BAHLING, AUGUST

BAHLING, KRAUSE, TAYLOR

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 5/26/2004 at 15:09:03

Biography reproduced from page 366 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

August Bahling who passed away July 26, 1912, was one of the prosperous and highly respect agriculturists of Kossuth county. He owned five hundred and sixty acres of land on section 27, Burt township, Kossuth county, and assisted materially in much of the improvement which had been made along agricultural lines in this section. His activities were directed along lines of development and were promoting agricultural methods in this section. Mr. Bahling was a native of Germany, being born in Prussia, November 30, 1852, and a son of John Bahling, who came to America with his family in 1865. John Bahling located in Janesville, Wisconsin, and later removed to Dane county, where he farmed for a number of years. He eventually disposed of his property in Wisconsin and came to Kossuth county, Iowa, where he bought a tract of land in Burt township and operated his holdings until his death in 1904.

August Bahling received his early education in the public schools of Germany and his first years in America were filled with minor duties on his fathers’ farm, although he attended school one winter after coming to this country. He remained with his father and assisted him until his marriage in 1880. In that year he rented a tract of land in Dane county and brought his knowledge of agriculture to bear upon its development and improvement. He, however, remained in Wisconsin only two years after his marriage. In 1882 he removed to Kossuth county, Iowa, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of undeveloped land. He broke the soil, tiled his property and converted raw prairie into one of the most productive farms in the state of Iowa. He first built a small house upon his holdings and in this he lived for a number of years. He added to his holdings from time to time until his property included five hundred and sixty acres, all well improved, and productive and fertile to the highest degree. He built two houses upon his land and erected good barns and outbuildings. Part of his acres were planted in groves and orchards and the remainder he devoted to grains, best adapted to soil and climate. His attractive and valuable farm constituted one of the most scientifically developed properties in Kossuth county. He was one of the promoters of the Burt Creamery Company and a stockholder in this organization.

On March 18, 1880, Mr. Bahling was married to Miss Caroline Krause, a native of Waterloo, Wisconsin. Mrs. Bahling is of German parentage and is a daughter of Ernest Krause, who came from the fatherland and was one of the earliest pioneers in the settlement of the portion of Wisconsin surrounding the city of Waterloo. He afterward located on a farm in Dane county, renting the land and bringing it under cultivation. To Mr. and Mrs. Bahling were born ten children, John F., Henry A., George A., Carl E., Frank W., B. B, Edith, Esther, Hattie and Bessie. Their daughter Edith became the wife of J. Taylor.

Mr. Bahling affiliated with the republican party, to which his sons also give their allegiance. He served on the school board as one of its directors for seven years but never sought public office. An active and industrious citizen, he was successful as a farmer and prosperous as a business man. In the thirty years of his residence in Kossuth county he materially added to the improvement and development of the section and had won the confidence and esteem of the community in which he resided. Mr. Bahling passed away July 26, 1912, deeply mourned by his family and a large circle of friends.