John Unrau

UNRAU, FRAHM, STOCKEN, DEATHLEFSEN

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 11/13/2011 at 12:26:19

JOHN UNRAU. Beginning in active business life with little to call his own, save a good physique and habits of industry, energy and perseverance, Mr. Unrau has conquered adverse circumstances and gained an influential place among the agriculturists of Grundy County. His farm consists of two hundred acres, located on section 25, Black Hawk Township, and the soil has been placed under good cultivation, while a cozy residence and neat outbuildings increase the value of the property.

Mr. Unrau was born in Prussia in 1832, and is the son of Hans P. and Catherine (Frahm) Unrau. His paternal grandfather, John Unrau, was a tailor by trade, and lived and died in the village of Schleswig, Holstein, Prussia, his death occurring at the age of eighty-five years. His good wife, who likewise died in the Old Country, became the mother of a family of three children: Hans P., the father of our subject; Katherina and Elizabeth.

The father of our subject was a farmer by occupation, and was the owner of a good estate in Prussia. The parental family included the following named five children: Peter, Hans and Jerry, now deceased, John and Anna. The eldest son died in the Old Country; Jerry, on coming to the United States, was a soldier during the late war in Company E, Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and during the battle of Council Post was shot in the right leg, receiving an injury which resulted in his death. Hans was a soldier in the German and Danish armies.

John Unrau, of this sketch, was given a good education, and remained at home until reaching mature years, in the meantime learning the weaver’s trade. Having heard such glowing accounts of the New World, he determined to try his fortunes in America, and in 1856 embarked on a sailing-vessel. Landing in this country, he made his way to Iowa, and for three and a-half years worked out as a farm hand in Clinton County.

The lady who became the wife of John Unrau in 1860 was Mrs. Catherina (Stocken) Unrau, the widow of our subject’s brother, and a daughter of Frederick C. D. and Anna M. (Deathlefsen) Stocken. Mrs. Unrau was a native of Prussia, and by her first marriage had one child, Mary, now deceased. Her second union resulted in the birth of four children: Kate, Anna, Henry and Emma. Emma is a graduate of the Iowa State Normal , and is a teacher. Henry has been given a business education in the Des Moines Commercial College. Mrs. Unrau died in 1879, one year after the family located in this county.

Soon after his marriage, Mr. Unrau became the owner of land in Jackson County, which he disposed of in 1878, and on coming to this county has since resided on section 25, where he has two hundred acres of land. In religious matters he is a member of the Lutheran Church. He is active in all good works, and in politics always votes with the Republican party.

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