William Oberheide was born May 23, 1839 in Hilligsfield, Germany and was a farmer. Came to the US in 1854 or 1855. While his gravestone and Civil War records record the birthtown as Hillgensfeld, I believe that this was an error, perhaps by William himself. William Oberheide was born 23.05.1838 as Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Oberheide in Gross Hilligsfeld, 35km SW of Hannover, Germany. His parents were Johann Friederich Oberheide and Charlotte Stumme." In 1861, he was 23 years old, 5’-9” tall, fair complexion, blue eyes and dark hair. His birthplace is listed as Hilgersfeld, Hanover and his occupation listed as a farmer. William Oberheide had an extensive military record during the Civil War. He was "mustered in" at St. Louis, 4th Regiment Missouri Calvary early in the war and "mustered out" in New Orleans on November 30, 1865. During this four year period he had participated in numerous battles and skirmishes. He was "mustered out" as a Lieutenant. The 5th Muster roll record was much shorter than the 4th regiment muster roll record, since he was only in the 5th from Sept 1861 to Oct 1862, when his unit was then consolidated into the 4th Regiment for the rest of the war. It did confirm the info from Missouri State Archives regarding his enlistment date of Sept 7 1861 in Hannover, IL, and his company muster in roll date of Oct 17 1861 in St. Louis. Since cavalrymen were required to be no more than 140 lbs weight, we can assume he was of slight build. His cavalry unit at the start of the war was know as the “Benton Hussars” (note town of Benton, MO is 10 miles from Cape Girardeau), and his unit was unattached to other Union Forces. The Benton Hussars and other cavalry units were consolidated to form the 5th Regiment in Feb. 1962 and attached to the Army of Missouri. Wilhelm Oberheide was assigned as Corporal, E Company, 5th Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. Other interesting things to note: In personal hand written correspondence, he always signed his first name as “Wilhelm”. Others around him, officers, muster roll recorders, etc tended to use the anglo-saxon version of “William”. From his handwriting you would think he had flawless command of the English language. I wonder if he didn’t have someone else write for him since I doubt he could have learned English this well in the short amount of time he was in America before the war. William Oberheide was united in marriage to Johanna Klemme on April 11, 1863 in Cape Girardeau. The record shows that the marriage ceremony was performed by George, or G.H., Cramer, a justice of the peace. It was as a member of George Cramer's household that she had resided since the age of twelve. William Oberheide gave his place of residence as Cook County, Illinois, so he apparently was not raised in the Cape Girardeau area. It will be remembered that this wedding took place right in the middle of the Civil War. Died October 11, 1870 at the early age of thirty-one. Death was believed to have, at least partially, been due to hardships suffered as a soldier during the civil War. Both William and Johanna (or Anna) Oberheide are buried in the old Lorimier Cemetery, right in the heart of Cape Girardeau and on a sort of bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The epitah on his tombstone states: "Lt. William Oberheide, Co. D 4th Missouri Cavalry. Born May 23, 1839, Hillgensfeld, Hanover, Germany, Died October 11, 1870". We now believed the date to be 1838 not 1839 and the birth town to be Hilligsfeld, not Hilligensfeld. These errors support that he came to America without close friends or family. sources: various
Ship name- Sophie Leaving from Bremen and arriving in NYC. on July 1, 1854 Oberheide family from Hanover: Heinrich Oberheide (father) born 1803 - 51 years old Dorethea Oberheide (mother) born 1803 - 51 years old Ernestine Oberheide born 1936 - 18 years old Heinrich Oberheide born 1939 - 15 years old ( I believe he went by a middle name - Wilhelm) The parents died in Milwaulkee: Dorethea died 1882, Heinrich died in 1898. (Heinrich outlived his wife by 16 yrs and was 95 yrs old) by heide oberheide