Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Kauka, Hon Fred 1823 - 
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Author: Portrait & Biographical Album, 1890

HON. FRED KAUKA. 

It is probable that no resident of Beecher is more widely known than the Hon. 
Fred Kauka, a retired farmer and ex-Representative. He was born in Hesse-
Cassel, Germany, November 17, 1823, and lost his father when very young. His 
mother married again, and she and his stepfather died after our subject became 
a resident of the United States. He grew to maturity in the land of his birth, 
receiving an excellent education in his native tongue. He married Miss Mary 
Hasenjaer, and after the birth of one child the young couple set sail for the 
United States, leaving Bremerhaven on the "Gaeta," Capt. Homen commanding. 
After a voyage of seven weeks they landed in the American metropolis, whence 
they went direct to Chicago. Mr. Kauka settled fourteen miles west of that 
city, remaining there from 1847 to 1854, at which time he became a resident of 
Will County. He secured one hundred and sixty acres of Government land on 
section 13, Washington Township, his homestead being surrounded by unbroken 
lands devoid of habitation. He improved the estate, seeing cultivated fields 
gradually take the place of the primitive sod, and various improvements spring 
up about him. The enterprise which he displayed redounded to his credit, and 
he became known as one of the most judicious and enterprising farmers in this 
vicinity. After some years he sold his fertile estate and bought five acres on 
section 21, near the town of Beecher. Here he has made his home since 1881, 
retired from the arduous labors of farm life, while yet surrounded with all 
which makes country living pleasant. Mrs. Kauka was born in Hesse-Cassel, 
August 25, 1823, and is the daughter of natives of that Duchy, who were of 
pure German stock. They came to America three years after their daughter, and 
settling in this county, died here at an advanced age. They were members of 
the Lutheran Church, as were also the parents of Mr. Kauka. They were the 
parents of one son and three daughters, three of whom are now living in 
Illinois and one in Iowa. Mrs. Kauka was the third in order of birth, and like 
her brother and sisters was carefully reared and well educated in her native 
land. She is an excellent housewife, a kind neighbor and a devoted wife and 
mother. She is the mother of seven children, all now settled in homes of their 
own. Caroline is the wife of Jacob Frahm and lives on a farm in Saunders 
County, Neb.; Mary is the wife of Henry Letz, who operates a farm in 
Washington Township, this county; Sophia married Fred Geveke, who is farming 
in Fillmore County, Neb.; Lizzie is the wife of Peter Blayne and resides in 
Beecher; Fred H. married Emma Hattendorf, their home being in Chicago; Ellen 
is the wife of Thomas Peterson, a mechanic in Chicago; Lavina married Fred 
Dorman, a milkman in Chicago. In 1877 Mr. Kauka was elected by the Republicans 
of this county to represent them in the State Legislature, and was re-elected 
in 1879. He served on the committees of Agriculture and Horticulture during 
the entire time that he was in the Legislature, and he also acted on special 
committees on Mining, Manufacturing and Penitentiary. As a committeeman he was 
painstaking and judicious, and his friends have no reason to be ashamed of the 
record which he made in the legislative halls. As a local official he has 
served in various offices, among them being those of Township Collector, 
Supervisor, Commissioner of Highways, and Justice of the Peace. In the latter 
office his term of service amounted to sixteen years. This fact alone is proof 
that his fellow-men regard him as upright, intelligent, and interested in the 
best good of his fellow-men. He and his estimable wife attend the 
Congregational Church of Beecher. 

Additional Comments:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois, Containing Full Page 
Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens 
of the County; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1890

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