Henry Krohnke
Henry Krohnke, a well-to-do and influential agriculturist of Crawford county, where he owns five hundred and sixty acres of land and engages in general fanning and stock-raising, was born in Germany, February 26, 1851, a son of Hans and Annie (Bergman) Krohnke, the other surviving members of the family being Claus and Jurgen, both of whom reside in Schleswig; and Maggie, who married John Petersen and lives in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Sophia is deceased. Both of the parents lived and died in the fatherland.
Henry Krohnke emigrated to the United States in 1869, when he was seventeen years old, and located on a farm near Davenport, Iowa, where he worked until attaining his majority, when he rented sixty acres of land and cultivated it for two years. He then bought a threshing machine, running it for one year, and in 1875 he removed to Crawford county, where he divided his time between operating a thresher and breaking wild land. He broke the prairie land upon which the county poor fann was formerly situated. In 1888 he purchased eighty acres of land, to which he subsequently added other lands until his holding now amounts to five hundred and sixty acres.
On November 2, 1876, Mr. Krohnke was united in marriage to Annie Suckstorf, a daughter of Henry and Maggie (Krueger) Suckstorf, who were the parents of ten children, of whom the following survive: Henry, residing in Schleswig; Dora, the wife of Adolph Rickers, of Crawford county; August and John, of Bloomfield, Nebraska; and Annie. The deceased members of the family are Nicholas and George, besides three who died in infancy.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Krohnke has been blessed with four children, namely: Augusta, who became the wife of William Bumann and resides in Bloomfield, Nebraska; John, who lives in Crawford county; Mattie, the wife of William Bielenberg, of Crawford county; and Amelia, who lives at home with her parents.
Mr. Krohnke has taken an active interest in politics, giving his support to the democratic party, and he has held a number of township offices. He attends the Lutheran church, to which he is a liberal contributor. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Sons of Harmony. He has resided on his present farm for nearly a quarter of a century and deserves much credit for the part he took in helping to reclaim this district for the uses of civilization. He is widely and favorably known throughout the community by reason of his long residence here, and the success he has gained is the merited reward of his own labor and indefatigable industry.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.