Dyersville: Its History and Its People
Written by Rev. Arthur A. Halbach - 1939
This book is available for purchase at the Dyers-Botsford House, 331 1st Ave. SW, Dyersville, Iowa 52040 319-875-2414 The cost is $20 plus $5 postage/handling. Make checks payable to the Dyersville Historical Society.
Index of Contents
Part One
Community History
Chapters
I In the Beginning
The age of the earth - Formation of limestone - Five glaciers - The soil of Dyersville.
II Indians at the North Maquoketa River
Indian mounds - Fox and Sac Indians - First white visitors - Indian trails - The Blackhawk Purchase - Later glimpses of Indians.
III Dyersville and the Panic of 1837
Definition of Dyersville area - Settlers few before 1837 - Iowa called a desert - Editors defend Iowa - First settlers west of Dubuque, 1836 - Panic of 1837 favorable to Iowa district - Speculation - Yankee settlers at North Maquoketa - Iowa land a boon.
IV Squatters on Wooded Lots
Township surveys - Joseph Hewitt - Original settlers and settlements - Panic of 1837 crosses the Mississippi - More settlers - Effects of Rights of Preemption - The Dubuque Claims Case - Pioneer living conditions - Migration routes to Iowa.
V Mills and Roads
Road acts in territorial legislation - Territorial roads - Mills determine roads - Dubuque-Eads Grove Road - Dubuque-Rockville Road - Dubuque-Delhi Road - Original Fort Atkinson Road - Cascade-Rockville Road - Military roads - Trail blazing - First mail service - The stagecoach.
VI New Citizens for a New State
Irish immigrants at Cascade - German settlers at New Vienna - Bavarians in New Wine Township - Distinctions in dialect - Causes of German immigration.
VII The Arrival of the English
From Somersetshire - James Dyer, Jr. - Reasons of English emigration - Dyer buys town site - His colonization plans - Correspondence with his father in England - Additional emigrants - Indians at Lorenz Spring - English mansions and culture - Decline of English fortunes.
VIII Rockville - Dyersville
The rise of Rockville - Its flourishing period - Railroad contest - The doom of Rockville - Founding of Dyersville - Dyer's mill - Rapid business development - Cholera plague of 1855 - The Dyersville Land Company - The Dubuque-Pacific Railroad - Irish railroad builders - East Dyersville - English social life - The Clarendon Hotel - The Panic of1857 - Transportation - Stagecoach terminal - Education - Religion - The press - Rise of German influence - The Civil War - Dyer's business career - His character traits - End of pioneer days.
Part Two
Parish History
Foreword
Chapters
I Catholic Beginnings
II Old St. Francis Xavier Church
III Father Kortenkamp
IV Missionary Outposts
Dyersville Missionary Area - Delhi - Worthington - Earlville - Petersburg.
V St. Francis Xavier Church
Description of the Edifice - Church Windows - Interior Furnishings - Labor Well Done - Dedication Ceremonies - Subsequent Embellishment of St. Francis Church - New Side Altars - The New Confessionals - Main Altar - Frescoing and Decorating - Electric Illumination - The Pulpit - Pipeorgan - The Sacristies - The Winter Chapel - Statues - Miscellaneous.
VI The Very Rev. George W. Heer, V. F.
VII The Very Rev. Theodore Warning, V. F.
VIII St. Francis Parish Schools
St. Francis Academy - Brothers High School - Xavier High School - Xavier High School Athletics - The Faculty of the Sisters of St. Francis - The Faculty of the Brothers of Mary.
IX St. Francis Rectory
The Sisters' Convent - The Brothers' Residence.
X The Very Rev. J. B. Herbers, V. F.
XI The Assistant Priests
XII Vocations
Priests - Sisters - Brothers.
XIII Benefactors of St. Francis Parish
XIV Parish and Other Societies
St. Francis Society - The Young Men's Society - The Young Ladies' Sodality - The Holy Name Society - The Catholic Order of Foresters - The Archconfraternity of the Holy Rosary - St. Francis Alumnae - Knights of Columbus - The Catholic Daughters of America - The Catholic Students' Mission Crusade - The National Council of Catholic Women - The St. Francis Players - St. Francis Choir - St. Francis Cemetery Association - St. Francis Parish Trustees - Laymen's Retreat Movement.
XV Notable Occasions
The Convention of the Roman Catholic Mutual Protective Society of Iowa - The Iowa German Catholic Congress - State Convention of St. Boniface Bund - Session of the Iowa Chapter of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae - State Convention of the Knights of Columbus - Dyersville Deanery Commemorates Archdiocesan Centenary - Centennial Pageant Presents History of St. Francis Schools - Golden Jubilee of St. Francis Church Dedication.
XVI Miscellaneous
Brick Sidewalks - Repairing Steeple Cross - Street Paving - Fire - River Drainage - Floods - St. Francis Church Robbed - St. Francis Parish Patriotism.
Part Three
Family Histories
Author's Foreword
"The biographies that appear in Part Three are of pioneer families who came to the Dyersville area before 1870 and were members of St. Francis Parish at least for some time. A limited number of biographies are of persons who were born at Dyersville before 1860. by 1870 Dyersville had outgrown its pioneer age. Also in that year St. Francis Parish had finished the enlargement of its church to accommodate a rapidly growing congregation. It, too, had seen its pioneer period. Hence the pioneer biographies are confined to families living at Dyersville before 1870 and to persons born at Dyersville before 1860.
Although an earnest effort was made to obtain the biographies of all pioneer families, the list presented in the following pages is not complete. There are in the parish baptismal register names of families who left Dyersville many years ago. For want of names and addresses no contact could be made with descendants of these families. Very probably some pioneer families left no trace even on the parish records. Regretfully the absence of some pioneer family biographies must therefore be admitted.
A noticeable variation in the length of the different biographies may require an explanation. This inequality is due to the policy followed by the author to print what historical information was contributed or obtainable. If the research resulted in a lengthy biography it was printed as such; he printed what came to hand. Wherever possible, definite facts such as names and dates were checked with such records as baptisms, marriages, burials, gravestones, and land records. Where the data submitted by the descendants of a pioneer family contradicted the primary sources mentioned, other things being equal, they were revised to harmonize with those sources.
Lastly, a brief word about Christian names or the names received at baptism. A considerable number of children come to be known in life by names not given in baptism, or in the pronunciation. This may cause difficulty in recognizing the names of the children of some pioneer families. In this book the names as recorded in the baptismal register are given. The use of the double or triple name, e.g., Mary Ann Catherine, is also confusing. Furthermore, in some biographies two or three children are found to have been baptized with the same name, so that there appear two or three Georges, for example, in the same family. In most cases this is explained by the custom of those days, when infant mortality was high, to name a later child in memory of the earlier bearer of that name who died.
Biographies
Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Achen
Mr. and Mrs. Mathias Achen
Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Albang, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Albang
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ament
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Arens
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Arens
Mr. and Mrs. Eberhard Augustine
Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Bahning
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bahning, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barrington
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Balke
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Becker
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Becker
Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard Beckmann
Mr. and Mrs. William Benn
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Bisping
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Boge
Mr. and Mrs. William Boge
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Braun
Mr. and Mrs. John Bruch
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Bruening
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brunkan
Mr. and Mrs. F. X. Bullinger
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Bunkers
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Burkle
Mr. and Mrs. Raphael Burkle, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Christoph
Hon. and Mrs. John Christoph
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Christoph
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Clemens
Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Cook
(Mr. and Mrs. Lehner)
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Crotty
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Cunningham
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Cunningham
(Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Hollenbeck)
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Cunningham
Mr. and Mrs. John Dalhelm
(Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rothues)
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Denkhoff, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Deyen
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Diekmann
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Digmann
Mr. and Mrs. John Digmann
Prof. and Mrs. August Dornes
Mr. and Mrs. John Drexler
Mr. and Mrs. John Drexler, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dunkel
Mr. and Mrs. George Eichacker
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Eigenberger
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Eike
Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz Eike
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Esch
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Esch
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Faha, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. John Henry Fangmann
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Feldmann
Mr. and Mrs. John Feltes
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Fink (Venk)
Mr. and Mrs. John Fischbach
Mr. and Mrs. John Fitzgerald
Mr. and Mrs. William Fitzgerald
Mr. and Mrs. George Fleckenstein
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Fortenbrock
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Freiburg
Mr. and Mrs. Leo Fritz
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Fromm
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Frommelt
Mr. and Mrs. John Gasch
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gehringer
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Georgen
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Herman Gerken
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Gerken
Mr. and Mrs. William Gerken
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Giddinger
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Giddinger
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Glynn
Mr. and Mrs. Karl Goerdt
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Goerdt
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Goerdt, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Grawe
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Grawe
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Greif, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. John Gruber
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Hannasch
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Haselman
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hefner
Mr. and Mrs. John Hefner
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Heiring
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Heit
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Hemmer
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Henry
Mr. and Mrs. Chrisopher Hentges, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hentges, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Higgins
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Hildebrand
Mr. and Mrs. George Hildebrand
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hittenmiller
Mr. and Mrs. John Hittenmiller
Lorenz Hoeckerl
Mr. and Mrs. John Joseph Hoelker
Mrs. Mary Anna Hoffart
Mr. and Mrs. William Hoffart
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Holscher, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Holscher
Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Horchem
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Huber
Mr. and Mrs. William Hullermann
Mr. Stephen Hutterer
Mr. and Mrs. Fidel Imholz
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Jaeger
Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Jaeger
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Janse
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Jasper
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jasper, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jasper, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kelly
Mr. and Mrs. John Kern
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kesch
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Kirchhoff
Mr. and Mrs. August Kirchhoff
Mr. and Mrs. Clem Kirchhoff
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kirchhoff
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Kirsch
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Klassen
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Klaus
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Klinkner
Mr. and Mrs. John Klocker
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Henry Klostermann
Mr. and Mrs. Caspar Klostermann
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Klostermann
Mr. and Mrs. August Koopmann, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kortenkamp, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Kramer
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kramer, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Clem Kramer
Mr. and Mrs. Frank (Irish) Kramer, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Kramer
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Henry Kramer
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kramer, Sr.
(Bernard Engelken)
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kramer, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Krapfl
Mr. and Mrs. George Krapfl
Mrs. Jacob Krapfl
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Kremer
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Krogmann
Mr. and Mrs. August Kuhlmann
Mr. and Mrs. Clem H. Kuhlmann
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kunkel
Mr. and Mrs. Michael (Mickey) Lannon
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Herman Lembeck
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lenhoff
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Limback
Mr. and Mrs. John N. Limback
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Limback
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Limback
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Lippert
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Lippert
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Loosebrock
Mr. and Mrs. Matt Lutgen
Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Luthmer
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Macke
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Markaham
Nick Marsh
Mr. and Mrs. Terrance McCauley
Mr. and Mrs. William McGowan
Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Meis
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Meis
Mr. and Mrs. John Messing
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Meyer
Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Mieding
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Muehe
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Mueller
Mrs. Joseph Mueller
Dr. and Mrs. N. J. Mueller
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Nachtmann
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nachtmann
Mr. and Mrs. John Nachtmann
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nachtmann
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Nather
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Neyens
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Niggeling
Mr. and Mrs. John Nix
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Noethe
Mr. and Mrs. John Noethe (Bohnenkamp)
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Noonan
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ochsenkehl
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Osterhaus
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Paetsche
Mr. and Mrs. John Pirsch
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Plaster
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Poetzll
Matt Pott
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Pratschner
Mr. and Mrs. John Herman Prier
Mr. and Mrs. William Raffauf
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Reittinger
Mr. and Mrs. Theo. Reittinger
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rohenkohl
Mr. and Mrs. John Rohenkohl
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schaefer, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Franz Joseph Schelle
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schemmel
Mr. and Mrs. William Schemmel
Mr. and Mrs. Simon Schermer
Mr. and Mrs. George Schindler
Mr. and Mrs. George Schindler, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. John Schindler
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schliekelmann
Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Schmidt
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Schmidt
Mr. and Mrs. William Schmidt
Mr. and Mrs. John Schmitt
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Adam Schmitt
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Schnieders
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Schockemoehl
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schroeder
(Mrs. Bernard Kerkhoff)
Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Schroeder
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Schultz
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schultz
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schultz
Mr. and Mrs. John Schultz
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Selle
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Sellner
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sexton
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Sherlock
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sherlock, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Matthias Shorn
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Siegel
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Stackerl
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Stackerl
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stangl, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. John Stangl
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Stangl
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Steffensmeyer
Mr. and Mrs. George Steger
Mr. and Mrs. George Steger, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Steger
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Steger
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Steger, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. John Steinacher
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Stoeckl, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stoeckl, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stoeckl, Sr.
Mrs. Elizabeth Stoll
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Stoll
Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard Bernard Sudmeyer
Mr. and Mrs. Ignatz Summer
Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard Tegeler
Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard Tegeler, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Tegeler
Mr. and Mrs. John Thier
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Tiefenthaler
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Tiefenthaler
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Tierschel, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Tierschel
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Timmer
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Tobin
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Trenkamp
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Trumm
Mr. and Mrs. John Trumm, Sr.
Mr. Urbang
Mr. and Mrs. John Van Land
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Vorwald
Mr. and Mrs. John Waechter
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Warren
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Weber
Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Weber
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Weidenbacher
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Weiss
Mr. and Mrs. George Werner
Mr. and Mrs. John Werner
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Westemeyer
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Westmark
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard White
Mr. and Mrs. Franz Westemeier
Mr. and Mrs. Caspar Westemeyer
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel White
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Whiting
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Wilmhoff
Mr. and Mrs. John Witte
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Woerdehoff
Mr. and Mrs. George Woestmann
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Woestmann
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Wombacher
(Mrs. Louis Kiebler)
Mr. and Mrs. August Wuchter, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ed. Wuchter
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wuchter, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wuchter, Sr.
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