USA > Iowa > Clinton County > Wolfe's history of Clinton County, Iowa, Volume 1 > Part 65
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WILLIAM OTTO LANGBEHN.
One of the substantial and thrifty citizens of the vicinity of De Witt, Clinton county, is William Otto Langbehn. He has persevered in the pursuit of a persistent purpose and gained a satisfactory reward. His life is exemp- lary in many respects, and he has ever supported those interests which have for their object the welfare of the community and the benefit of his neighbors and friends.
Like many of the honored citizens of this county, Mr. Langbehn is a native of Germany, having first seen the light of day in the fatherland on September 19, 1864. He is the son of Henry and Marie Langbehn, both
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM O. LANGBEHN
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born in Germany, where they were reared, educated and married and from which country they came to America in 1881 and settled in Orange township, Clinton county, Iowa, on one hundred and sixty acres. The father established a good home here, and he spent the latter part of his life in retirement, living in his comfortable home in Grand Mound. His death occurred in 1907, at the age of sixty-nine years, and his widow still lives in Grand Mound, at the age of fifty-eight years. They were the parents of two children, William Otto, of this review, and Charley.
William O. Langbehn was reared in Germany and attended school there, being seventeen years old when he accompanied his parents to Clinton county, Iowa. He grew up on the farm here and has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and stock raising. He has placed excellent improvements on his farm and has a good home. In politics he is a Democrat. Fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Daughters of Rebekah. He takes an abiding interest in local affairs and is now trustee of Orange township, a position which he very ably fills. He and his family are members of the German Lutheran church ; his parents were also always identified with the Lutheran church. Mr. Lang- behn was married on March 5, 1890, to Agnes Langbehn, who was born in Clinton county, Iowa, the daughter of William H. Langbehn, an early settler of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Langbehn five children have been born, named as follows : Bertha, Otto, Rosa and Adolph, all living.
FRANK O. KERSHNER, M. D.
Frank O. Kershner attended the Baldwin (Kansas) high school; the Baker University preparatory department ; and graduated from Kansas Uni- versity in 1902, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He took one year of medicine at the University of Kansas ; he completed his course in medicine and graduated, with honors, from Northwestern University in 1905 ; after gradua- tion from the medical department at Northwestern University, Doctor Kersh- ner devoted the next two years of his life to hospital work at Wesley Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. In 1910 he went to Vienna, Austria, and took special courses in graduate work, especially in medical and surgical diagnosos.
Dr. Frank O. Kershner has been located in Clinton, Iowa, since October, 1907, and he is prominently identified with the local hospitals and medical organizations. Doctor Kershner is a member of the surgical staff at Mercy
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Hospital and Agathe Hospital, the two Clinton hospitals; he is vice-president of the Clinton County Medical Society ; is a member of the Iowa State Society, the District Society, and of the American Medical Association. In his fra- ternal relations he is a Mason. a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fra- ternity and of the Nu Sigma Nu medical fraternity. Doctor Kershner takes an active interest in everything that stands for Clinton's welfare, and is a member of several local organizations of prominence. He is unmarried, and is a member of the Methodist church and one of its official board.
Doctor Kershner is a deep student and a man who intensely applies his strong natural faculties. He is a man of high personal character and one who possesses the esteem of those who know him. He is an able man and has exceptional future prospects.
JULIUS KLAHN.
The present review is concerned with the life and deeds of one who stands high among the representative farmers of his township, a man who is descended from worthy men and women of the stanch German stock, which has been tried and proved in this country so many times and has always shown up with qualities of blood which are not the possession of the descen- dants of any other race. And he himself is such a man that the luster of the race will not be diminished by his life, but rather brightened.
Julius Klahn was born in Liberty township. Clinton county, Iowa, on July 24, 1880, the son of Henry and Anna Dorothy (Groth) Klahn, both natives of Holstein, Germany. Henry Klahn was born in Grossenaspe, Holstein, in 1844, the son of John and Anna (Lahann) Klahn. John Klahn died in Germany in 1855, and Henry, with his mother and one sister, came to America in 1856 and settled on what afterwards became the site of Wheat- land, in Spring Rock township, Clinton county, Iowa. Mr. Klahn has fol- lowed farming since, until the approach of age he retired to Wheatland in 1892, and is now the owner of four hundred and forty acres of land, all of which he himself improved. He was married in 1870 to Anna Groth, born at Heid, Holstein, in 1849, who came, to America in 1869 and located near Wheatland. Four children have been born to this marriage, Lesitta. Otto, Julius and Hattie. In Germany Mr. Klahn was a member of the Lutheran church. Politically he is a firm adherent of the Democratic party, and was elected by them as trustee of Liberty township. which position he filled with
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great satisfaction to the residents of the community. At present living in retirement, he possesses the respect of all who know him, and is in his peace- ful old age reaping the reward of his well spent life.
Julius Klahn attended the schools of Wheatland, and began farming at the age of eighteen, and has since followed that occupation. He is now operating one hundred and sixty acres. In February, 1904, he was married to Bertha Muhl, a native of Liberty township, the daughter of Herman and Mathilda ( Armiss) Muhl.
Herman Muhl is a son of John D. Muhl, who was born in Germany in 1832, a son of Powell and Margaret Elizabeth (Slahr) Muhl. His father died in Germany. John D. was married in 1860 to Wiebke Sievers, and in 1869 came with his mother, wife and family to America and settled on a farm in Clinton county, near Wheatland. At first he rented, but by thrift man- aged to save, invested his accumulations in land, and later owned four hun- dred and forty acres. He is the father of seven children, six of whom are living. In religion he is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. No man is held in higher esteem about Wheatland than is Mr. Muhl.
Mr. and Mrs. Julius Klahn are the parents of one child, Vera Lillian. Mr. Klahn is a Democrat, and is just entering upon his first term as justice of the peace in Liberty township. Though young, he has been successful, and has made a splendid start in life.
FRANK WITTE.
At this point we enter brief record concerning another of the representa- tive citizens of Clinton county, and aside from the position which the subject occupies as a leading and highly esteemed citizen of the community, there is added interest attached to the resume of his career from the fact that he came here early in life and has seen the wonderful advancement of this section, having located here as one of the advance guard of progress and material ad- vancement, and while he has benefited himself in a material way he has been of much value to the surrounding country owing to his public spirit and his loyalty to the support of any movements which have as their ultimate aim the bettering of the community in which he maintains his home.
Frank Witte was born in the state of Indiana in 1852. His father and immediate family are given proper notice under the sketch of Fred Witte, in another part of this work.
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Frank Witte came to Clinton county, Iowa, when young and .here he grew to maturity and has resided here continuously to the present time. He was educated in the local public schools and grew up on the farm where he began working when a mere lad. At the age of twenty-eight he began farm- ing for himself in this county, and he continued to till the soil with satisfac- tory results until 1888, when he moved to Wheatland. He started with one hundred and twenty acres and he prospered as the years went by until he be- came well fixed. Since the date mentioned above he has resided in town and has dealt extensively in live stock and has become widely known as a stock man. He has cried sales for the past twelve years and is a very successful auctioneer.
Mr. Witte has long taken much interest in local affairs, and for the past twenty years he has very ably and successfully filled the office of constable of his township, and he is still in office. Politically he is a Democrat, and has alwas been active in the ranks. He is a member of the Reformed church.
In 1880 Mr. Witte married Carolina Siegmund, daughter of a highly respected family, and this union has resulted in the birth of the following children : Robert, living at Wheatland; Augusta, Mrs. Twatchmann, and Harry.
CHRIST SOENKSEN.
The Germans everywhere show racial qualities which place them at the front. Patience, perseverance and thrift seem to be the traits which have most to do with their advancement. The German is not like many of our present day Americans, and like some of the more excitable European races, determined to have results at once. He is willing to lay plans, then to wait until results come, and the larger and more difficult undertakings usually re- quire most time and patience, so at these the German excels. But he does not lay his plans and wait idly ; he perseveres in performance of his part, and, by thrift, economy and attention to small things, he prevents expenses from using up his means.
Christ Soenksen was born in Germany in 1860, the son of Broder and Anna ( Jensen) Soenksen. His parents came to America in 1872, and settled in the neighborhood where their son now resides. His father, who owned forty acres of land and was a sturdy and hard working man, farmed until his death. They were Lutherans.
Christ Soenksen was one of five children. He received part of his edu-
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cation in Germany, the rest in the American public schools. He began to farm while young and in 1886 bought sixty acres, near Charlotte, Iowa. Shortly afterward he bought eighty acres where he now lives, and now has one hundred and ninety-five acres in one farm, on which he has erected good buildings. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Oklahoma. His farming operations are general in character and consist in the raising of the crops which experience has shown to be best adapted to the soil of this sec- tion, and in cattle raising, and in this latter line his herds of Shorthorns cannot be excelled in the county.
In February, 1884, Mr. Soenksen was married to Bertha Hoffmann, who has borne to him the following children : Andrew, who is living on his father's Oklahoma farm; Melinda, Emma, Carl, Edwin, Ernest, at home. Mrs. Hoff- mann is a daughter of Peter and Martha (Paulson) Hoffmann, both born in Schleswig, Germany. They came to America in 1873 and settled in Clinton county, near Charlotte, where they owned a small place. Mr. Hoffmann died in 1901 and his wife makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Soenksen.
Mr. Soenksen is a member of the Lutheran church. In politics he is a Republican and has been elected school director. He is a very able and suc- cessful farmer and has won his present prosperity by his own exertions, and is a strong example of the successful German citizen. He has the confidence and respect of his neighbors.
M. F. CARLIN.
It is well once in a while to stop and think how absolutely all humanity is dependent on the farmer. All its food supply must come from the farm; it can come from no other place, for all animal life must live on organic mat- ter and no chemist has as yet been able to originate life, nor even to combine the elements in such a manner as to make a food which will sustain life. That is reserved for living plants and animals to do, and on the farmer, whose duty it is to take care of these plants and animals in such a way that they may be- come fit for food, we are all dependent.
M. F. Carlin was born in Scott county, Iowa, near Davenport, in 1854. a son of William and Jane (Dockarty) Carlin, natives of Ireland who came to this country and to Davenport in 1846. There William Carlin entered one hundred and twenty acres of land and farmed there until his death, not re- moving from his first location. He made many improvements on the place,
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and died April 18, 1874. His family consisted of four sons and two daugh- ters and he and all the family clung to their Catholic religion. In character he was a unassuming man, not caring much for excitement, and he passed a quiet life, leaving behind the memory of a lovable character.
M. F. Carlin received his education in Scott county, and began young to farm, at which he has since continued. In 1892 he came to Clinton county and for eleven years rented the farm on which he now lives, then bought it. It consists of two hundred thirteen acres, of a high degree of fertility and supplied with good buildings, which he has erected. While his farming is general, he gives special attention to the raising of grade Durham cattle and believes that to be the best and most paying method of farming in this locality. Mrs. Carlin raises Plymouth Rock chickens and ducks on a large scale and finds it highly profitable.
Mr. Carlin was married in 1886 to Mary O'Brien, who was born in Mus- catine county, near Stalkton, Iowa, a daughter of Michael and Anna (Mc- Guire) O'Brien. Michael O'Brien came from Ireland in 1848, and located at Syracuse. New York, and was there married, his wife being also a native of Ireland. Two years after his marriage he came to Davenport, Iowa. He had been a shoemaker, but after coming to Iowa he farmed and later bought eighty acres in Muscatine county.
Mr. and Mrs. Carlin are the parents of the following children : Frank, born in 1887; Sylvia, in 1889; Al in 1891; Charles, in 1893; Gertrude, in 1895, and Anna, in 1897. The entire family are Catholics. Mr. Carlin is a Republican.
Mr. Carlin has found farming profitable to him in a marked extent. He is well liked by his neighbors and much esteemed in the community.
WILLIAM E. YOUNG.
Among the highly honored and well remembered residents of Clinton. Iowa. of a past generation, was William E. Young, whose successful and praiseworthy career has been brought to a close, but whose influence still per- vades the lives of those who knew him best. for he was a man who delighted in doing good to others and assisting his neighbors and friends to succeed while laboring for his own advancement. He became well and most favorably known throughout the county and is eminently deserving of conspicuous men- tion in the history of this locality.
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William E. Young was a native of the old Empire state, from whence came so many of the sterling citizens to the new commonwealth of the West. His birth occurred in Syracuse, New York, November 16, 1844, and when he was eleven years of age he was brought to the West by his father, Joseph Crassett Young, now deceased, long one of Clinton county's prominent citi- zens. a full sketch of whom appears on another page of this work.
The Young family has figured conspicuously in the affairs of Clinton county from the year they first settled here, 1835. to the present time, always ready to do their full duty as citizens and they justly earned the rewards that always come to the diligent and worthy.
William E. Young received such education as he could in the schools of his time and in 1855 he located in Clinton, Iowa, with his father, whose grocery store he entered as a clerk upon reaching manhood, and soon became familiar with the business, his courtesy and energy doing much to build up a large trade with the town and surrounding country. Later he became associ- ated with the late Amos G. Ewing and they successfuly conducted a grocery store on Second street. In the year 1879 Mr. Young entered the employ of C. Lamb & Sons, and was identified with the firm in a responsible capacity until his death. He was a man of large business interests and was a sup- porter of his home city, though his disposition was quiet and reserved and he did not take a prominent part in political or municipal affairs. He was one of those stanch and sterling citizens who was of inestimable value to the com- munity. He made friends easily, and thus in his long residence in Clinton came to be known as one of her most influential citizens. He had been in failing health for some time prior to his death, but he bore his sufferings manfully and was never heard to complain.
Mr. Young was a member of the Masonic order. blue lodge, chapter and commandery, and of the Clinton lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He was a member of the Wapsi- pinicon club. In all of these he was active and prominent.
On December 25, 1869, William E. Young was married to Emma E. Lamb, daughter of C. Lamb, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Young survives, and she is a favorite with a host of warm friends and ac- quaintances owing to her many commendable attributes. She is the mother of one child, a daughter, Grace, born December 29, 1872, who received a good education and has long been popular in the best social circles. She mar- ried M. B. Poole, a well known citizen here, whose death occurred in April, 1907.
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BISMARK C. HORSTMANN.
Among the leading business men of Liberty township, Clinton county, is B. C. Horstmann, who is widely known as a grain dealer, having for a number of years maintained a large elevator at Toronto, and the fact that his dealings have ever been honest and straightforward among his fellow men has resulted in winning and retaining their confidence, so that his prestige as an industrious and honorable man of affairs has been worthily attained and is widespread.
Mr. Horstmann is a native of Liberty township, Clinton county, Iowa, having spent his life here at home, believing that as good, if not better, oppor- tunities were to be found right at his door than in any other locality. His birth occurred on June 12, 1872, and he is the son of Henry and Emma (Petersen) Horstmann, both born in Germany, the father on October 11, 1830, and the mother on October 25, 1838. There they spent their youth and were educated in the common schools. The father emigrated to America in 1856, locating in Scott county, Iowa. The mother had preceded him to Scott county in 1855, having made the trip with her parents, Adolph and Augusta (Stockfled) Petersen, and in 1867 they came on to Liberty township. Clinton county. Her father finally emigrated to California, where he spent the rest of his days, dying at the advanced age of ninety-six years. The parents of the subject were married in Scott county, Iowa, in 1859 and they came to Liberty township, Clinton county. in 1865, locating on eighty acres, where the father prospered by reason of hard work and good management and he added to his original purchase until he became the owner of three hundred acres of land, establishing an excellent home, and he is now living retired. He is a man of influence in his community, his reputation being above reproach. His family consisted of two children, Pauline, now deceased, and Bismark C., of this review. In politics the father is a Democrat, and he has been very active in the affairs of his party. He has been trustee of Liberty township and has been representative from this district in the sixteenth and twenty-fourth Gen- eral Assemblies, during which he made his influence felt for the good of his constituents, winning their hearty approval and proving himself to be well posted on current affairs and a man of ability. He and his family are liberal in their religious views.
The son, Bismark C., of this review, was reared on a farm and when but a lad knew the meaning of daily toil in the fields, and he was educated in the public schools and in the Duncan Business College at Davenport. He turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed successfully
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until 1909, when he sold out and moved to Toronto, this township, in 1910, and launched out in the grain business, in which he has met with signal suc- cess, by reason of his judicious business methods and his persistent application. He is the owner of the elevator at Toronto and for the past five years he has devoted his attention for the most part to the grain business. He is a stock- holder in the Farmers' Savings Bank at Wheatland. Politically, he is a Democrat and he has been township clerk for four years, was appointed assessor in 1909, and he took the census for Liberty township in 1910.
Mr. Horstmann was married on March 4, 1895, to Erna Schmidt. a native of Davenport, Iowa, having been born there on February 19, 1873. Her parents, P. D. and Margaret (Peters) Schmidt, were born in Germany, having come to Scott county, Iowa, in 1868 and to Clinton county in 1887. The mother's death occurred in Berlin township, this county, in 1894 and the father is now living retired in that township. To Mr. and Mrs. Horstmann three children have been born, .Adolph. Harold and Cora. Fraternally, Mr. Horstmann belongs to the Modern Brotherhood of America, while politically, he is a Democrat.
FRED WITTE.
The name of Fred Witte, of Wheatland. Clinton county, has long been associated with progress in this locality and among those in whose midst he has labored to such goodly ends he is held in the highest esteem by reason of an upright life of fidelity to principles. He was born in Cedar county, Iowa, three miles west of Wheatland. in 1858, and is the son of Frederick and Louise (Sealing) Witte, both born in Germany, from which country they came to America in 1852 and located in Indiana, and in 1856 they moved to the place whereon their son Fred was born. They bought a farm about six months later, in 1860, Spring Rock township. Clinton county. The father was a man of thrift and he accumulated in all three hundred and twenty acres. Taking the land when it was raw, he developed it into an excellent farm. He spent his last days in Wheatland with his son, Fred, and here his wife also died. They were the parents of five sons and two daughters, one son and one daughter being deceased. The oldest son, Henry, served in the Civil war as a member of Company H. Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and he was in the famous march of Sherman to the sea. The parents of these children were members of the Lutheran church.
Fred Witte was educated in the common schools at Wheatland. Early
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in life he turned his attention to farming and has since been interested in this line of endeavor. He now owns the homestead, consisting of one hundred and eighty-seven acres lying near Wheatland; he also owns fifty-two acres and two and one-half acres where he resides. He lived on the home place from the time he was six months of age until 1900, when he came to Wheatland. He has been an extensive stock buyer for the past twenty-five years and for a period of twenty-two years has been an auctioneer and is well known in both lines, being very successful.
Mr. Witte was married in 1883 to Alvina Martins, one of the first chil- dren born in Wheatland. She is the daughter of John and Emma (Buck) Martins, early settlers of this county, having come here from Germany, the mother having come here with her parents and located first at Davenport, being among the first settlers there. Members of this family shot wild turkey where the town of Moline now stands. Later, in the fifties, the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Witte moved to Lost Nation, Clinton county, where they died. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Witte died in Germany. The father of Mrs. Witte was twenty-two years of age when he came to America in 1853. He was an early settler of Wheatland, having come here about 1856. He was a liveryman and farmer by occupation in 1872.
To Mr. and Mrs. Fred Witte these children were born : Emil, who lives on a farm; Edward is in the bank at Wheatland: Herman, on the Northwest- ern railroad, and John, at home.
Mr. Witte and family are members of the Reformed church, and politi- cally Mr. Witte is a Democrat. He has been school director and road boss, township trustee and township assessor and for two years was justice of the peace, all in Spring Rock township, this county.
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