Krause, John A.

LADWIG, SMITH, PROUDFOOT

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 12/15/2009 at 09:48:01

John A. Krause, who is now serving for the second term as sheriff of Bremer county, was for a number of years prior to his first election, in the fall of 1910, actively engaged in general agricultural pursuits in Sumner township, where he still owns considerable farming property. His birth occurred in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, on the 24th of June, 1866, his parents being Frederick and Wilhelmina (Ladwig) Krause, natives of the province of Pommern, Germany. The father, who was born on the 13th of May, 1828, passed away on the 5th of May, 1903, while the mother, whose natal day was December 11, 1833, was called to her final rest on the 8th of May, 1913. Their marriage was celebrated in the fatherland. In 1857 they crossed the Atlantic to the new world, locating in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, on the 8th of May, of that year. Frederick Krause, who followed the tailor's trade in Germany, became a landowner in Jefferson county and there continued to reside until 1867, when he disposed of his property and came to Bremer county, Iowa, settling in Sumner township, where he followed farming successfully throughout the remainder of his life. The period of his residence in this county covered more than a third of a century and he was widely recognized as one of its substantial and esteemed citizens. His widow spent her last days with her son John and her demise occurred in Waverly. Mr. Krause was the organizer and first superintendent of a Sunday school in Sumner township, aiding in the moral as well as material development of his community.

John A. Krause, the fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children, acquired his early education in Sumner township and later pursued a commercial course in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. For three years he worked for his father, who had given him a tract of forty acres of land, a team of horses and the necessary farm machinery. During the three winter seasons, when not engaged in the work of the fields, he attended University. Subsequently he secured a position as manager of a lumberyard for the Great Western Lumber Company at Devon, Iowa, being thus employed for two years. At the age of twenty-seven he was married and began farming in Sumner township, being actively and successfully identified with agricultural pursuits there until the fall of 1910, when he was elected sheriff of Bremer county. He assumed the duties of the office on the 1st of January, 1911, and has discharged them faithfully from that time to the present, having been honored by reelection. He owns a sixth interest in a tract of two hundred acres near Sumner, which is held by six men and is known as the Fred Kading Farm. Mr. Krause likewise owns three hundred and twenty acres in one body in Sumner township, which he divided into two farms in 1910 and has since leased. His land is all well improved and productive and brings him a gratifying annual income.

On the 20th of April, 1893, Mr. Krause was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Smith, who was born in Chickasaw county, Iowa, on the 13th of May, 1873, her parents being David and Jane (Proudfoot) Smith, natives of Scotland. The father's birth occurred on the 27th of September, 1841, while the mother's natal day was March 26, 1841. They emigrated to the United States in 1870, locating at New Hampton, Chickasaw county, Iowa. David Smith, a railroad man in Scotland, turned his attention to agricultural pursuits in this state and was thus busily engaged throughout the remainder of his life, passing away in August, 1888. He held a number of local offices and ably discharged the duties devolving upon him as a public official. His wife was called to her final rest in May, 1890. Mrs. Krause, who was the fourth in order of birth in a family of five children, has by her marriage become the mother of four children, namely: Pearl M., who was born on the 14th of June, 1894; Lloyd Frederick, whose birth occurred in December, 1896; Leo John, born January 12, 1901, and Royal David, whose natal day was August 14, 1902. All are still under the parental roof.

In politics Mr. Krause is a democrat and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have chosen him for a number of positions of public trust. As above stated, he is now serving as county sheriff and he has also acted in the capacity of township clerk, trustee and in other local offices, including that of president of the schoolboard in Sumner township. He is an adherent of the United Bretheren faith but attends the Congregational church at Waverly, as there is no church of his denomination here. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Sumner. Practically his entire life has been spent in this county and that his career has ever been upright and honorable is indicated by the fact that many of his warmest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present time.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914