Franz Joseph Schelle, 1899 Biography

SCHELLE, BERNING, LUDWIG

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 5/22/2006 at 10:21:07

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 Joseph Schelle

The Anniversary Edition contains an excellent portrait of Mr. Franz Jos. Schelle and his wife, as well as the family’s fine residence. He was born on 23 February 1850 in Istrup, Westphalia. He lost his father in 1856, and after his mother remarried to Mr. H. Janse, the entire family immigrated to America in 1857 and settled on a farm with an uncle near New Vienna [Iowa]. After a year, the family moved to a farm in Delaware County. When Mr. Schelle was about 24 years old, he married Miss Maria M. Berning, and the young family then moved to Wheatland Township, Carroll County, where Mr. Schelle had purchased a farm of 160 acres. In the course of time, he purchased an additional 160 acres of bordering land.

In 1881, he and his family moved to the town of Breda, where he opened a furniture shop. But Mr. Schelle had to learn that no happiness in the world is perfect, because in 1884 he had the misfortune of losing his dear wife, who had left him two children, namely Maria A. and Anna, and then his oldest daughter, Maria A, followed her dear mother in death. On 22 June 1885, Mr. Schelle married again to Miss Victoria Ludwig, a well-raised young woman. He then quit the furniture business, and in 1890 he partnered with Mr. Rich. Ricke, and they founded a general merchandise business. In 1894, he again moved with his family to their nearby farm, and in 1898, he exchanged his share in the business for a 200-acre farm near Auburn.

Mr. Schelle and his family still live today on his farm in Wheatland Township. It is rightly considered the best equipped farm in the township, and, as the picture of the residence shows, it is equipped with a fine house, solid barn and stalls, which indicate the prosperity of the owner. Socially, the owner is among the most respected German-Americans, and he and his wife and children enjoy the best reputation. The names of the children still living from the second marriage are: Elisabeth, Joseph, Josephina, Hermann, Heinrich, and Charles.