Hugo Krohnke
Hugo Krohnke, a leading business man of Schleswig, is a native of Cedar county, Iowa, born February 26, 1874. He is a son of Jurgen and Dora (Hamann) Krohnke, both of whom were natives of Germany.
They came to America about 1864 and Mr. Krohnke began in his quest of fortune in the new world by working by the month on a farm near Davenport, Iowa. After several years he rented land and then, having acquired sufficient capital, he purchased eighty acres in Morgan township, Crawford county, to which he applied himself with such diligence that he became one of the large landholders of the county. He is now the owner of one thousand and forty acres, which is divided into six different farms, all of them being in Crawford county except eighty acres which is in Woodbury county, Iowa. The land is well improved and under an excenent state of cultivation. Mr. Krohnke retired from active labor in 1903 and is now living in a beautiful home at Schleswig.
There are four children in the family, namely: Herman, a resident of Nebraska; George, of Ricketts, Iowa; Hugo, the subject of this review; and Emma, who is the wife of E. L. Dieckmann, of Sioux City, Iowa.
Hugo Krohnke attended the district schools in his boyhood and under his father became acquainted with the various details of agriculture and stockraising. He continued at home until twenty-four years of age and then purchased a livery stable at Schleswig, which he has since conducted, also engaging extensively in buying and shipping live stock. He has a well equipped livery establishment, which he conducts in such a manner as to attract a lucrative patronage. He is a man of good business sagacity and has the confidence of the entire community.
On the 23d of May, 1906, Mr. Krohnke was married to Miss Emma Rickers, a native of Otter Creek township and a daughter of Adolph and Dora (Suckstorf) Rickers. The parents were both born in Germany but were married in Iowa. Mr. Rickers engaged successfully in farming but retired to Otter Creek in 1896. He died ten years later but his widow is still living and makes her home with the subject of this review. She is now sixty-five years of age. There are three children in the family, namely: Henry and George, both residents of Nebraska; and Emma, now Mrs. Hugo Krohnke.
Mr. Krohnke and his wife are active members of the German Lutheran church and are well acquainted in their locality, with which Mrs. Krohnke has been identified all her life. In politics he supports the republican party, whose platforms and candidates he has endorsed by his vote ever since he attained manhood. Fraternally, he is connected with the Sons of Herman and as a business man and citizen he is ever actuated by principles of integrity and progressiveness.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.