Joseph F. Wachter
Joseph F. Wachter, who since 1885 has lived upon the farm in
Fariview township which he now operated, is well known in this
vicinity as a progressive and substantial agriculturist, his fine
property of one hundred and twenty acres being visible evidence
of his life of industry and thrift. He was born in Aurora,
Indiana, October 22, 1854, and is a son of Anton and Grace
(Sprool) Wachter, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, the former born
in April, 1821, and the latter January 8, 1825. Their marriage
occurred in Germany, where the father was a teamster and a
freight and grain hauler, driving four and six-horse teams before
the days of the railroads. They crossed the Atlantic to America
in 1853 and settled first in Indiana, whence they removed to
Wisconsin, where for sixteen years they resided upon a farm in
the vicinity of Seneca. At the end of that time they came to Iowa
settling in Fairview township, Allamakee county, where the father
became an extensive landowner and prosperous farmer, making his
home here until his death, which occurred May 8, 1898. His wife
afterward removed to Harper’s Ferry, where her death
occurred May 8, 1909.
Joseph F. Wachter attended district school for four terms in
Wisconsin, but his advantages along this line were limited and he
is practically self-educated. When he was about eighteen years of
age he began working at farming in the employ of others, and he
afterward aided in the operation of the homestead, remaining
there until 1885. He then married and bought a farm in Fairview
township, whereon he has since resided. At that time there were
but ten acres improved and the house consisted of a crude shack.
This has been replaced by a modern dwelling. Substantial barns
and outbuildings have been erected and the entire tract of one
hundred and twenty acres is under cultivation. Mr. Wachter has
carried forward the work of development with characteristic
energy and enterprise and his farming and stock-raising interests
are today extensive and important, placing him in the front rank
of progressive and substantial agriculturists.
On the 14th of October, 1885, Mr. Wachter was united in marriage
to Miss Elizabeth Gast, who was born in Paint Creek township,
April 25, 1861. They have become the parents of eight children:
Emma, born September 22, 1886, a ladies’ tailor at Nora
Springs, Iowa; Lurena, born September 1, 1888, the wife of Nels
Attall, a farmer, residing in Mead county, South Dakota; Hattie,
born November 3, 1891, the wife of Albert Hancock, a farmer
living in Montana; Lydia, born January 5, 1893, teaching in the
district schools of this county; Florence, born December 14,
1895, who attends the Sisters’ School; Walter and Gertrude,
twins, born December 13, 1901; and Joseph, born February 5, 1906.
Mr. Wachter is a republican in his political beliefs, but he is
not an active office seeker, preferring to do his public service
in other ways. During the twenty-eight years he has lived upon
his present farm he has brought the property from a raw tact to a
highly developed and productive condition and has made many
substantial contributions to the general advancement of this
section of the state.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
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