USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 26
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CHRISTIAN ECKERT.
Christian Eckert, an enterprising and up-to-date agriculturist of Franklin township, is the owner of a modern and well improved farm of seventy-nine acres on section 14. His birth occurred in Clayton county, Iowa, on the 26th of March, 1868, his parents being Christian and Anna ( Nicolai) Eckert, who are mentioned at greater length on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of John Eckert, a brother of our subject. Christian Eckert of this review obtained his education in the district schools of Franklin township and remained under the parental roof until twenty-five years of age. Subsequently he operated the home- stead place for one year and then purchased a farm of seventy-nine acres on Vol. 11-13
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section 14, where he has since carried on his agricultural pursuits. Practically all of the improvements thereon were made by him and the place is now a model and up-to-date farming property, equipped with modern and substantial buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. The land is rich and productive and the well tilled fields annually yield golden harvests in return for the care and labor which is bestowed upon them. Mr. Eckert makes a specialty of the production of corn and the raising of Poland China hogs and in all of his undertakings has won a well merited measure of success. He is a stockholder in the Luana Creamery the Luana Shipping Association and the Monona State Bank.
On the 30th of November, 1894, Mr. Eckert was united in marriage to Miss Anna Roffman, who was born in Michigan, on the 17th of March, 1873, her parents being John and Minnie ( Blank) Roffman. They are mentioned at greater length on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of Frank Roff- man, brother of Mrs. Eckert. Our subject and his wife have one son, Lloyd, whose birth occurred on the 8th of September, 1897. Mr. Eckert is a demo- crat in politics but has never sought the honors and emoluments of office. Both he and his wife have spent their entire lives in this part of the state and enjoy an extensive and favorable acquaintance here.
OSTEN JOHNSON SORUM.
Osten Johnson Sorum, deceased, was an honored pioneer and prominent agri- culturist of Allamakee county, where he owned nearly five hundred acres of valu- able land and made his home for a period of fifty-seven years. He reached the venerable age of eighty-five years, having been born in Norway in 1824 and pass- ing away April 25, 1910. In 1850, when a young man of twenty-six years, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and spent two years working on a log raft on the Mississippi river and at Monona. In 1852 he came to Allamakee county, Iowa, and purchased eighty acres of unimproved land in Makee town- ship. erecting a log house, fourteen by sixteen feet, which remained the family home for many years. Coming here in pioneer times, he endured all of the hard- ships and privations incident to life in a sparsely settled and undeveloped dis- trict. The nearest trading point was McGregor and in making the trip, which consumed two or three days, he usually went to Harpers Ferry and then down the river on the ice. While he was absent on one of these trips his family were driven from their log house by a fire which totally destroyed the little home. As the years passed and his financial resources increased, owing to his capable management and untiring industry, he purchased an additional tract of land on section 31, Center township, and erected thereon a frame dwelling, barns and out- buildings. Here he spent the remainder of his life, devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits with excellent success. His holdings embraced nearly five hundred acres of land, which was divided among his sons a number of years prior to his demise. He was a man of powerful physique and was able to do a great amount of work, though for years he was handicapped by a broken hip which had been left to grow crooked. In his demise the community lost one of
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its respected pioneers and most esteemed citizens and one whose labors had been a potent element in the work of upbuilding and development herc.
It was in Allamakee county that Mr. Sorum was united in marriage to Miss Gunhild Bakkum, a native of Norway, who passed away on the old home farm in October, 1909. They became the parents of three sons. Andrew, the eldest, inherited the original family homestead in Makee township and wedded Miss Bertha Marie Johnson. He is deceased but his widow still resides on the old farm. John and Christ Sorum were born in the log house in Makee township and now reside on the farm in Center township. Their property is well improved in every particular and they carry on general farming with gratifying success, having gained an enviable reputation as substantial and enterprising citizens of their native county. The religious faith of the family is that of the Lutheran church.
HILAS C. BURNHAM.
Hilas C. Burnham, who owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred thirty- two and one-fourth acres on section 32, Franklin township, has been a resident of Allamakee county since his birth and the greater part of his active life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. A spirit of enterprise and progress actu- ates him in all that he does and he now owns one of the productive and well managed farms of this vicinity and is classed with substantial and progressive agriculturists. He was born in Franklin township, August 24, 1864, and is a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Dee) Burnham, natives of Ohio, both born on the line between Union and Champaign counties. The father spent his entire life engaged in farming, coming at an early date to this township and county. After one year he returned to Ohio, where he married, afterward settling again in Franklin township, where he resided on the farm which now forms the Lam- born homestead. He purchased the land in an unimproved condition and with characteristic energy turned his attention to its clearing and cultivation, he and his wife spending the remainder of their lives upon the property. The mother passed away in 1879 and the father in 1891. He had been prominent in local public affairs, having held practically all the township offices, including those of trustee, tax collector, assessor and justice of the peace, filling the latter position with credit and ability for twenty years. He and his wife were the parents of four children : Pearl, deceased ; Hilas C., of this review ; Elma M., the wife of W. E. Hinman, of Franklin township; and Edna, who died in infancy.
In the acquirement of an education Hilas C. Burnham attended district school in his native township and from his early childhood aided his father with the work of the homestead. At the age of eighteen he became a farm laborer, living at home, however, until he was twenty-one. Having attained his majority, he engaged in hauling cream, but after one year married and turned his attention to farming. He went to Ford county, Kansas, one hundred miles northwest of Wichita, spending one summer in that vicinity. Returning to Iowa at the end of that time, he rented a farm in Allamakee county and continued to reside upon it for two years, moving then to a farm in Clayton county, near the dividing
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line. In the spring of 1894 he purchased forty acres of land on section 32, Frank- lin township, in Allamakee county, and this formed the nucleus of his present farm. To it he has made substantial additions from time to time and owns today one hundred thirty-two and one-fourth acres of excellent land. Upon it he has erected fine buildings and he has installed modern equipment, nothing being neglected which will add to the value or attractive appearance of the place. He operates his land as a general stock farm, raising high-grade cattle, horses and hogs. He is a stockholder in the Cooperative Creamery at Luana and was one of the promoters of the Farmers Cooperative Shipping Association and is a director in the Luana Savings Bank, being respected in business circles as a man of unusual ability, integrity and enterprise.
On the 31st of March, 1887, Mr. Burnham was united in marriage to Miss Carrie May Sawyer, who was born in Franklin township, March 9, 1863. They have become the parents of two children. Ray Ililas was born May 3, 1890, and makes his home with his parents. He holds the position of rural mail carrier from the Luana postoffice. Bessie M. was born June 19, 1891, and is now attend- ing Carlton College at Northville, Minnesota. Both are graduates of the Post- ville high school.
Mr. Burnham is a member of the Modern Brotherhood of America and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party, never seeking office but tak- ing an active and intelligent interest in community affairs. A resident of this part of Allamakee county since his birth, his upright and honorable life has com- manded for him the respect and esteem of his neighbors and his success has placed him in the front ranks of progressive and substantial agriculturists.
FRANK DOLPHIN.
Frank Dolphin, one of the prominent and deservedly successful business men of Lansing, was born in La Crosse county, Wisconsin, and there acquired his education in the public schools. With his father he came to Iowa in 1886 and settled in Lansing where they worked in a sawmill and engaged in the manu- facture of lumber for two years. Mr. Dolphin of this review later bought a drill- ing outfit and for five years thereafter worked at drilling wells, building up a large and profitable patronage along this line.
Being ambitious for a broader field of labor and for a wider and more suit- able scope for his activities, Mr. Dolphin determined to study electrical engi- neering and accordingly took a correspondence course in this science, becoming an expert practical engineer. Upon receiving his degree he joined William Nopper, who was in charge of the installation of the electric light and power plant at Lansing which was later merged into the Upper Iowa Electric Light & Power Company in which Mr. Dolphin is now the manager of the Lansing plant. He is also associated in business with Mr. Olson with whom he owns a steam power machine and a large blacksmith and wagon and repair shop, a large patronage being accorded them in recognition of the excellent quality of the work done and their straightforward and honorable methods.
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Mr. Dolphin married in Waukon on the 10th of October, 1904, Miss Bertha Magnusson, who was reared and educated in Lansing. They occupy a com- fortable and modern residence just adjoining the business plant and shop and they have made their home a center of warm-hearted hospitality. Mr. Dolphin is a Master Mason and belongs to the blue lodge in Lansing. He is identified also with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. In politics he is independent, voting according to the dictates of his personal judgment, and while he is not in any sense an office seeker he is now in the second term of his able service as a member of the city council. In Waukon, Lansing and throughout Allamakee county he is known as a man of good business ability, of strict integ- rity and moral worth-an active, progressive and public-spirited citizen whose official record is marked by the same energetic, straightforward and conscientious work which has distinguished and made successful his business career.
FRED F. KRUSE.
Since 1895 Fred F. Kruse has lived upon his present farm of one hundred and eighty acres on section 33, Franklin township, and since 1901 has owned the property, which in its neat and attractive appearance reflects everywhere his care- ful supervision and practical labors. He is one of the many sturdy, industrious and enterprising citizens whom Germany has given to America, having been born near Berlin, June 6, 1859. He is a son of Fred and Sophia ( Brunstein) Kruse, also natives of that locality, the former born October 22, 1839, and the latter in 1840. In his native country the father worked in the employ of others and for a time served in the army, taking part in the war with France. He crossed the Atlantic in 1871 upon the close of hostilities and came directly to Iowa, settling in Garnavillo township, Clayton county. After working in the employ of others for some time he purchased land of his own and for many years thereafter engaged in farming in that locality. He now lives retired and makes his home in Guttenberg, having survived his wife since June, 1908.
Fred F. Kruse is the eldest in a family of seven children. He was about thirteen years of age when he crossed the Atlantic with his parents and he com- pleted an education begun in Germany in the district schools near Elkader. After laying aside his books he worked in the employ of others for a few years, giving his father all of his earnings until he was twenty-one years of age. After attain- ing his majority he continued at farm labor until 1895. when he rented the farm which he now occupies. In 1901 he bought the property, which comprises one hundred and eighty acres on section 33. Franklin township, and which under his able management has become one of the finest agricultural properties in the vicinity. He is a member of the Luana Shipping Association and is a stock- holder in the Luana Creamery.
In 1882, Mr. Kruse was united in marriage to Miss Minnie H. Bleatz, who was born in Blaeswitz, near Berlin, Germany, October 23, 1859, a daughter of Charles and Caroline ( Radloff ) Bleatz, natives of the same sec- tion, the former born June 15, 1826, and the latter February 18 of the same year. The father served the required term in the German army and afterward came to
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America, locating near Clayton Center in 1872. He died in 1887, having sur- vived his wife for ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Kruse became the parents of seven children. William Fred was born on the 7th of December, 1882. He married Miss Bertha Bleatz and is now engaged in farming in Franklin township. Henry was born October 7, 1884, and is engaged in farming in Clayton county. His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Amanda Meyer. Alice, whose birth occurred on the 21st of December, 1887, became the wife of John Nuehring, a farmer near Luana, in Clayton county. Fredrick was born May 6, 1890, and lives at home. Etta was born January 18, 1893. George was born May 23, 1895. Mabel, the youngest child in this family, was born November 8, 1900.
Mr. Kruse owes a great deal to his wife, who has been his able assistant in the development of the farm, cooperating in all of his plans for its improvement and development. He is a member of the Lutheran church at Luana and he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, being active and progressive in matters of citizenship, although never seeking public office. His many friends in this county respect his ability and honor his sterling integrity of character, according him a high place among representative citizens and substantial farmers of this locality.
ALBERT G. WINTER.
Farming and dairying interests of Ludlow township find a progressive and worthy representative in Albert G. Winter, who owns and operates the Pleasant View homestead, a neat and well improved place of eighty acres on section 1. He has been a resident of Iowa since 1876, but was born in Dodge county, Wis- consin, December 8, 1858. His father, Rev. H. A. Winter, a minister in the Presbyterian church, was born in Germany and came to America when a young man, settling in Wisconsin, where he remained for many years.
Albert G. Winter acquired his education in the public schools of Wisconsin, graduating from the Madison high school and later attending Mount Carroll College. In 1876 he came to lowa and here turned his attention to farming. working in the harvest fields for a few seasons and afterward renting land. Eventually he bought the Pleasant View homestead, a property with some improve- ments, to which he steadily added. He also remodeled the house and erected in 1912 a large and commodious barn. He installed also a wind pump and built a silo with a capacity of ninety tons, making the property one of the finest and best equipped in this vicinity. In addition to general farming Mr. Winter engages in dairying and stock-raising, keeping a fine herd of milch cows and feeding a number of high-grade hogs every year. . Both of these departments of his busi- ness are ably and carefully conducted and under his competent supervision have become important and profitable. The farm is today one of the most attractive in the township, the house being set in the midst of a fine level lawn broken here and there by groves of evergreen and forest trees. Mr. Winter was one of the promoters of the Ludlow Cooperative Creamery Association and served as secre- tary and treasurer of that body. He is identified with the German Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he was for a time secretary and treasurer, and
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he aided in the organization of the Farmers Cooperative Stock & Produce Com- pany.
In Ludlow township, in 1883, Mr. Winter was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Pieper, a stepdaughter of Carl Pieper. They became the parents of five children: Carl S., of Lexington, Nebraska, who is married and has one son ; Helen, the wife of James G. Smith, of Lexington, Nebraska, by whom she has one son ; Marion E. ; Fred B., a student in the University of lowa ; and Earl A., a student in the Waukon high school. Mr. and Mrs. Winter are members of the German Presbyterian church of Ludlow.
Mr. Winter is connected fraternally with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. lle is interested in everything pertaining to the growth and progress of Allamakee county and his labors have been forces in the agricultural development of the township which has been his home for over thirty- five years and where he is held in high regard by reason of his business enter- prise. his integrity and his sterling personal worth.
JOSEPH FRANCIS MITCHELL.
Joseph Francis Mitchell is carrying on general farming and stock-raising upon one hundred and eighty acres of excellent land in Hickory Creek valley, a valuable tract which owes its present well improved and productive condition entirely to his many years of careful supervision and competent management. Mr. Mitchell is a native of Iowa, born in Clayton county, on the Military road, near Monona, April 8, 1871. His parents, Jackson and Bridget (Welsh) Mitch- ell, were born in Green county, Wisconsin, near Monroe, in 1846 and the mother passed away in 1874. The father spent practically all his active life engaged in farming, although for three years during the Civil war he engaged in buying and selling horses, being at that time a mere boy. After the close of hostilities, about the fall of 1865, he came to Iowa and for some years thereafter worked as a farm hand, later becoming a landowner. From the year 1870 until 1906 he continued to improve and develop his excellent farm and secured an enviable place in the ranks of progressive and substantial agriculturists. In the latter year he moved to Monona, where he has since lived practically retired, having sold his farm in 1911. He was three times married, his first wife having been Miss Catharine Stapleton, by whom he had one child. By his second marriage, to the mother of the subject of this review, he was the father of two children, and by his third wife. who was Mrs. Sarah ( Flack) McGoon, he had five daughters.
Joseph F. Mitchell acquired his education in district school No. 10, Franklin township. He remained at home until he was nineteen years of age and then married, purchasing soon afterward forty acres of land on section 28, Frank- lin township, this tract still forming a portion of his present farm. Upon it he resided for eleven years and at the end of that time added to his holdings, remov- ing his residence to its present location. He has now one hundred and eighty acres of valuable land and upon it he carries on general farming and stock-raising, keeping high grades of cattle, horses and hogs. He is preparing to specialize in dairy work and intends to make this an important branch of his business. He
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devotes practically his entire time to his farm and has few outside connections, although he is a stockholder in the Monona Union Cooperative Creamery.
On the 31st of August, 1890, Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss Cleopatra Viola Baughman, who was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, November 12, 1869. She is a daughter of John and Susan ( Heddington) Baughman, the former born in Boone county, Kentucky, January 5, 1818, and the latter in Ohio, February 21, 1832. Both have passed away, the father dying March 4, 1901, on the anniversary of his wedding, and the mother May 10, 1889. John Baughman as a young man acted as overseer on a large plantation in Kentucky and he after- ward went to Ohio, where he turned his attention to farming. He there married his first wife, who afterward died in that state, leaving one child, Electa, who passed away in Nebraska. The father afterward came to lowa, locating in Win- neshiek county in 1869. He here became an extensive landowner and continued a resident of the state until his death. To his second union, which united him with Mrs. Mitchell's mother, he had six children, of whom the wife of the subject of this review is the second youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell became the parents of seven children: Ray Aretus, who was born May 29, 1892; Perry Montus, born November 2, 1894; Cloa Elva, born September 14, 1896; David Patterson, born June 19, 1899: Frances Pearl, who was born September 20, 1900, and who died February 25, 1901 ; Lillian May, born February 15, 1902; and Dennis Jackson, born April 28, 1905. Mr. Mitchell is one of the most pros- perous and substantial farmers in Allamakee county and his success is the more creditable to him since he depended on no outside aid or influence in its attain- ment but achieved prosperity through his well directed and practical labors. He gives great credit to his wife for his achievements and concedes that much of his success is due to her able collaboration, her sound advice and good judgment.
G. KERNDT & BROTHERS.
One of the most familiar names in Allamakee county is that of Kerndt. honored ånd respected, as generation has followed generation, to the present day, for what members of the family have done in advancing the interests of the section in various ways. We first present a chronological record of these distinguished pioneers and their descendants, who played so great a part in the history of this county for sixty years and builded a reputation which is more lasting than tomes in stone and marble. Their history reveals an inter- esting bit of the early life and early settlers in the middle west. It gives a vivid picture of the trials and hardships of the early pioneer and to what tasks and occupations one had to turn in order to gain a living and a foothold in a new country yet unsettled. The story increases the respect one has for the early settlers who developed civilization out of a wilderness and made possible the prosperous conditions the present generation enjoys. Our particular story tells how a family courageously set out from hearth and home in order to find new opportunities and improve them, and furnishes a worthy example of inspi- ration to the young men of today, being a spring of hope to everyone who
Moritz, Kernat
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND THON FOUNDATIONS.
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labors under difficult conditions and an incitement to again take up the burden of the daily tasks, no matter how discouraging.
The first ancestor to be here recorded is Johann August Kerndt. He was born in 1801, in the province of Silesia. Germany, married in 1822, and of this marriage were born five sons and three daughters. Herman was born in 1823, married in Germany in 1846, his wife passing away in 1901, leaving five chil- dren. Herman Kerndt died on his farm in 1911. Gustav, the second in order of birth, was born in 1825. He emigrated to America in 1849 and died on January 5. 1873. He held the office of supervisor for ten years, was elected, in 1865, president of the First National Bank of Lansing and held the office until his death. William Kerndt was born in 1826 and married in Germany in 1852. His wife arrived in Lansing in 1866 with three children. They are two daughters, who are married, and one son, G. W. Kerndt. the present vice president of the State Bank of Lansing. William Kerndt died in 1898 and his wife followed him to the better land in 1905. Moritz Kerndt was born in 1830, married in 1863 Mary Nimsgern, who was born in Alsace-Lorraine, at the time of her birth a province of France but now a part of Germany. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom three died, four sons and four daughters growing to maturity. Moritz Kerndt was a member of the city council of Lan- sing for eleven years and in 1873 was elected president of the State Bank, holding the office until 1893, when he retired, remaining a director. Of his sons, Charles married, in 1891, Frieda Grulich, of Milwaukee. The oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Moritz Kerndt was married in 1901 to M. F. Healy, of Fort Dodge, this state, and the second was married in 1895 to H. F. Grau, of Mil- waukee. Moritz Kerndt. Jr .. was in 1908 married to Miss Mary Martin, of Oskaloosa. Iowa. The next son of Johann August Kerndt was Julius, born in 1834, who married Margaret (Gretchen) Gruber in 1857. He died in 1871 and his wife in 1872. They had five sons, four of whom, after they had grown to manhood, engaged in business in Kansas. Theodore. the youngest, is at pres- ent a partner in the firm of Nielander & Company. Clara Kerndt was born in 1838 and in 1858 married Jacob Haas. She died in 1877, leaving one son and one daughter, the latter marrying Jacob Keffler, both settling in Sturgis, South Dakota. Jacob Haas died in 1882. He was engaged in the brewing business with Julius Kerndt as his partner. The oldest daughter of Johann August Kerndt was married to John Rieth, in Dubuque, in 1855, and the second in 1856 to Eduard Boeckh. Mrs. Rieth died in 1873. leaving six children. and Mrs. Boeckh in 1910, leaving the same number of descendants. Eduard Boeckh died in 1910. Mr. Rieth and Mr. Boeckh were partners in the foundry business and both built a large brick factory in 1868 in Lansing, Iowa.
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