Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The
Big Bend Country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties,
State of Washington", published by Western Historical Publishing
Co., 1904.
GUSTAV BORCK is one of the extensive
land owners in the vicinity of Rocklyn. He dwells three and one half
miles southwest of that station and there owns thirteen hundred acres of
land, more than four hundred acres of which are excellent grain producing
ground, and all enclosed. He has good improvements, such as a handsome
eight-room house, large barn, good orchard, and so forth, and combines
stock raising with the cultivation of his land. Practically all of
this property he has accumulated since coming to Lincoln county in the
spring of 1889. He at once took up a homestead and began making improvements;
to do which, and support his family, he found it incumbent upon him to
labor hard until his land began to produce dividends.
Gustav Borck is a native
German, born March 14, 1859, the son of John and Louisa Borck, both also
born in Germany. The father served in his country's army during the
Austrian-German troubles, and died in the land of his birth. The
mother of Mr. Borck is now living at Walkerville, Canada. Gustav
is fourth in age of a family of twelve children, eight of whom are living,
seven in Detroit Michigan, and one sister in Colorado, and was reared to
the age of seventeen on a farm in Germany. Our subject's oldest brother,
John, served in the Franco-Prussian war. When seventeen Gustav sailed
for New York city, and from that port came to Detroit, Michigan, where
he learned the hammersmith's and blacksmith's trades, which he followed
in various railroad and blacksmithing shops of Detroit and Pullman, Illinois.
In 1880 occurred the
marriage of Gustav Borck and Anna C. Graf, a native of Detroit, in which
city the wedding took place. Mrs. Borck's father was Charles Graf,
born in Germany, and came to Detroit in 1860. About the year 1888
he came to the Big Bend, but returned to Detroit, where three years ago
he died, after having traveled extensively over the world. Mary (Neuman)
Graf, Mrs. Borck's mother, also a native of Germany, is now living in Detroit.
Mrs. Borck has one brother and one sister; William Graf, of Wayne, Michigan,
and Mrs. Minnie Borck, wife of Conrad Borck, brother of ous subject, of
Detroit.
To Mr. and Mrs. Borck
have been born seven children; Johanna M., who went east in 1901 to attend
Detroit University; Arthur A., also attending that institution; Orla
Helen; Irving R.; Harvey W.; Grace Elsie; and Erma Pearl.
Both Mr. Borck and his
wife are members of the German Evangelical church of Rocklyn.