John W. Conrad

CONRAD, YOST, FUNK, CRECELIUS, WILSON

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 11/10/2011 at 20:24:39

JOHN W. CONRAD was born January 28, 1813, in Harrison County, Ind., and is a well-to-do farmer of Clay Township, Grundy County. He is the son of Jacob and Mary (Yost) Conrad, the former being in turn a son of Jacob, who came to this country from Germany. He died in Indiana at the home of his son when eighty-three years old. His wife was Catherine Funk, a native of Virginia, who also died in Indiana, when eighty-seven years old.

The father of our subject left his native state in 1807 and located on Government land in Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his days, passing away at the age of sixty-five years. He fought in the War of 1812 as one of the state guards. The good wife of this gentleman was a native of Virginia and died when but thirty-three years old. She was one of four children born to her parents, who were natives of Germany. The parents of our subject had born to them nine children, all of whom grew to mature years.

John W. Conrad was married March 30, 1837, to Miss Mahala Crecelius, who was born in Harrison County, Ind., February 22, 1818, and is a daughter of John and Diana (Wilson) Crecelius, natives of Knox County, Tenn. Her father was a son of John and Elizabeth Crecelius, who came to Tennessee from the Fatherland and later removed to Indiana. The mother’s parents came from England.

Our subject was reared on the home farm and attended the school in the old log schoolhouse when opportunity afforded. At the age of nineteen he started out to work on his own account and hired for $8 per month. Some time later he followed flatboating on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, continuing this until 1852. In the spring of the following year he with his wife, five children and a brother-in-law started for Iowa in covered wagons. But when arriving in Knox County, Ill., the family rested while our subject located land in this state, and the latter part of August he returned for his family. They first settled in Albion, residing in a log cabin until April, 1855, when the house was erected in which they now make their home. Our subject had but very little money on landing here, but was enabled to buy eighty acres of wild land, which took every cent he had. For seven days the family were obliged to live on corn meal and hominy. The country was but sparsely settled in that day and consequently they suffered all the hardships and privations known to an early settler. The nearest market was at Dubuque, one hundred and seventy miles distant. By push, pluck and perseverance our subject kept on adding to his original eighty acres until he is now the happy possessor of four hundred broad acres of well kept land. Mr. Conrad helped to organize the county, and served as the first Assessor in the ten southern townships. He has been the incumbent of nearly every office within the gift of the people, and in 1880 the village of Conrad, or Conrad Grove, was laid out and named in honor of him who had done so much to develop and build up this beautiful village. He is a stanch Democrat in his political views. He cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson and has never missed an election since. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad are truly self-made people and are ever interested in any movement that will enhance the prosperity of the schools and churches and the entire county. They have many valuable acquaintances and are held in the highest esteem by them. Seven children were born to our subject and his estimable wife and bear the following names: Jacob, Sarah, Maria, Ellen, Anna B., Phoebe J. and William. They are all married and have children of their own, and are prosperously engaged in the labors of life.

Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record
of Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, Iowa
1894

Grundy Biographies maintained by Tammy D. Mount.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen