George Mueller

BATTICE, BRITTAIN, COUCH, GILLESPIE, GRASSMAN, HUNT, KLEINHAUS, MUELLER, MULLER, SCHOTT, ST JOHN, STRACKE, WILD

Posted By: Judy Wight Branson (email)
Date: 6/29/2006 at 10:21:13

George Mueller is one of the pioneer settlers of Madison county and the owner of one of the finest farms in the county. His property is the visible evidence of his life of well directed energy and thrift, all having been acquired through his own efforts. The farm comprises three hundred and thirty-three acres, lying partly in Union and partly in Jefferson townships. Mr. Mueller was born September 11, 1842, at Hohnsheidt, a village in Eder county, in the principality of Waldeck, which became a part of the German empire in 1871. His parents were George and Johanna Muller. The former was born in Bad-Wildungen, on the 17th of May, 1804, and was a son of George Muller, who was born about the year 1773, in Bad-Wildungen, Waldeck. He was forest inspector of the county of Eder during the opening years of the nineteenth century. He was married about the year 1800 to Henrietta Kleinhaus, who was born in Wolfhagen, Hesse. The former died about 1840 and the latter in 1845, at the home of her son George at Freihenhagen. Their son, George Muller, married Johanna Muller who, though of the same name, was not related. Their marriage was celebrated in 1834. In 1845 they removed to Freihenhagen, where George Muller was "over forester," there remaining until 1850, when he removed to Wildungen, in the same county, having been appointed superintendent or inspector of forests for the county of Eder, of which Wildungen was the principal town. It was a walled town and every evening the gates were closed as in olden times. His wife was a daughter of Christian and Rosina (Wild) Muller, who were conducting the Lion Apothecary, or drug store, in Bad-Wildungen. Johanna Muller was born in September, 1813, in Bad-Wildungen. Her mother, Rosina Wild, was born in Cassel-Hesse, where her parents were in the drug business, having immigrated there from Geneva, Switzerland. Dorothea Wild, a sister of Rosina, married William Grimm, one of the Grimm brothers, noted German philologist and author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Johanna Muller died in 1862 and George Muller in 1868, in Arelsen. They were the parents of seven children. The eldest, Herman, born September 10, 1835, at Freihenhagen, died in December, 1906. He studied surveying and forestry and many years ago became general manager of the estate of the Prince of Wittengenstein, where he remained until his death. He had two sons: Herman, who is now a captain in the German army in the present war; and Adolf, who is being held as a prisoner of war near Sydney, Australia. Carolina, born October 29, 1837, at Hohnsheidt, was married in 1857, to Albert Stracke, and immediately afterward came to America, settling at Warsaw, Illinois, but her death occurred in St. Louis, in January, 1876. Adolf, born in Hohnsheidt, February 8, 1840, was in the dry-goods business in Berlin until 1907, and died near that city, April 2, 1909. George, the next of the family, is the one whose name heads this review. Johanna, born May 3, 1845, at Freihenhagen, came to Iowa in 1870, in 1880 was married to Michael Grassman, of Churchville, Warren county, Iowa, and died in December, 1901, her remains being interred in Linn Grove cemetery, Warren county. She left three children: Elsie, now the wife of Thomas Gillespie, of Crawford township, Madison county; Michael Grassman, who was killed in a runaway accident about the year 1902; and Rosina, now Mrs. Couch, of dimming, Iowa. Otto Muller was born in 1848 at Freihenhagen, studied pharmacy, and died in the year 1911. Dr. Ernst Muller was born in November, 1855, in Bad-Wildungen, came to Iowa in 1871, studied pharmacy in Warsaw, Illinois, and medicine in St. Louis, and is now practicing medicine in the latter city.

George Mueller, who adopted the present spelling of the name, was educated in the public schools of Bad-Wildungen, which he attended from 1850 until 1857. He then went to a farm called the Heide, where he studied and followed farming, having in the meantime determined that he would come to America. He remained upon the farm until September, 1858, and in the succeeding winter attended the high school at Bad-Wildungen, studying French, English and mathematics. On the 1st of June, 1859, not wishing to serve in the German army, he left the fatherland for America, because all persons under seventeen could leave Germany without being held for military duty later. He crossed the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, landing at New York on the 15th of July, and from there he proceeded by rail to Dunkirk, New York, by boat to Toledo, Ohio, by rail to Chicago and thence to Warsaw, Illinois, where he lived with his sister, Mrs. Albert Stracke. From October, 1859, until May 5, 1860, he was employed in the Schott brewery in Warsaw, and in the latter month he came to Winterset, Iowa, in company with Gotlobb Burger, who was teaming to Winterset from Keokuk. After reaching Madison county Mr. Mueller lived with his cousin, Louis Stracke, until December 1, 1860. Mr. Stracke then sold his business in Winterset and removed with his family to a farm on section 25, Jefferson township. Mr. Mueller accompanied them to the farm and worked for Mr. Stracke until December 20, 1861, when he returned to Warsaw to assist his brother-in-law, Albert Stracke, with whom he continued until June, 1864, and during that period he engaged in clerking in stores and at various other kinds of work.

He was then married and with his bride returned to Madison county. They worked on the farm of his cousin, Louis Stracke, until December 1, 1865, when they removed to the farm of William Schoen, where he and Mr. Schoen built a log house in which to live while he was cultivating a part of the farm. In the summer of 1866 Mr. Mueller purchased the Benjamin Duckett farm adjoining William Schoen's farm, of John Honnold, and he and his wife took up their abode thereon in December of that year. Much hard work was before him. His place comprised one hundred acres on section 2, Union township, much of which was covered with timber, so that there was a great deal of clearing to be done. He did not hesitate at the arduous task that confronted him, however, but resolutely set to work to make his land cultivable and as he prospered in his undertakings he kept adding to his original holdings until he is now the owner of three hundred and thirty-three acres of valuable land in Union and Jefferson townships. The place is under a high state of cultivation and in fact is one of the best improved farms in Madison county. From time to time Mr. Mueller erected good farm buildings upon the place, including barns and other out-buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. In 1886 he built a new home across the township line from his old home in Union township, thus becoming a resident of Jefferson township, but he still owns his original tract in Union township, where his first residence was a log cabin. The rail fences have all been replaced by woven or barbed wire fences and the work of improvement has been carried on along the most progressive lines in addition to his farming activities. Mr. Mueller is interested in the insurance business. He served for several years as vice president of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Madison county and in 1904 was elected its president, which office he has since filled.

On the 8th of August, 1864, at Warsaw, Illinois, Mr. Mueller was married to Miss Catharine Schott, who was born in Baden, Germany, August 22, 1845. She was early left an orphan and came to America in her eighth year, living in Warsaw, Illinois, with an uncle, Johann Schott, who operated the Schott brewery until his death some thirty years ago. To. Mr. and Mrs. Mueller have been born seven children. Herman A., born August 22, 1866, married Cora Irwin, and lives in St. Charles, Iowa. Laura M., born May 15, 1868, is the wife of A. F. Burger, of Winterset. Theresa L., born September 7, 1870, is the wife of Pleasant Brittain, of Elliott, North Dakota. George E., born September 10, 1873, married Alice Battice, and lives in Tioga, North Dakota. Oscar O., born March 27, 1877, resides at Lewistown, Montana. Ernest W., born November 3, 1879, married Georgia Hunt, and lives on the farm which he operates in partnership with his father. Fanny, born April 5, 1885, is the wife of L. V. St. John, a resident of Sheridan, Wyoming.

The parents were much interested in the education of their children, who attended diligently the rural schools, and upon the farm and in the home were also taught valuable lessons of life. They also received such higher educational training as the parents were able to afford and all of the children, save Laura and Theresa, taught in the rural schools near their home. Before her marriage Laura was a teacher of instrumental music at Churchville, Barney, St. Charles, Truro and New Virginia. Herman, Oscar, George, Ernest and Fanny attended the State Normal School at Cedar Falls, and all except Ernest hold diplomas from that institution. He also attended the State Agricultural College at Ames for four terms before taking over the supervision of the home farm. Herman and Oscar also hold diplomas from the State University. George E. was principal of the schools at McCallsburg, Danbury and Wesley, Iowa, and then went to North Dakota, where he taught in the public schools. He afterward entered the Indian service as teacher, first at Fort Totten and later in the Turtle Mountain Indian reservation. He is now farming and teaching near Tioga, Williams county, North Dakota. Miss Fanny Mueller taught a few years in the rural schools about her home and after her graduation at the State Normal School taught at Sheridan, Callender and Clear Lake, Iowa, and later in the schools of Sheridan, Wyoming, where she married and now resides.

Mr. Mueller has been a republican since he became a naturalized American citizen in 1868 and has been active and prominent in public affairs in his community. He served as a trustee of Jefferson township from 1890 until 1903, was school director of sub-district No. 7 in Jefferson township for five years and was road supervisor for a term or two. At one time he was a member of the Grange and has always been interested in those agencies which have been factors in the agricultural development of the state and in upholding the standards of advancement along that line. He was confirmed in the Lutheran church in Germany and he has lived an upright, honorable life that. has commanded for him the respect and goodwill of his fellow citizens. He belongs to the Madison County Historical Society and is well qualified to speak upon matters relating to the history of this community.

On the 8th of August, 1914, he and his wife celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary at the old homestead, where they have lived for nearly forty-eight years, and 1914 was also the fiftieth anniversary of their arrival in the county. At the golden wedding celebration all of their children save two were present, together with other relatives and many friends and neighbors, and the occasion was a most enjoyable one, as they recalled tales of the early days and noted the changes of the fifty years in the improvements which have brought the county to its present condition of progress and prosperity. The old settlers have nearly all passed away, the second generation are now past middle age and another generation has come up to take the place of the early pioneers. The veneration and respect which should ever be accorded one of advanced years is given Mr. Mueller, who is now in his seventy-third year, and it is to be hoped that he will be spared for many years to come to watch the further development of the county with which he has been so long identified.

Taken from the book, “The History of Madison County, Iowa, 1915,” by Herman Mueller.
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A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa
Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1896

Transcribed and edited by Kent G. Transier, 05 Jan 2010

George Mueller. – Wherever the German element has entered into our nationality, whether in the crowded marts or in the agricultural districts, there do we find thrift and prosperity. Indeed, such a recognized fact is this that the two words, German and thrifty, are very nearly synonymous. Prominent among the thrifty farmers of Jefferson township, Madison county, Iowa is found the name of George Mueller. He left his home in Germany before he had emerged from his ‘teens, landed in America with a capital of only $20, and from the condition of a poor boy has worked his way to his present prosperous position in life. The history of such a life cannot fail to be of interest in a work of this character.

George Mueller was born in Germany, September 11, 1842, and there spent the first sixteen years of his life. His father, George Mueller, Sr., was an overseer of forests in the old country, and died there, at the age of sixty-four years. After a successful Atlantic voyage and a safe landing at New York city, the subject of our sketch directed his course to Warsaw, Hancock county, Illinois, where he was employed by the month at farm work until 1860. That year he continued his way westward to Madison county, Iowa, and in Jefferson township hired out by the month to a farmer. In 1864 he returned to Hancock, Illinois, and took to himself a wife, and on coming back to Madison county continued work by the month for two years longer.

All this time he had been saving his earnings, and in 1866 he purchased the farm where he now lives and moved his family into a log house. For him the passing years have been crowded with honest industry and careful economy and are crowned with just recompense. The rude log house and other buildings have given place to a fine residence and good barns, and his fine farm of 260 acres is under high cultivation and well stocked, his time and attention being given to general farming and stock-raising; and while Mr. Mueller has been industrious and has prospered in his own affairs, he had found time to help others and to take an active part in matters pertaining to the general good of the community, At this writing he is serving his second term as Township Trustee and also filling the position of Road Supervisor. He is a Republican.

Mrs. Mueller was formerly Miss Catherine Schoot, she, too, being a native of Germany. Their union has been blessed in the birth of seven children, - Herman A., Laura May, Terrissa, George E., Oscar, Ernest, and Fanny.