Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2021
Elizabeth Hermes was born in Prussia, at Endolf in the province of Westphalia on February 11, 1832. Her parents were Johannes Wilhelm Hermes and Maria Catherina Schoettler. When Elizabeth was 18, she and her parents moved to the United States. They then lived in Detroit for two years. Then they moved to Minnesota Territory.
On their way from Detroit to Minnesota Territory, Elizabeth married Johan “John” Theodor Koeper (1818-1901), son of Johann A. Koeper and Anna K Haggen. They married in Chicago on September 15, 1852.
Elizabeth and John first settled in St. Paul, and they were engaged in the hotel business. After two years there, they took a steamboat up the river to Shakopee on October 28, 1854.
Elizabeth and John settled on the fertile spot upon the banks of the Minnesota River in what was, at that time, the Cates Farm. They lived there for 18 years.
The Hermes-Koeper family increased by ten children. The first two probably died shortly after birth in St. Paul. The rest of their children included Elizabeth (1854), Charles (1856), August (1858), Anton (1860), Sophia (1861), Frank (1865), Joseph (1870), and Emma (1872).
In 1872 Elizabeth and John moved to their new homestead located inside the city limits on the west side of Shakopee. John preempted a tract of land adjoining Shakopee as originally platted and platted a portion of his tract as an addition to Shakopee city, known as Koeper’s Addition.
Elizabeth’s brother, Franz, who was a bachelor, lived in a log cabin at the bottom of the hill on the Koeper farm. He also enjoyed his Schnapps. According to one story, Franz was attempting to climb the hill on all fours so as not to arouse the household. The geese, who were roaming loose on the farmyard, disclosed both his position and condition with their honking, combined with Franz’s German cursing! Mamie Koeper heard this story from her mother, according to a note in A Little History: Compiled in Celebration of the Life and Death of Henrietta Deutsch (1984) by Betty Scherkenbach.
John was engaged in the distillery business for four or five years at what was later called the Union Brewery. After that, John and Elizabeth and family were involved extensively in dairying and farming.
Elizabeth was a member of the Old Settlers’ Association and was well known in town. In the closing years, Elizabeth had a lingering and painful illness, though she bore her suffering in patience.
Elizabeth Hermes Koeper, at age 63, died after a long illness, on Tuesday, September 24, 1895. The funeral happened at St. Mark’s Catholic Church and was attended by many friends and family. It was clear that people had a high esteem in which she was held.
Elizabeth was buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Shakopee.
Six years later, Johann “John” Koeper died of heart disease at age 82 on Thursday, January 3, 1901. One newspaper remembered him, and remembered his hearty laugh, his interesting tales, and his bluff honest voice. He had been part of the Shakopee community for almost half a century and was remembered on his daily rounds in the dairy wagon. Johann was buried next to his wife, Elizabeth, at the Catholic Cemetery.
Bibliography
Scherkenbach, Betty. A Little History: Compiled in Celebration of the Life and Death of Henrietta Deutsch, 1984.