Jakob Sievers, 1899 Biography

KRÖGER, SIEVERS, KROEGER, ZURMAHR, SCHNEIDER

Posted By: David Reineke
Date: 3/11/2007 at 18:56:28

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:

Jakob Sievers

This man also belongs among the old settlers of Carroll County because he has been a property owner since 1872. Thus, he helped to cultivate the prairie and contributed substantially to the later success of Carroll County.

Mr. Sievers was born on 26 December 1839 in Hamdorf, District of Hütten, Parish of Hohn, Schleswig. He attended school and was confirmed in the local parish church. After he had completed school, he took a position as a cook on a merchant ship, which made voyages to Sweden and Norway, as well as to Stettin, etc. But he remained in the ship’s service for only one year, and then he turned to land work. He worked four years on a farm, as well as on other properties.

In the beginning of May 1865 Mr. Sievers married the worthy Miss Karoline Schneider, after which the young couple immigrated to the United States of North America. Upon arriving in America, they made their way first to Davenport, where he worked part of the time in town and part of the time in the country for several years. In 1868 the family moved to West Liberty, Muscatine County, where Mr. Sievers worked mainly at digging ditches, difficult work which, however, paid fairly well. In 1872, after Mr. Sievers purchased 40 acres of prairie in Sheridan Township, Carroll County, he moved there with his family the following year. Unfortunately, he was not spared from the hard blows of fate, because on 28 August 1874 his worthy and virtuous wife died, leaving her grieving husband four children, of whom only Jakob and Haus [probably should be “Hans”] are still living and are already married. While his wife was still living, Mr. Sievers increased his real estate by another 40 acres, and in the summer of 1875 he remarried the widow Katharina Kröger, a very respected woman. This marriage produced one daughter, Mrs. Wilhelm Zurmahr. After he had leased out his land following the death of his first wife, he moved back to his farm in Sheridan Township in 1876. He later added to his real estate, so that he now owns two well-equipped farms, totaling 320 acres, in Sheridan Township. Mr. Sievers and his wife are very pleasant German-Americans, who have risen to success through tireless hard-work and perseverance and now enjoy the finest reputation.