Theodor Vogt, 1899 Biography

VOGT, SCHROEDER, SCHRÖDER

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 1/29/2005 at 12:44:20

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. Information in brackets and notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Theodor Vogt

Mr. Vogt, of whom the Anniversary Edition presents a fine picture, the original of which was taken on the day of his wedding, has certainly been known to our readers for a long time. Therefore, it will be of interest to read a biography of this man, especially since he is a German-American who, although clinging with his heart and soul to the land of the Stars and Stripes, still lovingly and respectfully recalls the red earth in the old fatherland and honorably keeps the old traditions and customs which distinguish a steadfast German-American.

Mr. Theodor Vogt was born on 6 October 1828 in Dülmen, the little town in Koesfeld [Coesfeld] County [in Westphalia], which has become famous due to the divinely inspired Anna Katharina Emmrich. [Also spelled Emmerich or Emmerick, she was a Catholic nun said to have experienced the stigmata and holy visions.] Here he spent the carefree and wonderful years of childhood, romped about with his playmates in boisterous joy, and attended the Catholic parish school in the town. Following the wonderful day of his First Holy Communion, when he needed to choose an occupation, he devoted himself to farming and worked on his parents' farm. In 1850, Mr. Vogt was recruited for military service and assigned to the 7th Artillery Regiment, which was then garrisoned in Münster. During his five-year term of service, he was mobilized three times and received an honorable discharge in 1855. He then turned again to farming, and after pursuing this for five years, he took up the plow on his parents’ farm, where he remained until the fall of 1869.

For a long time, the idea had been growing in him to try his luck in the land of the Stars and Stripes. This idea was strengthened by his circumstances, and so we see the man take his leave from his loved ones and cross the ocean in September 1869. Arriving here in America, he made his way first to Dubuque, Iowa, where he was employed in gardening for three years. In 1873, he opened a tavern, which he operated for several years with rather good success and, since he had a good opportunity, he sold the business and moved to Carroll County, Iowa.

In 1880, he settled in the little country town of Roselle, In Carroll County, and opened a tavern. At first, he operated the tavern by renting it, and then he purchased the place, where he still conducts business. In 1884, he married Miss Elisabeth Schröder, a respectable young lady. This happy marriage has produced three children, one of which, however, is deceased and waits at the throne of God. The tavern burned on 20 July 1893, along with the residence and stall, but yet in the same year, Mr. Vogt built a fine, large tavern and a splendid residence, which may now be the most substantial and finest business building and private residence in Roselle.

Mr. Vogt had six brothers and a sister, all of whom have passed away. In the fall, it will be 30 years since he immigrated to America, and during this time, Mr. Vogt has twice visited his old fatherland and his little homeland of Westphalia.

NOTES: Carroll County cemetery records show Theodore Vogt, 1828-1918, and Elisabeth Vogt, 1850-1920. Also daughter Katharina Vogt, 1888-1889. The article refers to the “red earth” of his homeland. Westphalia is often called the “Land of the Red Earth.” Dülmen and Coesfeld are in Münsterland, a region in western Westphalia.