Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Montgomery County Alexander T. Strange Editor Volume II Munsell Publishing Co, Chicago 1918 Page 1055 FRICKE< Henry, one of the prosperous farmers of Rountree Township, owns and operates 160 acres of valuable land on Section 9. He was born at Marine, Madison County, Ill. January 19, 1863, a son of Christian and Dorothea (Eppers) Fricke. Christian Fricke was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 1822, and there grew up, leaving his native land about 1852 when thirty years old, for the United States. He was very poor when he landed at St. Louis, Mo., and went to work as a fireman on a Mississippi River steamboat running between that city and New Orleans, La. He was married to Dorothea Eppers, who was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1854. Owing to the influence of his wife, who wanted him to leave the river service and engage in farming, Christian Fricke came to marine, Ill., and in 1868, they came to Montgomery County where land was cheaper. By strict economy, they had saved a little money, with which they made a first payment on eighty acres of land, going into debt for the remainder. By working hard and saving every cent, they prospered and when Christian Fricke died he owned 850 acres of land. His death occurred April 10, 1893, and his widow lived on the farm for a few years and then spent three years with her son Henry, when she located at Nokomis, and is now living there with her daughter, Mrs. C.H. Kerr. She and her husband had twelve children, of whom six are now living: Augusta, who is the widow of Herman Rosenthal, of Rountree Township; Albert, who lives at Hillsboro, Ill.; Henry; William, who is on the homestead in Raymond Township; Gustav C., who lives in Rountree Township; and Dora, who is the wife of C.H. Kerr of Nokomis, Ill. Henry Fricke was reared on the farm in Raymond Township, and attended the local schools, remaining at home until he was married to Ida Kram on April 24, 1890. They became the parents of five children, four of whom survive, namely: Emma, Wlater, Gussie, and Ernest. Wlater is living with his father and the other children are living in Cisco, Tex. Mr. Fricke was married (second) on March 7, 1901, to Fredericka Heldemann, a daughter of John A. Heldemann, who enlisted for service as a soldier during the Civil War, at St. Louis, Mo. After his honorable discharge, he moved to Montgomery County, and here lived and died. To his second marriage, two children have been born to Mr. Fricke: an infant who died soon after birth, and Frank. Mr. Fricke is a Republican in politics. His farm, which he bought in 1879, is one of the finely improved ones of the county, and he is engaged in general farming and the raising of a good grade of stock. He also owns ten acres in Irving Township. In addition to his farms, he owns stock in the Raymond Farmers Elevator Company and thus is a man of substance and is of high standing in his community. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Robert Appleton (© 1997 Robert Appleton)