Peter was born at Passou, a leading city in the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany. Reared on a farm, he received his education in the common schools of the district in which he lived. In 1864, he and his mother emigrated to America on a steerage vessel, which took 3-4 weeks. They settled first in McGregor, Clayton Co., Iowa. He worked as a farm hand for a year or so and saved enough money to buy 20 acres of timberland. With the help of the family, they cleared and cultivated the land. After 3 years, he exchanged this land for a yoke of oxen, a cow, and a wagon. With these, their household goods, tools, and food, he took the family to South Dakota in 1869. The pioneer couple settled on the homestead in Yankton County on the James River near Jamesville, 15 miles north and approximately 1-1/2 miles west of Yankton. The county was largely unsettled; consequently, they had many experiences with Sioux Indians, prairie fires, grasshopper plagues, sod houses, and the blizzard of 1888 (which took many lives). There was ample wild game such as rabbits, prairie chickens, ducks, geese, and fish from the James River. The rich soil, which they were the first to till, yielded bountiful crops.
Peter and his wife pre-empted six claims of 160 acres each. Four of these were timber claims. After a house was built, they erected more buildings, cleared trees, and farmed more ground as fast as their limited resources permitted. It was during these years that they were often visited by curious, friendly Indians, who followed the James River to the Missouri and back again. They traded their furs and animal skins for food, trinkets, beads, etc. Many years later when they were farming on the prairie, the family was visited by gypsies, medicine men, and strangers walking through the country looking for work, food, and a place to sleep. They tried to be good to these people.
Peter moved to Yankton in 1900 and lived at 412 Douglas.
Buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Yankton, South Dakota, USA.
↑ 2.02.12.2 "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMRF-TS1 : accessed 13 June 2021), Peter Huber, T.96-R.55-56, Yankton, South Dakota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 356, sheet 10B, family 163, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,555.
↑ 3.03.1 "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCVH-7F4 : 19 February 2021), Peter Huber, Township 96 North Range 56 West, Yankton, Dakota Territory, United States; citing enumeration district ED 110, sheet 515A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,115.
↑ "Peter Huber Death Certificate 1905," South Dakota Dept. of History, Bureau of Census and Vital Statistics, Certificate and Record of Death. Register #64, Yankton County, Yankton, SD. Dated November 21, 1905, signed by James Roane, MD.
↑ Crawford County Register of Deeds, Crawford Co., Wisconsin; #603 dated 22 Feb 1865; Certified Marriage Record of Peter Huber and Thersa Reisinger, Vol 4 - Marriages - page 204.
See also (a subscription is required to view these records):
Ancestry.com, record for Peter Huber
Public Member Trees at www.ancestry.com
"Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925," Ancestry.com
Acknowledgments
This profile was created through the import of Lanctot Modified 1-11-11.ged on 12 January 2011.
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