| Name |
Carl Wilhelm von Rosenberg [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] |
| Suffix |
Sr. |
| Birth |
14 Oct 1821 |
"Eckitten", near Memel, East Prussia  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Military Service |
In Prussia: Wilhelm entered the Prussian army and served his time as a soldier until 1844, when he was appointed lieutenant in the reserves.
In Texas: In 1861 he was appointed chief draftsman, which position he held until 1863, when he left to serve as topographical engineer under General J. Bankhead Magruder in the Confederate Army. His rank was Captain, in Hood's Brigade. |
| Obituary |
Obit., Dallas Morning News, 5 Dec. 1901:
Von Rosenberg - Austin, Tex., Dec. 4. William von Rosenberg Sr. died at his home in this city today in his 81st year. He was a prominent citizen, a native of Ekittf, Prussia. He came to his country in 1849, settling in Fayette County, and moved to this city in 1854.
Obituary, Fort Worth Morning Register, vol. VI, issue 50, p2; 5 December 1901:
W. von ROSENBERG DIED AT AUSTIN YESTERDAY
He Survived Many Reverses, His Fortune Being Swept Away Several Times
Special to the Register.
Austin, Dec. 4 — W. von Rosenberg, aged 80 years, died at 2 o'clock this afternoon, after an illness of about two weeks.
He was born in East Prussia, was educated as a surveyor and architect, with the expectation that he would be employed in government service in his country. He served his time in the Prussian army, and became a reserve officer. In 1848 he was on the side of the people in the revolution, and, believing that his action then would have cut off all chance of a promotion, he decided to leave Germany. He was mistaken in this, because his co-students, who were as much interested in the revolution as was he, reached finally the highest government offices.
When he decided to leave for Texas, his father decided to follow the fortunes of the son. They sold out their holdings in East Prussia, saving only the necessary farming implements, landed in Texas in 1849, and settled in Fayette county. Unfortunately the money which they invested in a plantation was lost by defective title, and in the fifties Mr. von Rosenberg went to Austin and obtained employment in the general land office as a draughtsman and held the position for a number of years.
During the war between the states, he was appointed captain of engineers, and as such constructed a number of works in the southeastern part of the state. Subsequently he resigned his position in the land office, and became a member of the firm of C.L. Johns & Co. the failure of that firm swept all of the savings away, and, comparatively an old man, he was forced to start over again. He did it bravely, and succeeded. He continued in the land business up to the time of his death. He was one of the trustees of the Confederate home, but resigned his office some time ago on account of his age.
Surviving him are eleven children and sixty-six grandchildren. Mrs. von Carlowitz, one of his daughters how lives in Fort Worth, has been attending him in his last illness. |
| Death |
4 Dec 1901 |
Austin, Travis Co., Texas |
 Burial |
Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, Travis Co., Texas [10] |
|
Origins |
|
| Patriarch & Matriarch |
|
| Notes |
- He is the origin of what has been named Branch 1 of the von Rosenberg family. Carl Wilhelm, son of Peter Carl and Johanna von Rosenberg, was born on his father's estate, Eckitten, near Memel, East Prussia. He was tall, with piercing brown eyes and dark or brown hair. Upon completing the course at the Memel high school, Wilhelm served as a government surveyor's apprentice. In 1838 he was employed as private secretary to administrative land official and accompanied him to Saxony.
In 1845 at the Royal Academy in Berlin he passed the examination for surveyor with the unusual qualification of "excellent" and became a licensed surveyor.
From 1846 to 1848 he attended the University of Architecture in Berlin, which qualified him as royal architect. He was then employed to supervise construction of two government school buildings in Berlin. Upon completing that assignment in June 1849, he was promptly discharged, proscribed because of outspoken democratic ideas and barred from further employment with the royal Prussian government. Rather than have him receive a dishonorable discharge, Wilhelm's major allowed him to resign his commission as lieutenant in the Prussian Reserve Army.
Wilhelm realized that he would always be opposed by governmental influences because of his liberal ideas, so, like many other cultured Germans of that period, he chose a career in America.
Wilhelm married Auguste Anders near Berlin in September, 1849. In 1850 after arriving in Texas William purchased a small farm, part of Nassau Plantation owned by his father, near Round Top, Fayette County, Texas. He farmed for six years, learned the English language, and in 1855 became a citizen of the United States, and began to call himself William. As a skilled draftsman, he was called upon to draw a design for the Fayette County Courthouse in La Grange. The land office then occupied a small frame building in the Capitol yard.
In 1894, he wrote a tract called the "Kritik: Geschichte des Vereins zum Schutze der Deutschen Auswanderer nach Texas," in which he defended the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas against some spurious allegations; in the process, the tract became the cornerstone for the study of German immigration and settlement in Texas.
He died at his home in December, 1901, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Austin. [11]
|
| Person ID |
I256 |
| Last Modified |
15 Mar 2025 |
| Father |
Peter Carl Johann von Rosenberg
b. 2 Oct 1794, "Eckitten", near Memel, East Prussia
d. 19 Oct 1866, La Grange, Fayette Co., Texas (Age 72 years)
Other Partners:
└─Amanda Louise Henriette Fallier
b. 6 Sep 1806, "Carolinenhof", East Prussia
d. 22 Apr 1864, Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas (Age 57 years) m. 14 Feb 1830 |
| Mother |
Johanna Dorothea Froelich
b. 12 Jun 1797, Tilsit, East Prussia (now Sovestk, Kaliningrad, Russia )
d. 30 Apr 1826, Memel, East Prussia (now Klaipėda, Lithuania ) (Age 28 years) |
| Marriage |
2 Jun 1819 |
Memel, East Prussia (now Klaipėda, Lithuania ) |
| Spouse / Partner |
Auguste Franziska Anders
b. 6 Nov 1825, Herzberg-am-Harz, Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
d. 8 Oct 1897, Austin, Travis Co., Texas (Age 71 years)
| Marriage |
5 Sep 1849 |
Herzberg-am-Harz, Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Children |
6 sons and 6 daughters |
| + | 1 . Carl Wilhelm "Charley" von Rosenberg, Jr.
b. 13 Jul 1850, Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas
d. 16 Aug 1918 (Age 68 years) | | + | 2. Arthur von Rosenberg
b. 1 Sep 1851, Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas
d. 30 Aug 1934 (Age 82 years) | | + | 3. Ernst Johann von Rosenberg
b. 25 Nov 1852, Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas
d. 18 Aug 1915 (Age 62 years) | | + | 4. Paul von Rosenberg
b. 10 Aug 1854, Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas
d. 16 Mar 1935 (Age 80 years) | | + | 5 . Laura von Rosenberg
b. 26 Feb 1856, Round Top, Fayette Co., Texas
d. 7 Oct 1918 (Age 62 years) | | + | 6. Emma von Rosenberg
b. 15 May 1857, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 19 Dec 1924 (Age 67 years) | | + | 7. William von Rosenberg
b. 14 Jan 1859, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 5 Jan 1919 (Age 59 years) | | + | 8. Anna von Rosenberg
b. 10 Oct 1860, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 8 Jul 1932, Austin, Travis Co., Texas (Age 71 years) | | | 9. Marie von Rosenberg
b. 31 Jan 1863, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 27 Aug 1864 (Age 1 year) | | + | 10. Lina von Rosenberg
b. 27 Oct 1864, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 16 Jun 1959, Austin, Travis Co., Texas (Age 94 years) | | + | 11. Frederick Charles von Rosenberg
b. 3 Nov 1866, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 14 Nov 1931, Austin, Travis Co., Texas (Age 65 years) | | | 12. Minna Agnes von Rosenberg
b. 17 Jan 1869, Austin, Travis Co., Texas
d. 28 Mar 1949 (Age 80 years) |
|
| Family ID |
F177 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
22 Apr 2025 |
|
