Johann Deppmann, 1899 Biography

DEPPMANN, HAASE

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 3/3/2007 at 19:12:52

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

Johann Deppmann

Mr. Deppmann was born on 23 February 1841 in Tessin, Mecklenburg-Schwerein. His parents moved to Marlow, where little Johann attended elementary school. After he finished school, he took up farming and worked on various farms in the Province of Pomerania. He became a soldier in June 1861 and served in the Second Fusilier’s Regiment, Third Battalion, which was garrisoned in Rostock. He was honorably discharged after two years, but three years later all those eligible for military service were called to arms because Prussia was involved in a war with Austria [Austro-Prussian War]. And Mr. Deppmann took part in the campaign and was in the murderous battle near Hohenkirchen. After the war, he was discharged with honors. He then moved to Zornow, and on 2 March 1867 Mr. Deppmann married Miss Maria Haase, a respected and esteemed young woman. This happy marriage produced five children, three of whom are already deceased. When the war with France broke out [Franco-Prussian War], he was called up as a reservist and served with the First Pomeranian Reserve Regiment, the members of which were assigned as replacements for the fortresses. In 1881 the family immigrated to America, and upon arriving here they made their way to Carroll County, Iowa. Mr. Deppmann then settled with his family in the vicinity of Coon Rapids, where he purchased a 180-acre farm. But for a few years now, he has been retired from farming in order to enjoy the fruits of his hard work with his wife. Mr. Deppmann and his wife enjoy a fine reputation and are very popular.