Second Generation
2.
Sergeant Fredrick William JOHN.
(Photo: Fredrick
William and son Victor Hugo John). On March 3, 1827
a son was born to Ludovick and Justina somewhere in Prussia.
He had sandy hair, blue eyes and grew to be 5'10" tall.
He seems to have gone by the name Willy or William throughout
his life. He was educated in Prussia and when he reached the
age of 18 he joined the Prussian military. After he served his
term of military service he emigrated with his wife Henrietta
to the United States and arrived at New York, June 23,1852 on
the ship Eleanore after traveling for 52 days.
He found his way to Milwaukee where he
resided for two years before moving to Oconto County, Wisconsin
and settling there.
William's first wife Henrietta Volks died in
Milwaukee in September of 1852 shortly after they arrived in
America. She was only 23. On November 21, 1852, just two months
after his first wife died, when Fredrick William was 25, he married
his second wife Johanna
(Josie) DIEDRICH, in Milwaukee,
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Born on May 8, 1830 in Brunswick
(Braunschweig), Germany.
Children:
4. Clara
5. Alfred
6. Henry
7. William
8. Laura
9.
Victor Hugo (1872-1956)
William applied for
naturalization June 21, 1855 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin,
and was naturalized on October 26, 1877 in Oconto County, Wisconsin.
He was a farmer, lumberjack and soldier.
The Johns were pioneers in the county of Oconto,
and I have been able to find more information than I had expected
on their history, some of it even written by William himself
for various biographies. The best family history for the Johns
can be found in the obituaries that were printed for William.
The following excerpt
is from a soldiers biography book for the volunteers of Wisconsin:
"Frederick William John, a citizen of
Gillett , Wisconsin, and a former soldier of the Union was born
March 3, 1827, in Prussia. He is the son of Ludovick and Justina
(Schule) John. His father was a soldier in the Allied Army and
was 18 when he was conscripted according to the laws of his native
country and was in the force that marched to Paris after the
treaty of peace was signed. He fought at Leipsic, Austerlitz
and Waterloo. The grandfather of Mr. John was in the service
of Frederick the Great of Prussia 56 years and when he had been
connected with the German army half a century received a gold
medal from his sovereign. A brother of Mr. John, named August,
resides in Iowa.
Mr. John was reared in his native country and
educated according to the customs there, and when he arrived
at a suitable age he entered the German army. He was assigned
to the squad of Corporal Obest under Commander Bareh and Reitmaster
Vadel. The assignment by regiment was the 6th, which was know
as the "steel" regiment from the soldiers of that command
wearing steel breastplates. It was also called the "Nicholas"
regiment, the crown prince commanding it in person. He received
three flesh wounds in the course of his five years' service.
In 1852 he came to America and located in Oconto County, Wisconsin.
For 22 years he was engaged in the various
branches of lumbering in Wisconsin and when he entered upon the
career of a farmer he settled on the farm on which he now resides."
William died in Gillett, Oconto County, Wisconsin
on Jul 22, 1910; he was 83. Buried on Jul 24, 1910 in Gillett,
Oconto County, Wisconsin at the Wanderer's Rest Cemetery.
Obituary from Oconto
Falls Reporter (Oconto Enterprise):
Death calls a Pioneer, Frederick W. John Dies
in his 84th year.-One of the pioneers of Oconto County, an Old
Soldier and a Long Time Oddfellow.-The funeral of the late Frederick
William John, whose death was briefly mentioned in our Friday
edition was held at Gillett Sunday afternoon, the services being
held in the M. E. church in that village, conducted by rev. Wendell
Kumlien of Apleton, who is supplying the pulpit of that church.
The C. & N. W. road ran a special
train of four coaches from this city leaving here at 12:30 p.
m. to convey the friends of the deceased to Gillett for the purpose
of paying their last tribute of respect to one whom they had
known and admired in his long life in this county. Among those
who accompanied the train from here were about 100 Odd Fellows,
several members of the G. A. R., a firing squad from Company
M, and many others, including a number of ladies. At Stiles Junction
and Oconto Falls a number of Odd Fellows and others boarded the
train. Mr. John had been an Odd Fellow for a great many years,
having joined Oconto Lodge No. 190 on Sept. 12, 1878 and he had
always enjoyed the highest respect and esteem of the members.
About four years ago he was presented by the lodge with a veteran's
jewel, which he cherished very much and which was buried with
his remains.
The Pulcifer lodge of Odd Fellows joined the
Oconto lodge at Gillett.
The funeral was a most impressive one, and
the church was not of sufficient capacity to hold those who had
fathered to attend the ceremonies. The pall bearers were taken
fro the G. A. R. and from the Odd Fellows as follows: From the
G. A. R. Chas. Forestal, Charles Burkhart and John Livingstone;
from the Odd Fellows: George R. Hall, Adam Tisher and Charles
Lynes. The Rev. Rumlien delivered a very eloquent sermon paying
a high tribute to the deceased, and he was followed by the Rev.
C. S. Gerlach, the Lutheran pastor, who had known Mr. John for
a good many years, and who spoke in the German language. He gave
a complete biography of the deceased, which was interesting and
instructive and those who could understand him state that he
was eloquent in his recital of Mr. John's history particularly
that pertaining to his experience as a pioneer in this county
and as a soldier both in the Prussian and American armies. At
the grave the Odd Fellows' burial service was read, the firing
squad fired three volleys over the grave and the bugler sounded
taps, when all that remained on earth of one of the grandest
men who had ever lived upon it was laid to rest forever.
Frederick William John was born in Prussia
on March 3, 1827. He served two years in the Prussian army, in
1847-48, and in 1852 came to America. He located in Oconto in
1854 having lived two years at Milwaukee prior to coming here.
In 1856 he moved with his family to Gillett, where he settled
on a homestead, which continued to be his home until his death.
The hardships and privations of himself and family as pioneers
of this county are interesting and would fill a large volume
if the facts could be gathered together. In those early days
there were no railroads, or even wagon roads leading from the
centers of civilization to the forests in which the homesteaders
located, and Mr. John was obliged to carry his supplies on his
back from Oconto, a distance of 26 miles, along a blazed trail
through the woods to his little log cabin at what is now the
village of Gillett. There were no bridges and whenever a stream
was encountered it had to be forded. Beasts of the forest were
a constant menace, and every night the wolves came to his door
and sat and howled throughout the night. Deer and bear were shot
from the doors and window of the little log cabin, and they furnished
meat for the family while the hides and furs were also utilized
to good advantage.
In 1864, when he saw that his country needed
his services to assist in preserving the Union, he enlisted in
the army and served throughout the civil war, earning a promotion
to the office of sergeant. He once told one of his comrades,
after a hard fought battle, that he had just received a letter
from his wife, whom he had left on the homestead to guard and
care for his small children, in which she stated that she wished
she could have a cow, as the milk would be such an aid to the
family. The first money he received for his services as a soldier
he sent home and he later received another letter from Mrs. John
advising him that she had purchased a cow, and some of the neighbors
had come and erected a warm, comfortable stable for the animal.
She mentioned the names of the neighbors who had rendered her
the service, and none of them lived less than nine miles away.
Among them were Mr. Lord and Mr. Trecartin of Hickory. This shows
that in those days neighbors were rather far apart and also that
the country must have been very sparsely settled.
Mr. John leaves four sons and one daughter,
besides several grandchildren and great grandchildren, to mourn
his death. The children are A. C., W. W., Henry and Victor John
and Laura Naylor, all of whom reside at Gillett, except Victor,
whose home is at Hackley, Wis. All were present at the funeral.
His wife died two or three years ago.
The death of few men in Oconto county would
cause such profound and universal sorrow as that of Frederick
William John. None knew him but to admire him for his splendid
traits of character. He was honest, enjoyed the companionship
of his friends, and was always jovial and witty. Up to his fatal
illness he was a strong, robust man, muscular, active and fearless,
which made him one of Uncle Sam's best soldiers.
Obituary from Oconto
Reporter July 29, 1910:
"Passed Away at Gillett Home Last Friday Night,
RESIDENT COUNTY 56 YEARS, One Best Known and Loved of Pioneers
- Special Train to Funeral"
Frederick William John, one of the best known
and most highly respected residents of the county, died at his
home in Gillett last Friday afternoon, after an illness of about
three months with urenic poisoning.
February 27, 1903, among our sketches of the
lived of our county's pioneers, we published the following the
data for which was furnished us by Mr. John himself:
Frederick William John whose portrait we present
herewith, is one of the best known pioneers of Oconto county.
Mr. John was born in Prussia, March 3, 1827 and resided there
until 1852, when he came to this country and resided in Milwaukee
until the fall of 1854, when he came to Oconto in one of the
Ludington lumber vessels and worked for Mr. Hubbell in the Ludington
mill. Here he remained until forty six years ago this coming
May when he, with Mrs. (Johanna) John who at first remained in
Milwaukee, but had now joined him, moved to Gillett where together,
out of the virgin forest, they carved a home in which the weary
and hungry traveler or woodsman was always welcome and assured
of needed rest and food.
When they first sought a home in this now thriving
county of Oconto, the only way to reach it was by water or over
the ice or by an indian trail without bridges from Green Bay.
The only white woman they saw on their way to their Gillett home
was a Mrs. Timothy Casey in a small shanty up the river. In the
town of Gillett, on the site of what for a number of years after
was his home, Mr. John first erected a small shanty in which
he and his wife and four small children resided cheered at night
by the howling of the wolves outside, which at that time abounded.
When flour was needed for their subsistence,
Mr. John was compelled to carry it home on his back and when
the oldest son and daughter first attended school they were compelled
to go five miles through the woods without a house on the way.
Fish and game were abundant but so monotonous
did this become that the children occasionally murmured over
the unchanging venison diet.
One of the hardest experiences of their lives,
however, came in 1871, when the sun was obscured by the smoke
for two weeks during all of which time the woods surrounding
them was on fire. They carried water and fought fire day and
night without rest. On the night of October 8, which old residents
remember with horror as the night of the famed Peshtigo fire,
the children spent the night on a blanket in the road while their
parents fought off the fire, the parents not daring to allow
them to remain in the shanty for fear it with the children would
be consumed.
Mr. John has seen considerable military service,
first in his native country, where as a member of the heavy cavalry,
he assisted in putting down the revolution of 1847-8, which drove
Carl Schultz and General Sigel out of Germany and later in the
38th Wisconsin infantry in which he enlisted in this city in
1864 and served until the end of the war participating in the
battles of Hatcher's Run, siege of Petersburg and capture of
Petersburg and in the big review at Washington, returning with
the rank of Sergeant. He is the present postmaster of the village
of Gillett and has filled all the offices within the gift of
the people of his town including that of treasurer when the town
was a large one and the treasurer required to give a bond of
$25,000.
Mr. John recalls many interesting incidents
of the early days among which is one of Senator Philetus Sawyer
when out on one of his campaigning trips through the lumbering
country. It seems that while attempting to drive from Shawano
through this county, Mr. Sawyer was overtaken by night, became
lost and off the road, stopped his team and alighted from his
vehicle to search for the road but after finally finding it was
unable to find the team, but succeeded in reaching the John's
home and secured assistance and lanterns by means of which the
team was recovered and made comfortable for the night.
The prevailing prices about this time were,
cotton batting $1.00 a pound, calico .40 cents a yard, sheeting
.50 cents, beans $8.00 a bushel, flour $12.00 a barrel.
Mr. and Mrs. John celebrated their golden wedding
on the 21st of last November and have, now living, as the fruits
of that marriage of a half century ago, five children, seventeen
grand children and one great grand child, five and one half years
old.
Mr. and Mrs. John are still hale and hearty
and likely to live many years to enjoy the fruits of their industrious
younger days."
Mr. John is survived by four sons, A(lfred)
C., W(illiam). W., Henry and Victor, and one daughter, Mrs. Laura
Naylor, all residents of Gillett except Victor, who resides at
Hackley. His wife preceded him to the grave about three years
ago.
The
funeral was held at Gillett last Sunday afternoon from the M.
E. Church, Rev. W. Kumlien of Appleton, pastor of the Gillett
church, officiating in English and Rev. C. J. Gerlach, pastor
of the Lutheran church and personal friend of several years'
standing, in German.
A special train was run from this city to Gillett
to accommodate about 100 members of the I.O.O.F., of which he
was a devoted member a number of his G.A.R. comrades, a firing
squad from Company M and other friends who desired to attend.
The local lodge was joined at Gillett by members
of the Pulcifer lodge I.O.O.F. and with the other friends from
all parts of the country, who desired to pay their respects to
his emory, the attendance more than filled the church.
The pallbearers who conveyed his remains to
the last resting place were three from his former comrades of
the G.A.R., Charles Forestal, Charles Burkhardt and John Livingston
and three from his Odd Fellow brethren G. R. Hall, Charles Lynes
and Adam Tisher.
At the grave the Odd Fellows burial service
was held, three volleys were fired by the squad from Company
M, taps were sounded and the earthly remains of a good citizen
and friend passed from earthly sight.
Johanna
(Josie) died in Gillett, Oconto County, Wisconsin on Apr 30,
1908, she was 77. She became an expert shot when she had to provide
food for the family while William was off fighting in the Civil
War. The good news is that we know Johanna Deadrich came from
Brunswick (now Braunschweig), Germany. The bad news is that there
are no accessible church records to research for any further
information on her or her family. So at this point we are at
a dead end regarding the Diedrich's. (Photo: Believed to be Johanna (Josie) Diedrich,
but could be her daughter-in-law, Olive).
3. August C. JOHN(s). Born in Prussia March
9, 1830, August came to America three years after his brother
(1855) and lived in Dodge County, Wisconsin, Kossuth County,
Iowa and seemed to settle in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He married
Mary Schaal (see Mary's story) about
1856. They had five girls. According to the Oconto County Reporter
he came from Minnesota to visit his brother William after Johanna
died. He died in July 26, 1917 in Minnesota and is buried in
Iowa. He had been in the 21st Wisconsin Infantry Co. C during
the civil war. (Note:
August went by the surname JOHNS. Photo on right is a picture
of August and Mary Johns in Minnesota, courtesy of Donna Langdon.)
10.
Corporal Clarence Fredrick JOHN.
Born on October 29, 1898 in Oconto, Oconto County, Wisconsin.
Was in the census for Crandon, Forest County, Wisconsin in 1920
living with his parents. There is a diploma for Clarence's graduation
from Laona Middle School in June of 1915, which means that he
was 16 years old when he finally finished middle school. Most
other children are about 13 to 14 years of age at this time.
It is unknown why he took so long to finish his term, but he
did finally finish.