Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Hohn, Karl 1852 - ************************************************ 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 April 16, 2007, 3:30 am Author: Emma E. Forter KARL HOHN. Of the well known farmers and stockmen of Balderson township, Marshall county, who were born in Germany may be mentioned Karl Hohn, who was born by Koelnam Rhein, on June 12, 1852, and is the son of John W. and Regina (Oehm) Hohn. John W. and Regina Oehm were also natives of Germany, in which country they were educated and were later married. John W. Hohn was born in 1827 and his wife in 1828. After their marriage they continued to make their home in Germany until 1869, when they came to the United States. John W. Hohn was reared on a farm and engaged in that work in his native land, and when he came to Marshall county, he continued in that work. He purchased the farm where his son, Karl, now lives and made all the improvements, including the stone house and barn. The stone for these structures he quarried from his farm. He developed the farm and became one of the substantial farmers of the township. Mr. Hohn continued to live on the old home place until 1890, when he returned to his native land, where he died in 1900. The wife and mother died on October 18, 1894. John W. and Regina Hohn were active members of the Evangelical church and took much interest in all the services of the church and were prominent in the social life of the township. They were the parents of the following children: Karl, Bertha and Amelia. Bertha is the wife of C. Schaeer, of Superior, Nebraska, and Amelia was the wife of D. Breunsbach. Her death occurred some years ago. Karl Hohn was educated in Germany and remained there until he was seventeen years of age. He came with his parents to America and located in Balderson township, Marshall county, and here he entered school but was, unable to attend longer than eighteen days. Being the eldest child he was in a position to assist his father in the cultivation of the farm, and remained with him until he returned to Germany. Karl Hohn then purchased the farm and since that time has been engaged in general farming and stock raising. He experienced many of the hardships of the early pioneer; yet with the determination to succeed he is now one of the substantial men of the township. He sold corn at thirteen cents per bushel, and has even hauled it to Marysville, when it was a task to get rid of it at any price. He has taken wheat to Frankfort, Kansas, twenty-five miles distant, and sold it for thirty-five cents per bushel. To make this trip he would start at eleven o'clock at night, so as to be at the market early in the morning. Those were most trying times, and a load of wheat would bring but a few dollars. The first house on the place, built by his father, was of logs, the timber being obtained from the home farm. In 1880 the present stone house was erected. It required many days of hard work for the father and son to quarry the stone, dress and place them in the building. The placing of the stone in the building was left to Karl Hohn, and the evidence of his good work is seen in the splendid condition of the building today. There were many Indians in the county at the time the family made their settlement there, yet they were always friendly to the Hohn family. Many times, when in the woods or fields about his work, or on the hillside picking berries, Karl Hohn would meet a band of Indians, and while he was many times frightened, he was never in any way hurt. He has been driven from the berry patch by them, with the claim that the berries belonged to them and later he became aware that it was all a joke. These little incidents had much to do with cementing the friendship of the red men and the whites in this section of the state. On November 15, 1880, Karl Hohn was united in marriage to Amelia Bruensbach, who was born on September 12, 1862, in the state of Illinois, and later came to Kansas, where she died on February 15, 1901. She was a member of the Evangelical church. To that union the following children were born: Lena, Bertha, Amelia. Emil, Emma, Anna and Rudy. Lena Rohtenberger is now a resident of Balderson township, where her husband is a farmer; Bertha is the wife of John Grauer, a resident of Marysville; Amelia is the wife of Frank Kratch, of Balderson; Emma Zeibach resides near Steel City, Nebraska, and Anna Rudy are at home with the father. Karl Hohn is an active member of the Evangelical church and is prominent in the social life of the township. He has always taken much interest in the services of the church and is one of the highly respected men of the community. Politically, he is identified with the Republican party and has had much to do with the civic life of the township and served for a number of years as treasurer. He is a strong advocate of better schools and good roads. On January 12, 1910, Mr. Hohn married for his second wife, Mrs. Sophia Kratch, a daughter of Fritz and Kathrin (Freese) Meier, of Missouri. where they were farming people, both being now deceased. Mrs. Hohn, by her first marriage, was the mother of the following children: Frank, Rudolph, Alma and Fred, all of whom are married and living in Balderson township, this county. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. 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