Wilhelm Rupiper, 1899 Biography

RUPIPER, RIESBERG

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 12/31/2006 at 12:24:38

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. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Wilhelm Rupiper

Mr. Wilhelm Rupiper was born on 4 February 1848 near New Vienna, Iowa. He spent the years of his youth and attended school there, and after he had acquired the necessary education and received First Holy Communion, he took up farming and worked for his father on his parents’ farm until he was 21 years old. On 18 April 1871, he took as his life’s companion the respected Miss Anna Maria Riesberg. His father died in 1885, and three years later he and his wife, children, and elderly mother moved to Roselle Township, Carroll County, Iowa, where he purchased a 280-acre farm. It is worth noting that the farm is the oldest in the township because it was partly worked and cultivated by Joseph James, one of the earliest settlers in the township. Afterwards, he purchased an additional 40 acres, so that the well-equipped farm is now 320 acres in size. The farm is notable for its fine location as well as its good buildings, and Mr. Rupiper and his family are highly respected and popular among all their acquaintances. Mr. Rupiper’s mother died on 22 February 1895 at the age of 84. This happy marriage has produced 11 children, of whom the following are still living: Anton, Wilhelm, Franz, Katharina, Eleonora, Joseph, and Aloysius.