Dickinson Co., KS AHGP-Portrait and
Biographical Record of Dickinson, Saline, McPherson and
Marion Counties-Charles H. Koepke
Portrait and Biographical
Record of Dickinson, Saline, McPherson and Marion
Counties
Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1893
CHARLES H. KOEPKE, who is engaged in
farming on section 22, Union Township,
and is one of the County Commissioners
of Dickinson County, was born in Prussia, Germany,
November 8, 1855, and is the son of Carl
Koepke, who was born in Prussia in 1815. The
latter married Martha Hemple, also a native of
that country, where they resided until 1860.
That year witnessed their emigration to America.
They landed in Baltimore, Md., went direct
to Kansas City, and thence came with ox-teams to
Dickinson County. The father purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of land on section 22,
Union Township, where he and his wife are still
living at an advanced age. They are numbered
among the honored pioneers of the community.
Their family numbered four children, two sons
and two daughters.
Our subject, the third in order of birth, was not
yet five years old when, with his parents, he
crossed the briny deep. He was reared to manhood
on his father's farm, and has always resided
in Union Township. His education was
acquired in the common schools of the neighborhood
and in Lawrence, Kan., where he pursued
his studies for two years. Farming and stock
raising have been his chief business through life,
and he is now thus engaged. He owns four hundred
and forty acres of arable land, upon which
he has erected a good set of farm buildings and
made all the improvements found upon a model
farm.
A marriage ceremony performed in Union
Township December 20, 1877, united the destinies
of Mr. Koepke and Miss Minnie Kandt, daughter
of John and Mary (Bredow) Kandt, natives of
Prussia. Her parents emigrated to America in
1855, and were residents of Wisconsin until 1859,
when they came to Dickinson County, Kan., locating
in Lyon Township. The father died on
Christmas Day of 1891. Mrs. Koepke, who is the
youngest of a family of two sons and two daughters,
was born in Lyon Township, January 20,
1860. Four children grace the union of our subject
and his wife: Henry W., Lena A., Charles J.
and Rudolph H.
In the fall of 1890, Mr. Koepke was elected one
of the County Commissioners, and is the present
incumbent. He has held the office of Township
Trustee for five years, and was Justice of the
Peace for eight years. He is a stanch Republican
and takes an active interest in political affairs,
doing all in his power to insure the success of his
party. He also manifests a commendable interest
in religious work, and, with his wife, is a
member of the Lutheran Church.
(c) 2009 Sheryl McClure for
Dickinson County KS AHGP