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HENRY SAATHOFF (1890)
owns a splendid farm on section 28, Wisconsin
township, upon which he has resided for the last
nineteen years and which he brought up to its
present standard. Henry is the eldest of a family
of three sons born to Hey and Antie (Woltzen)
Saathoff. He was born in Ostfreesland, Germany,
August 11,
1860.
The subject of this
biography resided with his parents until twelve
years of age. Then he joined the crew of a sailing
vessel and sailed the seas ten years, during which
time he visited nearly all the European and
African ports. He came to America in 1881, and
from that time until 1890 lived in Champaign and
Iroquois counties, Illinois. Mr. Saathoff arrived
in Jackson county in 1890, farmed rented property
one year, and then bought his present farm of 160
acres in Wisconsin township. The only improvement
on the farm at the time he bought it was a little
shack, and in this he lived four years; now he has
a fine farm, with excellent
improvements.
At Danford, Iroquois county,
Illinois, on March 7, 1889 Mr. Saathoff was united
in marriage to Fredericka Hasbergen, who was born
in Germany and who came to the United States in
the year 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Saathoff have three
children, named as follows: Heyko Rudolph Albert,
born February 1, 1891; Wilhelmina Annette, born
February 14, 1893: Alma Margrata Alberdina. born
May 10, 1895. The family are German
Lutherans.
SIEBEND H. SAATHOFF (1890)
owns and farms 120 acres on section 28, Wisconsin
township. He is a native
German and was born September 19, 1870. His
father, Heie Saathoff, came to America in 1882 and
settled in Iroquois county, Illinois, where he
died the following year. The mother of our
subject, Annie (Wioltzen) Saathoff, resided in
Illinois until 1890, when she and her sons moved
to Jackson county, Siebend came to America with
his parents in 1882 and to Jackson county with his
mother in 1890.
He rented the farm upon which
he now lives, farmed it twelve years, and then
bought it. Upon his arrival he had bought an
eighty acre tract on section 27, which he rented,
and sold that three years ago, and bouglit the
forty acre tract on the southwest quarter of
section 28, He has made all the improvements now
on his farm, including the grove. Siebend is the
youngest of three brothers, the other two of whom,
Henry and Heie, own land and reside in the same
precinct, Mr. Saathoff is
treasurer of the Des Moines German Mutual Fire and
Lightning Insurance company of Jackson and Martin
counties, an office he has held for the last seven
years. He and his family are members of the German
Lutheran church.
Mr. Saathoff was married in
Jackson county February 27, 1897, to Augusta
Werner, a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. August Werner, of
Petersburg township. Five children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Saathoff. namely,
Henry, born November 28, 1898; Emma, born March
15, 1900; Albert, born January 24, 1903; Eddie,
born December 7, 1905; Clara, born November 27,
1908.
JOHN A. SALIN (1895), of
Jackson, was born in Sweden July 20, 1850, the son
of John and Betsy (Benson) Salin. At the age of
four years he accompanied his parents to America
with the Bishop Hill colony and for thirty-five
years lived in Henry county, Illinois. In 1889 Mr.
Salin went to Litchfield, Nebraska, lived there
six years and on July 19, 1895, located in
Jackson, where he has since
resided.
F. H. SANDER (1899) owns and
farms the northwest quarter of section 19,
Petersburg township. He is a native of the city of
Chicago and was born September 22, 1872, the son
of F. H. and Annie C. (Reiles) Sander.
When he was three years old
our subject moved with his parents to Middleton,
Dane county Wisconsin, and resided there until he
was twenty-five years of age. He spent one year in
Roberts county South Dakota, and then came to
Jackson county in the spring of 1899, and that
fall took up his residence in Cottonwood county.
He there engaged in farming for himself. He
returned to Jackson county in the spring of 1901,
bought his present farm, and has ever since made
his home there.
He has stock in the
Middletown Telephone company, in the Jackson
County Fair association and in the Peoples
Cooperative company. He served three years as a
director of the school district in which he
lives.
Mr. Sander was married
November 22, 1899, to Minnie A. Kreyssler, a
native of Petone, Illinois, and a daughter of John
and Maria Kreyssler, and to them have been born
the following named children: .Julia, born
September 12. 1901, died March 4. 1909:
Leona. born January
20. 1904; Leverna. born June 24, 1906. Mr. and
Mrs. Sander are members of the Evangelical
church.
CHARLES H. SANDON (1866),
judge of the probate court of Jackson county, is
one of the pioneers of the county and one of its
best known residents. He is an Englishman by
birth, having been born in Northampton October 7,
1845, the son of Thomas and Eliza (Goodwin)
Sandon.
When the subject of this
biography was four months of age the family
emigrated to America and located at Burke, in Dane
county, Wisconsin, and there our subject grew to
manhood. At the outbreak
of the civil war he enlisted in company G, of the
First Wisconsin cavalry, and served until
November, 1864, having been discharged at Calhoun,
Georgia. After the war Mr. Sandon returned to his
old home at Burke and made his home there until
the fall of 1866. He then came to
Jackson county, bought land in Wisconsin township,
and returned to spend the winter in his old home.
He came back to Jackson county with his family in
the spring of 1867 and has ever since been a
resident of the county.
From the spring of 1867 until
1891 Mr. Sandon engaged in farming in Wisconsin
township. In November,
1889, he was elected judge of probate and has held
the office ever since, having been reelected nine
times. His present term expires January 1, 1911.
While a resident of Wisconsin township Judge
Sandon served in various official capacities. He
was the first assessor of the township, serving
during the years 1867-68; was township clerk
sixteen years, and was justice of the peace from
1886 to 1890. He is a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic, the Odd Fellows and the Workmen
lodges. He owns 205 acres of land in Jackson
county and real estate in other parts of the
country.
Judge Sandon was married
November 28, 1865, to Miss Sarah J. Fields. To
this union have been born the following named
children: Elbert J., born December 22, 1867, died
December 5, 1888; Ethel H., born June 8, 1870,
died January 2, 1889; Viola A., born April 27,
1873, married October 12, 1898, died in 1899;
Stella A., born September 18, 1875, married
December 29, 1897; Nettie F., born November 4,
1878, married October 28, 1908; Harry H., born
February 6, 1881; Samuel E., born December 24,
1883; William A., born March 30, 1886; Robert
Cassius, born August 8,
1888.
FRED D. SAWYER (1875) is one
of the substantial farmers of Middletown township,
and he has made his home in Jackson county since
1875. He is the son of P. H. and Adaline (Drake)
Sawyer, natives of Maine, where they resided until
1871. Then they came west and settled in
Cottonwood county, Minnesota, where they lived on
a farm until 1875, when they moved to Jackson
county and bought a farm in section one,
Middletown township. Here they
resided until a few years ago when they moved to
Jackson village, where Mr. Sawyer now
makes his home. He is 80 years of age. His wife
died September 30, 1907, at the age of 70 years.
From this union six children were born. They are:
George, Lucy, Charles, Albert, Ether L. and Fred
D. Albert and Charles are residents of Knox
county, Nebraska.
Fred D. Sawyer was born in
Piscataquis county, Maine, December 22, 1866. At
the age of five years he moved with his parents to
Cottonwood county, Minnesota, and four years later
came to Jackson county, where he has since
resided. The first year of his residence in the
county was spent in the village of Jackson; then
with his parents he moved to a farm north of the
village, where he lived two years. He then moved
to section one, Middletown township, where he grew
to manhood, working on his father’s farm and
attending the country schools. Fourteen years ago
he rented his father’s farm and so continued until
1902, when he bought the north half of section 11
where he has since resided. He also owns the
southeast quarter of section 15 in the same
township, and he farms the entire 480 acres. He
has built his present fine residence and other
buildings at a cost of about $3,000. He has held
various offices of trust in his home township, and
has been for the past four years a member of the
township board. He is president of the Middletown
Telephone company, which is incorporated and is
one of the best farmers lines in the county. He is also
prominent in social and church affairs.
Mr. Sawyer was married at
Estherville, Iowa, December 8, 1898, to Miss
Josephine Peterson, a native of Sweden and a
daughter of John and Louise Peterson. They are the
parents of two children, Mark A., born September
18, 1899, and Maurice F., born February 26,
1901. Mr. Sawyer and
wife are members of the Presbyterian church of
Jackson.
GEORGE H. SAWYER (1875), of
Jackson, has been a resident of the county
thirty-five years. He was born in Piscataquis
county, Maine, July 14, 1853, son of Phineas and
Adaline (Drake) Sawyer, Both these parents were
also natives of Maine and spent their early lives
in that state. Phineas Sawyer enlisted at Bangor.
Maine, in company H, of the 22nd infantry, and
served one year with the union forces during the
war of the rebellion. In the east Mr. Sawyer
engaged in farming and lumbering. He came west
with his family in 1871 and homesteaded in
Cottonwood county, Minnesota. The family came to
Jackson county in 1875 and for three years lived
in Jackson. Then Phineas Sawyer purchased a farm
in Middletown township, where he engaged in
farming until ten or twelve years ago. Retiring
from active pursuits at that time, he located in
Jackson and has since lived a retired life. He
still owns his old farm south of town. Mrs.
Sawyer, the mother of our subject, died September
29, 1907, at the age of 79 years. There are six
children in the family, as follows: George H.,
Lucy (Mrs. J. D.
Baughman), Charles Albert, Ethel (Mrs. A. H. Baughman)
and Fred. Charles and Albert reside in Nebraska;
the others are in Jackson county.
George Sawyer lived with his
parents until twenty-two years of age. He received
his education in Maine and after coming west for
several years worked for his father on the farm.
At the age of twenty-two he engaged in farming for
himself in Middletown township, buying a farm a
short distance south of Jackson. He farmed there
until 1892, when he took up his residence in
Jackson. In 1894 he engaged in the fuel business,
in which he was engaged for ten or eleven years.
Since disposing of his business be has been
engaged in various occupations, in addition to
looking after his Middletown township farm. In the
village he owns 65 acres of land, residence
property and a business lot.
While a resident of
Middletown Mr. Sawyer served as a member of the
township board and as a school director for a
number of years. In Jackson he
served one year as a member of the village council
and is now the street commissioner. He is a member
of the M. W. A. and the M.
B. A. lodges.
Mr. Sawyer was married in
Middletown township in October, 1879, to Fannie
Russell, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, and a daughter
of Thomas Russell, one of the settlers of the late
seventies. To Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have been born
five children, named as follows: Ethel C, born
September 1, 1880; Frank A., born July 21, 1884;
Susie M., born September 23, 1890: Pearl, born
July 14, 1891; Howard, born March 18,
1897.
JOHN M. SAWYER (1885). Hunter
township farmer, was born In Whiteside county
Illinois, August 12,
1860, the son of Robert and Louisa (McUmber)
Sawyer, natives of Scotland and New York state,
respectively. John’s father died when the subject
of this biography was five years old, and soon
afterward he and his mother located in Tama county
Iowa, His mother bought a farm there, and there
young Sawyer was educated and grew to
manhood.
John worked on his mother’s
farm in Tama county until 1885; then they came to
Jackson county and located on section 15 Hunter
township, where our subject still managed his
mother’s farm until 1890. That year he was
married, bought his present farm on section 12 and
has ever since been engaged in farming for
himself. His mother died in Grundy county, Iowa,
in 1905.
Mr. Sawyer was married at
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, January 5, 1890, to Ella
Puckett, a native of Illinois. To them have been
born the following named nine children: James,
Sarah, Mary, Jessie, Charles, deceased; Rosa,
Aggie, Thomas and Allen. For a number of years Mr.
Sawyer was clerk of school district No. 15. He is
a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
AUGUST SCHEPPMANN (1902) is
one of the large land owners and successful and
influential farmers of West Heron Lake
township. He owns 840
acres of land in West Heron Lake and Alba
townships, his home place being the north half of
the northwest quarter of section 17, one half mile
south of Okabena.
He is the youngest of a
family of nine children born to Henry and
Wilhelmina (Denne) Scheppmann, and he was born in
Germany January 4, 1850. Both his parents died in
the old country, his father when he was only nine
years of age. At that tender age he had to assist
in earning money to support the family, although
he was able to attend school until he was fourteen
years of age. After growing up he worked in the
coal mines and was so engaged until thirty years
of age.
Mr. Scheppmann emigrated to
America in 1880 and first located in Tazewell
county, Illinois, where he engaged in ditching and
well digging two years. Then he engaged in
farming, having bought farm lands in Tazewell and
Iroquois counties, living in each of those
counties eleven years. In 1902 Mr. Scheppmann sold
out in Illinois and located in Jackson county,
investing his money in lands south of Okabena. He
has prospered and is in easy circumstances. He is
greatly interested in the development of the
county and is interested in several lines of
endeavor besides his farming interests.
From 1903 to 1906 Mr.
Scheppmann was manager of the Okabena creamery. He
took an active part in the organization of the
Okabena Cooperative Farmers Elevator company, of
which he is the president. The company was
organized and incorporated August 21, 1909, with
fifty-three stockholders, and began business
September 7, 1909. The officers of the company
are: August Scheppmann, president; Sam
Frederickson, secretary; John Gruseng, vice
president: John Koster, treasurer; Sam Dahl, Will
Hussong, Frank Anderson, directors.
Our subject was married in
Germany August 3, 1877 to Recka Beckschulte. To
them have been born the following children:
Bertha, Freda, August, Sam, Henry, Minnie, Willie,
Lydia, Eddie and Loui. Mr. Scheppmann is a member
of the Christian Apostolic
church.
HENRY SCHMIDT (1889) owns and
farms the southeast quarter of section 5 Rost
township, where he has resided over twenty
years. He is a native
German and was born November 6, 1859. His parents,
Ralph and Margarita Schmidt, both died in their
native land.
Henry lived in Germany until
he was twenty-one years of age, living with his
parents on the farm. He came to America in 1880
and located in Champaign county, Illinois, where
he engaged in farming nine years. He came to
Jackson county in 1889, bought his present farm
and has ever since made his home there. He has made all
the improvements on the place and has one of the
fine homes in the township. The farm is well
improved and supplied with hog tight fences
throughout. Mr. Schmidt is a
stockholder in the Rost and Okabena creameries and
in the farmers elevator of Lakefield. He is a
member of the township board and has held school
office ever since coming to the county. He and his
family are members of the German Lutheran church
of Rost.
Mr. Schmidt has been married
twice, the first time in Champaign county,
Illinois, in 1883, when he wedded Elizabeth
Foualing, who died in 1887. By his first wife
three children were born, namely. Margaritta,
Andrew and Ralph. The second marriage of Mr.
Schmidt occurred in Rost township in 1897 when he
wedded Mary Ehlkin. Six children have been born to
this union, namely, Albert, Annie, Lizzie, Mena,
Lulu and Freda.
JOHN D. SCHNAPP (1905)
owns and farms 406 acres of land on section 28
Sioux Valley township. He was born in Sangamon
county, Illinois, October 5, 1864, the eldest of a
family of eight children born to Jacob and Maggie
(Ebersault) Schnapp now living in Menard county
Illinois.
John spent the greater part
of his life in his native state. Until he was
twenty-four years of age he resided on the farm
with his parents; then he rented the home place
and conducted it until 1896. That year he rented
another farm in the southern part of Sangamon
County and engaged in farming there four years. He
located in Dickinson county Iowa, in 1900 buying a
farm and engaging in farming five years. He sold
out in 1905 and bought his present farm in Sioux
Valley township, where he has since resided, Mr.
Schnapp has made most of the improvements his farm
has. During the season of 1909 he raised ,5,000
bushels of corn and about 2,000 bushels of small
grain. He has been a director of school district
No, 04 for the past two years.
Mr. Schnapp was married in
Menard county Illinois, on August 24, 1887, to
Annie McNeal, she having been born in that county
in 1866. They have six children named as follows:
Leroy, Albert, Almyra, Jacob, Lela and
Rosa.
WILLIAM G. SCHNEIDER (1884)
owns a quarter section farm in Middletown
Township, a few miles southwest of Jackson, upon
which he has lived over a quarter of a century. He
was born in Moline, Rock Island county, Illinois,
December 29, 1853, son of David and Lena (Kuhl)
Schneider. His parents were born in Germany and
came to the United States just prior to their
marriage. They lived a short time in Davenport,
Iowa, and then took up their residence in Moline,
Illinois, where they both died. William is the
oldest of a family of nine children, of whom six
are living.
The subject of this biography
received his education and early training in the
city of Moline. Until he was past twenty-six years
of age he made his home with his parents: then he
married and began housekeeping for himself. During
the latter part of his residence in Moline he was
an employee of the Moline Plow company. In 1884 he
came to Jackson county and bought the southwest
quarter of section 3, Middletown township, and he
has ever since lived there, engaged in farming.
The land at the time of purchase was raw prairie
and the purchase price was seven dollars per acre.
All the improvements on the place were made by
him. Mr. Schneider has been a director or
treasurer of school district No. 92 for a number
of years. He is a member of the Odd Fellows
lodge.
The marriage of Mr. Schneider
occurred in Davenport, Iowa, February 26, 1880,
when he wedded Theresa LaFranze. She was born in
the city of Sacramento, California, March 15,
1860, and her father was John LaFranze. Five
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schneider, as
follows: Lulu (Mrs. William Rosenbrook), Ella,
Helen, Wilma and William L.
FREDERICK W. SCHOELLERMAN
(1901) is the proprietor of the general
merchandise store of Sioux Valley township and was
the last postmaster of Sioux Valley post office.
He was born in Germany September 12, 1852, the son
of Frederick and Katherina (Thompson)
Schoellerman. Both his parents died in the year
1905 at advanced ages. They had only two children,
Elza Oelke and the subject of this biography.
At the age of two years, in
1854, Fred accompanied his parents from Germany to
America. The family
located at Garnavillo, Clayton county, Iowa, and
in that town our subject grew to manhood and spent
his early adult years. Until he attained his
majority he resided at home, learning the
wagonmaker’s and carpenter’s trades in Garnavillo.
After mastering his trades, Mr. Schoellerman moved
to Farmersburg also in Clayton county, and
conducted a wagonmaker’s shop until 1884. That
year he moved to Beadle county. South Dakota, and
took a homestead, and there he resided until 1903,
engaged in farming and working at the carpenter’s
trade.
Because of an accident while
building a church in 1903, resulting in a broken
arm, Mr. Schoellerman
sold out in South Dakota and became a resident of
Sioux Valley township, Jackson county. He bought
the little store conducted in a 16x24 foot
building by Mrs. Green and
received the appointment of postmaster of the
Sioux Valley office, which was conducted in the
store. Mr. Schoellerman enlarged the building to
24x64 feet, built an addition for a residence, and
put in a full line of general merchandise. He has
built up a lucrative trade and now handles all
classes of general merchandise, dry goods,
groceries and hardware. He is assisted in the
store by his son Ben.
Mr. Schoellerman was married
at Garnavillo, Iowa, November 17, 1874, to Julia
Quencel, who was born in Garnavillo, October 10,
1852. These parents
have seven living children, as follows; Julius, of
Beadle county South Dakota: Will, of Ward county,
North Dakota: Hubert, of Clark county, South
Dakota: Alfred, of Sioux Valley township: Ben,
residing at home: Ora and Olga (twins), attending
school. Mr. Schoellerman is a member of the A. O.
U. W., the Hermanson and the Germania
lodges.
RUDOLPH SCHOEWE (1883), in
partnership with his brother, Theodore Schoewe,
farms 400 acres of land in Kimball township, the
home place being the east half of section 20. He is the son
of Edward and Augusta Schoewe, who were born in
Germany and who are now residents of Kimball
township. The former came to America when eleven
years of age, lived in Carver county, Minnesota,
with his father until twenty-one years of age, and
then came to Jackson county and took as a
homestead claim the southeast quarter of section
26, Kimball, where he has ever since lived. He is
fifty-nine years of age. The other children of the
family are Mary (Mrs. William Waswo),
of Oklahoma, and Theodore.
Rudolph was born on the
Kimball township homestead December 4, 1883, and
has passed his entire life on that place. He
secured an education in the district schools and
worked for his father until the spring of 1908. At
that time he and his brother rented the 400 acre
farm and have since conducted it. They are
extensive feeders of hogs and are making a
success. The brothers are members of the German
Lutheran church of Kimball. Theodore
Schoewe was born on the home farm in 1885. He was
married October 23, 1907, to Miss Dora Gohr, a
native of Chicago.
WILLIAM J. C. SCHRODER
(1880), grain and dairy farmer of Petersburg
township, has resided in Jackson county since he
was five years of age. He was born in Cook county,
Illinois, December 5, 1881, the son of William and
Maria (Meyer) Schroeder.
The family arrived in Jackson
county March 24, 1880. William received a country
school education and was brought up on the farm,
working for his father and for other farmers until
he was of age. Soon after reaching his majority he
engaged in farming for himself two years, then
hauled cream one year. After that he bought
machinery and has since been engaged in business
for himself, farming land on the northwest quarter
of section 27, Petersburg township. Mr. Schroeder
owns stock in the Petersburg Creamery company and
is a member of the German Lutheran church.
Mr. Schroeder was married
November 20, 1907 to Mary Schulte, of Arcadia,
Iowa. To them has been born one child. Ella born
February 10, 1909.
A. M. SCHROEDER (1878), clerk
of the district court for Jackson county and
ex-member of the Minnesota house of
representatives, is a native Minnesotan, having
been born in Winona county September 9, 1859, the
son of Martin and Henrietta (Melicke)
Schroeder. The family
moved from Winona county to Blue Earth county in
1863, and there our subject resided for the next
fifteen years. The family home was made in
Christiania township, Jackson county, in 1878.
After a residence of three years in that township
the family again returned to Blue Earth
county.
In 1890 Mr. Schroeder took up
his residence in Windom where he lived until 1900
and where, in 1892 he took the position of
salesman for the McCormick Harvester company. In
the last named year he came to Jackson county as
the representative of the International Harvester
company, making his headquarters at Lakefield and
Jackson. In 1904, he was selected as one of a
party of fourteen of the International’s salesmen
from all parts of the United States to make a tour
of Europe. This party visited England, Scotland,
Germany and France and was gone five months.
Returning he continued with the International
company for a time, but in 1905 he went to
Canada. For about nine
months after his return he held a position with
Grandetone Plow company of Dixon, Illinois, and at
the beginning of the year 1907 entered upon his
duties as clerk of the district court.
Mr. Schroeder has taken quite
an active part in local politics. In 1900 he was
the democratic nominee for treasurer of Cottonwood
county, but was defeated at the election. He was elected
a member of the state legislature on the
democratic ticket in 1902 and served one term. He
was defeated for the same office in 1904 by L. O.
Teigen. In November, 1906 Mr. Schroeder was
elected to the office of clerk of court, which he
has since held. He holds
membership in the Knights of Pythias, Modern
Woodmen of America and United Commercial
Travelers. On October 2, 1907, Mr. Schroeder was
united in marriage to Miss Delia Grannis, of
Worthington.
THEODORE SCHROEDER (1898) is
one of the prosperous young farmers of Sioux
Valley township, where he controls 240 acres of
fine farming land. He is a native of Cedar county,
Iowa, and was born February 15, 1874.
In his native county Theodore
grew to manhood, making his home with his parents
and working on the farm until nearly twenty-five
years of age. He was educated in the district
schools and in the Wilton Commercial academy. He
came to Jackson county in 1898 and located upon
the northwest quarter of section 17, Sioux Valley
township, then owned by his father, but later
purchased by him. The farm was
bare of improvements when he located on it in
1898, but he has built the place up until today he
has a fine, well improved farm. In 1909 he raised
about 2,500 bushels of corn and 1,600 bushels of
small grain. He feeds about l00 head of hogs each
year. Mr. Schroeder is a director of the Sioux
Valley Creamery company and was its president one
year. He also has stock in the Lake Park Farmers
Exchange elevator and in the Midland Telephone
company.
The parents of our subject
are John and Sophia (Krohnke) Schroeder, both of
whom were born in Germany and who came to America
when children, having been married at Davenport,
Iowa. They resided in Cedar county, Iowa, many
years and later became residents of Scott county.
Mr. Schroeder became a heavy land owner and is now
living a retired life at Durant, aged 67 years.
Mrs. Schroeder died at Durant June 15, 1905, aged
51 years. They had four
children, as follows: Theodore and Minnie (twins),
Richard and Herman.
Theodore Schroeder was
married in Cedar county, Iowa, in the year 1898,
to Alvina Miller, who born in the county in which
she was married October 22, 1879. She is the
daughter of William and Lena Miller, both of whom
live in Cedar county. Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder are
the parents of four children: Harvey, born May 24,
1899; Lillie, born September 24, 1900; Luerna,
born May 4, 1902; Irvin, born December 25, 1905.
Mr. Schroeder was township supervisor four years
and was clerk of school district 72 for seven
years.
WILLIAM F. SCHROEDER (1886)
owns and farms two hundred acres on section 27,
Petersburg township, which has been his home for
the last twenty-three years.
Mr. Schroeder is a native of
Mecklenburg, Germany, where he was born March 16,
1840, and where he lived until he was twenty-four
years of age. He landed in New York on the twelfth
day of January, 1864. to seek a home in the new
world. During the first five years of his
residence in America he worked at farm work in
Illinois. He married in 1869 and then took up his
residence near the town of Niles Center, Cook
county, only eight miles from the city of Chicago,
and there he engaged in farming until his arrival
to Jackson county. During the
great Chicago fire of 1871 Mr. Schroeder
assisted in removing the homeless from the
stricken city, and remembers vividly the tragedies
of that great calamity.
On the twenty-fourth day of
March, 1886, Mr. Schroeder arrived in Jackson
county and located upon the farm where he has ever
since resided. His initiation to the county was
not of the most pleasant nature. During his first
year’s residence here he was caught in a tornado,
was carried a short distance by the powerful wind,
and received several very bad flesh wounds on the
limbs and chest, from the effects of which he
suffers to this day. In addition to
his farming interests Mr. Schroeder owns
stock in the Petersburg Creamery company. He
served as treasurer of Petersburg township ten
years and has held other offices of trust. He is a
member of the German Lutheran church.
Mr. Schroeder was married in
November, 1869, to Mary Man, who died a little
over a year later. His second marriage occurred in
April, 1872, when he wedded Mary Kopa. The latter
died in July, 1880. His present wife is Maria
Meyer, Mr. Schroeder is the father of the
following; named children: Lena, born September
12, 1870; Mary, Sophia, Annie, William, born
December 5, 1881 ; Charlie, born July 14, 1883;
Emma, born July 18, 1885, died March 7, 1890;
Henry, born September 25,
1886.
FRITZ SCHULDT (1888). Among
the first of the German farmers to settle in the
township of Rost and one of the township’s most
progressive citizens is the gentleman whose name
heads this sketch. He owns 640 acres of choice,
improved land in the township, of which he farms
one-half section, while the rest is farmed by his
sons. Mr. Schuldt was
born in Bergen, Insel Island, Rugen, Germany,
February 10, 1850. His father Bogislaf Schuldt, a
tanner by trade, was born in the year 1800 and
died in 1863. His mother,
Wellielmina (Westphahl) Schuldt, was born in 1810
and died in Germany in 1868. Until he was
twenty-one years of age Fritz Schuldt lived in his
native land. He was brought up in the city of
Bergen and was educated there. When he was
seventeen years of age he began working at the
wagonmaker’s trade, which he followed during the
rest of the time he lived in the old country and
for many years after coming to America. Our subject
arrived in the new world in November, 1871, and
went direct to the city of Chicago, immediately
after the destruction of the city by the great
fire. He remained in Chicago two years, for a time
assisting in clearing away the wrecked buildings
and later working at his trade. In 1873 he moved
to Batavia, Illinois, and that city was his home
until he came to Jackson county in 1888. During
all of the time of his residence in Batavia Mr.
Schuldt worked at his trade in the Newton wagon
factory.
Giving up the wagonmaker’s
trade, Mr. Schuldt decided
to become a farmer. On March 27, 1888, he arrived
in Jackson county and located upon the northeast
quarter of section 29, Rost township, which he had
bought the year before and upon which he has ever
since lived. When he bought his original farm only
sixty acres of it had been put under the plow and
there was not a building or a tree on the place.
He has made all the improvements and has one of
the fine farm homes of the township. Since his
arrival Mr. Schuldt has added to his real estate
holdings until today he owns an even section of
land. Although his entire previous life has been
spent in cities, he has made a success of his
farming operations and has prospered greatly. Mr. Schuldt is
interested, in many of the cooperative concerns
which have brought good to the farmers of Jackson
county, having stock in the Rost creamery, the
Rost telephone, the farmers’ elevator, store and
bank at Lakefield. He and his
family are members of the German Lutheran church
of Rost township. Mr. Schuldt has
taken an active interest in school matters since
locating in the county. When his
district was organized and before the school house
was built he tendered the use of the front room of
his home for a school room, and the first two
months school of the district was held in his
house. When the district was organized in 1889 he
was chosen one of the directors and he has ever
since held the office.
At Batavia, Illinois,
November 29, 1874. occurred the marriage of Mr.
Schuldt to Albertina Groener. She was born in
Pomern, Germany, August 20, 1856, came to the
United States in 1870 and located at Batavia,
Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs.
Schuldt have been born the following named eleven
children, all living: Fred a physician of St.
Paul, born November 21, 1875: Henry, Rost township
farmer, born January 11, 1878; Frank, Rost
township farmer, born May 9, 1880: Clara, who
resides at home, born March 20, 1882: Walter, a
Lutheran minister of Virginia, born January 31,
1883: Reinhold, who resides at home, born March
24, 1887: Alex, who is a student at Concordia
college of St. Paul, born July 20, 1889: Frances,
born June 27, 1891; Herbert, born April 1, 1894;
Uhle, born April 2, 1896: Marcus, born April 24,
1899.
HENRY SCHULTZ (1888),
Enterprise township farmer, was born in Cook
county, Illinois, January 9, 1874, the son of
Christ and Dora (Howe) Schultz. His parents were
of German birth and came to America in 1868,
locating in Illinois.
Henry came to Jackson county
with his parents in 1888 and has lived in
Enterprise township ever since, with the exception
of the year 1897, when he resided in Wisconsin
township. Until he was
twenty-six years of age he resided at home, since
which time he has been engaged in farming on his
own account. He owns the
west half of the southwest quarter of section 3
and an undivided interest in the southeast quarter
of section 4, and has stock in the Farmers
Elevator company of Alpha.
Mr. Schultz was married
November 5, 1902, to Annie Grunst, who was born
September 15, 1883. Two children have been born to
this union: Alfred, born October 4, 1903; Walter,
born December 18, 1907. The family are members of
the German Lutheran church of
Kimball.
EDWARD SCHUMACHER (1880) is
an Alba township farmer and conducts his father’s
place, the south half of section 12, a short
distance west of Okabena. He is a native of the
county, having been born on the farm he now
conducts April 26, 1880.
The parents of our subject,
Henry and Caroline (Hohena) Schumacher, were born
in Germany, but came to America in an early day,
settling in Brown county, Minnesota, in the late
fifties. There they resided until they came to
Jackson county in 1870. They lived on the old tree
claim in Alba township until 1903, when they moved
to Heron Lake, where they still reside. Mr.
Schumacher is a veteran of the civil war having
served in company A of the Eleventh regiment of
Minnesota volunteers. Edward
Schumacher grew to manhood on his fathers farm in
Alba, attending the district school and working on
the farm. In the spring of 1905 he took a
homestead in Lyman county, South Dakota, and the
next year moved onto his land. After a residence
there of over a year he proved up on the claim and
then returned to Jackson county. He has since been
engaged in farming his father’s farm of 320
acres.
Mr. Schumacher was married in
Cottonwood county Minnesota, March 29, 1905 to
Josephine Crowell who was born in Fillmore county,
Minnesota January 3, 1881. Her grandfather was the
third settler of Fillmore county, having located
there in 1853. Her parents, Edwin and Clara
(Geuth) Crowell, now reside in Howard county,
Iowa. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Schumacher Russell, born September 17, 1907. Mr.
Schumacher is a member of the M. W. A.
lodge.
THEODORE E. SCHUMACHER (1872)
has been engaged in the meat market business in
Heron Lake for the past twenty-two years He is a
native of Brown county, Minnesota, and was born
November 30, 1861. His father, Henry Schumacher,
who now resides at Heron Lake and is 77 years of
age, is a pioneer of Minnesota. He was born in
Germany and came to the United States in 1853. He
lived one year south of Chicago and then located
in New Ulm Minnesota. There he was married and
engaged in farming until 1872. That year he moved
to Jackson county, took a homestead and tree claim
in Alba township, and resided on the farm until
1905, when he moved to Heron Lake. Caroline
(Haner) Schumacher, our subject’s mother, is also
a native of Germany. She is now
seventy-three years old.
Theodore is the eldest of a
family of seven children. He accompanied his
parents to Jackson county in June, 1872, and
resided on the Alba township farm until the fall
of 1887. He then moved
to Heron Lake and opened a meat market, building
his present place of business, and has ever since
conducted the shop. In 1906 he admitted Chris
Johnson as a partner in the business. Mr.
Schumacher is a member of the Methodist church and
of the Woodmen. Royal Neighbors, Knights of
Pythias and Modern Brotherhood lodges.
Mr. Schumacher was married in
Jackson county November 3, 1889, to Mary C. King,
a native of LeSueur county, Minnesota. Her father,
William King, was an early Minnesota pioneer who
died when Mrs. Schumacher was six months old. Her
mother, Catherine (Chatterden) King, now lives in
Jackson county. To Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher have
been born six children: Gertrude, Leon, George,
Gretchen, Ned and Paul.
WILLIAM SCHUMACHER (1872), of
West Heron Lake township, is a native Minnesotan
and he has resided in Jackson county since he was
two years old, moving at that age with his parents
from Brown county, where he was born December 9,
1869. His parents are Henry and Caroline
Schumacher, natives of Germany. The former came
to the United States in 1853 and the next year
took up his residence in New Ulm, Minnesota. There
he was married and engaged in farming until 1872.
That year he moved to Jackson county, took a
homestead and tree claim in Alba township, and
resided on the farm until 1905, when he moved to
Heron Lake village. There he and his wife now
reside. They are 77 and 73 years of age,
respectively, and are the parents of seven
children.
William Schumacher resided on
the old homestead in Alba township with his
parents until 1892, working on the farm and
attending the district school when a boy. In 1892
he married and moved to West Heron Lake township,
where he bought the northwest quarter of section
7, and where he has since lived. He has made all
the improvements on the place, and by industry and
frugality has prospered.
Mr. Schumacher was married on
his father’s old homestead on May 11, 1892 to
Bessie Severson, a native of Wisconsin. They have
five children, as follows: Clayton, born February
17, 1893: Sadie, born June 25, 1895: Herby, born
April 20, 1899; Alice born May 6, 1902, Roy born
February 12, 1904. Mr. Schumacher is a member of
the A. O. U. W. and M. W. A.
lodges.
JURGEN SCHWAGER (1883) is one
of the large land owners and successful farmers of
Sioux Valley township, of which precinct he is one
of the early settlers.
Mr. Schwager was born in
Germany August 16, 1849 and spent the first
eighteen years of his life in the Fatherland. He
secured a common school education and learned the
shoemaker’s trade. He came to America with his
parents in 1867 and first located at Davenport,
Iowa. The family were without means and Jurgen
began working out his first work in the new world
being a job of hoeing onions at seventy-five cents
per day. In 1871 his father and a brother rented a
farm in Scott county, near Davenport, and for the
next two years our subject lived on that farm,
working for farmers in the neighborhood. In 1873
our subject and his father rented a farm and in
1875 he married and took over the lease,
conducting it on his own account until 1883.
In the year last mentioned
Mr. Schwager came to Jackson county. For six years
he rented a farm on section 17 Sioux Valley
township. Then he bought the northeast quarter of
section 8, his present home farm, and has ever
since made his home there. At the time of purchase
there was not a tree or building on the farm and
all the improvements have been made by him. He has
prospered exceedingly and now owns 497 acres of
choice land in Sioux Valley township, besides a
quarter section of land in McLean county, North
Dakota. He has an elegant home and a well improved
farm, drained by thousands of feet of tile. He is
an extensive stock breeder making a specialty of
Hereford cattle. Mr. Schwager
has been a director of the Sioux Valley creamery
since its organization. From 1880 to
1900 he was township clerk and was assessor for
ten years. He and his family are members of the
German Lutheran church.
The parents of our subject
were Claus and Anna (Messer) Schwager. They came
to America at the same time their son did, resided
in Davenport and Durant, Iowa, and died in the
latter town. They had three sons, Tim, of Durant,
Iowa; Jurgen, of this sketch: Christ, of Martin
county, Minnesota.
Mr. Schwager was married at
Davenport, Iowa, December 30, 1875, to Anna
Wiebener, who was born in Germany and who came to
America the year of her marriage. Her parents were
Ehler and Margareta Wiebner. The former died in
1875: the latter died at her daughter’s home in
Sioux Valley township in 1902. To Mr. and Mrs.
Schwager have been born seven children, as
follows: Emma, born October 19, 1876: Louisa, born
November 15, 1877; George, born March 21, 1879,
died December 10, 1904: Amanda, born May 7, 1881:
Willie, born April 21. 1884; Bernie, born March
18, 1883, died May 4, 1884; Harry, born October
13, 1889.
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