Obit: Marquardt, Louisa (1848 - 1930)

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Surnames: MARQUARDT KOBS GOETSCH TESMER HUHN MEINHOLDT HILL PRIBBERNOW

----Sources: COLBY PHONOGRAPH (Colby, Clark County, Wisconsin) 02/20/1930

Marquardt, Louisa (21 Jul. 1848 - 17 Feb. 1930)

Mrs. Louisa Marquardt, one of the earliest settlers of the town of Green Grove, passed away at the home of her daughter and son in law, Mr. and Mrs. Julius Kobs, early Monday morning, liver trouble and complications being the cause of her departure to the heavenly goal. Funeral services will be held this Thursday, February 20th, at 12:45 from the Kobs home and then the funeral procession will proceed to the Green Grove Lutheran church where the church services will be held, Rev. M. C. Goetsch officiating. Internment will be made in the Green Grove cemetery.

Mrs. Marquardt was born in Prussia, Germany, on July 21, 1848, thus reaching the age of 81 years, 6 months and 24 days. She was married to Frederick Marquardt in 1867, and three years later, came to the United States with her husband. For a time, they lived in the town of Herman, Sheboygan county, and at Toldeo, Ohio. In 1875 they came to this section and settled on a piece of land in the town of Green Grove which was still a wilderness.

At that time, this section was still covered with dense, but beautiful, pine forests and the early pioneers dwelt in the simplest of log huts. Wagon roads were unknown and the people followed the Indian trails or blazed their own way on the trees, to show their route. Streams usually had to be forded for civilization had not yet built bridges. Flour and other provisions had to be carried on the human shoulder for many miles. Only the most fortunate owned a yoke of oxen.

Mrs. Marquardt is the last of the six surviving widows of the six charter members of the St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran church of Green Grove. At the time this church was organized, Colby consisted of a few houses, a store, a hotel and a post office. The Central Railroad, later the Soo, first sent its construction crews through the rough wilderness only a few years prior to the organization of this congregation.

After the death of Mr. Marquardt on December 31st, 1921, the oldest son, Albert, took over the farm, and for the past six years, Mrs. Marquardt made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Kobs, and family here in Colby.

The surviving children are Mrs. Julius Kobs of Colby; Albert and Charles of Green Grove; Herman of Curtiss; Fred of Athens; Frank of Stratford; Ben of Marengo; Mrs. George Tesmer of Colby; Mrs. Louisa Huhn of the town of Hull; Mrs. Martha Meinholdt of Greenwood; Mrs. Dora Hill of Chicago. Also forty grand children and nine great grand children, thus being survived by sixty direct descendants. Mrs. Marquardt’s maiden name was Louisa Pribbernow and she also has a number of relatives in Curtiss and vicinity.

Her Christian life was beautiful from its beginning to its close, and through all the vicissitudes and sorrows that she met in the way, her faith in God never wavered. None ever entered her home without a warm welcome nor left without feeling the warmth of a genuine hospitality, so characteristic of the people who came to this country in the early days and built fine farms out of the wilderness.