Elizabeth Nickles was born on August 15, 1838 in Canton Berne, Switzerland. It is said she came to the United States at the age of 14 where she eventually settled in Dubuque, Iowa. Her parents were Benedict Nickles/Nichols and Mary Ann Freiden/Nickles.

Adam Roschi was born on August 3, 1830 in Rheine-Plax, Bavaria and emigrated to the United States in 1845. He settled in Pennsylvania for 8 years before moving to Dubuque in 1853. While in Dubuque he met Elizabeth and they were married in 1855. While in Dubuque he established himself as a manufacturer of boots and shoes. At some point he relocated to the Burton, Wisconsin area where he engaged in farming.

Adam and Elizabeth lived in a log cabin. The log cabin in which eight of their ten children (See family fact sheet) were born consisted of one large room on the ground level and a big room in the loft, reached by a narrow ladder. A trundle bed was used for the baby of the family and was always at the foot of Adam and Elizabeth Roschi's bed. The older children slept in the loft. In the winter the children would lie in their beds and watch as snow came through cracks in the cabin roof. In the mornings their beds were often covered with snow and ice.

Corn, wheat and oats were raised on the farm. Flour was made from wheat and taken to a mill at Cassville, Wisconsin. There later were fruit trees, wild berry bushes, a grape arbor, and always a big garden to provide food for the family. A root cellar was under the cabin. In addition to apples being stored there, potatoes, turnips and other root vegetables were put in sand in the cellar and used in the winter. To store cabbage it was pulled up by the roots, put in a hole in the ground and covered with straw, and then dug up when needed. To keep eggs during the winter they were put in a large stone jar and covered with "liquid glass" to keep them sealed airtight.

There was always a barrel of wine for use in the winter which was made from grapes grown on the farm. Adam Sr. would go to the cellar and bring it up by the pitcher full. The children were permitted to drink wine. They had pies and homemade bread but never cake. Elizabeth made buckwheat pancakes for breakfast. She used her yeast starter and always made the pancake batter in a water bucket the night before. A big event for the children was going to town with their father. It was 1 mile to Burton by wagon.

Eggs from the farm were sold for 5 cents a dozen and the money was used to buy staples such as salt, sugar, tea or coffee. When crackers were bought it was by the barrel. Often the family only tea and crackers for lunch. For a special treat Adam Sr. would buy a ring of bologna. The children would eat it on the way home. It was such a treat that the children hated to swallow it. Another treat was sweetened paraffin wax to chew as gum.

Elizabeth spent evenings knitting or sewing every night by lamplight after supper. She made all the clothing and knitted all the socks, mittens, and sweaters. Each child had a new pair of knitted stockings each year. The girls had about two dresses to wear. At Christmas each of the children received a small gift and sometimes an orange. Adam was a shoemaker and he made all the shoes. Wooden pegs were used in making the shoes. He made one pair for each child and they had to last for the year regardless of how much their feet grew. The children went barefoot as much as they could, as often their shoes did not fit.

Adam made molasses sorghum on the shares for other farm neighbors. Horse drawn power crushed the cane stalks and the juice was put in large containers. Then the juice was cooked and a green scum would come to the top and had to be removed by big strainers. When the juice thickened and became clear and brown it was ready to store. It was used in cooking or as a sweet spread on bread. Adam would make two batches of sorghum a day. Elizabeth made their soap from grease rendured from the pork fat when they were butchered. The children had to wear "asafetida" on a cord around their neck in the winter. It had a terrible smell. In the spring the children were given herb tonic.

Indians used to ride past or walk through the farm. Anna, the oldest child, who had married and lived not far from Adam and Elizabeth, often took the Indians into her home and shared with them what food she had. Wild animals and game birds were seen a lot.

All of the children went to a one-room country school near Burton. Most of them went through all eight grades. When you completed eighth grade you were ready to teach. Reading, writing, history, geography, grammar and arithmetic were subjects taught. School was taught all year around. Older boys would work on the farms in the spring and fall. The Roschi children had to walk about a fourth to half mile from the farm home to school and walked on a path through the fields and woods. They did not have much to carry in their lunch buckets. Most often a sorghum sandwich. The teacher usually boarded and roomed with one of the farm families. In the winter the boys would throw snowballs while the girls were in the toilet and keep them inside all during recess until the bell rang that recess was over. Ella, one of the Roschi children, told about a male teacher they had who punished an older boy so harshly that it scared all the other students. All of the students crawled out the windows and ran home because they were afraid of the teacher.

Elizabeth Nichols/Roschi was a hard worker and worked with the men in the fields up until the time for each child to be born. She was a kind, loving and warm person. Often she was called to care for sick neighbors and friends and was always called to assist for the birth of a new baby. In mid-winter of January, 1888, she was called to the home of her brother John to assist in the care of his wife, Mary, who was very ill. Elizabeth walked across the fields in deep snow and her clothes became very wet. Later she came down with a cold and heavy chills and pneumonia.

She died January 25, 1888 at the age of 51. During those days there was no embalming when people died. It was the custom for neighbor women to come into the home where there was a death to wash and clothe the deceased and prepare for a quick burial. And so it was that Elizabeth's neighbors cared and prepared her for burial. Ella was 11 years old when her mother died and William, the youngest child, was 9. The tragedy that had left this family without a mother was especially hard on these two youngest children. Ella remembered watching with the other children from the windows in the loft of the cabin as the rustic coffin was placed on a bobsled to be taken to the Advent Cemetery for burial. The children were heartbroken and Ella said Will cried and cried. Will was still sleeping in the trundle bed at the foot of the bed by Elizabeth and Adam. Bedtime was a sad and lonely time for them all.

At the time of Elizabeth's death Adam Sr. had begun to plan to build a new stone house. But after she died, when spring came, he added more logs on top of the cabin, raised the height of the roof and divided the loft room into two separate rooms.

Adam Sr. wanted the family together after Elizabeth's death, so he asked his sister-in-law, Mary Nickles Beyer, to keep house for him and look after the children. Mary's first husband had died and she eventually remarried but was granted a divorce from her second husband in 1883. She was living alone in Dubuque at the time of Elizabeth's death. Mary was a fussy, particular woman and extremely frugal. She often would not give the children enough to eat. The children did not like her and finally Adam Sr. made her leave.

Adams life after Elizabeth seemed to die in 1888. Adam Sr. and the children managed by themselves for the next few years. As the children grew older, left home and married, Adam was living alone. At this time he took his own son Adam Jr, and his new wife Laura, in to live with him and care for him. However, they couldn't get along. They even locked up food so Adam Sr. couldn't get it. When Adam Jr. and his wife Laura came to live with Adam Sr., Ella Roschi left the farm home and went to Dubuque. She was 18 years old at the time and the year was 1894. Finally Adam Jr. and Laura left the old cabin, Adam Sr. left the farm home of 40 years and also went back to Dubuque. He lived the remainder of his life with Ida Roschi/Schilling, his daughter at 130 Angella Street in Dubuque.

Adam died Feb 13, 1902 at the age of 72 years. He was buried next to Elizabeth in the Advent Cemetery. Adam was a member of the German Methodist-Episcopal church. He was a good citizen known for his probity and upright character. He had a charitable nature and always gave a helping hand to those in distress. His life was a useful and honorable one.

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