Diedrich Adolph Fricke

PAGEL, DAVIS, WEGENER, STERNBERG, HARMENING, WENTZEL, HELMKAMP

Posted By: Dick Onken (email)
Date: 12/13/2006 at 15:27:14

Taken from the Lidderdale Centennial Book:
Diedrich Adolph Fricke was born July, 2, 1839 in Kirchspiel, Germany. At the age of 19 he came to America and made his home in Cook County Illinois. In 1860 he married Maria Freese and had seven children: John, Nellie (Pegel), Charlie, Anna (Davis), Mary (Wegener, Sophia (Sternberg) and Fred. In 1880 the family moved to Carroll Co. and bought a farm northeast of Lidderdale. In the same year the mother, Maria, died. About a year later Diedrich married a widow, Maria Lessman Harmening. She was born Nov. 8, 1845 in Hermansberg, Germany. She came to America to become the wife of Reverend Henry Harmening. Rev. Harmening's first congregation was in Cook Co. Ill. They later moved to Uniontown and Attenheim. When Rev. Harmening died they had four children: Bertha (Wentzel), Anna (Sternberg, George Harmening and Theodore Harmening. A year after her husband's death, Maria married Diedrich Fricke. They had four children: William who lived northwest of Lidderdale and later owned a service station in Lidderdale and lived there. Adolph who lived northwest of Lidderdale, Emma,(m. Otto Wenck)and lived northeast of Lidderdale. And Frieda (Wm. Helmkamp). When Frieda was 5 years old her parents, who wanted their children to attend parochial school, moved to Genesco, Illinois. In 1900 her father passed away and her mother and family returned to Carroll County, Ia. Her mother later lived in Lidderdale.