Biography of Carl Asmus
--Catheryn Asmus
Carl Fredereiech Wilhelm Asmus was born in Germany, September the twenty fifth in eighteen hundred and eighty, near the town of Holstein. His father, Daniel Asmus, died in nineteen hundred thirteen. His mother whose maiden name was Catherine Stockfish is still living and will be seventy seven years old next December.
Daniel Asmus came to America in eighteen hundred eighty two. He came to America, in order to keep his sons from the army conscription that Germany enforced. Germany at that time required every able-bodied male citizen to serve a certain number of years in the army. This life was very hard upon the young men. The young man never had any pay which he could call his own. If he saved his money his parents would take it away from him. On the other hand, most of the young men would spend the money instead of saving it. They spent it because they figured, that tomorrow would never come to them. Daniel Asmus himself served in the Prussian Army and because of his experience he realized that his sons would never amount to more than he himself unless they were allowed absolute freedom from "service".
occurred at the time when a man should be making a profession of his own instead of spending it in involuntary servitude.
When Carl Asmus was about a year and a half old, Daniel decided to come to America with his wife and three children, Dora, Henry and Carl. My grandmother, Mrs. Daniel Asmus, states that everything went fine except that Carl caught a skin disease and was very cross. This was very hard for grandmother but she said, "The hardest part of our lot fell to us after we got in this country." The reason they experienced difficulties was because they could not speak or understand the English language. They were on the ocean seventeen days before they arrived in New York.
While in New York an incident of interest occurred. While eating a meal the Asmus's observed a couple who were also eating. The strangers were very particular to not eat very much. My grandfather then addressed them like this, "Friends, eat all you want in America. They charge you, not for what you eat but for the meal." This remark seems to show that people in the "old Country" were accustomed to saving everything but that this country was a land of plenty.
From New York they went to Fonda, Iowa where they went through many hard times before they got used to the ways of this country. After living in Fonda several years, they moved to a farm near the city. While living here Carl Asmus received his eight years of schooling. He is reputed to have been a very mischievous boy in school.
When the family grew richer they raised cattle. One time after shipping a car load of cattle to Chicago a real estate agent knowing they had money interested them so much in this wonderful state of North Dakota of ours that Daniel and Carl Asmus came to North Dakota to see if the agent's representations were true. They found this state to be full of promise and opportunity. Accordingly they bought land from the D. S. B. Johnston Land Company. Five to seven dollars an acre was paid for the land. The land they bought was in Rosendal township, Griggs County, range 61. Binford became their nearest trading point. At that time there were two general merchandise stores owned by Kinney and Knapp. They erected frame buildings in the same year they came up, nineteen hundred one. In the following year the entire family moved to the state.
The nearest neighbors of Carl Asmus were Andrew Ramsey, Swen Bjornson, and Hendrick Olsen.
In order to secure immigration rates from Iowa to Dakota the men had to live in the car with their horses and farm machinery. In one end of the car the horses were loaded and the other end was piled full of machinery and wheat. The men slept upon the grain. One morning Carl Asmus found himself upon a plow beam. The train had been leaning to one side so much that he had slipped from his bed. They had a small stove with them and did their own cooking whenever the train stopped at a division point. At these places they also bought fruit and provisions. The trip took five days. They traveled upon three railways; the Northern Pacific, the Illinois Central, and the N. and St. L. Because of poor railroad facilities Mr. Asmus was compelled to brow beat an official in order to secure water for their stock.
Nothing of unusual interest occurred except that in March of the second winter in North Dakota a bad snowstorm took place. Not being used to such blizzards they tied a string from the house to the barn. This incident often makes them laugh whenever they think of it now. Carl Asmus married Rosette Adrian at her father's home on the twenty-eighth day of November in the year of nineteen hundred seven. The descendant's names are Herman, Edith, and Catheryn Asmus. Their addresses are the same as their father's which is Binford, North Dakota.