FINKELNBURG, Augustus History of Northern Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical, 1881, p 166 Augustus FINKELNBURG, Fountain City [Cross Township (1878 Atlas), Buffalo County, Wisconsin], was born 08 May 1830 in Marienlinden, Prussia, and was educated in the college at Munstereiffel [Munstereifel, in the northern Rhine region of Westphalia]. He came to the United States in 1848. [Wisconsin became a State on 29 May 1848.] He chose surveying and the study of law as a profession, while living in St. Charles [St. Charles County], Missouri. He crossed the plains to California in 1851, followed surveying and mining there, and returned [to what is now the Midwest] on muleback from San Diego [San Diego County] in 1854. He stocked and built the second store opened in Winona [in Winona County, Minnesota, just across the Mississippi River from Buffalo County, Wisconsin] in the spring of 1855; married and settled down; helped to widen Indian trails until they were called roads, to build bridges where slippery logs connected the banks of creeks; camped in Mondovi [Buffalo County, Wisconsin] and Eau Claire [Eau Claire County, Wisconsin], hunting up connections; acted as Clerk at the first sessions of Circuit Court and County Board in the county [Buffalo]; was elected the first County Superintendent of Schools, also District Attorney, County Judge, member of Assembly, State Senator. He raised a family of nine children, and owns as comfortable a home as there is in the [Buffalo] county. [There are several land patents for Augustus FINKELNBURG recorded in Buffalo County, the first of which dates from August 1858.] [Augustus FINKELNBURG is enumerated in the 1880 census of Fountain City, Buffalo County, Wisconsin, as "August FINKELNBURG," age fifty (therefore, from his census age, born about 1830, consistent with the year of birth given in the biography), lawyer, born in Prussia to parents also born there. In a separate household, listed on the same page is "William FINKELNBURG," age twenty-two, also a lawyer, born in Wisconsin to a father (Augustus FINKELNBURG) born in Prussia and a mother born in Missouri. William's wife is the only other member of his household. William is the second child born to Augustus. Augustus is enumerated with seven of his ten children, the total number given in the biography being nine. William's mother, who according to his 1880 census enumeration was born in Missouri, cannot be the mother of the seven children enumerated with the father Augustus, since the birthplace of the seven is given is as Hamburg, Germany. The logical assumption is that both William and the eldest child (Isabelle) are step siblings of the seven.] [The children enumerated with Augustus FINKELNBURG (years of birth calculated from census ages and added by submitter), all of whom were born in Wisconsin, the last five attending school, are: (1) Minnie (Wilhelmina), keeps house, age twenty (two years younger than William, and born on 01 September 1859 in Fountain City, Buffalo County, Wisconsin), who according to her 1880 census age was born about 1860; (2) Emma, at home, age nineteen (who was married on 24 December 1888 in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, to Charles PORTER), who by her 1880 census age was born about 1861; (3) Augusta, age seventeen (born 19 June 1862 in Fountain City, Buffalo, Wisconsin), who by her 1880 census age was born about 1863; (4) Mary, age fifteen, born about 1865; (5) Oscar, the only son enumerated with Augustus, age fourteen (born 10 November 1865 in Fountain City, Buffalo County, Wisconsin, and died 26 August 1920 in Missoula County, Montana), who by his census age was born about 1866; (6) Ida, age ten, born about 1870; and (7) Flora, age seven, born about 1873 One female servant, age eighteen, completes the household. Missing from the enumeration is the eighth child born to Augustus, who was named Olga, born 18 December 1867 in Fountain City, Buffalo, Wisconsin. Olga FINKELNBURG died 19 April 1869 at Fountain City. Assuming the seven enumerated children had the same mother, and that she is deceased, then this mother died between 1872 and the 1880 enumeration.] [The first of the ten children born to Augustus FINKELNBURG was Isabelle, who married Christian TIMM and was enumerated with that family in Jamestown, Stutsman County, Dakota Territory, in 1880: Christian TIMM, age thirty, restaurant keeper, born (about 1850 from his census age) in Germany to parents also born there; his wife Isabella, age twenty-three, born in Wisconsin (about 1857 by her census age) to parents who were both born in Germany; son Oliver, age two, born 05 October 1877 in Arcadia Township, Trempeauleau County, Wisconsin (across the western border of Arcadia Township is Buffalo County); and daughter Emma, age ten months (born 10 August 1879 in Jamestown, Stutsman County, Dakota Territory). Also enumerated the TIMM household in 1880 in Dakota Territory were twenty-four unrelated borders.] [Submitter, who is not researching these surnames, did not explore the possibility that there may be FINKELNBURG related to this family who adopted a shortened version of the surname, namely "FINK." There were FINK with Prussian and German roots living in Buffalo County in 1880: the John and Eliza FINK family, and the James and Ernestina FINK family, both residing in Waumandee Township, and the Anton and Margareth FINK family living in Lincoln Township. Submitter, who is not researching these surnames, has added bracketed material to support and clarify information given in the biography and to raise questions.] Submitted by Cathy Kubly