USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 32
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FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
Mrs. Scallan was a devout member of the Roman Catholic church dur- ing her life and in her dying hour, fortified by its rites and at peace with her God and the world, she gently breathed forth her spirit to her Maker, leav- ing to mourn her loss an aged husband, three sons and one daughter, namely : James and Elizabeth, of Waucoma, Joseph, of West Union, and Thomas, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
JOHN F. UNGERER.
One of the successful farmers of Windsor township, who, although born under a foreign flag, has the interests of Fayette county at heart as much as if he were native of the same, is John F. Ungerer, who was born in Ontario, Canada, March 14, 1859, and when a little over one year old his parents brought him to Dover township, Fayette county, Iowa. His parents were Michael and Elizabeth (Hipner) Ungerer, natives of Wittenberg, Ger- many. The father later married Christina Friedmann, and during our great civil conflict he showed his patriotism by enlisting in Capt. L. L. Ains- worth's company and fought against the Sioux Indians in the Dakotas. Shortly afterwards he settled at Independence, Iowa, as a baker and he con- tinued successfully in business at that place until he retired. He was an . honest and industrious man who had numerous friends wherever he was known. He had two sons, John F., of this review, and Henry George. an adopted son. The latter is living north of West Union and J. F. is still living in Windsor township, Fayette county.
John F. Ungerer was three years old when his mother died and he was taken by Adam Reisner, living north of West Union, and he remained with him until he was twenty-one years of age, assisting with the work on the farm when he became of proper age and attending the district schools during the winter months. When he reached his majority he worked out at farm work for a period of two years.
On April 12, 1883, Mr. Ungerer married Lena Schlatter, for a full his- tory of whose family the reader is directed to the sketch of her father, Jacob Schlatter, appearing elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Ungerer settled on his present farm of eight acres in Windsor town- ship, having gone in debt for the same, but being a hard worker he soon had it paid for. The land was unimproved and the few buildings on the place were mere makeshifts; however, they have given way under the prosperity that has attended the efforts of Mr. Ungerer until comfortable and sub-
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stantial ones are now to be seen there. He later added another eighty acres, having paid twenty-five dollars per acre for both tracts, and he now has a fine farm and a good home, all due to his own unaided efforts along legitimate lines. About the place are to be seen fine groves of trees. Mr. Ungerer handles some high grade livestock from year to year. He milks twelve or thirteen cows, and he is a stockholder in the local creamery, having been a director in the same for three years.
Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ungerer, ten of whom are living, namely : Henry, living in Center township, married Anna Begalski ; Rena married William Fritz, living in Bethel township; Lizzie married Leonard Schlatter, of Bethel township; William and Mary are both living at home; Walter died when eleven years of age and Ida died in infancy; Sarah, Emma, Ella, Albert, Leroy and Freddie.
Politically, Mr. Ungerer is a Republican, and he was township trustee for a period of three years. He has been a delegate to the county convention and has long been influential in local politics. He is a member of the Hawk- eye Lutheran church.
LEMUEL DEAN TALCOTT.
From a sterling line of ancestry of the old Buckeye state comes Lemuel Dean Talcott, a well known citizen of Maynard, Fayette county, who was born in Lake county, Ohio, November 19, 1842, the son of Silas and Jane (Hammond) Talcott, the father a native of Lake county, Ohio, and the mother of Pennsylvania. Silas Talcott grew to maturity and was educated in his native community. In 1848 he went to Berrien county, Michigan, where he worked at the wagon and cabinetmakers' trade until 1855, then went to Delaware county, Iowa, and bought a farm, where the town of Greeley now stands. The land was all wild there and Mr. Talcott broke his farm with oxen, using six yoke to a huge plow, improving the place and making a comfortable home, where he lived until 1859. He was an honest, hard working man. He had left the farm and was living with his daughter in Maynard, Iowa, at the time of his death, in 1888. His widow is still living with a daughter in Maynard. Isaac Talcott took considerable interest in political affairs and he ably served as justice of the peace and postmaster. He was a Republican, and religiously he held membership with the Christian church. He and his wife were the parents of four children, named as follows : Linden, of Delphos, Kansas; Lemuel Dean, of this review; Harriett, wife of
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William Melven, of Maynard, Iowa; Henry, who was employed in the detec- tive department of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, was killed on the railroad in 1891.
Lemuel D. Talcott was educated in the common schools in Greeley, Iowa, and remained at home with his parents, working on the farm until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he showed his patriotism by enlisting in the Union army, on September 19, 1861, in Company F, First Missouri Engineering Corps, of the West, his enlistment taking place at Dubuque, Iowa. He was sent to St. Louis and to Vicksburg by steamboat for the pur- pose of building bridges. On July 4th of that year he was sent to Pittsburg Landing, later to Corinth, Mississippi, while in the Army of the West under Sherman and Grant, and he served very faithfully for three years. After the war he returned to Greeley, Iowa, where he remained for two years, then came to Fayette county, Iowa, and bought eighty acres of land in Harlan township, which he improved and managed in a very successful manner. later adding forty acres more to his holdings, the latter tract lying in the vicinity of Maynard, on which he lived until 1907, when he moved to May- nard and retired. He quit farming on his original eighty in 1895. He was very successful in his general operations as a farmer and is now enjoying the comforts of life as a result of his former years of activity.
Mr. Talcott was married on September 15, 1864, to Olive Perry, of Hampshire, Massachusetts, the daughter of Alden and Hannah (Young) Perry, the mother a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, and the father of Hampshire, that state. They grew to maturity there and were educated and married in their native state, and came to Greeley, Iowa, in 1859 and in that vicinity Mr. Perry bought wild land, which he improved and in 1861 he moved to Maynard, where he lived until his death, in 1874, his wife dying in 1894. Before coming West they maintained a hotel in Massachusetts. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their family consisted of three children : Marie married Hiram Mackey, of Fayette county ; Harri- son, who is now deceased, was in Company F, Twenty-seventh Iowa Volun- teer Infantry, in which he served for a period of three years; he married Delia Jewett and they lived in Maynard; Olivia, the youngest member of Mr. Perry's family, is the wife of Mr. Talcott, and to their union three children have been born, namely: Nora married William Brownell, living at Lemon, South Dakota, and they are the parents of eight children : Fred, Harold, Dean. Neil. Fern, Will, Richard and Patsy, the two latter are both deceased. Don H., the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Talcott, is a farmer in Harlan township ; he married Josephine Meddlestedt and they are the parents of three chil-
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dren, Francis and Frank (twins) and Ruby, deceased. Myrtle, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Talcott, married Oscar Gilley, of Black Hawk county, Iowa, and they have two children, Floyd and May.
Mr. Talcott has been both trustee and school director and long active in Republican politics. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Reynolds Post No. 47, and he has held all the offices of the same, always taking an abiding interest in its affairs. He belongs to Masonic Blue Lodge, No. 510, at Maynard, Iowa, and he and his wife are members of the Relief Corps, Mr. Talcott having been a member of the soldiers' relief committee for ten years. He is a man whom all highly respect and admire for his use- ful life.
GEORGE P. SCHATZ.
Iowa profited greatly by the German immigrants of the nineteenth century, the stream beginning to pour in before the Civil war and gradually filling the state with as fine an agricultural population as any country could boast. These sturdy, industrious and intelligent people did much in the way of developing Iowa and placing it in the front rank, as they are always pro- gressive and patriotic. They are found all over the state and Fayette county got her share. Among those who came to this section of the state before the war were representatives of the family name above given. Michael Schatz, who was born in north Germany, came to the United States about 1855 and immediately identified himself with Fayette county. He worked out for several years as a hand and then bought ninety-five acres in Fayette and Winneshiek counties. At first he contented himself with building a log cabin, in which he lived for seven years, and as prosperity favored him he put up a frame house, near a delightful spring, and this structure still stands. He made his home at this place until his retirement from business and meantime accumulated two hundred fifty-five acres of land in one body. His last days were spent in Windsor township with his son. He was an active member of the Lutheran church and helped to build the first church at Eldorado. He married Amra Mary Schlater, a native of south Germany, after his arrival in America, as both had come over single. Pretty much of his whole active life was spent in Dover township, north of Eldorado.
George P. Schatz, one of the four children of Michael, was born in Fayette county, Dover township, in 1860. He remained on the farm until the completion of his twenty-fourth year, meantime obtaining a fair education at
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the public schools. He purchased the southern part of his father's farm of one hundred seventy-four acres, besides ten acres of timber, and since then has greatly improved the place. Excellent buildings of all kinds now orna- ment this farm, which is kept in neat shape and good condition for tillage. He raises cattle and hogs extensively and does a fine business in the live- stock market. He is a man of influence in his section, ranking high as a farmer and man of strict integrity. At present he is trustee of the township and for twenty-six years has been treasurer of the school board. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Schatz affiliates with the Republican party.
In May, 1885, Schatz married Maggie Christena Winter, by whom he had eight children: John William, Alma Mary (deceased), Otto Ded- rick, Augustus George, Lena Christena, Zelma Katy, Lenda, Maggie Bertha and William Frederick. Dedrick Winter, father of Mrs. Schatz, was born in Hanover, Germany, during the second quarter of the last century and came to the United States in 1869. Previous to embarking he had married Anna Pape and she was the companion of his voyage to the New World. Mr. Win- ter made his way west and finally decided to find a location in Iowa, whose fame as an agricultural state had been spread far and wide. He settled in Winneshiek county and engaged in farming, which was his main pursuit all his life. The last two or three years of his life were spent in Fayette county, where he passed peacefully away in 1888.
THEODORE MIEHE.
Of a most excellent people came Theodore Miehe, a progressive young farmer of Smithfield township, Fayette county. He comes of a race that produced the famous "Iron Chancellor," the greatest statesman, all things considered, that ever walked this footstool. He comes of a race that is fa- mous for its original investigations in the problems of civilized life-such men as Goethe and Heckel. The Germanic blood is found in many of the greatest men and women of this and former epochs in the world's history, and Mr. Miehe may well be proud of his descent from such a race, he being of German parents but American born. His birth occurred in Dubuque county, Iowa, December 6, 1872, but he grew to maturity principally in Fayette county and received his education here. He is the son of Frederick and Sophia (Gerieker) Miehe, both born in Germany, the father on June 2. 1836, and the
MR. AND MRS. THEODORE MIEHE.
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mother in 1840. The father came to Dubuque county, Iowa, with his parents when eleven years old; the mother also accompanied her parents to that county when a young girl. In 1857 they were married and lived on a farm in Du- buque county until 1876, when they moved to Fayette county and located in Harlan township where Mr. Miehe bought a farm on which he has remained to the present time, having become very comfortably established here. The death of his wife occurred in 1887. They were the parents of fourteen chil- dren, of whom twelve are living, Theodore, of this review, being the eighth child in order of birth.
Theodore Miehe lived on the farm with his father until he was of age and attended the home schools. In 1894 he moved to Kossuth county, Iowa, where he bought a farm and lived until 1903, when he returned to Fayette county and located on a farm of four hundred and ninety acres in sections 8, 9 and 17, Smithfield township, having bought three hundred and twenty acres of this fine place the year previous. He has improved his land and brought it up to the standard of the excellent farms of Fayette county, and he has an attractive and substantial dwelling and good outbuildings-in fact, everything about his place shows that a gentleman of good taste and thrift has its man- agement in hand and that he is well fixed to enjoy life in the country, which, after all, is the most desirable.
Politically, Mr. Miehe is a Republican and he has held a number of the minor township offices. He is a member of the German Lutheran church.
On April 3, 1894, Mr. Miehe married Caroline Sundermeyer, who was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, December 29, 1870, she being also of excellent German parentage, the daughter of John and Johanna (Hemerant) Sunder- meyer, the father born in Hanover and the mother in Byron. They accom- panied their parents to America, he when about eleven years old, in 1848; he was born on September 8, 1837, and his death occurred on April 22, 1908; Mrs. Sundermeyer was born on August 19, 1838, and died March 28, 1908. They each located in Dubuque county, Iowa, where they were married and where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Mr. and Mrs. Miehe are the parents of four interesting children, named as follows : Roy A., born November 13, 1895 ; Johnnie F., born July 29, 1898; Vera C., born June 6, 1900; Walter E., born November 10, 1903; all are liv- ing at home.
Mr. Miehe's father gave him a one hundred and sixty-acre farm when he started out in life and he also received some from his wife's parents. That he has been so successful in his business affairs would indicate that he is a man
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of strong will and not afraid of work, and also that he is a man who is de- serving of a high rank in our citizenship.
A full sketch of Frederick Miehe, father of Theodore, appears on another page of this work.
PETER KRAFT.
The subject of this sketch, a successful merchant and farmer of Scott, Fowa, is a native of Nassau, Prussia, and inherits many of the sterling quali- ties of head and heart for which the Germanic nationality for centuries has been distinguished. His parents, Peter and Anna Marie (Kalb) Kraft, were born at the place above mentioned and there lived until immigrating to America, in 1862. They settled in Dubuque county, Iowa, where the father worked at the cooper's trade, which he had previously learned in the Father- land, and also devoted a portion of the ensuing eight years to agricultural pursuits. At the expiration of the period indicated, he moved to Fayette county and purchased one hundred sixty acres of land in section 22, Scott township, later securing an additional two hundred acres, mostly in its nat- ural state, which in due time he improved and converted into a good farm. Peter Kraft was a man of industrious habits, economical and thrifty and in the course of a few years he became one of the well-to-do farmers and enter- prising citizens of Scott township. He reared a family of four children, whose names are as follows: William, a farmer, of Scott township, and a thrifty tiller of the soil; Charley, a farmer, of Scott township; and Jacob, who lives on the old homestead and is one of the substantial agriculturists of his neighborhood.
Peter Kraft, whose birth occurred on January 4, 1852, received his preliminary education in the Lutheran schools of his native place and after coming to the United States attended for a while the public schools of Dubuque. He lived at home, assisting in the cultivation of the farm, until January, 1887, when he married Frederika Doerfler, and immediately pur- chasing two hundred forty acres of excellent land in sections 14 and 15. Scott township, which he still owns and which, devoted to general farming and stock raising, has proven the source of a generous share of the ample competency now in his possession. Soon after moving to his place, he started a creamery which he conducted with gratifying success for a period of eight years, when it was purchased by the Welch Brothers, who in turn sold it to a company composed of several neighboring farmers, by whom it is still ope- rated.
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In the year 1899 Mr. Kraft engaged in merchandising at Scott, where he is still at the head of a large general store and doing a very successful business. He served as postmaster of that town for several years, was also a member of the school board and from time to time has been elected to other positions of responsibility and trust, including the office of township clerk and treasurer of the school board, in all of which he demonstrated ability of a high honor and discharged the duties incumbent upon him to the satisfaction of all concerned. In politics he is a Democrat, and as such is highly esteemed by his political associates, being a judicious adviser in the councils of his party and an influential worker with the rank and file.
Mr. Kraft has been successful in all of his undertakings and is today one of the enterprising farmers and stock raisers of Fayette county, as well as an influential factor in commercial circles. He carries on general farming and keeps from ninety to one hundred head of fine Durham cattle, in the breeding and raising of which he has achieved much more than local repute. He also devotes considerable attention to high grade draft and driving horses and Poland-China hogs, besides raising a large number of chickens of the Plymouth Rock breed, his poultry comparing favorably with the best in his part of the state and proving quite profitable from a monetary point of view.
In his mercantile establishment at Scott Mr. Kraft carries full lines of dry goods, boots, shoes, groceries, agricultural implements and machinery- in fact, his stock, which is quite large, is general in character and includes everything in the way of merchandise for which there is any demand. His relations with his customers have always been mutually agreeable and it is to his faculty of winning and retaining warm friendships, as well as to his in- tegrity and strict sense of honor that he attributes much of the success with which his business career has been crowned. He is widely known throughout the county of Fayette, enjoys to a marked degree the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens and has so stamped the impress of his individuality upon his own community as a leader and trusted adviser among those with whom his lot has been cast.
Mrs. Kraft was born in the state of Wisconsin, and is a daughter of John Doerfler, who came to this country a number of years ago and was one of the early settlers of Clayton county, Iowa, where he spent the rest of his life as a prosperous tiller of the soil. To Mr. and Mrs. Kraft eight children have been born, namely: Lena, Willie, Bertha, Peter, Jr., Cecelia, Minnie, Laura and Matilda, all living and members of the home circle. Lena attended the business college at Oelwein, where she completed the prescribed course of study and is now an expert stenographer and typewriter. Bertha, a well edu-
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cated and accomplished young lady, who for some time past has been one of the county's efficient and popular teachers. The rest of the children received their educational training in the home schools and are fitting themselves for future usefulness in various fields of endeavor.
LOUIS F. MEISGEIER.
One would indeed be unappreciative if, upon passing the well improved and well kept farmstead of Louis F. Meisgeier, in Fairfield township, Fayette county, one should fail to be filled with admiration, for it has been the special care of its owner so long that it ranks with the best and most attractive farms in the community, and, consequently, something of the life work of such a man would be of interest to others. Mr. Meisgeier was born December 5, 1869, in this county, the son of Carl and Catherine ( Huepsch) Meisgeier, both natives of Germany, who came to America when about twelve years of age. They went to school in Germany, but were married in this country. In 1855 they came to Fayette county, Iowa, settling on a farm which the father made his home for the long period of fifty-four years, during which time be became widely known as an excellent agriculturist and stock man, especially as a breeder of Hereford cattle. He recently sold his homestead to his youngest daughter, Mrs. Krumpel, and he has erected a modern residence, good barn and other buildings on an eighty-acre farm which he owned in section 15. Fairfield township, and there he will make his future home. His first wife died on December 19, 1908, and he was married subsequently to Mrs. Louise Hetzel. He is a member of the Lutheran church. His family consisted of seven children, all of whom are living, namely: John H. ; Mary C., now Mrs. G. Martin ; Louis F. ; Emma M., now Mrs. George Eckhart ; Caroline M., now Mrs. C. Andrews ; Alma M., now Mrs. Fred Robbins; Johanna C., now Mrs. H. Krumpel.
Louis F. Meisgeier spent his early life on the home farm and assisted with the work about the place, attending the common schools in the winter months. On June 3. 1896, he led to the marriage altar Annie F. Martin, who was born May 13, 1875, the daughter of John and Margaret Martin, natives of Bavaria, Germany, who came to America in 1854 and located in St. Louis. They mar- ried after coming here, on May 12, 1855, and the following year came to Fay- ette county, Iowa. Mr. Martin was a carpenter and cabinetmaker by trade, and this he followed in connection with farming, having purchased a place
MRS. ANNIE MEISGEIER.
LOUIS F. MEISGEIER.
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upon coming to this county. His death occurred here on January 19, 1908; his widow, who survives and makes her home with her daughters, is now seventy-four years old. Their family consisted of eleven children, of whom Mrs. Meisgeier is the youngest. Her parents were always members of the Lutheran church.
Mr. and Mrs. Meisgeier began their married life near Taylorsville, his farm at first consisting of fifty acres, but he soon began to prosper and lay by enough to add thirty-one acres more. A few years later he sold this place and purchased his present splendid farm of one hundred and twenty acres and he has lived here ever since, having devoted his attention exclusively to gen- eral farming and stock raising. He keeps a good grade of stock and feeds for the market. Everyone is of the opinion that his is one of the choice farms of Fairfield township. He has made a success by diligence, close application and honorable dealing with his fellow men ; he is progressive, generous, neigh- borly and makes friends easily. For the past eight years he has been secre- tary of the school board, of which he is an interested and active member. Politically, he is a Republican and takes more than a passing interest in the campaigns.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meisgeier, namely: Rupert, born April 14, 1898; Donald, born October 7, 1901 ; and Arneldo, born December 12, 1903. They attend school at Taylorsville.
Mrs. Meisgeier's parents resided in Windsor township and were farm- ers. Her father was a soldier in the Bavarian army. He and his wife were among the founders of the Lutheran church in Windsor township, a fact in which the whole family takes great pride. September 5, 1910, was the fiftieth anniversary of the church. Mrs. Martin and one other lady and an old gentleman were the only charter members yet alive. It was a day of great rejoicing for these venerable people, as, surrounded by their children, they were permitted to attend this jubilee.
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