TRABERT, Lewis - 1912 Bio (1852-1905)

TRABERT, SMITHLINE, DALLNER, LINN

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 10/3/2007 at 20:40:13

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 160-161

Lewis TRABERT, deceased, was for years a resident of Lockridge township, Jefferson county, Iowa, and gave to the development of the agricultural interests in this state his best efforts throughout his life. Endowed by birth with Teutonic traits of hardy endurance and indomitable perseverence, even in the fact of disheartening obstacles, he won his way steadily to the front, making a name for himself that will endure in the annals of Iowa's noble pioneers. Lewis TRABERT was born in Lockridge township, Jefferson county, Iowa, November 13, 1852. His parents came to this country from Germany. His father, Frederick TRABERT, located in Pennsylvania, in 1842, and, trained in agricultural pursuits, he entered service as a farm hand for five years. He then came west, settling in Jefferson county, Iowa, where he bought forty acres of land in Lockridge township. This tract he cleared and improved; and, adding more to it by degrees, he became the owner of a very valuable farm of three hundred acres which he operated till (sic) the close of his life. His death occurred in February, 1875. His wife, the mother of the subject of this biography, passed away December 27, 1900.

Lewis TRABERT was reared and educated in Lockridge township, where he attended the district school. Upon the death of his parents, with whom he had remained after finishing school, he bought out from the other heirs the title to the land bequeathed by his father's will, thus acquiring possession of one hundred and forty-seven acres. These he cultivated until his death, which occurred September 16, 1905.

On April 27, 1876, Lewis TRABERT was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Sophia A. SMITHLINE. She was a daughter of George and Mary B. (DALLNER) SMITHLINE, natives of Germany. Her parents came to this country, locating in Jefferson county, Iowa, in pioneer days; and here Sophia SMITHLINE grew to womanhood. Among her early recollections, she recalls vividly many of the barbarities perpetrated by the Indians, then still densely settled in this region and clinging tenaciously to their inalienable right to the land of their fathers. She remembers the hardships of the pioneers and can recall, from her own experience, many incidents of great historic interest. Mrs. TRABERT's father did not settle in Iowa directly upon coming to this country, but spent four years in Ohio working as a farm hand. He then came to Jefferson county, Iowa, and bought eighty acres of land in Lockridge township. This tract he cultivated, extending its area by the purchase of eighty additional acres. After operating this farm for about eight years, he retired, taking up residence in Lockridge, Iowa, where he lived until his death in December, 1894. His wife died just thirty years before, in 1864.

To Mr. and Mrs. TRABERT were born four children, namely: Franklin A., a farmer in Lockridge township; Mamie B., the wife of D. R. LINN, a resident of Burlington, Iowa; Frederick L., at home; and Lawrence H., at home. Mr. TRABERT was a loyal democrat; and, with his wife and family, held membership in the German Lutheran church. In his premature death, Lockridge township lost a man of serious purpose and exemplary life; the kind of citizen whose memory does honor to his family and community.

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