Fredrick Gahlhoff was born in Germany on the 26th of January 1857. He lived with his parents, who were farmers, until he was seventeen years of age. He then struck out on his own, working for neighbors until 1881, when he decided to migrate to the United Sates. He arrived in Valley City on May 12, 1881.

Upon his arrival he went to work for Henry Schilling until fall, when he journeyed to Milwaukee, where he remained thru the winter, returning in the spring to work for James Bushey.

In the fall of 1882 he filed on Section 2 of Ashtabula Township, putting up a claim shanty, digging a well and breaking five acres of land. The next summer he broke an additional 40 acres. His first seeding was the original five acres and he received 300 bushels. His neighbors, not very complimentary of his method of seeding, said they should really get a crop if he could get 300 bushels off five acres.

In 1883 he married Wilhelmina Schultz, the sister of William Schultz.

In 1890 Fredrick proved up his homestead and then purchased 200 acres in Section 1 for a total farm acreage of 360 acres. He was free of debt and owned 360 acres of land, after arriving in Barnes County nine years before with but a few German dollars in his pocket.

The first church services in that community were held in the claim shanty of Fredrick Gahlhoff.

To this family were born 13 children, seven boys and six girls. Five survive at this time.

The children born were: Gustave, Frieda, Edith, Henry, Rosie, William, Emma, Lilly, Herman, Fritz, Martha, Albert and Emil.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 77