Baptiste Petesch

PETESCH, TILL, WINKLE, WISE, HIRT

Posted By: Barbara Gehlsen Nugent (email)
Date: 8/24/2011 at 14:48:27

History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 2, by James Whitcomb Ellis, 1910. Biographical Sketches

BAPTISTE PETESCH.

In an analyzation of the character and life work of Baptiste Petesch there are to be discerned many of the characteristics which have marked the German nation for centuries, namely perseverance, reliability, energy and an unconquerable determination to pursue to the end a course which has been marked out. It is these sterling qualities which have gained for Mr. Petesch the substantial success he has won in agricultural lines and which entitles him to be included among the prosperous citizens of Bellevue township, which has been his place of residence for a quarter of a century.

Baptiste Petesch was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, March 4, 1842, and is a son of Nick and Mary (Till) Petesch, who spent their whole lives in the old country. Several of their children, however, crossed the Atlantic and found homes in America. There were six in the family, namely: Frank, who died in South Dakota; Ann, the deceased wife of Pete Winkle; John, who is residing in Kansas; Ludwig, who passed away in Germany; Elizabeth, who is living in Kansas; and Baptiste, the subject of this sketch.

Baptiste Petesch was reared at home, among the scenes familiar to the farmer's boy of Luxemburg, and although throughout his youth he heard stories of the large opportunities that awaited the industrious and persevering man who came to the United States, it was not until 1885, when he had reached manhood, that he decided to emigrate to this country and avail himself of the freedom and appreciation of the west. On landing upon our shores he came direct to Jackson county, Iowa, locating upon a rented farm in Tete des Morts township. The next year, however, he was able to buy a tract of two hundred acres on section 36, bellevue township, which constitutes his present home. He put up a number of buildings suitable for the care and shelter of grain and stock, brought his fields to a good state of cultivation, and since directing his energies to general farming has met with a signal and gratifying success in this line of activity. The soil is naturally rich and fertile, responding readily to the care and labor bestowed upon it, so that Mr. Petesch annually gathers and markets large harvests, which net him a handsome income. The extent of his success, however, is perhaps better indicated by the fact that three years ago he purchased one hundred acres of land and subsequently another tract of equal area, making his total landholdings four hundred acres, a visible evidence of his life of thrift and industry.

While still living in the old country Mr. Petesch wedded Miss Mary Wise, also a native of Luxemburg. Their three sons, Nicholas, August and James, were born in the grand duchy, came to this state with their parents and are now living in Kansas. Mrs. Mary Wise Petesch passed away in Bellevue township in 1888, and later Mr. Petesch married Miss Francisca Hist (Hirt), who was born in Baden, Germany, March 30, 1864. She came to Bellevue from her native land in 1886 and is the only one of her family to cross the Atlantic. There have been eleven children born of this union, as follows: Ferdinand; John; Louis; Xavier; Edward, who died at the age of one year; Mary; Ludvina; Edward, the second of the name; Baptiste; Elmer; and Helen. All live at home.

Mr. Petesch has not regretted having come to the United States, for here he found the opportunities he sought, through a wise utilization of them has gained a substantial success, and has made a large circle of friends, whose respect and esteem, bestowed in recognition of his honorable and upright character, is as gratifying as the financial prosperity he enjoys.