TECHENBURG, Henry

History of Northern Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical, 1881, p 168

Henry TECKENBURG, merchant, Fountain City [Buffalo County, Wisconsin], was 
born 10 February 1827 in Germany. In 1852 he came to America and settled in 
Davenport [Scott County], Iowa. He stayed in Iowa six months, and in 1853 he 
came to La Crosse [La Crosse County, Wisconsin] and started a general store. 
He only remained a short time, however, when he removed his goods to this 
place [Fountain City], being the first store in Buffalo County. [The easiest 
way for him to have moved his goods would have been to take them via boat up 
the Mississippi a few miles to Fountain City, both it and La Crosse being 
along its east bank. The biography does not clearly define when Mr. 
TECHENBURG migrated from La Crosse, but the closer to January 1853 he 
migrated, the more reasonable it would be that he had the first store in 
Buffalo county, since the county was newly created that month, taking its 
first shape from land formerly belonging to La Crosse County.]

Henry TECKENBURG married Margaret Ruhan, a native of Switzerland. They have 
four children: Emma, Matilda, Albert, and Flora. [The family was enumerated 
in the 1880 census of Fountain City, Buffalo County, Wisconsin: Henry, 
fifty-three, merchant, farmer, and saw miller, born in Oldenburg (by his 
census age about 1827, the same birth year given in the biography) to parents 
also born in Oldenburg [Germany]; his wife, Margaretha, forty-five, born in 
Switzerland, about 1835, to parents both born in Switzerland; and his four 
children, all born in Wisconsin to a father born in Oldenburg and mother born 
in Switzerland, the last three attending school: (1) Emma, seventeen, 
single, store clerk, born about 1863; (2) Mathilda, fifteen, born about 
1865; (3) Albert, eleven, born about 1869; and (4) Flora, seven, born about 
1873. Thus the census and the biography agree on the number and names of the 
children. Bracketed material added by submitter (who is not researching 
these surnames) to support and clarify information given in the biography and 
to raise questions.]

Submitted by Cathy Kubly