William Schwarzhoff
Among those men whose efforts are proving forces in the
advancement of agriculture in Allamakee county is William
Schwarzhoff, owner of a valuable farm of three hundred and
fifty-seven acres. He was born in Waterloo township, this county,
in 1863, a son of William and Mary Schwarzhoff, both natives of
Germany. In early life they came to the United States, settling
at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1856. A year later they arrived in Allamakee
county, taking up their abode in Waterloo township, where the
father preempted land about two miles southwest of Dorchester.
There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until his
death, and also for a number of years, in connection with his
three brothers, operated a brewery near his homestead. He was
accidentally killed in 1864, and his widow passed away in
Wisconsin a few years later. Unto them had been born two sons,
but the younger, Herman, passed away in infancy.
The elder son, William Schwarzhoff, of this review, was a little
lad of but five years when left an orphan through the death of
his mothers, at which time he went to live with an uncle. He
received a good education in the public schools of Allamakee
county and for many years continued to reside with his uncle,
under whose direction he received thorough training along
agricultural lines. In 1889 he came into possession of his
father’s farm, upon which he took up his abode and upon
which he has since continued to live. He is now the owner of
three hundred and fifty-seven acres of valuable land, two hundred
and seventy-five acres of which are highly developed and in a
good state of cultivation. He has been progressive and systematic
in his methods, and his well directed efforts, proving productive
in results, have brought to him a gratifying measure of success. As he has prospered he has taken up
other interests, and is now a stockholder, director and vice
president of the Dorchester Savings Bank.
Mr. Schwarzhoff laid the foundation for a happy homelife through
his marriage, in 1889, to Miss Sophia Schulte, who is also a
native of Allamakee county and a daughter of August and Caroline
Schulte, the father born in Germany and the mother of German
parentage. They settled in this county in 1856, and the father is
now a resident of Caledonia, Minnesota, but the mother passed
away in 1906. Their daughter Sophia is one of nine children born
unto them and by her marriage to Mr. Schwarzhoff she has become
the mother of five children, namely: Mary, born in 1895: Clara,
born in 1898; Florence, in 1900; Verna, in 1902; and Estella, in
1907. All yet reside at home. The family are communicants of the
Roman Catholic church, in the work of which Mr.
Schwarzhoff is deeply interested. He is today numbered among the
substantial farmers of his native township, and his prosperity is
well merited, for, with a propensity for hard work, his success
has found its root in unfaltering industry and a perseverance
that never flags.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
Return to 1913 biographies index