Brown County MN Archives Biographies.....Gronau, John G. 1869 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 December 1, 2014, 2:18 am

Source: See Below
Author: L. A. Fritsche

JOHN G. GRONAU

    John G. Gronau, who is conceded to be the largest building contractor in
Brown county, Minnesota, residing at New Ulm, was born in West Prussia, Germany,
July 1, 1869, being a son of John and Elizabeth Gronau of that same place. John
Gronau was a stone mason and worked exclusively at that trade until the time he
emigrated to this country in 1880. He located in Kansas where in addition to
following his trade, he also farmed the one hundred and twenty acres which he
purchased upon locating there. He has succeeded well in his combined efforts and
is still living on one of his Kansas farms, having increased his holdings to
eight hundred acres. There were originally five children in the family of John
and Elizabeth Gronau, one now being deceased, and John G., the immediate subject
of this sketch, being the only one residing in this county.

    John G. Gronau received excellent schooling in his native land when a small
boy, but never attended the schools of this country, giving his entire time to
assisting his father in the work of the farm home, although his first months in
this country were spent as a cattle ranger. When twenty-one years of age, he
decided to apply his efforts to the carpenter and mason trade and was so
employed in Kansas until 1892 when he came to this state, locating in
Springfield. There, however, he first worked as a harvest hand, hut later at the
carpenter trade and when a short time afterward, he came to New Ulm, he was
employed by a Mr. Tappe as foreman. He remained with Mr. Tappe four years and in
the spring of 1898 he entered the contracting1 field in his own behalf and has
since confined his efforts to that line with the exception of one year when he
acted as manager for the Nagle Company. Several of the most prominent buildings
of the county are his work, among them being the Brown county jail and the
addition to the Turner hall in New Ulm, as well as other public and private
buildings too numerous to mention. He often has as high as twenty-five men
working for him at a time and through his work has done much to enhance the
appearance of various town and country districts.

     John G. Gronau was united in marriage in 1893, with Elizabeth Baumgart,
daughter of Christopher Baumgart, and five children have been born to this
union. They are John G., Alfred, Rudolph, Elfred and Frank, the latter being
deceased. Mr. Gronau is a past master workman in the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. His political support is given no particular party, he being an
independent voter.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:
HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY MINNESOTA
ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS

L. A. FRITSCHE. M. D.
Editor

With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records
of Many of the Old Families

VOLUME II
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana

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