From History of Walworth County Wisconsin by Albert Clayton Beckwith, Vol. II, 
Publ. 1912 - Page 839-840
 
JOHN GRUNEWALD.  Distinguished for their thrift and honesty, which two 
qualities in the inhabitants of any country will in the end make that country 
great, no people who have cast their lot in Walworth county are worthier of 
our esteem and thanks than those of Germanic blood.  This county, however has 
been fortunate in securing such a goodly number of them.  Of this excellent 
class is John GRUNEWALD, well established farmer of Spring Prairie township, a 
man who, for many reasons, is eligible for representation in this work, not 
the least of which is the fact that he fought gallantly for his adopted 
country during its darkest hours, and, indeed, in all the relations of life he 
has been known as a man of sterling characteristics, consequently it is not 
surprising that he has succeeded in a material way and that he has won the 
confidence and respect of his neighbors and friends.
 
Mr. GRUNEWALD was born in Germany on July 13, 1842.  He is the son of Henry 
and Elizabeth GRUNEWALD, who were both natives of Germany, in which country 
they were married, having spent the greater part of their life there, after 
which they, with their youngest son, John, and one daughter, emigrated to 
America in 1855 and settled in East Troy township, Walworth county, 
Wisconsin.  Here, through hard work, they became very comfortably established, 
and here they spent the balance of their lives, the father dying in 1865, and 
the mother in 1861.  They were the parents of eleven children, of whom John, 
of this review, is the only one living at this writing.  Politically, Mr. 
GRUNEWALD was a Republican and religiously, a member of the Lutheran church.
 
John GRUNEWALD was thirteen years old when he accompanied his parents to 
Walworth county.  He had attended the public schools in Germany and he also 
went to school for some time in the town of East Troy, and early in life 
turned his attention to farming.  He is now the owner of one hundred and sixty 
acres of excellent and well improved land in Spring Prairie township, on which 
he built a fine residence in 1911.  He has one of the choice farms of the 
township and he has met with a large measure of success as a general farmer 
and stock raiser.  He deserves a great deal of credit for his success, in view 
of the fact that he has made his own property.
 
Politically, Mr. GRUNEWALD is a Republican, but has not sought to be a 
politician or a leader in public affairs.  He also is a survivor of the Civil 
war, having enlisted on August 15, 1862, in Company K, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, in which he served very faithfully until the close of the 
war, principally in the Western Army, having fought at Helena, Arkansas; 
Mobile Alabama; Tallahatchie, Mississippi, and many other places of minor 
importance.
 
Soon after the war Mr. GRUNEWALD was married on November 8, 1865, to Elizabeth 
DIETZ, who was born in Germany.  She is the daughter of Louis and Maria DIETZ, 
natives of Germany, in which country they were married, having spent the 
greater part of their lives there, emigrating to the United States in 1855 
with their two children, a son and a daughter.  Mr. and Mrs. DIETZ located in 
Walworth county, where they spent the rest of their lives; however, Mr. 
DIETZ's death occurred in Ohio, while the mother died in Spring Prairie 
township.
 
Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. GRUNEWALD, namely: Henry, who is 
deceased; Albert, Mary, William, Edward, Rose, Arthur, and Frank, they have 
taken up their vocation in the various walks of life.
 
Submitted by Carol