scandinavian ancestry
Albuquerque, NM
United States
ph: 505-401-5935
info
John Leopold Rössel family
John Leopold Walter Rössel was born in Malmö, Sweden on May 24 in 1888. As a very young man he emigrated to the US in 1906. He married Alma Maria Oscara Holm in Brooklyn, NY, shortly after his arrival. She was born on April 1877 in Norrköping, Sweden. Alma Maria came over to the US in 1898 with her mother, a brother, Carl Holm and a half-sibling.
In the 1910 census John and Maria are residing in Manhattan Ward 19, NY. They have a son born in Jan 1909. The first born is named Carl Frederick Leopold Rossel. In the 1920 census the Rossel family is living in Brooklyn, NY. The family now includes the children Carl, Gloria and Allen. It is unknown what profession John L had at the time.
In the 1930 census Maria is listed in Tottenville, Richmond County, NY. She's listed as a widow. However, that was not quite true. John L disappeared. It is unknown exactly when he took off and for what reason. It is also unknown if Maria ever knew where he was. Documents show that she was doing research for him for some years, to no avail. So the Rossel family has for many many years tried to find out more about his abrupt disappearance and everyone believed he must have died some time between 1930-1940.
My research showed that the truth was different from what his family believed.
John Leopold Walter Rossel died in Houston, Texas on March 20, 1979. On the Selective Service WW2 draft from 1944 he's living in Columbus, Ohio. He is then to be found in Michigan as late as in the 50's. His petition for naturalization in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Detroit, 1907-1995, is dated April 1957.
So what happened to John and why did he disappear to never return to his family? The truth may never be known but John L Rossel invested in the land development business during the 20's. He and his business is mentioned in several news paper articles from that period as J L R Holding Co. His intent was to develop a new city in Florida, to be called Del Verde. He filed the plats in 1926. Shortly afterwards, the market crashed.
"It was a dream of man that was to become reality when the market crashed"
From Lost Towns of Charlotte County, FL: Ghost towns of the old West still stand on the arid plains as a reminder of prosperity that briefly flourished. The same type of ephemeral villages of old Florida disappeared rapidly under the onslaught of semi-tropical climate and foliage. Traces of Charlotte County's "lost towns" persist in the memories of old timers, musty newspaper clippings and faded maps. Such places once were important because of some special feature noteworthy to folks at that time.
Most lost towns here sprang up and disappeared in the few years following arrival of the railroad in 1886 until a network of automobile roads were laid down during the Great Florida Land Boom of the 1920s.
See various documents, photos and articles below
Albuquerque, NM
United States
ph: 505-401-5935
info
