USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume II > Part 89
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With the interests of Davenport in the many phases of municipal life Mr. Sharon has been connected, standing as a stalwart champion of all measures and projects which have for their object the advancement and welfare of the city. To this end he has cooperated with the Business Men's Association, in which he holds membership. He has served as a director of the Commercial Club and of the Home Building Association and is interested in numerous busi- ness ventures and in real-estate investments. Since 1906 he has been a member of the library board. His judgment is sound, his enterprise unfaltering and therefore his business activities have been crowned with success.
The year which chronicled Mr. Sharon's admission to the bar was also the year of his marriage, the lady of his choice being Miss Ida Bishop, the daughter of his former law preceptor. Their home is justly celebrated for a warm-hearted and cordial hospitality. His social nature finds further expression in his member- ship with the knights of Columbus and the Woodmen. In the various relations which have constituted the salient features of his life he has measured up to the full standard of manhood and, recognizing his own capacities and powers, has so directed his labors that others have benefited thereby, while he himself has received therefrom substantial benefit.
JOHN BRAGONIER.
Princeton numbers among her population many men who, through cultivating the rich soil of Scott county, have met with a success that now enables them to spend the evening of their lives in honorable retirement, and it is to this class that John Bragonier belongs. He was born in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary 12, 1847, a son of Jacob and Matilda (Thomas) Bragonier, who were like- wise natives of the Keystone state, born in Franklin county, the former on the IIth of November, 1821, and the latter on the 4th of December, 1826. Following their marriage they established their home in the east and there four children were born to them. The date of their arrival in Scott county was November 12, 1854. Here the father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of raw land in Princeton township, paying for the same six dollars per acre. On the place stood a small house, one and a half stories high, but the dwelling had not been finished sufficiently for the family to live in comfort. The father finished two rooms and here took up his abode. He at once began to cultivate the land and in due course of time the fields yielded abundant harvests, so that he was able from time to time to add to his original holdings until he became the owner of seven hundred
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and thirty-five acres. He made his home on his first farm for eighteen years and during this time six more children were added to the household. On the expira- tion of that period he went to live in another part of the township and there made his home till the time of his death, which occurred on the 24th of November, 1898, when he was seventy-seven years of age. He had survived his wife, who had been called to her rest about four years previously, her demise occurring July 20, 1894, when she had reached the age of sixty-eight. They were numbered among the county's most worthy and respected pioneer settlers and were consistent and faithful members of the Lutheran church. The father also took a deep interest in all public movements that tended to improve this district and acted as road supervisor and as school director for many years. The record of the family is as follows : John, of this review; Abraham J., who was born March 29, 1849, and lives in Omaha, Nebraska ; Henry C., who was born September 5, 1850, and makes his home in Tacoma, Washington; Martha V., who was born October 5, 1852, and lives in Tama, Iowa; Amy A., who was born March 24, 1855, and died in 1869; David J., who was born July 9, 1857, and lives in California; George M., born June 29, 1860, who departed this life in 1866; Mary, whose birth occurred on the 25th of March, 1864, and has also passed away; Clark E., who was born May 19, 1869, and lives in Tama ; and Howard O., who was born June 16, 1871, and lives in Clinton, this state.
John Bragonier, the eldest of the ten children, began his education in the schools of Pennsylvania but, being a lad of little more than seven years when the family removed to Scott county, his education was mostly acquired in the district schools of this section. As soon as he was old enough to work in the fields he was assigned various tasks incident to farm life and as his age and strength permit- ted he assumed larger responsibilities, assisting in the work of the home farm until he was twenty-eight years of age. He then engaged in farming on his own ac- count on a tract of rented land, but in 1881 purchased his farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Princeton township and thereon took up his abode. Although the farm was fairly well improved, Mr. Bragonier made more modern and substan- tial improvements until it is now one of the valuable properties of eastern Iowa. He was identified with the cultivation of that place for many years but in 1904 put aside business cares and removed to Princeton, where he has since lived retired. He still retains possession of his farm, however, and its rental supplies him with a good annual income.
It was on the 18th of March, 1873, that Mr. Bragonier was married to Miss Hyantha Amelia Zimmerman, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Houck) Zim- merman. Mrs. Bragonier was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and both her father and mother passed away there. She is the seventh in order of birth in a family of thirteen children, the others being Katherine, William H., Martha J., Marcile C., Sarah M., Mary E., Georgia, John M., Jeremiah D., Amy E., Car- rie E. and Joseph S. Mrs. Bragonier has become the mother of six children. Alice is the wife of John Hartman, their home being on her father's farm. They have four living children, Mildred, Harry, Ethel E., and Ruth, while the third, Earl, has passed away. The next in order of birth died in infancy. Cornelia is the wife of J. A. Fletcher, a resident of Princeton township, and they have three children : Harry A., Earl J. and Mervine. Harry, the fourth member of the
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family, died when a youth of seventeen years. Lettie M. and De Witt are still under the parental roof.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church at Princeton, and are prominent in social circles. Personally Mr. Bragonier is quiet and unassuming in manner, refusing political preferment and avoiding publicity. In former years he led a busy and active life, finding little time for outside interests, and yet he was not unmindful of the duties of citizenship. His greatest pleasure now is in the companionship of his wife and children and he can look back over a life well spent and feel that his rest is well deserved, for it has come not through the timely aid of others but as the result of his own labors and the careful manage- ment of his business affairs.
WILLIAM KOBERG.
A well improved farm of one hundred and fifty-three acres, most of which lies on section 15, Hickory Grove township, stands as a monument to the thrift, economy and industry of William Koberg. He was born in Germany, his natal place being Schleswig, and the date July 19, 1852. His parents, Wilhelm and Anna (Moeller) Koberg, have spent their entire lives in the land of their nativity, as has also the eldest son, Frederick, who still makes his home in Schleswig. The second son, Detlef, is deceased, while Claus is a resident of Davenport.
William Koberg, the other member and the youngest of the family, was reared in Germany and was there educated in the common schools. His brother Claus had emigrated to the new world after reaching mature years and through him our subject heard favorable reports concerning the opportunities here offered, and at the age of nineteen he was induced to join his brother in America. Accord- ingly, in 1871, he set sail for New York, whence he made his way direct to Dav- enport, arriving in the latter city on the 3d of July of that year. The following day he joined his brother Claus in Allens Grove township, he having lived in this section for three years. On the 5th of July William Koberg found employment at binding barley and from that date he has been busily engaged to the present time. He worked as a farm hand for two years, all the time his ambition leading him to something higher and more remunerative. He then purchased a threshing outfit, which he operated during the harvesting season for nine years. In the meantime he also engaged in farming on his own account, having purchased his present place of one hundred and fifty-three acres, all of which is under cultiva- tion except thirty-three acres, which is covered with timber and lies on sections 16 and 9, while the remainder is on section 15, Hickory Grove township. When Mr. Koberg bought this property the only improvements were a small shanty and a barn. He has since erected a substantial country dwelling and a large barn, while sheds and granaries afford shelter for grain and stock. For nine years he also operated a creamery known as The Country Creamery. He did a big busi- ness, amounting to from twenty-six thousand to thirty thousand dollars per year. One month he handled cream to the amount of twenty-four thousand and fifty dollars, besides the cream which was furnished by his own cows, for he kept a
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number on his farm. After giving his attention to this business for nine years he abandoned the same and has since devoted his entire time to general farming. He possesses good business ability and is meeting with success in his work.
Mr. Koberg was married on the 4th of March, 1876, to Miss Adelia Meyer, who was born in Davenport township, January 14, 1856, and has always made her home in Scott county. She is a daughter of Hans and Cecelia (Stoltenberg) Meyer, of whom extended mention is made in connection with the sketch of Ed- ward Meyer, a brother of Mrs. Koberg, on another page of this work. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Koberg have been born seven children, as follows: Alvina, who be- came the wife of William Wunder and died leaving one child, Alvina, who lives with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Koberg; Cecelia, the wife of William Rug- genkamp, a resident of Davenport township; Herman, a resident of Davenport; Laura, the wife of Rudolph Weis, of Sheridan township; Carrie, at home; and Hertha and Harvey, also still at home.
Mr. Koberg is a most public-spirited citizen and has been called by his fellow citizens to fill various offices, having served as road supervisor, township trustee and school director for many terms. His political allegiance is given to the dem- ocratic party. He is a member of the Maysville Shooting Society. Practical and progressive, he has not always confined himself to the limits of farming but has used various means to gain a start in life and in this way has acquired a property that supplies him with a good living for himself and family and enables him to lay something by for his declining years.
HENRY J. WUESTENBERG.
An enterprising and progressive spirit has characterized the life work of Henry J. Wuestenberg, who is now a resident of Donahue. He was born in Davenport, February 28, 1866, a son of August and Dorothea (Schlapkohl) Wuestenberg, both of whom were natives of Holstein, Germany, the former born March 6, 1829, and the latter July 2, 1834. They were married, however, in Davenport. in 1852. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, followed that occupation in the land of his nativity and also for some years after coming to Scott county. In 1870 he engaged in farming and at the time of his demise had acquired three hundred acres of land, located in 'Allens Grove township, four miles north of Donahue. Mr. and Mrs. August Wuestenberg had ten children, the record being as follows : Minnie, the wife of Henry Grell, of Allens Grove township; Sophia, the wife of Jacob Hendrickson, also of that township; Emma, the wife of Conrad Hess, a resident of this section of the county; Henry J., of this review; Lizzie, the wife of Peter Jacobson, who resides in Donahue; Ferdinand, who makes his home in Allens Grove township; Otto, who died at the age of sixteen years; Gusta, who passed away in 1884 .when about eleven years of age, her birth having oc- curred in 1873; and John and William, twins, who were born in 1876. The for- mer makes his home in Allens Grove township, but the latter died in 1884, when about eight years of age. The parents have likewise been called to the home be- yond, the mother's death occurring October 25, 1897, while the father survived
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for a few years and passed away on the 28th of January, 1904, when in his sev- enty-fifth year.
Henry J. Wuestenberg was reared in Davenport to his fourth year, at which time the family took up their abode on a farm in Allens Grove township. As soon as old enough he was set to work in the fields and continued to assist his father until 1888, when, a young man of twenty-two years, he purchased a threshing outfit and began operations in this line. In 1897 he opened a feed mill in Donahue, which he still conducts. In 1903 he equipped himself for moving houses and has since been ready to meet all demands in this line of activity. Anything along mechanical lines is of interest to him and although his business is diversified, it will be seen that it all follows in this particular direction and is conducted success- fully. In his earlier years he worked at railroad construction and he there proved his aptitude in mechanics, which he has since made his life work.
Mr. Wuestenberg was married September 23, 1896, to Miss Emma A. Quis- torf, who was born in Liberty township, Scott county, March 7, 1875, a daughter of F. A. and Lena (Steffen) Quisdorf, both natives of Holstein, Germany, whence they came to Scott county in 1848 and now live in Dixon. They are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Wuestenberg have three sons : Raymond, Elmer and Clarence. They lost their only daughter, Adeline, the youngest in the family, at the age of three years.
A democrat in principle and practice, Mr. Wuestenberg's interests are closely allied with everything of a public nature. For ten consecutive years he has served as township assessor and he has also been assessor of Donahue. Upon the recent incorporation of the village he was elected street commissioner and is still the incumbent in that office. He is a stockholder in the Donahue Savings Bank and takes a deep interest in this and other enterprises of Donahue. His fraternal relations are with K. P. lodge, No. 299, at Dixon, the Evening Star Lodge, the 'Ancient Order of United Workmen at Davenport and the Home Guards of the World at Dixon. He is true to the terms of a contract and is deserving of the success he has attained in industrial circles.
JOSEPH HELBLE.
Joseph Helble, who carries on general farming and has also devoted consider- able time to the butchering business, was born in Davenport, August 6, 1858, a son of Gerhardt and Amelia (Snow) Helble, both of whom were natives of Ger- many. The father, who was born in Wurtemberg, December 27, 1826, came to America in early life and in Wisconsin wedded Miss Amelia Snow. They are still living and are now residents of Princeton. The father has followed farming dur- ing the greater part of his life. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Gerhardt Helble were six children, namely: Joseph; William, who is a resident farmer of Butler township ; Mary, who died in Princeton in the year 1906; Clara, the wife of John Schlotfeldt, a brewer residing in Allensburg, Washington; Emma, the wife of Herman Schlotfeldt, who is a brewer living in Port Townsend, Washington; and
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John, who married Emma Hening and is a farmer residing on the old family homestead.
Joseph Helble acquired his education in the district school of Butler township and early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In young manhood he also learned the butcher's trade and he has given his time and energies to that business and to general farming. He has al- ways been diligent, active and enterprising and his success has come as the reward of earnest, persistent labor.
On the 17th of February, 1882, Mr. Helble was married to Miss Sophia Faes- ser, a daughter of Jacob and Genevieve Faesser, both of whom were residents of Princeton township at the time of their death. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Helble have been born seven children : Charles, who married Rhoda Carter and is now cashier and manager in a department store at Falls City, Oregon, where he resides; Car- rie, the wife of Edward Holtz, who is living on a farm in Butler township and has three children; Lydia, who is with her parents in Princeton; and Arthur, George, Elmer and Ernest, also at home.
Mr. Helble gives his political support to the republican party but has never sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Neighbors, all of Princeton. For a quarter of a century he has been a member of the Lutheran church and his well spent life has gained him the esteem and confidence of all who know him, while his activity and energy in business have been the source of the success which has made him one of the substantial citizens of the community.
WILLIAM ARP.
William Arp, who owns a fine farm of one hundred and seventy-nine acres in Sheridan township, is one of Scott county's native sons, who derives a com- fortable income from tilling the soil. He was born in Walnut Grove, Butler town- ship, April 11, 1863, his parents being Peter and Minnie (Fellener) Arp. The father was for a long period identified with the agricultural life of Sheridan town-' ship but is now living retired in Davenport. He was born in Holstein, Germany, February 5, 1830, and is a son of Peter and Wiepke Arp, who spent their entire lives in the fatherland, where Peter Arp, Sr., worked at the tailor's trade. Our subject's father was about twenty years of age when he decided to come to Amer- ica and after crossing the Atlantic disembarked at New Orleans, where he took a river boat to come to Iowa. He was two months ascending the Mississippi, how- ever, as quantities of ice impeded progress, and on the 9th of March, 1850, he landed at Davenport, where a sister was already living, she having come to this state in 1847. After his arrival Mr. Arp secured employment in a brickyard and later obtained work as a farm hand, but he was frugal and industrious and in the course of a few years had saved enough to buy one hundred and twenty acres of prairie land in Sheridan township. In 1853 he married and that he and his wife
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM ARP
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might have a home he bought an old dwelling which he moved to his land, making it serve for his residence until he was able to put up a better structure. The tract he had purchased proved to be rich and arable. He plowed the first furrow on that farm and during the five years it was his place of residence it gave him a gratify- ing return for his labors. After he had made a number of improvements upon the place he traded it for one hundred and sixty-five acres in Winfield township, about twelve miles from Davenport on the Dubuque road. That place had a small house upon it and some other improvements had been made, but Mr. Arp brought the land to a higher state of cultivation and after four years sold it, thereupon return- ing to Sheridan township, where he owned a tract of fifty acres and also rented some land from Benjamin Barr, on which he lived for a year. At the end of that time he removed to the fifty acres he owned, bought another fifty acres, built thereon a house, and there made his home for the next twenty-six years, or during the remainder of the time he was actively engaged in farming. In the meantime, however, he bought land as he was able, owning more than half a section at one period in his life, the extent of his landholdings indicating the success which at- tended his labors and the good management conspicuous in his business dealings. In addition to being a prosperous agriculturist he was also a man well known in his township, and the record of his official service was one that brought him the respect of his fellow citizens, when in October, 1892, he decided to retire and re- moved to Davenport.
Mr. Arp was married September 2, 1853, to Miss Minnie Fellener, a daughter of Barnhardt and Fredrica Fellener. She was born in Germany, emigrated to this country when about nineteen years of age, and through her marriage became the mother of seven children. Charles, now deceased, married Kathryn Runfeldt, and they had two children, Minnie and Charles. Emma became the wife of Henry Jarchow, of Davenport, and they have two sons, William and Jacob. Henry married Louisa Petersen and lives in Minnesota, where he is rearing his two children, Mary and Paul. William is the subject of this review. John, now living in Sheridan township, wedded Bertha Weise, and has four children, Ella, Alfred, Aileen and Edward. Elizabeth became the wife of Henry Soll, of Daven- port, and they have two children, Edna and Hugo. The other died in infancy. The parents are members of the Lutheran church, while Mr. 'Arp gives stanch allegiance to the democratic party, and on its ticket was elected to the office of trustee of Sheridan township.
William Arp, whose name introduces this review, was about one year of age when his parents removed from Butler to Sheridan township, and in the latter township has spent the greater part of his life. He was a pupil in the school of district No. 6, and after he put aside his text-books engaged in farming with the intention of making it his means of livelihood. He remained with his father until he was twenty-eight years of age, when he married and, desiring to establish a home of his own, he bought the farm on which he now lives. It is a fine tract of one hundred and seventy-nine acres situated upon the Long Grove road in Sheri- dan township. on which Mr. Arp raises the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also has ample pasturage for the stock he raises and feeds in large quantities. He has ever been a man who is not only industrious and frugal but also ambitious and determined to make the best use of the opportunities that lie before him. That
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he has been successful beyond the average is indicated by the appearance of his property and the fact that he owns stock in the Eldridge Elevator Company.
On the 28th of January, 1891, Mr. Arp was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Soll, who was born in Davenport township, and is a daughter of Christian and Anna Soll. Her parents were natives of Holstein, Germany, and were numbered among the early German settlers of this section of Iowa, for her father came here when eighteen and her mother when a girl of nine years. They are now living in Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Arp have had four children but the first two died in infancy. The others are : Walter, who was born January 4, 1895; and Viola, born October 2, 1897. Both are at home.
Mr. Arp has always given stalwart support to the democratic party and upon its ticket was elected to several offices of public trust, for he served as trustee of Sheridan township for three years as road supervisor for thirteen years and as school director for another long period, in each capacity performing his duties carefully and honorably, so that he has the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends, many of whom have known him from boyhood. He is well known in Eldridge and belongs to the Turners Society there.
FRITZ KARDEL.
Among those in Scott county who through the cultivation of its rich soil have gained a competency that now enables them to live retired, is Fritz Kardel. Born in Holstein, Germany, December 22, 1834, his parents were John and Minnie (Evers) Kardel. The father, a carpenter by trade, followed that work as a means of livelihood in his native land. In 1853 he emigrated with his family to the new world. Landing at New York city, he continued his journey to Davenport, making the trip by rail and by team and wagon to Rock Island, Illinois, whence he crossed the Mississippi river to Davenport, arriving here on the 4th of July, 1853. The trip was a long and arduous one, requiring steady travel for two months. The mother died about four weeks after their arrival in the new world, and the father, having in the meantime purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Hickory Grove township, subsequently removed with his daughter and two sons to the place. The daughter acted as housekeeper and the father and his two sons undertook to develop and improve the farm. 'As above stated, he was a carpenter by trade and this proved a valuable asset to him in improving his place. On the farm stood a small shanty, while twenty acres of the land had been cleared and forty acres were enclosed with fence. In addition to the culti- vation of the farm the father and his son Fritz also did carpenter work, building shanties along the line of the first railroad that was under construction through the west. In his later years he put aside business cares and removed to Daven- port, where he had previously purchased a nice home and here he passed away in 1886. He became a valued and influential citizen of this section of the county and although he had to face many obstacles when he arrived in the new world, he possessed that tenacity of purpose that led him upward to success and at the time of his death he was a well-to-do man. The daughter, Frederica, became the
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