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 72
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Fred J. Friedlein is one of the progressive and influential busi- ness men of the younger generation in his native county and is manifesting much initiative and administrative ability as manager of the Guttenberg yards and business of the Meuser Lumber Com- pany, of which important corporation he is vice-president, the com- pany having control of a chain of lumber yards in the county and the extensive headquarters at Guttenberg being the distributing
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yards from which the other branches of the important business are supplied. The Guttenberg branch was established many years ago and came under the control of the present owners in 1908, with Fred J. Friedlein as manager. The flourishing enterprise includes the wholesale and retail dealing in lumber, coal, cement, plaster, brick, general lines of building material, silos, etc., and the extent of the business is indicated by the fact that in connection there- with employment is given to a force of from eight to ten persons. Fred J. Friedlein was born in Jefferson township, this county, on the 9th of September, 1879, and is a son of Frederick and Harriet (Schrunk) Friedlein, both representatives of sterling pioneer fami- lies of Clayton county. Frederick Friedlein was born in Schmalz, Germany, on the 7th of August, 1850, and in his native land he was baptized in the German Lutheran church. He was but two years of age at the time of the family immigration to America, and the home was established in Clayton county. Here he was reared to manhood and here he gained his early education in the village schools of Guttenberg. His parents were honored pioneers of the county and here passed the residue of their lives. He himself be- came a prominent and successful exponent of agricultural industry and was the owner of one of the fine farms of the county at the time of his death, which occurred on the 3d of June, 1886. He was a Republican in politics, was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife were earnest mem- bers of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Friedlein survived her hus- band by more than a quarter of a century and was summoned to eternal rest on the 26th of June, 1913, her entire life having been passed in Clayton county, where her parents settled in the pioneer days soon after their immigration from Germany. Of the children of Frederick and Harriet Friedlein the eldest is Ella, who is the wife of Lewis D. Moser; Wiley is a resident of Guttenberg; Fred J., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Ina is the wife of George Erhart, their home being in the state of Idaho; and Lourelle is a resident of Lewistown, Montana. Fred J. Friedlein made good use of the advantages afforded in the schools of Gut- tenberg and after completing the curriculum thereof he took an effective course in the Dubuque Business College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1900. For ten months thereafter he was employed in a lumber yard at Guttenberg, and for the ensuing ten months he was a clerk in a local shoe store. He then assumed a place in a local lumber office and he has since been continuously identified with the lumber business, in which his advancement has been won by his own ability and well directed activities, his close application and excellent judgment having given him a thorough knowledge of all details of the business of which he is now a prominent exponent in his native county. He is loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude, but has manifested no ambition for public office. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has a wide circle of friends in both business and social circles in his na- tive county. On the 9th of September, 1903, was solemnized the
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marriage of Mr. Friedlein to Miss Clara Scholz, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of W. Herman Scholz, of Guttenberg. Mr. and Mrs. Friedlein have a winsome little daughter, Julia Harriet, who was born August 2, 1909.
William Fuelling, president of the Farmersburg Grain Com- pany, and democratic mayor of that city, was born in Germany, July 19, 1866, the son of Henry and Mary (Meeger) Fuelling. The father having died in Germany, the mother, with rare courage, emigrated to America with her seven children, going to Iowa, and locating in Clayton county, Garnavillo township. She suffered the loss of her two eldest children, Laura and Yetta, but five still sur- vive: Louisa, the wife of Louis Gelherman, of Healdsburg, Cal .; Louis, of Farmersburg, Iowa; Julia, married and living in Lamars, Iowa; Ernest, a farmer of Wagner township; and William, our subject, who is the youngest of the family. He worked on the farm until he was seventeen years of age, but at that time learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked for three years, then en- gaged in contracting and building, afterwards going into the lum- ber business, in which he still continues. He was married January 19, 1888, to Louisa Seifert, a native of Clayton county, and they had three children, Otto, the eldest, and Leroy and Alma, deceased. Mr. Fuelling is a member of the Masonic lodge and of the Wood- men of the World. In his religious belief he is a Lutheran and is a member of that church. His son Otto, who is associated with him in his lumber buisness, was born in Clayton county, March 20, 1889, and was married May 13, 1910, to Miss Genevieve Brown, of Cresco, Iowa. Two children are the result of this union, Kenneth Williams, and Winifred Emma Louise. Otto Fuelling, like his father, is a member of the Democratic party and has served on the town council. He is a Mason and a member of the Lutheran church.
John C. Garms is another representative of a pioneer family of Clayton county and has secure status as one of the substantial farmers and influential citizens of Giard township, where he owns and operates a fine landed estate of three hundred and forty-one acres and where his hold upon popular confidence and esteem is indicated by his incumbency, in 1916, of the office of township trustee. Mr. Garms was born in Farmersburg township, this county, on the 23d of February, 1863, and is a scion of the fine German stock that has played most benignant and effective part in the development of the resources of Clayton county and in the maintaining of a high civic standard in this favored section of the Hawkeye State. Mr. Garms is a son of Joachim and Katherine (Schultz) Garms, both of whom were born in Mecklenburg, Ger- many. The father was reared and educated in his native land and came to the United States about the year 1853. Soon after his arrival in America he made his way to Iowa and established his residence near Garnavillo, Clayton county. After being employed by others for a short interval he rented a farm in Farmersburg township and his industry and frugality soon fortified him suffi- ciently to enable him to purchase a farm of his own, in Monona township. There he continued his successful activities as an agri-
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culturist and stock grower until he had attained to advanced age, and he passed the remainder of his life in the well-earned retire- ment that constitutes a fitting sequel to years of earnest and honest industry. He was a Democrat in politics and both he and his wife were zealous communicants of the German Lutheran church, Mrs. Garms having survived her husband by a period of several years. Of their children the eldest is Henry, who is now a resident of Charles City, Floyd county ; Annie and Elizabeth died young ; Min- nie is the widow of Henry Berg and resides in the village of Clay- ton, this county ; John C., of this review; Mary is the wife of Her- man Knut, of Monona township; Reika is the wife of William Dur- ring, of Luana, this county ; and William is deceased. The early educational advantages of John C. Garms were those afforded in the schools of Pleasant Grove township. He became his father's effective assistant in the work and management of the old home- stead farm and thus continued his activities until he purchased the property. He sold this homestead place and purchased a farm of one hundred and eighty-eight acres in Section 5, Monona town- ship. Later he added one hundred and fifty-three acres to his es- tate, and thus he now has a valuable farmstead of more than three hundred acres ; the while he is an effective exponent of progressive agriculture and stock growing in his native county. Mr. Garms is a stalwart in the local camp of the Democratic party, has shown a vital interest in all things pertaining to the communal welfare and is giving most effective service in the office of township trus- tee, beside which he is a member of the board of trustees of the German Lutheran church at Monona, of which both he and his wife are earnest communicants and loyal supporters. November 29, 1889, recorded the marriage of Mr. Garms to Miss Annie Schroe- der, who was born in Garnavillo township, this county, on the 18th of May, 1863, and who is a daughter of August Schroeder, who was born in Hanover, Germany, and who became one of the pio- neer settlers of Clayton county, where he was for many years a prosperous farmer and where he and his wife, who likewise was a native of the kingdom of Hanover, passed the remainder of their lives, honored by all who knew them and secure in the faith of the German Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Garms have five children: Catherine is the wife of Robert Woskoe, of Monona township; Rudolph is an energetic representative of agricultural industry in that township; and Walter, Robert and Selma complete the family circle at the parental home, which is pervaded by the atmosphere of good cheer and prosperity and which is known for its generous but unassuming hospitality.
Benjamin F. Gaylord came with his parents to Clayton county when he was a lad of eleven years and he is now one of the ven- erable and honored citizens of the village of Strawberry Point, which has represented his home from the time when he returned to Clayton county as a gallant young veteran who had given most loyal and efficient service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. He is the only surviving member of a family of nine children, and three of his brothers sacrificed their lives on the field of battle in
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the Civil war, their remains being laid to rest in soldiers' graves in the south. Mr. Gaylord was born in Illinois on the 30th of April, 1838, and is a son of Stephen and Rachel A. (Robinson) Gaylord, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of North Carolina. The father became a pioneer of the state of Illinois, where he es- tablished his home in 1827, and in 1832 he represented that state as a gallant soldier in the historic Black Hawk Indian war. In 1849 he came with his family to Iowa and became one of the early pioneer settlers of Clayton county, where he obtained a tract of wild land, in Cass township, and where he instituted the reclama- tion of a farm. He secured the land from the government and his first domicile was a rude log house of the true pioneer type, the same having a roof of rough boards, a puncheon floor, a chimney of mud and sticks, and a primitive door with the old-time latch-string. This sturdy pioneer did not live to enjoy the fruition of his earnest labors as a farmer in Clayton county, for he passed to the life eter- nal on the 14th of January, 1854. His widow survived him by more than thirty years and was one of the revered pioneer women of the county at the time of her death, in 1886. As previously stated, Benjamin F. Gaylord was a lad of eleven years at the time the family home was established on the frontier farm in Clayton county, and here he was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days, his educational advantages having been those afforded in the somewhat meager schools of the day. He was a sturdy and industrious youth of twenty-three years at the time of the inception of the Civil war, and his loyalty and patriotism prompted him at once to abate his labors on the farm and go forth in defense of the Union. He responded to President Lincoln's first call and, in September, 1861, enlisted as a private in Company G, Third Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. With this gallant command he served three years, within which he took part in many engage- ments, including a number of the important battles of the war, and it was his misfortune to have been wounded on five different occa- sions, on one of which he was left supposedly dead on the battle- field. He continued with his command until November, 1864, when he was mustered out, in the city of St. Louis-a loyal soldier who well merited the honorable discharge that was accorded to him. In later years he has vitalized his memories of the great conflict in which he thus took part by means of his appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the close of his mili- tary career Mr. Gaylord returned to Clayton county and became a clerk in a mercantile establishment at Strawberry Point, and with this line of enterprise he continued his active association for thirty years, since which time he has lived virtually retired in the village that has long represented his home. In Clayton county this ven- erable citizen has a host of staunch friends and finds that his "lines are cast in pleasant places." His allegiance to the Republican party has been unfaltering, but the only office in which he has served was that of tax collector, of which he was the incumbent for one term. He is affiliated with Lodge No. 130, Ancient Free & Ac- cepted Masons, and has passed various official chairs in the same.
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In 1865 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gaylord to Mrs. Clara M. (Eaton) Gaylord, the widow of his brother, who met his death while serving as a soldier of the Civil war. Mrs. Gaylord was born in the state of Vermont and was a daughter of Amos and Maria Eaton, sterling pioneer settlers of Clayton county. The supreme loss and bereavement in the life of Mr. Gaylord came when his devoted wife was summoned to eternal rest, her death having occurred in May, 1891. Of their four children the last died in infancy and the other three survived the loved mother, although Burton M. and Minnie A. have since passed away ; Alice E. is the wife of Robert C. Barnes, assistant cashier of the Strawberry Point State Bank, and with them her venerable father now makes his home.
John Geraghty has long been numbered among the substantial agriculturists of Clayton county, is a representative of a sterling pioneer family of this section of the state and has here maintained his home since he was a lad of seven years. He has shown the sturdy purpose, industry and progressiveness that are the distinct urge to worthy success and is to be considered one of the really representative citizens of Giard township, where he is the owner of a well improved farm, his home receiving mail service on Rural Route No. 1 from the village of McGregor. Mr. Geraghty was born in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, on the 8th of June, 1847, and is a son of Patrick and Anna (Kelly) Geraghty, both native of County Mayo, Ireland, where the former was born March 17, 1816, and the latter in the year 1814, their marriage having been solemnized in their native land. In 1846 this aspiring young couple emigrated to America, confident of their ability to gain in this country the goal of definite prosperity. They remained about one year in the city of New Orleans and thence went to Loveland, Ohio, in which State Patrick Geraghty found employment at rail- road work until 1855, when he came with his family to Clayton county, Iowa, and became one of the pioneer settlers of Giard township, where he obtained a tract of eighty acres of wild land and began the reclamation of a farm. Prosperity attended his earn- est and indefatigable efforts and he was eventually enabled to add to the area of his farm until he had a valuable landed estate of two hundred and forty acres. He erected good buildings on the home- stead and there continued to reside, as one of the prosperous and popular citizens of the county, until the time of his death, which occurred December 8, 1892. He was undeviating in his allegiance to the Democratic party and took a lively interest in community affairs, as was shown by his being called upon to serve as road supervisor and also as a director of his school district. Both he and his wife were earnest communicants of the Catholic church, in the faith of which they carefully reared their children, and Mrs. Geraghty survived her honored husband by less than five years, as she was summoned to the life eternal on the 19th of March, 1897. Of the children the subject of this sketch is the eldest and the only one of the number born in Louisiana; Patrick is a resident of Monona, this county; Mary is the widow of Thomas McGovern
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and resides in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Michael and Catherine are deceased; James is a substantial farmer of Giard township, and Anna is deceased. John Geraghty was an infant at the time of his parents' removal to Ohio and was a lad of seven years when removal was made to Clayton county, where he has marked the passing years with worthy achievement and where he has inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem. His early education was acquired in the pioneer schools of Giard township and he continued to be a valued assistant in the work of his father's farm until 1875, when, at the age of twenty-eight years, he pur- chased eighty acres of land in Giard township, this being part of the old homestead of his father. Later he added eighty acres to the area of his farm, which, under this industrious and well- ordered management, has been developed into one of the finely improved and most productive places in Giard township, the same being devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising of ex- cellent grades of live stock. Mr. Geraghty is found aligned as a supporter of the cause of the Republican party, is a loyal and pub- lic-spirited citizen and served for the long period of twenty-three years in the office of township assessor, his careful and effective administration having created none of the enmities that often at- tend such official prerogatives and having been most satisfactory in a popular sense. He and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic church and he is affiliated with the Knights of Colum- bus. On the 18th of April, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Geraghty to Miss Anna English, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, on the 16th of April, 1855, and who gained her early education in the parochial schools of her native land. In 1869, when she was a girl of fourteen years, she accompanied her parents on their emigration to the United States, and the family home was soon afterward established in Mendon township, Clayton county, where her parents, Anthony annd Honora (Solon) English, passed the residue of their lives, honored by all who knew them and both earnest communicants of the Catholic church. Mr. Eng- lish became one of the prosperous farmers of Mendon township and was influential in local affairs, his political support having been given to the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Geraghty be- came the parents of ten children, concerning whom brief mention is made in conclusion of this review ; Patrick is now residing in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota; John, Jr., is associated with agricul- tural industry in Mendon township; Michael is a resident of Sioux City, this State; James and Francis are deceased; Thomas main- tains his home in the city of Great Falls, Montana; Joseph is as- sociated in the work and management of the home farm; James is deceased, and Catherine and Edward are the younger members of the family circle of the parental home, which is known for its hospitality and good cheer.
Michael Geraghty passed virtually his entire life in Clayton county though it was his to claim the old Buckeye State as the place of his nativity. His parents came to Clayton county when he was an infant and became pioneer settlers in Giard township,
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where, earnest and upright, they passed the residue of their lives, secure in the high regard of the community in which they lived and labored to goodly ends. Michael Geraghty long held secure vantage place as one of the representative farmers and honored and influential citizens of Giard township, and on his fine home- stead farm he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 14th of October, 1906. He was born at Loveland, Clermont county, Ohio, on the 14th of March, 1855, and is a son of Patrick and Anna (Kelly) Geraghty, both natives of County Mayo, Ireland, where they were reared to maturity and where their marriage was solemnized. Soon after this important event in their lives the young couple severed the ties that bound them to the fair Emerald Isle and came to the United States. After passing about one year in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, they removed to Clermont county, Ohio, where Patrick Geraghty was employed at railroad work until 1855, when, shortly after the birth of the subject of this memoir, he came with his family to Iowa and became a pioneer settler of Giard township, Clayton county. He obtained a tract of eighty acres of land and was indefatigable in his well-ordered in- dustry, which eventually resulted in his becoming the owner of a well-improved landed estate of more than two hundred acres. He was one of the substantial and highly esteemed pioneer citizens of the county at the time of his death, which occurred December 8, 1892, and his devoted wife passed away on the 19th of March, 1897, both having been earnest communicants of the Catholic church. Of their children three sons and two daughters are still living, and of the family further mention is made on other pages of this work, in the sketch dedicated to the eldest son, John, who is one of the well known citizens of Clayton county. Michael Geraghty was reared under the benignant influence of the home farm and was indebted to the pioneer schools of Giard township for his early educational training. He continued to assist his father in the activities of the old homestead farm until he had attained to his legal majority, when he began a virtual apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade as a skilled workman at which he thereafter ap- plied himself until 1887, when he purchased a farm of sixty acres in Giard township, later adding to its area by the purchase of a contiguous tract of eighty acres. He made excellent improvements on the place, including the erection of substantial and modern buildings, and here he continued his activities as a thrifty and progressive agriculturist and stock-grower until the time of his death, his widow still maintaining her home on the fine farm that is endeared to her by many gracious memories and associations. Mr. Geraghty commanded the unequivocal confidence and good will of all who knew him, was a man of alert mentality and of im- pregnable integrity in all of the relations of life, and he was influ- ential in community affairs. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party but the only public office in which he ever consented to serve was that of school director. He was a zealous communicant of the Catholic church at Monona, as is also his widow. On the 3rd of May, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of
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Mr. Geraghty to Miss Catherine O'Malley, who was born in Alla- makee county, this State, on the 4th of May, 1863, a daughter of Charles and Anna (Burns) O'Malley, both natives of County Mayo, Ireland, where the former was born August 8, 1817, and the latter on the 7th of June, 1829, their marriage having been there solemn- ized on the 3d of May, 1849. In 1852 Mr. O'Malley immigrated with his family to the United States and established his home in Allamakee county, Iowa, where he became a substantial pioneer farmer and contributed his quota to the civic and industrial de- velopment of the-county. A man of sterling character, he com- manded unqualified popular respect and when venerable in years he and his wife came to the home of their daughter Catherine, wife of the subject of this memoir, where he received the utmost filial care and devotion until he was summoned to the life eternal, on the 23d of May, 1911, about three months prior to the eighty-second anniversary of his birth. His venerable widow remains a loved and revered member of the family circle at the home of Mrs. Geraghty, and, like him, she is a devoted communicant of the Catholic church. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley, Mary and James are deceased; Bridget is the wife of Lewis Larson, of Lawler, Chickasaw county, this state; Edward, Sabina, Patrick and John are deceased; Mrs. Geraghty was the next in order of birth; and Hannah is deceased. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Geraghty remain with their widowed mother and their names and respective dates of birth are here noted: John, March 8, 1887; Mayme, May 23, 1889; and Michael, May 8, 1892.
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