"Gerhard Wolters, for many years a respected farmer of St. Augusta, was
born in Germany, in October, 1845, and there received a good education.
In 1867 he came to America, and located in St. Augusta township. In time he
purchased the Henry Fibbe farm of 200 acres in sections 7, 8 and 18, and be-
came one of the solid men of the community. He died May 2, 1897.
He was married November 22, 1869, to Philemina Fibbe, born April 9, 1855, daughter
of Henry and Mary A. Fibbe, who settled near the mouth of Johnson's creek
with a colony in 1854. Mrs. Wolters was the first white child born in St.
Augusta township, and with the exception of short visits, has spent her life
on the farm where she first saw the light of day. Mr. and Mrs. Wolters have
had seventeen children : Gerhard, Jr., on the home farm ; Theresa, of St.
Augusta; Ann (deceased); Mary (deceased); Henry (deceased); Clara, now Mrs. Thomas Marsh, of St. Paul; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Arnold B. Ergen, of St. Augusta ; Dora, now Mrs. Henry Toenys, of Buckman, Minn. ; Theodore, of St. Augusta, twin brother to Dora ; Lena, now Mrs. John Toenys, of Buckman, Minn. ; Henry, John and Frank, of St. Augusta ; Agnes, now Mrs. Henry
Kloeppner, of St. Augusta, twin sister of Frank ; Joseph and Josephine, twins,
deceased; one not named (deceased). Gerhard Wolters, Jr., who conducts the home farm was born October 7, 1870, received a good education, and has devoted his life to farm work."
Source: "History of Stearns County, Minnesota"

Gerhard was born Oct 15, 1842 in Spelle, Kreis Emsland to his mother Anna Catharina Büning and her 2nd husband Johann Jakob Räkers - when Jakob married Anna Catharina in 1841, she had inherited the Wolters family farm when her 1st husband Johann Bernard Wolters died in 1839 so he/Jakob took the Wolters family farm name as his own, which is why his son Gerhard has the name Wolters instead of Räkers.