Nickolaus Witry, 1899 Biography

WITRY, KOPRA, SALMEN

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 3/25/2006 at 11:22:06

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 Witry

With special pleasure, we here present the history of a man who has lived for many years here in the county and is honored and respected by all his acquaintances. Mr. Nickolaus Witry was born on 8 March 1837 in Herborn, Luxembourg. After his school years, he devoted himself to farming, working part-time with his parents and part-time on other farms. He then learned the trade of wagonmaker and worked at it for three years. After he had then worked a while longer with his parents on the farm, he immigrated to America in 1866 and settled in Frenchtown, Blackhawk County, Iowa, where he again found employment on a farm for a year. After a short break, during which he was again employed at his trade, he again took up farming, and he and a partner purchased 100 acres of land near Independence, Pocahontas County, Iowa. He worked on his own on this farm for two years, and then the partners sold the land, and in 1871 Mr. Witry purchased a 140-acre farm for himself in Kniest Township, Carroll County, Iowa, which he then operated. On 10 July 1873, he married Miss Maria Kopra [possibly should be Cooper], and after the marriage had been blessed with two children, his wife died on 9 September 1875. On 8 January 1876, he married his second wife, Miss Sophia Salmen, with whom he is still joined in a happy marriage. Mr. Witry worked up to 1895 on his farm in Kniest Township, which meanwhile he had equipped with fine buildings, and then, already along in years, the couple moved to the town of Carroll, where they purchased a beautiful home in the Fourth Ward near Saints Peter and Paul Church, so that they could retire and enjoy the fruits of their hard and successful work. The names of the children are Mathias and Clara, both of whom, however, died at a young age.