Koch, J.C.

DUENSING, MOEHLING, SCHMIDT, BRAUN, BULS, GREBIEN

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 12/19/2009 at 09:38:49

J.C. Koch, devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits, is the owner of a well improved farm comprising two hundred acres on sections 17 and 8, Fremont township. It was on this place that his birth occurred on the 11th of November, 1877, his parents being L.C. and Minna (Duensing) Koch, natives of Germany. The father, whose natal day was July 20, 1832, emigrated to the United States as a young man of nineteen and spent several years in Cook county, Illinois, where he was married. In 1866 he came to Bremer county, Iowa, settling on eighty acres of prairie land in Fremont township, where he erected a dwelling and spent the remainder of his active career. He improved his property and cultivated his fields until they became very productive, and as his financial resources increased extended the boundaries of his place by additional purchases until it embraced two hundred acres. The evening of his life was spent in honorable retirement at Tripoli, where his demise occurred in December, 1907. The period of his residence in this county covered more than four decades and he was widely recognized as a substantial and esteemed citizen. He was a devoted and consistent member of the Evangelical church in Tripoli, to which his widow also belongs. The latter resides in Tripoli and is well known and highly esteemed throughout the community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. L.C. Koch were born twelve children, as follows: Sophia, who is the wife of H.J. Moehling, of Fremont township; Frank and Henry, both residents of Tripoli, Mary, who gave her hand in marriage to J.H. Schmidt, of Montrose, Colorado; Caroline, the wife of H.F. Braun, of Tripoli; J.C., of this review; Fred C., a merchant of Tripoli; Linda, who is the wife of F.W. Buls and resides in Tripoli; Herman, living in Montrose, Colorado; William, of Aredale, Iowa; and Emma and Minnie, who died in childhood.

J.C. Koch obtained his education in the district and German schools and also spent a short time in the Tripoli schools. As above stated, he has always remained on the farm where he was born and succeeded his father in its ownership, his holdings embracing two hundred acres of productive land on sections 17 and 8, Fremont township. He raises the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and in the careful conduct of his agricultural interests has won a gratifying annual income. Mr. Koch has also served as secretary of the Tripoli Creamery Company for the past seven years and enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the progressive and enterprising citizens of his native county.

In 1901 Mr. Koch was united in marriage to Miss Paulina Grebien, a native of Germany and a daughter of William Grebien, of Tripoli. They have three children: Rudolph, Eleanor and Elda.

Mr. Koch is a democrat in politics and has ably served in the capacity of township assessor for the past ten years. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Evangelical Association, to which his wife also belongs. In Bremer county, where his entire life has been spent, he is well and favorably known as a man reliable in business, progressive in citizenship and faithful to all ties and obligations of life.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914