John H. Höbing [Hoebing], 1899 Biography

HOEBING, NIELAND

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 1/13/2006 at 00:33:13

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:

John H. Höbing [Hoebing]

Mr. John D. Höbing on 26 November 1848 in Quincy, Illinois. He attended school there, and at St. Francis Solanus College, and spent his youth with his parents in the country. In 1869 and 1870, he traveled and worked on farms in various states as a hired hand. In May 1871, he moved to Iowa. In the fall of 1871, he passed the examination and worked as a teacher in the public schools of Dubuque and Delaware Counties, Iowa until February 1876, when he moved to a 160-acre farm in Viola Township, Sac County, and worked four winter semesters as a teacher. In 1880 he purchased another 40 acres, and in 1883 he purchased another 80 acres which bordered on his homestead. In addition, over the course of time he has bought and sold several other properties. In 1888 and 1890, he purchased his new homestead of 107 acres on the outskirts of Breda. In 1897, he purchased another adjoining 100 acres of land, so that he is a taxpayer in two counties. In 1889, he was a participant in the first pilgrimage trip to Palestine, in which 102 people took part. On this trip, which lasted six months, there were expeditions to the large cities of America, France, Italy, and Egypt, and they also visited all of Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Germany, and England. On 8 May 1873, he married Miss Angela M. Nieland, and this marriage produced 11 children, six of which died at a young age and have gone to a better world. The children still living are: Emma G., Frances E., George C., Edward B., and Leonard L. B. In March 1890, the family moved to their present residence in Kniest Township, where the couple plan to spend the remaining days of their life.