MILLER, MAX B.

MILLER, DENCE, DAMMANN, VON GIESE, WEST, STORY, LEMPKE, KALEN, BONNETT

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 12/12/2003 at 16:31:14

Biography reproduced from page 477 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

One of the estimable pioneers of Kossuth county, who for forty-three years has contributed toward promoting its agricultural development, is Max B. Miller. He owns two hundred acres of fertile land on section 22, Sherman township, that under this capable management and competent supervision has been developed into one of the attractive and valuable farms of that locality.

Mr. Miller is one of the enterprising and thrifty citizens Germany has contributed to this section of Iowa, his birth having occurred within a few miles of the city of Munich, Bavaria, on February 19, 1834. He is a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Dence) Miller, natives of Baden, Germany, the father having been a weaver and the mother an inspector of cotton in one of the largest mills in the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. The family emigrated to the United States in 1848, locating in Milwaukee, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been an invalid during practically the entire period of his residence in this country. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller our subject is the eldest and the only one now living. Those deceased are Beno, Maria, Elizabeth and Agatha.

The first fourteen years in the life of Max B. Miller were passed in the fatherland, where he acquired his education. He located in Milwaukee with his parents and there he resided for twenty-one years with the exception of the period he was in the army. When the call came for troops in the early days of the war he enlisted as a private in Company D, First Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Starkweather in the Army of the Potomac, and participated in the first skirmish on the river of that name. At the expiration of his period of enlistment he returned to Milwaukee and subsequently, reenlisted as a member of Company C, Ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which was later reorganized as Company A. He remained in the service for another three years, being discharged in 1866. His company was assigned duty in Arkansas, where they engaged in many skirmishes with the bushwackers. Mr. Miller sustained injuries that caused paralysis in one of his arms and was therefore assigned orderly duties during the greater part of the time he was at the front and for a year after the close of the war he was retained to guard government stores. When mustered out he returned to Milwaukee, remaining there until 1869, when he came to Kossuth county and acquired the farm he now owns. This section of the state was but sparsely settled at that time and was considered to be practically the frontier, very little of the land having been placed under cultivation. During the long period of his ownership, Mr. Miller has brought his farm, which was raw land when he settled here, to a high state of productivity, and has wrought many and extensive improvements, including the erection of a fine dwelling and large, commodious barns and outbuildings. In connection with the cultivation of his fields he has always made a specialty of raising graded stock, and has some especially fine milch cows. During the early days he encountered many hardships and disappointments, but he possesses the determined spirit, perseverance and unceasing diligence that generally characterize the people of his nation and as a result he ultimately prospered, and today is one of the substantial agriculturists of the county.

On October 26, 1861, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Dorothy Dammann, of Milwaukee. She was born at Walsrode, Germany, February 22, 1844, and is a daughter of Frederick and Maria Dorothy (Von Giese) Dammann, natives of Hanover. The parents emigrated to the United States in 1846, locating at Milwaukee, where they resided until 1866, when the father removed to Kossuth county, and filed on a homestead in Sherman township, which he cultivated until his death on the 8th of March, 1902. He had studied architecture and also had learned the carpenter’s and millwright’s trades in Germany, and after coming America, followed the business of contracting until he came to Kossuth county, when he took up farming. He was one of those employed in the erection of the famous Newhall House at Milwaukee, that was subsequently destroyed by fire, its history being commemorated in a song that achieved considerable local popularity. Both of the parents are now deceased, the mother having passed away in 1871 and the father on March 8, 1902, and they are buried on the old farm. Mr. Dammann was in many ways a remarkable man and a very interesting character. He had very pronounced views and was fearless in his denunciation of anything that restricted the rights or personal liberty of the people. He was at one time a man of wealth and influence in Germany, but he became implicated in political difficulties and his property was confiscated, and in common with many of his countrymen of that period he sought refuge in the United States. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having seen much active service during the bitterest period of the conflict, and took part in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga and Nashville, and he marched with Sherman to the sea. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Dammann numbered four, Mrs. Miller being the eldest. The others are as follows: Frederick C., who is deceased; Sophia, the wife of William West, of Portland, Oregon; and Mary D., who married Asa J. Story, of Redmond, Washington. Mrs. Miller, who was only a child of two years when she accompanied her parents to America, was reared and educated in Milwaukee. Her early education was acquired in the public and German parochial schools, after which she attended an academy in Milwaukee for a time, remaining at home until her marriage. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller: Elizabeth, the widow of Henry Lempke, who is living at home with her parents; Laura, the wife of M. J. Kalen, of Sherman township; Emma, deceased; and F. J. and M. H., both of whom are at home. Mrs. Lempke has four children: Eleanor, Elde; Armour; and Dorothy, the wife of Charles L. Bonnett.

The parents are members of the Presbyterian church and while living in Milwaukee Mr. Miller joined the Odd Fellows fraternity, and he was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic until the local post was discontinued. In his political views he is independent, casting his ballot for such candidates or measures as he deems best qualified to subserve the highest interests of the public. A man of stalwart worth and integrity he has always been diligent and enterprising in the development of his private interests as well as in the discharge of his duties as a citizen, and is held in high esteem in the community, where during the long period of his residence he has manifested those qualities that entitle him to the respect and regard of his fellowmen.