Hetzel, Frederick G.

HETZEL

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 9/22/2019 at 23:02:47

Frederick G. Hetzel

(From the 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.616)
FREDERICK G. HETZEL is one of the substantial citizens of Avoca who has been identified with the business interests of the town almost from its beginning. He is one of those men who have prospered by their own industry and business ability. His father, Charles F. Hetzel, was born August 19, 1807, at Heidelberg, Germany, that city famed for its great university. The grandfather of our subject, Christian Hetzel, was a wheelwright in Germany, an honest, industrious man with the material thrift of the German race. He was a Protestant in religious belief and is yet well remembered by tradition in the family.

Charles F. Hetzel, the father of our subject, learned his trade of his father in Germany, in the thoroughgoing, old-fashioned way. He possessed an adventurous disposition, and wishing to better his condition emigrated to America, landing in New York City in 1828, and here he worked at his trade. He married in New York City, Regina BAYHA, of German parentage. She was born at Stuttgart, Germany. Soon after marriage, Mr. Hetzel moved to Rome, New York, and engaged in the fur business. He resided there but a short time and then moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, where he was proprietor of a hotel, and remained there about fifteen years, and there most of his children were born. In May 1851, Mr. Hetzel moved to Davenport, Iowa, and was one of the pioneers of Scott County, where he settled on a farm of 440 acres, buying his land of Judge James Grant, then a prominent lawyer and one of the early judges of Iowa, and here he passed the remainder of his life; his widow is still living on the old homestead, surrounded by a goodly number of her descendants. Mr. Hetzel, all through his life, had practiced those virtues of industry and economy which are almost sure to bring their own reward, and in his later life he enjoyed the possession of a handsome property and the satisfaction of handing down to his children a valuable homestead. Both himself and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church, and in the early pioneer days, Mr. Hetzel took an active part in aiding liberally with his time and means the church of his fatherland. People who knew him well had confidence in his judgment, and he was Justice of the Peace for some time. Mr. And Mrs. Hetzel were the parents of eleven children, all grown to maturity: Rosina, Charles, John, Mary, George, Frederick, Wilhelmina, Francis, Anna, Henry, and Jennie - the last three born in Iowa and the remainder in Wheeling, Virginia. Mr. Hetzel lived to the honored age of seventy nine years, and died at the old homestead, universally respected by his fellow townsmen and greatly revered by his family. He was the founder of a new family in America, and his sturdy traits of character are yet marked in his descendants.

Frederick G. Hetzel, his son and the subject of this sketch, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, June 10, 1846. He was but five years of age when his parents came to the then new country of Iowa, and is an Iowa, as he there received his early education and those impulses which have made him one of our respected citizens. He remained on the old homestead until he was twenty three years of age, and there became accustomed to farm life, and gained a practical knowledge of agriculture and that steadiness of character, sound constitution, firmness of mind and love of truth which are best gained when young, in those peaceful pursuits followed at home which give the vigor of nature to the growing man. His first step into the world of business was at Davenport, Iowa, where he acted as a clerk for about two years. He then engaged in the dry goods business, in which he was successful. After two years he went to Fulton, Iowa, and was engaged in the grain business for some time, and in 1874 he came to Avoca and was again in the grain trade for a short time. He then began the hardware trade, which he has since followed successfully. In political opinions, he has always been a stanch Democrat, as was his father before him. He has gained the confidence of his party in this county by his steadfast course as a conservative member of the city council and four years as recorder. He has been county commissioner for six years, and president of the board two years, an office which he holds at the present writing. He has an active interest in the cause of education, and was nine years a member of the board of education and secretary of the board during that time. Mr. Hetzel is not a politician, but he believes it the duty of a good citizen to take an active interest in all local affairs, and vote and act for the best interest of his county and town. By this course, he enjoys the respect and confidence of his fellow townsmen. He is a member of Avoca Lodge No. 220, I.O.O.F., and of Avoca Lodge No. 104, K. of P. and has passed through all the chairs of both lodges.

Mr. Hetzel married at Wilton, Iowa, April 8, 1875, Miss Arabella J. BOYD, daughter of James H. and Eliza (PHELPS) Boyd. Both the families are of old American stock, who have been identified with the early history of our country, and thus blend with the sturdy blood of Germany the characteristics of the pioneers and soldiers whose patriotism made this land of ours a free and independent nation. Mr. And Mrs. Hetzel are the parents of five children, namely: Roy B., Clarence C., Ollie E., Minnie and Bell. Mrs. Hetzel is a member of the Presbyterian Church, where the family also attends. Mr. Hetzel is a man of quiet tastes and one of those sterling citizens who are the best element of our country.