John Brasch is one of the substantial and enterprising farmers of the vicinity of Nezperce, having taken his present farm, two miles northeast from town, in the fall of 1895. He came with two cayuses and plenty of courage and determination and this has won the day, for he now has a choice farm, well improved, with good buildings, orchard, fences, and so forth, and is a prosperous and well to do citizen. He also has a nice bunch of cattle and some hogs and horses.
John Brasch was born in Prussia, Germany, on February 25, 1842, being the son of Christ and Christina Brasch, also natives of the same place. When our subject was a child the family came to the United States and settled in Wisconsin, where John grew to manhood.
On August 15, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-eighth Volunteer Infantry of Wisconsin, and was attached to the western army under Sherman. He fought in the battles of Helena, where he was wounded; Little Rock, Saline River, Spanish Fort, Blakely, and was in the siege of Vicksburg. Later he was sent to Texas and on August 23, 1865, he was honorably discharged, having seen plenty of hard service. Returning to his home in Wisconsin, he was married in Winnebago County, on March 3, 1867, Henrietta Koch becoming his wife.
In 1S80 they went to Thayer County, Nebraska, and in 1890 he came to Fairfield, Washington, and in November, 1895, Mr. Brasch made his present location, where he had pretty difficult toiling for a time, but now he is enjoying the fruits of his wisely bestowed industry. Four children have been born to Mr. Brasch: Christina, wife of Lewis Nisson, in Adams County, Washington; Frederick W, who has a quarter section adjoining his father’s; Theodore L., at Fairfield, Washington; Bertha, wife of B. Ohlson, at Rockford, Washington. On January 18, 1899, Mrs. Brasch was called hence by death.
On June 7, 1899, Mr. Brasch married Mrs. Martha J. Stewart, daughter of George W. and Caroline V. Jackson. Mr. Jackson crossed the plains in 1845 and recrossed them five times. He was an intrepid pioneer and followed his profession of teaching school and music in various places of the west, especially in the vicinity of Spokane. He settled first in Clackamas County, Oregon, where Mrs. Brasch was born on March 13, 1856. She married Richard R. Stewart, by whom she had four children: Lynda V., wife of A. Pradella, near Spokane; Margaret G., wife of W. Redjovich, of Republic, Washington; Olive C, wife of E. C. Quincy, of Nezperce; Andrew C. Mr. Stewart died in 1898. Mrs. Brasch’s father, well known as Professor Jackson, taught school and gave instruction in music for the last fifty-seven years of his life. He was born on May 10, 1819, and died on October 25, 1894, the last event occurring in Spokane, where he was widely known and beloved. Mrs. Brasch carries a diploma as a skilled nurse and an expert obstetrician and has practiced for twenty-seven years.
Mr. and Mrs. Brasch are among the most substantial and prosperous people of this vicinity and have the esteem and confidence of all.
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Source: An Illustrated History of Northern Idaho, Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903