Biography - Garrett Brunken
GARRELT
BRUNKEN. Many of the fertile spots in our great Republic have been colonized
by worthy representatives of the German nation, and these places invariably
show that the Teutonic element is an excellent one to be infused in a
locality. Thrift, order, commendable economy and intelligence are seen in
all their work. Nokomis Township, Montgomery County, is an admirably farmed
district, as a result of its German residents, and our subject is one of
them. He was born in Ostfriesland, Hanover, Germany, July 14, 1839, and is a
son of Frederick and Gebke (Landmann) Brunken, who were also natives of that
part of Germany. The former devoted himself to the cultivation of the soil
and was proficient in all the methods of the German farmer. On his
well-cultivated tract our subject grew to manhood, alternating farm duties
and school work, his development being well balanced between the theoretical
and practical.
After attaining to man's estate, Mr. Brunken followed the calling of a farmer in his native land until 1868, when he and his parents came to America, drawn hither perhaps by the glowing accounts sent them of the conditions of the country by two brothers who had preceded them hither, Eillert in 1855 and Brunky in 1859. The former died many years ago, and the latter, after an honorable service in the Union army, lasting for three years, is now in the Soldiers' Home at Quincy, this State. Another brother, Frederick Brunken, is a prosperous farmer in Christian County.
For two months after the advent of the Brunken family in America, they stayed in Madison County, this State, and then came to Montgomery County, locating upon the farm where our subject has ever since lived. Here his mother departed this life in 1870 and the father in 1883. Our subject has been very prosperous since coining to the States and has one of the finest and best cultivated farms in Nokomis Township. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres and bears good improvements.
May 10, 1873, our subject married Miss Annie Wattyes, also a native of Germany, and they have since traveled together over life's pathway most harmoniously, although their experience has not been without its pain, as in every human lot. Of six bright children born to them they have lost two. Those surviving are: Henry, a lad of thirteen years; Lena, a girl of eleven; Annie, a child of eight years; and Freddie, the youngest of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Brunken are members of the Lutheran Church, in which the former is a Deacon. In his farming operations, our subject has directed his attention to that very profitable line, stock-raising, and has done much in encouraging the raising of finer breeds. The county in which he lives counts him as one of her progressive citizens, of whom she may well be proud. In his political preference, he is a decided Republican.
Extracted 04 Dec 2016 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 262-264.
