Jan "John" Szczepan Paschke, Sr.

1864 to the U.S. (Winona).

1870's Appleton, Minnesota.

1881 homesteaded at Ardoch Township, Walsh County, North Dakota.

In 1881 John Paschke, Sr., began homesteading in Ardoch Township, Walsh County, North Dakota. Mr . Paschke was born June 24, 1843, in West Prussia and was educated in German schools. In 1964 at 21, he immigrated to the United States. None of the other immediate members of his family followed him here. He settled in Winona, Minn, shortly after that and was the proprietor of a saloon in Winona. On Jan. 27,1873, he was married in Winona to Juliana Jezewski. His wife was born Dec.14, 1854, in Germany. As a young girl she worked in a fabric shop in Berlin. A family acquaintance of hers asked for her assistance with their small children when they immigrated to the United States. She came with the family. Julian a first settled in Chicago, Ill. In later years she recalled experiencing the Oct. 8, 1871, big Chicago fire. During the fire those imprisoned in jails were released. Confusion reigned everywhere. The people of the city, fearful of the devastating fire gathered their possessions in bundles and awaited the alarm to flee from the blazing city on a minute's notice. Practicaily no communication was exchanged by Juliana and her parents after she came to the states, yet in a few years they, too, looked to the "land of promise" and set sail for the United States, settling in Winona, Minn. Juliana soon joined her parents in Winona and it was there she was married to John Paschke, Sr. For a short time the Paschkes lived in Winona , then moved to Appleton, Minn. As in most cases the grass yonder, or more specifically, in the neighboring state seemed greener; therefore, in 1881, they headed for Dakota with their four children, Joseph, Julia, Frances, and Theodore, nine months old. They settled on their Ardoch farm bordered by Lake Ardoch. The wagon drawn by their two horses carried their meager possessions and the cow following the wagon was one of their special assets. The following year Mr. Paschke returned to Appleton to purchase another team of horses. He envisioned increasing his acreage and during his farming years acquired 1500 acres of land. (Walsh Heritage - vol.1)