Name/Title
Bohnsack family: Charles & Hulda (Krienke) Bohnsack, 1878 pioneers in Bohnsack Township, Traill County, DTEntry/Object ID
2023.351.1Description
This file contains photos and documents on the life of Charles Bohnsack, who was the son of John and Maria (Heineke) Bohnsack, pioneers of Traill County. Charles was born 26 September 1859 in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, to parents Johan and Maria (Heineke) Bohnsack.
The life of Charles and Hulda, and their children, was briefly described on page 86 in the Grandin Centennial (1881-1981) book (below). A more thorough description is in Chapters 5 & 6 in a document on Bohnsack family history compiled and written by Dorothy (Bohnsack) Odlaug, a granddaughter of Charles Bohnsack. Dorothy was born in 1914 and died in 2016 at the age of 102. Her chapter pages are included in this file. Also, the lives of Charles and Hulda Bohnsack are described on pages 11 & 15 in the 37-pages of a family history document written by Walt Bohnsack (see Walt Bohnsack's Catalogit entry; these pages are also included in this file).
From Dorothy's pages and from articles written for the Fargo Forum newspaper by historian-journalist Roy Johnson, we know that in 1879, at the age of 19, Charles came with his parents, along with sisters Mary and Friedericka and brother Philip, to Traill County to land claimed in 1878 and settled in 1879. This land was in Sections 10, 15 & 16 in what became Bohnsack Township in 1884. In 1880, Charles also took a claim of land in Section 22. The homestead was located in Section 15 (see photo from the 1892 Traill and Steele Counties Atlas).
In 1886, Charles (Chas) Bohnsack married Hulda Krienke in Hillsboro, Traill County, DT. Chas and Hulda had five children in Traill County that survived to adulthood, including two sons, Louis Bohnsack (b. 3 April 1886, m. Elsa Schwalbe, d. 1960) & Alvin Bohnsack (b. 21 May 1890, m. Lavina Hardy, d. 1958) and three daughters, Clara Bohnsack (b. 15 June 1887, m. George Bohlig, d. 1916), Eleanor Bohnsack (b. 18 May 1892, m.Dr. Crim, d. 1968), & Frieda Bohnsack (b. 30 April 1896, m. Orville Colb, d. 1959).
In 1888, Charles Bohnsack sold his land to Herman Ponto and moved his family to Blue Earth, MN, for about two years and then to Alexandria, MN, for about two more years. In 1904, he moved with his family to Fargo, ND. Charles also purchased ranch land in the Sheyenne Sand Hills southwest of Fargo.
Chas and Hulda's son, Alvin Bohnsack, moved to New York, but Louis Bohnsack stayed and worked in Fargo. Chas and Hulda's daughter Clara Bohnsack became a professional musician, Frieda became a teacher and then took over the operation of the Bohnsack Ranch in the Sand Hills, and Eleanor Bohnsack became a medical doctor, married a Mr. Crim, and practiced in Washington and Hawaii (see photo of Eleanor with daughter Carla Crim).
The life of Charles Bohnsack is also described on pages 11 to 15 in the 37-pages of a family history document written by Walt Bohnsack (see Walt Bohnsack's Catalogit entry).
Chas Bohnsack lived to 98, dying in 1957 in Fargo, ND, leaving two son, Louis and Alvin, and two daughters, Frieda and Eleanor, and 13 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren (see Charles' children document). Charles was interred in the Bohnsack Cemetery located in the SE Qtr. of Sect. 10 in Bohnsack Township.Acquisition
Accession
2023.351Source or Donor
Brian Bohnsack
