Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Focks, Michael Frederick 1850 - 1915 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 23, 2007, 10:45 pm Author: Emma E. Forter (1917) MICHAEL FREDERICK FOCKS. Michael Frederick Focks, now deceased, and who was long a resident of Marshall county, was born at Barth, Germany, on January 5, 1850, and died on May 23, 1915. He was the son of J. F. and Margaret (Brumzagsn) Focks, the former of whom was born in 1811 and the latter in 1821. The parents received their education in the schools of Germany and there grew to manhood and womanhood and were there married. The father was a ship carpenter and for many years worked at his trade in the land of his nativity. In 1871 he and his wife decided to leave the fatherland and seek a home in America. After their arrival in the United States they at once proceeded to Chicago, where they lived until the next year when they came to Kansas. The father obtained a farm in Waterville township, Marshall county, and engaged in general farming and stock raising until the time of his death in 1885 and here the widow died in 1899. They were the parents of two children, Lena, who died in 1888, and Michael Frederick. Mr. and Mrs. Focks were highly respected and were active members of the Lutheran church and took great interest in all church work. During his residence in the county, Mr. Focks was active in local affairs, and soon became interested in the new order of things. He was a man of much ability and possessed of excellent judgment. Michael Frederick Focks received his education in the schools of Germany and there he was reared and continued to live until he was eighteen years of age, when he decided to come to America. He landed in the United States in the years 1868, and at once continued his journey to the city of Milwaukee, where he lived for two years. His life in the Fatherland had been spent as a seaman and a fisherman and at Milwaukee he sought a position on the Lakes. In 1870 he went to Holly Springs, Mississippi, and did much traveling through the south. In 1872 he came to Kansas, where he homesteaded the present home farm of the family, in Waterville township, Marshall county. He built a log cabin of two rooms, and at once started the task of developing his farm. The tract was a good one, of rich bottom land, and in 1878 he purchased another eighty acres, making the farm one hundred and sixty acres. This tract he thoroughly developed and improved, and in time his farm was known as one of the best in the township, and Mr. Focks was recognized as one of the successful and substantial men of the county. He took the greatest interest in his general farming and stock raising, in both of which he was successful. Mr. Focks was a man of unusual attainments and of splendid education. He was always a great reader and kept well posted on all current events. He was broadminded and possessed of excellent judgment, and his advice was often sought in matters that pertained to the welfare of the township or county. Having been educated in the excellent schools of his native land, he well knew the value of an education, and was in a position to advise in all matters pertaining to schools and school work. For twenty years he was a member of the school board of his township and served as clerk of the organization. He took the greatest interest in his family, and was a great home man, giving his family the best that he had to give. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church and always took much interest in all church work, and were prominent in the social, educational and the religious life of the community. On December 28, 1876, Michael Frederick Focks was united in marriage to Mary Schroeder, who was born at Bloomington, Illinois, on January 20, 1857, and is the daughter of Anthony and Sophia (Siebert) Schroeder. Her parents were natives of Mecklenburg, Germany, where they were educated in the public schools and were later married. They established their home in their native land, where they continued to live until 1854, when they came to the United States and located on a farm near Bloomington, Illinois, where they died, the former in 1863 and the latter in 1903. They were the parents of two children, Mary and Minnie, the latter, now deceased, was the wife of John Henning, of Minneapolis. Some years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Schroeder married Gottlieb Liepold and to this union two children were born, Bertha, now deceased, and Albert, of Bloomington, Illinois. Michael Frederick and Mary (Schroeder) Focks were the parents of the following children: Amelia, Minnie, Frederick, Hulda, Henry, Louis, Rudolph, Bertha and Albert. Amelia is the wife of Will Hall and lives at Red Rock, Oklahoma; Minnie Mills, of Kansas City, Missouri; Frederick A. is a railroad man and lives at Crane City, Missouri; Hulda Dwyer, of Kansas City, Missouri; Louis died in 1892; Rudolph resides in South Dakota; Bertha Talbot resides at Marysville, and Henry and Albert are at home. Henry was born on January 16, 1884, and Albert on January 7, 1894. The family have long been among the prominent people of the county and have had much to do with the social activities of their home communities. Michael Frederick Focks was a man who accomplished much during his active and useful life. Coming to America as a lad, and without funds and without friends, he had his own way to make, and in this he was most successful. He always had a high regard for morality and correct living, and during his rambling life of the first few years he was always careful of his associates, and to his family he brought a clean and manly life. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/marshall/bios/focks478gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ksfiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb