1875 A. T. Andreas Atlas
1880 Dubuque County History
Honorable William B. Allison
Eugene Anderson
Sanford A. Atherton
Honorable Isaac W. Baldwin
Dickson Beatty
F. E. Behrens
Henry Bockenstedt
John Bomacke
General Caleb Hoskins Booth
Nicholas Bray, M. D.
William Bray, M. D.
Edward Brown
John D. Bush
Edward Butler
Cascade Biographies
Dr. Rodolphus Clark
Bernhard Claus, Jr.
Frank W. Coates
Honorable Dennis Nelson Cooley
Reverend Mark Cooney
Hugh Corrance
Patrick F. Cunningham
Mell H. Cushing
Peter Dawson
John Driscoll
Charles Henry Eighmey
Jesse P. Farley
George Fengler
Mrs. Catherine Fries
Albert Gasser
Henry Gehrig
A. P. Gibbs
Theodor Goerdt
John R. Goldthorp
Honorable Julius Graves
Charles H. Gregoire
Ezra Gregory
Daniel Hallahan
Nicholas Hansen
Honorable Thomas Hardie
Henry Henkels
Rev. James Hill
Nancy R. Hill, M. D.
Asa Horr, M. D.
James Howie
Edward R. Jackson, M. D.
Francis Jaeger
Henry J. Jecklin
Reverend Clement Johannes
Evan E. Jones
General George Wallace Jones
John Kantlehner
Joseph K. Kaufmann
James Kelly
John Kleinschmidt
F. H. Klostermann
A. R. Knight
Honorable Frederick M. Knoll
Paul Lattner
Honorable Wendelin Lattner
Thomas Lochner
Christian Loetscher
Norton J. Loomis
Delos E. Lyon
J. E. Maguire, M. D.
W. A. Manhart
George Marshall
M. H. Martin
Honorable James McCann
Benjamin McCluer, M. D.
Susan Ann McCraney
A. S. McDermott
James and Martha McGee
James McGrath
M. F. McNamara
Jacob Michel
Charles Miller
Adam Mink
George Mollart
William J. Morgans
James Mullin
Dorrance Dixon Myers
Nicholas P. Nicks
Frederick R. Nitzsche, M. D.
J. J. E. Norman
Honorable Peter Olinger
Bernard J. O'Neill
John P. Page
Frank Paley
John Palmer
Rev. Frederick William Pape
Thomas Phillips
Joseph Platz
Andrew Rahe
Honorable James Rowan
Reverend Roger Ryan
George Salot
Colonel C. J. W. Saunders
John Sauser, Jr.
Joseph Schemmel
George Schmitt
Short Biographies
Joseph Simones
John F. Sloan
Charles F. Smyth
Johanna (Baker) Specht
Ralph Spensley
Daniel Stallard
J. Peter Stendebach
Honorable William W. Stewart
Oren Stuart, M. D.
James Sweeney
John Tibey
Paul Traut
Matthew Tschirgi
Hon. Christian Anton Voelker
Chester H. Walker
William Watson, M. D.
F. W. Wieland
Louis Witter
Jacob Zollicoffer

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JOSEPH SCHEMMEL is another of the successful and highly esteemed businessmen of Dubuque County as well as one of its early settlers. A native of Prussia, our subject was born in Munster, Westphalia, and December 8, 1826. He is the youngest in a family of six children (of which five were boys) born to Theodore and Elizabeth (Frederick) Schemmel. The father was a woolen manufacturer and for many years had a contract for manufacturing blankets for the Prussian Government. In the year 1833, the people in that part of the kingdom heard for the first time of the great advantages to be found in the New World. In that year the father of our subject with his family set sail for America, being the first family to come to this country from that part of Prussia. After a voyage of more than six weeks, they landed in Baltimore, from which place they crossed the Allegheny Mountains by teams to Pittsburgh, thence came down the Ohio River to Wheeling and on to Cincinnati, Ohio, finally settling on a small farm in Mercer County. They there lived happily together until the mother passed away in 1838, the father following a year later.

On the farm above mentioned, Joseph Schemmel spent his early life in helping to clear the home farm, at the same time striving to obtain such education as was to be had in the primitive schools of the day. After the death of his parents he went to Hamilton, Ohio, where his brothers, Henry and Anthony, had established themselves in the woolen manufacturing business. Here he remained until 1846, and in April of that year came to Iowa. His brother Henry having preceded him a year, where he had commenced building a woolen factory on the site of the present mill, now owned by Mr. Schemmel, not far from the town of New Vienna, this county. A partnership was formed under the name of Schemmel Bros., Henry, Anthony, Christopher and Joseph constituting the firm. This company built and operated a mill for the manufacture of woolen goods. In the year 1848 a sad accident occurred which resulted in the death of Christopher, and in April 1855, the brother Henry died.

After various changes from time to time, our subject purchased the entire plant in 1868, since which time he has been the sole proprietor. In 1865, he in company with other parties bought the four mills at Dyersville of which he also became the sole proprietor in 1887. Since the year 1846, he has been located in New Wine Township, where he was for fifteen years Postmaster, the office being at his mill before the town, New Vienna was started. He has been honored by his fellow-citizens with the gift of the office of Justice of the Peace and also that of township Commissioner besides many other minor positions, the duties of which he conscientiously and faithfully discharged to the satisfaction of all his constituents. In 1890 he was elected to a three years' term on the Board of County Supervisors. Mr. Schemmel has met with marked success in all his financial undertakings, and no man in Dubuque County is more highly estimated.

Miss Elizabeth Wente, a native of Oldenburg, Germany, was the chosen life companion of Mr. Schemmel, the marriage ceremony taking place August 17, 1852. This union has been productive of ten children, seven boys and three girls, a family of which they are justly proud and which is sketched as follows: Mary is the wife of Clemens Rahe, one of the wealthiest farmers in the locality of Dyersville, where they now make their home. Henry is an eminent stockman at Granville, Iowa. William is engaged in the grain business at Dyersville. Anthony is a Catholic priest, educated by his father for the priesthood at St. Vincent’s College of Westmoreland, Pa., and also at St. Francis' of Milwaukee, Wis., and was ordained in July 1889. After which he was stationed at St. Mary's Church at Dubuque. He now has charge of the church at Bancroft, Iowa. Frank is a member of the firm of Schemmel Bros., stock dealers of Granville, Iowa. Barnard married Miss Mary Ferreng, daughter of Peter Ferreng, of Dubuque, and is now operating a flour mill at Dyersville in connection with his brother Joseph Clemence and Annie, who are both unmarried, reside with their brother, Father Anthony Schemmel, of Bancroft. Joseph, as above stated, is in business with his brother at Dyersville. Clementina, the youngest, is a young lady living at home.

Commencing life for himself with no capital but his own energies, working for $8 per month, he has a mark that might well be emulated by the rising generation. Honest to a fault, upright in all his dealings, such a character the people of this county point to in the person of Joseph Schemmel. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.