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Allamakee County >> 1913 Index Past and Present of Allamakee County Iowa M Unless otherwise specified, these biographies are submitted by Dick Barton. Carl
William Meier is one of the enterprising merchants of Postville,
where he is conducting a large dry-goods store, and this and his other
business interests combine to make him a leading and enterprising
citizen of the community, his alert and progressive spirit enabling him
to carry forward to successful completion
whatever he undertakes.
He
was born in Clayton county, May 14, 1850, and is a son of Christian J.
and Elizabeth (Runger) Meier, natives of Germany, the former born in
Prussia, May 13, 1825, and the latter in the province of Hanover,
January 7, 1827.
In early life the father turned his attention to
farming.
On coming to America he located in Ohio, near Portsmouth, in
1845 and engaged in digging iron ore until he came to Iowa.
He met with
an accident while chopping wood, injuring his ankle and becoming
incapacitated for heavy physical labor.
He was therefore compelled to
learn a trade and engaged in shoemaking for a time.
It was in 1849 that
he came to Clayton county, Iowa, and purchased land, but he lived upon
the farm only a short time, returning then to Ohio.
In April, 1850, he
again took up his residence in this state and continued to reside on his
first farm until January, 1866, when he bought another place, living
thereon until he retired from active life in 1884.
He spent his last
days in Postville, where his death occurred in September, 1911.
He had
survived his wife since 1906.
They were parents of nine children, of
whom the subject of this review is the oldest.
Carl
W. Meier attended school in Farmersburg township, Clayton county,
and supplemented this by one term at National.
He remained at home
until 1873 and then purchased a farm, engaging in agricultural pursuits
upon that property until 1883, when he removed to Allamakee county,
locating on an excellent tract of land in Post township.
In 1892 he
rented his farm and removed to Postville, where he engaged in the
furniture business for two years, selling out in the fall of 1895 and
conducting a similar establishment in Farmersburg for about one year.
Turning his business over to his son at the end of that time, he
returned to his farm in Post township but in 1902 again located in
Farmersburg, where he conducted a large and important general
merchandise store until 1908, when he disposed of his interests and came
again to Postville.
Here he purchased the remnants of a general stock
of merchandise and he has since added to his store and enlarged his
stock, carrying now a full and complete line of goods, his enterprise
being one of the largest and best managed in the city.
Mr.
Meier was married, September 8, 1871, to Miss Louisa Hedeman, a
native of southern Illinois, born February 29, 1852.
She is a daughter
of Frederick and Helena (Breuner) Hedeman, natives of Oldenburg,
Germany.
The father crossed the Atlantic in the elate '30s but after a
few years returned to Germany, making his second crossing with his wife
about 1843.
For ten years thereafter they lived upon a farm in southern
Illinois but in 1853 came to Garnavillo township, Clayton county, Iowa,
where the father became an extensive landowner and a prosperous farmer,
giving all his attention to agricultural pursuits until his death, which
occurred about 1893 or 1984.
His wife survived him two years, her death
also occurring upon the homestead.
They had six children, of whom the
wife of the subject of this review is the fourth in the order of birth.
Mr. and Mrs. Meier became the parents of six children:
Louisa, the wife
of F. L. Eaton, proprietor of a restaurant and cafe in Spencer;
Christian, ex-county treasurer of Clayton county and now a prosperous
farmer in Montana;
Amanda, the wife of Alonzo Phillips, clerking in the
store of our subject;
George J. and Irene M., who reside at home; and
Wilbur, deceased.
Mr.
Meier gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has
held various important local offices, serving as trustee of Post
township for three terms and for a number of years as constable.
He
belongs to the Masonic order at Farmersburg and is connected also with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
All of his life has been spent in
Iowa and although his career offers no spectacular chapters, he yet
belongs to that class of substantial and representative citizens who
constitute the real strength of any community by reason of their
business activity, their loyalty in citizenship and the honor and
integrity of their private lives.
Charles
H. Meier has, ever since old enough, been prominently connected
with agricultural pursuits and now owns five hundred and fifty-five
acres near Postville, which he mostly rents out, although he still
retains eighty acres for himself, devoted to hay and pasture.
Ever
progressive and enterprising, he has become one of the most substantial
men of his section and is also largely connected with other enterprises,
especially along financial lines.
A son of H. William and Minnie
(Koster) Meier, he was born in Garnavillo township, Clayton county,
Iowa, on February 12, 1862.
The father was born in Prussia, March 20,
1836, and the mother in Hanover, Germany, in 1844.
She passed away in
1901 at the age of about fifty-seven years.
At the age of sixteen the
father crossed the ocean to America.
During his active life he followed
agricultural pursuits, working in the employ of others around Postville
for a time, but later he removed to Minnesota and subsequently, having
by thrift and industry, acquired the means, bought a farm in Clayton
county, Iowa, where he has since resided, now living retired.
Charles
H. Meier is the oldest of his seven children, there being twenty-six
years between his birth and that of the youngest child in the family and
there also is a difference of twenty-six years between his and his
father's age.
In
the acquirement of his education Charles H. Meier attended school in
Garnavillo township, Clayton county.
He early assisted his father with
the work of the farm and learned methods and details under his able
guidance.
He worked on the home farm until twenty-two years of age,
when he rented his father's land for one year and then bought a farm
belonging to him in Post township, Allamakee county.
On that farm
Charles H. Meier remained until 1903, when he bought eighty acres one
and a half miles from Postville and removed to that place.
That success
has attended his labors is evident from the fact that he now owns five
hundred and fifty-five acres of highly improved land in Post township.
He operates eighty acres himself, while he rents out the rest
of his
holdings, receiving a gratifying income from this source.
He has
extended his interests to other lines and is a stockholder in various
banks in Postville and other places as well as a director in the
creamery and the Farmers Cooperative Store.
On
September 16, 1884, Mr. Meier was united in marriage to Miss Amelia
Splies, a native of Garnavillo township, Clayton county, where she
attended the same school as her husband.
She is a daughter of Jacob and
Christina (Brooker) Splies, the father a native of Switzerland and the
mother of Ohio.
Mr. Splies, who was a farmer by occupation, located in
Garnavillo township, Clayton county, where both he and his wife passed
away.
In their family were six children, of whom Mr. Meier is the fifth
in order of birth.
Mr. and Mrs. Meier have three children:
Vina
Hermina, born October 23, 1886, at home;
Lester, born July 1, 1890, who
died December 17, 1906;
and Orma, born June 28, 1892, who resides with
her parents and teaches in the district schools of Post township.
It
is but natural that a man of the energy and activity of Mr. Meier
should take part in the public affairs of his district and he has served
efficiently as trustee of Post township and also in the capacity of road
superintendent.
He gives his allegiance to the republican party, ever
upholding its principles and supporting its candidates at the polls.
His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, in which he holds
membership at Postville.
A successful man in every sense of the word,
Mr. Meier has not only attained prosperity, but has made many friends in
his locality by reason of his high qualities of mind and character,
which gain for him the respect and confidence of all who know him.
Crossing
the Atlantic from Germany in 1885, Frank C. Mielke came
directly to Iowa and here has attained to a prosperity which entitles
him to be numbered with the well-to-do agriculturists of Allamakee
county.
He owns a stock farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Linton
township and for nearly two decades has given his time and attention to
the improvement of this property.
He was born in Pomerania, Germany, on
December 19, 1853, and is a son of August and Caroline (Christopher)
Mielke, both natives of the sane province.
The parents never came to
America, the father passing away in 1870, in Germany where the mother
still makes her home.
Frank
C. Mielke attended school in his native country and when twenty
years of age entered the army and served for three years as a bugler.
Laying aside his uniform, he then worked for two years for his mother
and also for others until he came to America in 1885 in order to profit
by the opportunities which he had heard were waiting for all who came
here ready to work determinedly and persistently.
He came directly to
Iowa and to this county, where for a few years he made his living in the
employment of others and then rented a farm in Clayton county, which he operated
for three years.
His dreams came nearer to realization when he
was enabled at the end of that time to buy his present farm, which
comprises one hundred and sixty acres of fertile land.
It is largely
devoted to stock-raising and as the years have passed Mr. Mielke has
made it a valuable property.
He is a stockholder in the Monona
Cooperative Creamery and also belongs to the Shipping Association.
In
October, 1880, when still in the fatherland, Mr. Mielke married Miss
Matilda Czech, also a native of Pomerania, born March 10, 1854, whose
parents spent their entire lives in Germany.
Mr. and Mrs. Mielke became
the parents of nine children: Charles, who resides near Sixteen, Linton
township, and engages in agricultural pursuits; Otto, born July 2, 1882,
who farms near Volney, this state; Paul, born March 1, 1884, at home;
Fred, the first to be born in this country, his date of birth being
March 22, 1886, at home; Emma, born March 5, 1888, who married Paul
Levenhagen, a farmer of Fairview township; Leo, born September 20, 1889,
at home; Frank, whose birth occurred February 6, 1892, also at home;
Anna, who was born May 9, 1895, and married Frank Hertramps, who follows
agricultural pursuits in Linton township; and Lena, born October 9,
1898, at home.
Mrs. Mielke, the wife and mother, passed away on May 16,
1905, deeply mourned by her family and a large circle of devoted
friends.
Mr.
Mielke is a member of the Lutheran church and reared his family in
that faith.
Politically he is not a party man, preferring to vote
independently, following his own judgment in supporting candidates.
Although Mr. Mielke had to begin under disadvantages, including his
inability to understand English, he has become a prominent and
substantial citizen of this section of Allamakee county and today stands
high in the regard and esteem of all who know him.
H.
O. Moe, who died upon his farm in Paint Creek township on the 5th of
January, 1903, after many years of active connection with agricultural
interests of this vicinity, was born in Norway, September 4, 1852, and
spent his early life in his native country.
He emigrated to America
when he was seventeen years of age and came immediately to Allamakee
county, Iowa.
On his arrival here he had only eight cents and his first
employment was on the railroad but he later obtained work as a farm
laborer.
By the exercise of economy and frugality he gradually
accumulated enough money to purchase land and he bought one hundred and
sixty acres on section 12, Paint Creek township.
With characteristic
energy he set about improving and developing this property and in the
course of time his well directed labors were rewarded by success, the
farm becoming a productive and valuable property.
For many years Mr.
Moe continued to develop his land, and his death, which occurred January
5, 1903, brought to a close a career of genuine usefulness and one which
had an important effect upon the agricultural advancement of this
county.
Mr.
Moe married Miss Sophia Larson, who was born in Allamakee county, a
daughter of Ole Larson.
Mr. and Mrs. Moe became the parents of six
children,
Oscar Arnold,
Simon Herbert,
Clemons Elias,
Olvin Julius,
Alice and Hattie, all of whom live at home.
Mrs. Moe survives her
husband and she and her sons operate the homestead.
They are well known
throughout Paint Creek township, where they have long resided, and they
hold the respect and esteem of all who come in contact with them.
O.
H. Monserud, a prosperous and progressive farmer of Taylor township,
owning in association with his wife three hundred and sixty acres of
fine land on sections 7 and 8, was born here June 6, 1854, his parents
being Ole and Sophia Hanson, natives of Norway.
They came to America in
1851 and settled as pioneers in Allamakee county, where the father died
in August, 1854.
The mother afterward married Peter O. Monserud and the
subject of this review took his stepfather's name.
O.
H. Monserud was educated in the district schools of Taylor township
and in Decorah College, and after laying aside his books he clerked for
four years in a store operated by Nielander & Company and others at
Lansing.
Afterward he turned his attention to farming, buying one
hundred and thirty acres of land from his father-in-law, Nils Bottolson.
To this he has since added some of his wife's property and they own
together three hundred and sixty acres of choice land on sections 7 and
8, Taylor township.
This tract is well improved, provided with a
beautiful brick residence, barns and outbuildings and the necessary
labor-saving machinery.
Mr. Monserud also owns one hundred and sixty
acres in South Dakota and gives practically all of his time and
attention to his agricultural pursuits, winning that success which
always follows earnest and persistent labor.
In
1876 Mr. Monserud was united in marriage to Miss Mather Bottolson and
they have become the parents of seven children:
Nils Oliver, who is
president of the bank at Humboldt, South Dakota, and a member of the
state highway commission of South Dakota;
Minnie, the deceased wife of
J. M. Boardman;
Joseph, who has passed away;
Alfred M., who is married
and lives in Chicago, where he is a fireman on the Chicago & Alton
Railroad;
Martha C.,
Walter H.,
and William, who live at home.
Some
time after the death of Mr. Bottolson Mr. and Mrs. Monserud moved from
their home to that of Mrs. Monserud's widowed mother and here they now
reside.
Mr.
Monserud gives his political allegiance to the republican party and
is interested in the cause of education, having been for thirty-two
years a member of the school board.
He was postmaster at Eldergson for
seven years, an officer in the Scandinavian Mutual Insurance Company for
thirty-five years, and for ten years president of the Farmers
Cooperative Creamery at Waterville, Iowa.
He and his wife are members
of the Lutheran church and are people of exemplary character, commanding
and holding the respect and confidence of their neighbors and friends,
among whom they have resided for many years.
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