USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 66
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Mr. Nissen of this review was reared in the land of his nativity, acquired his education there and rendered military aid to the country in the German-Franco war of 1870-71. Immediately afterward he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and took up his abode in Chicago soon after the disastrous fire which destroyed much of that city. He continued his residence there until 1874, when he removed to Davenport and entered the employ of Peter Goldschmidt, an undertaker and furniture dealer, with whom he remained until 1880, when he utilized the capital that he had saved from his earnings in the establishment of an undertaking busi- ness on his own account. He soon built up a large and growing business and in
HANS NISSEN
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
1901 he admitted his brother-in-law, A. Hartwig, to a partnership. The enterprise is still conducted under the same name and from the beginning the firm has enjoyed a liberal patronage, having a well appointed establishment and winning trade through straightforward and reliable methods.
Mr. Nissen was married in Davenport to Miss Dora Hartwig, who still sur- vives him and makes her home in this city, where she is well known socially. Her father, James Hartwig, was well known in Davenport for many years as the pro- prietor of the old Western House, one of the leading hotels of the early days. Mr. Nissen was a public-spirited man, interested in all that pertained to the progress and welfare of Davenport, and as the years went by he cooperated in many move- ments for the general good. He was a member of eleven local societies, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Turners. His social qualities and sterling characteristics made him popular in these organi- zations, in which he had many friends. The wisdom of his choice in the selection of Davenport as a place of residence was demonstrated in the success which he won, and the city gained a citizen whose worth was widely acknowledged. He was devoted in friendship, reliable in business and loyal to every trust given to his care, and as the years passed by he firmly established himself in the affection of his friends.
CHARLES W. BARR.
Charles W. Barr, who devotes his time and energies to general farming and stock-raising in Lincoln township, cultivates two hundred acres of arable and productive land about three miles east of Eldridge and also a tract of three hun- dred and twenty acres adjoining. He, therefore, carries on farming operations on an extensive scale and is meeting with substantial success in his undertakings. He was born on the farm which he now occupies, November 22, 1857, and is a son of Israel and Sarah E. (West) Barr, who were early settlers of this county. The father was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1831, and in 1846 accompanied his parents on their westward removal, the family home be- ing established in Sheridan township in the year in which Iowa was admitted to the Union. The grandfather of our subject took up a claim of prairie land and since that time Israel Barr has continuously lived in this county. Through- out the greater part of his life he carried on farming but has now retired and is enjoying a well earned rest in Davenport township. His wife passed away at the age of fifty-five years. The four children of that marriage were: Charles W .; William A., who is living in Davenport township; J. E., at home; and Sarah E., the deceased wife of Harry H. Gettens.
Charles W. Barr lived upon the home farm until ten years of age, when his parents removed to the city of Davenport, where they resided for a year and a half. They then returned to the old homestead, upon which the father is still living, and Charles W. Barr continued with him until twenty-six years of age, when he took charge of the farm upon which he is now located. He had pre- viously pursued his education in the district schools, in the public schools of Davenport and in Griswold College. For more than a quarter of a century he
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
has remained continuously upon the farm which he is now cultivating, and in addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he has for a long period engaged in raising stock, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle, horses and mules. He is an excellent judge of stock, so that he never makes a mistake in buying poor animals or in selling at a loss.
On the 20th of May, 1891, Mr. Barr was married to Miss Fredonia A. My- rick, a daughter of F. D. and Sarah E. (Robinson) Myrick, both of whom were natives of Nashville, Tennessee, and at present reside at Mapleton, Kansas, where her father follows the occupation of farming. Mr. and Mrs. Barr have three children: Richard, who is now a student in Brown's Business College in Davenport; Stella M., attending the same institution; and Edna E., at home. Mrs. Barr was born in Mapleton, Kansas. She has made her home a hospitable one, ever open for the reception of the many friends of the family. Mr. Barr holds membership with the Woodmen of the World at Long Grove and is highly esteemed in that order and throughout the county wherever he is known. He has lived here for more than a half century, so that he has witnessed much of its growth and development and has borne active and helpful part in the work of general progress and improvement.
MRS. MINNIE OETZMANN.
No one can more truly be said to belong to Scott county, if nativity and choice of residence count for aught, than Mrs. Minnie Oetzmann, the widow of George Oetzmann, for she was born in the very house in Sheridan township in which she now lives, her natal day being March 16, 1858. Her parents were Paul and Christina (Hagge) Petersen, who were among the stanch pioneers of Sheri- dan township. Both were native Germans, born in Schleswig-Holstein, the father's birth occurring in the city of Kiel, February 5, 1809. Desiring to put to a personal test the much vaunted American opportunities and equality, he sailed for America in 1847, landing at New Orleans and coming almost directly to the vicinity of Davenport, where he secured employment as a farm laborer. As soon as he was financially able he purchased from the government eighty acres of prairie land at five dollars an acre, this property being part of the estate upon which Mrs. Oetzmann now lives. He proceeded to break the land and get it into tillable condition. He built a house and in 1856 married one of his own country women, bringing her to live there. As opportunity presented he bought more land and followed agriculture until his death in 1881. The mother, whose birth occurred in 1827, came to the United States when a young girl with her sister. She survived her husband fourteen years, passing away in 1895. These good people were the parents of three children: Minnie, the subject of this sketch; Charles, who died at the age of four years; and Elizabeth, who married Henry Arp, of Luverne, Minnesota.
Mrs. Oetzmann was united in marriage March 14, 1875, to George Oetzmann, a native of Germany, who was born August 17, 1847. He came to the United States in 1869 and followed agricultural pursuits throughout his residence here,
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
his death occurring August 23, 1893. To Mr. and Mrs. Oetzmann were born six children: Amelia, who married Claus Willer, of Lincoln township, passed away in 1908; William died in infancy; Emile, a resident of Lincoln township, married Reda M. Weise and is the father of two children, Clarence and Edna; Adolph and Emma are at home; and Christina is deceased.
Mrs. Oetzmann is a woman who takes great comfort in the sacred precincts of the home and in the society of those nearest and dearest to her-her children. She is relieved of much of the responsibility of the management of the estate by Adolph, who is a successful agriculturist, while the domestic cares are efficiently shared by Emma, the daughter at home. She has that incomparable blessing- good health and possesses a multitude of friends in the community where she is so well known by reason of life-long residence. She owns no less than three fine farms, one of one hundred and sixty acres in Sheridan township, a second of two hundred acres in Lincoln township, and a third of one hundred and fifty-two acres in Lincoln township. It is upon the first of these that Mrs. Oetzmann makes her home.
MRS. DOROTHY LIEBERENZ.
Mrs. Dorothy Lieberenz, well known in Princeton and the owner of one of the good farms of Scott county, was born in Prussia, Germany, July 20, 1854, and is a daughter of Menzendorf and Elizabeth Grum, both of whom were also natives of Germany. Her father was a soldier in the German army, serving for about three years. His family numbered five children: Mary, the deceased wife of Louis Cassel, who resides in Le Claire, Iowa; Carl, who died in Prussia; William, who also passed away in Prussia; Peter, living in Le Claire; and Mrs. Lieberenz.
Mrs. Lieberenz spent her girlhood days in her native country and was eighteen years of age when, in 1872, she bade adieu to home and friends and sailed for America, landing at New York. She did not tarry long in the east, however, but came at once to Princeton, where she has since resided. She had been edu- cated in the schools of her native country and was a capable young woman, well qualified to manage a household of her own when, in March, 1873, she gave her hand in marriage to Fritz Lieberenz, who was born in Germany, October 16, 1840. He, too, came to the United States in 1872. The marriage was celebrated in Princeton and they began their domestic life as farming people of this locality. On coming to Scott county Mr. Lieberenz had purchased forty acres of land, which he cultivated and owned up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 30th of October, 1899, when he was fifty-nine years of age.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lieberenz were born seven children. Emma died at the age of six years. Henry, who was born February 20, 1876, was married to Miss Elizabeth Walter. He is a farmer by occupation and resides in Princeton. Sophia is the wife of Phillip Scharff, a farmer of Eldridge, and they have three chil- dren : Hazel, Andrew and Sadie. Samuel, born August 8, 1883, died December 25, 1885. Anna, born November 28, 1886, is now the wife of Hobart Moore, a
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
stationary engineer of East Davenport, and they have one child, Ruth. Millie, born March 1, 1887, on the 19th of October, 1907, became the wife of C. F. Wiley, a wholesale fruit dealer residing in Clinton. Louise, born May 20, 1889, was mar- ried in June, 1909, to Herbert Bower.
When Mr. Lieberenz passed away the community lost a worthy and respected citizen. He had been a member of the German Lutheran church while residing in his native country. His political support was given to the democracy but he never aspired to office. He labored diligently and earnestly in his business life and the success which he achieved was the result of his own efforts. By reason of his energy and capable management he was enabled to leave his family in comfortable financial circumstances.
GUS GRELL.
Gus Grell was born in Allens Grove township, Scott county, June 5, 1868, and is of that stanch German stock which is so satisfactory an ingredient of the cosmopolitan civilization of America. His parents were James and Mar- garet (Bloomer) Grell, both natives of Germany, whose sketch appears else- where in this volume. Mr. Grell remained under the parental roof until his marriage, when he established a separate household on a fine farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres situated on sections II and 12, Hickory Grove township. In 1903 he built his present beautiful eight-room dwelling and a number of farm buildings, both substantial and convenient. Besides general farming, he is suc- cessfully engaged as a breeder of high grade stock, his animals having a fine reputation in the vicinity.
On the 7th of March, 1900, Mr. Grell laid the foundations of a pleasant home life by his marriage to Miss Lizzie Hamann. She was born in Sheridan township, February 4, 1872, and is the daughter of William and Anna (Ehlers) Hamann, natives of Germany, who came to this county in 1869. Her father died at Eldridge in 1908, and her mother passed away in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Grell have one child, a son named Orville.
Mr. Grell gives heartiest support to the democratic party, finding wisdom in its measures and placing confidence in the men selected to carry them out. He is a valued citizen of the community and is at present serving his second term as township trustee. He is also filling the office of school director and is a trustee of the Scott County German Mutual Insurance Company.
CLAUS H. LAMP.
'After about half a century of unremitting labor, which was not without many compensations naturally, Claus H. Lamp has retired from agricultural pursuits in Hickory Grove township and has taken up his residence in Davenport. He is one of the most prosperous farmers of this county and, despite advancing years,
GUS GRELL AND FAMILY
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
still retains a keen interest in the old life for he holds a large amount of land which is a constant reminder of the success he gained in former years.
He was born in Holstein, Germany, May 6, 1838, a son of Claus and Celia (Gutch) Lamp. The father, also a native of Germany, was a carpenter by trade. In 1847 he decided to bring his family to the United States and make a new start in life. They were fourteen weeks and four days in crossing the Atlantic but finally reached New Orleans on Christmas day. The next day they started up the Mississippi river and, having reached St. Louis, spent the winter there. With the opening of spring they came to Davenport, where the father bought a lot on Fourth street and himself erected a house. It remained the fam- ily home for several years while he worked at the carpenter's trade. Later he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Davenport township, for which he paid only one hundred and forty dollars. As it was raw land the father turned it over to his two sons to prepare for cultivation. They accomplished the work so well that shortly the family was able to take up their residence thereon and there lived until the death of the mother, when they separated and the father lived with his children. He died at the age of ninety-four years, while his wife was only seventy when she passed away. They were the parents of four chil- dren : Trina, who married Henry Stotenburg, both now deceased; Asmus H., of Davenport; Claus H., the subject of this sketch; and Peter, of Port Arthur.
Although Claus H. Lamp was but eight years old when the family left his native land he had already acquired some education in the schools of Germany. After coming to Scott county he spent a few winters in the pursuance of studies, his first teacher having been Mr. Prescott. He had little time, however, to give to lessons for he had early to begin to work. His first job was driving a team of oxen to a breaking plow. Later when his father bought his first farm he and his brother Asmus undertook to prepare it for cultivation. Taking their sister with them as housekeeper, they lived on that place during the summer, coming to town with the cattle during the winter. Later Mr. Lamp's father bought another tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Hickory Grove township. It also was raw prairie land and Mr. Lamp again undertook to break it. There he lived for two years, working for his father, the latter receiving the crops. Then he was given the place, and it remained his home until about 1897, when he retired from active life and removed to Davenport. In the meantime, however, he kept increasing his landholdings until he has nine hundred and twenty acres of some of the best land of Scott county in his possession. It is divided as fol- lows: three hundred and twenty acres in Hickory Grove township; another farm of two hundred and forty acres in that township; a third of one hundred and sixty acres also in Hickory Grove township; one hundred and sixty acres in Liberty township; and forty acres in Cleona township. Another indication of his prosperity is the fact that he holds considerable stock in the German Savings Bank and in the Walcott Savings Bank. Like his brother Asmus H. Lamp, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, Claus Lamp has made the best use of the opportunities afforded him. More than that he has not been lax in seeking for chances to better his fortunes and prove himself worthy of the highest type of citizenship in this republic.
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
On the 13th of August, 1861, Mr. Lamp wedded Miss Catherine Lamp, a daughter of Peter and Abel (Goetsch) Lamp. They have had five children. Mathilda became the wife of August Paustian, of Hickory Grove township, and they have seven children, Meta, Wilma, Julius, August, Martha, Hilda and Clarence. Caroline married George Schlapkohl, of Liberty township, and they have four children, Katie, Edna, Albert and Mabel. Julius wedded Lena Schlap- kohl and they have four children, Rudolph, Clarence, Martha and Leonard. Gustavus P. married Regina Magnus and lives in Hickory Grove township. They have three children, Louis C. E., Dewey E. and Melinda. Clara C. became the wife of Otto F. Harbeck. They live with Mr. Lamp and have three chil- dren, Catherine C., Clara M. and Helen M.
Mr. Lamp has always voted the republican ticket and while he was living in Hickory Grove township was elected upon it to the offices of justice of the peace, trustee, school director and road supervisor. The duties of each position he ful- filled with a care and efficiency which has marked the operations of his private life so that he enjoys the respect of his fellow citizens. He is a member of lodge No. 221, A. F. & A. M., of Davenport, and of the German Pioneer Society.
F. A. QUISTORF.
F. A. Quistorf, who has now retired from active farming pursued with such profit in Liberty township, was born in Neudorf, Holstein, Germany, November 28, 1835, his parents being L. A. and Anna Elizabeth (Langfeld) Quistorf. The former was a native of the same town as his son, but the latter was born in Quisdorf and there passed away in October, 1848, at the age of thirty-six years. In 1850 L. A. Quistorf embarked upon the journey to America, accompanied by his six children : F. A., the subject of this sketch; Henry F., who died in Dav- enport, May 6, 1909; Katharine Elizabeth, who is the widow of Ferdinand Bein and resides in Davenport; Bernhard, who died in Santa Cruz, California, in 1898; F. L., of Bonny Doon, California ; and John F., of St. Francis, Kansas. For a time after his advent here Mr. Quistorf worked as a farm hand and then pur- chased forty acres of land in Blue Grass township, continuing farming in this county until he retired from active life and took up his residence in Dixon, which remained his home until his death, January 6, 1873. He was at that time sixty years and one day old and a man who was well thought of in the community. He had been a weaver in the old country but after coming here devoted himself exclusively to farming.
F. A. Quistorf worked as a farm hand for three years after his arrival in this county and then united with his father when the latter purchased the first tract of forty acres in Blue Grass township. This he assisted the older man to cultivate until, having gained substantial returns, they were able to sell it and buy a place of one hundred and sixty acres in Liberty township. There he lived until he married, when he and his brother Henry assumed full charge of the homestead, the other brothers having gone to Pike's Peak. In 1897 Mr. Quis- torf decided to retire from active life and came to the village of Dixon, which
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
is now his home. The extent of his landholdings, however, indicates with what profit he pursued agriculture for he owns two hundred and forty acres, one hundred and sixty in Liberty township, the remainder in Cleona, besides the handsome home in Dixon which he occupies.
When Mr. Quistorf married he chose as his wife Miss Helene Steffen, who was born in Holstein, Germany, March 24, 1841. In 1858 she with her parents, Jochem and Anna (Ewaldt) Steffen, came to Scott county, by way of New Or- leans and the Mississippi river. Mr. and Mrs. Steffen passed the remainder of their lives here, he dying in Cleona township and she in the city of Davenport. They had two sons and three daughters, all born in the old country. The sons went to Australia before their parents came to America. Mr. and Mrs. Quistorf have had seven children : Anna E., the widow of William Schroeder, of Archer City, Texas; Ferdinand, who operates his father's farm in Liberty township; Caroline, the wife of John Reesey, Basin, Wyoming; Emma, the wife of Henry Wuestenberg, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work; Minnie Matilda, the wife of Louis Hensen, of Cleona township; Meta H., the wife of Henry Goetsch, of Eldridge, this county ; and Clara, the wife of Dan Snyder, of Buena- vista, Iowa.
Mr. Quistorf is now a stanch adherent of republican principles, although in former years he gave his support to the democrats, but, irrespective of his party predilections, he has always been active and prominent in local affairs and asserts, with a bit of pardonable pride, that since he became a citizen of this country he has missed only two elections. All of the more important offices within the gift of the people of his locality have been bestowed upon him. For more than the past quarter of a century he has been a justice of the peace in Liberty and Allen Grove townships and in Dixon. He was clerk of Liberty township for twelve years and trustee and school director there for another long period. From 1880 to 1883 he served as county supervisor, in this capacity as in all the others rendering the most efficient service possible, such as to obtain for him the confidence as well as the esteem of his fellow citizens.
LOUIS A. KEPPY.
Louis A. Keppy was born in Donahue, Scott county, August 28, 1879, and has spent the greater part of his life in that village, in affairs of which he plays a prominent part. His parents are Frank and Mary (Rohwer) Keppy, who reside in Donahue and he is the second of their three children. He received his educa- tion in district school No. I, in Allens Grove township, after which he laid the foundation of a successful business career by a course in Duncan's Business Col- lege in Davenport. After working for his father in his creamery until he made himself acquainted with the details of the business he became manager and con- tinued in that capacity for four years. When his father entered a new field of activity, dealing in general merchandise, live stock and farm implements, he accepted his present position as general manager.
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
On July 29, 1908, Mr. Keppy married Miss Lena Ewaldt, who was born in Eldridge, Scott county, March 26, 1887, and is a daughter of Herman E. and Katherine Ewaldt, residents of Eldridge. Their home is brightened by the presence of a small daughter, Katherine Marie.
Mr. Keppy has given his allegiance to the republican party, to whose measures he pins his faith. He takes a keen interest in public affairs and enjoys the confi- dence of the community in which he makes his home and where his career has been watched from birth. He is a councilman and serves as assistant to his father, who in addition to his business, holds the office of postmaster.
MRS. MARIE L. FOLLETTE.
Mrs. Marie L. Follette, living in Le Claire, was born in Marion, Ohio, about forty miles from Columbus, on the 10th of March, 1833. She has, therefore, reached the age of seventy-seven years and is one of the most highly esteemed among the older ladies of this city. Her father, John Newton Wick, was born in 1801, and, having arrived at years of maturity, he wedded Maria Louisa Franks, who was born July 4, 1804. His death occurred in October, 1834, when his daugh- ter Mrs. Follette was only a year old, and in the year 1844 Mrs. Wick came to Iowa. She died in Platteville, Colorado, in May, 1890, at the advanced age of nearly eighty-six years. Her father was a soldier of the Revolutionary war and also of the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of New Orleans un- der General Jackson. He was a slaveholder in Virginia, where for many years he made his home.
Mrs. Follette came to Iowa with her mother September 15, 1844, when but eleven years of age. She acquired her education in the schools of Portsmouth, Ohio, and there attended one of the first public schools that was opened in the United States. She has been married twice. On the 22d of May, 1849, when but sixteen years of age, she gave her hand in marriage to Captain J. E. David- son, a son of William and Elizabeth Jemini Davidson, of Philadelphia. His grandfather was a well known sea captain. Unto Captain and Mrs. J. E. David- son were born four children. William Henry, whose birth occurred June 18, 1850, died in California in 1874. Mary Louise, born January 18, 1852, died in infancy. Edgar Alfred, born May II, 1853, is a master musician of Bay City, Texas, and married Elizabeth Doty, by whom he has four children, Gladys Doty, Edgar Alfred, Charles Eugene and William Walter. Louisa Davidson, born June 24, 1855, was married in August, 1871, to Charles Hatton, now a resident of Goldfield, Nevada, and they have seven children: Grace, who became the wife of Bion Hull and has two children, Josephine and Biona Hull; Lulu Hatton, who became the wife of Morton Rutan; Charles Hatton, a resident of Wichita, Kansas; Katharine; Alice; William D; and one who died in infancy.
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