Bernard H. Ahrling, 1899 Biography

AHRLING, WERNING

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 5/1/2006 at 19:30:03

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:

Bernard H. Ahrling

This man, of whom the Anniversary Edition presents a fine picture, was born on 17 July 1846 in Steinfeld, County of Bechta, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Germany. He attended the schools in his hometown. After successfully completing school, he became a farmer and later managed the property of his father, who for 44 years had traveled the world’s oceans as a sailor in merchant ships, and in his travels had several times visited the East Indies and Australia. As a 20-year-old young man, Bernard H. also became a sailor, and from 1865 to 1868 he saw many European, North and South American, and Cuban harbor cities. He can still vividly picture the harbor of Santiago, where [in the Spanish-American War] the hero Hobson sank the coal ship Merimac [Merrimac]. On 15 July 1868, the immigrant family Ahrling arrived in Baltimore. They settled near Petersburg, Iowa, where they lived for three years. In 1871, Bernard H. purchased 80 acres in Wheatland Township [Carroll County]. In the years 1872 to 1874, he purchased an additional 40 acres of bordering land. Today he still lives with his family on this farm, which is equipped with fine buildings and other equipment, and which also has a good livestock herd. Over time, he purchased another 240 acres of neighboring land, which is also well equipped with buildings, etc. On 16 January 1875, he married Miss Louise Werning, and the marriage was blessed with four children. One child, however, died at a tender age. The children still living are: Agnes, Gertrude, and Franziska.