Adam Frommel Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 866-867

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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ADAM FROMMEL, proprietor of one of the best farms in Brown county, is 
one of the pioneer settlers of that region, and has aided materially in 
reaching the present pleasing condition in that community. He is a 
gentleman of high standing in his township, and his 
estate,comprisingfour hundred acres, is well equipped for general 
farming, in which pursuit he has met with a marked degree of success. 

Mr. Frommel was born in Washington county, Wisconsin, July 11, 1851, 
and was the son of Adam Frommel, a native of Germany, who came to 
America with his wife in 1847, and died in 1858. Our subject's mother, 
who bore the maiden name of Barbara Schmidt, was born in Saar Louis, 
near the French boundary, and which was once a part of the French 
possessions. Her father, John Schmidt, fought seven years under 
Napoleon. After the death of the father of our subject the mother 
married John Deittrich, a German by birth who followed the calling of a 
farmer. 

In a family of five children our subject was the third in order of 
birth, and was reared on a farm, receiving only such education as the 
country schools of that day afforded, and after his fourteenth year he 
remained at home and assisted with the farm work. His older brother was 
not of a strong constitution and on that account the heavy part of the 
work fell to the lot of our subject. After attaining his majority he 
worked for S. Y. Sanbourne who had a contract with the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, running a wood saw, at which he was 
engaged two years. He purchased a saloon in Fox Lake, Wisconsin, in the 
fall of 1874, and conducted that business six and a half years. He went 
to Brown county, South Dakota, in the spring of 1881 and took the 
southwest quarter of section 32, township 123, range 60, as a 
homestead, and erected a 12 x 16 shanty and a sod barn. The first 
summer he did breaking, and went to North Dakota during harvest. He 
started farming with three horses, a wagon, and a plow, end' in the 
spring of 1882 his family joined him in the new home. He had erected a 
larger house and his family were settled in comfortable quarters. In 
1886 eighteen stacks of grain were torn down by a heavy wind, but 
despite the discouragements incident to pioneer life he persevered and 
now possesses four hundred acres of land, of which three hundred acres 
are under cultivation. He has a commodious and convenient residence, 
and his barn, erected in 1893, is 28 x 34 feet, and his granary, 18 x 
28 feet, has a capacity of twenty-two hundred bushels. He engages in 
mixed farming and hog raising, and has recently become interested in 
cattle raising. He was one of the first settlers in Groton township, 
and hauled his carload of goods from Bristol, the nearest railroad 
station at that time. 

Our subject was married in 1875 to Miss Sophia Smith. Mrs. Frommel was 
born in Attica, New York, and was the daughter of Fred Smith, a 
hardware merchant, who was a native of Germany. Nine children have 
blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frommel, as follows: Katherine, John, 
Fred, Albert, Emma, Eva, Pearl, Earl and Dewey. Mr. Frommel is a member 
of the Modern Woodmen of America. He served seven consecutive years on 
the township board, and in 1899 was again elected as a member of that 
body, and as chairman. He takes an active part in public affairs and 
votes independent of party.