The Matt Becker Family

In the year 1912 Matt Becker immigrated to this country from the island of Fehmarn, Germany, where he had learned the trade of a blacksmith. In Napoleon he met Helen Schuette, a farm girl from the "Hanover Settlement" west of Napoleon, who was working as a maid in the Sam Heller residence. They were married and set up housekeeping in Naomi where Matt had his first blacksmith shop. Three children were born there —Martin, Karl, and Hildegard.

In 1919 the family moved to Napoleon where their fourth child — Edna — was born. Matt and Bill Bernicke formed a partnership and operated a blacksmith shop on Scott Street at the back of the Sisk garage. In 1926 the partnership ended and Matt moved to a small building on West Front Street. Here he continued his trade until he died in 1973 at the age of 85. Helen had preceded Matt in death in 1963.

Of Matt and Helen's children, Martin is in the engineering field with Chrysler in Detroit. Karl, who had worked for a while as a grower in Mitchell's Greenhouse, became a farmer and is living near Pioneer, Ohio. Hildegard married Lawrence Meyer and they live on a farm near Ayersville, Ohio. Edna's husband is a contractor and they live in Napoleon. In addition to the four children, the Matt Becker family now has seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Martin Becker