John Louis Rosbach and Sons
Elmer Carl (seated) and Carl Lee
Late 1920s
Photo Courtesy of Vickie Rosbach

 

A Tribute to Elmer Carl Rosbach and Family
by Vickie Rosbach
August 2010

Editor's Note: Our contributor, Vickie Rosbach, came upon a photograph on our web site that seemed familiar to her. The photo is on the bottom of our Contributors page. It was the 1935-1936 grade school class in Estella. She thought her dad and/or uncle went to school there and might be in a similar photo. So, she wrote to us. Vickie is very proud of her Rosbach and Mulnix ancestors from Sullivan County. Her father Elmer Carl Rosbach. passed away in June 2009. Here is a site that Vickie create in honor of her father: Elmer Carl Rosbach in Photos. He was 87 years old when he died, and had served as a tail gunner in World War Two.

Vickie Rosbach
Elmer's Daughter and Our Contributor
August 2010
Photo Courtesy of Vickie Rosbach

Vickie has also given us a genealogical overview of her Rossbach ancestors as follows.

George Leonard Rosbach (1823-1888) married to Babetta Jacob (a/k/a Barbara) (1821-1912). The couple moved from Bavaria (Germany) about 1850 to New York City then to Big Lake (now known as Lake Brule), Elkland Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. Then they relocated to a farm near Eldredsville, Elkland Township and are buried in the German Reformed Church Cemetery in that township. George farmed, carried mail for the postal service, and was a cooper (a maker of tubs and barrels). The record says that at one time the family name had a double "s" in the surname.

They had 7 or more children. I say seven because only seven are on the records, yet family lore says there were triplets and only two are mentioned (whether the third triplet lived or died, and when, we don't know). But, evidently, they actually had eight children. Here are the seven we know by name:

John Martin Rosbach (married Johanna Christiana Reichert) born Aug. 19, 1850
George L. Rosbach ( married Henrietta Beck Caseman) born 1852
Frederick Rosbach (married Margaret Herman) born Apr.19, 1856 (one of twins)
Hannah Rosbach (married 1st Motl and 2nd Hiatt) born Apr.19, 1856 (the other twin)
Larry G. Rosbach (married Emilie Buscamp) born July 4, 1858 (one of triplets)
Dora Rosbach (married Dan Fague) born July 4, 1858 (2nd of the triplets)
Cyrus Rosbach (married Mae Barnes) born July 3, 1863

Cyrus relocated to near Lodi, NY and died there; at some point the name of his linewas changed to Rosbaugh, according to the record of a geneological report dated June 1982). John Louis Rosbach, my grandfather, was born of Frederick and Margaret Herman Rosbach. John Louis married Mary R. Mulnix, my grandmother, daughter of John and Hester Mulnix. Here is Mary's photo: Mary R. Mulnix.

My dad, Elmer Carl Rosbach was one of two sons and a daughter of John and Mary: Elmer, Carl Lee and Ruth, all now deceased.

Here also is a photo of Mary's parents, Hester and John Mulnix. Vickie found it in September 2010 while looking for an old appliance manual. This image is actually a photo of the original which is housed in a fragile glass frame:

Hester and John Mulnix
Parents of Mary (Mulnix) Rosbach
Late 1920s
Photo Courtesy of Vickie Rosbach

You can learn more about the Mulnix family by reading the comments, footnote and charts on Faces and Families, Group Seven.

Finally, here is a link to Elmer playing the harmonica and talking to Vickie about the old days and how folks entertained themselves back in the early twentieth century:

Elmer Plays Harmonica.

Copyright ©2010 Robert E. Sweeney and Individual Contributors. All Rights Reserved. This is a FREE genealogy site sponsored through PAGenWeb and can be reached directly at Sullivan County Genealogy Project