CHARLES H. FALK.
Charles H. Falk, of Shannon township, is the owner of the first tract of land which was filed upon in the Atchison county land office in 1854. This farm was preëmpted by Capt. William Jackson, who was a justice of the peace and a captain of home guards during the Civil war, and died at Ft. Worth, Tex., in 1911. The first house built on the place was made from material taken from the cabin of a river steamer sunk in the Missouri river. Henry Falk, father of Charles, and his son, have made so many excellent improvements on the dwelling that the dining room of the present residence is the only part of the old cabin now in use. This part of the home was built in 1857. The original owner set out a grove of cottonwoods in 1857 which was cut down in the fall of 1892 by the present proprietor, and erected a barn from the lumber sawed, which made over 112,000 feet of good merchantable lumber. Mr. Falk’s barn was built from this lumber, with the exception of the shingles. Captain Jackson sold the land to Frank Fisher, who died in 1877, six months after the purchase, and it was bought by Henry Falk, father of Charles H., in 1878. After Henry Falk’s death, Charles H. came into possession of the land by inheritance, and by purchase of the interests of the other heirs. He has made very extensive improvements since becoming the owner and despite that the soil has been in constant cultivation for more than sixty years the yield of crops is greater now than ever before, and the wheat crops in late years have exceeded twenty-two bushels an acre. The farm residence is attractively situated, in the center of the tract of 155 acres and is reached by a splendid driveway, kept in first class condition by Mr. Falk. In fact, the private road to the Falk residence is kept in far better condition than many of the country roads in Atchison county, and is in keeping with the general appearance of this fine farm.
Charles H. Falk was born May 23, 1864, in Watertown, Wis., a son of Henry, born in 1815, and died, 1894, and of Wilhelmina (Clout) Falk, born 1819, and died in 1901. Both parents were born on the River Rhine in Germany, and married in their native land. Henry Falk was a cabinet-maker and immigrated to Wisconsin in 1857, and worked at his trade until 1866, when he settled on a farm. He came to Atchison county with his family in 1879, and on February 2, of that year, moved on the farm which he had purchased the preceding year.
Charles H. Falk was married in 1885 to Elizabeth Wolters, a daughter of John Wolters, a native of Holland, who was one of the first brick-makers in Atchison and Doniphan counties. John Wolters emigrated from Holland to Doniphan county, Kansas, in 1857, and came to Atchison in 1858. During his long residence in Atchison he has been a manufacturer of brick, and the results of his handiwork are seen in the construction of many of the brick buildings in the city. Mr. Wolters was born in May, 1827, and is now over eighty-nine years of age and the oldest Atchison county resident at the present time. He lives a retired life on South Second street. Mr. and Mrs. Falk have children as follows: John H., a resident of Beattie, Marshall county, married Margaret Gressel, and they have two children, Karl and Pauline; Henry, in the employ of the Symns Grocer Company; Anna, a seamstress, living with her parents; Rose, wife of John McGrath, a traveling salesman for the Symns Grocer Company, and they have one child, Rosemary; Herbert, aged twenty years, and Irene, aged ten years, both of whom are at home with their parents.
Mr. Falk and his family are members of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and Mr. Falk is a member of the church committee of four councilors. He is a Democrat, but is inclined to be independent in his voting, having a decided leaning toward the support of those candidates that seem best fitted for the office. He has filled no civic office but that of township trustee, which he held for one year, having been appointed by the county commissioners to fill a vacancy in Shannon township. He is affiliated with the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and the Central Protective Association and is a member of the St. Joseph society.