General Notes

John and his family came to America in 1873 from Klein Sien, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany which is in East Germany. He arrived in Chicago, Illinois in 1873 and stayed there for nine months, then went to New Prague, Minnesota for about 23 years. In 1897 they moved to Arland Township, Barron County, Wisconsin and he ran a sawmill with his sons Henry & Fred and farmed. He had 320 acres of land and built a big house and other farm buildings. In 1993 part part of house is still standing; we have pictures of it. John didn't learn to
speak English. At retirement he gave each of three sons 80 acres of his land and he and Marie and their daughter, Annie lived with their son, Otto until thier deaths. Their granddaughter, Edna Cornwell said the preachers and teachers often lived with the family as the house was very large. John is buried in Silver Creek Cemetery.

!BOOK:"History of Barron County, Wisconsin" at Barron, Wisconsin library has a paragraph on John and two of his sons, Fred & Otto.

!OBITUARY:Barron,WI "News Shield" newspaper. He died of a stroke. Funeral Service was held at Silver Creek (German Lutheran) Church, Barron Cty, Wisconsin. Birthdate is 1835 in obituary and on gravestone, but birth records of two of the children gives date as 1844, but German Microfiche shows birth and baptism dates as 1835.

NOTE: There were several families from Mecklenburg-Schwerin who settled in northern Le Suerur and southern Scott Counties in Minnesota including: Krohn, Eggert, Becker, Bohnsack and Walm and several of them later moved to Barron County Wisconsin. Through marriage many of these are related.