Fred S. Hansmeier
That Fred S. Hansmeier has been found reliable, conscientious
and efficient in positions of public trust is indicated by the
fact that he is now in the eighth consecutive year of his service
as assessor of Makee township, and that he is also an able
agriculturalist and a progressive business man his fine farm of
one hundred acres on section 27 gives ample testimony. He has
been a resident of Iowa since 1869, but is a native of Germany,
born in Lippe, June 13, 1860, a son of Fred L. Hansmeier, also a
native of that principality. The father married there Minnie
Kollinge, who was born and reared in Lippe, and the family
emigrated to America in 1869, settling directly in Iowa and
making a permanent location in Allamakee county. One year later
Fred L. Hansmeier purchased one hundred acres of land provided
with a log house and with a few acres under cultivation. For many
years thereafter he continued to reside on this property, adding
to it the adjoining farm and carrying forward the work of
improvement and cultivation. He died upon his holdings in 1909,
having survived his wife three years.
Fred S. Hansmeier is the eldest in a family of seven children,
all of whom reside in Allamakee county. He was reared and
educated here and remained upon the homestead until he was
twenty-one years of age, aiding in the work of its development
and improvement. He afterward learned the carpentering trade and
for some years engaged in business as a contractor and builder,
many of the finest residences in Waukon and upon the farms in the
vicinity of the city standing as evidence of his architectural
skill. Eventually he succeeded to the old home place and has
since resided thereon, giving his attention to its further
development and improvement. He has erected upon it a fine modern
residence, good barns, a granary, a corncrib and a henhouse, and
has besides sunk a well three hundred feet deep, provided with a
gas engine to pump the water to Oak Ridge Farm, by which name it
is known. As a result of his efforts he has one of the finest
agricultural properties in this vicinity, nothing being neglected
which will add to its attractive appearance or its value. Mr.
Hansmeier is numbered among the able exponents of enlightened and
scientific agricultural methods. In addition to general farming
he is also a stock-raiser on an extensive scale, breeding a good
grade of shorthorn cattle, Chester White hogs and Shropshire
sheep. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Creamery of
Waukon and is now in his fourth year of service as president of
that concern, to which he sells the products of the model and
sanitary dairy which he operates.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, November 27, 1887, Mr. Hansmeier was
united in marriage to Miss Annie Umbriet, who was born in Wabasha
county, that state. They were the first couple married in North
St. Paul and in the Presbyterian church there, an edifice which
Mr. Hansmeier aided in erecting. Seven children were born to
their union: Clara, the wife of Ed Raymond, of Waukon; Ella;
Calvin A.; Esther; Lillian; Alfred L.; and Arna. Mr. and Mrs.
Hansmeier and their children are members of the Waukon German
Reformed church.
Mr. Hansmeier is a stanch republican in his political beliefs and
takes an intelligent interest in public affairs, cooperating
heartily in all movements to promote the permanent interests of
the community. In 1901 he was elected assessor of Makee township
and after serving one term was reelected. After an interval of
one term he was again elected to the office and has since served
eight consecutive years, discharging his duties in a capable,
reliable and energetic way. He has been a resident of Allamakee
county since 1869 and the intervening years have brought him
success, prominence and fortune and a place among the substantial
agriculturists and men of affairs.
-source: Past & Present in Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Linda Earnheart
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