Vanderwalker, George

BLOOD, PICKLE, BIERIE, SHANEWISE, MAURER, WEICK

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 12/20/2009 at 11:42:10

George Vanderwalker, mayor of Readlyn and with the exception of two years and six months the incumbent of that office since the incorporation of the town, has been a resident of Bremer county since 1871 and was for many years closely connected with farming interests of Franklin township. He has shown himself a progressive business man and a capable official and he is, moreover, entitled to representation in this volume as a veteran of the Civil war. He was born at Willsboro, New York, February 3, 1846, and is a son of Jeremiah and Fannie (Blood) Vanderwalker, the former born in New York in 1816 and the latter a native of New Hampshire. When George Vanderwalker was three years of age his parents moved to Vermont and in 1855 went by boat from Ogdensburg, on Lake Ontario, to Green Bay, Wisonsin. They soon afterward located on a farm in Waupaca county and there the father engaged in farming for a number of years. He died in Readlyn in 1907 and his wife passed away in Wisconsin at the age of eighty-one. Four sons were born to their union, as follows: Frank, who enlisted in the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was wounded in battle and died from the effects of the wound after returning home; George, of this review; William, who resides in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and Walter, who was born in Wisconsin and died in Iowa. The Vanderwalker family came origianally from Holland and its representatives located along the Hudson river at a very early date. The family was represented in the French and Indian wars and in the Revolutionary war and its members were among the pioneers in New York.

George Vanderwalker moved to Wisconsin with his parents in 1855 and from that state enlisted in the First Wisconsin Artillery, serving in the Union army until the close of the Civil war, taking part in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. After receiving his honorable discharge he returned to Wisconsin and there followed lumbering until 1871, when he came to Franklin township, this county. He was among the early settlers in this locality and can recall the time when good butter was five cents a pound, eggs four sents a dozen, chickens three cents a pound and hogs two dollars and a quarter a hundred weight. Fourteen cents a bushel was a good price for corn and on account of the extremely low price of this grain it was extensively used for fuel. Mr. Vanderwalker continued active in agricultural pursuits for many years after he settled here but in 1904 retired, moving into Readlyn, where he has a comfortable and well furnished home. He is one of the prosperous men of the city, active in the support of all measures looking toward community advancement and development and taking a leading part in public affairs. He has held practically all of the local offices and is the present mayor of Readlyn, having occupied that position with the exception of two years and six months since the incorporation of the town. He has proven a capable and practical executive and has accomplished some excellent work along lines of municipal development.

Mr. Vanderwalker has been twice married, his first union being with Miss Henrietta Pickle, of Franklin township, in 1869. She died in July, 1873, leaving one son, George, who died at the age of twenty-six years. In Bremer county, in 1875, he wedded Mrs. Elizabeth (Bierie) Shanewise, a widow living in Franklin township, who was born in Switzerland and came from that country in her infancy. She also had one son by a former marriage, Frederick Shanewise, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderwalker became the parents of the following children: John, who has passed away; Mrs. Fannie Maurer, residing in Bremer county; Mrs. Bessie Weick, deceased; Mrs. Mamie Maurer, a resident of Bremer county; and William, who makes his home in Oelwein, Iowa.

Mr. Vanderwalker gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is active in his support of its candidates and principles. His wife attends the German Lutheran church of Readlyn, while his religious leanings are toward the Methodist Episcopal church, although he is not an active member. He is one of the successful men in this part of the county and his prosperity is a credit to his industry and enterprise, for when he arrived here he was practically without funds and has worked his own way steadily upward to success.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914