Mary Holtkamp was born on January 10, 1865 in St Paul, Iowa. She is a relation on the Link side of the family.

Mary Holtkamp was born to Johann Bernard and Catherine Hutchons Holtkamp near St. Paul Iowa. Her parents were immigrants who had a farm. Mary was one of 12 children born to the family.

On January 30, 1883, Mary married Bernard Heinrich Menke at St. James Church in St Paul. The 1900 census finds them living on a farm with a Gerhard Wellman working as a laborer in the farm. Gerhard is the father of Herman Wellman, who I wrote about is this post. This Gerhard Wellman is Walt’s first cousin twice removed (not the Gerhard Wellman who is his great-grandfather).

Early in the 1900s, Mary and Bernard adopted three siblings. Raymond, George, and Angelyn were placed for adoption after their father was killed in a railway accident and their mother was placed in an institution. The children’s youngest sibling, Joseph, was placed with a different family.

Two of the children, Raymond and Angelyn took the Menke surname. George kept the Baker family name. Angelyn (listed as Angeline in the picture above) married Irenaus Krueger, the son of Bernard and Anna Boeding Krueger, another relation on the Link side of the family.

Sometime in the 1910s, Mary and Bernard moved to Fort Madison where they had a house on Avenue D. They lived in Fort Madison for the rest of their lives.

Mary Holtkamp Menke died on November 17, 1941 in Fort Madison. Bernard Menke died on June 8, 1945.