Joseph Ernst, b. 23 Feb 1830

MAER, PORTS, CHARLES, RICKIE

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 3/13/2004 at 09:38:16

Joseph Ernst is a fine representative of the German element that has been so conspicuous in the settlement of the Great West, and in the development of its varied and marvelous resources. He is a pioneer of Richland Township, and is now one of its principal farmers and stock-raisers. His farm of 240 acres lies on sections 14 and 15 (160 acres of it, with the home on section 14); and with its rich, mellow soil, well adapted to general husbandry, is justly considered one of the most desirable and best cultivated farms in the township. It is well fenced; is watered by springs and a branch of Farmers' Creek; 220 acres of it are under the plow; beautiful groves, an orchard and vineyard are among its most attractive features; it is supplied with a fine set of farm buildings, windwill, water tank, etc., and all the latest improved farm machinery. Mr. Ernst has erected a substantial stone house, 20x36 feet, which is neatly and comfortably furnished, and is altogether one of the coziest homes in the neighborhood; and he has a large, convenient barn, 24x80 feet in dimensions. Besides raising an abundance of various productions common to the State and climate, our subject devotes much of his attention to rearing stock; has a fine herd of thirty, highly-graded cattle; a number of Poland-China hogs, and ten valuable horses, using two teams in the labors of his farm.

Mr. Ernst is of foreign birth and extraction, born in the town of Hellman, Menden, Prussia, Feb. 23, 1830. Both his paternal and maternal ancestry were natives of the same place. His grandfather, Joseph Ernst, owned a small place, on which he carried on farming, and was a life-long resident of the town of his birth. His grandfather Maer was a blacksmith and a farmer in that town, and there lived and died. Conrad and Elizabeth Maer, the parents of our subject, were reared and married in the home of their forefathers, and there the father managed his little farm, and made shoes for the support of his family, till his emigration to America with them, in 1852; they having left Bremen in the spring of that year, on the 5th day of April, in the sailing-vessel "Naomi," landing at New Orleans, and thence up the Mississippi River to Bellevue, where they arrived on the 11th day of June. Mr. Ernst bought 160 acres of wild prairie land, in Richland Township, and cast in his lot with the pioneers of this place. But his life in his new home was destined to be of short duration, for just one year after his arrival, in the month of June, death crossd its threshhold, and he was removed from the presence of his sorrowing family. He was but little past the meridian of life, being only fifty-five years old. He was a sincere member of the Catholic Church, and his daily life showed that he followed its teachings. His wife survived him till January, 1856, when she, too, passed away. Seven children were born to this worthy couple: William, a resident of Ohio; Joseph; John, a resident of Tete des Morts; Anton, Louis and Fred, of Bellevue Township; Edward, deceased. Louis took part in the late war, enlisting in October, 1864, in Company G, 15th Iowa Infantry, and served his adopted country till after the close of hostilities; was mustered out and honorably discharged, in June, 1865, at Davenport.

Joseph Ernst, our subject, was reared on a farm in the land of his nativity, and received good educational advantages in its excellent schools. When he was fourteen years of age he began an independent life, being an active, self-reliant lad, and henceforth made his own way in the world. He worked at farming, and was thus engaged till the spring of 1852, when he accompanied his parents to the United States. He was then in the vigor of young manhood, was capable and energetic, and had no difficulty in finding employment; he worked for others till the fall of 1855, when he invested his hard earnings in his homestead, comprising then 160 acres of uncultivated land, with scarcely any improvements. At that time the country around was sparsely settled, giving but little indication that it would one day be a rich agricultural region. Wild game abounded, and furnished many a dainty feast for the pioneer, and Mr. Ernst relates that he has seen as many as sixteen deer in one herd near his place, and has caught fourteen wolves in traps. With characteristic push and industry he entered upon the pioneer task of preparing his land for cultivation and in the up-building of a home, and the fine condition of his farm today testified to the care, labor, and money expended on it in the toilsome years that followed.

In the latter task he was not long without an able assistant and coadjutor, in the person of Miss Catherine Ports, who became his wife in February, 1856, the marriage ceremoney being solemnized in Bellevue Township. She is likewise of German birth and lineage, born in Luxemburg, and coming to America with her parents, John and Angel (Charles) Ports, in 1854. Four children have blessed the wedded life of our subject and his amiable wife: John, a farmer, owning 240 acres of land in Cherokee County; Margaret, wife of Joseph Rickie, a farmer in Cherokee County; Conrad and William are at home with their parents. William is serving his native township as School Director.

Mr. Ernst has acquired a fine property by the quiet force of persistent effort, directed by sound discretion and constant devotion to duty. In him the Democratic party has an earnest supporter, and he has represented his district as Delegate to the county convention. He has served on both the Grand and the Petit Jury. He has taken an important part in the administration of local affairs as Township Trustee one term, as Supervisor of Roads, and he has been School Director. He is a member of St. Nicholas' Catholic Church at Spruce Creek, and is active in its good work, contributing generously to its support.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois.)