Nick Kirsch Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1112-1113 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.



	NICK KIRSCH, a farmer and stock raiser of Codington county, whose 
homestead lies at Gardner, about five miles northeast of Watertown, is a 
native of Germany, born in Luxemborugh on February 9, 1859. He is one of 
a family of six children, two sons and four daughters, whose parents 
were Michael and Maggie Kirsch, natives of Luxembourg, as were the 
antecedents of both branches of the family for many generations. Michael 
Kirsch, in 1880, brought his family to the United States and settled in 
Minnesota, where he lived until 1882, at which time he removed to 
Codington county South Dakota, his present place of residence. 

	The subject of this review grew to young manhood in his native 
country, received a fair education in the public schools and in 1880 
accompanied his parents to the new world, remaining with them until 
their removal to Dakota. In 1882 he took up a homestead in Kreuzberg 
township, Codington county, and after residing on the same for a period 
of five years, sold out and purchased his present beautiful place in 
Elmira township, consisting of five hundred and sixty acres of fine 
land, admirably situated for agricultural and stock purposes. In 
addition to farming, which he carries on very successfully, especially 
the raising of grains, Mr. Kirsch devotes considerable attention to live 
stock and purposes ultimately to make the latter his principal business. 
He now has quite a herd of cattle, to which he is making additions as 
rapidly as possible, also owns a number of valuable sheep and horses and 
the time is not far distant when he will come to the front as one of the 
leading stockmen in this section of the state. In addition to his stock 
and agricultural interests he runs an elevator at Gardner, near his 
place, and his operations as a buyer and shipper of grain have been 
eminently successful, as the steady growth of his business abundantly 
attests. 

	Mr. Kirsch is one of the progressive German-American citizens of 
Codington county and his enterprising spirit has done much for the 
material advancement of the community in which he resides. While 
retaining warm feelings and tender recollections of the fatherland, he 
is a loyal citizen of his adopted country and a great admirer of its 
laws and institutions. 

	Mr. Kirsch was married November 17, 1887, to Miss Maggie Pfeil, of 
Minnesota, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth Pfeil, natives of 
Germany. The parents of Mrs. Kirsch came to the United States a number 
of years ago and for some time lived in St. Charles, Minnesota, at which 
place the mother died on January 27, 1902. The father still lives at St. 
Charles. They reared a family of eleven children, all but one living. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kirsch have five bright, interesting children, whose names 
are as follows: Freddie N., Elizabeth S., Eddie D., Lena G. and 
Christopher G.