Biographical Sketch of Adam Fickas, Lonejack, Johnson County, Missouri

>From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell,
Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918.
**********************************************************************

Adam Fickas, one of the late honored and brave pioneers of Johnson
county, Missouri, was born July 17, 1799 in Virginia.  He was the son
of Adam, Sr. and Eve Fickas, both of whom were natives of York county,
Pennsylvania.  Adam and Eve Fickas were united in marriage in Pennsyl-
vania and from that state moved to Virginia, thence to Henderson 
county, Kentucky, their little son, Adam, Jr., accompanying them to
Kentucky.  On their plantation there, both the father and mother died,
the mother in 1814 and the father two years afterward.  In the autumn
of 1818, Adam Fickas, Jr. and his sister came from Kentucky to Miss-
ouri, riding a pack horse.  They located in Boone county, where they
remained nearly six years.  In early manhood, he was united in marriage
with Susan McDonald, who was born in the state of New York, but reared
in Kentucky.  Susan (McDonald) Fickas was the daughter of Joseph 
McDonald, a prominent citizen of Kentucky in the early days.  After
their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Fickas moved to Indiana, where they
resided for one year, when they returned to Missouri and Adam Fickas
entered a large tract of land from the government, upon which they
settled.  At the time of their marriage, all the possessions of Adam
Fickas would not have been worth more than fifty dollars, consisting 
of a dog, ax and gun.  But he possessed some things of which no amount
of money could measure in value: industry, courage, pluck and endur-
ance.  For three years, all the meat that was consumed by the family,
he obtained by hunting.  Black bear, deer, wild turkeys, prairie
chickens were to be found in abundance and Mr. Fickas was a hunter of
established reputation.  On his hunting expeditions, he often experi-
enced many thrilling adventures.  He never tired of relating of one
encounter with a wounded bear.  Mr. Fickas had wounded the animal, but
not seriously, just enough to enrage the beast, which turned upon one
of his dogs and was hugging it to death.  With all the cunning and
quiet alertness of the man of the forest, Adam Fickas softly crept up
behind the bear and with one blow from his knife, the dog's life was
saved.  The land, which Mr. Fickas entered from the government, cost
him from twelve and a half cents to twenty-five cents an acre for the
greater portion of the tract, although a part cost three dollars an
acre.  The Fickas estate comprised thirteen hundred acres of land, most
of which was improved, at the time of his death.  He and Susan (McDon-
ald) Fickas were the parents of thirteen children: Levi, Jacob, James,
Martha, Mrs. Ann Prosser, Mrs. Sarah Sanders; Adam, Jr.; Mrs. Mary 
Beardsley and Melinda, and four children died in infancy.  The nine 
children above named were all living in 1882, but death has since 
broken the family circle, of the members of which but few now remain.
The mother died in 1875.  October 31, 1875 Adam Fickas was again marr-
ied, his second wife being Elizabeth Bowman, who was born in Indiana
and reared in Johnson county, Missouri.  In 1895, his death occurred
at the age of ninety-five years.  Elizabeth (Bowman) Fickas was a 
member of the Dunkard church.  Adam Fickas always remained true to his
belief as a member of the Primitive Baptist church, of which he was a
valued and worthy member and liberal supporter.  He built one church
in Johnson county at his own expense, the structure costing him more 
than a thousand dollars, which for pioneer times was an enormous outlay.
Mr. Fickas was ever held in the highest esteem in this county, for 
which he did so much.

====================================================================
     USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing
         free information on the Internet, data may be used by
         non-commercial entities, as long as this message
         remains on all copied material. These electronic
         pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit
         or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

         Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
         for purposes other than stated above must obtain the
         written consent of the file contributor.

         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by:  <>
		      Penny Harrell <Incog3678@aol.com>

====================================================================