gohlmanw
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.
WILLIAM GOHLMAN. To no
class of people more than the farmers is due the present prosperous conditions
of Lincoln county. Among those who have wrought wisely and well is
the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He resides
about a mile southwest of Harrington and was born on January 29, 1864,
in Clinton county, Iowa. His father, Henry Gohlman, was born in Germany
and came to the United States at the age of twenty. He made settlement
in Clinton county, Iowa, and there served as county recorder for four years.
He was well educated in both the German and the English. He is now
residing in the city of Clinton, Iowa, aged seventy-one. He married
Henrietta Brincker, also a native of Germany. She is still living
in Clinton, aged seventy-five. They raised the following named children,
Henry, Martin, Rudolph, William, who is our subject, and Mrs. Mary Buck.
William was educated in Clinton and in 1884
started to work for himself, beginning operations in constructing railroads
in western Iowa and followed the same in Nebraska, Minnesota, Dakota and
Montana for four years, then came the determination to secure a home for
himself and accordingly he turned toward the territory of Washington and
in the spring of 1888, he landed in Lincoln county and began working for
wages. He soon located a homestead and began improvements.
He also did considerable breaking of the prairie for other parties and
prospered well in his farm labors. In 1898, he bought his present
home place, which is a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, two-thirds
of which is devoted to wheat raising. The place is supplied with
good improvements, as house, barn, well, wind mill, orchard and so forth.
Mr. Gohlman has a stock of horses and cattle and is one of the well-to-do
citizens of this portion of the county.
On November 11, 1898, Mr. Gohlman married
Miss Loretta Brown who was born in California, the daughter of James and
Jennie (Glascock) Brown. The father is deceased and the mother is
living in Harrington. Mrs. Gohlman has two brothers and one sister,
Frank, Lela and Harry.
Mr. Gohlman is a member of the W. W. and one
of the progressive men of the community. Two children have been born
to the family, Wayne and Ylean.
Mr. Gohlman landed in this country without
any means and all that he owns now is the result of his industry and thrift.
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