William Brockman was born on January 29, 1853 and died on January 9, 1931. He is Walt’s second great uncle.

William was born in Prussia on January 29, 1853, and I have very little information about his life before he came to the United States. According to Georgina, Walt’s mom, He came over in 1867 with an aunt and uncle named Jumpherman. They lived near the fairgrounds in West Point.

The 1870 census shows him working as a farm laborer for the family of Ralph Geeseka. Ralph was also from Prussia, and that may have been how he found the job.

I found an index that shows that his date of naturalization was April 21, 1875. It does not give much detail, but I hope to eventually find the full record. Naturalization records often have a great deal of information.

William Brockman married Mary Kempker on Jun 15, 1880 in West Point, Iowa. He was a carpenter, and built a home for his wife’s sister and brother in law, Teresa and Isadore Link.

The Isadore Link family in front of their home, built by William!

William and Mary had 6 children. In 1926, they moved from West Point to Quincy, Illinois. William died on January 9, 1931 in Quincy. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois.