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Below is a family biography included in The History of Osage County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Peter Krohn, a merchant of Linn, Mo., was born July 25, 1824, in Holstein, Germany, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Groth) Krohn, the former of whom was born March 18, 1797, and is still living at the advanced age of ninety-two years. By the first wife there were two children, Peter and John, and by the second wife eight children. Catherine Krohn died in 1826. John and Peter are the only children surviving. John lives on the old homestead, and his father lives with him. Peter was retained at home until nine years of age, when he left and shifted for himself. At the age of sixteen he went to sea as a cabin-boy and became an experienced sailor, making seven trips to the North Pole on whaling expeditions. In 1846 he was drafted in the Danish navy for eight months, and in 1848, when the people rebelled against the Danish protector, he enlisted and fought as a private for two and a half years, participating in several hard fought battles. Having in youth received no education, his leisure time during these years Peter Krohn devoted to study, applying himself closely. In 1850, having saved $500, he entered the School of Navigation at Hamburg, where he remained five months, and then became second mate on a merchandise ship which plied between Hamburg and the west coast of Africa; on the second trip he was first mate, and went to Buenos Ayres, South America, and subsequently to Vera Cruz, on the coast of Mexico, and Galveston, Tex. While returning from the latter trip he hired as first mate to a packet line which plied between Hamburg and New York. In all he sailed eighteen years, and visited many of the important points in the world. In 1854 he went to Galveston, Tex., thence to St. Louis, and in May, 1855, reached Chicago and found employment on a ship on Lake Michigan. The following winter he returned to St. Louis, and in January, 1856, in a company of about twenty Germans, started for Osage County, Mo. The bridge across the Gasconade River being down, they crossed on the ice and took refuge for two days in a house 10x12 feet; they then obtained three wagons from a farmer and pursued their journey, arriving at Linn, January 10, and finding the snow fourteen inches deep. Mr. Krohn had entered a large tract of land south of Linn the previous year, and May 15, 1856, he married Miss Fredericka Gove, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, December 28, 1831, and was a daughter of Frantz Gove. Mr. Krohn first met this lady on his trip to Galveston. They have six children, viz.: Maria, Sophia C, Frank (a merchant of Nelson, Mo.), Henry (proprietor of a livery stable in Linn), Augustus C. and Peter G. After his marriage Mr. Krohn settled on his land five miles south of Linn, which he began clearing, and on which he erected a house, which only cost him the price of the nails, 50 cents. September 15, 1856, he cut his foot very severely, and was helpless for some time, but the following winter cut and cleared three acres of land on his crutches. As a result of much hard work and economy by 1864 he had saved $2,000, but during Price’s raid he lost all. In October, 1865, he moved to Linn and engaged in general merchandising on a small scale, gradually adding to his stock from year to year until he became one of the largest merchants of the county. He was a good business manager, and gave his sons a practical business training in the store. In 1873 he erected a large brick building in Linn, and carries a fine stock of goods. For the past eight years he has devoted almost his entire attention to the interests of his store, and has been very successful in this venture. He is now the oldest merchant in Linn, and is one of the first Germans to settle in Osage County. He is well educated in both the German and the English languages. In 1866 he was made deputy postmaster, and in 1870 was appointed postmaster of Linn, which office he held until 1884. He is a member of the Masonic order, and is one of the most prominent citizens of Linn.

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This family biography is one of 52 biographies included in The History of Osage County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Osage County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Osage County, Missouri family biographies here: Osage County, Missouri Biographies

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