Passage to America It was May, 1885. Carl Wunglueck was 18 when he came to America with his parents, Christian and Anna, and brothers, Johann, 29 and August, 31 on the ship Weser. His sister, Caroline Soike (Soycke) had come to Bonduel, Wisconsin a few years earlier with her husband, Carl and five children. Perhaps their letters enticed the rest to make the voyage. It is quite a coincidence that Caroline's mother and husband had the same surname.
Augusta and Johanna also came to America, but it is not known when.
Life in Wisconsin Christian, Anna, Carl and Johann settled in Heartland Township, Wisconsin, near Bonduel where Caroline lived with her family. He went into farming. In the winter, he traded liquor to Indians. He raced one of his horses, which later died because he didn't let him cool down properly.
Bertha and Charles had 5 children in Wisconsin, Emma, Anna, Auguste, Karl and Alfred, my grandfather. Anna suffered a horrible death. At the age of 18 months, she fell into a pot of boiling water that was used to soften the skin when skinning the pigs. Karl was born dead. He was dead 2 weeks before leaving the womb.
The family moved to Chicago after their barn burned down in 1895.
Move to Chicago Charles got a job tending horses for a rich man and became the barn boss before retiring. They had 6 more children, Else, William, Walter (Bob), Erna, Harry, and Violet. Else died at age 3 months. Erna died at 7 years of diphtheria. When she died, her mother washed and dressed her and had her father seal her in her coffin, so the Health Department couldn't touch her.
After Bertha died in 1932, Charles lived with his youngest daughter,
Violet, and her family. Charles died in Oak Lawn, Illinois in 1952. He
was almost 86 years old.