USA > Iowa > Keokuk County > A genealogical and biographical history of Keokuk County, Iowa > Part 14
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RALPH G. COFFMAN.
Ralph G. Coffman was born in Washington county, Iowa, August 15, 1875. His father, the Rev. J. WV. Coffman, was a native of Virginia and pursued his education in Shurtleff College, at Chicago, and Morgan Park Seminary. He became a minister of the Baptist church and for many years engaged in preaching the gospel both in Illinois and in iowa. About 1865 he took up his abode in Washington county, Iowa, and for some time was also located in Burlington. He is now retired from the ministry and makes his home at Keota, but his interest in church work is deep and abiding and his influence is yet given to the advancement of the cause of Christianity, of which he was so long a faithful representative in ministry. He married Margaret Bear, 2
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native of Washington county, Iowa, and a daughter of Gideon and Mary Bear, who were among the pioneer settlers of that county. Her father was a farmer by occupation, one of the leading land holders of Washington county, becoming a wealthy man so that he was enabled to provide well for each of his ten children. Of this family Mrs. Coff- man was the third child and second daughter. To Rev. and Mrs. Coffman were born four children, two sons and two daughters, namely : Carrie: Northup, a farmer of Washington county; Ralph G., our sub- ject ; and Mary, who is living at the parental home.
Ralph G. Coffman pursued his education in public schools and in Central University of Iowa, located at Pella, Iowa, where he pursued a classical course. He then began teaching school and followed that pro- fession for four years, during which time he spent one year as prin- cipal of the schools of Lancaster, Iowa. In 1898 he was tendered the position of secretary and bookkeeper by the firm of Keiser Brothers, of Keota, and accepting this position he held the same until recently, and at present is in the employ of the Keokuk County News.
On the 21st of November, 1900, Mr. Coffman was united in mar- riage to Georgia Green, a daughter of H. F. and Lizzie (Ramsey) Green. Mr. Coffman holds membership in the Masonic fraternity and has taken the Royal Arch degrees. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is a man well known and well liked throughout this portion of Iowa. His scholarly attainments, his courtesy and his genial manner have made him a pleasant companion and a pop- ular gentleman, and in the history of Keokuk county he well deserves mention.
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SAMUEL DINGS, M. D.
Among the medical practitioners of Keota is numbered Dr. Samuel Dings, who is accorded a liberal and lucrative patronage by reason of his ability in the life work he has chosen. He was born in Washington county, New York, October 23, 1857. His father, John Dings, was also a native of the Empire state and there the grandfather, Adam Dings, was likewise born. The family is of English lineage and was early established in New York. John Dings became a carpenter and farmer and for many years resided in Argyle, New York. He wedded Margaret McFadden, a native of the Empire state and of Scotch lineage. The Doctor is the second of their four children, two daughters and two sons, all of whom are yet living. The father, however, passed away in Argyle, New York at age of sixty-five years, while the mother died in Crawfordsville, Iowa, when thirty-three years of age.
Dr. Dings is the only member of the family living in this state. He is indebted to the public school system of New York for the early educational privileges he enjoyed, having pursued his studies in Wash- ington county. He afterward attended Howe's Academy, at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and also the academy in Washington, Iowa. He came to this state in 1876, locating in Washington county, and here he engaged in teaching to some extent. In 1882 he went to Kansas, locat- ing in Nortonville, where he engaged in farming for about five years, and on the expiration of that period, having determined to enter the medical profession, he took up the study of medicine in 1886. In 1887 he matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Keokuk, Iowa, and on completing the regular course was graduated with the class of 1889. The same year he located for practice in Keota, where he has
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since remained. Whatever tends to promote the interests of his pro- fession and place before man the key to the mystery of that complex problem which we call "life" at once attracts the interest and co-opera- tion of Dr. Dings. He is an extremely busy and successful practitioner, many professional as well as social demands being made upon his services.
In 1881 occurred the marriage of Dr. Dings and Miss Ida May Hood, a daughter of Samuel Hood, who was born and reared in Louisa county, lowa, and pursued her education there. Unto them have been born two children : Samuel E., and Harold H. Both the Doctor and his wife hold membership in the United Presbyterian church, take an active part in its work and at the present time the Doctor is serving as superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is a Republican in politics with strong Prohibition tendencies. In the line of his profession he is con- nected with the county medical society and the Eastern Iowa District Medical Society, and through the interchange of thought and experience in the brotherhood of these organizations he is continually broadening his knowledge concerning the medical profession and the methods of practice in vogue with the members of the fraternity. His own research, experience and experimenting as well as careful observation have also heightened his skill, and he now enjoys a liberal practice in Keota and the surrounding country.
MORGAN HAWK.
Having put aside farm work Morgan Hawk is now living a re- tired life, making his home in the town of Delta, where he is widely and favorably known. He was born in Union county, Ohio, July 4,
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1838, and comes of an old Virginia family. His father, Jacob Hawk, was born in Hardy county, Virginia, and there spent the days of his boyhood and youth, but in early manhood he left the Old Dominion and in 1830 traveled westward to Knox county Ohio. There he located and after a time removed to Union county, that state, where he remained until 1854. In the latter year he determined to establish a home beyond the Mississippi, attracted by the possibilities of this great and rapidly developing section of the country. Making his way to Iowa he settled in Warren township, Keokuk county, where he purchased a farm of two hundred and ninety acres of partially improved land. He was married in Virginia to Sedeen Real, a native of the Old Dominion, where she remained until her marriage. They became the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters : Eunice B., Martin; Dolly, who died in infancy; Isaac; William and John, deceased; Anthony, Sarah, Morgan, and Vanson. The father of this family remained upon the old home farm in Warren township until his death, which occurred in 1878, when he was eighty-four years of age. He was a life-long Democrat and was a member of the Baptist church. In whatever con- munity he resided he was known for his sterling worth, his fidelity and manly principles and his devotion to truth and the right.
Morgan Hawk was the sixth son and ninth child in his father's family. Under the parental roof he spent the days of his childhood, and with his parents came to Iowa when fifteen years of age, remaining with them until they were called to their final rest. He afterward became the owner of the old homestead, which remained in his possession until 1901. He has resided in Delta since 1899. He bought a lot here and built his present home. Throughout the years of his business life he carried on agricultural pursuits, his training at this work in youth hav-
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ing brought him practical experience which well fitted him to take charge of the farm on attaining manhood. He followed progressive methods, keeping in touch with the advancement of the times, and everything about the place was indicative of the careful and enterprising spirit of the owner, whose efforts at farm work were crowned with a high degree of success whch now enables him to put aside business cares and rest in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Hawk was married in Warren township to Miss Sarah Jane Scott, a native of Indiana and a daughter of John Scott, who was born in Kentucky and became one of the pioneer settlers of Keokuk county, Iowa, arriving here in the year 1844. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hawk has been blessed with ten children, four sons and six daughters, as follows: John, Edward, Mary, Lacey, Amanda, the wife of Lee Dawson; Clara, the wife of Wesley Snider; William; Della, the wife of Virgil Bell; Gertrude, the wife of John S. Scoonover; and Jessie, de- ceased. All of these children were born on the old family homestead and with the exception of three, all of the living are yet residents of Warren township, and those three reside in neighboring townships, so that the surviving members of the family are all near to their parents. Mr. Hawk has ever devoted his political work to the support of the Democracy and has kept well informed on the issues of the day, so that he has been enabled to support his position by intelligent argument. Both he and his wife are faithful and devoted members of the Christian church, are well known in the community where they make their home and are highly respected by reason of their many excellent qualities of heart and mind. They have long traveled life's journey together and have many friends.
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CHAUNCY RICHMOND.
Chauncy Richmond, who is now living a retired life in Webster, but for many years was actively associated with farming interests in Keokuk county, was born in Loraine county, Ohio, February 12, 1818. His father, Amos Richmond, was a native of New York and was of English parentage. He spent the days of his youth in the Empire state, acquired his education in its public schools and remained with his par- ents until he had attained early manhood. He served his country throughout the war of 1812 and when a young man left the Empire state and removed westward to Ohio, settling in Loraine county, where he carried on the work of tilling the soil. He was married in that county to Miss Alvira Bronson, a native of Connecticut, where she was reared and educated. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters.
Chauncy Richmond is the eldest son and now the only surviving member of the family. He spent his early childhood in the county of his nativity and is indebted to its public school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed. He remained at home until fifteen years of age and then went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became connected with the tanning business, which he followed there for three years. He next became a sailor upon Lake Erie, and after a year spent in that way he left Cleveland, removing to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he secured a position as a watchman on the steamboat Favorite, on which vessel lie made the trip from Pittsburg down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans and thence across the gulf of Mexico to Mobile, Ala- bama. He remained upon the Favorite throughout the winter, but in the spring returned to New Orleans and thence made his way up the Missis- 24
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sippi river to St. Louis, Missouri. From there he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and ran on a boat from that city to Pittsburg, remaining in that position for about a year. Leaving the boat at Louisville, he pro- ceeded to St. Louis and from there went up the river to Warsaw, Illi- nois, where he engaged in farming, remaining there for about three years.
During that period Mr. Richmond was married on the 27th of February, 1841, in Carthage, Hancock county, Illinois, the lady of his choice being Miss Elizabeth Marsh, a daughter of Benjamin Franklin Marslı, a native of Vermont, and a sister of Colonel B. F. Marsh, who was a soldier of the Civil war and has since been prominent in politics in Illinois. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Richmond has been blessed with eight children, four sons and four daughters, of whom three sons and three daughters are yet living. The family record is as follows; Benjamin F .: Charles Amos, now deceased : Sophia R., who died in in- fancy; Charlotte A., the wife of Bacon Holmes, of Smith county, Kansas ; Elvira R., the wife of Delbert Hoyt, a retired farmer living in Webster; Arthur M .; Alice B., the wife of Joseph Herrick, of German township, Keokuk county ; and George H., who completes the family.
After his marriage Mr. Richmond left Illinois and went to LaGrange county, Indiana, where he settled upon a farm which he had bought, all of which was then raw land, but he made excellent improvements upon it and transformed it into an excellent property. All of the children were born upon that farm. In 1865 Mr. Richmond removed with his family to Iowa, settling in English River township, Keokuk county, near Webster. He secured one hundred and sixty acres of improved land and continued its further cultivation and improvement until 1891, when he put aside the work of the fields and removed to Webster, where
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he built a house in which he is now living in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He was energetic and active in the prosecution of his work, reliable in his business transactions and of strong purpose, and :hose qualities brought to him a competence which now supplies him with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
From its organization Mr. Richmond has been identified with the Republican party, and his study of the political issues of the day and the attitude of the parties concerning public questions has never caused humm to want to change his political allegiance. He and his wife have long been Congregationalists in religious faith and their membership is now with the church of that denomination in Webster. They are both highly respected residents of the town, well worthy of representation among the valued citizens of their adopted county.
JOHN ENGELDINGER.
Among the many worthy foreigners who have come to this country and helped make it what it is and rendered uncleared land to flourish and blossom like the rose is the family of our subject. John Engeldinger, the father of our subject, was a Prussian, a farmer by occupation, reared and educated in his native land, and married Anna Mary Nittler, also of Prussia. They had six children, of whom our subject was the fourth child, three boys and three girls: Anna, Mary, Nicholas (deceased), John, Peter and Anna, all of whom were born and reared in Prussia. In 1855 the father and family came to Keokuk county and settled on forty acres of raw land in Clear Creek township: this land he cleared, and he built the first log house this side of Clear Creek. He died in 1862
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and was buried in the church burying ground of the Catholic church of Clear Creek, of which he had been a member. In politics he was a Democrat.
John Engeldinger, the subject of this sketch, was born May II, 1844, in Prussia ; he was reared in Keokuk county and remained on the home place until after his father's death. In 1889 he came to his pres- ent location and bought eighty acres, mostly uncleared land, which he improved and added to until now he has one hundred and eighty acres of valuable farming land. Mr. Engeldinger took as his wife in 1868 Susan Schilz, who was born in Germany in 1844, where she was reared: she was the daughter of Peter and Marguerette Schilz, who were old settlers in this county. Nine children were born to our subject, six boys and three girls : Peter, Susan, John C., Henry, Edward, George, August, Anna and Mary T., all of whom were reared and educated on the old inomestead.
Mr. Engeldinger is a faithful member of the Catholic church of Clear Creek township; he helped to build the present edifice, and he has always taken an active part in school affairs, having served as trustee for twelve years. As a zealous and active Democrat, he was for eight years township trustee and also holds other local offices. In all affairs he has shown himself earnest, active and loyal and is one of the well known men of the county.
JOSEPH A. RANGGER.
Father Rangger is one of the most prominent workers in the Catholic church in this section and has devoted many years of his life to the advancement of its cause among his fellow-men. His influ-
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ence is ever found on the side of progress, of liberty and of right, and the effect of his labors has been far reaching. He is the loved pastor of the church in Clear Creek township, Keokuk county. Father Rangger was born in Voels, near Innsbruck, in the Tyrol, Austria, on the 16th of January, 1867, while his father was also a native of that country and was a farmer by occupation, being born on the farm on which the Rangger family have resided for three hundred years. For his wife he chose Victoria Woerndle, also a native of Austria, having been born and reared in the region of the Alps. This union resulted in the birth of eight children, four sons and four daughters, as follows: Katherine and Mary, both deceased ; Juliana ; Francis ; Anna ; Joseph _\., the subject of this review; Marcus, who is now a priest in Vienna, Austria; and Anthony, who still resides on the old home farm in Austria, where the children were all born and reared.
When twelve years of age Joseph A. Rangger entered a seminary at Brixen, where he remained for three years, and on the expiration of that period in 1881, he became a student in the Royal Gymnasium at Halle, there continuing his studies for two years, while for the following year he was at Innsbruck. When but eighteen years of age he bade adieu to the home of his youth and crossed the broad Atlantic to the United States, and after his arrival in the new world he completed his studies in the St. Francis Seminary, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained until 1891. In that year he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Cosgrove, and shortly afterward returned on a visit to his native Austria, spending six months amid friends and relatives and viewing again the scenes of his boyhood and youth. After his return to Americ.1 he made his way to Wilton Junction, Iowa, where for three months he ministered to the needs of the parish, their regular pastor, Father Duggan,
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being then ill. His next place of residence was at Davenport, Iowa, where for four months he had charge of a hospital, while for the follow- ing three months he served as a substitute to the church at Perry, this state.
Since the 14th of April, 1893, he has ministered to the needs of the congregation in Clear Creek township, and during his pastorate the old brick church, which was erected in 1863, has been replaced by a new and beautiful edifice, the school building repaired and a new parsonage erected at an expense of two thousand, five hundred dollars. During this time the Sisters have taken charge of the school and the attendance has increased one hundred per cent. Through the entiring efforts of Father Rangger congregation increased so rapidly that it became necessary to secure larger accommodations, and accordingly in 1898 they laid the foundation for the present structure. The laying of the corner stone, on Wednesday, June 8, 1898, for this beautiful edifice, was one of the most notable events in the history of Catholicism in Clear Creek township, and was witnessed by from fifteen hundred to two thousand people. It was an impressive ceremony and one that will long be remem- bered by those who were present. The old church witnessed the pass- ing of a generation, and there the ancestors of the present congregation went to worship and offer up prayer and also to listen to the divine words of their pastor. The sermon was conducted by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Cosgrove, assisted by the visiting clergy and the cost of the building was about eleven thousand, five hundred dollars. Father Rangger is widely known in Catholic circles throughout this section of the state, and his daily life has been a light guiding many to the better way.
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NICHOLAS KRAMER.
It is ar evidence of stability of character when a man has remained and been successful throughout his life in one place, and it is upon suclı men that the nation's faith and strength depend. Such a man is Nich- olas Kramer, who was born in Keokuk county and has lived here for more than fifty years. His father, John Peter Kramer, was a German. and received his training in the excellent institutions of that sturdy na- tion. In 1840, when he was about thirty years of age, he emigrated to America and took up his abode first in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, but in 1843 he moved westward and settled in Lafayette township, Keokuk county, Iowa, before this now great state had been admitted to the Union. Here he entered three hundred and twenty acres of raw land from the government and by industrious toil soon possessed an improved and highly cultivated farm. He also entered and enclosed four hun- dred acres more. He was then one of the earliest settlers of Keokuk county ; his political views were Democratic and his church membership was with the Roman Catholic church in Clear Creek township. He died in this county about 1887. In 1844, in Keokuk county, he was married to Anna Kelson, who was born and reared in Germany and came to this country soon after Mr. Kramer did. Mr. and Mrs. Kramer were the parents of two children : Nicholas, our subject; and Lena, who was reared in Keokuk county, but is now deceased; the latter was the wife of John Bermel, whose sketch will be found in another part of this book.
Nicholas Kramer was born on his father's farm in this county on September 22, 1850. Like the other boys of the neighborhood he attended the district schools during the winter and worked on the farm in the summer. On leaving school at the age of eighteen, he helped
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his father and was instrumental in clearing the farm. He continued with his father until his marriage, when he moved to the north of the old homestead and in 1876 settled on two hundred acres of mostly new land and has since improved and added to it until he now has two hun- dred and eighty acres, all improved. In 1875 Mr. Kramer wedded Jose- phine Conrad, who was born in Pennsylvania, but soon went to Wiscon- sin, where she lived until she was eight years old; she then came to Keokuk county with her parents and there grew to womanhood. Her parents were Jacob Conrad and Margueretta Wilhelme, natives of Ger- many. To Mr. and Mrs. Kramer were born three children : John Peter, deceased; Margueretta; and Threasa C. Mr. Kramer belongs to the Democratic party and has held several local township offices, for ten years being supervisor. He is a zealous member of the Harper Catholic church and is active in church affairs, being on the church board, and he also helped to build the church. Respected and esteemed by all, he is a valuable citizen.
JOHN BERMEL.
Perhaps no one foreign nation has contributed more sturdy men to the building up of agriculture in America than has Germany. The farms of German settlers are always well tilled and prosperous looking and are an ornament and model to the community. Our subject, John Bermel, is a descendant of one of these pioneers from the fatherland.
Anton Bermel, born in Germany, came to America when he was about eighteen years of age and for a short time cast his lot in Ohio; he returned to the old country for a short time and his second coming ended in his taking up his residence on a farm in Muscatine county. Iowa, about 1850, being, therefore, one of the old settlers of the state,
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and one of the enterprises in which he assisted was the building of the first railroad from Davenport, Iowa, west. He was always interested in the success of the Democratic party and was a member of the Catholic church. His death took place in Muscatine county when he was seventy- eight years old. His wife was Katherine Oller; she lived in Germany until she was grown, and then she ventured, the first one of her family, to come alone to America, her parents following her the next year. She came directly to Iowa and was married to Mr. Bermel in Muscatine coun- ty. Five children were the fruit of the marriage, as follows: John Bermel, the eldest, Katherine, Paulina, Peter and Frank.
John Bermel was born in Muscatine county, in April, 1855; in the district school of his neighborhood his young mind was trained and at his eighteenth year he began his practical life on his father's farm, where he worked for three years. At the age of twenty-one he married and went to farming in Lafayette township, Keokuk county; it was on that farm that the first white man was born in the township. Taking up two hundred acres of land owned by his father-in-law, J. P. Kramer, by his own efforts he brought it under a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Bermel still owns the farm that he started with and is one of the success- ful agriculturists of the county.
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