History of
Plymouth County, Iowa
Indianapolis, Ind.: B. F. Bowen, 1917
T
John Thiel
Among the well-known and successful farmers of Remsen township, Plymouth
county, is John Thiel, who was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, on September
29, 1863, being the son of Matthew and Kate Thiel.
Matthew and Kate Thiel were natives of Germany and there they received their
education in the public schools and there they grew to maturity and were
married. As a young man, Matthew Thiel engaged in farming and teaming and thus
continued until he came to the United States. He and his wife continued to live
in their native land until 1859, when they came to America. On their arrival in
this country, they proceeded to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they lived for four
years. They later moved to Calumet county, that state, and there they remained
until 1873, when they removed to Cherokee county, Iowa. Here Mr. Thiel obtained
three hundred and sixty acres of land, which he developed and improved, and
there he engaged in general farming and stock raising for many years. He later
retired from the activities of farm life and moved to Alton, where he died,
eight years later. Mr. and Mrs. Thiel were active members of the Catholic church
and took, much interest in all church work, and were prominent in the social
life of the community. They were the parents of thirteen children, seven of whom
are still living, John being the only one who lives in Plymouth county.
John Thiel received his education in the public schools of Wisconsin and in
Cherokee county, Iowa, and grew to manhood on the home farm. After completing
his education, he remained on the home farm, until he was nine-teen years of
age. For fourteen years he rented land and engaged in farming. He then purchased
one hundred and thirty-two acres of land in Cherokee county, to which he added
until he was the owner of two hundred and twenty acres in that county. This farm
he developed, and later sold, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres near
Cherokee, where he lived for eleven years, and then in 1906, he came to Plymouth
county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, in section 3,
Remsen township, three miles east of the city of Remsen. There he is engaged in
general farming and stock raising, in which he is most successful. He cultivates
some seventy acres of corn and fifty acres of small grain, each year, all of
which he feeds on the place. He is a progressive farmer and is a firm believer
in intensive farming and the most thorough cultivation, as well as the keeping
of the best of stock.
In 1888, John Thiel was united marriage to Mary Flier, and to this union
sixteen children have been born, Anna, Kathryn, Frank, Leona, Matthew, Fred,
Marie, Robert, Christophel, Alice, Alma, Erma, John, Urban, Helen and Dorothy.
Anna is the wife of George Wermes and they are the parents of one child,
Clarence; Kate married Peter Christoffel, and they are the parents of two
children, Marie and Henry; Leona is the wife of Elmer Donner; Alma and Erma are
twins. The family is a most interesting one, and all have received the
advantages of a good common-school education, and have been confirmed in the
Catholic church, in which their parents are active members. They are prominent
in the social and religious life of their communities and are held in the
highest regard by all who know them.
Beginning life as a poor young man, John Thiel at first rented land for many
years, until he could buy some for himself. By hard work and close application
to business, he succeeded in his work. He is a man of sound judgment and much
business acumen. He invested his savings in land and stock, and was not
contented until he had one of the best farms in the county, and which he now has
under a high state of cultivation and well improved. today he is recognized as a
substantial and successful man.
John Thiel has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and has
advocated the highest class of public improvements. He is a firm believer in
good roads and the best schools, and believes that in these much of the future
greatness of the township depends. As supervisor of the roads of his district,
he has done a great work, and much of the success of good road building in that
section, has been due to his careful supervision and good judgment. He is an
independent voter, and has had much to do with the civic life of the township as
well as the county.
Nick Thill, a well-known farmer of Marion township, this county, is a native
of Europe, but has been a resident of this county since he was twenty-four years
of age. He was born on a farm in the grand duchy of Luxemburg on September 16,
1879, son of Nicholas and Anna Thill, who were the parents of six children,
three of whom came to America, those besides the subject of this sketch being
Peter, who is now living in Dubuque, this state, and John, now deceased.
Reared on a farm in his native Luxemburg, Nick Thill remained there until
1903, in which year he came to the United States and proceeded on out to Iowa,
locating at Le Mars, in the vicinity of which city he worked as a farm hand for
six years, at the end of which time he rented the farm of two hundred and forty
acres in Marion township on which he is now living and where he is doing very
well, in addition to this general farming giving considerable attention to the
raising of live stock, feeding eighty or a hundred head of hogs annually.
In 1915 Nick Thill was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret (Wupperfeld)
Ernsterhoff, widow of M. Ernsterhoff and daughter of Henry and Mary Wupperfeld,
and to this union one child has been born, a son, Sylvester. Mrs. Thill was born
in Prussia, last born of the four children born to her parents, the others being
Mary, Frank and Anna. In 1883 the Wupperfelds came to the United States and
located on a farm in this county, near the city of Le Mars, where Henry
Wupperfeld farmed for twenty-two years, at the end of which time he retired from
the active labors of the farm. His wife died on February 15, 1912, and he is now
making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Thill. Mr. and Mrs. Wupperfeld were the
parents of four children, Mrs. Thill having a sister, Anna, the widow of Peter
Elson, living in Remsen township, this county; another sister, Mary, living in
Minnesota, and a brother, Frank, living in South Dakota. By Mrs. Thill's first
marriage she is the mother of three children, Celesta, Bernice and Helen. The
Thills are members of St. Catharine's Catholic church at Oyens and take a proper
interest in parish affairs, as well as in the general social activities of the
community in which they live.
Peter Thill, a well-known and successful farmer of Remsen township, this
county, was born in Jackson county, this state, July 1, 1873, the son of John
and Kate Thill, natives of Luxemburg, who came to the United States and were
married in this country. As a young man John Thill came to the United States and
located in Jackson county, Iowa. For some years he rented land and engaged in
farming in that county. He later came to Plymouth county, where he engaged in
general farming and stock raising for a number of years, at the end of which
time he moved to South Dakota, where some years later he was killed by a
railroad train. He was the father of twelve children, three by his first wife
and nine by his second wife, Peter being the only one of these children residing
in Plymouth county.
Peter Thill received his education in the public schools of Jackson county
and in St. Mary's Catholic school at Remsen. He grew to manhood on the farm,
where as a lad and young man he assisted his father with the work on the place,
and remained at home until he was eighteen years of age, after which, for three
years, he worked as a farm hand. He then married and for the next three years
rented a farm. He then purchased the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where
he now lives, in Remsen township. This farm he has developed and improved and
here he is engaged in general farming and stock raising, in which he has been
quite successful, farming, in addition to his own place, and adjoining quarter
section, all of which is under a high state of cultivation and well improved.
Mr. Thill generally has about one hundred and twenty-five acres of corn and
seventy-five acres of small grain. He feeds from seventy to eighty head of hogs
and some fine cattle, and is recognized as one of the substantial and successful
men of the township.
In 1897 Peter Thill was united in marriage to Kate Weiler, daughter of
Dominic and Mary (Casper) Weiler, both natives of Germany. Dominic Weiler came
to the United States as a young man and on his arrival in this country at once
proceeded to the Northwest, locating at Caledonia, Houston county, Minnesota,
where he worked as a farm hand until he came to Iowa, in the seventies. he
located in Marion township, this county, and there he purchased a farm of eighty
acres. There he was married and established his home He developed and improved
his farm until he had one of the most desirable places in the township. He later
added forty acres to his original place and there he spent the remainder of his
life, his death occurring on February 14, 1910. His widow later moved to Remsen,
where she now resides.
Dominic Weiler was an excellent citizen and did his part toward advancing the
interests of the community. He served for some time as a school director and as
supervisor of roads of his district. To him and his wife were born eleven
children, nine of whom are living, Nic , Margaret, Kate, Mary, Anna, Josephine,
John, Susan and Dominic.
Peter and Kate (Weiler) Thill are the parents of seven children, John,
Dominic, Aloysius, Mary, Josephine, Catherine and Edmund, all of whom are at
home. Mr. and Mrs. Thill are devout members of the Catholic church at Remsen and
are prominent in the social and the religious life of the community, where they
are held in the highest regard by all who know them. They take much interest in
the development of the moral, social and educational conditions of the community
and are a most hospital people. They devote their lives to their family and
their friends, and their home is a very pleasant one, often the scene of happy
gatherings. Their constant aim in life is to give to their children many of the
advantages that were denied themselves. Mr. Thill is identified with the
Democratic party and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the
township. While he does not aspire to office, he has been active in the general
affairs of the community and is often consulted on matters relating to civic
affairs.
Anthony Thoma, a well-known and successful business man and former postmaster
of Le Mars, was born in Luxemburg, on June 15, 1858, the son of John and Mary
(Hoffmann) Thoma, also natives of Luxemburg, who were there married and
continued to live there until 1862, John Thoma being in the government employ.
On their arrival in this country in 1862 they located at Aurora, Illinois, where
they remained for four years, at the end of which time, in 1866, they moved to a
farm in Jackson county, Iowa. That farm Mr. Thoma developed and improved and
there he engaged in general farming and stock raising until the time of his
death. Mr. and Mrs. Thoma were members of the Catholic church and took much
interest in the social and the religious life of the community, where they were
held in the highest regard. They were the parents of eight children, whom the
reared in the faith of the church.
Anthony Thoma received the greatest part of his education in the public
schools of Jackson county, supplemented by a two years' course in St. John's
University, of Minnesota. He grew to manhood on the home farm and assisted his
father with the work on the place, remaining at home until the fall of 1880,
when he came to Iowa and located at Le Mars, where he was engaged in the grocery
store of Frank Miller and company for two years, after which he engaged in
business for himself on East Sixth street. He remained in the business there for
eleven years, or until his appointment as postmaster, when he sold out. Mr.
Thoma served in the official capacity of postmaster from 1893 until 1897 and
after his retirement from the postoffice he again engaged in the grocery
business and for the greater part of the time has since been engaged in that
business. He purchased his present place of business two years ago and today has
one of the well-stocked and up-to-date stores of the town.
As a young man, Anthony Thoma was united in marriage to Anna Hoffmann and to
this union eight children have been born, Mary, John, Joseph, Peter, Theodore,
Nicholas, Anton and Geneva. Mr. and Mrs. Thoma are members of the Catholic
church and have reared their family in that faith. They are prominent in the
social life of the community and take much interest in promoting the highest
social standards in their home town. Mr. Thoma is an active member of the
Knights of Columbus and has had much to do with the success of the local
society, five of his sons also being members of the Knights of Columbus. He has
always been active in local affairs and has devoted much of his time and ability
to the promotion of the interests of the community. He is one of the active
members of the Commercial Club of Le Mars and is prominent in its affairs.
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