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 94
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children. In addition to this splendid home place the family estate includes also a farm of ninety-three acres in the same township; two hundred and sixty-five acres on the Mississippi river island near the village of Clayton; one hundred and sixty acres in Lyon county and an equal amount in Hancock county. The original home which the honored father provided for the family was a pioneer log house, and in 1863 he erected the substantial and com- modious brick residence which is now the home of his widow and three of their children. The marriage of Casper A. Werges to Miss Lutzia Bruns was solemnized in Clayton county in the year 1855, and here their devoted companionship continued unbroken for nearly half a century, the gracious ties having been severed by the death of the venerable husband and father, who was summoned to the life eternal in 1903, at the age of eighty-six years. Mrs. Werges celebrated in 1916 her eighty-first birthday anniversary and is one of the revered pioneer women of Clayton county. Of the nine children all are living except the youngest, John, who died at the age of five years. Maggie is a maiden lady and remains at the old home; Frederick is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; Henry L., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Anna M. and Christina have not married and both remain with the widowed mother on the old homestead; Mary is the wife of William Schulte, of this county ; William H. is a bachelor and is associated with his brother Henry L. in the operation of the old homestead; Edward is another of the prosperous farmers of Clay- ton township and is the youngest of the children. Henry L. Wer- ges gained his early education in the public schools of his native county and he has never severed his allegiance to the basic indus- tries of agriculture and stock-growing, the while his operations have continuously been carried forward on the old homestead that was the place of his birth. He has secure place as one of the substantial exponents of agricultural and live-stock enterprise in Clayton county, is loyal and liberal in his civic relations, is a Democrat in politics, and has served as road superintendent of Clayton town- ship. The old home receives its mail service on rural route No. 3 from the village of McGregor.
Edwin W. White has shown during the course of a long and signally successful career that strong instinct for efficiency that not only conserves individual advancement but also make for use- fulness in connection with the affairs of citizenship. Since 1890 Mr. White has been established successfully in the conducting of a general merchandise business at Volga, as junior member of the firm of Adams & White, and it is gratifying to state that on other pages of this work specific mention is made also of the senior mem- ber of the firm of Charles S. Adams. Mr. White has the distinction of claiming the old Green Mountain state as the place of his na- tivity and is descended from a long line of sterling New England ancestors. He was born in South Hero, Vermont, on the 18th of February, 1859, and thus was but four years of age when, in 1863, his parents came to Iowa and established their home in Clayton county. He is a son of Sidney and Melissa (Hoyt) White, the
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and also the attractive residence property which was provided by her husband as the family home. She has proved a careful and discriminating business woman and her success has been reinforced by her distinctive personal popularity, for in Clayton county it may well be said that her circle of friends is limited only by that of her acquaintances. She is a stockholder in the Volga Savings Bank, takes lively interest in all things pertaining to the community welfare and is a popular figure in the representative social activities of her home village, where also she is a zealous member of the Presbyterian church. In the year 1891 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. White to Miss D. Blanche Tenny, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Alpheus and Polly A. (Chapman) Tenny. Her parents were born and reared in Ohio, and their marriage was solemnized in Volga, and in the '50s they came to Iowa and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Clayton county. Here the father devoted the remainder of his active life to farming, and here he passed to eternal rest in the year 1907, a man who had lived a righteous and upright life and who had commanded the unqualified respect and esteem of his fellow men. His venerable widow now maintains her home at Volga and is one of the revered pioneer women of Clayton county. She became the mother of three children, all of whom survive the honored husband and father. Mr. and Mrs. White became the parents of two children, of whom the elder is Alo Tenny, who is now the wife of Arthur V. O'Brien, a prosperous farmer of Clay- ton county, their one child being a son, Joseph Eugene. Cecile, the younger of the two daughters, is the wife of Frank L. O'Brien, who likewise is a representative agriculturist of this county. Mrs. White gained her early education in the public schools of Clayton county and supplemented this by a course in a normal school, in which she was graduated. For a period of six years prior to her marriage she was found numbered among the successful and popu- lar teachers in the schools of her native county, and she still takes a lively interest in educational affairs and in keeping in touch with the best thought and sentiment of the day, as an appreciative stu- dent and reader of good literature.
Abbot Whitman .- One of the pioneers of Clayton county, Iowa, was George Abbot Whitman, son of Captain Samuel Whit- man, Jr., and Elizabeth Howard Whitman. He was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, February 15, 1817, where he received his preliminary education, finishing his studies at South Hadley Academy. In 1838, at the age of twenty-one, he started on his long journey west, which took several weeks. At length he reached lowa territory and finally settled in Clayton county. The following is an extract taken from a letter written by him to his parents July 7, 1838: "I have settled on the prairie between the Mississippi and Turkey rivers. I am in latitude 4212 a considerable distance north of where I intended when I left home. One reason why I came this far north is that on inquiring of many who had lived down in the southern part of Indiana and Illinois that it was un- healthy on all those flat extensive prairies, besides all the good land
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was taken up; and the same reasons which made it unhealthy for man would render it difficult keeping sheep, one object I had in view when I left home; and to conclude my reasons for stopping here, it is in the vicinity of the lead mines where a great many persons are engaged in mining, which makes a good market for everything the farmer can raise so long as there is a market on the Mississippi river. I suppose it is as good a farming country as it is farther south and the lead mines are said to be richer than the gold mines of Mexico; that is, there is more profit in working them. The claim I have to the land I am improving is like all the other claims in the territory. Perhaps thirty or forty thousand in number. There is not a man in Iowa territory who has a deed of his lands. There is a sort of combination among the settlers to support one another at the day of sale and keep the speculators out. So sure are they of the lands they claim that they make as much improvement as though they now had government deeds for them. So great is the number whose interest it is to keep the speculator out, he dare not come; neither would it be safe for him to bid on settlers improvements; for it is the avowed intention of many of them to defend their claims at the hazard of their lives. It was tried at Chicago and the squatters came off victorious. I write this not that I approve of the measure, but seeing that the measure is adopted to receive its benefits. Should the land come into market before I have time to make money to enter it I shall look at home for a supply for this purpose. I bought me part of a prairie team and am breaking prairie with another man and intend putting in spring wheat and oats in the spring and fencing this winter. I am at present boarding in the family of an eastern doctor, but think I shall soon follow the custom of the country, which is keeping bachelor hall. This is, to all appearances, as fine a sheep country as ever saw the light of the sun. When the country becomes a little older and the wild animals thinned off I think that I shall enter into wool growing, as I think there is a considerable extent of country that will be fine for this business. All the grasses that will grow in the east will flourish here in abundance. It produces white clover in abundance. The natural grass is not such as I supposed, tall as a man's head. It is not more than knee high on the dry prairie. The tall grass is on the low wet land or close in the edge of the timber. I could as easily have summered ten thousand sheep as father can five hundred. The soil is a rich black loam, with good wood and fine springs of water, which two things are greatly needed in a great many parts of the country farther south. Iowa extends west of the Mississippi about one hundred miles and from the Missouri north about four hundred miles. It has lately been set off from the Wisconsin territory." Mr. Whitman lived in Clay- ton county many years, opening up and improving farms. He lived on a farm in section 25 of Farmersburg township for some twelve years, where he kept bachelor hall. Mr. Whitman was in- timately acquainted with many of the early settlers of the county. Judge Eli Williams, Mr. Frank Larrabee, Mr. William Larrabee, Mr. Onley and Mr. Brown, being associated with him in business
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relations. He, together with these gentlemen, built and operated the flouring mill at Clayton City, one of the first, if not the first, flouring mill in the county. On November 1, 1855, Mr. Whitman was married to Elizabeth Z. Clark of West Port, New York, a sister of Mrs. Mark B. Sherman of National, Iowa. He had been selling his Iowa properties and investing in Minnesota, and here he took his bride to live in Mt. Vernon township. Here he had ex- tensive land interests and bought and shipped wheat to the Clayton mill. In 1865 Mr. Whitman moved his family to Winona, Minne- sota. Here he looked after his various financial and business in- terests, devoting much of his time to his extensive real estate hold- ings in Mt. Vernon and Rollingstone townships. Two sons and three daughters came to bless this happy union, one daughter died in infancy. H. L. Whitman, Elizabeth and Julia Whitman still retain the old house in Winona. H. L. Whitman, the oldest son, has managed successfully his father's farms for the past thirty years. George A. Whitman, Jr., is a prominent banker on the Mesaba Iron Range, making his home at Eveleth, Minnesota. Mr. Whitman passed away December 28, 1884. He was a man of sterl- ing qualities, kind and generous in the extreme to all the needy, and one whose example might well be followed by a younger gen- eration. His wife, Elizabeth Z. (Clark) Whitman, survived him until June 9, 1896, when she too left the happy home.
Benjamin J. Wickersheim is the owner of one of the well im- proved and well managed farms of his native county and is clearly entitled to recognition in this history as one of the representative agriculturists and enterprising citizens of Giard township, where the year 1916 finds him also giving efficient service in the office of constable. He lends his co-operation in the furtherance of those movements that tend to advance the best interests of the commun- ity and his sterling traits of character have given him the fullest measure of popular esteem and approbation. He was born in Giard township on the 11th of November, 1878, and is a son of George and Catherine (Rosencranz) Wickersheim, both natives of Ger- many. George Wickersheim became one of the early settlers of Giard township, where he devoted the remainder of his active life to successful farm enterprise and where he developed and improved one of the excellent farms of Clayton county. He was sixty-nine years of age at the time of his death and his venerable widow now resides with their son, Benjamin J., of this review. Mr. Wicker- sheim was a Republican in his political adherency and was a con- sistent member of the German Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow. Their first child, Edwin, died young; William B. is one of the prosperous farmers of Giard township; Lena remains at the old homestead; Anna is the wife of George Kother, of Giard township; Henry J. resides in the village of Monona; Emma is the wife of Henry Kamp, of Mendon township; Benjamin J., of this review, has the supervision of the old homestead farm, and Cather- ine likewise remains at the home with her widowed mother. Ben- jamin J. Wickersheim showed in his boyhood the sturdy mental and physical powers that have matured effectively with the passing
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years, and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the schools of his native township, the while his assistance in the work of the home farm began when he was still a boy. He has never severed his allegiance to the fundamental industries of agriculture and stock-growing and has proved one of their success- ful representatives in Clayton county, where he has shown marked discrimination and progressiveness in his independent operations as a farmer on the fine old homestead, which comprises one hun- dred and twenty acres and to the improvements of which he has made numerous additions. His political support is given to the Republican party and, as previously stated, he is serving at the present time as constable of Giard township. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at McGre- gor, and he is serving as treasurer of its Sunday school. Novem- ber 26, 1914, recorded the marriage of Mr. Wickersheim to Miss Grace Schweiger, who likewise was born and reared in Giard town- ship and who is a daughter of John and Gertrude Schweiger, sterl- ing citizens of that township. Mr. and Mrs. Wickersheim have one child, a winsome little daughter, Gertrude C., who lends bright- ness and cheer to the family home.
John F. Widman is one of the very appreciable and greatly valued contingent of Clayton county citizens who claim Germany as their native land, but he was an infant of about two years at the time of the family emigration to the United States and was reared and educated in Iowa. He has maintained his residence in Mc- Gregor, Clayton county for nearly two score years and is one of the substantial business men and popular and progressive citizens of this thriving municipality. Mr. Widman was born in Germany on the 20th of May, 1851, and is a son of Frederick and Sophia Widman, the younger of whose children is Sophia, the wife of Charles Schrader, of St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1853 Fredrick Wid- man emigrated with his family to America and for a short time re- sided at La Salle, Illinois, where his wife died. From that place he came to Iowa and became one of the early settlers at Dubuque, where he continued to maintain his home until his death, at a ven- erable age. His second wife, whose maiden name was Veronica Rouch, still survives him and now resides in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota. Of their children the eldest is William, of St. Paul; Anna is the wife of Walter Cranford, of Minneapolis, that state; Josephine is the wife of Frederick Gardiner, of St. Paul, and Julia, the youngest daughter, is the wife of Charles Peterson, of that city. John F. Widman gained his early education principally in the pub- lic schools of the city of Dubuque, and there he served an effective apprenticeship at the bookbinder's trade, as an exponent of which he remained fifteen years in the employ of one firm in that city. In 1878, shortly after his marriage, he came to Clayton county and established his home at McGregor, where he made investment in a printing, publishing and bookbinding plant and where for twenty-two years he published a weekly paper, the McGregor News. He still continues his printing and bookbinding business, which is one of substantial order, and he is valued as one of the
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alert, progressive and representative business men of the fine lit- tle city that has long been his home and the stage of his earnest and well ordered endeavors. Mr. Widman is found arrayed as a loyal advocate and supporter of the cause of the Republican party, but he has not been a seeker of political preferment, although he has served in minor municipal offices at McGregor. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Broth- erhood of America, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. In the year 1874 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Widman to Miss Louisa Moery, who was born and reared at Dubuque, and they have four children: Alfred, Charles, Laura and Fred. All of the sons are associated with their father's business and the only daughter is employed as a skilled bookkeeper in her native city.
Conrad H. Wiegand has long been known as a skilled machinist and has achieved distinctive success in connection with the work of his trade, his present well equipped machine shop, at Monona, being established in a substantial brick building which he erected for the purpose in 1902, the building being thirty-six by one hun- dred and twenty feet in dimensions. This shop is supplied with the most improved machinery and other accessories for the facile execution of all kinds of work of the order to which it is applied, and Mr. Wiegand is known and valued as one of the progressive and representative business men of Clayton county, which has been his home since his early childhood. Mr. Wiegand was born in Germany, on the 20th of July, 1855, a son of Henry and Catherine Wiegand, and he was but four years of age when his parents num- bered themselves among the pioneers of Clayton county, where they passed the residue of their lives, secure in the high esteem of all who knew them. In this county Conrad H. Wiegand was reared to manhood, and here he acquired his early education. As a youth of about fourteen years he entered upon a practical apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, in a well ordered machine shop at Mc- Gregor, his apprenticeship continuing from 1869 to 1871, inclusive. For a time he was employed as a machinist with the Ringling Brothers' circus, the brothers of the famous circus having been reared in Clayton county and having been residents of McGregor at the time when they initiated, in a very modest way, the circus business that has become the greatest in the world and that has given them a national reputation. For a number of years Mr. Wie- gand virtually withdrew from the work of his trade and during this interval he gave his attention to farm enterprise in Clayton county, in the meanwhile having also operated most successfully a thresh- ing outfit. In resuming the work of his trade he established him- self in business at Monona, in which thriving little city he has since continued his activities in the conducting of a modern machine shop. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Monona. On the 20th of May, 1889, was solemnized the marri- age of Mr. Wiegand to Miss Augusta Heilman, who was born and
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reared in this county, and the only child of this union died in infancy.
Wiegand Brothers-Henry J. Wiegand and Louis Wiegand are well known and popular representatives of one of the honored pioneer families of Clayton county and own and reside upon the fine old homestead farm, in Mendon township, which figures as the place of their nativity. Their landed estate comprises two hundred and forty acres of the productive and valuable land of their native township, and they stand forth as energetic and progressive agri- culturists and representative citizens of this section of Clayton county, with a record of steadfast purpose and worthy achievement and with a sterling integrity that gives them the fullest measure of popular esteem, so that to them can be no application of the scrip- tural aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." Their well improved farmstead is devoted to care- ful and admirably directed enterprise along the lines of diversified agriculture and the raising of excellent grades of livestock, and in the latter department of operation Wiegand Brothers have been especially successful and influential. As citizens of broad and in- telligent views and unequivocal loyalty, they take lively interest in community affairs, and though they have shown naught of ambi- tion for public office they are found arraigned as staunch supporters of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor. Henry and Louis Wiegand are the sons of Henry and Catherine (Hellwig) Wiegand, both of whom were born and reared near the historic old city of Hamburg, Germany, and within a com- paratively short time after their marriage they emigrated to the United States, about the year 1857. They came to Clayton county
and established their home in the village of McGregor, which was then known as McGregor's Landing, and there Mr. Wiegand was employed in a machine shop until he purchased a pioneer farm in Mendon township, where he continued his association with agri- cultural enterprise until he had developed one of the valuable farms of the county, this old homestead having continued as the place of residence of both him and his wife until they were summoned from the stage of their mortal endeavors, secure in the high regard of all who knew them, both having been zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the political faith of Mr. Weigand having been that of the Republican party. Of the children the eldest two, John and Elizabeth, still reside in Mendon township; Conrad operates a machine shop at Monona; Henry J. and Louis, who are the youngest of the children and own the old homestead, as previously stated in this context. After making good use of the advantages afforded in the pioneer schools of Clayton county, Henry J. and Louis Wiegand, of this review, continued for a num- ber of years to be associated with their father in the work and management of the home farm, but prior to becoming the owners of the same Henry J. Wiegand had for several years successfully followed the painters' trade, in which his work was principally that of carriage painter.
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Oscar Wiesner came to Clayton county soon after he had immigrated to America from his German fatherland and as a man of splendid energy and progressiveness he has achieved large and worthy success. He for a time was the owner of a flour mill at Volga, and in connection with the same he installed the modern electric plant which furnishes the effective lighting facilities to this thriving little city. He is one of the substantial and honored citizens of the county that has represented his home for a quarter of a century and in which he has found and improved the opportunities that have enabled him to gain a position of prominence and in- fluence as a business man and as a loyal and public-spirited citizen. Mr. Wiesner was born in Brandenberg Germany, on the 27th of September, 1850, and is a son of Herman and Marie (Haberman) Wiesner, both of whom passed their entire lives in their native land and both of whom were lifelong communicants of the German Lutheran church. Of their children the firstborn was Max, who is deceased ; the subject of this sketch was the next in order of birth ; and Richard, Hedwig and Otto still remain at the old home in Germany. In the schools of his native place Oscar Wiesner gained his early educational training, and there he continued his associa- tion with the milling business until 1889, when he came to the United States and forthwith made his way to the northwest. He remained for a brief period in the city of St. Paul and then came to Clayton county and established his residence at Mederville. There he became the owner of a flour mill, the successful opera- tion of which he continued until the building was destroyed by fire, in July, 1913, the ground on which the plant stood being still owned by him, as is also the water power that was utilized in the operation of the mill. In September, 1913, Mr. Wiesner removed to Volga, where he expanded the scope of his business operations by purchasing the grist mill and in the operation of which he built up a substantial and profitable enterprise and sold it August 18, 1916 to Christ Miller & Son's. His progressiveness was es- pecially evidenced in his installing in connection with the mill the excellent electric-lighting plant, which gives the best service in supplying light for the streets, business houses and private residences of the village. Mr. Wiesner has had no ambition for political activity or preferment but is found arrayed as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party and is emphatically liberal and public-spirited as a citizen. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the family are Presbyterian: On Christmas day of the year 1878 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wiesner to Miss Elizabeth Evitt, and their four children are: Amy, the eldest, is now the wife of Harry Hold, of Volga; Otto is a resident of the state of Montana; and Max and Ernest remain at the parental home.
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