Using the ABC method described in Using Artificial Intelligence In the Ancestor Biography Creation (ABC) Process, here is another ancestor biography using the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 AI tool.
3) The Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 biography (lightly edited for accuracy) is:
The Story of Nicholas and Anna Brocke: Pioneers of Idaho
John Nicholas Brocke came into the world on January 24, 1855, in Michigan, though his story really begins across the Atlantic in Herbede, Prussia. His parents, Johann Heinrich "Peter" Brocke and Christina Webber, were part of that great wave of German immigrants seeking new opportunities in America. They arrived in Baltimore, Maryland around 1849 as single young people, married shortly after in 1850, and started building their American dream.
Peter worked hard to establish himself—first spending three years with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, then three years in the tough Lake Superior copper mines. The family kept moving west, always looking for better opportunities: first to Iowa, then to northwestern Nebraska in 1858, and eventually to South Dakota in 1877. Peter was an industrious farmer who worked until his death at age 65, while Christina outlived him by many years, reaching her late 60s.
Nicholas grew up with four siblings who survived to adulthood:
Catharine Brocke (1851-1887), who married Theodore Beste and settled in Nebraska
Franklin Joseph Brocke (born around 1857), who married Catherine Ann Sutherland and eventually made his home in South Dakota
Charles Hubert Brocke (1859-1949), who married Catherine Teresa Burgel and later joined Nicholas in Idaho
Mary Brocke (born around 1866), though sadly her story fades from the records
Anna's Journey: From St. Louis to the Prairie
Anna Grieser was born on November 17, 1859, in St. Louis, Missouri, into another German immigrant family with their own American adventure. Her parents, Ignatius Grieser and Katherine Gute, had emigrated from Baden-Württemberg and married in St. Louis in 1858. Ignatius worked as a carpenter and did well enough to own property worth $4,000 by 1870—a substantial sum for the time.
Anna was the oldest of seven children:
Frank Peter Grieser (1861-1941), who married Catharina Christina Spielman
Adolph O. Grieser (1869-1941), who married Theresa Henrietta Baumgartner
Amelia Grieser (1871-1953), who married Charles Wernecke
Katherine Grieser (1872-1950), who married James W. Peterson
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Grieser (1874-1939), who married Joseph Nicolaus Hasfurther
Charles Frank Grieser (1876-1961), who married Anna Barbara Hasfurther
Sadly, Anna's father Ignatius died in 1879 when she was just 20 years old, but her mother Katherine lived until 1920. After living in St. Louis through Anna's childhood, the Grieser family made their own westward move to Cedar County, Nebraska sometime in the 1870s.
A Nebraska Wedding and the Journey West
Nicholas and Anna's paths crossed in Cedar County, Nebraska, and on April 24, 1877, they were married. She was just 17 years old; he was 22. This was frontier country, and young marriages were common as families worked together to carve out farms and build communities.
Soon after their wedding, Nicholas and Anna made a bold decision that would shape the rest of their lives. They joined Anna's parents and her six siblings on an immigrant train heading west to Idaho Territory. It was 1878, and Idaho was still wild country—it wouldn't even become a state until 1890. Nicholas staked a claim for 160 acres of land near Kendrick in Latah County, and the young couple set about turning wilderness into a working farm.
Building a Life in Idaho
The Brockes were among the earliest settlers in the Potlatch Country, and Nicholas proved to be an energetic and innovative farmer. He grew white navy beans, which he cleverly used for bartering at local stores in the tiny settlement of Kendrick. He cultivated both grains and fruit, adapting to what worked in the Idaho soil and climate.
Initially, they settled on a farm nine miles south of Moscow, but in 1888, Nicholas sold that property and moved the family to a new location three and a half miles west of Kendrick. Here, he really showed his entrepreneurial spirit. He built a good residence and large barns, and installed a pumping outfit—quite advanced for the time—that conveyed water not just to the house but all over the farm for irrigation. The neat appearance of everything spoke to his careful attention and progressive farming methods.
Their Growing Family
Nicholas and Anna welcomed eight children into their Idaho home, each contributing to the family's legacy:
John Ineaughe Brocke (1878-1931), born in Kendrick, married Etta May Stockwell in 1901 and had one child
Frank Nicholas Brocke (1879-1919), born in Genesee, married Julia Rose Otto in 1903 and had five children
Etta Susan Brocke (1881-1961), born in Multnomah, Oregon (perhaps during a trip?), married August Charles Hagist in 1902 and had four children
Caroline Brocke (1883-1965), born in Kendrick, married Harland Page Wilcox in 1903 and had two children
Amelia Anna Brocke (1884-1975), born in Kendrick, married Severt Oliver Leland in 1904 and had five children
Joseph Adolph Brocke (1888-1956), born in Kendrick, married Emma Almyra Oliver in 1909
Charles Joseph Brocke (1892-1946), born in Kendrick, baptized in Genesee, remained unmarried
Nicholas Francis Brocke (1894-1945), born in Kendrick, married Mabel George in 1927
All eight children survived to adulthood—a remarkable achievement in an era when childhood mortality was common. The family were devout Catholics, attending services together and having the children baptized in nearby Genesee.
Community Life and Later Years
Nicholas wasn't just a farmer—he was an active community member. He served as school trustee and highway commissioner, bringing the same energy and reliability to public service that he brought to his farm. He belonged to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Woodmen of the World, both popular fraternal organizations of the time. Politically, he was a "stalwart Democrat" in what was often Republican territory.
By 1910, Nicholas had paid off the mortgage on his farm—a significant accomplishment that showed his business acumen. The census that year noted he owned the farm "free of mortgage," a source of pride for any farmer. By 1920, as he reached his mid-60s, Nicholas had semi-retired, taking work as a janitor in the local lodge hall rather than the demanding physical labor of farming.
In the 1930 census, Nicholas and Anna were still living in their Kendrick home, valued at $2,500. Nicholas was 76, Anna was 70, and after more than 50 years of marriage, they were enjoying their retirement together.
The Final Chapter
Anna passed away first, on March 19, 1936, at age 76 in Kendrick. The death certificate listed senility and influenza as the causes—she had lived a long, full life but succumbed to the frailty of age and illness. Nicholas served as the informant on her death certificate, bearing witness to the passing of his partner of nearly 59 years. She was laid to rest in American Ridge Cemetery in Juliaetta.
Nicholas followed her less than three years later, dying on December 14, 1938, in Lewiston at the home on 9th Avenue where he'd been living with his daughter Caroline's family. He was 84 years old (just shy of his 85th birthday), and the death certificate listed angina pectoris and arteriosclerosis—heart disease. Their daughter Caroline Wilcox served as informant for his death certificate. He was buried beside Anna in American Ridge Cemetery.
Their Legacy
As an 1899 published biography noted, Nicholas Brocke could "justly be called a self-made man." He and Anna had arrived in Idaho when it was barely settled, raised eight children to adulthood, built a prosperous farm from raw land, and helped establish the communities that would become the heart of Idaho's agricultural region. Their children and grandchildren spread throughout Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and California, carrying forward the pioneering spirit of their parents.
From Prussian immigrants to Idaho pioneers, the Brocke family story is one of courage, hard work, and the enduring bonds of family—a truly American tale.
Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver
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