BIOGRAPHIES:  John C. HARMS, Cedar Lake Township, Barron Co., WI

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Submitted by:  Vic Gulickson <vic@indy.net>  24 February 2004
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John C. Harms, now deceased, was for many years a prominent figure in the
life of Cedar Lake Township and vicinity. In town, school district and
church he was an active and valued official; in his family he was
everything that a father and husband should be; as a neighbor he was
generous and kindly, and as a citizen he was upright and above reproach.
His untimely death will long be mourned by all who knew him, as the
accident which cost him his life took from the town a useful and valued
man. He was born Dec. 23, 1867, in Germany, the son of Harm and Marie
(Fredricks) Harms. Reared in his native land he attended the government
schools and early learned farm work with his parents. In 1888 he came to
America and took up farming near Sterling, Ill. From there, in 1902, he
came to Wisconsin and bought 80 acres in Section 16, Cedar Lake Township,
to the development of which he devoted the remainder of his life. When he
purchased the tract it was all wild cut-over timber land. He erected a
small frame house and barn and started grubbing out the stumps. From time
to time he erected buildings, such as a silo, granary, machine sheds and
the like. In 1905 he built a fine modern barn. He carried on general mixed
farming and had a good grade of Holstein cattle and a good breed of swine.
For many years he did the town good service as public official, one year as
supervisor, eight years as clerk and three years as assessor. For six years
he was clerk of the school board. He was interested in everything that
pertained to the growth of the community, and held stock in the Mikana
Cheese Co. and the Angus Cheese Co. Fraternally, he was a member of the
Modern Brotherhood of America. In church affairs he was likewise prominent,
and for nineteen years was a trustee of the Loveland Lutheran Church. He
was in the height of a successful career when he was killed in an
automobile accident Sept. 15, 1920. Mr. Harms was married Feb. 9, 1897, at
Geneseo, Ill., to Adele Fellensick, daughter of Henry and Lucia (Taddenken)
Fellensick, natives of Germany. She came to America in 1893 and located at
Sterling, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Harms were the parents of seven children:
Herman H., Harm L., Henry M., William J., Lucie M., Adolph H. and Julia A.
Herman H. was born April 27, 1898, and died July 4 of the same year. Harm
L. was born July 17, 1900. Henry M. was born March 3, 1902. In 1914, when
he was eleven years of age, he met with a shooting accident which resulted
in the loss of one of his eyes. William J. was born Sept. 11, 1903. Lucie
M. was born April 24, 1905. Adolph H. was born Nov. 2, 1908. Julia A. was
born Sept. 28, 1911. The family faith is that of the German Lutheran
Church.

--Transcribed from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper,
Jr., & Co., 1922, pg. 372.


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