Immigrant, or son of immigrants, enlisted at the first call for volunteers and would have been present at the first great battle of America's greatest and most tragic conflict.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Jim Price
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Who was Herman Borghardt? His death certificate notes the following: He was a farmer by trade but listed an address of 700 27th St., Milwaukee, when he was admitted to the Milwaukee County Hospital in 1898. He died Oct. 7 that year of interstitial endocarditis, a chronic heart condition. His marital status was: "Widower... ?" He was recorded as 77 years old, although that doesn't exactly compute with his stated year of birth, 1827. He should have been 71 or 72. He was a white, male, Caucasian, parents Gustav and Mary, both born in Germany. No indication as to whether he was born in Germany as well, or here. He was also listed as indigent and buried in the "Milwaukee Co. Farm Cemetery" — and as "a Soldier or Sailor in the service of the …
A Union Army vet who died here as an indigent is somewhere among the burials of the poor near Froedtert. Advocates want to locate him before the hospital digs up remains to allow for a building expansion.
- GOVERNMENT
- Jim Price
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
So far, the whole life of Herman Borghardt is told in but two brief documents, one containing just a paragraph, the other only notations on a single page. The latter is his death certificate. It shows that he had been a farmer, had more recently been living in the City of Milwaukee and may have been a widower. He died an indigent at 77 of a chronic heart condition on Oct. 7, 1898, at Milwaukee County Hospital, and was buried there in the Poor Farm Cemetery. And one other thing: Duly noted by Dr. E.C. Grosskopf, health officer of Wauwatosa Township, Borghardt was a Civil War veteran, enrolled in Company G of the 41st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The other existing document is the official roster of the 41st New York, which …
