First Generation

1. Michael FRIESKE (*)¹ was born in 1780 in Preussen (Prussia).^2,3,4 (Later generations of his descendants spelled the surname as "Friske" after they emigrated to America. But several members were listed as "Frieske" in the parish register of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI. )

Prussia was a member state of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866, and from 1848 until 1849 it was part of the short-lived German Empire. After the Prussian-Austrian War, in 1867, it became the leading member state of the North German Confederation. It was a leading force in the creation of the German Empire in 1871, of which it became a state. Today, the former Prussia is part of the Federal Republic of Germany, with significant parts of its territory located in Poland and small pieces of territory incorporated into Lithuania, Russia and the Czech Republic. . He has Ancestral File Number GX5L-YC6.⁵ Origin of name Frieske: "German: habitational name from a place in Lusatia (Lausitz) named Brieske."

Michael FRIESKE (*) and Anna Christina ZELLMER (*) were married on 3 January 1811 in Jankendorf, Kreis Kolmar, Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).^2,4 Anna Christina ZELLMER (*), daughter of Gottfried ZELLMER and Anna Maria NIKOLAI, was born on 16 December 1790 in Jankendorf, Kreis Kolmar, Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).^2,6,7 She was baptized on 19 December 1790 in Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).⁷ She has Ancestral File Number 9WFH-WXB.⁵

Michael FRIESKE (*) and Anna Christina ZELLMER (*) had the following children: