MARTIN AND MARYANNA ROHDE FAMILY SKETCH

Martin and Maryanna (Melnick) Rohde immigrated to America in May of 1867 
from Prussia. They entered through the Detroit Michigan Port of Entry 
according to the Declaration Of Intent List of Manitowoc County. Exactly 
where Martin and Maryanna lived in Prussia or their Port of Emigration is 
not known at this time. It is being researched.
Manitowoc City directories indicate they lived at two different addresses 
before 1884. Martin on the 1870 Census, Skill category was listed as a 
Laborer and the 1880 Census listed him as a Blacksmith. But in the 1875 
the City Directory listed Martin as a Blacksmith employed with the E. J. 
Smalley a hardware and farm machinery manufacturing company. They were 
located at North 6th and York Streets. Blacksmiths were very important 
to the Manitowoc area at this time.
This profession was critical to the development and progress of Manitowoc 
area. Farming, manufacturing, shipbuilding, logging, and transportation 
industries all required forged steel and iron shapes of the blacksmith. 
The blacksmith’s importance is recorded in a large photograph in the south 
entrance to the County Court House building.
Martin preferred to communicate in German. I could understand that Martin 
speaking and writing English was probably minimal. Case in point, when he 
would say his name to someone who had to write it for him, they would have 
trouble with the spelling due to the accent and he could not recognize that 
they misspelled his name. So his name is found spelled several different 
ways, such as Rode, Roda, Rohda and Rhode. Language and a growing family 
did not hamper Martin bettering things for him and his family. 
Started in Manitowoc in 1867 with a wife, daughter and a baby on the way, 
hard work and managing opportunities he purchased property in Northeim 
(in German, Nordheim) a small village seven miles south of Manitowoc in 
1884. Their family was complete after the eleventh child. Not unusual to 
have a large family at this time and it was six boys and five girls. In 
order their names are Mathilda, Apolonia, Maria, John, Martin Jr., Julia, 
Helen, Edward, Anton, Frank and Thomas.
The village of Northeim story is best told in an article THE HISTORY OF 
NORTHEIM Town of Newton, Manitowoc County by Edward Ehlert. Mr. Ehlert 
wrote his piece for the Manitowoc County Historical Society NEWSLETTER 
in 1973. Also Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Genealogy has a similar version 
that can be read on their web site under “Towns and Village Histories and 
Maps”. Both use the same source, the “Souvenir Book of the Diamond Jubilee 
of St. Casmir Congregation at Northeim (Newton) Wisconsin 1868 – 1943”. The 
author was Rev. Fr. Anthony Betly. Martin’s name is mentioned in the above 
articles.
Martin Rohde family was written about in the “Centennial Edition of Manitowoc 
Herald Times” dated Tuesday, July 15, 1954. Titled “Rohde’s Dairy Was Started 
in Newton in 1884”. More recent a reprint was in the Manitowoc County Historical 
Society Newsletter Vol. 14, No. 4 dated September 1980. The article is inserted 
on the next page.
This Martin Rohde Family Sketch is submitted by Thomas W. Rohde, grandson 
of Anton. I am encouraging any Martin Rohde descendants who is interested 
to add, correct and at the very least link any appropriate independent 
Rohde family history work to this one. If you wish to contact me my email 
address can be found at Manitowoc County Wisconsin Genealogy 
( web; www.2manitowoc.com ) under ‘contributors and surname list’.

                       


Rohde’s Dairy at Newton. It was started by Martin Rohde in 1884. Six of his 
sons in turn followed in his footsteps.

Rohde's Dairy Was Started in Newton in 1884

In the spring of 1884, a young blacksmith named Martin Rohde moved his young 
family seven miles south of Manitowoc to the village of Northeim. This small 
village on the Lake Michigan shore had once been an active logging center and 
was commonly referred to as the seven-mile pier. But now the land was cleared 
and settled, and small dairy farms had spread across the countryside.
The property young Martin had acquired consisted of a blacksmith shop and a 
cheese factory. It was a happy purchase for him because it allowed him to carry 
on the trade he loved and gave his children employment and a possible future 
in a new field of business. This curious introduction of working with milk by 
this family group of boys and girls was the beginning of a business which, 
carried on to another generation, gave birth to what is now known as Rohde's 
Dairy.

6 Sons Cheesemakers

Cheesemaking must have appealed to the Rohdes, for all six sons spent all or 
most of their lives in this type of work. John, Martin Jr., Anton. and Thomas 
worked in factories of their own. Frank became associated with Kraft Foods. 
Edward remained at home. He bought the family property from his father, 
developed it, learned new methods of processing, and became known as a maker 
of fine American-style cheese. He expanded the business (known as the Lake 
Shore Creamery) to the making of butter, selling his product in Manitowoc, 
Two Rivers, and Sheboygan. In 1942, having served 44 years in his profession, 
Edward closed his factory.
His retirement was a brief one. Four years later he was establishing his son, 
Ralph, in a new dairy business - the bottling of fresh milk. It was a new 
facet of the milk industry but one which Ralph, prepared by years of experience 
and special training, entered with hopeful anticipation. Today, the dairy calls 
for the services of seven men and accommodates countless customers through home 
deliveries and neighborhood stores in Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Cleveland and 
Newton.
Changes Are Detailed
We live in an age of great development. New techniques and methods enrich our 
lives each day. The dairy industry has not been free from this influence. Indeed, 
the past 10 years have brought about more changes to the industry than was ever 
anticipated in any other past period. There has been the almost complete 
change-over to stainless steel construction of plant equipment, expediting 
methods of processing and improving sanitation; there has been the state-wide 
coding of Grade A regulations, surveying the proper handling of milk from the 
producer's stable to the customer's door; there has been the introduction of 
the T-square bottle and the paper carton, offering added ease in handling and 
providing more refrigeration space.
Entering the fluid dairy scene when they did, Rohde's Dairy is proud to be a 
part of this important industry, for the progress the industry has made, and 
for its own personal share in contributing new things to its customers. It was 
Rohde's Dairy that introduced the oblong half-gallon bottle, a radically new 
change in bottle design; the Sealright Sanitary Closure; and a product called 
Trim, the first important contribution in diet milk. 
    
Reprinted from the Centennial Edition of Manitowoc Herald- Times, dated Tuesday, 
July 15, 1954



MARTIN ROHDE FAMILY
(Circa 1900)

L to R front row: Apolonia (Pauline); Maryanna (mother); Martin (father) and 
                  Matilda (Tillie)
L to R middle row: Thomas and Frank
L to R back row: Maria (Minnie); Anton; John; Helen (Lanie); Martin; Edward 
                 and Julia


Martin and Maryanna Rohde Children and Spouses

1 Martin Rohde 1840 – 1914
         +Maryanna Melnick 1845 – 1933
             2 Mathilda “Tillie” Rohde 1868 – 1939
                  + Henry Kasten 1863 – 1939
             2 Apolonia “Paulina” Rohde 1869 – 1946	
			+ Michael Boniface Jagodensky 1857 – 1952
             2 Maria “Minnie” Rohde  1870 –
			+ Charles Glomski 1866
             2 John J. Rohde 1872 – 1935
			+ Agnes Tomczyk 1877 – 1948
             2 Martin Rohde Jr. 1875 – 1948
			+ Anna Piszazek 1880 – 1943
             2 Julia Rohde 1878 – 1955
			+ Ignatz Bonk 1867 – 1933
		2 Helen “Lanie” Rohde 1880 – 1978
			+ Nick Kuffel 1878 – 1950
		2 Edward Rohde 1882 – 1965
			+ Anna Sievert 1881 – 1965
		2 Anton Rohde 1885 – 1912
			+ Anna Agnes Matysik 1889 – 1950
		2 Frank J. Rohde 1888 – 1972
			+Mary Elizabeth Richdorf - 1977
		2 Thomas Rohde 1891 – 1951
                  + Mable Pinter 1897 – 1955

Martin, Maryanna, decendants and spouses final resting places are as follows: 
Frank and Mary Rohde Calvary Cemetery, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Mathilda and 
Henry Kasten; Apolonia and Michael Jagodensky; John and Agnes Rohde; Julia 
and Ignatz Bonk are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Martin 
and Maryanna; Maria and Charles Glomski; Martin and Anna Rohde; Helen and 
Nick Kuffel; Edward and Anna Rohde; Anton Rohde; Thomas and Mable Rohde are 
buried in St. Casmir Cemetery, Newton Northeim, Wisconsin.  
– (Anna – (nee Matysik) – Rohde-Bona is buried in Resurrection Cemetery, 
Justice, Illinois

CLOSING OF THE MARTIN AND MARYANNA ROHDE FAMILY  SKETCH   

It was a great journey learning about my Rohde family. My grand-father Anton 
passed away very young at the age of 27 after having two children in Manitowoc 
County, leaving Anna with Sylvan 2 and Irene 1. Later Anna got remarried to 
Adam Bona from Chicago. Mr. Bona took his new family back to Illinois. Irene 
became seriously ill and passed at the age of 17. Sylvan, my father, married 
Helen Wojciehowski in 1936. I was born in 1938. Sylvan died in a drowning 
accident in 1942. My mother four years later remarried which made me more 
distant from the Rohde family
Through Anton, Sylvan, me and my daughter Michelle, Martin and Maryanna have 
two great-great-great-granddaughters who live in Germany and share 
American/German citizenship. In four generations the Martin Rohde family has 
return to Germany. 
On a couple occasions I met with Helen (Rohde) Kuffel. I remember being at her 
farm. Met with her much later at her grand-daughters house, she was already in 
nineties. Most recently I have met with or spoken to some of the Rohde family 
members to gather family tree information. 
At this time I would like to acknowledge those family members that helped. 
Bonnie Wilson (Helen’s grand-daughter), Esther Gross and Ruth Franz (Julia’s 
grand-daughters) the late Walter Jagodensky and Mary Delgado (Apolonia’s son 
and grand-daughter) and the late Robert Rohde (Frank’s son). 
Also visited Manitowoc County Public records, Manitowoc Historical Society, 
Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Genealogy and Internet to collect as much related 
information I could find. More over I wanted to get the feel of how things 
were in Manitowoc in Martin’s time there. There are records, such as letters, 
books, newspapers and photographs that paint a clear picture for us to see of 
that time. As well as the verbal family stories passed down.



ANTON AND ANNA (MATYSIK) ROHDE FAMILY SKETCH
 
Anton Rohde was born June 12, 1885 to Martin and Maryanna Melnik Rohde of 
Nordheim in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. He was the nineth child of a family 
of eleven: five older sisters, Mathilda, Apolonia, Maria, Julia and Helen, 
three older brothers John, Martin Jr. and Edward and two younger brothers, 
Frank and Thomas.
The family lived on the property where Anton’s father Martin, who was a 
blacksmith, had his shop, a Creamery and a home. The boys learned to be 
Cheese Makers and, in time, set out on their own. Only Edward stayed on 
and eventually purchased the family property and business from his father. 
Please see MARTIN AND MARYANNA ROHDE FAMILY SKETCH for more details.
Anton worked as a Cheese Maker where he lived in Timothy, WI. Records show 
he was member of The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association in 1905.
Anton married Anna Agnes Matysik on February 10, 1909. Anna Matysik was born 
on January 21, 1889 to Joseph and Julia Glomski Matysik of Manitowoc County, 
Wisconsin.

  

Anton and Anna (Matysik) Rohde


Anton and Anna had their first child Sylvan Anthony on March 5, 1910 and the 
following year their second child Irene Anna on December 18, 1911.

  

Mother Anna, Sylvan and Irene




Sylvan and Irene Rohde


Within the following six months, Anton became ill with tuberculosis and 
died June 16, 1912. With his sudden death, Anna was forced to find a way to 
support herself and her young children. The obvious need in the area was for 
Cheese Makers. So she went to cheese making class and got her certification. 
For a short time she worked as a cheese maker in Manitowoc County before 
moving to Schnappsville, Marathon County, Wisconsin and opening her own 
cheese factory there. All this was accomplished with help from her extended 
family. Anna’s sister Elizabeth was married to Joseph Bonin. The Bonins were 
dairy farmers in Schnappsville, Marathon County. In fact, the name 
Schnappsville was given to the crossroads community by the Bonin and Matysik 
families. The Matysiks had a tavern on one corner and Anna Rohde had her 
cheese factory on the opposite corner. The rest was farmland for as far as 
the eye could see. Not much has changed in a 100 years except the roads were 
paved in 2007.
Anna worked hard, as did most people of that time, to make a living for her 
family. Change came to Anna and her children when an old friend from Chicago 
came looking for work and to help her with the cheese making business. His 
name was Adam Bona. The old friendship blossomed and they married on 
February 7, 1917. Their first child, Dorothy Catherine, was born December 17, 
1917. Not too long after that, they sold the business and moved to Chicago 
where Adam had better employment opportunities. Adam and Anna had four more 
children born in Illinois.



Adam and Anna (Rohde) Bona


Anna died April 5, 1952 after a long illness. Anna’s first two children died 
before her. Irene Anna Rohde on May 30, 1927, of Spinal Meningitis and son 
Sylvan Anthony Rohde died on July 8, 1942, in a drowning accident on Scovil 
Lake, Minog, Wisconsin.

BONA FUNERAL RITES MONDAY 
BODY OF DROWNING VICTIM REACHES CALUMET CITY
The body of Sylvan Rohde Bona, 32, step-son of  Adam Bona, superintendent of 
Holy Cross Cemetery in Calumet City and nephew of Bishop Stanislaus Bona, 
Grand Island, Neb., who was drowned on Wednesday at Minong, Wis., arrived in 
Calumet City today and will lie at the Czechanski Funeral Home until funeral 
service are held Monday.
While Bona’s wife, the former Helen Wojciechowski of Calumet City, and their 
child, Thomas, 3, look on, a fishing boat bearing the victim and his uncle, 
Dr. Casmir Bona, Chicago dentist, capsized in a private lake. Bona helped the 
dentist reach the overtured boat and was pulled under the surface when his 
hip boots became filled with water.
The deceased, a combustion engineer, had moved from Calumet City to 2327 South 
Albany Avenue, Chicago.
Bona is survived by his wife; child; step-parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Bona; 
three sisters, Dorothy, Helen and Anna Mae Bona; two brothers, Adam Bona Jr. 
and Richard Bona, and his grandmother, Mrs. Joseph Matysik, Msgr. Thomas Bona, 
Chicago, Also was an uncle of the deceased.
Bishop Bona is expected here to conduct the final Rites, which were being 
arranged today.

This obituary is from the Hammond Times, Hammond, Indiana. Submitted by Sylvin’s 
son Tom Rohde. Please note that Sylvin was born in Newton, Wis. The day he died 
was on July 8, 1942 and he was buried at Resurrection Cemetery, Justice, Ill. 
Refer to Anton Rohde Family Sketch at this site.
*************
We would like to notify all the family and friends that sadly our beloved 
daughter and sister…… 
R. I. P.  Irena Rohde (Bona) died after a short, terminal illness, after receiving 
the Last Rites, on May 30, 1929, at 7 a.m., at the age of 17.
The funeral arrangements will be held on Monday, June 3, at 9:30 a.m., at the 
funeral home at Michigan City Road and Burley Ave., Calumet City, Ill., and then 
at St. Andrew’s Church, and the Resurrection Cemetery.
We invite the family and friends to be part of this sad ceremony.
Deeply saddened: Adam and Anna, parents; Sylvin, Dorothy, Richard, Helen and Adam, 
brothers and sisters, along with all the family. 
The funeral undertaker is Joseph S. Czechanski, 220-155th Street, Calumet City, Ill.
 
IRENA ROHDE OBITUARY FROM CHICAGO POLISH NEWSPAPER
Submitted by nephew Tom Rohde, (please note that she was born in Newton, Wis. Her 
stepfather is Adam Bona. Refer to Anton Rohde Family Sketch on this site)



This Martin and Maryanna Rohde Family Sketch was submitted by Anton’s grandson 
Tom Rohde. I am encouraging any Martin Rohde descendent who is interested to 
add, correct or link any appropriate independent Rohde family history work to 
this one.
 
If you wish to contact me, my e-mail address can be found at Manitowoc County 
Wisconsin Genealogy, under Contributors and Surnames List, web address is 
www.2manitowoc.com/  or by phone call 630-329-5445 and leave contact information.