Louise Ober was born to Dr. Levi E. Ober and his wife, Abigail Carr, on March 6, 1845 in Plainsville, OH. In 1857, she and her parents relocated to La Crosse where Dr. Ober practiced homoeopathic medicine.
Louise graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (later Mount Holyoke College) in South Hadley, MA and returned to La Crosse, where she taught school. There she met Rockwell Osborne, a La Crosse Civil War veteran and businessman. The couple married in 1870, and had one daughter, Ella Louise.
Osborne engaged in lumber and grain industries. As people of means, the Osbornes enjoyed travelling abroad and entertaining. Louise was an active member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
They lived in La Crosse for many years before moving to Minneapolis about 1912. Louise died in Minneapolis on December 31, 1914 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse.
Location: 121 4th Street South, La Crosse
1870: Louise’s family home
2019: Dale’s Clothing
Wedding or trousseau dress worn by Louise Ober Osborne, married in La Crosse on August 17, 1870
Materials: silk taffeta, bobbin lace, cotton
From the collections of the La Crosse County Historical Society
