John Herman

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John Stephen Herman was born in Polca Dolna Parish, Opole, Silesia, Prussia on December 26th, 1885. He came to the United States with his family when he was only one year old. The family arrived in Royalton, Minnesota in 1887 and they moved to a farm in St. Anna, MN shortly after. The farm was originally very wooded and was cleared by Lawrence and his sons. John assisted with blasting, digging and removing trees & stumps, as well as daily farm chores. The family name of Hermanza was changed by John's father when he applied for and was granted citizenship papers in 1894. In the year 1900 John traveled to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to work in a logging camp. In the off hours he would hunt deer and prairie chickens. After three years he returned to St. Anna where he opened a saw mill in Wahkon, Minnesota with his brother Valentine. John also worked at a roller mill in Silver Lake, Minnesota and traveled with the threshing machine he owned, doing custom threshing work for farms all over the midwest and dakotas. On May 16th, 1906 John married Monica Broda at St. Hedwig's Catholic Church in Holdingford, Minnesota. They originally stayed at the Herman family farm, Mary and Hattie were born while they were living there, possibly Valentine as well (his place of birth is listed as St. Anna however). In 1912 John moved his family to Detroit, Michigan. They lived next door to his brother Peter's family on 35th street. While living in Michigan John worked for the Ford Motor Company, his badge number was A-3779 and Ambrose still has the badge. The couple's daughter Victoria was born in Detroit on 5/23/1914, and shortly after her birth the family moved back to Minnesota, settling on a farm in Gilman. Clara was born on this farm, and was the youngest child, being born on 8/9/1916. The other three children's birthdates are blank in the family history done by Ambrose Herman in the 1970's, although it is possible to assume that Mary, Hattie and Valentine were born between 1907 and 1912. Sadly, Monica passed away on February 4th, 1918 after a bout of pneumonia. After his wife's death John returned to his hometown of Holdingford, where he worked with his brother Valentine. The children were all separated between various homes in the Holdingford area. While working with his brother, John frequently traveled to Bowlus, Minnesota. On one of these trips he met the widowed Mary Rudie Scheerhorn, who owned a women's hat shop. John began to court Mary, and they married at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, in Bowlus, Minnesota on January 25th, 1920. After the marriage Mary rented out her hat shop in Bowlus and moved to a home in Holdingford with John. In the three years spent living in Holdinford John worked as a steam engine operator, owned a sawmill where he made laths for homes, and assisted his brother Valentine, who was county commissioner at the time. Mary gave birth to their first child, Ambrose on December 5th, 1921. In the spring of 1923 the family's home burned down, and they moved to a home that Mary owned in Sauk Rapids (the current home of their second son George). About a year after the move to Sauk Rapids, George was born. John got a new job at the Watab Paper Company in Sartell, Minnesota as a steamfitter. He continued to hunt and fish in his freetime, passing this hobby on to his sons. Mary would even join when they went pheasant hunting, packing a picnic for the family and watching them hunt from the car. John retired from the paper company in July of 1953, and passed away from a heart attack on October 18th of 1963. He is buried at Sacred Heart Cemetary, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.