Ralph Emerson Romberger (1876-1935) - Find a Grave Memorial

Ralph Emerson Romberger

Birth

26 Jul 1876

Death

2 Sep 1935 (aged 59)

Burial

Riverside Cemetery

Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA Add to Map

Plot

Sunnyside section

Memorial ID

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Ralph Emerson Romberger was a son of Gilbert Romberger and Mary Sophia Kiehl/Keihl Romberger who arrived late and last in their marriage. Though his family was very German and spoke it at home, his name may reflect a love of the poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a popular poet of the time.

Family lore has it that Ralph spoke of perhaps wanting to be a clergyman. While that never happened, he was later very active in his church. Ralph worked as an assistant postmaster in Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, and later in Norristown for a cigar manufacturer, an asbestos company, and finally worked as a fiscal officer for a utility company.

Schissler Business College a.k.a. Norristown Business College in Norristown Pensylvania was where Ralph was in 1903, and he came back to his home area to visit his aunt Lillie in Harrisburg that year. A handsome young man with a serene face, Ralph also came home to Berrysburg from Norristown to marry his bride, Jane "Jennie" Osman on June 21, 1905. The vows were overseen by the Rev. Irvin Runk, who was the brother in law of Ralph's older brother Daniel. The couple lived their married lives in Norristown. In November of that same year, they would take a mortgage on property in Norristown. Together they had Mary Magdalene, Regina Salome, and Rebecca Estella, the last daughter named for her aunt Rebecca Romberger who was her baptismal sponsor, and probably for another aunt, Clara Estella Romberger. Going by county records, the family would take a new property 1917 as well, finally selling in 1945 when Jane was widowed and must have moved on to live with daughter Mary.

Ralph and his family were active in church affairs at Norristown's Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Trinity downtown, where Ralph was an honored deacon from 1922 to 1934, as well as an appointed member of the committee to raise funds and redecorate the interior of the church auditorium. The committee set up a contribution system of memorials, and the work was done from 1925 to December 1926.

Of Ralph and Jane's daughters, Rebecca served as secretary for the Sunday School Association, while Regina was a teacher in the Intermediate Department. The congregation has since moved on to the suburbs, but the stunning old original church still stands and is now the home of a Coptic Christian church. A picture of the family's beloved church (taken 1938) is shown among the photos for this memorial.

Though born nearly 20 years apart, Ralph and his elder brother Daniel both passed away in 1935, Ralph passing four months before Daniel. When a young man, Ralph lived with his eldest brother George after their father died. An old letter was found recently, written by one of Ralph's daughters. In it, she says that Ralph regarded both George and Daniel as father figures, in part due to their being older, but also due to their guidance after their father passed away.

Ralph died of colon cancer per his death certificate, and also had liver cancer. When he passed away, Ralph's obituary made the front page of the local paper for his achievements at the water company, as well as his participation in the community, particularly his involvement in several banks. He is interred with his wife Jane and daughter Mary at Riverview Cemetery.