Nickolaus Beiter, 1899 Biography

BEITER

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 3/7/2006 at 00:50:13

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:

Nickolaus Beiter

Among all German-Americans, Mr. Beiter, the owner of the oldest butcher shop in Carroll, enjoys a great popularity, and he is equally respected by all the other residents. He was, therefore, honored on various occasions and has held many offices. He has been a member of the school board since 1881, which he led for three years as president. He was also was an honorable and active member of the town council for several terms. In German-American societies, he was president of all the clubs except only one.

Mr. Beiter was born on 21 March 1847 in Strassberg, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He attended school there and learned the trade of butcher. After completing a period of apprenticeship, he strapped on his knapsack and traveled through the states of Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Baden, Switzerland,and Austria, and everywhere found employment in his occupation. Later, he visited the cities of Paris and Havre in France. Having received rich experience in his occupation, he came to the United States of North America in July 1866. He first made his way to Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and in 1869 to Chicago, Illinois. In 1870, he went to Elgin and from there to Aurora, Illinois. In the fall of the same year, he made his way to Iowa, where he settled in Clarence, Cedar County, and he remained until the fall of 1874. He then came to Carroll and opened his butcher shop in a small frame building, where the business of Mr. Mark and Co. is now located. But for many years he has been the owner of a solid business building on Fifth Street, where he conducts a considerable butcher shop business with good success and employs four assistant butchers. In 1890, he bought 240 acres of land in Sheridan Township, and he also owns a 40-acre parcel in Grant Township where he has his cattle yard and slaughterhouse. A few years ago, he built a fine residence on Main Street, which is equipped with steam heat.