E. JOHN HINRICKS.
Among the older residents of Audubon county, Iowa, perhaps no one has seen more of the world and traveled more widely than E. John Hinricks, who owns two hundred and forty acres of land in Oakfield township. For seven years he was a sailor and for sixteen years he was employed in the gold mines of New Zealand and Australia. During his early career he visited most of the well-known countries of the world.
E. John Hinricks was born on October 16, 1842, in Hanover, Germany, the son of Henry and Rebecca Hinricks, both of Germany. The father was a weaver by trade, and followed this occupation all of his life, dying in Germany in 1904. His wife passed away five years previously, in 1899, after having had six children, Marie, Peter, Thomas, Johannah, E. John and Ina, all of whom are deceased except the subject of this sketch.
E. J. Hinricks, who was educated in the public schools of his native land, became a sailor upon reaching maturity, and sailed before the mast for seven years, when he went to New Zealand and Australia, and there worked in the gold mines for about sixteen years. Believing that he might have a better opportunity in the new world, he came to this country in 1876, and worked in the gold and silver mines of Nevada and Idaho for fourteen years.
In 1890 Mr. Hinricks came to Audubon county, and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land upon which he now lives. Later he purchased an additional one hundred and twenty acres, and has been engaged in farming this land during recent years. Ordinarily he raises seventy acres of com and seventy acres of small grain, and feeds out one hundred and forty head of hogs every years. He has been very successful in mixed farming, and year by year his wealth and profits have grown.
On December 12, 1889, E. John Hinricks was married to Mary Heesen, daughter of Jochun and Hilka (Treese) Heesen. To this union have been born three children, Henry, John and Chris, all of whom are unmarried and who live at home with their parents. Mrs. Hinricks, a native of Germany, as were also her parents, came with them to this country in 1887. They located in Cass county, Iowa, where the father rented a farm for a short time, and then retired and lived with his children. He passed away in 1903, his wife having died many years previously. They had four children, Gasena, Hohannah, Hio and Mrs. Hinricks.
Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Hinricks are members of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Hinricks is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Politically, he is identified with the Democratic party.
In his travels Mr. Hinricks has met many people and visited many lands, but if he were asked today what is the best country on the globe in which to live he would undoubtedly answer, America. Not only are the people of this country possessed of a greater measure of political liberty than anywhere else on the globe, but they likewise have a larger measure of economic opportunity. It is these things which the people, coming from other lands, first recognize and most appreciate.
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Transcribed by Cheryl Siebrass, September, 2019 from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 866-867.
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