Anton Berks, 1899 Biography

BERKS, HOFFMANN

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 1/20/2007 at 14:17:44

I translated the following biography from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published in a special 25th Anniversary Edition of the paper on Friday, 20 September 1899. Words in quotations are original. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Anton Berks

Mr. Anton Berks was born on 17 December 1846 in Cologne, on the Rhine River. When he was four years old, his parents moved to Butzheim, District of Düsseldorf, where little Anton attended elementary school. After he had satisfied the mandatory schooling requirements then existing in Germany and had received First Holy Communion, he devoted himself to farming and worked on various small farms until his 21st year. He then immigrated to America and settled initially in New York State, where, however, he remained only one year. From there he moved to Elkport, Clayton County, Iowa, where he acquired 80 acres of land. On 7 October 1873 Mr. Berks married the virtuous Miss Maria Hoffmann, and six years after the wedding he sold his 80-acre farm and moved with his young family to Roselle Township, Carroll County, Iowa, where they purchased 120 acres of land. This farm is notable for its excellent location and fine buildings. The Berks family still lives there today, and they enjoy a very fine reputation. This marriage has produced seven children, of whom one child died at a young age. The names of the children still living are: Katharina, Johann, Elisabeth, Anna, Sophia, and Veronika.