Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Wohler, Frank Theo 1890 - 
************************************************
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 21, 2007, 10:54 pm

Author: Emma E. Forter (1917)

FRANK THEO WOHLER.

    Frank Theo Wohler, one of the progressive and well-known of the younger
farmers of Cottage Hill township, Marshall county, and the manager of his
mother's splendid farm of four hundred and eighty acres, was born on July 16,
1890, and is the son of Theo and Sophia (Elstroth) Wohler.

    Theo Wohler, the father, was born in Liperdetmold, Germany, on October 24,
1861. When he was but four years of age he came with his parents, Fred and
Louisa Wohler, to the United States. Fred Wohler on his arrival in this country,
with his family came at once to Marshall county, and established his home on a
farm in Cottage Hill township, where he and his wife spent the remaining days of
their lives, he dying in 1909 at the age of ninety-two years and the wife and
mother died in 1870 at the age of seventy-six years. When Fred Wohler came to
America with his little family, it took the courage and the determination of a
strong man, and one who had faith in his ability to make good, in a strange land
and amid a strange people. On his arrival in the county he was without financial
support of any kind, yet he had the determination to win. After homesteading a
tract of land, he at once built a small log cabin in which the family lived for
some time. He had but one horse and with that he broke a part of his land and
planted his first crop. In a short time he began to prosper and became the owner
of one of the splendid farms in the township, all of which he placed under high
cultivation and improved with substantial buildings. He and Mrs. Wohler were the
parents of four children as follow: Henry, August, Gatha and Theo. Henry and
August are successful farmers in Riley county, Kansas; Gatha is the wife of
William Klocke, one of the successful farmers of Missouri, and Theo is now
deceased.

    Theo Wohler was reared on the home farm in Cottage Hill township and was
educated in the public schools of Marshall county. He remained on the home farm
and assisted his father with the work, and at the age of twenty-one years he
assumed the management of the farm. In 1882 he purchased the place, which then
contained one hundred and sixty acres and to which he added until at the time of
his death on January 10, 1913, he was the owner of four hundred and eighty
acres, all of which he had under a high state of development and well improved.
A few years after he had purchased the original farm, he built a fine horse
barn, after which he erected a large cattle barn, twenty-eight by one hundred
and fifty feet. In 1906 he built the beautiful modern house at a cost of two
thousand five hundred dollars, and which is one of the best farm residences in
the township. He took the greatest interest in his family and did everything
possible for their convenience and happiness. As a farmer and stockman he was
recognized as one of the successful and substantial men of the township and
county. He kept the best grade of hogs and the finest Aberdeen Angus cattle. He
was a feeder and a shipper of cattle and hogs and each year he placed many of
these animals on the market, receiving the highest market price. He placed the
buildings of his farm in the center of the tract, and from the farm home they
have the finest view of the whole of the place. The farm buildings are so
arranged as to give the greatest degree of proficiency and economy of time. He
gave his stock the most careful attention and his farm was kept in the highest
state of cultivation. Mr. Wohler was a leader and not a follower in the
management of a farm and the care of stock. He made his life work a study, and
was known as one of the most proficient men in his line in the county.

    On March 24, 1882, Theo Wohler was united in marriage to Sophia Elstroth,
the daughter of Henry and Marie (Elstroth) Elstroth, both of whom were born in
Germany and there received their education in the public schools and were later
married. Mrs. Wohler was born in Westphalia, Germany, on May 11, 1856, and there
she received her education in the public schools and grew to womanhood. In 1881
she left the land of her nativity and came to the United States, to be with
friends in Marshall county. It was here that she met and married Theo Wohler, by
whom she became the mother of the following children: Ortwin, a successful
farmer of Cottage Hill township, Marshall county; Lillie, the wife of Ed Kaump,
one of the successful residents of Riley county, Kansas, and Frank Theo.

    Frank Theo Wohler was born on July 16, 1890, and received his education in
the district schools of Cottage Hill township and grew to manhood on the home
farm, where as a lad he assisted his father with the work on the farmland became
thoroughly conversant with the duties of the management of a large estate and
the care of stock. Today he is recognized as one of the progressive young
farmers and stockmen of the township, and in the management of his mother's
large farm he has demonstrated his ability to do big things. Since the death of
his father he has kept the farm in the best condition and has maintained the
upkeep of the excellent buildings on the place. He does general farming and
keeps a high grade of stock, some of which is among the best in the county. He
has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the township and is a firm
believer in the progressive spirit of the times.

    The Wohler family are active members of the Evangelical church and have long
been prominent in the social life of the community where they live and where
they are held in the highest regard and esteem.


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/wohler460gbs.txt

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

File size: 6.3 Kb