Charles F. Wickman (1849-1936)

WICKMAN

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 10/3/2022 at 10:12:53

Charles F. Wickmann
(April 14, 1849 – February 13, 1936)

For thirty-six years Charles Wickmann has been a resident of Calhoun County and has therefore witnessed almost its entire development. He has seen its wild lands transformed into beautiful homes and farms,
its hamlets grow into thriving villages and towns, and all of the interests and evidences of an advanced civilization introduced. He has always borne his part in the work of progress and advancement, and is justly entitled to a prominent place on the roll of the county's honored pioneers and representative citizens. Mr. Wickmann was born in Furstentuni, Helsen Waldeck, Germany, April 14, 1849, and was left fatherless at the age of nine months, but his mother, Mrs. Christiana (Neumann) Wickmann, who was also born in Waldeck, August 16, 1819, is still living in her native land. He attended the public schools of Germany, where he spent the first thirteen years of his life, and then emigrated to America, landing in Baltimore, Maryland, October 11, 1862. He located in Geneseo, Henry County, Illinois, where at first he worked on a farm at twenty dollars per year, and during the summer of the following year was paid at the rate of sixty dollars per year, while during the summer of 1865 he received fifteen dollars per month. On the 2d of May, 1866, Mr. Wickmann came to Calhoun County, Iowa, and found employment on the farm of Joel Olmstead at fourteen dollars per month, remaining with him one summer. He then went to Boonesboro, Iowa, where he hauled coal two months, and next accepted a position as "mule whacker" at the coal bank at Coal Valley, six miles west of Boonesboro on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Mr. Wickmann drove a gin horse, hoisting coal front the shaft for one year, and the following year engaged in teaming for Hon. John F. Duncombe, of Fort Dodge, who owned a coal shaft. For five years he followed teaming in the employ of that gentleman, at Holiday Creek, six miles southeast of Fort Dodge. Mr. Wickmann returned to Calhoun County in 1871, and for one summer lived all alone in a little shanty eight feet square on section 10, township 88, range 31, the nearest house being then twenty miles southwest of his place, but in the fall of that year he returned to Holiday Creek. Webster County. In 1S72 he again came to Calhoun County, and while his own house was in course of construction he lived with his intended father-in-law, F. C. Loeber, whose first home in this county was a sod house on section 12, Greenfield Township.
On the 7th of March, 1872 Mr. Wickmann was united in marriage with Miss Mary Elizabeth Loeber, the ceremony being performed by a justice of the peace in the courthouse at Fort Dodge. She was born May 10, 1856, a daughter of F. C. and Minnie (Weistmann) Loeber, pioneers of this county. For five years her father served as a soldier of the Civil War. In his family were five children, namely: Rachel, wife of Philip Dermer, of Fort Dodge: William, who lives near Vincent, Iowa; Mary E.. deceased wife of our subject; Lydia, wife of Joseph Cappett, of Fort Dodge; and F. C, Jr., who married Katie Coinburger and resides in Albert Lea, Minnesota. In 1870 Mr. Wickmann had homesteaded the east half of the northwest quarter of section 10, Greenfield Township, and upon that tract he and his wife began their domestic life. At that time they had but two neighbors, one living in a dugout about forty rods away and the other in a shanty three-quarters of a mile from their home. They were forced to endure all the hardships and privations of frontier life and met with many discouragements, but during those trying days Mr. Wickmann was ably assisted and encouraged by his noble wife, who indeed proved a true helpmeet to him. With ox-teams he broke the wild prairie land and placed it under cultivation, planted trees and made many other improvements upon the place, but after a hard day's work was always sure of a pleasant evening at home with his wife, who did all in her power to make things bright and cheerful. Their nearest trading point was Fort Dodge, about
twenty-two miles distant. The lumber for his shanty Mr. Wickmann hauled from a place fifteen miles south of Fort Dodge, making in all a distance of thirty-seven miles. There were many sloughs to cross and he often got stuck in the mud, and would then have to unload his wagon and carry the lumber on his shoulders to dry ground. The lumber for his present house was bought in Fort Dodge. The grass was so high that a man on horseback could not be seen, and the only way oxen could be found after being unyoked was to follow up their trails, as the animals could not be seen on account of the tall grass. Prairie wolves were very numerous, and hunting was then a common and favorite sport, as all kinds of wild game abounded, such as cranes, snipes, ducks and prairie chickens, which could often be shot within sight of the settlers' cabins. The only guide from Mr. Wickmann's house was what was known as the lone tree, which was about sixteen miles northeast of his place, between Rockwell City and Lake City. He has driven to the latter city, a distance of twenty-five miles, to pay his taxes, and has been out in some of the worst blizzards ever seen in Iowa, in which many people were frozen to death upon the road. In the spring of 1867 he walked to Yatesville, a distance of eight miles, when there was four feet of snow upon the ground, to settle a lawsuit. In those early days farm products were very low, and after hauling grain to Fort Dodge in 1873, Mr. Wickmann received only eight cents per bushel for his oats, although he had paid three cents per bushel for threshing it, and his corn brought only eleven cents. In the same city, in 1879, he was given only seven cents a bushel for his oats and eleven and a half cents for corn, while butter brought but two cents per pound and eggs two cents per dozen. The grasshoppers destroyed much of his crop in 1876, but with the exception of the early days when his crops were often damaged by those insects and by drought, he has steadily prospered in his Iowa home, and has had no occasion to complain. For several years he has devoted considerable attention to the raising of fine Poland China hogs and a high grade of cattle, feeding from six to seven carloads every winter for the past twenty years. He has taken as high as sixty-one wagon loads of hogs to Manson in a day, and he still deals extensively in stock, principally hogs. In 1890 he raised three thousand one hundred and eighty bushels of flax from one hundred and ninety-seven acres, for which he received from one dollar and eleven cents to one dollar and forty cents per bushel. He is now the owner of a beautiful farm of three hundred and twenty acres of well improved land, pleasantly located one half mile south east of Knierim. By his first marriage Mr. Wickmann had nine children, namely: Fred C, who was born February 22. 1873 and is now living in Knierim: Edwin A., born October 22, 1874; Charles R., who was born August 15, 1876, and now has charge of his father's
farm: Lydia M., born February 28, 1879; Wilhelmina C, born September 14, 1880; Elizabeth M., born December 3, 1883; Ida K., born January 11, 1886; Edna Ruth, born May 19, 1888; and one who died in infancy. The mother of these children departed this life February 25, 1894, at the age of thirty-seven years, nine months and fifteen days. She was a consistent and faithful member of the Methodist church, was an affectionate wife and loving mother, and, besides her immediate family, she left many friends to mourn her loss. Mr. Wickmann was again married in Calhoun County, November 26, 1896, his second union being with Mrs. Katie M. Kidder, nee Mulhall, who died January 22, 1898, at the age of thirty-seven years, nine months and seven days. On the 31st of December, 1900, he was united in marriage with Miss Katie Beckrath, the ceremony being performed at Fort Dodge, by a German Methodist minister. She was born in Germany, September 10, 1878, and is a daughter of Henry and Christina (Justus) Beckrath, who belong to a very prominent family of that country. She has two sisters still living there, Hattie and Isabel, who are very popular young ladies. In July, 1897, Mr.
Wickmann was taken sick with an abscess and for some time was confined to his bed, being tenderly cared for by his second wife
until she, too, was stricken with typhoid pneumonia and died. He was unable to leave his bed for five months after her death. She was a native of Queens County, Ireland, and a Catholic in religious belief. Mr. Wickmann has given his children liberal educations and every advantage within his power. He and his family attend the
Methodist Episcopal church of Knierim and are people of prominence in their community. In September, 1884, accompanied by his oldest son, he returned to Germany to visit his aged mother, but remained only seven days, being homesick for his American home. He again crossed the Atlantic in September, 1900, and this time spent four weeks, visiting his mother and the scenes of his boyhood. On the second trip he took with him his daughters, Ida and Edna. He is entirely devoted to his family, and takes great enjoyment in his home. Since casting his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden in 1.876, Mr. Wickmann has been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and from 1879 until 1882 rendered his fellow citizens effective service as road supervisor. He assisted in organizing the district school of his neighborhood, and was also instrumental in organizing the Methodist Episcopal church of Knierim, of which he has been a trustee for four years, and to which he has contributed liberally of his means. He takes an active interest in everything tending to promote the moral, intellectual or material welfare of the town or county, and is recognized as one of the most valued and useful citizens of his community. He has never had occasion to regret his emigration to the new world, for here he has prospered, and is today one of the most substantial as well as one of the most highly respected citizens of his township, owning property in Knierim besides his fine farm. [Source – Biographical Record of Calhoun County, Iowa, by S.J. Clarke, 1902, p.395]