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The
History of Lee County Franklin Township Graham, Arthur, retired farmer and chairmaker; P.O. Franklin Centre; born Sept 10, 1811, in Cumberland Co., England; in the spring of 1836, he emigrated to the United States, locating at Bellefonte, in Centre Co., Penn.; followed his trade, chairmaking, till the spring of 1839; he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and stopped but a short time; then came to Lee Co., Iowa, purchased the claims for three quarter sections of land in Charleston and Jefferson Tps., and returned to Cincinnati, and followed his trade till the summer of 1842; returned to Iowa and secured only one quarter-section of the land he purchased, two of the quarters being taken by the Government for school purposes; remained upon his farm till the fall of 1867; then sold out and moved to Keokuk, where he remained till the fall of 1869, when he moved to Franklin, where he now resides. Mr. G. married Miss Sarah Bainbridge in England, June 4, 1836; she was born March 10, 1811; have no children; have lost two - Jane and William B. Mr. G. has filled several offices of trust in his township; was also Mayor of Franklin Centre; is a member of Wesleyan Methodist Church; Republican. Kirchner, Philipp, farmer, Section 29; P.O. Donnellson; owns 117 1/2 acres of land, valued at $40 per acre; was born Jan. 11, 1820, in Bavaria, Germany; in the fall of 1849, he emigrated to the United States, stopping in New York City about three months, then to New Jersey for two months; returned to New York State for a short time, thence to Cleveland, Ohio; in the spring of 1851 and the following summer, he worked on a farm in the country; next fall, came back to Cleveland, thence to St. Louis, Mo., visited friends, and went into Madison Co. Ill.; in the spring of 1852, he returned to St. Louis; in the fall following, he returned to Germany. In the spring of 1854, he returned to Cleveland, Ohio, and married there Elizabeth Schmidt May 31, 1854; she was born June 23, 1833, in Germany; remained in Cleveland till the spring of 1855, hen came to Lee Co., Iowa, and stopped at Fort Madison; in the spring of 1858, he purchased forty acres of land, where Donnellson is now located; in the spring of 1866, he sold out and purchased his present farm; they have three children - Fritz, born March 2, 1855; Phillip, Oct. 31, 1857; Carl, July 29, 1859. Mr. Kirchner has served his township as Trustee and School Director. Republican. Vogt, George, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes; Franklin Centre; owns thirty-two acres of land outside of the corporation, valued at $25 per acre; born Sept. 4, 1838, in Bavaria, Germany; emigrated with parents to the United States in 1851; located in Franklin Tp., Lee Co., Iowa; at the age of 13, he commenced to learn the shoemaker's trade, from which time that has been his occupation; commenced business for himself in 1857. Married Mrs. Sally Vogt, whose maiden name was Weber, April 18, 1860; she was born Dec. 12, 1835, in a province then in France, now in Germany; her husbands were brothers; by the first marriage she had five children, three now living - George, Susan and Caroline; deceased were Henry and Caroline; the chldren by second marriage are Henry, Katy, Lena, Mary, Emma and Anna; lost three, Julius, Rosa and infant not named. Mr. V. has served as member of the School Board several years, and is the present Recorder of the corporation; is a member of Evangelical Church; Democratic. Wiegner, Adam, farmer, Section 29; P.O. Donnellson. Wiegner, A. & P., farmers, Section 22; P.O. Franklin Centre. Wiegner, Jacob, farmer, Section 22; P.O. Franklin Centre Wiegner, J. Phillip, farmer and stock-dealer, Section 36; P.O. Franklin Centre; owns 265 acres of land valued at $40 per acre; son of Henry and Mary Wiegner; born Feb. 14, 1839, in Bavaria, Germany; in the fall of 1850, his parents emigrated to he United States, locating in Charleston Tp., Lee Co., where he remained till the fall of 1866. He then returned to Germany, and, on the 14th of March following, he married Miss Caroline Schmidt; she was born in April, 1847. The same spring, after his marriage, he returned to Lee Co. and commenced keeping house on the farm he still owns, having purchased it in 1864. On the 21st of November, 1868, his wife and an infant son died. He again married, Elizabeth Abel, of this county, Feb. 20, 1873; she was born April 13, 1851, in this county, by whom he has one son - Carl Alfred, born Nov. 21, 1873. The town of South Franklin was laid out on his land in 1872, a year after the railroad came through. Mr. W. is a member of the Evangelical Church; Democrat. Wiegner, Peter, farmer, Section 22; P.O. Franklin Centre. |