JOHN BIRK, farmer, Secs. 25 and 36; P. O. Muscoda; owns 200 acres of land; was born in Prussia near the Rhine in 1811 (the country then belonged to France); was a son of John and Mary Thomas, who were natives of the same place; he learned the tailor's trade with his father, and worked at it until 21 years old, when he engaged in farming; he came to America in 1853, and located in Mahoning Co., Ohio, where for four years he engaged in coal mining; in July, 1865, he came to Muscoda and bought the farm where he now lives. He was married in the old country in 1839, to Miss Louisa Heints. They had three children, two came to this country with him; she died in 1845; in 1846, he again married Miss Margaret Baker, by whom he had one child born in the old country, and eleven in this; one son, Peter, enlisted in the 15th Ohio Battery, and served with it during the war, participating in fourteen battles, he was but a little over 14 years old when he enlisted. Mr. Birk has been an energetic, successful business man.

This biography generously submitted by Roxanne Munns.