Kuhrt, John

KOCH, MEYER, RUST, MOEHLING, SMITH, FINK, DRAVIS

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 1/19/2010 at 10:54:43

John Kuhrt is engaged in general farming upon eighty acres of land in Fremont township, constituting a portion of the property upon which his father settled in 1866. John Kuhrt was born in Cook county, Illinois, November 21, 1853, and is a son of Christ and Dorothea (Koch) Kuhrt, natives of Prussia, Germany, where they were reared and married. They emigrated to America in the early '50s and settled in Cook county, Illinois, where they remained until 1866. In that year they moved in Bremer county, this state, and bought eighty acres of wild prairie land in Fremont township. The father made extensive improvements upon this place, adding to it until he owned one hundred and sixty acres, and upon this property he remained until he retired from active life. He made his home afterward in the old town of Tripoli and later made his home in Dakota, where he resided for six years, dying there in 1892, at the age of seventy-four. His wife survives him and makes her home with the subject of this review. In their family were five children: Christ, who is engaged in farming in Frederika township; John, of this review; Dorothea, the deceased wife of Christ Meyer, of Dakota; Mary, who died at the age of three; and Annie, the wife of Ed Rust, of Waverly.

John Kuhrt was thirteen years of age when he came with his parents to Bremer county. He began to work upon his father's farm when he was quite young, plowing when he was obliged to reach up to the plow handles. Upon his father's reitrement he purchased the homestead, to which he added eighty acres. He has, however, since sold one hundred and sixty acres, retaining only the original eighty acres on section 22, Fremont township. He engages in general farming and dairying and, being practical and progressive, has met with a gratifying measure of success.

Mr. Kuhrt married Miss Sophia Moehling, a daughter of John Moehling, one of the early settlers in Bremer county. They have become the parents of ten children: Clara, the wife of Henry Smith, of Fremont township; Henry, who is married and resides in Tripoli; Ida, the wife of William Fink, of Fremont township, Herman, who makes his home in Oregon; Emma, the wife of Hans Dravis, of Tripoli; and Albert, Edward, Renetta, Emma and Irvin, all at home.

Mr. Kuhrt is a member of the Evangelical Association and a republican in his political beliefs. He has served as school director and road supervisor and takes an intelligent interest in public affairs, cooperating heartily in all progressive public projects. He is a man of exemplary character and has acquired the confidence and respect of his neighbors as a substantial farmer and a useful citizen.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914