Johann Walterscheid, 1899 Biography

WALTERSCHEID, KNECHT, ENNENBACH, BELLINGHAUSEN

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 1/19/2007 at 00:45:45

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:

Johann Walterscheid

This elderly man, of whom the Anniversary Edition presents an accurate photograph, also belongs among the number of old German settlers, because Mr. Johann Walterscheid came to Roselle Township in 1873 to purchase virgin soil for cultivating.

Mr. Walterscheid is the “senior” of Roselle Township, and he already enjoys an advanced age. Through his children and through their children, the relations of the old gentleman reach into many families of Roselle Township and other townships. He is therefore, strictly speaking, the ancestor of a large lineage, and on festive occasions when he sees his children and in-laws, his grandchildren and their husbands and wives gathered around him, it is an impressive sight to see how the old gentleman and his silver-haired spouse are honored by the impressive number of men, women, boys, girls, and children.

Mr. Johann Walterscheid was born on 5 June 1822 in Pinnen, County of Sieg, Germany. He spent the years of his youth there, and when he was released from school he learned the trade of slater. After he had worked a while as a journeyman at his trade, he received his license as a master.

On 23 January 1844, he married Eva Maria Knecht, a Christian young woman, and their marriage produced two children, of whom, however, only Katharina, Mrs. Franz Eich, is still living. The young couple was forced to endure many blows from fate. For example, the young wife was blinded by cataracts, and later she suffered so severely from gout that she was stiff and bed-ridden for an entire year, after which, having received Last Rights, she was released from her suffering by a gentle death.

On 22 September 1852, Johann Walterscheid married a virtuous young woman named Elisabeth, whose maiden name was Walterscheid. Mr. Walterscheid worked continually at his business until 1873, when he then carried out his long-held plan to seek his fortune in distant America. Arriving in America, he settled immediately in Roselle Township, Carroll County, Iowa, where he purchased a 120-acre parcel of land. Mr. Walterscheid and his dear wife still live on this farm today, and through this long course of years, he has seen the gradual settlement and development of the township take place before his eyes. The old man and his life’s companion stand in high regard among all their acquaintances because of their good character and integrity.

This happy and Christian marriage has produced five children: Maria, Mrs. Christian Hausmann; Christina, Mrs. Heinrich Ennenbach; Karl, who runs a mercantile store in the little town of Halbur but is soon going to move to Wichita, Kansas, where he is a shareholder in a factory; Wilhelm, who already lives in Wichita and is a stockholder and official of the factory; Elisabeth, married to Peter Bellinghausen, who both live on the farm with her parents.