was compiled, we find the Meyer’s living in the Davison Township of Cheyenne County in Nebraska, which is not far from Sidney. Dorothy was 14 years old.

Wilhelm Grosze married Dorothy Meyer on June 26, 1916 in Nebraska. I suspect you can likely find the marriage record for this wedding in one of the Lutheran church’s books in and around Sidney. This gives credence to the possibility that this area is where Wilhelm moved. Several Perry County natives moved to the Cheyenne County of Nebraska back in those days. However, when Wilhelm had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917, we find him and his new wife living in Torrington, Wyoming where he was farming. This form says Wilhelm was born in Frohna, and he also mentions that he was supporting his sick wife.

The map below show the relative locations of several places that become part of Wilhelm’s story. Even though we are going to find him in Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado, we can see on this map that all these places are really not that far apart.

The Grosze’s apparently did not remain in Wyoming for very long, but they did manage to have one child there that was born in 1917. When the 1920 census was taken, we find them living in the Bunker Hill Township of Cheyenne County, Nebraska. It took me a while to find this census entry because Ancestry.com transcribes Wilhelm’s surname as George. To be honest, that is what it looks like. The Bunker Hill Township is adjacent to the Davison Township where Dorothy’s parents lived. Wilhelm was a farmer. Two daughters were in their household.

Next, we find the Grosze’s in the 1930 census. As you can see, their household had gotten much larger. A family tree I found on Ancestry.com says Wilhelm and Dorothy had 10 children.

The 1940 census shows the Grosze family with 6 children living with them.

Plat maps were produced for the Cheyenne County in 1945, and we find the Wilhelm Grosze farm in the Bunker Hill Township.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Wilhelm was still farming at the age of 67, although he had a few sons helping him.

Wilhelm Grosze died in 1963 at the age of 74; Dorothy Grosze died in 1988 at the age of 92. This couple must have moved to Sterling, Colorado later in their lives because that is where they died and were buried. They are buried together in the Sunset Memorial Gardens in Sterling. You can see that the Grosze spelling is still used on their gravestone.

When Wilhelm completed his World War I draft registration in June of 1917 and said he was supporting a sick wife, I suspect it was related to her pregnancy. She gave birth in July. Since Dorothy went on to have 9 or 10 children, and she lived till the age of 92, it doesn’t appear that she had any sort of lingering illness that she struggled with all her life.