Warren County IA Archives Biographies.....Romback, Gerson 1832 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 24, 2007, 11:43 pm

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1896)

GERSON ROMBACK, an early pioneer of Lincoln township, Warren county, was born in
Baden, Germany, January 5, 1832, the only child of John and Christina Romback.
The father left his native country in 1835 in search of a new and better home
for his family in the United States, but he died quite suddenly, on the Ohio
river, soon after his arrival here,-far from home and loved ones.

   In 1849, when Gerson Romback, our subject, was seventeen years of age, he
came with his mother to the United States, and settled in Clinton county, Ohio,
where he remained seven years, working by the month at hotel and farm labor. In
1854 Mr. Romback started on a western trip in search of a location, and becoming
impressed with the appearance of Warren county, Iowa, he entered a tract of
Government land in White Oak township, on the line of what is now Lincoln
township. The tract consisted of 250 acres. Two years afterward, in company with
his mother, he located on that property, building a small shanty, which was
afterward replaced by a more commodious and comfortable home. Mr. Romback was
one of the earliest settlers of the locality, and his property consisted of only
wild prairie land. He started in with hope and courage to subdue it, but the
hard times which soon came on and the lack of a market for their products told
heavily on the early settlers. But with indomitable courage he kept at work, and
soon came through those trying times successfully, and laid the foundation of
the greater success which came to him later in life. Mr. Romback has added to
his original purchase from time to time until he now owns a fine farm of 495
acres, where, in addition to general farming, he is engaged in stock-raising,
owning from sixteen to twenty horses, from fifty to sixty head of cattle and
about fifty hogs.

    In 1856 our subject was united in marriage with Agatha Held, who died in
1890, leaving three children: Frank, of Jackson township, Iowa; Mary L., wife of
William McClure, of Lincoln township; and Charles, at home. Mr. Romback was
again married, March 17, 1892, to Rachel Ann Dillard, a native of Indiana and a
daughter of Jacob and Mary (Marks) Dillard, natives respectively of Indiana and
Virginia. They came to this State as early as 1853, where Mr. Dillard is still
living, aged seventy-seven years. His wife died in February, 1894, at the age of
seventy-five years. Mr. Romback is independent in political matters, always
supporting the men who in his judgment will represent the best interests of the
people, regardless of party affiliations. For the past twenty-five years he has
been a strong adherent of the Masonic order, being a member of Warren Lodge, No.
53, of Indianola.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

A MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IOWA

ILLUSTRATED

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants."'—MACAULAY.

"Biography is by nature the must universally profitable, universally pleasant,
of all things."—CARLYLE

"History is only biography on a large scale"—LAMARTINE.

CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1896


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