The Farmer Family Home Page:Information about Herman Henke
Herman Henke (b. 1840, d. 1912)
Notes for Herman Henke:
From “Standard History of Waupaca County, Wisconsin” by John M. Ware, 1917
HENRY HENKE. Three generations of the Henke family have contributed their personal resources and intensive work to the development and civic life of Larrabee Township. They did some of the first clearing and cultivation in that localitiy. Farming has been their regular pursuit, and between fifty and sixty crops have been harvested by their hands in this one township. They have been industrious workers, good citizens and active supporters of everything for the benefit of the locality.
The pioneer of the family was Christian Henke, a native of Germany, who brought his family to America in 1857 and in the course of the same year located in Larrabee Township. The eighty acres he bought in section 29 was a part of the virgin wilderness. Not a stick had been cut and not a furrow had been turned. Wild game was plentiful in the forest, but little wheat or corn was grown anywhere in Waupaca County in that year. There were no roads, and the early settlers like Christian Henke followed trails blazed on the trees. His first home was a typical cabin. He invested part of his meager capital in a team of oxen, and with their aid he undertook the heavy task of clearing the land. He planted his first crops among the stumps, and it was a number of years before all the obstructions were removed from the fields. Hard labor finally accomplished all he set out to do, and when he finally retired he had most of the land cleared and under cultivation and a good home established. Christian Henke died about thirty years ago, having survived his wife by some years . They were the parents of five children, and the three daughters all died young. The son, William, died while serving in the Civil war, and the other son was Herman. Herman Henke was born in Germany in 1840, received his education in his native land, and was seventeen years of age when he came to America in 1857. He helped his father get started on the farm in section 29 of Larrabee Township, and until the farm could become self supporting he went to 0shkosh and worked out for daily wages, contributing all that he could to his father in order to pay for the land. Being the only surviving child of his parents, he finally took charge of the farm when his father retired, and operated it successfully for a number of years. He accepted an opportunity to sell the old homestead to advantage, and then bought another eighty acre farm in the northeast corner of the same section. There was an old house on the land, but after a few years he replaced it with a substantial two-story structure, and then followed good barns and other buildings. After farming there for a number of years the health of Herman Henke broke down, and he turned the farm over to his son Henry. Herman Henke died at the homestead in Larrabee Township in 1912. He married Augusta Mallow, also a native of Germany. She died in 1911 at the age of sixty-two. They were the parents of six children, three of whom died in infancy. The others were Henry, Elmer and Alma, the latter being twins. Elmer is a farmer of Larrabee Township and Alma is the wife of W. K. Wentzel, a cigar maker at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Henry Henke, who represents the third generation of this worthy family in Larrabee Township, was born on the old farm January 7, 1879. He grew up and received his education in the local schools and when quite young made his work effective in the improvement and cultivation of the farm. He also worked out for others, spending nine months in the State of Washington and several winters in the lumber camps in the northern part of the state. When his father's health failed he came home and took charge of the farm, and finally bought it. His farming business is largely on the dairying plan and he milks ten cows.
In 1911 Mr. Henke married Mary Guhr, daughter of August and Henrietta Guhr. Her parents now live in' California. Mr. and Mrs. Henke have one child, Iris. Politically Mr. Henke is a republican.
More About Herman Henke and Mary Guhr:
Marriage: 1911
Children of Herman Henke and Augusta Mallow are:
- Henry Henke, d. date unknown.
- Elmer Henke, d. date unknown.
- Alma Henke, d. date unknown.
Children of Herman Henke and Mary Guhr are:
- Iris Henke, d. date unknown.