USA > Iowa > Clayton County > History of Clayton County, Iowa : from the earliest historical times down to the present : including a genealogical and biographical record of many representative families, prepared from data obtained from original sources of information, Volume I > Part 70
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Emily is the wife of Louis Amendson, of Grand Meadow township; Gertrude is the wife of Henry Larson, of that township; and the five children who remain members of the home circle are Mabel, Agnes, Nettie, Peter and Harriet.
John Everall .- There is no need for puzzling or indirection in determining the sterling value of the life services of this venerable and honored pioneer citizen of Clayton county, for he has marked the passing years with earnest and effective endeavor, has shown a high sense of personal stewardship and has held the unequivocal confidence and esteem of those whom his benignant influence has touched in the varied relations of his long and useful career. Mr. Everall was born in Shropshire, England, on the 20th of April, 1839, and in that same section of the "right little isle" were born and reared his parents, Richard and Elizabeth (Liversage) Everall, folk of superior mentality and fine attributes of character. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this review was one of the pioneer clergymen of the Congregational church in England, and it is worthy of note that all of his children, seven in number, were resi- dents of the United States at the time of their death. In 1851 Rich- ard Everall came with his family to Clayton county, Iowa, and became one of the pioneer farmers in Farmersburg township, where his well directed labors brought to him a generous measure of pros- perity, as gauged by the standards of the locality and period. Both he and his wife passed the closing years of their life in the village of Farmersburg and both were venerable in years at the time of their death. They were zealous members of the Congregational church, instant in human sympathy and kindliness and in good deeds. They became the parents of three children, and the only survivor is the honored citizen to whom this sketch is dedicated, he being the eldest of the number; Elizabeth was a resident of Farmersburg at the time of her death; and Mrs. Martha Ann (Everall) Sutton died at Bloomington, Wisconsin. John Everall gained his rudimentary education in his native land and supple- mented this by attending the pioneer schools of Clayton county, as well as by individual application which, with his naturally studious tendencies, effectively broadened his intellectual horizon. In Clay- ton county he gained in his youth a close fellowship with the work of the pioneer farm of his father, and during many years of his active career he continued his close allegiance to the basic industry of agriculture, through the medium of which he gained substantial success. He has long been one of the prominent and influential citizens of Clayton county and special distinction is his for the valiant service which he rendered as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. From 1858 to 1862 he was a successful and popular teacher in the schools of this county, and he abandoned his peda- gogic services only to respond to the call of higher duty, for in August, 1862. he enlisted as a private in Company E, Twenty-sev- enth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front and took part in the various engagements that marked the record of this gallant Iowa regiment. He lived up to the full tension of the great conflict between the states of the North and the South, was
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wounded in action in July, 1864, but was not long incapacitated for service, as he continued with his regiment until the close of the war, rose from the rank of first sergeant to that of first lieutenant of his company, and received his honorable discharge in June, 1865. In later years he has vitalized the more gracious memories and asso- ciations of his military career by his appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the war Mr. Everall re- sumed his association with farming in Farmersburg township, and his ability and unqualified popularity have brought to him many official preferments in the public service. He has filled nearly all township offices, and for a period of four years he was county super- intendent of schools. He was for six years the incumbent of the office of county auditor, and for eight years he represented Clayton county in the upper house of the Iowa Legislature. In every public office to which he has been called he has proved a faithful, loyal and efficient incumbent, and he has shown himself well fortified in his opinions concerning matters of economic and governmental polity. He is now living virtually retired in his attractive home at Farmersburg, and finds that his lines are cast in pleasant places, for he is surrounded by a host of friends who are tried and true, and is revered alike by old and young. In a basic way he has ever given stalwart allegiance to the Democratic party, but in local affairs he has not been constrained by strict partisan lines, as he has given his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. Mr. Everall has been long and appreciatively affili- ated with the Masonic fraternity, and for eight or nine years he held the office of master of the lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons at Farmersburg. In this village, on the 25th of October, 1865, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Everall, then a youthful veteran of the Civil war, to Miss Vallonia Renshaw, who was born at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of April, 1841. Of the seven children of this union, five are living. Richard, the firstborn, died in boyhood; Martha remains with her parents; John is successfully established in the practice of law in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota ; Dr. George L. became a representative physician and surgeon in the city of Clinton, Iowa, but was at the old home in Farmersburg at the time of his death ; Bruce B., M. D., is engaged in the practice of his profession at Monona, Clayton county ; Dr. Benjamin C. was engaged in the practice of medicine in the city of Waterloo, this state, until the border troubles with Mexico, in the summer of 1916, led to his going to Texas as captain and surgeon of the hospital corps of the First Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in which capacity he is serving at the time of this writing; Bessie E., the youngest of the children, is now an efficient and popular teacher in the public schools of Lake City, Minnesota. Senator Everall was one of the leaders of his party while in the Iowa Senate and was known for his quiet, but forceful support of wise measures for the benefit of the people. He still takes an active interest in the bank at Farmers- burg and is known and loved throughout the county.
Henry Farmer .- Through his vigorous and successful opera- tions in connection with agriculture and live stock industry Mr.
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homestead in Clayton county which he had inherited from his par- ents and which is situated in Section 28, Lodomillo township. He has since continued as one of the representative farmers of this part of Clayton county and gives also a general supervision to his farm in Delaware county, a property that is now in the active charge of his only son. He is a Republican in his political proclivities and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias.
Otto Fascher is another of the sterling sons of the German Fatherland who has found in our great American republic the op- portunities through which he has achieved definite independence and prosperity, and Clayton county has been the stage of his activi- ties during the entire period of his residence in the United States. His industry and self-reliance have been on a parity with his ambi- tion and integrity of purpose, and through his own ability and well ordered endeavors he has won secure place as one of the substantial and popular exponents of agricultural industry in Clayton county. He is a loyal and progressive citizen, and that his ability has not lacked popular appreciation is evidenced by the fact that he is serv- ing as trustee of Read township, of which position he has been the efficient incumbent since 1914. Mr. Fascher was born in Klein Küsten, Germany, on the 9th of August, 1872, and is one of the six surviving children of Carl and Dorothea (Welle) Fascher, the for- mer of whom passed his entire life in that section of the German Empire and the latter of whom came to the United States in 1895, the remainder of her life having been spent in Clayton county, Iowa, where she died in the spring of 1916, a devout communicant of the Lutheran church, as was also her husband. Otto Fascher was reared and educated in his native land and was twenty-four years of age when, in 1896, he came to America and established his home in Clayton county. Here he was employed at farm work for a few years, and his further progress toward the goal of independence was made by his operations on a rented farm, where he continued his energetic labors, when he purchased sixty acres of excellent land in Section 5, Read township, where he has proved himself a resourceful and energetic farmer and stock-grower and gained pres- tige as one of the able and valued exponents of these basic lines of industry in Clayton county. He has improved his farm with good buildings and in its various operations he avails himself of scien- tific methods and the most approved modern facilities in the way of implements and machinery. From the time of becoming a nat- uralized citizen of the land of his adoption he had given his support to the cause of the Democratic party, and in addition to serving as township trustee, as previously noted, he is a school director of his district. He and his wife are communicants and earnest supporters of the Lutheran church at St. Olaf, from which village his farm receives service on rural mail route No. 2. On the 21st of Septem- ber, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fascher to Miss Augusta Kuhn, who likewise was born in Germany and who came with her parents, William and Fredericka Kuhn, to America in 1894, in which year the family home was established in Clayton county. Here Mr. Kuhn died in 1910, and here his widow still resides. Of
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the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Fascher the first two died in in- fancy; Lucy died at the age of three months and Hilda at the age of five months. The two surviving children are Arno, born De- cember 25, 1903, and Leona, born August 28, 1905.
Rudolph W. Fett holds place as one of the enterprising and representative merchants in the village of Luana and has been a resident of Iowa since his boyhood days, his parents having been pioneers of this State. He was born in the Prussian Province of Pommern, designated in English as Pomerania, and the date of his nativity was April 6, 1866. In the same province were born and reared his parents, Frederick and Henriette (Schrader) Fett, and there they continued their residence until 1875, when they immi- grated to America and soon afterward established the family home in Allamakee county, Iowa. There Frederick Fett reclaimed and developed a fine farm and he continued to be actively identified with agricultural pursuits in that county for many years. He and his wife are now venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Allamakee county, where he is living retired, in the enjoyment of the gracious rewards of former years of earnest and well directed endeavor. Their eldest child, Charles, continues to uphold the prestige of the family name in connection with agricultural industry in Allamakee county ; Augusta is the wife of August Duball, of that county ; Fred still remains a representative of agricultural interests in the same county ; and the subject of this review is the youngest of the chil- dren. Rudolph W. Fett was a lad of about seventeen years at the time of the family immigration to the United States, and thus he had received in his native land his rudimentary education, which was supplemented by the discipline which he gained in the schools of Allamakee county, Iowa. He assisted in the work of the home farm and later found employment on other farms in Allamakee county. In 1894 he came to Clayton county and founded a general merchandise business at Watson, in which village he continued his operations in this line until the autumn of 1915, when he removed to Luana and purchased the general merchandise stock of Eleazer Schinholtz. He maintains his store at a high standard in the vari- ety and completeness of its stock in all departments, and in the effective service given in meeting the demands of a substantial and appreciative patronage. He is one of the progressive and valued business men of this fine little city and has a wide circle of friends in Clayton county. Mr. Fett is a staunch Republican and within the period of his residence at Watson he served 15 years as post- master of that village. Both he and his wife are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Luana. On the 5th of March, 1891, Mr. Fett wedded Miss Lena Krueger, who was born and reared in Allamakee county, and their five children all remain mem- bers of the gracious home circle, namely : Donald, Gladys, Murney, Carlisle, and Maicil.
John Feulner is another of the sterling sons of the great Ger- man Empire who came to America in the period of aspiring youth and who has found in Clayton county the opportunities through which he has worked his way to a position of definite independence
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and prosperity. His finely improved farm of ninety acres lies adjacent to the corporate limits of the village of Strawberry Point, and is one of the valuable places of Cass township. Here he gives special attention to the raising of excellent grades of cattle and swine, and he has developed a prosperous dairy business in connec- tion with the agricultural department of his farm enterprise. Fur- ther evidence of the success which he has won through his own ability and application is that given in his ownership of a half inter- est in a tract of two hundred and twenty acres of good land in the State of Oklahoma. Mr. Feulner was born in Germany, on the 21st of December, 1873, a member of a family of nine children, of whom seven are living-all save one of the number being now residents of the United States. He is a son of Wolfgang and Lena Feulner, who passed their entire lives in Germany. In the excellent schools of his native land Mr. Feulner gained his early education and in 1891, when a youth of seventeen years, he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He came with slender finacial resources but with a full measure of energy and indomit- able ambition, so that he was well fortified for the task which he set to himself, that of winning his way to the goal of prosperity. Soon after landing in the port of New York city Mr. Feulner came to Clayton county and obtained employment on a farm in Cass township. Advancement was his resolute purpose and he proved judicious in his use of the facilities at hand. Finally he rented a farm, and after there continuing his indefatigable activities for a period of three years he found himself so placed as to justify his purchase of a farm and he has owned various farms in this vicinity, always disposing of them, until he secured his present home, upon which he has made numerous improvements and in connection with which he has proved himself a resourceful and successful agricul- turist and stock-grower. It is much to have come as a stranger in a strange land and to have won through personal effort such a large measure of success as stands to the credit of this popular and loyal citizen of Clayton county. His political proclivities are indi- cated by his staunch support of the cause of the Republican party and both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church. On April 22, 1897, Mr. Feulner wedded Miss Frederica Opperman, who was born and reared in this county, and they have one daugh- ter, Alice Mary, who is, in 1916, a student in the high school at Strawberry Point.
Michael Feulner was born and reared in Germany and soon after attaining to his legal majority he came to the United States and established his residence in Fayette county. Here he remained about five years and then came to Clayton county, where he has so directed his powers and energies as to achieve distinctive and worthy success as one of the substantial farmers of the county and to win for himself secure place in popular confidence and es- teem. He arrived in Clayton county with his negative financial re- sources represented in an indebtedness of three dollars, and under these conditions he found employment as a farm hand at a stipend of twelve dollars a month. Much is signified in his advancement
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from such status to the ownership of one of the finely improved and valuable farms of the county, and it is gratifying to pay in this review a tribute to his energy and resourceful ambition. Michael Feulner was born in Germany on the 29th of December, 1862, and is one of the seven surviving children of Wolfgang and Lena Feul- ner, who passed their entire lives in Germany, all but one of their children being now residents of the United States. Michael Feul- ner duly profited by the advantages afforded in the excellent schools of his native land, but his youthful ambition and self-reliance finally prompted him to seek in the United States better opportunities for the winning of independence and prosperity through individual effort. In 1884, when twenty-two years of age, he came to America and established his residence first in Fayette county and later in Clayton county, which has been the stage of his earnest endeavors during the long intervening years. For the first five years he was employed as a farm hand, and for the ensuing nine years he farmed on rented land. His energy and good judgment enabled him to make substantial advancement toward the goal of financial inde- pendence, and finally he effected the purchase of his present fine homestead farm, which comprises 140 acres and which is eligibly situated in Sections 16 and 21, Cass township. He has made many high-grade improvements on the farm, including the erection of modern buildings, the planting of a well-selected orchard and an attractive grove of shade trees about his pleasant home. Though he has proved specially successful in connection with his operations in diversified agriculture, Mr. Feulner has made a specialty of rais- ing and feeding high-grade cattle and swine and has developed also a prosperous dairy business on his farm. He gives his support to the Republican party and while he has had no ambition for public office he has shown his civic loyalty by effective service in the office of township trustee. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church at Strawberry Point, from which village their home receives service on rural mail route No. 3. On Febru- ary 21st, 1889, Mr. Feulner wedded Miss Mary Oppermann, who was born and reared in this county, where her parents settled in the pioneer days, upon their immigration to America from Ger- many. She is a daughter of Henry and Mary Oppermann, the for- mer of whom is deceased and the latter of whom still resides in this country. Mr. and Mrs. Feulner have four children: Otto, Lydia, Esther and Alfred. Esther was graduated in the high school at Strawberry Point and the year 1916 finds her successfully engaged in teaching in the district schools of her native county.
Joseph Fink .- Fortunate is that man whom destiny leads into a sphere of endeavor in which he can effectively exercise his talents and energy and through the medium of which he can achieve a suc- cess that not only makes for his individual independence but also tends to conserve the communal welfare. Joseph Fink is one of the sterling German citizens of Clayton county, and in the land of his adoption he has found ample opportunity for the gaining of the worthy prosperity which was the mark set by his youthful am- bition. He is one of the substantial representatives of the sturdy
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yeomanry of this county, and as an agriculturist and stock-grower his success is best evidenced by the unmistakable thrift and pros- perity that his fine farm betokens. He was born in Germany, on the 16th of February, 1858, and is a son of Joseph and Sophia (Thilk) Fink, with whom he came to America in 1884, when he was twenty-six years of age and after he had availed himself of the advantages of the excellent schools of his native land. The father passed the closing years of his life in Fayette county and his widow now resides in the home of the subject of this review, who accords to her in her venerable age the most loyal of filial care and solicitude. Prior to coming to America Mr. Fink had gained prac- tical experience in the trade of mason, and at this trade he was engaged in work in Buchanan county, Iowa, until 1889, when he came to Clayton county and purchased the farm upon which he has since maintained his home and upon which he has made excellent improvements of a permanent order, including the erection of sub- stantial farm buildings. His farm comprises one hundred and thirty-two acres and is eligibly situated in Section 29, Cass town- ship, not far distant from the village of Strawberry Point, which is his postoffice address. In connection with his general agricultural operations Mr. Fink has developed a prosperous dairy department of farm enterprise and gives attention to the raising not only of good cattle but also of other farm live stock. Political activity and public office have had no lure to this energetic and successful farmer, who has won his prosperity entirely by personal ability and effort, and he shows his civic loyalty by supporting measures advanced for the general good of the community and by exercising his fran- chise as a representative of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife are active communicants of the Lutheran church. In 1888 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fink to Miss Kume Schram, who was born in Germany and who was a young woman when she came to America, in 1884. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Fink, Emma and Edwin remain at the parental home; Bertha is the wife of Earl Cummings and they are now residents of the state of Min- nesota; Ida is the wife of Alfred Mikota, of Cedar Rapids, this state; and Frederick and Minnie are the younger members of the home circle.
William Finley was a lad of sixteen years when he came from the fair old Emerald Isle to America and began to assist his uncle, the late John Finley, in the work of one of the productive farms of Highland township, Clayton county, and he has not only continued his residence in the township during the intervening years but has also gained secure status as one of the enterprising and substantial farmers and popular citizens of Highland township, where he is the owner of a large and well improved landed estate, a portion of which was formerly the old home of the uncle with whom he made his home during the early period of his residence in America. Mr. Finley was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, on the 11th day of July, 1874, and is a son of Michael and Maria (Fions) Finley, both of whom passed the closing years of their lives in their native land, Ireland, the father having been a farmer by vocation during vir-
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tually his entire active career and both he and his wife having been devout communicants of the Catholic church. Of their children the eldest is Thomas, who still resides in Ireland; William, of this review, was the next in order of birth; John resides in the State of Montana; Michael is in South Africa; and John and James died in infancy. To the schools of his native land William Finley is indebted for the educational advantages that fell to his portion in his boyhood, and, as previously noted, he was sixteen years of age when he came to America and became a resident of the county in which he has since gained marked success and an established posi- tion as one of the progressive exponents of agricultural and live- stock industry in this section of the state. During the first five years of his residence in this county Mr. Finley worked for his uncle on the latter's farm, in section 23, Highland township, and he then purchased one hundred and forty acres, to which he has since added until he now has a finely improved estate of two hundred and sixty acres, nearly all of which land is available for cultivation, the place being discriminately given over to diversified agriculture and to the breeding and raising of excellent grades of live stock, Mr. Finley is a director of the State Bank of Volga, is a Democrat in his political adherency, is affiliated with the Catholic Order of For- esters, and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. On the 14th of July, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Finley to Miss Emma Roche, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of John and Hannah (Markham) Roche, both natives of Ireland. Mr. Roche was a youth when he came to America, and he resided first in the state of West Virginia. He was eighteen years old when he came to Clayton county, and here he has since maintained his home, he and his wife being well known and much esteemed citizens of Elkader, the county seat. Of their sixteen children nine are deceased, and Mrs. Finley is the fourth in order of birth of those surviving. The eldest is Michael, who is a farmer in Highland township; William is identified with farm enterprise in Boardman township; John is a resident of Omaha, Nebraska ; Mary is a member of a Catholic sisterhood and is in a convent at Danbury ; Kathrine is the widow of Patrick Orr and resides at Elkader; and Cecelia is in a convent at Mason City. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Finley the first two died at birth, and all of the others remain at the parental home, namely : Frances Dechantal, Mary Cecelia, Matthew, Florence Zita, and Edward John.
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