Bio: Yankee, Henry W. (History - 1844)

Contact: Janet Schwarze

Surnames: YANKEE KNOLL KLEINSCHMIDT KNOOP

----Source: 1891 History of Clark and Jackson County

HENRY W. YANKEE, a farmer of Section 8, township 24, range 1 east, was born December 26, 1844, in Hamilton, Canada, the fourth son in a family of six sons and one daughter. Their father, a year after his marriage emigrated from near Stettin, Prussia. He was a tailor by trade, but did not follow that vocation much after coming to America, devoting more of his time to agriculture. His eldest son, Frederick, was born in Prussia August, James and Henry were born in Canada and Ernest, Herman and Rosa in Washington County, this State. Frederick enlisted for the Union in the late war, in Company I, Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in 1861, and during service was taken sick and placed in a hospital, where he died. Rosa came to Clark County with the family, growing to womanhood, married August Reidle, and died at the age of twenty-two years.

Mr. Yankee's parents were Frederick and Frederica (Knoll) Yankee. The father came from Washington County, by was of Sparta, to Clark County, with his own conveyance, in company with the Kleinschmidt and Sternitzky families. In the early life of the families there was much interchange and a commodation, as the Sternitzky's and the Yankees settled on adjoining sections, where the Kleinschmidts were five miles away. No schools, no churches, no stores, no mills, no post office, no clearing, almost no neighbors would be a description of the situation in Clark County. Mr. Yankee purchased 480 acres of land, at the then Government price, of 1.25 per acre. This formed what is now the homestead farm of 100 acres, occupied by Herman, eighty-six by Henry, seventy-four by James and eighty by William. The rest has been sold. James, Henry, William and Herman now reside in Clark County, August in Ashland County, and Ernest was lost to the family at the age of fourteen years, and nothing has been heard of him since that time, nearly thirty years ago.

Mr. Yankee, whose name introduces the sketch, was married February, 25, 1875, to Amelia Knoop, at Lynn, and they have four children, namely: Ernest H. W., born May 7, 1882 Arthur F. F., July 18, 1884 Martin E. F., April 27, 1886, and Lillian A., April 9, 1888. Mrs. Yankee was a daughter of Jacob and Louise Knoop, and was born October 8, 1854. She had five brothers but no sister. The family are from Prussia, but she came to this State with family after the death of her father, locating in Clark County.
Since his marriage Mr. Yankee has given his whole attention to his farm, but previous to that he worked in the pineries five winters, as did most of the new-comers of early day.

YANKEE KNOLL KLEINSCHMIDT KNOOP