website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Friedrich Hilker
1828 - 1915
Hilker, Fred, b. Oct 12, 1828, d.
Dec 26, 1915, Co D 24th Inf Vol
Hilker, Mary, b. Aug 21, 1839, d.
Jan 11, 1915
It will be very sad news to his many friends
in Watertown and in the town of Shields, as well as in many other places in the
southern part of the county, to learn of the death of Friedrich H. C. Hilker, which took place in Watertown last Sunday
afternoon, Dec. 26th, 1915 at the age of 77 years. His death came after an illness of eight
days. On Dec. 18th he contracted the
grippe which developed into pneumonia, with fatal results.
Fred Hilker was a
veteran of the Civil War and was a well known member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. He served Uncle Sam from 1862
to 1865, when he received an honorable discharge.
When a young man, Mr. Hilker
spent some years railroading, being a locomotive fireman on the Milwaukee
Wisconsin Road. After the war, he married
and located on a farm in the town of Shields where he lived for many years and
until he retired and moved to Watertown.
His loving and faithful wife died in January 1915.
He was a man who enjoyed the friendship of a
large number of people a good neighbor and a man who liked his home
surroundings. He possessed a kind and
charitable disposition and was ever ready to befriend those in need of
assistance.
Two sons, seven daughters, twenty-seven
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren survive Mr. Hilker. The sons are Frank, who resides on the
homestead in Shields and Clement, town of Portland. The daughters are Mrs. John McGovern, town of
Portland; Mrs. Ernst Reckner, town of Shields; Mrs.
John Maerzke, Mrs. James Dowd, Mrs. Charles Ebert,
Mrs. Edward Gehrke, Watertown, and Miss Lena Hilker, at home.
Funeral services were held under the auspices
of the G.A.R. at the late home Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock. Interment in Oak Hill cemetery.
Maria Hilker
Mrs. Maria Hilker,
wife of Frederick Hilker, answered the final call, at
the family home, in Watertown, last Monday morning, Jan 11, 1915, at the age of
75 yrs., 4 mo. and 20 days. Mrs. Hiker
had been a sufferer for years from asthma and Bright’s disease.
Mrs. Hilker was
born in Austria, Aug 21 1889 and came to America with her parents, locating in
Milwaukee. On Jan 24, 1861 she became
the wife of Frederick Hilker. They had been married less than two years
when Mr. Hilker enlisted in the army, serving through
the remaining years of the Civil war.
During his military service, Mrs. Hilker and
her infant daughter, made their home in Watertown.
In 1869 Mr. Hilker
and his family located on a farm in the town of Shields where they resided
until 1904, when they retired from active life and moved to Watertown.
Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hilker, nine of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. Charles Ebert of Watertown, Mrs. John
McGovern, Portland; Mrs. Ernst Reckner, town of
Shields; Mrs. John Maerzke, Mrs. James Dowd, and Mrs.
Edward Gehrke ,Watertown; Mr. Clemens Hilker, Waterloo; Mr. Frank Hilker,
who resides on the homestead in the town of Shields, and Miss Lena Hilker, at home.
Twenty-five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren also survive, as
do two sisters and one brother, all of whom reside in Buffalo, New York. They are Mrs. Anna Pohle,
Mrs. George Neuman and Mr. Frank Prienfalk. Mrs. Hilker was
bereaved by the loss of two brothers within the last two months. Funeral services were held Thursday afternoon
at 1 o’clock at the home and at 1:30 o’clock at St. Luke’s church. Interment in Oak Hill cemetery.
History of Watertown,
Wisconsin