"Portrait & Biographical Record of Portland & Vinc. Oregon." Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. p. 491. JOHN H. BROETJE One of the paying and interesting country enterprises of the vicinity of Oak Grove is the sixteen acre fruit farm of John H. Broetje, who is keenly alive to the merits of his chosen occupation, and has a wide understanding of all things horticultural and floricultural. Various fruits arc brought to their best development under the care of Mr. Broetje, including grapes, berries, and many other deciduous fruits. Also, he has a little nursery stock for sale, and, taken all in all, his means of livelihood is pleasant, constantly improving, and financially satisfactory. In St. Clair county, ILL., Mr. Broetje gained his first impressions of life and work, he having been born there July 13, 1864. As his name implies, he is of German ancestry, and his father, John F. Broetje, was born in Oldenburg, Germany, March I, 1833. The paternal grandfather, Anton Gerhard Broetje, was born in the Fatherland in 1782 and devoted his entire active life to farming and gardening. John F. Broetje came to the United States when twenty-one years of age, selecting Springfield, ILL., as a desirable place of residence. Here he learned the trades of locksmith and blacksmith, and finally became porter of the capitol building at Springfield, with which he was connected during the administration of Abraham Lincoln, and of several succeeding presidents. Later Mr. Broetje engaged in farming in southern Illinois, and afterward combined the occupations of farming and school teaching for thirteen years, one district alone profiting by his educational work for the long term of eight years. At Mount Tabor, Ore., Mr. Broetje conducted a very successful floral enterprise for several years, and in 1890 located in Oak Grove, where he subsequently lost heavily upon somewhat ambitious land purchasing. He was one of the first to dispel the wilderness with which he found himself surrounded, and was one of those who paved the way for the erection of this prosperous little town. A broad minded and cultured gentleman, he has materially advanced many lines of industry in the county, and has been especially industrious in promoting the grape culture here represented. At Oak Grove, Ore., John H. Broetje was united in marriage with Elizabeth King, who was born in Switzerland, and came to America in 1890. Orlie King was a man of affairs in his country, being engaged in surveying and contracting for big ditches, tiling and work of a similar nature. He died in the old country. Mr. and Mrs. Broetje have one child, Dora, who is living at home. Mr. Broetje is a wide-awake and enterprising member of the community, is fraternally identified with the Modern Brother-hood of America, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics he is a Republican. The products from his little farm are known all over this locality, and are especially prized in the markets of Portland. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in May 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.