The Roling story connects family life in Salisbury, Missouri, with earlier records in Quincy, Illinois. The American records provide a starting point for the continuing search in Germany.
The documented American family
John Franklin Roling’s 1947 Missouri death certificate names Bernard Roling as his father and Magdalena Wentz as his mother, and reports that both were born in Germany. This is an important record connecting the Salisbury family with the earlier Quincy household.
Bernard and Magdalena married on January 7, 1855, at St. Boniface in Adams County, Illinois. The diocese’s review of the original register found that neither spouse’s parents were recorded.
The 1900 Quincy census records Bernard and Magdalena under the spelling “Rolling.” Both reported immigration in 1854, and Bernard was marked naturalized. The immigration year is a retrospective report; a passenger vessel has not been identified.
Louisa Roling’s memorial card
A memorial card preserved in the family collection names Louisa Roling and gives her birth as June 17, 1863, and her death as July 15, 1934. A typed family sheet instead gives June 19, 1863, for her birth, while a separate undated family account gives June 1934 for her death. These differences remain unresolved; the dates are retained as each source presents them. The card does not itself establish her maiden name or marriage.
John and Louisa’s marriage
The preserved obituary clipping reports that John F. Roling married Louisa Bickel in Chicago on October 17, 1890. The typed family sheet instead gives a November 1890 marriage in Chicago. The sources disagree, and the date remains unresolved pending an original marriage record.
The possible Ochtrup connection
An 1820 St. Lambertus baptism records a child from the Wester 45 household in Ochtrup who is the leading German candidate for Quincy Bernard. The records describe a household that used Roling as a house or farm name, alongside the birth surname Kuhlmann.
The connection is probable, not proved. The German household and Quincy Bernard are kept distinct while the evidence is checked. The baptism gives May 27, 1820; a Quincy funeral transcription gives May 20. The difference remains visible rather than being silently resolved.
Explore this branch
Bernard Roling and Magdalena Wentz: the American records and the questions about Bernard’s origin.
Wester 45: the Ochtrup household, its names, and the limits of the proposed connection.
J.F. Roling & Son Inc.: the Salisbury business, its people, and memories.
Places in the story
These reference locator maps show places found in this branch’s records and research. They do not identify a family home or establish the route anyone traveled. Boundaries shown are not evidence of historical property ownership.
Quincy, Illinois
Documented American household
The 1900 census places Bernard and Magdalena’s household in Quincy. This locator map gives geographic context; it does not mark their home.
Quincy is highlighted within Adams County, Illinois. Locator-map boundaries are for orientation, not historical property evidence.
Map by DemocraticLuntz at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Image unchanged; displayed at reduced size.
Salisbury, Missouri
Established American family-history setting
Salisbury is the setting for later Roling family history. This locator map shows the town within its county, without identifying a private family home.
Salisbury is highlighted within Chariton County, Missouri. This 2007 locator map is for geographic orientation.
Map by Arkyan · CC BY-SA 3.0. Image unchanged; displayed at reduced size.
Ochtrup, Germany
Candidate connection to Quincy Bernard, not proved
St. Lambertus records document Bernhard and the Wester 45 household in Ochtrup. The proposed connection to Bernard Roling of Quincy remains probable, not proved. This locator map does not locate the historical Wester 45 house.
Ochtrup is highlighted within the Steinfurt district. This locator map does not identify the historical Wester 45 house.
Map by TUBS; file revisions by WiebkeCBo · CC BY-SA 3.0. Image unchanged; displayed at reduced size.
Photographs and documents
People’s stories can be linked to photographs and documents, with names, dates when known, captions, and the source of each item. Uncertain identifications will be labeled clearly.
Newspaper stories
A planned section for newspaper clippings and stories connected to a particular person or family.
Contributors will be asked to identify the person or family, newspaper name, publication date, page number when known, and the source or link.
An upload form is not available yet. Submissions will be reviewed for identification, privacy, and permission to share before publication. An uploaded clipping will not be treated as permission to republish it.
Sources and confidence
Sources and how to read them explains how records, recollections and unresolved questions are presented.
St. Boniface marriage evidence: January 7, 1855 sacramental index and the diocese’s September 17, 2026 report that the original entry names neither spouse’s parents.
Louisa Roling memorial card, photographed copy in the family collection; printed name and life dates. Issuer and publication date not shown.
Typed family sheet headed by Louisa Maria Bickel and John Frank Roling, family binder, first orange sheet; compiler and date not identified on the sheet. This compiled source gives June 19, 1863, and July 15, 1934. It also gives a November 1890 marriage in Chicago.
Obituary clipping headed ‘J. F. Roling Killed Friday Evening by a Wabash Train,’ with its continuation, preserved in the family collection. The continuation reports the Chicago marriage on October 17, 1890. Newspaper name, issue date and page number are not visible in the supplied photographs.
‘J. F. Roling Family,’ separate typed family account, author and date unidentified. Its closing paragraph gives Louisa’s death month as June 1934.
Research questions
Can an American or migration record connect Quincy Bernard explicitly to the Ochtrup household? What explains the different birth days? Can Bernard’s naturalization papers clarify his origin?
Salisbury photographs and business stories can be added as separate, clearly sourced pages without turning family recollections into proved facts.