I have not done much research on this line. It is possible that we will eventually connect to the emigrant Erasmus Rosenberger, but I have not so far made that connection. Our first (and so far only) Rosenberger is John who was born in Pennsylvania in 1781. I know he was in Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1833 as he signed the consent for his daughter Susan's marriage to Adam Price. John moved to Cass County, Illinois, in 1836(1)where he died March 30, 1854, and is buried in Robinson cemetery, Virginia township, Cass county. John was a farmer and bought land in Philadelphia and Virginia townships in that county in 1837 and 1839. Census records indicate he and his wife were of German parentage.

John Rosenberger married Elizabeth Koontz/Kuntz in Shenandoah County, Virginia, on September 19, 1808 (2). Elizabeth was born April 16, 1791, in Virginia to Jacob Koontz and Barbara Beaver. She died January 16, 1875, in Cass County, Illinois, and is also buried at Robinson cemetery in Virginia township. In 1869 she was living near the town of Princeton (now extinct) which was in Virginia township.

John and Elizabeth Rosenberger were the parents of thirteen children:

1.1 Phebe A. (1809-1882) was born January 1809 in Virginia and died after 1882. She married Levi Conover in Morgan County, Illinois, on February 3, 1841. Levi was born January 14, 1808, in Kentucky and came to Illinois in 1832. Levi had previously been married to Elizabeth Petefish the daughter of Jacob Petefish and Elizabeth Price. Levi Conover biographical sketch.

Phebe and Levi Conover had six children:

1.1.1 Mary T. (1842-) was born in Illinois.

1.1.2 Martha A. (1843-) was born in Illinois.

1.1.3 Matilda (1844-) was born in Illinois.

1.1.4 George (1846-1882) was born September 11, 1846, near Princeton, Cass County, Illinois.He attended Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Illinois) and Bryant & Stratten's Business college (Chicago). He farmer, bookkeeper, cashier, and banker. On February 23, 1871, he married Virginia Bone. He died after 1882. George and Virginia Conover had two sons.

1.1.5 Charles W. (1848-1882) was born April 1, 1848, near Princeton, Cass County, Illinois. He was a farmer. On April 1, 1875, he married Louise J. Dever in Morgan County, Illinois. He died after 1882. Charles and Louise Conover were the parents of three children.

1.1.6 Ellen (-1882) married William Epler on July 5, 1870. He was a grain dealer and shipper, sheriff, and civil engineer. She died after 1882. Ellen and William Epler had two children. William is part of the Epler family biographical sketch.

1.2 Matilda (1810-1854) was born November 10, 1810, and died before 1854. She married a man named White.

1.3 Susan (1813-1880) married Adam Clark Price.

1.4 Malinda Ann (1815-1850) was born January 27, 1815, in Shenandoah County, Virginia. She died November 23, 1850, and is buried in Robinson cemetery, Cass County, Illinois. She married Zirkle D. Robinson on July 1, 1834, in Rockingham County, Virginia (2). Zirkle was born March 10, 1810, in New Market, Virginia. He was a tailor and had a shop in Princeton, Illinois in 1835. In 1849 he heard the siren call of the gold strike and set out for California with his brother Joseph Robinson and his brother-in-law Wesley Rosenberger. After Malinda's death Zirkle married Catherine Haines on December 13, 1855, in Cass County, Illinois. He died July 12, 1867, at the home of his daughter Lucinda and is buried at St. Matthew's Lutheran cemetery in New Market, Virginia (3).

Zirkle and Malinda Robinson had six children: Lucinda, John, Addison, and Daniel were mentioned in Lucinda Rice's 1914 copy of Zirkle's diary.

1.4.1 Edward N. (1838-1841) was born February 3, 1838 and died January 6, 1841. He is buried at Robinson cemetery in Cass County, Illinois.

1.4.2 Oliver P. (1840-) was born February 12, 1840, and died on March 18. The year is not known but it was before his mother's death in 1850.

1.4.3 Lucinda E.married Dr. Frances Eugene Rice and lived in New Market, Virginia. Her father spent his last years with her. Lucinda and Frances Rice had one child.

1.4.4 John

1.4.5 Addison

1.4.6 Daniel

1.5 Elizabeth D. (1817-1901) was born April 28, 1817, in Virginia. She died February 9, 1901, and is buried in Robinson cemetery, Cass County, Illinois. She married Thomas P. Deal on September 14, 1848, in Cass County. On March 28 of the next year her husband joined Zirkle Robinson on his trip to the California gold fields. He would have known she was expecting their first child when he departed. Since Thomas Deal sent gold dust back with Zirkle, he obviously did not return until after August of 1850. That explains why Elizabeth was listed in the 1850 census as living with her parents. It may also explain why their oldest child was named Francisco. Thomas Deal was born in 1811 and died in 1867. He is buried at Robinson cemetery, Cass County, Illinois. On November 16, 1871, Elizabeth married Jacob Bergen as his second wife. Jacob was born in New Jersey in 1802. He and his first wife, Eliza Jane, had three sons. He was a merchant. He died December 23, 1886, and is buried in Montgomery cemetery in Cass County, Illinois.

Elizabeth and Thomas Deal had two children:

1.5.1 Francisco (1849-1855) was born August 10, 1849, in Illinois and died February 19, 1855. He is buried at Robinson cemetery, Cass County, Illinois.

1.5.2 UNNAMED (1856) This daughter is buried at Robinson cemetery with only the date 1856.

1.6 Barbara Ellen (1819-1859) was born May 11, 1819, in Virginia, and died December 1, 1859, in Princeton, Cass County, Illinois. She is buried at Robinson cemetery in Cass County. On December 24, 1851, she married Perrin Fay in Cass County, Illinois. Perrin was born in New York in 1814. He was a teacher and a peddler. He arrived in Illinois in 1848 and left for "the West" in 1851. He wasn't heard of again to my knowledge.

Barbara and Perrin Fay had two children:

1.6.1 Alonzo S. (1852-) was born in October 1852 in Virginia, Cass County, Illinois. He farmed for awhile and then he studied at the Asbury Institute of Indiana. He later became a lawyer. Alonzo's biographical sketch.

1.6.2 Luella (1854-1881) was born in 1854 and died in June or July 1881. She is buried at Robinson cemetery, Cass County, Illinoois.

1.7 Wesley Allen (1821-1850) was born December 6, 1821, in Shenandoah County, Virginia. He went to the gold fields of California in 1849, became ill, and died when he reached Illinois. He died Aug 16, 1850, in Beardstown, Illinois. He is buried in Robinson cemetery in Cass County, Illinois.

1.8 Presley Addison (1825-1905) was born February 27, 1825, in Rockingham County, Virginia, and died April 9, 1905. He graduated from St. Louis Medical College in March 1859 and practiced medicine. He married Mary Ann York on September 4, 1849, in Scott County, Illinois. Mary Ann was born in 1827 and died between 1859 and 1864. Presley and Mary Ann Rosenberger had two sons. On April 7, 1864, Presley married as his second wife Cynthia Elizabeth Dexter. They married in Christian County, Illinois.

Presley and Mary Ann Rosenberger had the following children:

1.8.1 John Henry (1852-) born in Illinois.

1.8.2 William (1859-) born in Illinois.

Presley and Cynthia Rosenberger had the following children:

1.8.3 Nellie (1867-) was born January 24, 1867. She married A. K. Killion.

1.8.4 Daisy (1873-) was born August 2, 1873.

1.8.5 Francis Emerson (1874-1943) was born 1874 and died in 1943. He possibly practiced medicine in Oklahoma.

1.9 Ellen (1826-) was born about 1826 in Virginia.

1.10 John Albert (1827-1828) was born May 4, 1827, and died June 27, 1828.

1.11 Louisa Jane (1829-1900) was born July 26, 1829, in Virginia. She died December 30, 1900.

1.12 Jacob Harrison K. (1831-1868) was born August 31, 1831, in Virginia. He died June 16 in 1868 or 1869 and is buried at Robinson cemetery in Cass County, Illinois.

1.13 Jane S. married C. Heinrich Christopher Havekluft in Cass County, Illinois, on July 23, 1851. The Illinois State Marriage database shows Mrs. Jane Havekluft of Cass County married Paris A. Brandon on September 20, 1881. Jane and Heinrich Havekluft had two children:

1.13.1 Pearl Elizabeth

1.13.2 Harry Eugene "Henry"

(1) 1850 Cass County, Illinois census.

(2) Rosenberger Family Bible, possession of Mrs. Frances E. Rosenberger, Oklahoma.

(3) Rosenberger, Francis Coleman, The Robinson-Rosenberger journey to the gold fields of California, 1849-1850: the diary of Zirkle D. Robinson. 1966.

(4) Illinois Statewide Marriage database