Franz X. Dangel, 1899 Biography

DANGEL, BENZKOFER, FISCHER, KNOBBE, SOAT, NIEMAND

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 3/26/2006 at 19:14:17

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:

Franz X. Dangel

Mr. Franz X. Dangel, whose excellent portrait with his wife we present in the above picture, was born on 31 March 1844 in Altheim, Kingdom of Wuerttemberg. He attended the schools in his hometown and learned the trade of miller, but because of an accident in which he severely injured his spine and left hip, he had to give up the business. In 1866 he immigrated to America and settled in Galesburg, Illinois, where he learned the trade of rope-maker, at which he worked for two years. Mr. Dangel then devoted himself to farming and worked 18 months on a farm. He then made his way to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he found employment in a sawmill for 18 months. In 1871 he moved to Roselle Township, Carroll County, Iowa, where at first he stayed with his brother for three-fourths of a year. With success, he devoted himself to farming in Carroll County, and in 1878 he visited his parents in the old hometown on the other side of the ocean, from where he returned after a year. On 16 July 1872, Mr. Dangel married the widow Rosina Benzkofer, and then the young couple moved to the young wife’s farm in Roselle Township. In 1879, Mr. Dangel expanded his real estate by purchasing another 160 acres in Grant Township. In 1897 he sold his 160-acre farm in Roselle Township for an 80-acre farm in the same township, and late in that same year he moved to his farm in Grant Township. In April 1899 the couple moved to the town of Carroll, where they purchased a beautiful and comfortable property on Main Street, in order to enjoy the fruits of their hard and successful work. Mr. Franz X. Dangel and his wife are well known in the entire county and enjoy an excellent reputation among all their acquaintances. The four children from the [wife’s] first marriage are named: Anna, married to Mr. Jos. Fischer in Nebraska; Joseph, married to Miss. Ch. Knobbe; Johanna, married to Mr. Raimund Dangel; and Anton, married to Miss Agnes Soat. The marriage to Mr. Franz X. Dangel produced one child, named Raimund, who is married to Miss Anna Niemand.