~ Biographical Sketch ~

     Augusta Ottielia Reetz often went by the name of Gusta.¹ She was born on Monday, May 6, 1895 in Kinney Valley, Wellington Township, Monroe County, Wisconsin, daughter of Edward Wilkinson and Augusta K. Alvine Reetz.

Augusta appeared on the Wellington Township, Monroe County, Wisconsin, census of June 9, 1900 in the household of August Reetz. Erroneously, she is recorded as his daughter Agusta D.. She was recorded as age five and was shown to be born in Wisconsin in May of 1885. She could speak English and had been attending school for seven months but had not yet learned to read and write. Her parents are recorded as having been born in Germany.

Author's note: Although, Augusta was recorded as their daughter, she was in reality their granddaughter. Her mother was their daughter Augusta K. Alvina Reetz who had been born in Wisconsin. Augusta Alvina had died within a few days following childbirth. The baby was named after her mother and her grandmother as Augusta Ottelia Reetz. Raised by her grandparents as though she was their daughter, the relationship with her aunts and her uncles was more like that of siblings. In this cenus, she was recorded as "Agusta D." The initial for her middle name, "Ottelia", was recorded by the census taker as "D." He must have used a phonetic spelling for Ottelia which when spoken in their German dialect sounds like "Delia" (the same misspelling as he had made in her grandmother's first name which was recorded as "Delia" instead of Ottielia)

.²

At age 17, Augusta married Herman August Neuendorf on Wednesday, October 9, 1912 at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Indian Creek, Clifton, Monroe County, Wisconsin. Herman was 24 years old. He was the son of August Neuendorf (Neidorft) and Frances Fischer.^3,4

On their marriage certificate Herman is stated to be 24 years old, single, white, this being his first marriage, birthplace was Oakdale, Wisconsin, and was a farmer residing in Oakdale. His father is listed as August Neuendorf and his mother is listed as Francisca Fisher, both born in Germany. Augusta is stated to be "Gusta," 17 years old, single, white, this being her first marriage, birthplace was Wellington, Wisconsin, and a resident of Oakdale, Wisconsin. Her parents are listed as August Reetz and Ottilia Zierke, both born in Germany. (Author's note: August and Ottilia Reetz were actually her grandparents who had raised her from birth; her mother having died from childbirth complications.) The witnesses were Gusta's first cousin Elna Wilde of Norwalk, Wisconsin, and Herman's brother Otto Nuendorf of Tomah, Wisconsin, Rd 3. Im. Brockebusch, Ev. Luth. Pastor of Tomah, Wisconsin, Rd. No. 4, officiating.⁵

A wedding announcement for Augusta and Herman was made in the Tomah Journal, Oakdale News on October 2, 1912, and reads:

"Mrs. and Mrs. August Reetz have issued invitations to the marriage of their granddaughter, Miss Augusta, to Mr. Herman Neuendorf. The ceremony will be said at the Lutheran Church October 9 at 2 o'clock , followed by a reception at the home of the bride."⁴

An announcement was made in the Tomah Journal, Oakdale News on October 16, 1912:

Herman Neuendorf and Miss Augusta Reetz were married October 9th at the Lutheran Church in Oakdale. The ceremony was said at 2 p.m. by Rev. Brockabush, Pastor of the church. The bride was gowned in white messaline and wore a veil. She was attended by her cousin, Miss Elna Wilde and Mr. Otto Neuendorf acted as best man. Following the church ceremony the guests returned to the home of the bride's grandparents where a reception was given for relatives of the contracting parties and a few close friends of the bride. The happy young couple have the best wishes and congratulations of a large circle os friends. The will live on the farm the groom recently bought of his father, Mr. Aug. Neuendorf.⁶

Augusta appeared on the Oakdale Township, Monroe County, Wisconsin, census of January 3, 1920 in the household of Herman August Neuendorf as his wife. She is recorded as a white married female age 24. She was born in Wisconsin and could read, write and speak English.⁷

Augusta appeared on the Tomah, Monroe County, Wisconsin, census of April 19, 1930 in the household of Herman August Neuendorf as his wife. She is recorded as a white female age 34. She wedded at age 17. She was born in Wisconsin (as were her parents) and she was able to read and write and speak English.⁸

Herman and Augusta were having trouble keeping their farm due to the hard times of the Great Depression. Augusta's father, Edward Wilkinson, owned the City Coal Company in Dubuque and offered to give 1/2 ownership of it to Augusta if they would move to Dubuque when the farming in Wisconsin failed. About the time their daughter Janet was two years old, Augusta took daughters Helen and Janet to Dubuque, Iowa ( 1361 Central) to live with Augusta's father. The City Coal office was in the front and they lived in the back. A curtain separated their living quarters from the office area. Janet recalls that later they lived above the Coal Office at 17 Central Street. She remembers a roll-top desk and a chair in the office and having seen a picture of herself on the chair with her mother standing near and Edward standing in the background. Later they added a grocery store to the office.

For a short time, Herman stayed on the farm to continue to make a go of it. Daughters Oney and Nona also remained on the farm as Nona was to finish high school. Later, when the farm was lost, they all move to Dubuque.

Augusta became the sole owner of the City Coal Company when she inherited the remaining 1/2 from her father's estate. The Neuendorf's successfully ran it for many years until coal was no longer the common heating source in Dubuque.^9,10 1940s-1960s Their coal source was known as Glendora Coal. (Glendora Coal was possibly a faux name after Edward Wilkinson's wife, Glendora. Faux names were often used in order to protect source info from the competition. However, in my research I have found an actual coal company called Glendora Coal.).⁹

Augusta hosted (and Ione Anita Oberbroeckling co-hosted) a bridal shower on June 29, 1949, in honor of her youngest daughter, Janet Grace Neuendorf. She also presented the bride with a gift of a Toastmaster toaster.¹¹

On July 1, 1949, her daughter, Janet, married Don Smith.^10,12

In later years, she was a cashier in Finley Hospital Cafeteria in Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa.¹

Augusta worshiped with the Christian Fellowship at the Gospel Hall in Garnavillo, Clayton County, Iowa.^1,13 She attended and worshipped at Calvary Bible Church in Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona, between 1985 and 1986.¹

Augusta was a good cook. She made an excellent German pastry called Kolachkies. She always made them in squares with diapered corners and used prunes and dried apples in the center until dried apples became too expensive. Then she tried drying her own apples. Her daughter Ione recalls that there were apples everywhere, hanging in pillowcases, etc. Later she just left out the dried apples and used the prunes straight. They were just as good.⁹

Augusta Ottielia Neuendorf died on March 14, 1985 in Flagstaff at age 89while living with her daughter Janet. She was in a care home receiving nursing care for seven days prior to her passing.¹ A funeral service was held Sunday Mar 17, 1985, 3:00 PM, at the Flagstaff Mortuary Chapel with Pastor Richard Steeg officiating. Her body was transported to White's Funeral Home Tomah, Wisconsin, where a second funeral service was held for her mid-west family members and friends. Augusta was buried in the Neuendorf family plot, in Oak Grove Cemetery Tomah.¹



An obituary from the Flagstaff Daily Sun newspaper on March 15, 1985, reads ~

Augusta O. Neuendorf, 89, died Thursday at Pines Care Center.
Services will be Sunday at 3 p.m. at Flagstaff Mortuary Chapel. The Rev. Richard Steeg will officiate. Additional services and burial will be in Tomah, Wis.

Mrs. Neuendorf was born May 6, 1895 in Wilton, Wis., and moved to Dubuque, Iowa in 1930 where she and her husband operated the City Coal Co. for 25 years. In later years, she was employed as a cashier in Finley Hospital cafeteria, Dubuque. She was preceded in death by her husband, Herman, in 1949, and one daughter, Lois Marie, in infancy. She was a member of Christian Fellowship at the Gospel Hall in Garnavillo, Iowa.

Survivors include four daughters, Nona Curry, Edmonds, Wash; Helen Burkart and Ione Oberbroeckling, both of Dubuque; and Janet Smith, Flagstaff; nine grandchildren and two brothers, John and Carl Wilkenson, Sun City.

Augusta was mentioned in the Locals of the Tomah Journal on March 21, 1985 it reads --

"Mrs. Michael E. Davis (nee Darlene Prell) of Darlington; Mr. Arnold R. Krueger, Mr. Herbert F. Krueger and Mrs. Raymond C. Shaw (nee Olga Waltman) of Milwaukee visited with Mrs. Alice Prell on Tuesday and attended the funeral of their aunt, Mrs. Gusta Neuendorf, formerly of Dubuque, Ia., at the Wite Funeral Home in the afternoon."¹⁴

A second obituary appeared in the Tomah Journal in Wisconsin.
It reads ~.¹⁵




A third obituary (presumably from a Dubuque newspaper) reads ~

Augusta O. Neuendorf, 89, of West 23rd St. died Thursday night at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Don (Janet) Smith of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at White Funeral Home, Tomah, Wis., with burial in Tomah Cemetery.

Mrs. Neuendorf, who was born in Wilton, Wis., moved to Dubuque in 1930. She and her husband operated the City Coal Co. for 25 years. she was a cafeteria cashier at Finley Hospital and was a member to the Christian fellowship at Gospel Hall, Garnavillo, Iowa.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Herman, in 1949, and a daughter, Lois Marie, in infancy.

Surviving besides Smith are three other daughters, Mrs. Charles (Nona)Curry of Edmonds, Wash., and Mrs. Eugene (Helen) Burkart and Mrs. Arthur (Ione) Oberbroeckling, both of Dubuque; nine grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, and two brothers, John and Carl Wilkinson, both of Sun City, Ariz.