The story for today begins in Germany. A baby named Rosina Barbara Furch was born on December 16, 1810, the daughter of Johann Georg and Anna Maria (Grockenberger) Furth. That means Rosina would be celebrating her 214th birthday today. I found the parents’ names on Family Search, and for some unknown reason, the parents are given the surname Furth, but the children are named Furch. A later census entry says Rosina immigrated to America in 1831. Upon arrival, she lived in New York City for a while.
Rosina’s future husband was Johann Conrad Kalbfleisch, who was born on Janu;ary 29, 1815. Conrad was the son of Johann Adam and Maria Christina (Friedrich) Kalbfleisch. He was baptized in Billertshausen, Germany, and I am able to display his German baptism record.
Conrad came to Amrerica in 1832 and lived in New York City for a while. I have no documentation for it, but Family Search says Conrad Kalbfleisch married Rosina Furch on April 27, 1835 in New York City. This couple reportedly had a few children in New York, but then they joined a group of German Lutherans who decided to move to Missouri and join the Gesellschaft. We call this the New York Group. This group of a little over 100 people arrived in Perry County in May of 1839, at about the time when the leader of the Gesellschaft, Rev. Martin Stephan was banished from the community and rowed across the river to Illinois.
The Kalbfleisch’s lived for only a short time in Perry County, but long enough to have a child whose baptism record is found in the books of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Apparently, Rosina was pregnant when she made the trip from New York to Missouri. The child was baptized in August of 1839. However, by the time that the 1840 census was taken, we find the Kalbfleisch family living in St. Louis.
The Kalbfleisch family was still living in St. Louis when the 1850 census was taken. Conrad was a tailor, and there were 5 children in this household.
According to Conrad’s obituary which will be displayed later, this family moved across the Mississippi River to Collinsville, Illinois in 1851. In the 1860 census, we still see Conrad as a tailor. One of his sons was called a salesman, and I suspect that he worked in his father’s store.
The 1870 census shows Conrad and Rosina with 3 remaining childre. Their 22 year-old son, Henry, was called a student. Henry became a medical doctor whose story was written on this blog in the post titled, Doc Kalbfleisch.
A book of plat maps for Madison County, Illinois was produced in 1873. On a page in that atlas, there is a drawing of the Kalbfleisch Store which specialized in tailoring. It was attached to the Grosze Drug Store. You can view that drawing below. The sign on his building reads, “Kalbfleisch & Sons.
The last census in which we find Conrad was the one taken in 1880. He and Rosina had an empty nest. Conrad, at the age of 68, was called a retired merchant.
Conrad Kalbfleisch died in 1891 at the age of 76. I found a transcription of his obituary. This is where we are told that he moved to Collinsville in 1851.
I also located this short biography for Conrad that especially described his business.
Conrad Kalbfeisch is buried in the Old Lutheran Cemetery in Collinsville. His entry on Findagrave.com shows a photo of his entire gravestone and a close-up of the portion that shows his name and information.
Rosina was a widow when she is found in the 1900 census. She was living with her daughter, who was also named Rosina and who had married John Wendler. Right below the Wendler’s, you can see the entry of her son, John Kalbfleisch and his family.
Included in the John Kalbfleisch household is their 22 year-old son named Richard. Richard was called a school teacher. Later, Richard Kalbfleisch was a teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg. Richard is a character in the books in my Wittenberg Series. He would later marry Laura Gemeinhardt from Wittenberg and spend most of his teaching career in Cole Camp, Missouri.
Rosina Kalbfleisch died in 1901 at the age of 90. I can also display her gravestone and close-up which is also found in the Old Lutheran Cemetery in Collinsville. Her gravestone confirms the fact that she was born on December 16th.
I have written a few stories about some of the 1839 immigrants who spent some time in Perry County and ended up in the Collinsville area. Some of them were instrumental in the establishment of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Collinsville. Also, like the Kalbfleish family in today’s tale, they spent some time in St. Louis before hopping across the river to Collinsville.