Johannes FRIES

                   Katerina was 3 months of age in the 1891 census of Landau.  She is not
mentioned in any other record, so she probably died before her parents
immigrated to America in May 1892.
                  

                   As a young man, John rode horses and herded cattle in Montana . He also
carried mail.  During World War I, John joined the so-called "Spruce Squadron"
in the U. S. Army, cutting trees to be used in building army  aircraft.  After
the war, he settled in the Libby, Montana area and remained there the rest of
his life.  He worked in the lumber industry, mined gold, cut Christmas trees and
cut cord wood.  He never owned a house but always lived in a tiny trailer home.
       John was married to Laura Smith in Missoula, Montana.  They had no
children.  Laura is the daughter of Joseph Smith and Mary Ann Booth.
       The month and year of John's death was obtained from the Social Security
Death Index in 1995.  John and Laura are both buried at Libby.  The information
on John's biography was obtained by interview with Joseph H. Gillis.
                  

                      Joseph was named Joseph "H" Fries by his parents.  His parents spoke German in their home, so Joseph picked up German as his native language.  When he started to school, he enrolled as Joseph H Gillis because his step-father had the last name of Gillies, which he pronounced as Gillis.  Because he spoke German fluently, he was nicknamed "Heinie".  When he enlisted in World War I, he was told that he had to have a middle name, not just a letter, so he adopted the middle name of Henry which was similar to Heinie.  In World War I he served as a German translator several times.  He spoke English with no accent.  Joseph's education consisted of elementary school and a year of training at the Great Falls Commercial College where he studied accounting.  Professionally he worked as a bookkeeper, sash and door maker, real estate appraiser, and as a safety engineer with the federal civil service.
                  

                   Helen married in 1916 to David S. Stokes, an inactive Latter-da y Saint.
He made a living driving teams and ranching.  They lived at Valier, Pondera
County, Montana from 1916 until 1978, when they moved to Conrad, Pondera
County, Montana.  Helen lived to about age 93.  She had a seventh grade
education and married at age 18.  The Stokes families came from Idaho and
settled on the Indian land that was opened for homesteaders in about 1907.
The above information was provided in an interview with Joseph H. Gilis.
      The Social Security Death Index of 1995 states that David Stoke s was born
13 November 1897 and died June 1970 at Valier, Pondera County, Montana.