Thies, Henry A.

SCHILD, WEBER, KOSBOHM

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 12/17/2009 at 16:49:19

Henry A. Thies, a well known and respected resident of Waverly, is now living retired in the enjoyment of a competence gained through former years of wisely directed endeavor. His birth occurred at Freeport, Illinois, on the 9th of February, 1855, his parents being Frederick and Elizabeth (Schild) Thies, natives of Lippe-Detmold, Germany. The father, born in 1820, crossed the Atlantic to the United States as a young man and soon afterward was married in Freeport, Illinois. He followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire business career with the exception of a short time which he spent in the employ of others at Freeport. In 1857 he removed to Belle Plaine, Benton county, Iowa, and there carried on farming until the spring of 1867, when he came to Bremer county, locating three miles east of Waverly. On that place he spent the remainder of his life, passing away in September, 1873, while his wife was called to her final rest on the 5th of May of the same year. Frederick Thies held a number of local offices and was highly esteemed in the localities where he made his home.

Henry A. Thies, the second in order of birth in a family of nine children, began his education in the district schools of Belle Plaine, Iowa, and later continued his studies in Washington township, Bremer county. He was eighteen years of age at the time of his parents' death and by the terms of his father's will was to inherit the old homestead providing he cared for the younger children and kept the family together. He bought out the other heirs to the property and carried out his father's wishes in every respect. Mr. Thies continued to reside on the home farm for about eleven years after he had attained his majority and then, his health having become impaired, removed to Waverly. Leasing his farm, he embarked in the livestock business at Waverly and for five years was engaged in shipping. On the expiration of that period he became a retail shoe merchant in Waverly, carrying on that business for nine years. For the past twelve years he has lived practically retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil in well earned ease. He owns two hundred and sixty acres of land in Washington township and a tract of one hundred and six acres in South Dakota. He is likewise a director of the First National Bank and a stockholder in the sugar factory.

On the 11th of March, 1879, Mr. Thies was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Weber, who was born in the state of New York on the 8th of February, 1860, the younger of the two children of Andrew and Sophia (Kosbohm) Weber, natives of Germany. On coming to the United States they settled first in New York and subsequently took up their abode on a farm three and a half miles east of Waverly, Iowa, where Mrs. Weber passed away. Andrew Weber subsequently sold the farm and spent his remaining days in the home of his older daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Thies have no children of their own, but have reared from childhood one who was born near Emmetsburg.

Mr. Thies is a republican in his political views and has ably served as a member of the city council for five and a half years. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Evangelical church at Waverly. The period of his residence in Bremer county covers forty-six years and he has long been numbered among its prosperous, representative and esteemed citizens.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914