Lake County IN Archives Biographies.....Gromann, Charles 1823 - 
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Author: T. H. Ball (1904)

CHARLES GROMANN, M. D.

    In the German element of her citizenship Lake county has found a factor of
uplift and progress toward substantial ideals such as no other race has brought
to the county, and this history would lack one of its most essential parts
should the work and lives of the German-Americans be neglected. Dr. Gromann,
whose professional career has made him so familiar to numerous families of the
county, is a native of the little province of Lippe-Detmold, Germany, where he
was born December 2, 1823. He is the younger of two children born to Philip and
Dorothea (Witte) Gromann, and is the only survivor of the family. The father was
born in the same province in 1794 and died in 1867. He was a brick-maker by
trade, and was a successful man throughout his life. He and his wife were
Lutherans.

    Dr. Gromann was reared in his native land to the age of twenty-five years.
He was formerly a druggist by occupation, having taken a practical course in a
store under an experienced pharmacist. In 1849 he concluded to come to America.
He sailed from Bremerhaven, being six weeks on the voyage to New York, and from
the latter city he went to Chicago, thence to Dalton, Illinois, where he and his
brother-in-law purchased land and remained until the spring of 1853. Then the
Doctor came to Hanover township, Lake county, and purchased eighty acres of raw
land. His first residence there was a log cabin which he himself built, and he
has seen deer and wolves roaming about in this county. In fact, he one day
killed two deer within a half an hour, shooting them with a shotgun, and also
shot a bear from the window of his cabin. It was his intention to follow farming
as his permanent occupation, but his health was poor and he took up the study of
medicine. He went to Chicago and entered the office of Dr. Julius Ullrich, with
whom he carried on his studies, and he later came to Hanover township and began
the medical practice which he has continued in this county for half a century.
He is a genial and cordial gentleman and well preserved for his years, and his
career has been such as to win him esteem in all circles. Dr. Gromann has been
married three times. His first wife was Miss Caroline Kluckhohm. They became
affianced in Germany, but were married in Chicago. Eleven children, six sons and
five daughters, were born of this union, and nine are living, as follows:
Wilhelmina, the eldest; Henry, of Crown Point; August, a physician in Iowa;
Sophia and Caroline, twins, both wives of ministers; Charles; Louise; Fred;
Anna. The mother of this family died in 1869, and Dr. Gromann's second wife was
Miss Sophia Ortmeyer. Five children, one son and four daughters, were born of
this union, and the three living are: Paulina, a professional nurse; Julia, wife
of George Piepho, a prosperous farmer in Hanover township; and Dora, the
youngest. This second wife passed away on February 5, 1897. On March 20, 1901,
Dr. Gromann married Mrs. Charlotte (Bernhardt) Sauer, who was born near the city
of Wiesbaden, Germany, November 1, 1837, being a daughter of Jacob and Philopena
(Weltert) Bernhardt. There were nine children in the Bernhardt family, but only
two are living, and Mrs. Gromann is the only one in America. She was educated in
her native land, and is a Lutheran in religion. Her first marriage took place in
Germany. In 1867 she came to America, and from Cincinnati later moved to
Chicago. Mrs. Gromann is a genial and cordial lady, and with such a jovial
companion as the jolly Doctor their home is truly a happy one. Their cosy,
comfortable home is open to all their friends, and good cheer and congenial
company are always to be found there.

    Dr. Gromann is a stalwart Republican, and has supported the candidates of
the G. O. P. since casting his first vote. Officially he was elected to the
office of township trustee and served as such for nine years, during which
period he erected the schoolhouse in Brunswick, and both before and since the
cause of education has always found in him a true friend. He was formerly a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his good wife are members
of the German Methodist church society, and they are well known and highly
esteemed in their home town of Brunswick and also throughout the neighborhood.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF
Genealogy and Biography
OF
LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA,
WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 
1834—1904

A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and
the Founding of a Nation.

REV. T. H. BALL
OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO   NEW YORK
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1904


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