Conrad Meis, 1899 Biography

MEIS, GEORGE, DRILLING

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 9/27/2004 at 21:33:04

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. I have not changed the place or name spellings. Information in brackets and notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Conrad Meis

This man, a very popular and well-known merchant in Templeton, was born on 14 August 1845 in Siddinghausen, Büren County, Westphalia. He spent his youth in his hometown, where he attended school, and after completing school he learned the trade of joiner [could also be translated as cabinet-maker or carpenter]. He then worked in several larger German towns until he was 20 years old, when he decided to carry out his plan to emigrate to the free states of North America. On the journey, the passengers were shipwrecked and landed in Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia, in northern England. [Halifax, Nova Scotia, is actually in Canada.] Mr. Meis stopped here for half a year, and then set out again on the aborted trip to America. Upon arriving in America, he first made his way to Dubuque, Iowa, where he again took up his trade and worked four years. From there, he moved to Waterloo, then to Cedar Falls, then to Carroll, Carroll County, and then to Chicago, where he married Miss Maria George, a well-brought-up young lady from Port Washington, Wisconsin. In 1874, he moved with his young wife to Mt. Carmel, Carroll County, Iowa, where he opened a wagon making business with his brother Franz. In 1882, they moved to Templeton, where they established a hardware business. They sold the business in the same year, and Mr. Conrad Meis opened a furniture business, which he operated until 1893, whereupon he enlarged the business by adding a hardware department, and he still runs this business today. Since 1885, he has been engaged in the grain business with Mr. Jos. Drilling and constructed an elevator for that purpose. After this man withdrew from the business, he associated with Mr. August Thielke, who however departed this life several months ago.

Mr. Meis built the first house in Wheatland Township, the so-called “Tip-Top house.” He was the first mayor of Templeton, and since then has always has a member of the town council. For a long time, Mr. Meis was a correspondent for the Carroll Demokrat, and had been an avid reader of this paper since its founding.

This happy marriage has produced ten children, seven of whom have died, however. The names of those still living are: Bernhard, Clara, and Earl.

NOTES: Büren is about 10 or 12 miles southwest of Paderborn, and Siddinghausen is about 5 miles southwest of Büren.