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Herman C. Krause, one of the best known and most substantial f armers of Germantown township, Cottonwood county,
owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on rural route No. 1, out of Sanborn, and for years identified with
the work of developing the interests of that part of the county, is a native of Germany, but has lived in Minnesota
ever since he was two years old. He was born on December 6, 1871, son of Edward and Elizabeth (Warm) Krause, both
natives of Germany, the former born on October 2, 1833, the latter born on November 14, 1836, and who became pioneers
of this section of Minnesota.
Edward Krause was the owner of a farm in Germany. He married on October 19, 1858, and continued living on that
farm until the fall of 1873, when he sold out and with his family came to the United States, proceeding to Minnesota,
locating at New Ulm, from which place, in the spring of 1874, he moved into Cottonwood county and homesteaded a
tract of one hundred and sixty acres in section 32, Germantown township, where he established his home. The country
thereabout at that time was all wild and there were no roads established. Edward Krause built a dugout, covered
the same with a sod roof and in that humble abode he and his family made their home until he was able to erect
a more substantial dwelling in the spring of 1879. He suffered, as did all the pioneers in this section of the
state, during the "lean" years of those early days, having no crop at all in the memorable grasshopper
year, but presently began to prosper and eventually became a substantial farmer. He went in extensively for stock
raising during the early years and did well. In 1899 he sold his farm to Nicholas Meyer and retired from active
labor. In 1904 his wife died and he thereafter made his home with his son, Herman, the subject of this sketch,
until 1913, when he died at his son's home. To Edward Krause and wife were born six children, of whom Herman C.
was the fifth in order of birth, the others being as follows: Caroline, who married Rudolph Schmidt of Storden
township; Minnie, who married William Matzke, of Germantown township; Augusta, who married Albert Stern, of Springfield,
upon whose death she married Edward Arnesdorf, of Lamberton; Anna, who is unmarried, and Mary, wife of Herman Senst,
of Highwater township.
It was on this farm of Edward Krause that Frank and Jesse James stopped overnight about the 17th of September,
1876. Mr. Krause at that time had no house, only a dugout, and he had no horses, only oxen. Both Frank and Jesse
James were wounded. Mr. Krause washed their wounds and put bandages around them; they paid him for the work he
had done, but Mr. Krause did not know that they were the James boys, nor of the bank robbery, till the day after
they left.
Herman C. Krause was not three years old when his parents located in Germantown township and he grew up on the
homestead farm there, receiving his schooling in the primitive school of that neighborhood. At the age of fifteen
he began working on his own account and for five years was engaged working on farms in that locality, after which
he began working for his father and was thus employed for three years, at the end of which time he began working
on the railroad, but after two years of that form of employment, in 1890, returned to farming and two years later,
in 1892, bought a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved prairie land in section 29, Germantown township,
which he set about improving. Following his marriage in 1896 he rented his father's farm and for four years operated
that place as well as his own and began to do well in his operations. In the fall of 1899 he built a substantial
barn on his own place and the next year erected a comfortable dwelling house, where he and his family ever since
have been very pleasantly situated. Mr. Krause has his quarter section all under cultivation, well tiled and well
improved, among the attractive features of the place being a fine grove of four acres. In addition to his farming,
Mr. Krause has found time to devote a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs; served for some time as
a member of the board of supervisors and for the past ten years has been a member of the school board in district
35. He also is a stockholder in the Highwater Telephone Company and in the Farmers Elevator Company, the State
Bank and the farmers store at Jeffers. He is at present a director of the Highwater Telephone Company and also
a director of the Farmers Elevator Company.
In 1896 Herman C. Krause was united in marriage to Mary Stern, of Springfield, Brown county, Minnesota, and to
this union six children have been born, Otto, Rudolph, Ella, Erhart, Lydia and Arthur, all of whom are living save
Otto, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Krause are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Krause for some time
served as a member of the official board of the same.
From:
History of Cottonwood and Watonwan Counties
Minnesota
Their People, Industries and Institutions
John A. Brown, Editor in Chief
B. F. Bowen and Company, Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana
1916.
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