USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 79
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92
In the district schools near his home Rudolph Schuett acquired his education, and when not engaged with his text-books was busily at work in the fields, early becoming familiar with the tasks that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. Amid the wholesome scenes and environment of rural life he was reared to manhood, learning lessons concerning the value of industry, integrity and perseverance. With the exception of four years, during which time he was employed as a farm hand in Scott county, and the year 1899, when he was engaged in the creamery business in Boone county, his entire life has been spent on his present farm. In 1906, when his father retired from active business duties, he took charge of the homestead and has since directed his efforts toward its further development and cultivation. It is a very well improved property, consisting of eighty acres, and the soil, naturally rich and fertile, yields abundant golden harvests in response to the care and labor bestowed upon it. Progressive and up-to-date in all of his methods, Mr. Schuett has made a close study of agriculture and has been most successful in this line of activity, so that he is now ranked among the pros- perous and substantial farmers of the community. In connection with his gen- eral farming pursuits he makes a specialty of raising Poland China hogs, and this branch of his business is proving a profitable source of revenue.
Mr. Schuett laid the foundation for a happy home life of his own in his marriage, on the 28th of November, 1906, to Miss Fannie Bein, a daughter of Henry Bein, of Scott county, who is now deceased. This union has been blessed by one child, Zella, who is the light and life of the household. Democratic in his political allegiance, Mr. Schuett is now serving as township clerk, which po-
886
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
sition he has filled for the past three years. Early trained to habits of industry, economy and integrity, the success which he today enjoys is well merited and comes as the reward of well directed efforts and intelligently applied labor. His life record is well known to the citizens of Blue Grass township, where he has spent practically his entire life, and the fact that many of his best friends are those who have known him from boyhood is an indication that his actions have ever been guided by the principles of honorable and upright manhood, and his salient characteristics have been such as to inspire the confidence, respect and good will of his fellowmen.
EDWARD FREUND.
Prominent in farming and dairying circles is Edward Freund, who owns and operates a farm of one hundred and nine acres of land in Davenport town- ship, and also has, another tract of forty-two acres in the same township. He was born on a farm near his present home, September 9, 1875, the youngest in a family of eight children, whose parents were Peter and Maggie Freund, na- tives of Germany. The father was about twenty-five years of age when he came to the new world, and he arrived in Davenport with but twenty-five cents in his pocket. Immediate employment was a necessity and for a time he worked at anything that would yield him an honest living, while later he operated rented land for a time. Eventually he purchased eighty acres in Pleasant Valley town- ship, on which he erected a house and made it his home until 1876. He then disposed of that property and invested his money in the farm which is now owned by the son. On this place stood a dilapidated house and barn, which in due time were replaced by more substantial buildings. He also placed the fields under a good state of cultivation and devoted his energies to farming throughout the remainder of his days. Prior to coming to the new world, however, he had worked at the shoemaker's trade and had also served his country as a soldier in the army. He was a communicant of the Catholic church in Davenport and died in that faith February 19, 1897, when seventy-two years of age, while his wife, surviving for only about two years, passed away May 1, 1899, when sixty-eight years old. Their sons and daughters are as follows: George and J. A., both of Scott county; Frances, the wife of Mathew Banscher, a resident of Carroll county, this state; Ignatius, of Scott county; Joseph, who has departed this life; Albert, of Pleasant Valley township; Katherine, the deceased wife of P. L. Rogge, also of Scott county; and Edward, whose name introduces this record.
The last named was but a year old when his parents removed from the farm on which his birth occurred to the place which is now in his possession. At the usual age he entered the district schools, and during the periods of vacation his time was employed in the usual manner of farm lads. He has spent his entire life on his present farm and after the death of the father assisted the mother in the management and operation of the place. Soon after the death of the latter he wedded Miss Elizabeth Clause, of Scott county, their marriage being
887
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
celebrated June 22, 1899. Two sons grace their union, Elden Edward and Herbert John.
Mr. Freund devotes the greater portion of the farm to the cultivation of crops but he reserves some of the land for pasturage, as he keeps a number of cows for dairy purposes. He is enterprising in his work and displays sound judg- ment in the management of his business affairs. He is a communicant of the Catholic church. Having spent his entire life in Davenport township, he is one of its best known and most highly respected citizens.
JAMES H. WIESE.
Among those who have come from foreign lands to take a place among the well known agriculturists of this county is James H. Wiese, who owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Sheridan township, about three and a half miles west of Eldridge. He was born in Holstein, Germany, December 20, 1852, a son of Peter and Bertha Wiese. The father was a la- borer in the old country and in 1865 with his family sailed for America. Land- ing at New York, he came direct to Davenport, where his daughter Lena, who married Henry Meier, was living, and then rented a farm in Winfield township. Later he bought the place in Sheridan township on which his son James now makes his home, living thereon until about four years before his death, when he retired and removed to Eldridge, where he passed away. His widow is still liv- ing in the village at the age of ninety-seven years. She is the mother of five children : Lena, the wife of Henry Meier; Kathrina, who married Mr. Haller, of Buffalo, Iowa; Amelia, the wife of Henry Schneckloth, of Minden, Iowa; Marie, the wife of William Meier, of Sheridan township; and James H., of this review.
James H. Wiese had attended school a little in Germany and after the family home was established in Scott county he became a pupil in the district school of his locality. When his lessons were over he devoted his entire time to farm- ing, assisting his father in his work until he was twenty-four years of age, when, having married, he desired to establish a home and engage in agricultural pur- suits on his own account. Accordingly he rented a farm in Slopertown, Sheri- dan township, where he lived twenty-eight years, at the end of which time he removed to his present place, which he had previously purchased of James Calderwood. He has worked industriously since then to improve his farm, has built all the barns and outbuildings, has tiled his land, and done other things to make it a representative farm of the twentieth century, modern in every detail. He raises various crops adapted to soil and climate, and as the years have passed he has met with success in his agricultural interests, owing to his untiring labor and excellent business management.
At the age of twenty-four years Mr. Wiese wedded Miss Emma Keppe, and they became the parents of six children, as follows: Amelia, who is now the wife of Fritz Speth, of Davenport, and has six children: Henry, who married Anna Batram and lives on the old home place at Slopertown; Reda, who is the wife
888
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
of Emil Oetzmann, of Sheridan township, and has two children, Clarence and Edna; Frank, who married Emma Oetzmann and lives in Lincoln township; Emma, a resident of Donahue; and Walter, who lives in Eldridge. Mrs. Emma Wiese died in 1891 and was buried at Pine Hill, and on the 14th of March, 1893, Mr. Wiese married Miss Alvina Claussen. She was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and in 1888 emigrated to America with her parents, William and Marie Claussen. They landed at Baltimore, whence they came direct to Scott county, Iowa. The father died here at the age of sixty-three years, but the mother is still living and makes her home in Davenport. Four children have been born of this union: Maggie, Emil, Alfred and Elmer, all of whom are at home.
In politics Mr. Wiese affiliates with the democratic party, on whose ticket he was elected to the offices of trustee of Sheridan township and road supervisor. He was faithful in the discharge of his duties and gave his support to every measure for the public good, so that he holds the respect and good will of his fellow citizens. He is a member of the Turners Society of Eldridge and the Shooting Society of Maysville, and is widely known as a man who is always honorable in his dealings and has gained his success by methods that are above reproach.
ADOLPH PETERSEN.
The simple narration of the incidents in the early life of Adolph Petersen and the struggles which disciplined him into usefulness in this community add to the weight of testimony that the stamp of leadership among men cannot be obscured by untoward circumstances nor obliterated by the marks of hardship. He is a native of Struxdorf-Angeln, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where he was born November 22, 1858. His father was principal teacher in the school of the village, and when he died circumstances caused the emigration to America of the widow and her five children in 1872. While in New York, on the very threshold of the new world of opportunity, the little family met with disaster, the loss of all their means by theft, and they reached Davenport with no re- sources whatever.
Upon Adolph, the eldest of the four brothers, then twelve years old, de- volved the responsibility of contributing as liberally as possible to the support of his widowed mother and the younger children. His first work was in a sash and door factory and from there he went on a farm, doing plowman's work be- fore he was fourteen. Back into town he came and worked as a painter and as handy boy in grocery stores. His education was forwarded as circumstances permitted. For one and a half terms he attended the public night school con- ducted by Principal Roderick Rose, afterward mayor of Davenport. The next chapter of his life has its setting in a printing office, where he engaged as inky devil and nimble footed carrier in 1876. Here he seemed to feel that he had discovered his calling and life work and learned the printer's trade in its various branches, taking up as a consequence newspaper work, particularly on the Ger- man press.
ADOLPH PETERSEN
891
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
In July, 1884, he founded his own paper, the Iowa Reform. Soon after he was joined in partnership by his brother Gerhard and this business arrangement has continued to the present time. The Reform was at first a weekly paper but later was given semi-weekly publication, and as such has been published regu- larly with growing favor. In 1909 occurred the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first appearance of this sterling German paper, the Iowa Reform. A splendid silver jubilee illustrated edition was issued to mark the occasion and this edition, going into thousands of homes, was greatly complimented and appreciated.
From its beginning until the present time Adolph Petersen has been man- ager of the newspaper enterprise. In the editorial and technical departments he has enjoyed the expert assistance of his brother Gerhard and also John Jebens, who has been associated with him for more than twenty years, August West- phal, and others.
Adolph Petersen has borne an important part in planning new enterprises for the welfare of Davenport and in forwarding them to success. His activity for public measures has had a wider scope than that bounded by corporation lines. It has been natural that the German portion of the community should have the major portion of his labor and his solicitude, and for the German people, es- pecially of this region of his adopted country, he has toiled indefatigably and intelligently.
These efforts have been recognized in good measure. He is at this time president-first speaker-of the great Davenport Turngemeinde, also president of the German-American Press Association of the West, an organization cov- ering the states of Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska, and in 1910 hold- ing its annual convention in Omaha.
Adolph Petersen, a loyal and patriotic American, has found nothing in- consistent in cherishing a deep loye for the land of his birth and an abiding ad- miration for her spirit, her traditions and her language. In his editorial writ- ings he has steadily advised parents of German birth or descent to teach the noble mother tongue to their children, that their heritage in all that is best in the land beyond the sea be not lost to them.
J. D. CANTWELL, M. D.
Dr. J. D. Cantwell, deserving of mention with the able and representative members of the medical profession in Davenport, his native city, was born in April, 1877. His father was Dr. A. W. Cantwell, for many years a distinguished physician of Davenport, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The mother was Mrs. Martha (Dalzell) Cantwell, and unto them were born two sons, the elder being James Y. Cantwell, who served in the Spanish- American war in the Fifty-second Iowa Infantry and was afterward transferred to the Fourth Division of the regular army. He was at length honorably dis- charged in Cuba on account of disability and is now a commercial traveler.
In the public schools of this city Dr. J. D. Cantwell pursued his preliminary education, which was later supplemented by study in the State University. He
892
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
was graduated from the medical department with the class of 1901 and in April of the same year at once entered upon practice in Davenport, where he is mak- ing rapid progress toward the front rank of the profession. Conscientious in the performance of all his professional duties, careful in the diagnosis of his cases and with thorough understanding of anatomy and the component parts of the human body and the onslaughts made upon it by disease, he has, during the nine years of his connection with the profession here, done good work in his efforts to restore health and check the ravages of disease. He is a member of the County and State Medical Associations and the Iowa and Illinois District Medi- cal Association. He is now treasurer of the United States pension board in this district.
It was in March, 1904, that Dr. Cantwell was united in marriage to Miss Mary Edna Taylor, and unto them have been born two children, Edna Mary and John Dalzell.
Dr. Cantwell is prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Trinity Lodge, No. 208, F. & A. M .; Davenport Chapter, No. 16, R. A. M .; St. Simon of Cyrene Commandery, No. 9, K. T., of which he is past eminent commander; Zarepath Consistory, No. 4, S. P. R. S .; and Kaaba Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He likewise belongs to Prosperity Lodge, No. 704, I. O. O. F. His record sets at naught the old adage that a prophet is never without honor save in his own country, for in the state where his entire life has been passed Dr. Cantwell has demonstrated his professional worth and it has gained for him recognition in a liberal practice.
FRANK KEPPY.
In the front rank of the columns which have advanced the civilization of Scott county, the Keppy family has led the way to its substantial development, progress and upbuilding, and Frank Keppy of this review has been particularly active in the growth of Donahue, where he now makes his home. He was born in Slopertown, Scott county, April 17, 1856, a son of Andrew and Bertha Keppy, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to the new world in the '40s. He was a carpenter by trade and followed that calling in his native land but after coming to Scott county engaged in farming throughout his busi- ness career. . He was married twice and by the first union he had two daughters and three sons but the daughters all died ere the emigration of the family to the United States. By the second union there were two sons and two daughters but the latter are also deceased, the elder brother of our subject being Herman Keppy, a resident of Davenport. The mother died when Frank Keppy was but two years of age. The father survived for many years and departed this life in Davenport, when he had reached the extreme old age of eighty-eight years. He became an influential citizen of Scott county, being numbered among her most worthy pioneers.
Frank Keppy was reared to farm life, remaining under the parental roof throughout the period of his boyhood and youth. He assisted his father in the
893
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
work of the fields until the family removed to Davenport, where they spent two years, after which they again located on a farm. The son gave his father the benefit of his services for six years thereafter and then engaged in farming on his own account, for it was about this time that he established a home of his own by his marriage on the 2d of September, 1875, to Miss Mary Rohwer, who was born in Allens Grove township, Scott county, on the 9th of February, 1855. Her parents, Claus and Margaret (Koehler) Rohwer, were likewise natives of Germany, the place of their nativity being Holstein. The father was born Decem- ber 22, 1819, while the mother was born on the 28th of May, 1825. They were married in Scott county on the 3d of March, 1854, both having come alone to America. The father bade adieu to the land of his birth on the 28th of March, 1848, and after a tedious voyage, covering almost two months, he landed in Dav- enport on the 19th of May, following. The lady whom he afterward made his wife arrived here in the fall of 1853. After reaching Scott county, Mr. Roh- wer began work as a laborer but through his economy and industry it was not long ere he was able to purchase land, for in 1849 he became the owner of one hundred and forty-three acres in Allens Grove township. This proved but the starting point of his later success for in time his possessions embraced fourteen hundred acres but he has since given to each of his children a good farm. He has engaged in farming all his life and still makes his home in Allens Grove township. At one time he owned the land on which a part of the village of Donahue has since been built. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rohwer were born four daughters and three sons, of whom Mrs. Keppy is the eldest, the others being: Jette, the widow of Charles Thodt, of Hickory Grove township, who is men- tioned elsewhere in this work; Sophia, the wife of Emil Burmeister, a resident of Sheridan township; Emma, who died in infancy; Henry, a resident of Allens Grove township; August C., who died when but two years old; and Ernest, of Sheridan township.
Following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Keppy located on a farm of two hundred acres in Winfield township. After a few years he engaged in merchan- dising in connection with his farming operations. In 1880 he took up his abode in the village of Donahue and since then has been actively identified with various enterprises and with the building up of the town. In that year he was appointed postmaster of Donahue and has since held the position through reappointment. For five years he operated a creamery but has since abandoned that pursuit. He still conducts his mercantile establishment, handling a general stock of goods and agricultural implements, and he also buys and sells live stock. He is president of the Donahue Savings Bank. In 1892 he erected his store building, forty by seventy-two feet, this being divided into two rooms, and in addition to this he also owns three residences in the village, while his wife is the owner of a valu- ble farm of two hundred acres, located a half mile east of Donahue in Winfield township. In every relation of life Mr. Keppy has always conformed to the strictest rules of integrity and honesty.
A republican in his political views, Mr. Keppy has served as school director for five years, while for three years he was president of the Allens Grove school board. He is not an office-seeker, yet he has nevertheless exerted immeasure- able influence in the village, with whose interests he has been associated for
894
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
almost three decades, and in his daily life and his methods of doing business has set a good example for his sons, Frank C. and Louis A., to follow. Both are enterprising young business men of Donahue, the latter being his father's able assistant, and both are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The only daughter and the youngest of the family is Clara, now the wife of Henry Klindt, Jr., who is likewise mentioned in this work.
HENRY SCHROEDER.
Henry Schroeder is so situated that he enjoys the advantages of both coun- try and city life, for his home farm is only about seven miles northeast of Daven- port-a valuable farm of one hundred and seventeen and a half acres on section 33, Lincoln township. In addition to this tract he owns two hundred and forty acres on section 3 of the same township and his extensive realty holdings make him one of the well-to-do farmers of the county.
He was born October 21, 1860, in the township which is still his home, his parents being Claus and Catherine (Hagge) Schroeder, both of whom were na- tives of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the father's birth having occurred July 24, 1830, while the mother was born August 23, 1832. The former came to the United States in 1854, arriving at New York, whence he made his way westward to Indiana. After a brief period there passed he removed to Scott county, Iowa, where for two years he was employed as a farm hand and then entered into partnership with Hans Shuemann. Together they purchased eighty acres of land in Lincoln township and about a year later Claus Schroeder bought eighty acres on section 33 of the same township. He built a house thereon and removed to that farm, which was all prairie land. With characteristic energy, however, he began to cultivate the fields and as the years passed on gathered rich crops. Upon that place he resided from 1860 until 1874, when he purchased a part of the farm now occupied by Henry Schroeder and removed to that tract. During the time he lived on section 33, Lincoln township, he bought one hundred and sixty acres more adjoining and made all of the improvements upon the place, his labors transforming it into one of the very desirable farms of the district. He made it his home until about 1886, when he retired and removed to Davenport, Iowa, where his death occurred July 23, 1892. His widow survived him for about five years, passing away May 20, 1897. They were the parents of two children, but the younger, a daughter, died when only four years of age.
Henry Schroeder is today the only survivor of the family. He has spent almost his entire life in Lincoln township and after acquiring his preliminary education in the district schools he attended Duncan's Business College at Daven- port. Subsequently he went west to California and Washington, where he re- mained for a few years, after which he returned to Scott county and was mar- ried, the lady of his choice being Miss Katie E. Mohr, a daughter of John and Katherine Mohr, of Davenport. Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder were married on the 4th of March, 1886, and have become parents of two daughters and two sons: Hattie, now the wife of Alexander L. Mulinax, of Cable, Wisconsin, by whom
895
HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
she has one child, Arletha; Harry, at home; Edward, a student at Ames Col- lege; and Mabel, at home.
After his marriage Mr. Schroeder took his bride to the old home farm and has since occupied it. He carries on general farming and has made most of the improvements upon the place. The buildings are in a state of good repair, the latest improved machinery is used to facilitate the work of the fields, and an- nually rich crops are gathered as a reward for the care and labor of Mr. Schroeder. He is also an active factor in community interests and is now serv- ing as county supervisor, to which office he was elected on the democratic ticket in 1906. He has held nearly all of the township offices, serving at different times as trustee, assessor, clerk and school director. He is a stockholder in the Davenport Malt & Grain Company and is a man of good judgment and enter- prise, who recognizes and improves his opportunities. He is largely familiar with the history of the county, having for a half century resided within its borders, so that he has witnessed many of the events which have shaped its an- nals. Wherever known he is held in high esteem, and most of all where he is best known.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.