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History of Sac
County
by William H. Hart -
1914
KASTNER, HENRY -----The subject of
this review is one of those strung, self-reliant and
determined characters who are occasionally met with and
who are of such a distinct type as to seem to be born
leaders of their fellow men. Not that Mr. Kastner courts
that distinction, for he is entirely unassuming, but his
great force of character and his zeal and energy in
whatever he undertakes naturally places him at the head
of the crowd. He has been a potent factor in the
development of Sac county, where he has long maintained
his home and where he is well known to all classes for
his honorable and industrious life, in both private and
public relations.
Henry Kastner, a retired
farmer of Wall Lake, Sac county, Iowa, was born January
25, 1843, in Germany. His parents were Gottfried and
Oreka Kastner, who came to America in 1869, settled in
Benton county, Iowa, after which the mother soon died.
Gottfried Kastner then went to Nebraska, where he took
up a homestead and lived until his death. Henry Kastner
was reared and educated in his native country, and came
to the United States in 1869, when he was twenty-six
years of age.
He first settled in Benton county, Iowa, where he
worked for four years as a farm laborer. In 1873 he went
to Crawford county, this state, where he followed
farming for two years, and at the expiration of that
time came to Sac county and settled in Wall Lake
township, where he has since continued to reside. He
first purchased one hundred and ninety-five acres of
land, and later bought forty acres adjoining his first
farm. He proved a very successful farmer and, with true
German thrift and frugality, has been enabled to pay for
his land and improve it in a way which has greatly
enhanced its value. In 1913 he sold his farm at a good
price and retired to Wall Lake, where he is now living a
life of honorable retirement, surrounded by the comforts
and conveniences which his former years of hard labor
have secured for him.
Mr. Kastner was married in 1870 to
Margaret Nelson, who died in 1896, and to this marriage
were born eight children, all of whom are living: Mrs.
Mary Henson, who lives in Holstein, Iowa ; Ferdinand, of
Saskatche wan, Canada; Mrs. Matilda Peper, of Wall Lake
township, this city; William, also of Saskatchewan ;
Edward, of Saskatchewan ; Mrs. Martha Watts, of
Holstein, this state; Charles, also of Holstein; Mrs.
Margaret Schotte, of Holstein. Mr. Kastner was married a
second time on November 20, 1901, to Minnie (Behrens)
Hausmann, who was a native of Germany, her birth having
occurred in that country on September 26, 1852 and she
came to America when she was twenty-six years of age in
1878, leaving Germany October 22d.
Politically, Mr. Kastner is a
Democrat, but his activities have been such as to
prevent him from taking an active part in the game of
politics. He and the members of
his family have all been stanch adherents of the German
Lutheran church and have rendered it loyal service. The
life which Mr. Kastner has led in this county has been
characterized by honesty and sterling integrity, and for
this reason he holds a high place in the estimation of
his friends and neighbors.
KEIR, DUNCAN B. -----All
calling, whether humble or exalted, may be productive of
some measure of success, if enterprise and industry,
coupled with a well-directed purpose, form the motive
force of the person directing the same, and in no case
is this fact more apparent than in agricultural
pursuits. It is a well authenticated fact that success
comes as the result of legitimate and well applied
energy, unflagging determination and perseverance as
well as the above enumerated qualities. When a course of
action is once decided upon these attributes are
essential. Success is never known to smile upon the
idler or dreamer and she never courts the loafer, only
those who have diligently sought her favor being crowned
with her blessings. In tracing the history of the
prosperous and influential agriculturist whose name
forms the caption of this biographical review, we find
that the above named elements have entered largely into
his make-up and therefore we are not surprised at the
large and ever-growing success which he has
attained.
Duncan B. Keir, one of the
most prosperous farmers of Douglas township Sac county,
Iowa, was born October 22, 1849, in Dalesville, Canada,
about sixty miles northwest of Montreal. His parents
were John and Helen (McGregor) Keir, both of whom were
of Scotch descent. John Keir was born in Canada in 1813,
the son of John Keir, who came from Scotland to that
country. Helen McGregor was the daughter of John
McGregor, a native of Scotland and a member of the
McGregor clan of the Highland region. Mrs. Keir traces
her ancestry back to Rob Roy, of historic fame. Mr. and
Mrs. John Keir were the parents of twelve children and
also reared one adopted child, and six of these children
are living: Robert, of Aspen, Colorado: Duncan B.:
William, of Okemah, Oklahoma: Charles, of Madison,
Colorado; Mrs. Elizabeth Dashler, of Wellington, Kansas,
and Thomas G., of Sac City, this state. The adopted
daughter is Mrs. Margaret Morton, of Oxford, Kansas. The
deceased children are Peter, James, Helen, John and
Roy.
Duncan B. Keir came to
Illinois when he was eighteen years of age and settled
in Livingston county in 1867, and there he lived until
1883, then went to Wellington, Kansas, where he resided
until 1889. He was a blacksmith by trade and followed
his profession in these different places, meeting with a
large measure of success. He saved his money with the
idea of investing it in western land, and came to Sac
county, Iowa, on October 1, 1889, where he bought three
hundred and twenty acres in Douglas township, the old
Lee homestead, at thirty-five dollars an acre. He
improved this and later added one hundred and sixty
acres in Delaware township in 1896 at twenty-four
dollars an acre, and is now the owner of four hundred
and eighty acres, three hundred and twenty acres in
Douglas township and one hundred and sixty acres in
Delaware township. His farms are well impro\ed with a
good dwelling, large and commodious barns, good fences
and extensive drainage. In 1903 he raised on his farm
twenty-eight head of horses, fifty head of cattle and
eighty head of hogs, besides fine crops of
grain.
Mr. Keir was married in 1877
to Lizzie Sackett, of Fairburg, Illinois, who died in
1883, leaving one son, Roy, who is now living at
Spencer, Iowa. He is married and has two children,
Robert MacArthur and Hazel. Mr. Keir was
married the second time on November 20, 1887, to Chloe
Lanora Lee who was born in the home where she now lives
on August 3, 1863, the daughter of Melitus S. and
Caroline (Travis) Lee. To his second marriage have been
born two children, Lamont, of Ida Grove, Iowa, and Mrs.
Hazel Abernathv, of Nemaha, Iowa. who has one child,
Maxine. Mrs.
Keir has resided all of her life in this county,
her parents being among the early settlers.
Mr. Keir voted for Woodrow
Wilson in 1912, because he thought Mr. Wilson was the
best man for the presidency. Mr. Keir is a
Republican in politics nominally, but, like thousands of
early settlers of the county. It takes courage for a man
to break away from his old party and vote his
convictions, and the men who do are to be congratulated
upon their good judgment and high ideals of what
citizenship really means.
The Keir family adhere to the
Baptist church and render it their earnest support. Mr.
Keir is a man who has been a hard worker all of his life
and now, in his declining years, can look back over a
life which has been spent in the service of his fellow
man. He can feel that he has never wronged any one of
his fellow citizens, but has tried to live up to the
Golden Rule in all of his dealings. During his career in
this county he has lived an upright and wholesome life,
which has won for him the esteem and commendation of all
those with whom he comes into
contact.
KEIR, THOMAS G. ---The gentleman to
a brief review of whose life and characteristics the
reader's attention is herewith directed is among the
favorably known and representative citizens of Sac
county. By his indomitable enterprise and progressive
methods he has contributed in a material way to the
advancement of his locality and during the course of an
honorable career has been successful in his business
enterprises, having been a man of energy, sound judgment
and honesty of purpose and is thus well deserving of
mention in this volume.
Thomas G. Keir, a traveling
salesman for Wayt & Son, monument dealers of Sac
City, Iowa, was born January 31, 1856, in the province
of Quebec, Canada, on a farm, he is the son of John and
Helen (McGregor) Keir. John Keir was born in Scotland in
1818, came to Livingston county, Illinois, in 1868 and
there farmed until his death, in October, 1869. John
Keir was a veterinary surgeon, having graduated from a
veterinary college, and in addition to farming and
following his profession as a veterinary he also
operated a blacksmith shop. Helen McGregor was born in
Scotland, March 26, 1826, and came to Canada with her
parents when she was four years old. John Keir and Helen
McGregor were married April 5, 1844. They reared a
family of twelve children, seven of whom are living:
John Keir, who died at Wellington, Kansas, December 10,
1912; Duncan B., of Douglas township: Thomas G., with
whom this narrative deals; Robert, of Douglas township:
William, of Oklahoma: Charles, of Colorado, and
Mrs. Clark
Deshler of Wellington, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. John Keir
also had one adopted daughter. Mrs. George Morton, who
now lives near Dalton,
Kansas.
Thomas G. Keir was reared and
educated principally in Illinois. When a youth he
learned the blacksmith trade with his father and for
several years conducted a blacksmith and wagon shop.
Later he also managed a meat market. In December, 1894,
Mr. Kier came to Sac county, Iowa, and bought a farm of
one hundred and sixty acres in Jackson township, where
he lived until March 1, 1910. He then moved to Sac City,
purchased a residence and entered the employ of Wayt
& Son, monument dealers, as traveling salesman, for
the past four years he has been connected with this firm
and is proving an efficient salesman for this company,
and has that necessary knowledge of the business,
together with a tact and diplomacy which a skilled
salesman needs in order to make him successful in this
particular line of
business.
Mr. Keir was married May 16,
1878, to Ellen Elizabeth Sackett, the daughter of James
and Ursula (Makepeace) Sackett. Her parents were natives
of New York, but later came to Forrest, Illinois, where
she was born. James Sackett died in 1880 and his wife
died on January 19, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Sackett
were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are
living: Hutchinson, deceased: John, deceased: Lydia,
deceased; Mrs. Delia Jones, of Oklahoma: Mrs. Emma
Whitson, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jay, of Joplin,
Missouri: Mrs. Sabina Gordon, of Columbus, Kansas: Mrs.
Mary Hopkins, of Illinois: Mrs. Hattie Cumpston of
Illinois: William, of Big Horn, Wyoming, and Mrs. Keir
the wife of Thomas G. Keir. Mr. and Mrs. Keir reared two
children; Leroy a rancher of Avalon, Alberta, who is
married and has one child LaVerne, and Thomas Otto a
farmer of Avalon, Alberta,
Canada.
Mr. Keir lends his stanch support
to the Republican party and has held various township
offices. He has served as president of the township
school board in Jackson township, his county, for two
years. Religiously, he and his wife are loyal members of
the Christian church. He is a member of the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, including the chapter and
commandery at Sac City, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. The life of
Mr. Keir has been controlled by proper motives and he
has been indefatigable in his honest efforts and
business pursuits as an employee of the company for
which he is now working he has proved entirely
satisfactory. As a member of the body politics he has
given his support to such public measures as he felt
would be of benefit to his
community.
 KEISER, JOSEPH
-----There are several hundred German descendants in Sac
county who have come to this county to make their homes
because they felt that it was one of the best farming
counties in the United States. The success which has
attended them in their efforts along agricultural lines
in this county shows that they have not been mistaken.
While it is true that German farmers could make a good
living anywhere, yet, under the favorable conditions
which are found in this county, a great majority of them
have risen to positions of affluence.
Among the many substantial
German farmers of this county, Joseph Keiser occupies a
prominent place, Mr. Keiser was born February 28, 1834,
in Germany and is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth
Keiser. His parents came to America in 1852 and stayed
in New York with an uncle for a few years. They then
moved to Wisconsin, where they lived the remainder of
their days.
Joseph Keiser received his education in the
schools of Germany and accompanied his parents to this
country and lived with them in New York, and later in
Wisconsin. Before the death of his parents, in
Wisconsin, he was married on April 6, 1863, to Adeline
Smith. His wife was born June 18, 1840, in Switzerland,
and is the daughter of John Martin and Magdalena (Frei)
Smith. Her parents came to America in 1852, and settled
near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
 Mr. and Mrs. Keiser continued to live in
Wisconsin until 1867, when they went to Tama county,
Iowa. In the spring of 1876 they came to Sac county and
lived on a rented place near Wall Lake for one year. In
the winter of 1877, they built a house, fourteen by
thirty-four feet in size, on their newly-purchased farm
of one hundred and sixty acres, purchased in 1874 in
Clinton township, and moved into it in the spring of
1877, in time to go through with the "grasshopper war"
of that year. They have been hard workers and now have
all the comforts of life. Since buying their first one
hundred and sixty acres of land, they have added two
other quarter sections, so that they now own four
hundred and eighty acres of land, one hundred and sixty
acres of which is in Calhoun county. They have a fine
home, set back from the highway in the midst of a large
grove of stately trees.
Mr. and Mrs. Keiser have
reared a family of ten children. It is interesting to
note that two of the children were born in Wisconsin,
two in Tama county, Iowa, and six in Sac county, Iowa.
The children, in order of their birth, are as follows:
Edmund, of Spencer, Iowa, who is married and has two
children. Earl and Ruth; Ida; Albert, of Wisconsin;
Ralph, of Calhoun county, who is married and has two
sons, Clifford and Lester; Mattie; Mrs. Agnes Weitzel,
who has one daughter, June Ida; Adolph; Walter; Maud and
Austin. Of these children, Ida, Mattie, Adolph, Walter,
Maud and Austin are still at home with their parents.
Clara died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Keiser is a
Republican, but has never taken an active part in
political affairs. The members of the family are all
faithful attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and contribute generously to its support.
Mr. and Mrs. Keiser have
lived together more than fifty-years, having celebrated
their golden wedding anniversary in April of 1913. They
have seen this county grow from a broad prairie to its
present prosperous condition and have had their full
share in bringing about this change. They can tell many
interesting incidents of the early life of this county
and the many trials and tribulations which were endured
by the early settlers. They are kindly, genial people,
who are hospitable to their friends and neighbors, and
are always willing to do more than their share to
alleviate any suffering or distress in their community.
Such people are a blessing to the locality in which they
live, and Mr. and Mrs. Keiser are people of whom any
community should be proud. Surrounded by their children,
they are now enjoying the fruits of their earlier
arduous labors and are receiving the most loving care
and attention from their daughters, who are deserving of
commendation for the attention given to their aged
parents and for their intelligence and aptitude in
relieving the parents from the cares which have been
theirs for many years. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Keiser is one of which any parents should well be proud.
The sons are sturdy, energetic fellows who are ambitious
farmers and have been trusted with the work of the
extensive Keiser farm for several years past. Could the
sunset and the evening of all lives be as blessed and
comfortable as those of Joseph Keiser and his good wife
the world would indeed be a better place in which to
live.
An interesting postscript could be
added to this memoir of the Keiser family which will
prove to be a matter of history. An account of the great
fire which visited the homestead in the evening of March
25, 1914, is appropriate and belongs in this family
history. The barn and outbuildings were discovered to be
all ablaze on the evening aforementioned, and the
efforts of the family and numerous neighbors who came to
their assistance went for naught and the high wind
caused a veritable holacaust. The great barn, corn cribs
and adjacent buildings were burned to the ground. Four
head of cattle and thirteen calves were lost in the
fire, but the great part of the livestock, including the
farm horses, were saved. The buildings and stock were
well insured and during the summer of 1914 a new and
modern barn with all the latest conveniences for storing
the products of the farm and housing of the livestock
was erected. The main building is seventy-two by
forty-eight feet in extent and is one of the finest farm
buildings in Sac county. The timely assistance and the
kindness of the neighbors met with the heartfelt
appreciation from the Keiser
family.
KESSLER, HENRY -----Among the many
Germans who have cast their lot in Sac county none have
proven more worthy of the large success their thrift has
brought or shown themselves to be worthier of the
confidence and respect reposed in them by their
neighbors and the public in general than Henry Kessler,
of Odebolt, Iowa, a man who has never permitted
obstacles to stand in his way and who has been watchful
of the interests of the township and county in which he
resides while forwarding those of his own.
Henry Kessler, a retired farmer of Odebolt, Iowa,
was born July 3, 1841, in Cazerona, Saxe-Weimer,
Germany, the son of Conrad and Marguerite (Baumgartner)
Kessler. The mother died in Germany in 1861. and four
years later the father, with eight children, came to
America. These eight children were Barbara, Marguerita,
Artman, George, Henry, Margaret, Veronica and Daniel.
Artman had been a
soldier in the Prussian army before coming to this
county. The Kessler family settled in Lee county,
Illinois, and Conrad Kessler died in 1882 at the home of
his daughter in Benton county, Iowa.
Henry Kessler was twenty-four years
of age when his father brought his children to this
country. Four years after settling in Lee county,
Illinois, Henry married Elizabeth Reudzel, and in 1873
moved to Benton County, Iowa. Five years later they
moved to Sac county, this state, settling on one hundred
and sixty-nine acres in section 6, Clinton township,
which they purchased for five dollars and sixty cents an
acre. Mr. Kessler proved to be a successful farmer and
from time to time added to his land holdings, but sold
some of his land, and he now owns three hundred and
twenty acres of fine farming land in Richland and
Clinton townships.
Henry Kessler and wife moved to
Odebolt, January 8, 1911, where he has a handsome home
in the southeastern part of the city on Park avenue. He
has turned over the actual management of the farm to his
son. Mr. and Mrs. Kessler are the parents of eight
children: George, who lives on a farm in Richland
township; Mrs. Mary Frevert, of Floyd county, Iowa; Mrs.
Katie Bachmann, of Crawford county, this state; John, a
merchant of Ida Grove, Iowa; Edward, of this township,
who owns a farm of eighty acres; Mrs. Rosina Einspahr,
who lives on the old homestead place; Mrs. Caroline
Nitzsche, of Clay county, Iowa, and Minnie E., who is at
home with her parents; she is a graduate in music of
Charles City College and is a teacher of instrumental
music in Odebolt.
Politically, Mr. Kessler is a
Republican, but has never been an aspirant for any
public office, although he has served as road supervisor
of his township. The family are all
loyal and devoted members of the German Methodist
Episcopal church and give it their earnest support. Mr.
Kessler is a man who has worked himself from an humble
station in life to a successful place in the life of his
community and has won an honorable place among the
well-known farmers of the locality in which he
resides.
KING, CHARLES DORAN -----Conspicuous
among the representative men and public-spirited
citizens of Sac County is the well-known gentleman whose
name forms the caption of this article. He has made his
influence felt for good in his community in Eureka
township, of which he was one of the organizers in 1871,
being a man of sterling worth, whose life has been
closely interwoven with the history of this township
from the day it was organized and whose efforts have
always been for the material advancement of the same, as
well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow
men. The well-regulated life he has led, thereby gaining
the respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens,
entitles him to representation in a biographical work of
the scope intended in the present work.
Charles Doran King, one of
the oldest settlers in Eureka township, was born May 2,
1852, in Clayton county, Iowa. His parents were Joseph
and Rosanna (Doran) King, natives of Ohio and Ireland
respectively. Joseph King was of English and Irish
ancestry, while his wife was of Scotch-Irish parentage.
Joseph King came from Ohio to Iowa in 1845, making the
trip by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, first
settling near Garnavillo, in the eastern part of Iowa,
six miles from the Mississippi river. He came to Sac
county in 1872 and bought one section of land. In 1873
he bought a half section, this land being in Eureka
Township Sac county, and here Joseph King lived the rest
of his days, and at his death owned fourteen hundred
acres in the township. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph King were the
parents of the following children: John, Mary, Mrs.
Helen Keminger. Charles Doran and Joseph
H.
Charles Doran King drove
across the state of Iowa in 1875. having made a
prospective trip two years earlier. The country at this
time was very sparsely settled. Upon his marriage, in
1881, Charles received one hundred and sixty acres from
his father, on which he now lives. He added to his farm
from time to time until he now has two hundred and forty
acres of excellent land within this township. Mr. King
helped organize Eureka township and was the first
township clerk elected at the first election.
Mr. King was married in 1881
to Catherine Agney and to this marriage have been born
three interesting daughters, all of whom have been given
a college education and are now useful members of
society: Agnes graduated from Buena Vista College, Iowa
City College and the University of Wisconsin, and is now
the librarian at Madison, Wisconsin; Grace, graduated
from Buena Vista College and is now a Latin teacher in
Portland, Oregon; Mary also graduated from Buena Vista
College and is now a music teacher in Portland. Oregon.
Mr. and Mrs. King are justly proud of their three
daughters and have taken a great deal of pride in their
notable achievements.
Politically, Mr. King is a
Republican and, although well informed on the public
questions of the day. he has never felt inclined to take
an active part in politics. He is a man of large
influence and has been identified with various kinds of
enterprise within his township from the date of its
organization.
He has seen it
develop from a sparsely settled community to its present
prosperous condition, and he has had a very important
part in the present advanced standing of the
locality.
KING, JOSEPH H. -----The
student interested in the history of Sac county does not
have to carry his investigations far into its annals
before learning that Joseph H. King has long been one of
its most active and leading citizens in its agricultural
and stock-raising interests and that his labors have
been a potent force in making this a rich agricultural
region for through several decades he has carried on
general farming, gradually improving his valuable place,
and while he has prospered in this he has also found
time and ample opportunity to assist in the material and
civic development of the county.
Joseph M. King Jr. one of the
prosperous farmers in Eureka township. Sac county,
Iowa, was born December 27, 1860, in Clayton county,
Iowa, near Garnavillo. His parents were Joseph and
Rosanna (Dolan) King, natives of Ohio and Ireland
respectively. Joseph King, Sr., was one of the pioneer
settlers of Iowa, coming to this state from Ohio in 1845
and settling in Clayton county. In 1883 the King family
left Clayton county and settled in Sac county, where
they bought four hundred acres in Eureka township. Here Joseph
King, Sr., died in 1895 at the advanced age of
eighty-two.
His wife died in the fall of 1909 at the age of
eighty-six. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph King, Sr., were the
parents of six children, all of whom are living: John,
of Laverne, Minnesota; Charles D., of Eureka township;
Mrs. John Reininger, of Eureka township; Mrs. John
Meier, of Eureka township; Mary, of Schaller and Joseph
H., Jr.
Joseph H. King, Jr. was
educated in the district schools of Clayton county and
later took a course in Briggs Academy at Garnavillo and
a course in a business college. He completed his
education by attending Grinnell College for a
time.
The whole life of Mr. King
has been spent upon the farm with the exception of about
a year when he was in the welding business. When
twenty-four years of age he began to farm for himself on
a farm which his father purchased for him at a cost of
eight dollars an acre. Young Joseph worked three years
for his father in order to pay for the land. After
locating on this farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
which his father had given him, he worked hard in order
to add to his possessions and from time to time he was
able to make a substantial addition to his original
farm. He first bought out his brother on the east side
of the road and after buying this eighty, he bought one
hundred and twenty acres of William Kelley. Later he
bought one hundred and fifty acres from Mr. Carey, which
he sold in 1911 for one hundred and thirty dollars an
acre. He now owns three hundred and sixty acres, which
he has brought to a high state of cultivation and
improved in such a way as to bring it up to a high state
of productivity. In the summer of 1913 Mr. King erected
a fine modern residence at the cost of eight thousand
dollars.
This beautiful sixteen-room house has its own
heating and water plant and is as near modern in every
way as is possible for a house to be built in that
section of the state. Mr. King, in 1913, raised one
hundred cattle, one hundred hogs and other stock,
realizing a very handsome return from his sales of
livestock.
Mr. King was married in 1891
to Matilda M. Meier, the daughter of Charles Meier and
wife. To this union there have been born six children:
Margaret, deceased; Josephine, who is now a junior in
Grinnell College and will graduate in the spring of
1915; Clarence, aged seventeen, who graduated from the
Schaller high school in June, 1914: Harry, a sophomore
in Schaller high school : Loyal a freshman in Schaller
high school, and Elinor, who is now in the last year of
the common schools at Schaller. Mr. and Mrs. Schaller
are exceptionally proud of their children. They have
given them every educational advantage with the hope
that they may become useful members of
society.
Mr. King is a Progressive in
politics, because he believes that in the principles of
the new party there is better hope for the future of the
country.
Religiously, he and all of his family are loyal
members of the Presbyterian church and render it zealous
support. Mr. King has spent a life which has been worthy
in every respect. He is a man who has thought to do his
full duty in all the relations of life and has performed
his part as a high-minded citizen in every way befitting
a patriotic citizen.
 KLUCKHOHN, HENRY A. -----Statistics show that
among the very finest foreign-born members of our
cosmopolitan population are many who are natives of the
great German empire. Their influence upon our national
life has been marked, disseminating as they have their
national virtues of industry, frugality and honesty.
These characteristics have been handed down from father
to son so that our native born Americans of German
descent possess these same admirable traits, coupled
with our world-famous occidental ability and push, and
fortunate is the man whose character possesses these
marked traits. All this can truthfully be said of the
man whose name initiates this paragraph, to a short
sketch of whose life the attention of the reader is now
directed.
Henry A. Kluckhohn, who has
retired from the active duties of life and is now living
quietly at his beautiful home in Odebolt, Sac county,
Iowa, was born on February 10, 1855, Grant county,
Wisconsin, the son of August and Wilhelmina Saak, both
of whom were natives of Germany. August, who came
to America in 1848, when twenty-one years of age, was
born on February 22, 1827, in Lieden-Hausen, Oen-Hausen,
Detmold. Upon attaining his majority, he decided to seek
his fortune in the New World and left his home in
Germany on March 19, 1848, arriving in New York on May
8th of the same year. His marriage occurred
on July 2J, 1853, while living in Chicago, Illinois, and
the same year he and his bride settled in Grant county,
Wisconsin, where he passed the remainder of his life. He
was the father of thirteen children, the oldest of whom
was Henry A., the immediate subject of this sketch. The
others are: Sophia (Mrs. Miner), who resides in Odebolt;
Minnie and Lydia, deceased; Caroline (Mrs. Hoffman), who
lives at Eagle Grove, Iowa: August, a farmer of the same
place; Henrietta (Mrs. Christ), of Lake
City, Iowa: Emma, who lives in Grant county, Wisconsin;
Hilda, living in Montana, as is also Arthur; Edward, of
Rockford, Iowa; Albert, of Blackfoot, Idaho, and
Clarence, of Grant county, Wisconsin.
Henry K. Kluckhohn was reared
on the parental homestead in Wisconsin and was there
married, on February 25, 1879, to Caroline Christina
Boerner, of the same county, born February 26, 1857, in
Chicago, daughter of John A. and Matilda Danim Boerner,
natives of Germany, who emigrated to America, finally
settling in Grant county, Wisconsin. A few years after
their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kluckhohn came westward and
located in Ida county, this state, where they lived for
thirteen years. Upon coming here, Mr. Kluckhohn
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, and in
the thirteen years he resided in Ida county he increased
his holdings to four hundred and eighty acres in that
county, which he still owns. He was one of the pioneer
settlers of Silver Creek township, being located four
miles west of Cook Center, but he did his trading at
Odebolt. In 1892 he purchased a farm of one hundred and
twenty acres in Richland township, this county, on which
the family resided until February of 1909, when he moved
into the home which he had erected in Odebolt. This is
one of the most beautiful, spacious and complete homes
in the city and is located on Park avenue, one of the
show streets of the town. Mr. Kluckhohn h.as succeeded
well in his chosen vocation, and his activities have
stamped him as a man of unusual business ability,
unswerving honor and
integrity.
In politics, Mr. Kluckhohn has for
years been a firm adherent of the policies of the
Republican party, but lately he has evinced a tendency
to be independent in such matters, having an inclination
to support the man as an individual rather than the
party's representative, tie is a consistent member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and his fraternal
affiliations are with the ancient order of Freemasonry.
Mr. and Mrs. Kluckhohn are the parents of three
children, namely: Ellis L., a farmer of Richland
township. He has one son, Edwin, who has been reared by
the grandparents, owing to the fact that Ellis L. is a
widower. Ottmar is married and lives on the old Ida
county homestead. Emil, the youngest son, is located at
Seattle, Washington. Mr. Kluckhohn is
a man in every sense worthy of the name, and throughout
the years of his residence in this locality his
influence has ever been exerted for the best good of the
various phases of community life.
KONRADI, JOSEPH
-----There are today in Sac county Iowa, representatives
of more than a dozen foreign nations, but the Germans
out number any other class of citizens who have settled
in this county from foreign shores. Someone has called
the United States the “melting pot” of the world, and
when one considers the case of a typical county like Sac
county, where a dozen nationalities are welded together
into a body politic which is imbued with the genuine
American spirit, it can be readily seen why the United
States deserves the name. These men from across
the Atlantic come here for the sole reason that they
think this is the best country in the world in which to
cast their fortunes, and the prosperity which has
attended the efforts of these men in this country
justifies their belief that this is so.
Joseph Konradi, one of Sac
county’s prominent German citizens, was born in
September 1852, at Frankfort-on-Main, Germany, the son
of John and Elizabeth (Beitz) Konradi, who came to this
country after their son, Joseph, made the
trip.
Joseph Konradi came to
America from his native land in 1868 with his
grandfather, Peter Beitz, who paid his passage to this
country. In the same party was Peter Dinges, a
prosperous farmer of this county, and upon arriving in
this country they immediately went westward and located
in Lee county Illinois. Shortly afterwards the remainder
of the Konradi family came from Germany and settled in
Crawford county, Iowa. In 1875 John Konradi came to Sac
county, and in 1876 bought three hundred and twenty
acres of prairie land in section to, Richland township,
for fifteen dollars an acre, and this farm is now owned
by a half-brother of Joseph Konradi. John Konradi is now
past ninety years of age and lives with his son Jacob.
John Konradi and wife were the parents of five children:
Jacob, of Sac county: Anna, who lives in Nebraska; Lannie and
Randolph, also residents of Nebraska, and Mrs. Susie
Flynn, of this county. Mr. Konradi has been twice
married, his second wife being Mary
Schmidt.
In 1883 Joseph Konradi began
farming for himself on eighty acres which his father
gave him. Since then he has bought eighty acres, so that
he is now the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and
sixty acres, all of which is excellent land. He has a
fine orchard, plenty of shade trees, and a good home,
which is set back from the road and presents a very
attractive appearance to the passersby. Since taking
over this farm, Mr. Konradi has erected all the
buildings and set out all the
trees.
Mr. Konradi has been twice
married. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1878,
died in 1881, leaving one daughter, Clara, who was the
wife of Roy Johnson, of near Galva, Iowa, and who died
in 1913. On May 27, 1881, Mr. Konradi was married to
Elizabeth Auchstetter of Sac county, and to this
marriage have been born eleven children: John, of
Jackson, Minnesota: Mrs. Katrina Henrich, whose husband
is a farmer of Richland township: Mrs. Elizabeth
Ahlbrasch, also a resident of Richland township: Mrs.
Minnie Messer, who lives in Jackson county, Minnesota:
Joseph Peter, a farmer of Richland Township, this
county, and Antone, Margaretta, Nicholas, Jacob, Emma
and Romaine Faldine, who are still at home with their
parents.
Politically, Mr. Konradi is a
Democrat, while in his religious affiliations he, with
his family, are loyal and earnest members of St.
Martin’s Catholic church at Odebolt, to which they give
their zealous support at all
times.
KRAMER, OZRO J. -----Efficiency in
public service is demanded of the official incumbent in
these days of rigid exactitude in the performance of all
obligations to the public in general. When an official
can combine thoroughness and aptitude in the discharge
of the daily routine engendered by the incumbency of a
government position, with a genial and obliging
disposition, he is a valued and popular public servant
and is given the esteem and commendation of the patrons
of his department of the government service.
Ozro J. Kramer, the efficient
and obliging postmaster of the town of Schaller, while
young in years, is endowed with a well developed turn of
mind which enables him to perform the duties of his
office with satisfaction to all concerned. Mr. Kramer was
born August 21, 1887, in Platteville, Wisconsin, the son
of William A. and Dora (Jackson) Kramer, natives of
Wisconsin and Indiana respectively. William A. Kramer
followed the trade of barber and removed from
Platteville to Schaller with his family in 1901,
conducting a barbering establishment there until his
death in 1903. He was the father of three children: Mrs.
Rosa Rigge, of Appleton. Minnesota; Leona, who is
assistant postmistress, and
Ozro.
Ozro Kramer was graduated
from the Schaller high school in 1906. Later, he
entered Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa, and
graduated from the commercial department in 1908. In
June of the same year he became assistant postmaster of
Schaller and was appointed to take full charge of the
office in May, 1912. This office is now a third-class
office and maintains three rural routes for the
convenience of the patrons in the farming section
surrounding the town.
Mr. Kramer is a Republican in
politics. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church and is affiliated with the Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons and the Modern Woodmen. He is unmarried
and makes his residence with his mother and sister. He
is a young man of exemplary habits, clean cut, honest,
thorough in his discharge of his obligations to the
pubic, and is destined to make his way in the world on
the rising path of upward
progress.
KRUSENSTJERNA, ALFRED G. ------The
Swedish nation has contributed her quota to the
cosmopolitan character of the American populace and the
American citizens whose nativity was originally in
Scandinavia are among the best of our population.
No immigrant from foreign shores speaking a
language other than the English is more quickly
assimilated or is more thoroughly Americanized in a
short period of time after arrival on our shores than
the sturdy sons of Sweden. As tillers of the soil they
are among the most successful; in the marts of trade and
commerce they have made their presence felt in large
measure; in the learned professions the
Swedish-Americans have achieved fame, wealth and
distinction, and are found everywhere in the van of
human progress. They are alive to their opportunities
and readily throw off the Old World mannerisms and
customs which are sometimes stubbornly adhered to in
this country by the representatives from other foreign
nationalities. Everywhere they are
considered valued members of society and soon take their
rightful places in the life of the communities which are
so fortunate as to secure them as permanent citizens.
In Alfred G. Krusenstjerna, of
Odebolt, we find one of the best and most intelligent
types of an American citizen whose birthplace was in
Sweden. Mr. Krusenstjerna was
born June 2, 1856, in Sweden and is the son of Marritz
Von and Mary Krusenstjerna. His father was a
manufacturer and a well-to-do land owner who had large
estates in Sweden and Norway.
The father is now deceased and the mother resides
in the old home in Sweden. Alfred G. received the
advantages of an excellent education in the schools of
his native land, a proficiency which stood him in good
stead when he came to America to seek his fortune in the
West.
He was twenty-four years of age
when he first came to America and in 1880 he located in
Odebolt. He entered the employ of Henry Hanson and was
thus engaged for a period of ten years. He was then
employed for the St. Paul & Kansas Grain Company for
two years and in 1893 started in business for himself.
His grain business is very extensive and probably the
largest in Sac County. He is a large buyer and shipper
of grain, including corn, popcorn and oats. It is
computed that he buys and ships over one hundred and
seventy-five carloads of grain annually. Mr.
Krusenstjerna is also a very extensive buyer and shipper
of livestock and handles in excess of one hundred and
twenty-five carloads of livestock yearly. Being the
owner of nine hundred and ninety acres of land in
Richland township gives him an outlet for his live stock
operations and affords an excellent feeding place for
large herds previous to their shipment to the markets.
Several years ago he began investing his surplus
earnings in Sac county land and has added to his
possessions of this valuable commodity, which is the
source of all wealth, until he is now one of the largest
land owners in the county.
In politics, Mr. Krusenstjerna is a
pronounced Progressive: his religious affiliations are
with the Presbyterian brotherhood.
Mr. Krusenstjerna was married in 1889, to Ida
Haakison, a native of Sweden. To this union have been
born eleven children as follows : George, a farmer on
his father's farm; Hazel, Fred, Mabel, Russell, Ruth,
Florence, Arthur, Morris, Helen and Richard.
Mr. Krusenstjerna stands high in
the estimation of his fellow citizens and is admired for
his genuine business ability and many good qualities by
those who know him best. His career furnishes a striking
example of the possibility of attaining success in this
western country In those of foreign birth who come here
unhandicapped by not possessing sufficient attainments
to enable them to grasp their opportunities and
win.
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