Obit: Tessmer, Gottlieb (1858 - 1938)

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Surnames: Tessmer, Schmeichen, Biell, Dehne, Wiedenhoeft, Lindner, Schultz, Heise, Kuehling, Risch, Jones, Fraser, Detjens, Trebb, Kollander, Hegg, Frane, Puehl, Tesmer

----Sources: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 12/29/1938

Tessmer, Gottlieb (15 Nov. 1858 - 25 Dec. 1938)

Gottlieb Tessmer, one of the oldest residents of this community, having lived here for more than sixty-five years, died at his home here at 12:10 A.M. Sunday, at the age of eighty years, after an illness of several years. Following a short service at the Tessmer home, funeral services were conducted at St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed church Wednesday afternoon, Rev. S. A. Schmiechen officiating, and burial was made in the Colby cemetery. Pall bearers were John Biell, Ed. Dehne, Herman Wiedenhoeft, William Wiedenhoeft, Fred Lindner and Ed. Schultz. Flower girls were the Misses Dehne, Heise, Schultz and Kuehling.

Mr. Tessmer was born in Germany on November 15th, 1858, and came to the United States with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Tessmer, in 1866. It required nine weeks and three days to reach New York City. From there, they went to Sheboygan where they lived for two years. Then they moved to Lansing, Mich., taking a boat across the lake, where they lived for a year and then returned to Wisconsin, settling on a farm near Lomira, Wis. In the year of 1873, they moved to Colby and settled on a wild track of land which is now the Victor Frane farm, two and one-half miles southwest of Colby.

At the time of their arrival here, this was still a vast wilderness and they followed Indian trails to their land which they homesteaded. The first year, they erected two large log buildings. They cleared about forty acres of land on the homestead, selling the timber to the saw mills at Colby for $3.00 a thousand. There were but few buildings in Colby and the railroad only extended as far as Medford.

The deceased was married to Miss Ida Puehl about forty-three years ago and lived in the city of Colby since that time.

Surviving him are Mrs. Tessmer and two children, Edwin of Tomahawk and Miss Alma at Milwaukee, one grand child, two brothers, Charles and Herman of Colby, and four sisters, Mrs. William Risch of Milwaukee, Mrs. Elwood Jones of Tripoli, Mrs. Allan Fraser and Mrs. Otto Detjens of Phillips.

Out of town relatives here for the funeral were Edwin Tesmer of Tomahawk, Miss Alma Tesmer of Milwaukee, Mrs. Allen Fraser and daughter, Mrs. Kurt Trebb of Phillips, Mr. and Mrs. O. Detjens of Phillips, Mrs. Elwood Jones and two sons, Edwin and Donald, of Tripoli, Wis., Mrs. Paul Kollander of Milwaukee and Theo. Hegg of Phillips.