USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > History of Muscatine County, Iowa, from the earliest settlements to the present time, Volume II > Part 54
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Hans Fohrmann spent the first twenty-three years of his life in the land of his nativity and there he acquired his education. He early became convinced, however, that the United States offered such advantages to young men as could not be obtained elsewhere and, crossing the Atlantic ocean, he landed on Ameri- can soil on the 27th of August, 1863. He came west to Davenport, Iowa, obtain- ing employment on a farm by the month and after several years he engaged to work by the day on the railroad. He pursued the latter occupation for several
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years, but at length met with an accident which caused him to sacrifice his right leg.
Mr. Fohrmann had not yet acquired the full rights of citizenship, having been a resident of this country less than two years, when in order to show his al- legiance to the country of his adoption he volunteered his services in the cause of the Union. In January, 1864, he enlisted in the Twentieth lowa Infantry under General Smith and went to the front with his regiment. Later he was transferred to the Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry and served with this regiment until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged and returned to Iowa in August, 1865.
In that year Mr. Fohrmann was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wise, a native of Iowa, her parents both being deceased at the time of her marriage. One child was born to them in 1881, Anna, now the wife of Henry Houghtman of Davenport, lowa, but the mother died when her little daughter was only one year of age. Mr. Fohrmann was again married in 1890, his second wife being Mrs. Annie Mier, the widow of James Mier, but she too passed away in 1905.
Two years ago Mr. Fohrmann took a trip through the north and west and while away bought a farm of ninety acres in South Dakota, but continues to make his home in Stockton, where he has lived for many years and has many friends. Ever since granted the right of suffrage he has given his party alleg- iance to the republicans, but while he always fulfills his obligations as a citizen by casting a ballot at every election, lie lias never been an office seeker.
JOHN S. HITCHCOCK.
John S. Hitchcock, the owner of a well improved farm in section 33, Lake township, is known as one of the substantial men of Muscatine county. He has devoted his entire life to agricultural and stock-raising interests and years ago secured a foundation for financial independence in the ownership of good Mus- catine county land which has yielded to him abundant annual returns. Having been thoroughly trained as a farmer in his youth, he avoided the mistakes made by many who started under less favorable conditions and his progress has been without serious interruptions.
He was born on the farm where he now lives, July 2, 1859, and is a son of John P. and Emily L. (Adams) Hitchcock, the former a second cousin of John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts. The father was born in Ohio and came to Muscatine county in 1846 during the pioneer period, entering land and devoting his undivided attention to his farm. He passed away August 10, 1881, his be- loved wife departing this life July 26, 1882. Nine children were born to them, of whom five are now living: Lola E., the wife of Captain G. W. H. Lucas, of Kansas; Anna, now Mrs. William Riggs, of Muscatine county ; John S., our sub- ject ; Emma L., the wife of F. D. Wood, of Muscatine county ; and Edward. of Lake township, Muscatine county.
John S. Hitchcock began his education in district school and later attended high school and a business college at Davenport. He early became well acquainted
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with agriculture and stock-raising under the direction of his father. Arriving at twenty-one years of age, he rented the home farm which he cultivated success- fully for several years, then purchasing a farm on section 34, Lake township, where he lived for thirteen years. At the end of that period he sold his farm and purchased the old home place, where he has since continued. He has added to his original property holdings until now he is the owner of three hundred acres in Lake township, which he cultivates with great success. He makes a specialty of raising and feeding all kinds of stock and as he is well informed as to the markets, he generally commands a very fair price for what he has to offer. He is a lover of fine horses and has a number of them at all times upon his farm.
In 1883 Mr. Hitchcock was united in marriage to Miss Abbie P. McCloud, a native of Lake township and a daughter of David and Phoebe (Chattaway) McCloud. Her father was a native of Ohio but her mother came from England and located in Muscatine county in the early days. There were eight children in their family. One son, Bion H., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock, and he is now attending the State Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa, and is a young man of high promise.
Mr. Hitchcock gives his allegiance to the democratic party and has been hon- ored by the voters of his township by being elected as trustee and school di- rector. He and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they are contributors. He also holds membership in the Modern Broth- erhood of America, and the esteem in which he is held by his brethren is indi- cated by the fact that he has filled all the chairs in the local lodge. Active and efficient in everything he undertakes, he has gained the confidence not only of his neighbors and friends but of a wide circle of acquaintances throughout the county.
SAMUEL MCNUTT.
Fifty-six years ago Samuel McNutt, of Muscatine, came to Muscatine county and for more than a third of a century, until his retirement from active affairs, was prominently identified with the county and state. At the time of his death, which occurred January 10, 1911, when he had reached the age of eighty-eight years, he was one of the most honored citizens of Muscatine county and in com- fort was enjoying the relaxation which should accompany the closing years of a useful life.
He was of Scotch-Irish descent and was born in the north of Ireland, twenty miles west of Londonderry, November 21, 1822, a son of Samuel and Hannah (Stuart) MeNutt, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The father, who was a farmer, spent his entire life in County Donegal, his death resulting in 1836, when he was about fifty-five years of age, from injuries sustained by being thrown from a runaway horse. The mother came with her children to America and after a brief stay in Philadelphia settled in Newcastle county, Delaware. For forty years she devoted her energy to the education and interests of her children and had the happiness of seeing them all honorably settled in life. She
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came west to Muscatine and died December 24, 1874, at the age of eighty-five years. She and her husband were members of the Presbyterian church.
Patrick McNutt, the paternal grandfather of our subject, married Mary Stevenson and lived to the age of eighty-five years. There were four children in their family, one son and three daughters, the names of the latter being Mary, Jane and Nancy. Mary lived to be one hundred and five years old. The maternal grandfather was Robert Stuart, who emigrated from Scotland to Ire- land on account of church persecution.
Samuel and Hannah MeNutt were the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, all of whom are now deceased except Hannah, the widow of William H. Hazlett, of Muscatine. The second son, Robert, became an eminent physician in Louisiana and at the outbreak of the Civil war, being a Union man, narrowly escaped with his life to the north, losing all his property in Louisiana. Governor Kirkwood appointed him assistant surgeon of the Thirty-eighth Iowa Infantry. The third son, James, was also a strong Union man and for more than a year was in charge of the medical departments at Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, below New Orleans.
Samuel MeNutt was reared upon the little farm in Delaware where his mother established a home for her family. Books were few and his early train- ing consisted largely of such knowledge as he could secure from the catechism, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, Scott's Martyrs and Weem's Life of Washington. He very early gave evidence of literary talent and con- tributed poems to the Temperance Star of Wilmington, Delaware, which at- tracted the attention of Dr. J. S. Bell, of Newark, one of the professors in Dela- ware College. It was largely through the assistance of Dr. Bell that Mr. McNutt was able to secure a literary education. During his college days he contributed to Peterson's Magazine, Neal's Gazette, Godey's Lady's Book, the Saturday Courier and other publications. After leaving college he engaged in teaching and at the same time studied law under the direction of Hon. Daniel M. Bates, who was then secretary of the state of Delaware. In 1850, being then twenty- eight years of age, Mr. McNutt removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was there admitted to the bar, beginning practice in that city. Just as he was fairly launched in his professional career he received an urgent call from the south and accepted a professorship in a collegiate institute at Hernando, Mississippi, where he continued from 1852 to 1854.
However, he yielded to a desire to travel northward and in 1854 gave up his position and located in Muscatine county, Iowa. Two years later he was made principal of the first ward public school in Muscatine and the same year he as- sociated with D. F. Wells, principal of the third ward school, as editor of the first educational magazine in Iowa, called The Voice of Iowa and published by Dr. Enos of Cedar Rapids. About the close of the year he purchased a half interest in the Muscatine Enquirer and became its editor. He was also associate editor of the Dubuque Herald from 1856 to 1859, the paper being under the management of Joseph B. Dorr. Up to the outbreak of the war Mr. McNutt had been a democrat and a supporter of Stephen A. Douglas, but when the southern states began to secede he came out strongly for the constitution and
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the administration of Abraham Lincoln and upon request of friends started the Daily Evening Union to counteract the influence of the Herald, which sympa- thized with the cause of the south. The publication of the Evening Union was discontinued in about a year with heavy financial loss and Mr. McNutt became one of the editors of the Dubuque Times. In the fall of 1862 he moved his family to his farm in Muscatine county, having determined to enter the army, but in 1863, while recruiting for the Eighth Cavalry, he was nominated and elected by the republicans of Muscatine county as representative to the tenth general assembly of Iowa and afterward was twice reelected to that position. At the close of his third term in the lower house he was elected without opposi- tion to the senate for a term of four years. He made a splendid record in the legislature and was one of the pioneers in the introduction of bills for the con- trol of railroad corporations. He secured passage through the house of the bill to drive "wild cat" currency out of Iowa and was chairman of the committee to investigate the Fort Madison penitentiary in 1872, writing the report which prevented the state from paying a claim of prison labor contractors amounting to forty-seven thousand dollars. In this report it was recommended that a new penitentiary be erected at a point where rock could be quarried, the new peni- tentiary at Anamosa being the result of this recommendation. In 1872 he was a candidate for state treasurer upon the republican ticket and received a very large vote but was not elected. He was prominent in the Grange movement and was the author of the monster petition signed by seventy thousand Iowa farm- ers asking the legislature to regulate the railroad charges. On August 13, 1890, Mr. McNutt was appointed by President Harrison as consul to Maracaibo, Venezuela, but after a brief residence at the capital of the South American re- public he found the climate too severe and resigned, returning to his home. He served most acceptably as city judge of Muscatine in 1894 and 1895 and in many ways demonstrated unusual ability and fidelity as a public officer.
On April 14, 1857, Mr. McNutt was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Lucas, of Portsmouth, Ohio, a daughter of William Lucas and a niece of Robert Lucas, ex-governor of Ohio. In August, 1889, while Mrs. McNutt was visiting her son in Nebraska, she was taken ill and died. The children of the family now living are: William L., living near Ord, Nebraska, who married a Miss Brand and is the father of one daughter, Zona; Robert S., a record of whom appears elsewhere in this review; and Samuel, who is now a practicing dentist in Des Moines, Iowa. The sons were all graduated from college.
For twenty years Mr. McNutt was an officer of the Muscatine County Agri- cultural Society. He was a member of the Scotch-Irish Society of America and also of the Presbyterian church. He joined the Washingtonians as a boy and was a lifelong advocate of temperance. He was identified with the Odd Fellows from 1851, with the Union League from 1861 and with the Patrons of Hus- bandry from 1872. As a pioneer of Iowa Mr. McNutt witnessed the marvelous transformation by which the vast region west of the Mississippi river has been made the abode of millions of human beings. He participated in the exciting times of the Civil war and noted the world-wide changes that have taken place on account of that great event. He was an active and successful factor in pro- moting the interests of his adopted state and at all times a willing supporter of
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every beneficent cause. Broad-minded and progressive, he ably performed his part as a leader in a commonwealth whose citizens are noted for their intelli- gence and high character. It was by such men that the foundations of the American republic were laid and through such men the republic has been pre- served.
E. E. MOELLER.
E. E. Moeller has been identified with the business interests of Stockton for a number of years, being engaged in the grain business here, but he is also well known in the county as an agriculturist, for he successfully followed farming for a long period. He is a native son of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Scott county on the 28th of March, 1858. His parents, Gotthardt and Mary (Westfall) Moeller, were both natives of Germany, whence they emigrated to America about 1850, first locating in New Orleans, where they remained for two years. Subse- quently they continued their journey to the middle west, making a permanent lo- cation in Scott county, Iowa, where the father engaged in farming and made his home until the time of his death in 1900. The mother survived his death for about three years, when she, too, was called to the home beyond. Their family numbered six children but the second in order of birth is deceased, as are also Herman and the youngest, George. Those living are : Charles, a resident of Scott county, Iowa ; Anna, the wife of Albert Warner, also of Scott county ; and E. E., of this review.
E. E. Moeller remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority but in the meantime had been accorded good educational advantages, his early education, acquired in the common schools, having been supplemented by a college course. Thus well qualified for the responsibilities of life, he started out to make his own way in the world, choosing as his occupation the work to which he had been reared. He rented land of his father, carrying on agricultural pursuits very successfully for eight years. At the end of that period, in 1890, he removed to Stockton and engaged in the grain business. Seeking still a broader field, after a few years' identification with the grain business, he then engaged in buying and selling stock and in this venture he likewise met with success. In 1910, however, he once more turned his attention to the grain business and is now acting as man- ager of the Farmers Elevator Company of Stockton. His honorable dealing and cordial manner have won the favor of the public and he has come to be numbered among the progressive and representative business men of his section of the county. He is also the owner of sixty acres of valuable farming land on section 4. Milton township, and he likewise owns three hundred and twenty acres in Minnesota.
In 1880 Mr. Moeller chose as a companion and helpmate for the journey of life, Miss Laura Wiese, who was born in Scott county, Iowa, a daughter of Hans and Trena Wiese, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to America in an early day and settled in Scott county, Iowa. There they spent their remaining days, both passing away in that section of the state. The marriage of
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Mr. and Mrs. Moeller was blessed with nine children, as follows: Augusta, the wife of Emil Paarmaan, of Scott county; Clara, the wife of Leonard Schlap- kohl, a merchant of Stockton; Laura, the wife of C. Anderson, a resident of Stockton; Amiel, who is a graduate of Brown's Business College at Davenport, and is now located at Lake Park, Iowa; Leonard, who is also a graduate of Brown's Business College and is now in Harris, Iowa; Herbert, who likewise graduated from that college and is at home; Edna, at home; and Elvira and Ernest, Jr., who are also under the parental roof. The wife and mother departed this life on the 12th of October, 1907, and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Walcott.
In his political views Mr. Moeller is a democrat, giving stalwart support to the party. He has taken an active and helpful interest in public affairs, having for several years served as mayor of Stockton, during which time he performed his duties in this connection in a most capable and businesslike manner. For sev- eral years he likewise served as township clerk and trustee and also did good work as a member of the school board. His fraternal relations connect him with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias lodge in Walcott, and in the latter organization he has filled all of the chairs. Perhaps the highest tribute that can be paid Mr. Moeller is that he has been successful in all of his undertakings and that he has so discharged his duties as a citizen, as a business man and as a public official as to merit the confidence of those who know him best.
JULIUS WELSCH.
The subject of this sketch is one of Muscatine county's most respected citi- zens-a position he has earned by exceptional business ability and those estimable social characteristics that attract friends and strengthen the bonds of fellowship. Endowed by nature with abundant capacity, he has made good use of his talents and opportunities and in agriculture and stock-raising has built up a reputation which is not confined to the limits of Muscatine county.
He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, October 18, 1847, and is a son of Frederick and Catherine (Keirsh) Welsch. The father was a native of Prussia, Germany, where he was born in 1803. He grew up in the fatherland, continuing there until 1844, and although he had acquired a competence he de- cided to spend the remainder of his days under the protecting folds of the stars and stripes. He brought with him to this country ten thousand dollars in gold, a portion of which he invested in a farm of two hundred acres in Ohio. Being attracted further westward, he came to Muscatine county, Iowa, in 1867, and located in Sweetland township, being at the time of his death the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred and forty-seven acres. There were ten children in his family, three of whom are now living.
Julius Welsch gained his early education in the district schools of the Buckeye state and assisted his father in the work of the farm, coming with him to Mus- catine county. He was twenty years of age when he arrived in Iowa and he lost no time in preparing for his life work. After hiring out for wages to neigh-
JULIUS WELSCH
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boring farmers for three years he rented eighty acres, which he later increased to three hundred and twenty acres, engaging extensively as a stock-raiser. After becoming a landowner he steadily inercased the size of his holdings and he is now the owner of four hundred and ninety-eight acres in Muscatine county, five hundred and fifty-five aeres in Rock Island county, Illinois, and also half owner in four hundred acres of land in Rock Island county, which is valuable on account of its timber, the planting of young trees being carried on upon an extensive scale, while at the same time the older trees are being cut down and sent to the sawmill. On his home farm he now has thirty-eight horses, eighty head of cattle and one hundred and fifty hogs, and he is one of the large ship- pers of Montpelier township.
On the IIth of November, 1881, Mr. Welsch was united in marriage to Miss Mary Irwin, a daughter of James and Catherine Irwin. By this union there were seven children, namely: Julius; Catherine, who married Glen McElroy and has one son living; Lizzie, the wife of George Grete and the mother of one child; Ora, who married Arthur Cawiezell; Bessie, who married Joseph Ca- wiezell, and Jessie, twins; and Mary. The mother of these children having passed away, Mr. Welsch was again married, the lady of his choice being Catherine Wunderlich. One child, Frederick, has been born to the union.
Mr. Welsch is in hearty sympathy with the republican party, accepting its principles as those best adapted to promote the general welfare of the entire country. His business responsibilities have not made it possible for him to devote much time to politics but he has served as township trustee and in other township offices. His success has been due to close application and perseverance. Having once decided on a plan of action he has never permitted obstacles to swerve him from what he believed to be the true course and as a result he has almost invariably won. A goodly supply of common sense is an important factor in his character. In a pleasant and comfortable home, supplied with all the con- veniences and many of the elegancies of life, he now enjoys the fruits of his labors.
EDWARD KEMPER.
One of the prominent citizens of Montpelier township, Edward Kemper has earned the place he holds by years of well applied industry, in the course of which he acquired a farm that is scarcely surpassed by any other in the county in fertility and productiveness. A native of the township where he now lives, he was born April 15, 1865, a son of Henry and Charlotte (Weinberg) Kem- per, a record of whom appears in the sketch of John Christopher Kemper else- where in this work. Our subject is also a brother of August Kemper, whose record is presented on another page in this work.
Edward Kemper grew up as a farm boy and was early made acquainted with the details of agriculture and stock-raising. He attended the district school, where he acquired the rudiments of an education which he has greatly enlarged since arriving at manhood by reading and observation. At twenty-one years of
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age he began farming for himself, still continuing upon the home place and working under arrangements which he made with his father. In 1893 he rented two hundred acres in Montpelier township, which he cultivated for five years with such success that he was enabled to purchase two hundred and fifteen acres in his own name. Applying himself with still greater diligence, he made many improvements upon his place and now owns a fine farm of three hundred and eighty acres. He is a large raiser of live stock, including cattle, hogs and sheep, and the prices which he receives in the market indicate that he thoroughly un- derstands his business.
On the 10th of December, 1896, Mr. Kemper was united in marriage to Miss Annie Hennings, a daughter of George Hennings, who was born in Germany. Six children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kemper, namely: Char- lotte, deceased; and Mamie, Edgar Edwin, Bernhard, Theodore and Walter, all of whom are at home.
Having observed the advantages of thorough training for the young, Mr. Kemper is an ardent friend of education and especially of the public-school sys- ten1. For fifteen years past he has served as treasurer of the school board and no man in the township has more earnestly striven to advance the standing of the schools by the employment of competent and trustworthy teachers. He is also township trustee and takes at all times the interest of a broad-minded and patriotic citizen in the development of the region with which he is identified. Energetic, capable and thoroughly efficient in what he undertakes, he enjoys in a high degree the respect and esteem of his fellowmen.
LYELL REPPERT, M. D.
Dr. Lyell Reppert is one of the younger representatives of the medical pro- fession in Muscatine, yet his age seems no bar to his ability nor to the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen, for he is accorded a liberal and growing practice. He was born in Muscatine, October 16, 1878, and is a son of Ferdi- nand and Emma (Olds) Reppert, the former a native of Cape Girardeau, Mis- souri, and the latter of Muscatine. The mother was a daughter of Lyman Whitney Olds, a native of Ohio, who became one of the early settlers of this city. Coming here when it was but a small town, he engaged in the dry-goods business, in which he continued through the period of the Civil war. He was a very progressive, enterprising man, and his labors were an element in the sub- stantial growth and upbuilding of this section of the state. He died at an ad- vanced age in the year 1895. Unto him and his wife, Sarah Olds, there were born two children who lived to adult age, Emma and Ella. The former gave her hand in marriage to Ferdinand Reppert, who had become one of the early merchants of Muscatine, where he conducted a drug store. His death occurred here when he was fifty-six years of age, and his wife passed away in 1900 at the age of fifty-two. They were both members of the Congregational church and Mr. Reppert was for thirteen years a member of the school board. The
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