The History of the Roehl Family

Introduction:

In 1854, Joseph and Catherine RÖHL made an irrevocable decision to leave their home in Europe and to seek a new life for their family in the United States of America. The following pages represent an effort to document and preserve the story of how that decision has now impacted eight generations of descendants.

Spanning more than 150 years, this history of the ROEHL family has missing sections that have likely been lost forever. Some historical records provide only a tantalizing name, with no hint as to how or where that individual may have lived and died. In some cases, an available bit of factual information about a family member has been augmented with historical data in order to better understand that individual’s actions and emotions.

Although the primary objective of this project has been to document the descendants of Joseph and Catherine, marriages and personal relationships naturally involve other families. Any available information about those individuals is also recorded, where appropriate.

In each of the following chapters of this website there will be a postscript section labeled Opinions and Footnotes. These sections will contain footnotes for the chapter, comments about sources of information, and modern perspectives on the events described in that chapter.