Where They Lived

The story circulated in my Gosz family says that 2nd great grandfather Johann owned a shingle factory and had money!  But genealogical research so often kills off wonderful tales of successful ancestors.  I've outlined in prior blogs the lack of status of the Gosz family before they came to live in Wisconsin.   If Johann knew anything about shingles or any other kind of roof covering, I'm sure that he did the "day labor" of covering the roofs of his neighbors.

This leads to the question of the roof itself as well as the building that held up that roof.  Names, dates and places have never been enough.  The stories and the settings behind those things has the most interest for me.

So, as a start, here is a picture of a wedding scene - or rather a pre-wedding scene - in which the bride and her well-to-do family, Egerlander villagers all, are moving her dowry to the home of her husband-to- be, much to the interest of friends, neighbors, and even itinerant journeymen and tinkers who have happened by.  The artist also gives a good picture of the buildings in the village.  If you look closely by clicking on the picture, you may even see some shingles!

Gustav Zindel, Artist