John Schöppner [Schoeppner], 1899 Biography

SCHÖPPNER, SCHOEPPNER, WALZ

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 11/11/2006 at 16:17:09

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:

John Schöppner [Schoeppner]

This man also belongs on the honor roll of old pioneers of Carroll County because he has lived in Carroll County since 1871, and through hard work and diligence he has substantially contributed to the cultural development of the county.

Mr. John Schöppner was born on 12 June 1836 in Unterfranken, in Bavaria, to simple and honest people, who did everything in order to give their little Johann a good Christian upbringing. After successfully completing school, he decided to become a farmer like his father, and he worked at his father’s side, assisting in the operation of the family farm. On 24 June 1863, he married Miss Regina Walz and took over his parents’ property, which he worked on his own. In 1871, the married couple reached the decision to immigrate to America, which they carried out in April of the same year. They settled first in Kniest Township, Carroll County, Iowa, where Mr. Schöppner purchased an 80-acre farm. Because he was unable to make any progress there, he moved in 1876 to Roselle Township, where he rented a farm. In 1880, Mr. Schöppner purchased a 160-acre farm in Eden Township and moved onto it in the following year. He later purchased an additional 160 acres, so that he now calls a half-section of land his own. [A “section” is one square mile, or 640 acres.] In the fall of 1898, he retired from farming and moved to Templeton to a house he had purchased earlier, in the neighborhood of the Catholic church, where he, with his wife, intends to enjoy the fruit of his bountiful work. Mr. Schöppner and his wife and children enjoy an excellent reputation. This happy marriage has produced 12 children, four of whom have died. The names of the children still living are: Maria, Carolina, Wilhelm, Theodor, Monika, Anna, Johann, and Regina.