Wilhelm Scharpenkamp, 1899 Biography

SCHARPENKAMP, VENTEICHER, KRUSE

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 3/7/2006 at 00:46:28

I translated the following biography from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published in a special 25th Anniversary Edition of the paper on Friday, 20 September 1899. Information in brackets and notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Wilhelm Scharpenkamp

Mr. Wilhelm Scharpenkamp was born on 13 August 1862 in Borbeck, County of Essen, Prussia. He attended school in his hometown, and after completion, he worked three years in the Bessemer steel works in Oberhausen. Then he took employment at the Koenigsberg coal mine near Oberhausen, where he worked uninterrupted until the spring of 1885. He then immigrated to America and landed in New York on 13 March 1885. He made his way to Iowa, where he turned to farming in Carroll County and worked on various farms for three years. On 31 January 1888, he married Miss Maria Venteicher, and he then operated the farm of his father-in-law, Mr. Herman Venteicher, along with Mr. Venteicher. Unfortunately, Mr. Scharpenkamp’s wife passed away on 27 February 1889. On 22 April 1890, he married Miss Anna Kruse, whereupon he and his young wife moved to the 80-acre farm in Grant Township, which he had previously purchased from Mr. Venteicher, and which was partially a gift from the old man. In 1894, he increased his real estate by 40 acres, so that his property amounts to 120 acres. This happy marriage has produced five children, and their names are: Gertrude, Hermann, Theodora, Anna, and Katharina. Mr. Scharpenkamp and his young wife enjoy an excellent reputation and are esteemed and respected by all their acquaintances.