HERMAN AND MARY [BOSSE] GROELING, SR.
[pg 254 PHOTO Back: Mrs. Herman Groeling, Sr., Herman Groeling,
Sr., and John Groeling; front: Mrs. George Bosse and Mrs. John
Groeling.
Herman Groeling, a prominent farmer and stockman, was born in Nelep,
Germany, a province of Bavaria. Since World War II the town is no
longer in existence but is known to have been near the present town
of Swidon, just south of the North Sea and now a part of Poland and
behind the Iron Curtain. He came to America with his father
Christian and mother Johanna (Schmidt), daughter of Minister Wilhelm
Schmidt. Christian and Johanna were married in Schonhagen (beautiful
grove) in 1843. In 1852 when Herman was about four years old, they
set sail from Hamburg, Germany, for their new life in America. After
arriving in New York, they went on to settle in Sheboygen County,
Wisconsin, and lived there for four years, before moving on to
Burlington, Iowa, for 11 years. Then they moved to Page County,
Iowa, where they resided the next four years.
The family was of the Lutheran religion and was known as Ubblehode
or Groeling-Ubblehode when first coming to America as Christian, a
school teacher (as was his father Kurstan and others before him) had
been the protégé of a family by the name of Ubblehode and it was
then the custom to take that family’s name. Christian served and
died in the Civil War, enlisting from Iowa. He is buried in the
National Cemetery at Chattanooga, Tennessee, under the name of
Groding (sic.) - Ubbelhode. The family then resumed to the family
name of Groeling. There were two boys and three girls in this
family, John being the oldest.
[pg 255 PHOTO Back from left: Lydia [Mrs. Charles Hobart], Myrtle
[Mrs. Roy Forney], Anna [Mrs. Frank Butterfield]; middle: Louis
Groeling, Herman Groeling, Sr., Mary Louise Bosse Groeling, Augusta
[Mrs. Henry Rokahr], Berthold Groeling
Only in the late ‘70s that a contact with the Herman Groeling family
was made by another John Groeling, grandson of John.
As early settlers in northeast Nebraska, Herman and Mary Louise
suffered many hardships and misfortune in almost every form that
visited this area. The Groelings lived at Winnetoon only one year
and then took up a homestead near Walnut. Here again a log cabin was
built on the land north of the creek (Middle Branch of the
Verdigris) up in the hills of what is now pasture land on the Dean
Pierce farm. Later a timber claim was procured by planting trees and
the rows can still be seen (though perhaps only one or two trees are
left standing) in the pasture land on the Herman Groeling, Jr., farm
just east of the present dwellings. This land is now being farmed by
Phillip and Dave Pierce. Lee Ann Boelter Pierce would be a
great-great-granddaughter of Herman Groeling, Sr.
During the years of 1874-75-76 the grasshoppers made their memorable
raids, destroying all the crops, and the destructive blizzard of
1888 did its share in creating havoc in this area. But Mr. Groeling
was known to be not only a stubborn German but an enterprising one
and he eventually amassed a total of 2,200 acres of land and was
noted for raising Galloway cattle.
To the union of Herman Groeling, Sr., and Mary Louise Bosse Groeling
were born nine children: Anna (1874-1945), Mrs. J. F. Butterfield;
Lydia (1876-1949), Mrs. Charles Hobart; Myrtle (1881-1966), Mrs. Roy
Forney; Augusta (1881-1962), Mrs. Thomas Tikalsky; Louis
(1883-1953), married Clara Achenbach; Jesse (1885-1885), died in
infancy; Berthold (1886-1918), married Josephine Mott; Herman, Jr.,
(1889-1964), married Mary Jecminek; and Hilda (1890-1923), Mrs.
Henry Rokahr. As the family expanded, so did Herman’s enterprises.
He built the country store, naming it Walnut for the trees he
planted. He had a creamery and a mill and started the first
telephone service in the area which was run from his home for many
years. He organized District No. 18 school and built and operated
the first post office in this area. He also ran a drayage (hauling)
service to and from Verdigre.
Jean (Groeling) Jiracek recalls “my father, Herman (Groeling), Jr.,
telling of how he used to herd turkeys and could jump across the
creek. I thought he was spoofing me as the creek in the ‘30s , when
I was growing up, was shallow and wide. Strangely enough, it has now
narrowed again and I can see how jumping it could be possible. My
father also told of ice skating all the way to Verdigre on the creek
and bringing supplies to Walnut by horse and sleigh on the frozen
ice. My Aunt Lydia used to relate how “stubborn both my father and
grandfather were - that grandfather would hitch up the team of
Mules, ‘Jack” and “June,” one way and my father would redo them
another. She also stated that she thought the reason grandfather,
Herman, Sr., married a second time after the death of his first wife
in 1920 was to prove to the lady that he could still have her. I
don’t know who she was but was told she had been a childhood
sweetheart who lived in California where my grandfather had
retired.”
In the spring of 1914, the Groelings (Herman and Mary Louise) moved
to Verdigre. The large two-story home there on the east side of Main
Street was razed to build the Czech Alps Terrace apartments. Jean
Jiracek also said the two-story house that she recalls as “Grandpa’s
house” included both a living room and a parlor, much like the
living room and family room of today except the “parlor” was the
“fancy” room. She remembers the house being torn down and replaced
some years ago. This was on the present Dean Pierce farm. The “old”
house was on her Uncle Louie’s place and used as a granary. This
place is now farmed by Gordon Block.
In the fall of 1919, the Groelings took up winter residence in San
Pedro, California, where daughter Lydia lived; a short time later
Mrs. Groeling took ill and died in February of 1920. She was brought
back to Grimton Cemetery for burial beside her baby Jesse, and
brother Herman H. Bosse. Herman, Sr., continued to reside in
California and did not cease being an enterprising individual. He
went on to found and lay out the town of San Clemente, California,
but unfortunately for the family fortune, the land was sold in the
early ‘30s after his death. Interestingly enough, Jean Jiracek had
occasion to live in San Clemente when her husband, Ed Jiracek, Jr.,
was stationed as a Marine at Oceanside, California. The town at that
time was ½ mile wide and four miles long with paved streets and
lighting laid out all over, but with a population of only about 400.
It was through Jean’s Aunt Lydia that she learned of her
grandfather’s investment of time and money here. The town later came
to be the summer home of former President Richard Nixon for a few
years and now boasts a population of approximately 25,000.
Another interesting sidelight of the family’s history is the fact
that Norma, the daughter of Hilda who was the youngest child of
Herman and Mary Louise, was adopted and raised by Lydia, the oldest
daughter of the Groelings following the death of Hilda when Norma
was still an infant.
The family spoke German in the home when the children were growing
up and Herman , Jr., disliked this very much, so he would refuse to
speak it when he was away from home. “Consequently,” writes Jean
Groeling Jiracek, “with my father’s ability to speak German, but not
using it, and my mother, Mary Jecminek’s ability to speak Czech, but
using it only with her sisters, we offspring, unfortunately, never
learned a second language as we grew up.”
Herman Groeling, Sr., died in California on March 29, 1929, and his
body was brought back to Grimton Cemetery for burial alongside Mary
Louise. Herman Groeling, Sr., willed his properties to his children,
but the only portion still remaining under the Groeling name is that
of Louis and Herman with Gordon Block on the Louis Groeling farm and
Phillip Piece on the Herman Groeling farm. These are located about
12 miles south and west of Verdigre. The Walnut store still stands
but is used only for storage and the post office was removed some
years back. At one time in the early ‘30s, Herman Groeling, Jr.,
also ran a “bowery” just across the creek west of the store and to
the east side of the road. A bit of the road can still be detected.
Music and dancing were held here along with the selling of
sandwiches, pop, and beer. Music was mostly just piano playing. All
Jean remembers is the storing of the soda pop in their basement but
understands it was something in the way of entertainment as was the
later developed Oak View Park pavilion. Also, all that remains of
the log cabin is a few of the timbers, used in the east barn of the
Herman Groeling farm.
The Herman Groeling, Sr., family was remembered as one of the most
respected and esteemed families in the community and had a wide
circle of friends and acquaintances.
-Submitted by jean Groeling Jiracek, granddaughter of
Herman, Sr., and daughter of Herman, Jr.
Pages
254, 255, 256
