John was his parent's first born child and he arrived twelve months after they married. He likely was born on their farm with his paternal grandmother acting as midwife.
Census records from that period declare the Finneman farm in Rockville Township, Stearns County, Minnesota however family record recalls they always lived in Maine Prairie Township near Pearl Lake. John became the oldest of eleven children, seven of whom reached adulthood. One of his young brothers, Martin, died in a fire.
John lived at home until near his 30th year. Early on he had steady employment as a farm laborer but at some point became proficient in the jewelry trade, including watch repair. A story told by his niece Eleanor Bohlsen Leddy of St. Cloud, MN mentioned John badly injured the heal of one of his feet squeezing between two train cars and he ended up with a steel heal. His parents thought he'd never be able to make it as a farmer so they sent him to jewelry and watch repair school. John worked in that profession his whole life.
Following his brother Michael's trail to western North Dakota, in 1909 John opened a watch and jewelry shop in burgeoning Bowman, ND. Five years later in 1914 at Fairview, MT, he married Marie Samer, a native of Oshkosh, WI and the two of them took residence in Fairview, a small place north along the ND/MT border nearly adjacent to larger Sidney, Montana where they eventually moved and stayed for the rest of their lives. John enjoyed a steady business contract with the railroad (watch repair) in addition to his jewelry shop sales and repair. Marie was an optometrist. Their business is now known as John Stockhill Jewelers, Sidney, MT.
John and Marie remained childless.
Upon his death in 1955, Marie interred John in her hometown of Oshkosh where she was buried alongside him nine years later. written by Gregory Dorr
Census records from that period declare the Finneman farm in Rockville Township, Stearns County, Minnesota however family record recalls they always lived in Maine Prairie Township near Pearl Lake. John became the oldest of eleven children, seven of whom reached adulthood. One of his young brothers, Martin, died in a fire.
John lived at home until near his 30th year. Early on he had steady employment as a farm laborer but at some point became proficient in the jewelry trade, including watch repair. A story told by his niece Eleanor Bohlsen Leddy of St. Cloud, MN mentioned John badly injured the heal of one of his feet squeezing between two train cars and he ended up with a steel heal. His parents thought he'd never be able to make it as a farmer so they sent him to jewelry and watch repair school. John worked in that profession his whole life.
Following his brother Michael's trail to western North Dakota, in 1909 John opened a watch and jewelry shop in burgeoning Bowman, ND. Five years later in 1914 at Fairview, MT, he married Marie Samer, a native of Oshkosh, WI and the two of them took residence in Fairview, a small place north along the ND/MT border nearly adjacent to larger Sidney, Montana where they eventually moved and stayed for the rest of their lives. John enjoyed a steady business contract with the railroad (watch repair) in addition to his jewelry shop sales and repair. Marie was an optometrist. Their business is now known as John Stockhill Jewelers, Sidney, MT.
John and Marie remained childless.
Upon his death in 1955, Marie interred John in her hometown of Oshkosh where she was buried alongside him nine years later. written by Gregory Dorr
John was his parent's first born child and he arrived twelve months after they married. He likely was born on their farm with his paternal grandmother acting as midwife.
Census records from that period declare the Finneman farm in Rockville Township, Stearns County, Minnesota however family record recalls they always lived in Maine Prairie Township near Pearl Lake. John became the oldest of eleven children, seven of whom reached adulthood. One of his young brothers, Martin, died in a fire.
John lived at home until near his 30th year. Early on he had steady employment as a farm laborer but at some point became proficient in the jewelry trade, including watch repair. A story told by his niece Eleanor Bohlsen Leddy of St. Cloud, MN mentioned John badly injured the heal of one of his feet squeezing between two train cars and he ended up with a steel heal. His parents thought he'd never be able to make it as a farmer so they sent him to jewelry and watch repair school. John worked in that profession his whole life.
Following his brother Michael's trail to western North Dakota, in 1909 John opened a watch and jewelry shop in burgeoning Bowman, ND. Five years later in 1914 at Fairview, MT, he married Marie Samer, a native of Oshkosh, WI and the two of them took residence in Fairview, a small place north along the ND/MT border nearly adjacent to larger Sidney, Montana where they eventually moved and stayed for the rest of their lives. John enjoyed a steady business contract with the railroad (watch repair) in addition to his jewelry shop sales and repair. Marie was an optometrist. Their business is now known as John Stockhill Jewelers, Sidney, MT.
John and Marie remained childless.
Upon his death in 1955, Marie interred John in her hometown of Oshkosh where she was buried alongside him nine years later. written by Gregory Dorr
Census records from that period declare the Finneman farm in Rockville Township, Stearns County, Minnesota however family record recalls they always lived in Maine Prairie Township near Pearl Lake. John became the oldest of eleven children, seven of whom reached adulthood. One of his young brothers, Martin, died in a fire.
John lived at home until near his 30th year. Early on he had steady employment as a farm laborer but at some point became proficient in the jewelry trade, including watch repair. A story told by his niece Eleanor Bohlsen Leddy of St. Cloud, MN mentioned John badly injured the heal of one of his feet squeezing between two train cars and he ended up with a steel heal. His parents thought he'd never be able to make it as a farmer so they sent him to jewelry and watch repair school. John worked in that profession his whole life.
Following his brother Michael's trail to western North Dakota, in 1909 John opened a watch and jewelry shop in burgeoning Bowman, ND. Five years later in 1914 at Fairview, MT, he married Marie Samer, a native of Oshkosh, WI and the two of them took residence in Fairview, a small place north along the ND/MT border nearly adjacent to larger Sidney, Montana where they eventually moved and stayed for the rest of their lives. John enjoyed a steady business contract with the railroad (watch repair) in addition to his jewelry shop sales and repair. Marie was an optometrist. Their business is now known as John Stockhill Jewelers, Sidney, MT.
John and Marie remained childless.
Upon his death in 1955, Marie interred John in her hometown of Oshkosh where she was buried alongside him nine years later. written by Gregory Dorr
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