Sam Eisenla
Sam Eisenla, whose
farm of one hundred and thirty acres in Waterloo township is one
of the finest and best improved agricultural properties in
Allamakee county, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania,
in 1855, a son of Balthazar and Catherine Eisenla, the former a
native of Germany and the latter of Pennsylvania. In that state
they lived for several years after their marriage and then spent
two years in New York, after which they were for one summer in
Ohio. From there they came in 1866 to Allamakee county, settling
in Dorchester remaining there for two years. At the end of that
time the father bought a portion of the farm now owned and
operated by the subject of this review, purchasing first eighty
acres and adding to his holdings from time to time until at the
time of his death, in 1896, he owned one hundred and twenty
acres. His wife has also passed away, her death having occurred
in 1893. To their union were born two children: Louisa, the widow
of John Peeper of Dorchester, Iowa; and Sam, of this review.
Sam Eisenla acquired his education in the public schools of
Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, and studied for a time also in
Iowa. He became familiar with all the details of farm operation
through practical experience in assisting his father and when he
was twenty-six years of age rented the homestead, upon which he
has resided during practically all his life. In 1897 he bought
the property, which then consisted of one hundred and twenty
acres lying on section 12, Waterloo township. To this he has
since added and owns today one hundred and thirty acres, ninety
of which are in a high state of cultivation. Upon the property
Mr. Eisenla has made substantial improvements, creating modern
buildings and installing the necessary equipment, making it a
very desirable property. He raises and feeds stock and has made
this an important branch of his business, his animals commanding
high prices and a ready sale upon the market.
In 1881 Mr. Eisenla was united in marriage to Miss Hilda Martin,
who was born in Norway in 1864 and who came to America with her
parents when she was nine years of age. They settled first in
Winnesheik county and came from there to Allamakee county, whence
in 1882 the parents moved to South Dakota where the father died
in 1902, having survived his wife for some time. To their union
were born four children: Mrs. W. D. Gillett, of Pennsylvania;
Hilda, the wife of the subject of this review; Martin A., of
Spring Grove, Minnesota; and Carl, who resides in Portland,
Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Eisenla have become the parents of six
children: Bessie, whose birth occurred in 1882; Mabel, born in
1884; Belle, 1890; Frankie, 1894; Kathleen, 1898; and Minnie, who
was born in 1902.
Mr. Eisenla is a stanch democrat and is interested in community
affairs, especially in the cause of education, which he did much
to promote during his term of service on the school board.
Throughout his life he has been guided by high and worthy aims
and he receives his reward in the esteem in which he is held by
the entire community, of which he has so long been an honored
resident.
-source: Past
& Present in Allamakee County; by Ellery M. Hancock; S.
J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Linda Earnheart
Return to Bio index