Siege, Fred, 1884-1941

SIEGE, MUELLER, LEHRMAN

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/30/2022 at 09:08:04

From the Sioux Center News, December 4, 1941:

Maurice Farmer Found Dead In Yard

Maurice - Special: Mr. Fred Siege, a farmer in this vicinity for many years, died suddenly from a heart attack at his farm home five miles southeast of here Saturday morning. Mrs. Siege found her husband, just after he had been stricken in the hog house, where he had gone to prepare feed for the hogs. While Mr. Siege had been in poor health for many years, he seemed to be as well as usual that morning, and his death came as a shock to his family and the entire community. Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Lorraine and Lorna. Funeral services will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church on Tuesday afternoon.

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From the Hawarden Independent, December 4, 1941 – Ireton and Vicinity:

Found Lifeless in Hog Barn

Fred Siege, 57, well known farmer of Struble, passed away unexpectedly Saturday morning following a heart attack. Mr. Siege had been in poor health for a number of years but had been able to attend to light duties about the farm and went out Saturday morning to do the chores. As he failed to return to the house in the usual time Mrs. Siege went to investigate and found her husband slumped over a water trough in the hog barn. Life was already extinct when she summoned help.

Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 1 o’clock from the house with services at 1:45 in St. John’s Lutheran church near Ireton. Interment was made in the Reading township cemetery. Six nephews, Silas Seige, Elmer Franke, Orin Franke, Lloyd Mueller, W. V. Schwier and Frank Utech, were pall bearers.

Fred Siege was born in Cedar county, Iowa, Dec. 13, 1884. When six years old he came to Maurice with his parents and the rest of his life was spent in that vicinity. On May 26, 1915, he was united in marriage with Olga Mueller and to this union three children were born. One son Wesley died in infancy. Mr. Siege was a member of St. John’s Lutheran church of near Ireton.

Besides his wife he is survived by two daughters, Lorene of Le Mars and Lorna at home; one brother, Henry Siege of Maurice and four sisters, Mrs. Henry Franke of Ireton; Mrs. Lena Mueller of Maurice; Mrs. Henry Werley of Le Mars; and Anne Siege of Seattle, Wash. There is also one half-sister, Mrs. Clara Schwier of Sioux City.

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RESEARCH NOTES

Similar obituaries were published in the Ireton Ledger (December 4), the Sioux County Capital (December 4), and the Alton Democrat (December 5). The Alton Democrat obituary characterizes him as a faithful member of St. John’s Lutheran church of the Ireton vicinity, a devoted husband and a good neighbor.

His death certificate (informant Mrs. Fred Siege) has John Henry Fredrick Siege; resident of rural Sioux County near Maurice, Section 26; a farmer; wife Olga Siege, age 47; born Dec. 13, 1884 in Cedar County, Iowa; parents Frederick Siege, born in Germany, and Sophia Lehrman, born in Ohio; died at 8:30 a.m. November 29, 1941; cause, coronary thrombosis; other conditions, obesity; buried in Reading Township Cemetery near Ireton.

The Sioux County Cemetery Index has him as Fred Siege, buried in St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, Ireton. His FindaGrave.com page has him as Henry Frederic “Fred” Siege, born in Stanwood, Cedar County, Iowa; parents Frederick F. Siege (1832-1907) and Sophia C. Lehrman Siege (1850-1928); four siblings and two half-siblings listed; wife Olga Mueller Siege (1894-1968); children Lorene Marjory Siege (1916-2014), Wesley W. Siege (1921-1921), and Lorna Elaine Siege (1922-2014). There is a photo of the joint headstone of Fred and Olga.

His World War I draft registration card has Henry Frederic Siege, farmer, resident of R.F.D. 1, Maurice; medium height and build, gray eyes, dark brown hair.