FREDERICK H RODEWALD, b 8 Mar 1845

RODEWALD, HEIDE, ANDERSON

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 10/9/2004 at 08:08:32

Frederick H. Rodewald, the pioneer dry-goods merchant of Preston, deserves special mention in a work designed to preserve a record of the representative men of Jackson County. Although a gentleman of stature perhaps not quite approaching the medium, nature has endowed him with an amount of will, energy and industry which has enabled him to accomplish an immense amount of both mental and muscular labor, principally however, the former; a man never idle, and seeming to require less sleep than many of his kind, he naturally has a contempt for the drones in the world's busy hive, and has illustrated in his own life and character the moving principles by which the world at large has been brought to its present state of intelligence and progress. He has had his difficulties to contend with, like all men, and has surmounted those under which many would have fallen in discouragement. In the home circle he has been kind and indulgent among his neighbors, charitable and hospitable, and in the community at large is regarded as one of its most useful members.

The establishment of Mr. Rodewald, which is prominently located on the corner of Farley and Elliott streets, is one of the leading enterprises of its kind in Preston. His stock consists of most articles required in the country and village household, including dry-goods, boots and shoes, groceries, crockery, etc. He accompanied his parents to this county in the spring of 1851, and the father took up a claim of Government land in Van Buren Township. They sojourned there until 1863, when the father crossed the Mississippi to make his home in McGregor, Iowa, where he retired from the active labors of farm life, and employed himself at his trade of a stonemason until his death in 1867 at the age of fifty-nine years.

Frederick and Sophia (Heide) Rodewald, the parents of our subject were natives of Hanover, and the father was an active member of the German Lutheran Church. The mother died at the farm in Van Buren Township in 1857, at the early age of thirty-seven years. She was the mother of eight children, four of whom died prior to her decease. The four surviving are: Dora, a resident of Pierce County, Wis.; William D., a farmer of the same county, and the father of five children; Carl F., who lives in Dunn County, Wis.; and Frederick H., who is second in order of birth.

The subject of this notice was born March 8, 1845 on the other side of the Atlantic in the Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, and was a child two years of age when he was brought by his parents to America. They settled first in St. Louis, Mo., where the father worked at his trade of a stonemason for a time, and then made his way up the Mississippi to this county. The son, Frederick, although then probably three years of age, recollects some of the incidents of that trip, especially the "darkies" who were employed as deck hands on the steamer, and who on account of their color and distinctive characteristics were quite a curiosity to the little boy from the Fatherland. He also remembers that the prairie country was here and there dotted with groves of trees, especially along the creeks. The long, dry, prairie grass was burning in some places, making a vast sea of flame particularly noticeable at night. Wild game of all kinds abounded - turkeys, prairie chickens, quails and deer, and wild cats not infrequently made night hideous with their cries.

As soon as he was old enough, our subject was introduced to the various employments of farm life, and began following the plow by the time his head was as high as the handles. In the years that followed he thus turned acre upon acre of Hawkeye virgin soil, and in due time could easily manage six yoke of oxen while some one else would hold the plow. Those days, while frought with many hardships, still had their compensations and pleasures; and Mr. Rodewald looks back to them as being among the happiest of his life. His limited education was acquired in the primitive school, and he traveled three miles over the country to the temple of learning which was a rude structure in wide contrast to the school buildings of to-day, as was also the method of instruction pursued.

In religious matters our subject was carefully trained in the doctrines of the German Lutheran Church. He lived upon the farm until approaching the twentieth year of his age, and then became convinced that he had the natural qualifications for some other business, and which he hoped would prove more congenial to his tastes. He accordingly repaired to Sabula, which was then comparatively in its infancy. He resolved to accept whatever offered in the way of employment, and in the meantime to acquaint himself with the general methods of doing business. He worked for two months with a liveryman of that place, and next secured a position as clerk in a grocery store. A year later he changed his residence to Clinton, continuing in the employ of the same man. After a time he returned to Sabula, still remaining with his old employer, and continued with him until the spring of 1869.

Young Rodewald, still climbing up a little, now proceeded to Lyons where he engaged as clerk in a clothing store until 1871. In the spring of that year he embarked in his first business venture at Lyons on the corner of Main and Fourth streets, associating himself in partnership with Mrs. M.W. Rice, now of Chicago. This experiment proved a very successful one, and they continued together until 1879, and by this time our subject had not only accumulated a fair amount of capital but had gained a practical knowledge of general merchandising, which was worth fully as much.

July 12, of the year above mentioned, Mr. Rodewald disposed of his business interests in Lyons, and established a store of his own in Preston, this being the third enterprise of its kind in the place. As he was quite a young man, it was a matter of considerable speculation among the people whether he would stand or fall. He met with bitter opposition from his competitors and their friends, and his goods were stopped on the way by unscrupulous creditors, who had probably been indirectly at least, rewarded for their action. He maintained his dignity, however, asserting his rights, and, as the result indicates, came off with flying colors. His course has been marked by honesty, integrity, unremiting attention to business and uniform courtesy to his patrons. His residence is a handsome two-story cottage in the western part of the town, and with its surroundings forms one of its most attractive homes.

During his residence at Lyons, Mr. Rodewald was united in marriage with Miss Amanda Anderson, the wedding taking place at the bride's home June 15, 1871. Mrs. Rodewald, like her husband, is of German birth and ancestry, first opening her eyes to the light in the Province of Schleswick, Nov. 6, 1855. Her parents, Andrew C. and Maria Anderson, were also natives of Schleswick, and came to America in 1866, when their daughter was a child. The father was a cooper by trade, and both parents are still living, making their home in Preston. Their family consisted of five children, namely: Bridget N., Henry, Amanda, Julius and Emma, who are natives of the Fatherland.

Mrs. Rodewald became a bride at the early age of fifteen years, but, notwithstanding her youth she made a most sensible and worthy helpmate for her husband, and has assisted him in his worthy efforts to secure a good position socially and financially. They are the parents of a most interesting family of seven children, all remaining under the home roof. They bear the names respectively of Bertha S., Irving J., Arthur A., Frederick C., Henry, Werner C. and Gordon E., and they are being given the training and education which will fit them for their proper station in life as the offspring of one of the best families of an intelligent community.

Upon reaching man's estate Mr. Rodewald identified himself with the Republican Party. This was during the progress of the Civil War, and he was very anxious to prove his loyalty to his adopted country by serving as a soldier in the Union Army. He enlisted and went with the boys to pass the examination at Buckeye Center when it was found that his weight was only ninety pounds, and he was accordingly rejected and laughed at. The refusal was a great disappointment to him, but as it was then, and always has been, one of the leading traits of his character to make the best of circumstances, he returned home and applied himself to his business. The fact that he has always done his own thinking will be quite apparent when it is learned that his father as was natural, sought to instill his own political sentiments in the mind of his son but to no effect. Mr. Rodewald aside from serving as School Director in his district for the last seven years, has avoided becoming an office holder. Both he and his estimable wife are members in good standing of the German Lutheran Church, attending services at Spragueville.

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