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 85
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He has made his present farm a model of thrift and good manage- ment, and is a citizen who takes loyal and helpful interest in com- munity affairs, his political affiliation being with the Democratic party. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Broel, like- wise was born and reared in Clayton county, and of their five chil- dren the eldest two, Carrie and Clarence, remain at the parental home; Florence is the wife of John Schrampfer, of Volga, this county ; Richard is deceased ; and Max, the youngest of the number, born December 16, 1907, is a vigorous lad who is attending the district school near his home.
John H. Meyer .- In Section 35, Farmersburg township, is situ- ated the fine rural estate of John H. Meyer, who is one of the prominent representatives of agricultural and live-stock industry in Clayton county, and whose prestige along these lines is the more pleasing to note by reason of the fact that the farm which he owns and operates includes the old homestead of his parents and is the place of his birth, which here occurred on the 19th of January, 1879. He is a son of Louis and Elizabeth (Moellering) Meyer, both of whom were born and reared in Germany. Louis Meyer was a young man at the time of his immigration to America, in 1854, in which year he established his residence in Clayton county and be- came one of the pioneers of Farmersburg township. In 1862 he purchased a tract of eighty acres of land in this township, and this proved the nucleus around which he developed a fine landed estate of two hundred and eighty acres, with incidental advancement to a place as one of the most enterprising and successful farmers of the township. His marriage was solemnized July 5, 1861, and he and his wife are now living retired with their son John H., both having become communicants of the Lutheran church while they were young folk. Of their children, the eldest is Louis W., who is a prosperous farmer in Clayton township; Margaret is deceased ; Wilhelmina is the wife of Herman D. Kregel, of Garnavillo town- ship; Mary is deceased: Henry L. is now a resident of Plymouth county, this state ; John H., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; and Elizabeth is the wife of Theodore Meyer, of Garnavillo. The father has been an influential figure in community affairs, has 'been a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and has served as road superintendent, as well as a director and also as treasurer of the school board of his district. John H. Meyer ac- quired his early education in the public schools of his native town- ship and from his youth to the present time the old homestead farm has been the stage of his productive activities. He purchased the farm from his father in December, 1911, and is thus the owner of an estate of two hundred and eighty acres, virtually all being avail- able for cultivation and with improvements of exceptionally superior order, including the best type of farm buildings. The attractive home is a substantial and commodious brick house of ten rooms and the farm is recognized as one of the model places of Clayton county, with the best of provisions and facilities for the carrying on of diversified agriculture and the raising of approved grades of live stock. Mr. Meyer has never deviated from the line of close
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and valuable landed estate. He was long numbered among the aggressive and representative exponents of farm industry in this section of Iowa and is now living retired on the old home place, both he and his wife being devout communicants of the German Lutheran church. Of their children, Louis E. is a prosperous farmer in Clayton township; Margaret is deceased; Wilhelmina is the wife of Herman D. Kruegel, of Garnavillo township; Mary is deceased; Henry L. is now a resident of Plymouth county, this state; John H. is individually mentioned elsewhere in this volume; and Eliza M., wife of the subject of this sketch, is the youngest of the number. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore L. Meyer are the parents of two children -Myrene E. M., who was born April 22, 1911; and Gerald L. F., who was born June 30, 1913.
William A. Meyer .- Northeastern Iowa has had much to gain and nothing to lose through the interposition of the very appreci- able German element of citizenship, and the German contingent has been one of marked prominence and influence in this favored sec- tion of the Hawkeye State since the early pioneer days. He whose name initiates this paragraph was born in the kingdom of Hanover, Germany, and was about fourteen years of age at the time of the family immigration to America. The date of his nativity was Octo- ber 20, 1857, and he is a son of Conrad and Hannah (Schroeder) Meyer, who were born and reared in Hanover and who there con- tinued their residence until 1871, when they came to the United States and established their home in Clayton county, Iowa, and later moved to Fayette county, which was the residence of him and his devoted wife until they were summoned from the stage of life's mortal endeavors, sterling folk who had full appreciation of the relative values in the scheme of human life and who marked the passing years with earnest and productive effort, the while they justly commanded the unqualified esteem of those with whom they came in contact. Of their children, the eldest is Louisa, who is the wife of William Meyer, of Postville; Minnie is the wife of Henry Klamp, of Algona, Kossuth county; William A., of this review, was the next in order of birth; and Carl is a prosperous farmer near Postville. He to whom this sketch is dedicated gained his early education in his native land and, as before noted, was about fourteen years old at the time of accompanying his parents to America. He came to Clayton county and obtained employment on a farm near Garnavillo. Thereafter he passed twelve years as an efficient and valued employe on the farm of John Hartwick, of Giard township, and in the meanwhile he practiced the economy born of ambitious purpose and good judgment, with the result that he was fortified in a financial way when he finally purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Giard township. His energy and progressive policies brought to him cumulative success and he has added to his landed estate until he now has three hundred and eighty acres, the same constituting one of the well improved and essentially model farms of Clayton county. He has made excellent improvements on the place, including the erection of a commodious and attractive house and other good buildings of modern type and
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
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Gregor, his political allegiance being given to the Republican party. Well merited temporal prosperity has attended the earnest endeav- ors of Dr. Miles, and he is the owner of a valuable landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres in Minnesota besides owning his fine residence property and other realty in his home village of McGregor. In the year 1892 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Miles to Miss Helen E. Williamson, who was born at Elkader, this county, and who is the only deceased member of a family of five children, her father, Henry H. Williamson, having been one of the early settlers of Clayton county. Mrs. Miles was summoned to the life eternal on the 11th of April, 1915, beloved by all who had come within the sphere of her gracious influence. She devoted her life to charitable actions, in an unostentatious way, and her loss was particularly felt by the many recipients of her benevolence. Her mortal remains were laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery at Elka- der. Dr. and Mrs. Miles had no children.
William J. Mitchell figures as one of the representative figures in capitalistic and financial enterprise in Clayton county, where he is president of the Luana Savings Bank, one of the substantial and well-ordered institutions of the county, and one whose development and upbuilding have been signally furthered by his wise admin- istrative policies. This bank was incorporated under the laws of the State on the 12th of October, 1908, with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. The personnel of the original executive corps was as here noted : R. J. Stoehr, president ; J. F. Miller, vice-pres- ident; W. J. Mitchell, cashier. In addition to the president and vice-president the original directorate included also W. J. Splies, H. L. Knuth, G. F. Lindroth, James Humphrey and Fred Palas. The bank began operations in a room on the first floor of a build- ing twenty-three by thirty-six feet in dimensions, and later the pres- ent substantial brick building was erected, the property being owned by the bank. The institution has paid regular eight per cent. divi- dends to its stockholders, and on the 15th of April. 1916, it rendered the noteworthy dividend of forty-nine per cent. The capital of the institution has been increased to twenty thousand dollars, and the present executive officers are as follows: W. J. Mitchell, president; J. F. Miller, vice-president, and W. J. Splies, cashier. The board of directors includes, in addition to the president and vice-president, the following named representative citizens: James Humphrey, J. P. Lenth, Gustave Pufahl, Fred Palas, and C. H. Burnham. Will- iam James Mitchell, known for his loyalty and progressiveness both as a business man and as a citizen, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. on the 15th of May, 1847, and is a scion of old and honored families of that section of the Keystone State, his parents, Jackson and Catherine (Rush) Mitchell, having likewise been born in Somerset county, where they were reared and educated. In his native county Jackson Mitchell continued his activities as a carpen- ter and contractor until April, 1853, when he came with his family to Iowa and numbered himself among the early settlers of Alla- makee county, where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives and where they were honored pioneer citizens at the time of
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Elkader, this county, where he died November 18, 1914, and where his widow still maintains her home. He became one of the pros- perous farmers of the county, to which he came with his parents in the early pioneer days. He was a son of Milo E. and Jane M. (Glaiser) Munger, who settled in Reed township in the pioneer period of Clayton county history and who here passed the residue of their lives. George W. was the eldest of their nine children; Frederick is a resident of Rolla, Missouri; Ebenezer, of Delaware county, Iowa ; Eugene is deceased; Aurelia is the wife of Jeremiah Cassidy, of Elkader; Mary is the widow of Edward Gifford and she likewise maintains her home at Elkader, this county; Carrie is the wife of George F. White, of Volga, this county; Simeon is a resident of Oelwein, Fayette county ; and Milo resides at the county seat of Clayton county. Donald Munger, immediate subject of this review, was the second in a family of three children. His older brother, Charles H., is now a resident of Cresco, Howard county, and the younger brother, Dale W., resides at Manchester, Delaware county. Donald Munger was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and continued to attend the public schools of the locality until he had attained to the age of sixteen years. Both of his brothers had in the meanwhile left the parental home and it thus devolved upon him to assume eventually the practical control and supervi- sion of the old homestead farm, to the management of which he has since given his attention, with marked success. He is a loyal sup- porter of the cause of the Democratic party and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America as a member of the camp at Elkader. His name is still enrolled on the list of eligible young bachelors in his native county.
Daniel D. Murphy was born near New Diggings, Lafayette county, Wisconsin, August 22nd, 1862. His parents were John G. and Ellen (McCarthy) Murphy, both natives of Ireland, who came to this country when they were quite young. His boyhood was spent in working on farms in the summer time and attending school in the winter. When seventeen years of age he taught country school one winter, and entered the State Normal School at Platte- ville, Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1883. He came to Guttenberg, Iowa, in September, 1883, and was for three years superintendent of the public school at that place, during which time the same was developed into a three-year high school. During this time he attended summer schools and also read law. Entered the Law School of the University of Iowa, from which he graduated in 1887. He then returned to Guttenberg and for a few months practiced law there and worked in the Clayton County Bank, which had then just been established at Guttenberg. In 1888 he came to Elkader and has since that time resided and practiced law at Elkader, Iowa. In 1890 he was elected county attorney, and re-elected in 1892, serving four years. He served six years on the Town Council and has been a member of the Board of Education of Elkader, Jowa, for about fifteen years, of which board he has been for some years and is now president. When the State Board of Education, the managing board of our
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close of this historic conflict that he came to America. He was in full sympathy with the government and institutions of the land of his adoption, was a man of superior mentality and broad views, was a Democrat in his political adherency, and both he and his wife early became earnest communicants of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Muschewske became a resident of Clayton county in 1874 and she now maintains her home at Guttenberg, venerable in years and sus- tained and comforted by the loving devotion of her two sons. The Muschewske brothers both continued to attend the public schools of Elkader until they had completed the curriculum of the high school. On the 20th of June, 1898, Louis C. began at Elkader his novitiate in newspaper work, where he found employment in the office of the Nord Iowa Herold. Later he was associated with other newspapers in the state, and for a number of years thereafter he followed the musical profession, his talent in this line being of high order. On the 12th of May, 1911, he became associated with his brother in the purchasing of the plant and business of the Guttenberg Press, and they have since continued as editors and publishers of this alert and vigorous weekly paper and in the control of the prosper- ous job-printing business that has been developed under their pro- gressive management. Harry J. Muschewske formed his alliance with the "art preservative of all arts" in April, 1903, when he be- came connected with the Nord Iowa Herold, with which he con- tinued his alliance at Elkader until he removed to Guttenberg and became his brother's partner in the thriving newspaper enterprise which they have since conducted. The Press is a vital exponent of the best sentiment and action of the community and its policy is distinctively one of loyalty and progressiveness. The two brothers designate themselves as independent Democrats in politics and are essentially loyal and public-spirited citizens. Louis C. is affiliated with Guttenberg Lodge, No. 126, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and Harry J. with the local organization of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. At Guttenberg, on the 4th of October, 1911, was solemnized the marriage of Louis C. Muschewske to Miss Minnie K. Soltau, who was born in Guttenberg, this county, on the 21st of December, 1888. No children have been born of this union. At Elkader, on the 14th of September, 1911, Harry J. Muschewske wedded Miss Louise D. Pupke, who likewise is a native of this county, where she was born July 2, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. Muschewske have a winsome little daughter, Arleen, who was born May 20, 1912, in Guttenberg.
Mrs. L. Nagel is continuing the general merchandise business that was formerly conducted by her late husband at North Buena Vista and is one of the well known and popular business women of Clayton county, as well as a gracious factor in the social life of her home community. She was born at Sand Spring, Delaware county, this state, on the 10th of August, 1871, and is a daughter of E. P. and Minnie Sawyer, both natives of the state of Vermont and members of sterling old families of New England. The father was born March 6, 1843, and became one of the pioneer settlers of Iowa. For a number of years the home was maintained in Delaware
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Company F, Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front and with which he served two years, during which he participated in numerous engagements and proved himself a faithful and gallant soldier of the republic. In the battle of Stone River he received a severe gunshot wound in his left leg, and the injury so incapacitated him that he was given an hon- orable discharge, at Nashville, Tennessee. After recovering from his injury Mr. Nelson went to Jasper county, Illinois, and soon afterward he gave evidence of his unabated loyalty and military ardor by enlisting in Company I, 143rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with rank of corporal. With this command he served until the expiration of his one hundred days' term of enlistment, his regi- ment being commanded by Colonel Smith, and he received his second honorable discharge on the 8th of December, 1864, at Mat- toon, Illinois. In later years he has perpetuated the more pleasing memories and associations of his military career by maintaining affiliation with that noble and patriotic organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. In the winter of 1865 Mr. Nelson came to Clayton county, Iowa, and after having here been employed a few months he went to Mower county, Minnesota, where he entered claim to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. He sold the property one year later but continued his residence in Minnesota until 1872, when he returned to Clayton county, where he has since maintained his home and where his activities have been principally in connection with agricultural pursuits and the raising of live stock. He may consistently be said to have been one of the foun- ders of the village of Gunder, where he became the owner of six and one-half acres of land and where he erected the first building in the village. The farm upon which he now resides is eligibly situated in Section 11, Marion township, with mail service on rural route No. 1, from Postville. He made good improvements on the farm and continued in the ownership of the property until he trans- ferred the same, with proper stipulations and legal provisions, to Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Holem, with whom he makes his home and whom he looks upon with the appreciative affection of a father. He married Mrs. Julia Gundelfinger, widow of Alexander Gundel- finger, of Madison, Wisconsin, and she was summoned to eternal rest on the 20th of November, 1905, no children having been born of their union. Mr. Nelson has made four tours abroad since he came to America, and has visited not only the land of his birth but also England and various continental countries of Europe. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he has served as trustee of Marion township. He is a zealous communi- cant of the Norwegian Lutheran church at Gunder and a member of the Grand Army post at Elkader, the county seat.
Hon. Byron W. Newberry. Prominent in the history of Straw- berry Point, of Cass township and of Clayton county as well as in the annals of the state of Iowa, stands Byron W. Newberry. He has been one of the most helpful, progressive and energetic men of his home city, he has well represented Clayton county in legis- lative halls and he has helped to write upon the statute books of
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of Iowa. During this time Ife served on many important com- mittees and his name is now attached to legislation which with each passing year gives added proof of its value to the people of the entire state. In the year, 1916, he is again the standard bearer of his party for this important position, and his friends insist that his record and his eminent qualifications will assuredly meet with the endorsement of an election. Mr. Newberry is a man who has never sacrificed his convictions for expediency. His life has been as an open book and rio endorsement at the polls could be stronger than that which has long been accorded him by his fellow citizens through their confidence, esteem and real affection. Always an earnest student and a lover of Iowa and all that pertains to it Mr. Newberry has for a number of years been a valued member of the Iowa State Historical Society, and it is a pleasure to note that a large portion of the interesting and carefully prepared history of Cass township written by him has been incorporated in the first volume of this work. Mr. Newberry is also a member of the Iowa State Bar Association and, fraternally, is affiliated with the order of the Knights of Pythias, while his religious allegiance is faith- fully and zealously given to the Congregational church. On De- cember 30th, 1905, Mr. Newberry was united in marriage with Miss Eve M. Buckley, a native of Strawberry Point, and the daugh- ter of Franklin R. and Helen M. (Turner) Buckley, long respected citizens of that community. The home of Senator and Mrs. New- berry is one of the centers of the social life of their community and both are known and loved for their kindliness, their steadfastness to high ideals and their broad and genuine interest in all that per- tains to the welfare and happiness of their friends, who include all the people of Strawberry Point and vicinity.
Benjamin Nieland is the fortunate owner of one of the extensive and finely improved landed estates of his native county, is a member of an honored pioneer family of this favored section of Iowa, and that he takes lively interest in all things pertaining to the social and material welfare and progress of Clayton county is but evidence of his loyal appreciation of its attractions and resources, and an evidence also of his representative status as one of the enterprising and successful farmers of the county. He was born in Jefferson township, this county, on the 14th of June, 1866, and he is one of the four children born to Herman and Elizabeth (Roth) Nieland, all of the children still surviving the honored parents, who passed the closing years of their long and worthy lives on their old home- stead farm in Jefferson township. The parents were born and reared in Germany and upon coming to the United States they be- came pioneer settlers of Clayton county. They first established their home in the fine German colony of Guttenberg, but finally removed to the farm, in Jefferson township, where they passed the residue of their lives, prospered in their earnest endeavors and resting secure in the high regard of all who knew them, both having been devout communicants of the Catholic church. The father of this family died, April, 1913, and the mother died about thirty-nine years ago when our subject was eleven years of age. Benjamin
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of birth; Mary is the wife of Matthias Burr, of Guttenberg; and Henry is a substantial farmer of Jefferson township. Bernard Nie- land was favored in having in his youth the advantages of the ex- cellent public schools at Guttenberg, and after leaving the home farm he was employed on other farms in the county about two years. For three years thereafter he conducted operations on a rented farm, and he then purchased the old homestead farm of his father, the same comprising two hundred acres, and having since constituted the stage of his energetic and successful operations as an agriculturist and as a stock and dairy farmer. He has mani- fested no desire for public office, though always ready to do his part in the initiating and developing of enterprises projected for the general good of the community and standing forth as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic church at Gutten- berg, which thriving little city is their postoffice address. On the 23d of November, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nie- land to Miss Elizabeth Dorweiler, who was born in Jefferson town- ship, this county, and who gained her education in the parochial and public schools of Guttenberg. She is a daughter of Paul and Annie (Roth) Dorweiler, who were born and reared in Germany and who became pioneer settlers of Clayton county, where the father was one of the substantial farmers of Jefferson township at the time of his death, his widow still remaining on the old home- stead and both having become communicants of the Catholic church when they were young. Mr. and Mrs. Nieland became the parents of fourteen children, but only five of the number are now living, all of them being still members of the gracious family circle of the parental home, namely: Bernard, Jr., Edward, Clara, Theresa, and Hildegard. The names of the deceased children are here noted : John, Catherine, Lena, Raymond, Elizabeth, Rose, Werner, Paul, and Anna.
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