MERCKENS, John H. - 1912 Bio (1855-1914)

MERCKENS, NIEMANN, EMERSON

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/23/2007 at 19:25:41

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 314 and 317

John H. MERCKENS has spent the greater part of his life in public office and his career has illustrated his fidelity to duty and to principle, his capability, his energy and his resourcefulness. He is now serving as grand keeper of the records and seal for the Knights of Pythias of Iowa, his labors in this connection occupying his entire time. His birth occurred in New York city, October 12, 1855, his parents being Cord and Helene D. (NIEMANN) MERCKENS, both of whom were natives of Germany. They were born, reared and married near Hamburg and in 1839 came to New York where their remaining days were passed, the mother's death occurring in the same year in which John H. MERCKENS was born. The father was connected with sugar refining throughout the entire period of his residence in the United States. He passed away in 1870, survived by two sons, but the elder, Richard, died in San Francisco, California, in March, 1888.

John H. MERCKENS is therefore the only surviving member of the family. Left motherless in his infancy, he remained a resident of New York city until brought to Fairfield by the Children's Aid Society on the 15th of January, 1869. He afterward made his home with Henry Unkrich, a German farmer living near Glasgow, working in the fields until May, 1881. He then secured a clerkship in a general store at Lockridge where he remained until 1890, when he accepted a position in the census department at Washington, D. C. Later he was transferred to the labor department where he continued until 1892. His public service in Jefferson county covers two years in the position of deputy county clerk. He was also state superintendent of census at Des Moines in 1895 and 1896 and in 1898 was elected clerk of the district court for a term of four years. After his retirement from that position he became bookkeeper and clerk for the Lowden (sic - Louden) Machinery Company with which he remained until 1908, when he was elected to his present position as grand keeper of the records and seal of the Knights of Pythias, to which work he now gives his undivided attention, his ability well qualifying him for the onerous duties that devolve upon him. Under his guidance the work has been carefully systematized and the management of the office is thoroughly satisfactory to the officers of the organization.

On the 1st of January, 1882, Mr. MERCKENS was united in marriage in Glasgow, Iowa, to Miss Ida M. EMERSON, who was born in Jefferson county, March 31, 1862, and is a daughter of John W. and Catherine A. EMERSON. Their children are: William C., of Fairfield; Clara E., who died March 13, 1906, at the age of twenty-three years; and Mary C., who is acting as her father's stenographer. Mr. MERCKENS belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a "standpat" republican. He believes firmly in the principles of the party and the policy followed by its leaders, thinking that both are forces in conserving the best interests of good government. Mr. MERCKENS has the distinction of being what the world calls a self-made man and certainly he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Deprived in youth of the advantages that most boys enjoy, including home training and educational privileges beyond that offered by the common schools, he has so shaped his life that each step in his career has been a forward one, bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. His connection with public office has gained him an extensive acquaintance and wherever he is known he has won warm friends.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

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