Language
Groh, Peter
1836 - 1917 (80 years)
Has no ancestors but 15 descendants in this family tree.-
Name Groh, Peter Born 30 Apr 1836 Michelbach, , Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany 
Gender Male 
Immigration11 May 1855 New York, New York, New York, USA Military ServiceBetween 17 Apr 1861 and 21 Aug 1861 1863 Civil War Registration1863 1870 Census1870 Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA 1880 Census1880 Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA 1900 Census1900 Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA Biography - Peter Groh and The Civil War written by his son Frank Groh
PETER GROH AND THE CIVIL WAR As written by Frank Groh, his son.My father, Peter Groh, came to America from Germany in 1857 on a sail ship. He landed in New York City after a two month trip across the Atlantic . He went directly to Meeme, which is a township in Manitowoc County . He stayed a few days with some distant relative by the name of Michael Herr, who operated a hotel, general store, saloon and post office on the Green Bay Road. This was one of the roadside stopping places for travelers from Milwaukee to Green Bay. There was no railroad that far north.Sh ortly after my father's arrival, he and another friend set out to find work as hired hands on a farm. They started south on foot and found work on a farm near the Illinois border. Douglas Fowler, the land owner, a very prominent man in his community, had 1,000 acres of prairie land. Mr. Fowler was a Connecticut Yankee, who left that state because of worn out soil due to lack of crop rotation. All the work having to do with the raising of grain and sheep, which were the mainstays of the farm, were done by hand. He sponsored the first Burlington Railroad, but failed in his first attempt. The household was carried on in an early American style. All the men had to wash up in an anti-room, change shoes, and wear a coat at the dinner table. The man of the house had to care for carbing the meat. If Mr. Fowler was out for the day, which happened quite frequently, one of the hired men had to take his place. This my father did quite often.Th e Fowlers had a large library which the hired hands had access to on Sundays. My father made good use of these books and tried to teach himself the English language. In the summer he would take the books and sit under a shade tree and study. He did very well in learning the English language. The Fowler family also had a piano which was very scarce in those days. This also helped the hired men to pass many lonely hours on the farm.A diary was kept of all the work that was done each day. The men had to report their work completed to Mrs. Fowler every evening. The monthly pay to each man was $12.00. For this they put in many long and hard hours.In 1860 a depression set in due to the recent invention of the reaper, and the men's pay was cut. Of course, this the men did not like. My father and his friend quit their job and decided to go to Minnesota . They had heard that there was plenty work and better pay there. They set out on foot and traveled along the highway, but they were soon disillusioned. The farther they got, the worse things got. Many other men had the same idea as they did, but they were all fooled. They had no choice but to joint the knights of the road -- beg, steal eggs which they found in fence corners, break into school houses, make a meal and stay for the night, and move on the next day. The beggars or Knights of the Road got so bad that the farmers had to sit on their front porches with their shot guns to keep them away. They finally decided to get on a barge and go down the Mississippi River. They landed in East St. Louis, where they found work splitting hickory logs for axe handles, etc. This proved a failure as the wood was so hard to split and they were paid piece-meal. They decided to quit this job because of the poor pay and the fact that the boss was very abusive and drunk most of the time. He was always boasting about the two barrels of 15 cent whiskey a gallon he had in his cellar. (This was a very good grade at that time.)At this time the war rumors were going strong and the government called for volunteers. My father and friend came back to Wisconsin , where they were among the first men to enlist. The enlistment was for three months as the slogan was "We'll eat up the South for breakfast". They took their basic training such as it was, at Milwaukee . Before their swearing in, they were given one more chance to back out, but my father was determined to go through with his decision. The army was poorly organized in the beginning, which caused a lot of hardships. Their Commanding officer was Colonel Starkweather, who later became General Starkweather. The army was not equipped with cooking facilities so the meals were catered. Each soldier had to keep his own utensils clean. Many of the boys just took a piece of bread and wiped them out and threw the bread under the table. The officer in charge severely reprimanded the men for this abuse and reminded them that when they get into real action they would be glad to have this bread. Their main gripe was that they wanted better conditions. The training was of short duration, and after six weeks they were ready to move into action. A great sendoff was given in each large city such as Racine , Chicago , Cleveland , etc. When they arrived at Harpers Ferry, they crossed the Potomac River by foot. Here they had their first battle - the Battle of Falling Waters. They lost two men in the skirmish. Due to poor organization, the army ran out of food and supplies. They were told not to drink the water because it was poisoned. Many of the boys went into cornfields and ate corn stalks. How they wished for the bread that they had thrown under the tables in Milwaukee . Finally the food did arrive, but it was partly spoiled and full of worms. My father's friend was a butcher by trade, so the boys went out at night and killed some cattle so they would not starve and have something to eat.My father often recalled that guard duty at night in the South was very spooky due to the night noises from the swamps and low lands. Shortly after the battle of Falling Waters, they were called into the Battle of Bull Run. By the time they got there, they were no longer needed.I might mention that they had a mascot, an American Bald Eagle, who was with the outfit all through the war. He would fly high during the battle and would always come back again when all was quiet. He was hit several times but never seriously. After the war he was cared for at Madison . After he died he was mounted and placed in the Capitol Building , but when the fire destroyed the Capitol, he was burned so badly that now only a few feathers remain.S oon their three month enlistment ended and my father received his discharge. He did not care to re-enlist as he was very sick with malaria. He returned to his former boss, Douglas Fowler, who welcomed him with open arms as laborers had become very scarce. Many of the working men had hired themselves out as substitutes for the army at from $300.00 to $600.00. My father suffered very much from malaria and was unable to work very steady. Mrs. Fowler, a very sympathetic woman, was told by a neighbor lady about a "wonder" prescription that would help my father. He took just one dose of the drug (which was probably quinine) and it made him better. He never again had another attack of malaria. Now he was feeling so much better. He decided to return to Meeme and there he married my mother. I think he knew her from Germany , as her name was Anna Herr - some distant relative to the people he stayed with when he first came to the United States. As the record has it, they were married in a log church which was built in 1863. They were the first couple to be married in that church. The date recorded is February 17, 1863. He bought 80 acres of land which was nearly all woods, a little log house and an old barn for $800.00. He had very little cash, so he had to borrow most of the money. At this time interest rates were 8%. They bought a few household items and set up housekeeping. When they were married, my mother's mother and her sister came to live with them. It was a rough start because everything was so expensive. They bought a few little pigs which ran loose around their place. In fall the family got fat eating beechnuts and acorns. For a whole year they were without milk. They made a drink out of roasted acorns, barley and rye, but it was a poor coffee substitute. They lived mostly on soups and vegetables. They had only a few acres of land cleared where they sowed some rye and what for bread.No w they started to clear the land and chop down the trees. They made big piles and burned the logs. They kept the fire going day and night, which meant getting up during the night, rolling the logs together and stirring the fire. Wood had little value, although some people had horses or oxen would haul the wood to a pier, which was about eight miles away, on the shores of Lake Michigan. This wood was picked up by steamships for firing their engines. The war began to get very serious and all able-bodied men were being drafted, even the ones that had already served their time. My father and a friend tried to evade this draft. They made up their minds to leave home. My father left my mother and the rest of the family and started out for the Northern Woods. In order to avoid being noticed, they would travel by night. They went as far as the lake and then followed the shore line, but that almost became a tragedy. As they were walking along the shore, a sudden storm arose and nearly swept them into the lake. They scrambled up the bank, but were all soaked, which did not feel very good, as it was December and late at night. As luck had it, they saw a light in a little shanty and headed for that. The occupants were some French people and they were very kind to them. They stayed for the night and the next morning they were sent further into the woods where they found work in a lumber camp. My father often told how the drivers of the wagons were so cruel to the animals. In a short time, they had two yoke of oxen worked to death. The drivers would use poles with a spear at the end and poke them until they would bellow. The dead oxen would be hauled into the woods for the wolves to have a feast over. On these nights the wolves would be heard howling all night.De tectives would come into the camp and look for the draft evaders, but the foreman would always cover for my father and tell the detectives that only French Canadian people were working there. It seems that they were not as thorough as they should have been. When spring came, logging ceased and log rolling started. The logs were floated down the river to the various saw mills. This ended their job, so they started for home.On their return home they found only old men and women around. All able bodied men were gone to war. My father felt uneasy the first few days. He decided to put on my mother's clothes and work around the farm. One day when he was repairing a fence, the neighbor saw him and came to talk to him. Naturally he was very embarrassed, so he explained his plight to his neighbor, who promised not to say a word. My father did not feel very much at ease after this incident and so a few days later he left home again. He packed a few clothes in a gunny sack and hit the road with no destination in mind. He just kept walking and when he was near Chicago he heard some shooting. When he inquired as to what it was all about, he was told that Richmond had surrendered. He returned to his home and faced some more hard times as prices went way out of line. My parents worked together and saved and survived it all.Late r I learned that General Starkweather, my father's commanding officer bought land near Fowler Lake , where he operated a stock farm. The lake was named after my father's first boss, Douglas Fowler.
Other Info or Events - Children;
Anton Groh
Son
Jul 1864 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
21 Apr 1917 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Peter Joseph Groh
Son
20 Jan 1866 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
3 Apr 1885 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin
William Willie Cornelius Groh
Son
5 Jan 1868 in Meeme, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States of America
20 Jul 1928 in St. Nazianz, Eaton Township, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Louisa Louise Groh
Daughter
2 Jul 1871 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
3 Oct 1948 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Anna Groh
Daughter
1 Jan 1875 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
28 Apr 1882 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Margaret "Maggie" Groh
Daughter
22 Jan 1877 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
23 Dec 1951 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Andrew Groh
Son
24 Mar 1880 in St Nazianz, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
21 Jun 1942 in St Nazianz, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
Frank Bernard Groh
Son
02 Nov 1882 in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
30 May 1973 in Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, United States of America
Died 25 Apr 1917 St. Nazianz, Manitowoc, Wisconsin Buried St. Fidelis Cemetery, Meeme, Wisconsin, USA Person ID I198490 1FamilyTree Last Modified 19 Oct 2015
Family Herr, Anna, b. 1 Jan 1845, Alzenau, , Bayern, Germany , d. 28 Mar 1893, St. Nazianz, Manitowoc, Wisconsin (Age 48 years) Children + 1. Groh, Frank Bernard, b. 2 Nov 1882, Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA , d. 30 May 1973, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA (Age 90 years)Last Modified 19 Oct 2015 Family ID F68080 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- Peter Groh and The Civil War written by his son Frank Groh
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Event Map 
Born - 30 Apr 1836 - Michelbach, , Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany 
Immigration - on the ship Agnes from Bremen - 11 May 1855 - New York, New York, New York, USA 
1870 Census - 1870 - Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA 1880 Census - 1880 - Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA 1900 Census - 1900 - Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA 
Died - 25 Apr 1917 - St. Nazianz, Manitowoc, Wisconsin 
Buried - - St. Fidelis Cemetery, Meeme, Wisconsin, USA = Link to Google Earth Pin Legend 
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