Bio: Bergs, William and Kathryn (Zappefeld)

Contact: Stan

Surnames: Zappefeld,  Bergs, Rietbrock, Mertes, Schueller, Lynch, Kolpack, Miller, Riehle, Jensen, Richards

----Source: 1880 - 1980 Rietbrock, Marathon Co., Wis. Centennial, pg. 52 - 53

Bergs

William Bergs, Sr., born in 1838, immigrated from Prussia, Germany, with his parents when he was about 16 years old. It was known that he could speak Polish as well as he could speak German, his native tongue. They settled at St. Cloud, Wisconsin, which is located near Fond du Lac, WI.

William, his wife Kathryn and four children moved to Marathon County in 1881 and purchased 160 acres of land from Fred Rietbrock. Their first buildings were a log house and a log barn located just west of the present house. The children who came with them were: Hubert, who was seven years old, Tina (Mertes), five, William Jr. three, and Margaret (Schueller) - one year old. Later, three more children were added to the family - Elizabeth (Lynch), who later moved to Canada and died when she was 34 years old, (Mrs. Lynch is buried in the old German Cemetery in Poniatowski), and two sons, Joseph and Anton. William, Sr., evidently became active in community affairs soon after he settled in this township, since his name appears on the first records of the Town of Rietbrock.

William, Jr., had worked for the railroad in Duluth for about three years and had saved some money so that he was able to buy ninety-four acres of the original farm. Hubert bought sixty acres, which were purchased by Harry and Helen Kolpack in 1914, and Joseph bought the six acres to the north, where he built the present Cherry Grove Cheese Factory. Wm. Bergs, Sr., died in 1903, at the age of sixty-five, and his wife died in 1923.

William, Jr., was married to Margaret (Schueller) in 1911 when he was thirty-three years old. They had five children - Theresa, Paul, Joseph, Clara (Miller) and Norbert.

Joseph bought the farm in 1944, when William and Margaret moved to a home in Edgar. William died in 1961 and his wife moved to live with her son, Paul, in 1963. She died in 1968.

Joseph and wife Marcella (Rausch) had six children: Charles, Michael, Darlene (Jensen), Carmon (Richards), Matthew and Daniel. They sold the original ninety-four acres to Charles Riehle in 1978 and they moved to Marshfield.

Family Notes

1900 Federal Census, ED 94 Rietbrock town, Marathon, Wisconsin, United States, pg. 2, family 34

William Berg, white, male
marital status: Married
years married: 32
estimated marriage year: 1868
father's birthplace: Germany
mother's birthplace: Germany
immigration year: 1844

Household Members
head William Berg M 62 (Nov 1838) Germany
wife Cathrine Berg F 50 (Oct 1850) Wisconsin, 10 children - 7 living
son Hubert Berg M 26 (Jan 1874) Wisconsin
son William Berg M 22 (Jun 1878) Wisconsin
daughter Maggie Berg F 19 (May 1881) Wisconsin
son Joseph Berg M 16 (Dec 1884) Wisconsin
son Anton Berg M 13 (Jul 1887) Wisconsin

Wisconsin Birth Records

Anthony Mathias Bergs
gender: Male
birth date: 30 Jul 1887
birthplace: Rietbrock, Marathon, Wisconsin
race: White
father's name: William Bergs
father's birthplace: Germany
mother's name: Kate Zappefeld
mother's birthplace: Germany

Wisconsin Death Records

Wm. Bergs
gender: Male
burial place: Poniatowski, Wisconsin (Holy Family Catholic Cemetery)
death date: 06 Jan 1903
death place: Reitbrock, Marathon, Wisconsin
age: 64
birth date: 10 Nov 1838
birthplace: Germany
occupation: Farmer
race: White
marital status: Married
spouse's name: Cathrine Bergs
father's name: Theo. Bergs
father's birthplace: Germany
mother's name: Elizabeth Bergs
mother's birthplace: Germany