Immigrant Ancestor Charles F. Kerkow

A brief overview of my great-grandfather

Arriving on a Tuesday at the beginning of a new year - and new life - Charles Frederick Kerkow, who often went by Carl or even Herman, came to America with his parents as an 18 year old man, arriving 1 January 1884.

The ship’s manifest indicates that Jordan, Minnesota was their ultimate final destination, which suggests that there may have been some relatives already living there. The Belgenland ship that they sailed on was a steam ship, so the journey would have been smoother and quicker than had they come even a few years prior. Though we will never know for sure, one treasured item he may have brought with him was a Meerschaum pipe that he perhaps carved himself.

At the time of Charles’ birth and up until he immigrated (and long after), Europe’s boundaries were ever-changing. Some records indicate he was born in Latvia, while others indicate Russia and still others Germany. His home town is unknown.

Charles made his living as a farmer up until 1914 when they moved into the town and he began working as a laborer for the railroad. He married soon after arriving in Minnesota and he and his wife, Bertha Kochlin, had six children, including my great grand-father Robert. From various newspaper accounts, it seems as if farming wasn’t a successful occupation for Charles, as some land was auctioned at a Sheriff’s sale by order of the courts, in payment for farming equipment he had purchased.