KIENTZ, John W. - 1912 Bio (1860/1-1913)

KIENTZ, SHAFFER, HILLENBRAND, MARKS

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/18/2007 at 19:39:43

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 400-402

John W. KIENTZ.

The farm which he is now operating in Walnut township was the birthplace of John W. KIENTZ, whose natal day was August 15, 1861, his parents being Christian and Caroline (SHAFFER) KIENTZ, who were natives of Germany and Ohio respectively. The father came to this country with his parents when but a year old, the family home being established in Ohio, where the grandparents remained for seven or eight years. A removal was then made to Jefferson county, Iowa, where the KIENTZ family cast their lot with the pioneer settlers, the father of Christian KIENTZ entering land in Walnut townshp. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made on the place. He cleared it and undertook the arduous task of developing the property, upon which he spent his remaining days, converting the wild tract into richly cultivated fields and deriving therefrom as the years passed by a substantial and gratifying income. For years he remained a worthy and valued citizen of this community and in his death Jefferson county mourned the loss of one of its worthy pioneer settlers. He passed away in 1893 and his wife died in 1896.

Christian KIENTZ remained with his parents during the period of his minority and his youthful experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of farm boys who are reared on the frontier. He shared with the family in the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life and early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. On attaining his majority he started out in life on his own account, purchasing the farm which is now the home of his son John. It was an undeveloped tract but he resolutely undertook the work of making it productive and the evidence of his labors was seen soon in well tilled fields and substantial improvements. He cultivated the crops best adapted to soil and climate and the years brought him a gratifying reward for his labor. He continued his farming operations until 1899, when he sold the old homestead to his son John and retired from active business life, removing to Germanville, Iowa, where he now makes his home with his daughter, his wife having passed away on the 4th of October, 1907. His memory runs back to the days when this section of the country was but sparsely settled, when the prairies in June were starred with a million wild flowers and in December were covered with one unbroken, dazzling sheet of snow. Only here and there had a little settlement been made to indicate that the seeds of civilization had been planted on the western prairies and with the work of improvement, especially along agricultural lines, he was closely associated for many years.

His son John W. KIENTZ was reared and educated in this county, attending the public schools and in the periods of vocation working in the fields, so that practical experience well qualified him for the tasks which he undertook on starting in the business world on his own account, at which time he rented a farm. After cultivating this for two years he removed to Kansas and engaged in farming there for two years. That period was sufficient to convince him that he preferred Jefferson county as a place of residence and, returning to Iowa, he afterward cultivated his father-in-law's farm for thirteen years. He then purchased the old home place of two hundred and thirty-five acres and has since made a number of substantial improvements thereon, converting it into a valuable property. In the midst of the fields stand a pleasant residence and good barns and outbuildings, which furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. Everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance and his intelligently directed labor is bringing him substantial success year by year. He is also a stockholder in the Brighton Mutual Telephone Company and is interested in all those progressive movements and business enterprises which are indicative of the trend of the times.

On the 2nd of March, 1887, Mr. KIENTZ was united in marriage to Miss Maggie HILLENBRAND, a daughter of Casper and Elizabeth (MARKS) HILLENBRAND, who were natives of Germany. Coming to this country, the father located in Pennsylvania at an early day, remaining a number of years in the state, after which he came to Jefferson county, Iowa. Here he married a lady who was the owner of a farm in Walnut township that had been entered from the government. He cleared and improved the property and continued its cultivation until his death, which occurred November 29, 1907, having for less than four weeks survived his wife, who died on the fourth of that month. Mr. and Mrs. KIENTZ have become the parents of four children but one of the number died in infancy. The others are Hattie, Elizabeth and Lester, aged respectively twenty-three, twenty and seventeen years.

Mr. KIENTZ has served as a trustee of Walnut township and as school director for many years. He belongs to Green Mountain Lodge, No. 205, I. O. O. F., of Brighton, and in his political views is a democrat. He and his family attend the Lutheran church and in every part of the county are widely and favorably known, the hospitality of the best homes being freely accorded them. Mr. KIENTZ has been a lifelong resident of the county, spending much of his time upon the farm which is now his home, and, while he has carefully managed his business interests, he has at the same time found opportunity to cooperate in public work which has as its object the material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the community.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.