Joseph Heimes (1840-1903) was born at Westphalia, Germany the son of John Joseph Heimes (1816-1844) and Catherine Walburger (1820-1857). He came to America to avoid military service in 1861 in a sailing vessel which took sixty-three days as they were blown off course. From New York to Detroit by rail and from there by boat to Keweenaw County, upper Michigan. He went to work in the Phoenix copper mine where his brother George lived. George was married so he made his home with him. Later he had employment with a brewery driving a truck which he did for sixteen years. On March 4, 1865 Joseph Heimes was married to Catherine Passmel (1847-1924) born in Luxemburg, Germany, daughter of Theodore and Catherine Shoemaker Passmel. Her father was a gardener for a royal French family and her mother was a milliner for the same family. In 1853 the Passmels' father, mother and three daughters came to America by sailing vessel which took forty-three days. They went directly to Wisconsin and settled on a farm twenty-seven miles from Milwaukee. It took nearly three days to make the trip for groceries. At Eagle River, Michigan, where Catherine Passmel met and married Joseph Heimes times were prosperous for a time and they had a comfortable home. When wages dropped and times became harder - June 1878 -Mr. Heimes, Mr. Passmel and Mr. Starke came to Dakota Territory and secured land near Valley City. The three men went back to Michigan for their families. They left Eagle River by steam boat for Duluth and by train for Valley City, arriving August 28, 1878 with their five children: Annie (1866-1940); Theresa (1870-1927); Kate (1873-1943); Louise (1875-); Joseph (1877-1958). The rest of the children were born in Barnes County - Frank (1883-1972), Albert (1885-1935), John (1889-1970), Clara (1892-) (Mrs. Frank Francis).
They stayed in Valley City the first night and walked to the farm three miles west of town. The house was a log house on 143 acres homestead rights bought from Walter Coop for $105.00. 15 acres were broken. Mr. Heimes and Mr. Messner chinked up cracks and crevices with clay mud and were nearly eaten alive by mosquitoes. A sod house was built for chickens and a barn for stock.
In September Mr. Heimes went to Fargo where he bought a jersey cow, heifers, ten head of steers and a yoke of oxen. In 1879, 240 acres south of the homestead were purchased, a cat thrown in, a welcome addition, then more room was added to the living quarters and finally the Heimes farm was a landmark. Joseph Heimes was industrious, hard working and well thought of by his neighbors.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 99