Richard Roschman^[1]

1848 - 1930  (81 years)

• Photos

  Richard Roschman Born in 1848 in Germany and immigrated to Canada in 1870. The Roschman and Brother Button Company started in 1878 as Roschman and Bowman, by Richard Roschman and Daniel Bowman. In 1884 Richard's brother Rudolph became part owner and company name changed to Roschman and Brother. The factory was built in 1886 at 25 Regina (previously Queen) Street south. Richard Roschman died in 1930. Changes in the button industry led to the closing of the factory in 1944.

  
  

• Name	Richard Roschman
  Born	26 Mar 1848	Ulm, Baden, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Gender	Male
  Immigration	1870  [2]
  Immigration	1871	, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Naturalization	1874  [2]
  Occupation	1874	Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States   [1]
  	Machinist
  Residence	1874	Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States   [3, 7]
  Business	1886	Roschman Button Factory - 25 Regina St. S., Waterloo, Ontario
  	Roschman Button Factory
  Interesting	business, building, life story
  Occupation	1891	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Button Manufacturer
  Residence	1891	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Swedenborgian
  Occupation	1901	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Button Manufacturer
  Occupation	1911	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Manufacturer, Button Factory
  Residence	825 King St. W., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Residence	1911	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	New Swedenborgian
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-39299
  Died	17 Feb 1930	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I39299	Generations
  Last Modified	9 Sep 2024

  
  

  Father	Augustin Roschman,   b. 21 Jan 1810, Ulm, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany ,   d. 7 Jul 1892, Ulm, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany  (Age 82 years)
  Mother	Juliana Uebele,   b. 8 May 1819, Ulm, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany ,   d. 25 Sep 1868, Ulm, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany  (Age 49 years)
  Married	30 Apr 1838	Ulm, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany   [8]
  Family ID	F33409	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Father	August Rorchmann,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Mother	Julia,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F284754	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Nancy Ahrens,   b. 13 Feb 1853, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 23 Mar 1929, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 76 years)
  Married	31 Dec 1874	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 3, 7]
  Children	1. Samuel Hughes Roschman,   b. 16 Oct 1875, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1959  (Age 83 years)   2. Edith Elizabeth Roschman,   b. 9 Dec 1877, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   3. Isabella Wells Roschman,   b. 29 Jan 1880, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   4. Venita Roschmann,   b. Oct 1880, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Carl Richard "Charles" Roschman,   b. 24 Jan 1886, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   6. Venita Julia Roschman,   b. 21 Oct 1888, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   7. Angelina Nanneta Roschman,   b. 19 Mar 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   8. Frieda Victoria Roschman,   b. 25 Mar 1894, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   9. Freda Victoria Roschmann,   b. 25 Mar 1894, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 10 Apr 1981, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 87 years)
  Last Modified	11 Sep 2024
  Family ID	F10273	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Richard Roschman stowed away on a ship near the end of the Franco-Prussian war to avoid joining the army. Fortunately when the 23-year-old German tool maker announced his presence to the ship's captain, he agreed to let Roschman work for his passage to Canada. When Roschman arrived in Québec on March 23, 1871, the captain told him to head to Berlin, Ontario where he would find many of his countrymen. Berlin supported a thriving button industry at the time with five local factories. Roschman began working at the Vogelsang and Shantz Button Factory, one of the first of its kind in Canada, shortly after settling in the area. After learning the trade, Roschman decided to open the first button business in Waterloo in 1878 with partner Daniel Bowman. When his brother Rudolph arrived, he began working there as well, and by 1884 the Roschman brothers were in business together. The Roschmans were just two of thirteen children born in Ulm, Germany, to a prominent soap manufacturing family. "(Richard Roschman) came to the New World with little capital, but with strong determination and by unfaltering energy and perseverance he has worked his way upward in the business world from a humble financial position to one of affluence." As the business grew, the Roschmans built a new factory in the late 1880s on what is now Regina Street in Uptown Waterloo. The historic factory has been designated a heritage landmark and is being used by the Waterloo Community Arts Centre. It is generally described as "Mennonite Georgian" and is considered to be an excellent example of a late nineteenth-century industrial building. https://www.buttonfactoryarts.ca 2010 ___________________________ RICHARD ROSCHMAN. A fact of which due recognition is not usually accorded in connection with the commercial history of Waterloo and this section of the province is that to no foreign element is its presence due in so large a measure as to those who have had their nativity in or trace their lineage to the great Empire of Germany. Among those who have left the fatherland to identify themselves with Canadian life and institutions, who have pushed their way to the front and who are a credit alike to the land of their birth and that of their adoption is Richard Roschman, now president of the company operating under the name of Richard Roschman & Brothers, button manufacturers at Waterloo. He was born on the 26th of March, 1848, in Ulm, Germany, his parents being August and Julia (Uebele) Roschman, both natives of Germany, where the father engaged in business as a soap manufacturer in the City of Ulm. The son was educated in the public schools of his native town and afterward served an apprenticeship to the tool maker's trade. Subsequently he traveled for a number of years through Europe and gained not only a good living at his trade, but also acquainted himself to a large degree with the old country, the manners, customs and habits of the people. He came to Ontario in September, 1871, when a young man of twenty-four years, settling in Berlin, where he engaged in the manufacture of tools used in the button industry, and in this he has continued to the present time. He has, however, extended the field of his labors and his business interests have grown in volume and importance. In 1878 he began the manufacture of buttons, establishing his plant at Waterloo, where he has since operated with good success. In 1874 Mr. Roschman was married to Miss Nancy Ahrens, a daughter of Charles Ahrens of Berlin, who was the first county treasurer of Waterloo and in business life was a builder and contractor. Mr. and Mrs. Roschman have become the parents of six children: Freda, Evangeline, Venita, Carl, Edith and Samuel. Mr. Roschman belongs to the Church of the New Jerusalem. In politics he is a Conservative and while not a politician in the sense of office seeking he is interested in community affairs to the extent of giving hearty co-operation to many movements for the public good. He is a member of the Board of Trade and served for one year as its president. He was also a member of the Waterloo [should be Berlin-Waterloo] General Hospital board and is interested in those movements and measures that promote humanitarianism. He came to the new world with little capital, but with strong determination and by unfaltering energy and perseverance he has worked his way upward in the business world from a humble financial position to one of affluence. A History of Ontario: its resources and development ____________________ Richard Roschman, Button Works, Queen Street, Waterloo - The manufacture of vegetable buttons is one that employs a large amount of capital, and gives employment to many hands. The nut from which the buttons are made is grown in South America in swampy ground. The plant creeps along the ground for about 20 feet, and then rises perpendicularly to a height of from 12 to 18 feet, with large leaves, and flowers containing a cluster of the nuts. Weighing on an average about 3 lbs to the cluster. The outer shell cracks open and allows the nuts to fall to the ground, when they are gathered by the natives and transported to the ports of shipment. Among those prominently engaged in the manufacture of vegetable buttons is Mr. Richard Roschman, whose works are located on Queen Street, Waterloo, where his premises consist of a handsome brick structure, 3 ½ stories in height and 40x110 feet in dimensions; the engine and boiler house being 26x26 feet in dimensions and two stories in height, the engine being 35-horse power. The manufactory contains all the most improved machinery used in this line of manufacture, consisting of saws, borers, turning lathes, etc. Besides the plain buttons the house also manufactures covered ones. The trade, which is extensive, and which has grown up gradually and steadily, extends throughout the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec and the Lower Provinces. Mr. Roschman has been established in business since 1878, and in September last removed into his present new building, which he erected specially for the business. He gives employment to 75 skilled hands on an average throughout the year. He is a native of Germany, and by patient industry, coupled with enterprise and ability, has built up an excellent trade. Industries of Canada Historical and Commercial Sketches Hamilton and Environs 1886

  
  

• Sources

  [S3002] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, 009782-74. Richard Rorchmann, 26, occ. Machinist, b. Germany, res. Detroit USA, son of August and Julia, Married Nancy Ahrens, 21, b. Canada, res. Berlin, daughter of Carl H. and Elizabeth, Witn: Alfred Ahrens and Clara Wells, both of Berlin, 31 Dec 1874 at Berlin [S137] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1901, Berlin (Town/Ville) A-12 Page 2. [S2] Church Records - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian). Name: Richard Roschman Age: 26 res: Detroit, Mich. Place of Birth: Ulm Wurtenburg Names of Parents: Aug. Roshman & Julia Uebele Bride: Name: Nancy Ahrens Age: 21 res: Berlin, Ont. Place of Birth: Berlin, Ont. Names of Parents: Carl H. Ahrens & Elisab. Gaukel Witness(S): Name: Clara Wills res: Berlin Name: Alfred Ahrens res: Berlin Date of Marriage: Dec. 31, 1874 [S340] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1911, Div. 37 Page 7. [S1592] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1891, Section 1 Page 35. [S2983] Württemberg, Germany, Family Tables, 1550-1985. Name:Richard Roschmann Gender:männlich (Male) Birth Date:26 Mrz 1848 (26 Mar 1848) Residence Place:Ulm, Deutschland (Germany) Father:Augustin Roschmann Mother:Fuliana Roschmann Relationship:Child City or District:Ulm FHL Film Number:1184853 [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 07 Jan 1875. 31 Dec 1874 By Pastor Tuerk in Berlin, Richard Roschmann of Detroit, Michigan was married to Nancy Ahrens of Berlin. [S2811] Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985. Name:Augustin Roschmann Gender:männlich (Male) Marriage Age:28 Event Type:Heirat (Marriage) Birth Date:21. Jan 1810 (21 Jan 1810) Marriage Date:30. Apr 1838 (30 Apr 1838) Marriage Place:Ulm, Württemberg (Baden-Württemberg), Deutschland (Germany) Page number:315;316 Father:Augustin Roschmann Mother:Ursula Roschmann Spouse:Juliana Uebele Gender:weiblich (Female) Marriage Age:18 Event Type:Heirat (Marriage) Birth Date:8. Mai 1819 (8 May 1819) Father:Johannes Uebele Mother:Anna Catharine Uebele Author:Evangelische Kirche. Münstergemeinde Ulm (Donau)

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 26 Mar 1848 - Ulm, Baden, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany Immigration - 1871 - , Ontario, Canada Occupation - Machinist - 1874 - Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States Residence - 1874 - Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States Married - 31 Dec 1874 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Business - Roschman Button Factory - 1886 - Roschman Button Factory - 25 Regina St. S., Waterloo, Ontario Occupation - Button Manufacturer - 1891 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Swedenborgian - 1891 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Button Manufacturer - 1901 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Manufacturer, Button Factory - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - New Swedenborgian - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 17 Feb 1930 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth