Bio: Kaltenborn, Rudolph V. (Commemorative Bio - 1895)

Poster: Crystal Wendt

Rudolph V. Kaltenborn

Rudolph V. Kaltenborn. Among the citizens of Merrill, Lincoln County, are to be found several of German birth, who have brought to this fair and fruitful New World the principles of industry and thrift of the Old World, and prominent among them is found the gentleman whose name is here recorded.

Mr. Kaltenborn is a native of Hessia, Germany, born July 21, 1841, and is a son of George van Kaltenborn, who was born in the city of Magdeburg, Prussia, in 1806. The grandfather, Frederick von Kaltenborn, was an officer in the German Army and by his marriage with Miss A. von Butlar became the father of nine sons, all of whom were officers in the Germany Army, five being killed on the battlefield. The grandfather rose to the rank of colonel, but at the time of his death, in 1812, was living retired; his wife died in 1843. The Kaltenborn family can trance its origin back to 1250, and among its members were many noted military men.

The father of our subject, who attainted the rank of general, married Augusta von Baumbauch, and to them were born five children: Mary, now the wife of Albert Koeppen, one of the professors in the college at Strasburg, Germany; Rudolph V., our subject; Bertha, now Mrs. Ernest von Baumbauch, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Louis, who is a lieutenant-colonel in the Germany Army; and Ernest, who was a circuit judge, and died in 1878; his wife passed away some twelve years later, dying in 1890.

In a military academy in the Fatherland the education of Rudolph V. Kaltenborn was received, and on leaving school at the age of seventeen, he was made an officer in the Hessian Army, receiving the rank of lieutenant. He served through the war of 1866 and then being granted a five-year’ leave of absence, he came to America, locating in Milwaukee, Wis., where he taught school for a time, and also engaged as clerk in a bank. In 1870, when the war broke out between Germany and France, he returned to his regiment with which he served until the close of that struggle, during which period he was made captain. On leaving the service he gain came to the New World, and took up his residence in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1871. He there remained until 1891, first serving as bookkeeper and afterward as secretary of the Baumach Co. in the latter year he located in Merrill, and stated his present business, dealing in paints, oils, glass, lime, cement, etc., in which he has been very successful, and is now conducting a lucrative business.

In June, 1872, in Milwaukee, Wis., Mr. Kaltenborn was married to Betty Wessels, who was born in Germany in 1840; her parents never came to this country. She died in 1878, leaving two children, Bertha and Hans. Our subject was again married, in 1880, this time to Clotilda von Baumbach, by who he has three children, Walter, Ernest and Helen. Mrs. Kaltenborn was born in Black River, Ohio, in 1852, and is a daughter of Louis von Baumbach and Mrs. Minnie von Baumbach, nee Schenk von Schweireberg. Her father, who was born in Germany in 1798, served as a soldier in that country, and in 1814, fought again Napoleon; he afterward retired from the army and lived on his estate. He was a man of wealth and became connected with the civil government of his native land, holding a position similar to that of Speaker of the House in this country. During the trouble of 1848 he became disgusted, and coming to America, in 1850, made his first location on a farm until Ohio, where he remained some three years, and then removed to Milwaukee, where his death occurred in 1885; his wife died in 1879. Their family consisted of six children—five sons and one daughter.

Socially Mr. Kaltenborn is identified with the Knights of Pythias, and in religious faith both he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church. In politics he affiliates with the Democratic Party, always casting his vote in support of its principles. Although he has not long made Merrill his home, he has already won many warm friends, and in both business and social circles holes an enviable position.

---Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the Upper Wisconsin Counties of Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Langlade and Shawano. publ. 1895 by J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago 1110 pages, illustrated; Page 324-325