USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 41
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Mr. Fidlar is not a politician in the commonly accepted sense of the term but at all times manifests that deep interest in public questions which every American citizen should display, and has served as alderman of his ward. He is a very
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
prominent Mason and much respected in the fraternity. He became a member of Davenport Lodge in 1864, has always been most loyal to the teachings of the order and when the Masonic Temple was erected he was made one of its first directors. He has taken all the degrees up to the thirty-third and has filled the various chairs in the blue lodge, chapter and commandery. He is a man of high character, exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft and is held in highest respect socially and in a business way, for the policy which he pursues has always been in harmony with high commercial ideals. In the conduct of his business he has ever felt that the output of the house should be its best adver- tisement and therefore has maintained the highest standard of excellence in product. Close application and energy have enabled him to overcome all diffi- culties and obstacles in his path and his capable utilization of opportunity and coordination of forces have brought him into important relations with the busi- ness interests of his adopted city.
HENRY THUENEN.
Henry Thuenen, occupying a position of distinction as a representative of the Davenport bar, has spent his entire life in this city, where his birth occurred July 9, 1868. His father, Henry Thuenen, as the name indicates, was a native of Germany. He was born in Prussia, May 19, 1832, and came to Davenport in 1855, when a young man of twenty-three years. The following year he was mar- ried to Miss Elizabeth Busch, who was born in Germany, June 30, 1829, and died on the 23d of February, 1907. Henry Thuenen, Sr., was a wagon maker and blacksmith and after working for a time at his trade in the employ of others, engaged in business for himself and in the course of years earned a comfortable competence which now enables him to live retired. His family numbered twelve children, of whom four daughters and two sons lived to years of maturity. These are all yet living in Davenport.
Entering the public schools at the usual age, Henry Thuenen continued his education through successive grades until he was graduated from the high school of Davenport with the class of 1887. He determined to concentrate his efforts upon professional interests and to this end became a law student in the office and under the direction of Judge French. His thorough preliminary reading was followed by admission to the bar in October, 1890, after successfully passing the required examinations before the supreme court. He has since engaged in practice and his ability and learning have carried him into important relations with the legal profession in Davenport. His mind is analytical and logical in its turn and his thorough preparation of his cases and his correct application of legal principles have constituted him one of the most forceful factors at the Davenport bar. He has also figured actively in political circles, serving for three years as alderman from the sixth ward, his election occurring in 1895. In 1899 he was chosen to represent his district in the lower house of the twenty- eighth general assembly but resigned at the adjournment of the session in order to accept the office of city attorney, which position he filled most creditably and
HENRY THUENEN, JR.
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
faithfully for six years. He is now concentrating his energies solely upon his professional duties but still takes the interest in politics which every good citi- zen should feel and keeps thoroughly informed concerning the questions and is- sues of the day.
In 1892 Mr. Thuenen was married to Miss Emma Neumiller, a native of Davenport and a daughter of Joseph and Marie Neumiller. The six children of this marriage are Joseph H., Harold F., Henry W., Millie, Helen and Edna.
Mr. Thuenen is identified with the Masonic fraternity, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and other societies, the basic principles of which find exemplification in his life. In a profession where progress depends entirely upon individual merit, he has worked his way steadily upward and in the twenty years of his connection with the law his efforts have been of an important char- acter, indicative of his ability and his unfaltering devotion to the interests of his clients.
LUDWIG W. SCHMIDT.
Prominent among Scott county's esteemed and substantial citizens is Ludwig W. Schmidt. He holds the splendid farm upon which he is now living in especial affection, for it was here that he was born, May 26, 1857. As his name indicates, Mr. Schmidt is of German origin, his father being Carl F. Schmidt, of Schleswig- Holstein, born April 30, 1828. His grandfather, Fritz Schmidt, was a German school teacher, who in the year 1848 came to America with his five sons of whom Carl was next to the eldest. With the idea of engaging in farming they settled in Blue Grass township on land which they purchased from the government, and proceeded to enjoy success in the land of their adoption. This property is still in the possession of the family, Richard Schmidt at the present time residing upon it. When twenty-six years of age Carl Schmidt left the parental abode and took possession of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which his son Ludwig was born and which he afterward possessed. In 1855 he married Miss Sophie Moeller and Ludwig is the eldest of the five children born to them. His brothers are Benjamin L. and Franz L. Schmidt, and his sisters Mrs. August F. Martz- hahn and Mrs. John Kohrs, all four of whom reside in Davenport. The father died in 1886, but his wife survives him and makes her home with one of her daughters in Davenport.
When Ludwig Schmidt was about nine years of age his father removed from his farm to the vicinity of Davenport, where in the public schools he with the other children received their education. Upon leaving school he entered upon a life of usefulness by assisting his father, who at that time was conducting a vine- yard. After his marriage he took possession of his father's homestead and is still living amid the associations of his early boyhood.
When twenty-three years of age Mr. Schmidt was united in marriage to Miss Emma Martzhahn, a daughter of Fritz Martzhahn, of Scott county. Their union has been blessed by the birth of eight children : Fritz C., aged twenty-seven, still at home; Louisa, aged twenty-five; Bruno L. and Ella, twins, twenty-three years
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of age; Sophie, the wife of George Wichmann, of Davenport; Alfreda, aged six- teen ; Benno F., aged fourteen ; and Minnie, aged twelve.
Mr. Schmidt is a public-spirited citizen who enjoys the confidence of his fel- lowmen. He has done efficient public service, having been president of the school board and is now treasurer of the school board of Blue Grass township. Besides his agricultural interests he is a director of the Davenport Slaughtering & Ren- dering Company ; a stockholder in the Blue Grass Savings Bank and the Home Sav- ings Bank of Davenport, and is connected with his brothers' business, the Schmidt Brothers Ice Shipping Company, of Davenport.
WILLIE M. MOELLER.
Willie M. Moeller is one of those citizens of Cleona township who have re- mained true to the locality throughout the entire course of their lives. He was born October 6, 1875, upon the homestead where he still resides and is thus bound to it by stronger ties than fall to the lot of many men. His parents, Henry and Caroline (Feuerbach) Moeller, at the time of their relinquishment of the farm, removed to Walcott, where they still reside. The management of the farm now devolves upon our subject and his keeping in touch with the latest in scientific agricultural investigation has been productive of the most satisfactory results. The Moeller property consists of one hundred and ninety-six acres on section 25, Cleona township, on the Hickory Grove township line. The subject of the sketch has been very successful in the breeding of shorthorn polled Durham cat- tle, of which he owns about one hundred head.
Mr. Moeller received his early education in the schools of his district and gained a practical training by assisting his father in the manifold duties which every well improved farm presents. Later he engaged in school teaching, pro- perly directing the course of the young idea. He is well and favorably known in the community in which he has lived for something over thirty years. He is the eldest in a family of seven children, and one of these, his brother Ferdinand, is associated with him in the cultivation of the estate.
EDWARD AND THEODORE BRUS.
One of the extensive farms in Buffalo township is that cultivated by Edward and Theodore Brus, sons of Jacob Brus, who was one of the prosperous German farmers of Scott county. He was born in Prussia, November 29, 1829, and was about eighteen years of age when he came to America with his father, John H. Brus, for his mother, who was Miss Mary Schluter in her maidenhood, had died in the old country. Jacob Brus reached Scott county about 1850 and with his father engaged in farming. The latter died in 1879. In 1861 Jacob Brus began farming for himself. He was married on the 7th of January, that year, to Miss Eliza J. Robinson, a daughter of John H. and Mary E. (Oswald) Robinson,
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and they became the parents of eleven children : John H .; Anna M .; Charley H .; Rosa A .; Willie; Edward T .; Ella E .; Ida J .; Flora M., who died in 1878; Theo- dore J .; and Lena E.
In his agricultural pursuits the father was especially successful for he owned five hundred and sixty acres in Buffalo township and three hundred and twenty in Blue Grass township, making over eight hundred acres which were under his control. He was one of the most enterprising as well as successful men in his locality and his influence was widely felt in the township for he served most efficiently as trustee and school director and was also supervisor of the county. He resigned the heavier responsibilities of his life even before his death, many of which have been assumed most ably by his sons, Edward and Theodore.
Edward and Theodore Brus, native sons of Scott county, are by their daily life and the return they win from their labor upholding the reputation for pros- perity enjoyed by this section of Iowa. With their sister Miss Ella they live upon the extensive tract of five hundred and sixty acres in Buffalo township. Keeping the example of their father before them, they have continued in his foot- steps, enlarged the number of improvements upon the farm and increased its cul- tivation, so that it is one of the excellent farms of the whole township, not only in size but in the fertility of the soil. Both are members of Banner Lodge, No. 16, Knights of Pythias, and Theodore is also connected with the Modern Wood- men. They are democrats in their political sympathies, interested in local af- fairs, though not aspirants for official preferment. Edward, however, has been a member of the school board for a number of years.
MRS. HATTIE STICHTER.
Mrs. Hattie Stichter, who throughout the period of her married life has lived in Princeton township, where since her husband's death she has continued to make her home, was born in Germany, September 27, 1846. Her father, Andrew Walter, was also a native of that country, born in 1801. After arriving at years of maturity he was united in marriage to Miss Ina Schoenhanken and they spent their entire lives in Germany, where the father was a gardener and fruit grower, In accordance with the laws of the country, he also served for three years in the German army. Both he and his wife are now deceased.
Mrs. Stichter remained in Germany through the period of her girlhood and in June, 1865, when a young lady of eighteen years, crossed the Atlantic to America, landing in New York. After a few days spent in that city she continued on her way to Chicago and from that point proceeded to Clinton, Iowa, where for two years she worked for her brother. At the end of that time, on the Ist of Sep- tember, 1867, she gave her hand in marriage to John Stichter. He, too, was of German birth, his natal day being May 6, 1829. On crossing the Atlantic he landed at New York and for many years was a respected and worthy citizen of Scott county, where he engaged in farming, making his home in Princeton town- ship, where he secured one hundred and seventy-four acres of land. As the years
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passed by he converted the tract into rich and productive fields, making his farm a valuable property, from which he annually gathered good harvests.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stichter were born eight children. Annie, who was born March 5, 1874, is the wife of Henry Graham, a resident of Princeton township, where he follows farming. They have three children: Elmer, Ward and Louis Graham. Frank Stichter, who was born December 18, 1875, married Nellie Schaffer and is also engaged in farming in Princeton township. Edward, who was born October 15, 1877, is a Mason and resides in Le Claire. He wedded Ella Morey, and they have one child living, Lela; and one child deceased, Louis Frank. Andrew Stichter, born March 4, 1879, married Tracy Bissick and re- sides in Le Claire. Henry, born December 20, 1881, and living in Le Claire, where he is engaged in teaming, married Lila Sweeney and has two children, Henry and Flora. Louis, who was born April 20, 1883, resides with his mother on the home farm, which he now operates for her. Katie, born August 20, 1884, is the wife of Floyd Bickle and they have one child, Louis. They reside in Prince- ton township and Mr. Bickle is pathmaster of the township. May, born July 24, 1888, is yet at home with her mother.
Mr. Stichter was a republican in his political views and always exercised his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of that party but never sought nor desired office, as he preferred to concentrate his energies upon his farming interests. He attended the German Lutheran church and his life was an upright, honorable one, winning him the respect and good will of all with whom he was associated. For a great many years he was identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He died January 29, 1891, and many friends as well as his immediate family felt deep regret over his loss. His widow, one son and a daughter yet remain upon the old homestead farm, while the other children are all married and have gone to homes of their own.
HENRY STOLTENBERG.
Among the enterprising, progressive and successful farmers of Cleona town- ship, who have also taken an active and influential part in community affairs, is numbered Henry Stoltenberg, one of Scott county's native sons, his birth oc- curring in Davenport township on the 4th of January, 1856. His parents, Hans and Eliza (Wiese) Stoltenberg, were both natives of Holstein, Germany, the for- mer's birth there occurring on the 20th of September, 1828. The father came to America with his parents when about eighteen years of age, the family home being established in Scott county. Here the grandfather of our subject secured enough land at the purchase price of one dollar and a quarter per acre to give each of his fourteen children a tract of eighty acres. Upon his farm Hans Stolten- berg located and continued to follow the occupation of farming until about twenty-five years ago, when he retired from active business, and has since made his home in Davenport. His business career was one of continuous activ- ity, in which was accorded due recognition of honest labor and that he was suc- cessful in his undertaking is indicated by the fact that at the time of his retire-
HENRY STOLTENBERG AND FAMILY
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
ment he was the owner of fifteen hundred acres of valuable land, all in Scott county, constituting him one of the extensive property owners of the locality. He has since divided this property among his children.
Soon after his arrival in the new world, in 1853, Hans Stoltenberg was united in marriage in Davenport to Eliza Wiese, who passed away in 1873 at the age of forty-eight years. Later he wedded Elsabel Hass, also a native of Germany, and they traveled life's journey happily together for twenty-nine years, or until her death, which occurred in 1902. In their family were eight children, namely : Minnie, the wife of William H. Petersen, of Central Park; Henry, of this review ; William, residing in western Iowa; Theresa, the wife of Herman D. Moeller, of Worthington, Minnesota; Laura, who passed away at the age of ten years ; Louis, of Lake Park, Iowa; Edward, who makes his home in Blue Grass township; and Carlie, the wife of W. F. Mann, of Lake Benton, Minnesota.
'Amid the busy activities of rural life Henry Stoltenberg spent the period of his boyhood and youth, attending the district schools in the acquirement of his education, and when not busy with his text-books assisted in the work of the fields. Here he early learned lessons concerning the value of industry, energy and integrity, and these lessons, combined with the thorough and comprehensive practical experience which he received, formed an excellent foundation stone upon which to rear a future successful career. He remained with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when, seeking to enter the buiness world, he took up agricultural pursuits on his own account as a renter upon one of his father's farms. He was thus engaged for three years, at the expiration of which period he took a trip to the Pacific coast, spending two years in sight-seeing in the far west. Returning home he again took up farming on the place which he had previously operated in the capacity of renter and here has continued to make his home to the present time. It is a highly cultivated farm of three hundred and twenty acres, located on sections 35 and 36, Cleona township, and contains two sets of good buildings, one of which is occupied by his son, Rudolph. Mr. Stol- tenberg has devoted considerable time to the improvement of this farm, erecting good modern buildings and equipping the place with all of the accessories and conveniences known to facilitating farm labor, so that today it is one of the most highly improved and valuable farms of the township. He carries on gen- eral farming and stock raising, and both branches of his business are proving gratifying sources of remuneration. As he has prospered he has been able to add to his real estate holdings and is now the owner of five hundred and twenty- eight acres of land in Dickinson county aside from his home place, which prop- erty has been in his possession for the past twelve years and is an additional source of revenue.
It was on the 4th of December, 1883, that Mr. Stoltenberg was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Specht, who was born in Walcott, Scott county, on the 17th of August, 1864, and is a daughter of William and Dorothea (Schap- per) Specht. Her father was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on the 11th of August, 1835, and the mother's birth occurred in Hanover, Germany, on the 4th of May, 1841. They were married in Scott county and made their home on a farm near Walcott, where their remaining years were spent, he passing away on the 15th of January, 1885, and she on the 11th of March, 1908. On coming
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to this county they were both employed on the same farm until their marriage and then located on a rented farm, which Mr. Specht operated until he was able to buy a place. So successful was he in his farming operation that at his death he owned one hundred and sixty acres of land in Cleona township and also a farm of the same size in Blue Grass township. In his family were two children, namely : Louis, of Hartley, Iowa; and Matilda, the wife of our subject. Eight children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Stoltenberg, namely : Rudolph, carrying on farming on one of his father's farms near the old homestead; Emil, Harry, Lillie and Luella, all at home; Walter, who was born on the 30th of April, 1893, and passed away February 27, 1894; and Mabel and Leona, who are also yet under the parental roof.
Fraternally Mr. Stoltenberg holds membership with the Walcott Lodge, No. 312, K. P., while politically he gives stalwart support to the republican party. That he stands high in the regard of the community and enjoys the respect, con- fidence and trust of his fellowmen is indicated in the fact that he has been called to positions of importance and honor, having been elected township assessor of 'Cleona township in the fall of 1890, occupying that position for seven years. In the fall of 1898 he was elected township clerk, serving in that capacity for two years, while for one term, from 1903 until 1906, he acted as county supervisor. For twenty-two years he was secretary of the Cleona township schools, and for eleven years served as director of district No. 7, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion. In every instance he entered upon his official duties with the same spirit of thoroughness and diligence that characterized him in the conduct of his business affairs, and met the responsibilities that rested upon him in his official capacity in a way that not only brought honor to himself but reflected credit upon his constituents. Public-spirited in citizenship, his devotion to the public good has ever remained unquestioned, and Cleona township has profited by his efforts in her behalf and numbers him among her most valued and re- spected citizens.
WALTER H. PETERSEN.
Although one of the younger members of the Davenport bar, Walter H. Pe- tersen has made a creditable record as one whose ability enables him to success- fully cope with the intricate problems of jurisprudence and to meet in forensic combat those who have long been established in practice. He was born in Daven- port, October 6, 1877, and is a son of Max D. and Caroline (Runge) Petersen, by whom excellent educational privileges were afforded him. After passing through consecutive grades in the public schools to his graduation from the high school with the class of 1895, he pursued an academic course in the State Uni- versity and afterward entered the law school of the same institution, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Law degree in the class of 1901. He fur- ther prepared for his profession in the Harvard Law School at Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts, where he won his diploma in 1902.
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
In October of the same year Mr. Petersen opened an office in Davenport and soon formed a partnership with Victor L. Littig, under the firm style of Littig & Petersen. Subsequently he was associated with W. M. Chamberlin and the firm of Chamberlin & Petersen enjoyed a growing practice until June 15, 1907, when they severed their interests and Mr. Petersen has since practiced alone. Success has attended him and he credits any such favors of fortune to the habits of careful preparation, study of his cases from the side of law and evidence, the arrangement of the points of argument and strict attention to business. He possesses, moreover, superior oratorical ability, his fine voice giving power to his natural eloquence and thus he has won the reputation of being remarkably successful with juries and a skillful cross examiner. He is a young man of high ideals in his profession and in the seven years of his practice in Davenport has made steady progress. He is seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of a legal principle and his careful analysis enables him to readily determine the salient points in the case and to give relative value to each point in his argument before court or jury.
On the Ioth of June, 1903, Mr. Petersen was married to Miss Mary Cass, a native of Chicago. He belongs to the Commercial Club and to various social organizations, including the Rock Island, the Outing, Automobile and Arsenal Golf Clubs-associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and recreation. He is also identified with business organizations and he attends the Episcopal church. In his political views he is a pronounced republican and has done much active campaign work. He does with all of his might and with a sense of conscientious obligation whatever his hand finds to do and is a social, genial, generous man, enthusiastically devoted to the interests of his native city and taking a share in all of its business and social life.
JOHN ARP.
John Arp, who is engaged in general farming in Winfield township, owning one hundred and sixty acres of productive land on section 36, started out in busi- ness as a farm hand and was employed at breaking prairie. Gradually he has won success, however, and is now in comfortable financial circumstances. He was born in Holstein, Germany, October 19, 1838, and is a son of Peter and. Wipke Arp. The father was a tailor in Germany and served with the army of that country, participating in the Napoleonic war. He remained a resident of Germany until after several of his children sought homes in the new world. The first of the family to come to the United States was his daughter Anna, who married Henry Bushna, and worked for Antoine LeClaire. Later his sons, Henry and Peter Arp, sought a home in the new world and in 1855 the father with the others of the family crossed the briny deep, landing at Galveston, Texas, whence they made their way to New Orleans and from that point up the Missis- sippi river to Davenport, being about three weeks in ascending the stream. The father never engaged in business after coming to the United States and both he and his wife died in this county.
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