Gustavus Ferdinand Jochnick (he later modified his name to Gustavus F. Jocknick - in some Civil War records he is referred to as the further Americanized name George F. Jocknick) was born in 1817, probably in Göteborg, Sweden. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1840, and in 1846 was one of the Swedish emigrants to obtain a patent for 40 acres of public land in Lockbridge, Jefferson County, Iowa. In July 1847 he again enlisted in the army and served in Mexico. He married Beatrice Nicholson in November 1848. In 1853 and 1854, Jocknick was living in San Francisco (his occupation is unknown). In 1860, he and his family were living in Newark, New Jersey. By April 1861 he was out of work and contemplating joining a regiment of volunteers. On October 1, 1861 he enlisted in the 3rd Regiment of New York Cavalry and commissioned Captain of Company I. He fought in North Carolina and Virginia, taking part in the bloodiest campaigns of the war. After the war, he briefly enlisted in the regular army, and by 1866 was employed as a clerk at the Office of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior. In 1869, he was summoned to witness the distribution of a million dollars of government money to the Cherokee Indians. He found himself under arrest, charged with conspiracy to defraud the Indians. In 1874, Jocknick was cleared of all charges by Congress and awarded full compensation. Around 1870, Sidney Jocknick moved to Colorado and in 1876, the Jocknick family also moved to Colorado. They settled in Ouray County where Gustavus began farming. In 1886 he moved to San Diego for health reasons. The Jocknicks had four children: Sidney (b. 1849), Dehlia, Blanche (b.1858), and Clifton (b.1868). Sidney Jocknick was the author of Early days on the western slope of Colorado first published in 1933.
From the description of Papers of Gustavus F. Jocknick, 1853-circa 1922. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 498467342
