Brunke H. Lubbers Biography


	This biography appears on pages 115-116 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				BRUNKE H. LUBBERS. 

	Brunke H. Lubbers, a well known farmer of Bon Homme county, was 
born in the village of Varsing-Fehn, in East Friesland, kingdom of 
Hanover, Germany, on the 27th of February, 1857 His parents were Henry 
and Anna (Garrelts) Lubbers. The father, a blacksmith by trade, became 
convinced that better opportunities awaited him in the new world and in 
the fall of 1866 he and his wife and all but two of their children 
emigrated to America, settling in Freeport, Illinois, where he 
established a blacksmith shop and purchased a few acres of land, upon 
which there was a small house. Our subject and his eldest sister were 
left behind when the rest of the family crossed the Atlantic to the 
western continent, but a year and a half later, in April, 1868, they 
sailed from Bremerhaven on the steamer Bremen, landing in New York in 
May after a stormy voyage. As soon as possible they journeyed to 
Freeport, Illinois, and there joined the family. The father continued 
to work at his trade there until his death and his wife also passed 
away in that city. 

	B. H. Lubbers attended school at Freeport and as soon as old 
enough became his father's assistant in the blacksmith shop. Later he 
was for three years employed at farm work and then married and began 
farming on his own account. He rented land in Stephenson county for 
three years, but in 1884 removed farther west and purchased a farm in 
Grundy county, Iowa, which he cultivated and developed for ten years. 
In 1894 he sold that land and came to South Dakota, purchasing a farm 
on section 20, Cleveland precinct, Bon Homme county. He immediately 
began its improvement and still resides thereon, having in the meantime 
added to his holdings until he now owns three hundred and sixty acres. 
Capacious barns, granaries, the latest improved machinery and a garage 
are found upon his farm, which is further enhanced in value by groves 
and orchards. There is also a running stream through the place. His 
residence is well designed and is one of the most attractive country 
homes in Bon Homme. 

	Mr. Lubbers was married in Stephenson county, Illinois, to Miss 
Ella Zimmerman, a native of East Friesland, whence her parents, Fred 
and Gretge (Amilsberg) Zimmerman, emigrated to America in 1865. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Lubbers have been born eleven children, of whom eight survive. 
Henry has filed on a section homestead in western Nebraska under the 
Kincaid law. Fred cultivates part of his father,s farm and married 
Jennie Johnson, of Bon Homme county, by whom he has two sons and one 
daughter. Gretge, or Grace, if the English form of the name is used, 
married George Sheffield, a farmer living north of Tyndall, and is the 
mother of three sons and one daughter. Anna is the wife of Fred 
Etherton, of Bon Homme county, and has two sons. The four younger 
children are: Bertha, Ella, George and Albert, all at home. 

	Mr. Lubbers is a republican, believing that the principles of 
that party are best adapted to secure the prosperity of the country. He 
and his family belong to the German Baptist church of which he has been 
a member since attaining his majority. He is a valued citizen of Bon 
Homme county and is doing his full share in the development of 
agricultural interests there and also aids in the progress of his 
community along moral, intellectual and spiritual lines.