F. W. Rabenau (1817 - 1889

RABENAU, SHOLTZ, STOLZ

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 3/22/2023 at 20:15:30

F. W. Rabenau
Still another old settler and business man has gone from our midst. We refer to the death of Mr. F. W. Rabenau, which occurred Saturday night. He had been very sick for two months and while death brought an end to his sufferings, it also brought much sorrow to his family and friends. For the last fourteen years he has been engaged in business in this city and was one of our most energetic and respected citizens. He leaves a large family behind, and in their mourning, they have the sympathy of a wide circle of friends. The funeral services occurred 10 o’clock Tuesday morning, and the remains were taken to Lisbon, Iowa for burial.

Mr. F. W. Rabenau was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, Feb. 13, 1817, and consequently is a little over 72 years of age, at the time of his death. He came to the United States in 1845, going to St. Louis, where he remained until the spring of 1850 when he started for California, where he arrived July 4, 1851, having stopped in Utah part of the time. He was married July 21, 1851, at Mormon Island, Sacramento, Cal., to Miss Agnes Sholtz, who survives him, as do their nine children, seven boys and two girls. He left California in the spring of 1854, and arrived in Lisbon, Iowa. Here he engaged in business for seventeen years, and moved to Solon in 1871, when he engaged in farming, and the grain business. For four years, he remained in Solon, and moved to this city in 1875, dealing in lumber until 1877. He then became connected with the Oat Meal Co., and remained a stockholder until September 1888, when he disposed of his interest. His last business venture was in the grocery line, which business he was engaged in at the time of his death, which occurred at 11:30 p.m., March 2, 1889. (Source: Iowa City Weekly Republican, Iowa City, IA, March 6, 1889, pg. 10)
Contributor’s note: Ancestry.com shows his complete name as Frederick Wilhelm Rabenau