John E. and Elizabeth (Kogel) Gerken

Johann Everhard Gerken* was born in Hegensdorf, Westphalia, Prussia, on November 1, 1857,** son of Jodocus Wilhelm and Catharina (Thiele) Gerken. John E. Gerken landed in the United States on December 11, 1880, and settled initially in Dubuque County, Iowa, as did his brothers Francis Xavier Gerken and Conrad Herman Gerken before him. John signed his Declaration of Intent to Become a Citizen on July 31, 1882, in Dubuque County.
* = He was known as John in the United States; his middle name also has been spelled as Eberhard.
** = The headstone on his grave gives his year of birth as 1860 (no date given).

John E. Gerken married Elizabeth Kogel circa 1891. It seems likely that they were married in South Dakota; John had probably moved there in the 1880s, while his brother F.X. Gerken and his family were living there. Elizabeth Kogel was born on September 27, 1871,* at Ossian, Iowa, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Kaughman) Kogel**. The Kogel family farmed in Military Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa, at the time of the 1880 U.S. census. Their children, at the time of the 1880 census, were Joseph, 14; Catharine, 13; John, 11; Elizabeth, 9; Mary, 7; Anna, 5; Philip, 3; and Frank, 1. There apparently were some older children of John and Elizabeth Kogel who were no longer in their parents' household at the time of the 1880 census, including Paul Kogel and possibly a Robert Kogel. The Kogel family migrated west to South Dakota, probably by 1884, where they settled in Jerauld County, with some of the family then settling at Woonsocket, in Sanborn County.
* = Other online genealogies list her date of birth as September 22, 1867, and March 10, 1882. September 27, 1871, is the birth date listed in the online California Death Records at http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi, and 1871 corresponds with Elizabeth's age of nine years as given in the 1880 census, and her birth was also given as September 1871 in the 1900 U.S. census.
** = maiden name of Kaughman comes from Karen Foley's genealogy, The Collignon-Foley Family Tree, online at Rootsweb.com at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kcf.

John and Elizabeth Gerken lived at Woonsocket, South Dakota. In addition to many of Elizabeth's family living there, John's brother F.X. Gerken and his family also lived the area for a time, before they returned to New Vienna in Dubuque County, Iowa.

The pulpit, built by John E. Gerken, at St. Wilfrid's Catholic Church, Woonsocket, S. Dak.

John E. Gerken was a blacksmith by trade, owning one of the two blacksmiths shops in Woonsocket, the other was owned by Ben Knight. He was also a wagon repair man. The Gerken family were members of St. Wilfrid's Catholic Church at Woonsocket, and John built the pulpit for the church. John was a charter member of the Knights of Columbus at Woonsocket and a member of its inside guard. Elizabeth Gerken was a charter member of the Woonsocket Catholic Daughters of America. She was also a charter member of the Royal Neighbors, Camp Soko 3966, a sister group to today's Modern Woodmen of America, established 1904 in Woonsocket.

In 1902, John Gerken was granted permission by the Woonsocket City Council to erect a two-story building on the north end of Lots 2, 3, and 4, Block 34. The John E. and Elizabeth Gerken home (later owned by Matt Moran) was one of the large, practical, square houses dotting the town of Woonsocket and was the third house on the south side in the fourth block east of Cenex. In 1920 Woonsocket had an abundance of rain, and water filled every basement. Water ran down East Seventh Street for most of a week. Pictures were taken of residents in boats in front of the Gerken home.

John E. Gerken died in 1928. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Woonsocket in a family lot area that today has just two headstones, his own and that of his daughter Thecla, who was killed in 1917 while visiting friends in Sioux City, Iowa. The headstone on John E. Gerken’s grave was installed long after his death, as on it is also inscribed IN MEMORY OF MSGR. CARL GERKEN, who was John Gerken’s grandson.

Sometime after her husband's death, Elizabeth Gerken moved to California, where her four surviving children were living--Lucille, Carl, Ray, and Geraldine.

Elizabeth Gerken, 90, died on August 7, 1962, in Los Angeles County, California. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery at Culver City, California, in Section L, Grave 6, Lot 217. Her son Ray was also buried there.
* = An online genealogy has her death occurring in April 1968.

Thanks to Chris Dierks of Pierre, S.D., for his volunteer lookup work for the Sanborn County, S.D., Rootsweb project. He searched through Reminiscing... A Centennial History of Sanborn County and Woonsocket and came up with much of the above information on the John and Elizabeth Gerken's life at Woonsocket.

Children of John and Elizabeth (Kogel) Gerken:

© 2007-09 Tom Larson P.O. Box 141 Peosta, IA 52068-0141 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/gerken/johne/index.htm Last revised March 24, 2009.