Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Germer, Fred 1868 - living in 1917
************************************************
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@gmail.com July 23, 2005, 6:03 pm

Author: B. F. Bowen

FRED GERMER.

    Fred Germer, a well-known and prominent retired farmer of Logan township,
Marshall county, was born in Cook county, Illinois, on October 17, 1868, the son
of Fred and Mary (Breneka) Germer, who were natives of Hanover, Germany.

    The elder Fred Germer was born in 1827 and his wife in 1832. They received
their education in the village schools and there grew to manhood and womanhood.
After their marriage they continued to reside in the fatherland until 1866, when
they came to the United States. During his residence in Germany, Mr. Germer
worked as a farm hand for twenty-seven dollars per year. After locating in Cook
county, Illinois, he worked as a farm hand and as a section hand on the railroad
for four years, after which he came to Marshall county and purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of land in Logan township. This he developed and improved and
here he engaged in general farming until the time of his death in 1889 and here
his widow died in 1898. They were hard-working and honest people, who had the
confidence and respect of all who knew them. When a girl in Germany, Mrs. Germer
worked for others and assisted in supporting herself and the other members of
the family. By hard work and wise advice she assisted her husband in the life on
the farm and in the home.

    Fred and Mary Germer were the parents of the following children: Mary,
Carrie, Minnie, Sophia, Fred, Alvina and the first born, who died in infancy.
Mary Meyn resides with her husband on a farm in Washington county, Kansas, where
they are meeting with much success in their chosen work; Carrie Geishler and
Minnie Riggert are both residents of Herkimer township, where their husbands are
successful farmers and stockmen; Sophia Lauterbach lives in Logan township,
where her husband is one of the successful agriculturists of that section and
Alvina Petsch and husband are among the successful farmers of Gage county,
Nebraska.

    Fred Germer, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the
schools of Marshall county, and attended the Western Business College at
Wichita, Kansas. When not in school he assisted his father with the work on the
home farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then rented the farm for four
years, after which he purchased the place and here he engaged successfully in
general farming and stock raising until 1908, when he retired to Bremen, where
he has a substantial home. During his active life he took much interest in the
affairs of the township and had much to do with its growth and development. He
has long been identified with the Republican party, and is recognized as a man
of influence, not only in the party but in the affairs of the township. For the
past two years he has served as justice of the peace.

    On November 21, 1890, Fred Germer was united in marriage to Gertrude Lemke,
the daughter of Theodore and Louisa (Stoks) Lemke, both of whom were born in
Germany, the father in 1842 and the mother in 1844. After their marriage they
continued to reside in their native land until 1860, when they came to the
United S.tates, locating in Herkimer township, Marshall county, where Mr. Lemke
homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he developed and
improved, engaging in general farming and stock raising until 1911, when he
retired and moved to Bremen, where he now resides, the wife and mother having
died in 1877. They were the parents of four children as follow: Gertrude, Mary,
Augusta and Emil. Mary Crome resides in Marshall county, where her husband is a
successful farmer; Augusta Feil is the wife of a well-to-do farmer in Oklahoma,
where her brother, Emil, also resides. Gertrude was born in Marshall county on
January 25, 1870, and was educated in the common schools and grew to womanhood
on the home farm, where she resided until her marriage.

    Fred and Gertrude Germer are the parents of the following children:
Gertrude, Martin, Carrie, Louisa, Frieda, Fred, Theodore, and Anna. Gertrude
died at the age of two years; Martin was born on January 29, 1896; Carrie, April
20, 1898; Louisa, September 7, 1900; Frieda, July 18, 1903; Fred, November 16,
1905; Theodore, May 9, 1909, and Erna on October 30, 1912.


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/germer92bs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ksfiles/

File size: 4.9 Kb