Philip Schneider 1836-1908

SCHNEIDER, PENNINGROTH, STOECKER, LIERCKE, KOCH, KELLER, RIEDESEL

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 7/23/2016 at 10:14:56

3 July 1908 - The Lowden News

Philip Schneider was born on April 21, 1836, at Wundershausen, Westphalia. When but a lad he came with his parents to America. They came to this vicinity 56 years ago.

In 1863 Mr. Schneider was united in marriage to Louise Penningroth his now sorrowing widow. To this union 13 children were born, two of whom died in early childhood. Several weeks ago Mr. Schneider was effected with a stroke of paralysis, at one time there appeared to be good hope for his recovery, but the ailment turned again for the worse, and he died Saturday, June 27th, at 7:45 a.m., at the age of 72 years, two months and six days. There survive to mourn his demise, his wife who had been his faithful companion for 45 years, also six sons and five daughters namely: Chas., Wm., Philip, Henry, August and Otto Schneider, and Mrs. Chas. Stoecker, Mrs. Chas. Liercke, Mrs. Philip Koch, Mrs. Louis Koch and Miss Frieda Schneider; there also survive Mr. Schneider a number of grandchildren, and also two sisters namely: Mrs. John Keller of Davenport and Mrs. Henry Riedesel of Lauesboro, Iowa. Chas. Schneider and family reside at Redfield, S. D., Philip Jr. is our county auditor and resides at Tipton; Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Stoecker and children reside at Backus, Minn., and Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Lierke and children at Clarence, all other children of Mr. Schneider reside near Lowden.

The funeral occurred Monday with services held in the Evangelical church here, conducted in German by Rev. Werning, and in English by Rev. Emerson of Valley Church. There was a large attendance of neighbors and friends at the funeral, and the floral tributes were beautiful. The pallbearers were Fred Conrad, Fred Richmann, Ernst Schluter, Chris Hamdorf, Louis Strackbein and Carl Dehne. Mr. Schneider was layed to rest on a newly purchased family lot on the Lowden cemetery. There he rests in the soil which he helped to wrest from the wilderness, in a cemetery surrounded by fertile lands and beautiful farms, not far from his own farm and home, and near the town where he did his trading for over half a century. The scenes about here having underwent wonderful changes since Mr. Schneider had first set eyes upon the same.

Mr. Schneider by reason of his long residence here was known far and near and all who knew him called him a good man. He certainly was a kind hearted, benevolent man, befriending all who were worthy, helping where help was needed; doing good in his quiet unobtrusive way, never desiring notoriety, nor praise. The early hardships of frontier life no doubt helped to teach him the duties of a neighbor, citizen, and man.

The Lowden News of August 21st, 1903, brought under a local historical sketch the following, regarding Mr. Schneider, and early days here:
"Philip Schneider, who resides since 1865 two miles north here, while in town Monday, favored us with some interesting reminiscence of the early fifties. He came with his father, George Schneider, and brothers, George and Henry, when but eleven years of age, from Germany and settled first in Ohio. This was in 1847. In 1851 they came to Davenport, and in the winter of the same year, a week before Christmas, they came from Davenport on a sleigh drawn by a yoke of oxen. They purchased a farm five or six miles southeast of here. Settlers were but very few, log houses were thinly scattered along the edge of the timber and all of the improved land could be bought for $1.25 per acre. Mr. Schneider and his brothers broke many acres of prairie, and he can tell of many highly interesting incidents of pioneer life, particularly about their drives with oxen to Davenport, oftimes getting stalled in the mires and sloughs."

"Farming in the early times was yet very primitive here. Horses were but few. Oxen were used in cultivating the land and conveying the product to market. Exchanges of work was a great deal in vogue to these early settlements and purchases and sales of products and general commodities was also nothing more than an exchange of articles (for money was the scarcest article of all). They took their grain to Davenport and brought back for it lumber, nails, coffee, etc. The few fences on the farms about the edge of the timber were rail fences."