John Degen
SOURCE: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889
Contributed by Michael Brown
18 Oct 1998
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SEBASTIAN CO
page 1306
John Degen, butcher and fine stock raiser, of Huntington, is one of the first
settlers of that place, having purchased the first corner lot. He was born on
the Rhine, Germany, in 1838, and is a son of Hermann and Barbara (Eichorn)
Degen, who, coming to the United States in 1848, spent one year in New [p.1306]
York City, and then lived until 1860 in Schenectady. They then immigrated to
Fort Smith, near which place the mother is now living, and where the father
died in 1869. He was a civil engineer, and followed that vocation while in New
York. In his native land he was a prominent politician, having been a member of
Parliament many years, and, being upon the unpopular side during the European
trouble of 1848, he deemed it prudent to emigrate. John Degen, the subject of
this sketch, was the seventh child in a family of five sons and five daughters,
and received his English and German education in New York City, where he also
learned the butcher's trade. After working in Schenectady, Syracuse, Utica,
Detroit and Chicago he traveled farther west in 1854. He served throughout the
Kansas War, and enlisted in the Government employ in May, 1854. He served five
years in Company B, First United States Cavalry, as sergeant, and fought the
Indians in Colorado, Montana and the Rocky Mountain district. He first visited
Fort Smith in 1854, and taking up his residence at that place in 1860 he made
it his home until coming to Huntington in 1887. Upon the outbreak of the Civil
War he commanded a company under Gen. Pike, with whom he traveled through the
Indian Territory, making treaties for the Confederate army with the Indians.
He remained in service as military instructor for the trans-Mississippi
Department until captured in Sebastian County in 1863. He was held a prisoner
six weeks at Fort Smith, and was not exchanged. November 4, 1864, he married
Bertha, daughter of Andrew Euper, who came from Germany when a child with her
parents. This marriage has resulted in five children, four of whom are living.
After the war until 1869 Mr. Degen traded in cattle, but since 1871 has been
engaged in butchering and contracting with the railway. He assisted largely in
the building of the “Frisco,” Missouri, Kansas & Texas, and other lines in the
Southwest. Since 1877 Mr. Degen has devoted a great share of his attention to
the breeding of Poland China and Berkshire hogs and short-horn cattle. He has
some fine herds, and has taken several premiums at different fairs, including
the fairs of Fort Smith and St. Louis. He is well informed upon the subject of
cattle raising and breeding, and has done a great deal toward the improvement
of stock in the county. He is a large dealer, exporting cattle to Texas,
Missouri, Indian Territory and other States.