Althouse, Christian & Margaret (Steffens)

ALTHOUSE, KLINCKER

Posted By: Darla Doyle (email)
Date: 4/9/2006 at 13:47:57

Christian Althouse was the oldest of 3 sons born to Johannes Althouse and his wife Christine Klincker Althouse. Christian (Chris) was born 25 Mar 1832 in the provice of Hessa, Dorrnstadt, Germany.

In 1856 Chris and his brother William came to America landing in Baltimore after 6 weeks of crossing the ocean in a sailboat. The brothers headed west to Sheboygan and Kenoska, WI where they worked in a dairy in the summer milking cows by hand. In the winter they logged.

Chris was drafted and served in the Civil War from Wisconsin. He was wounded in the Wilderness Campaign and sent to a hospital in Washington, D.C. Upon release from the hospital he returned to active duty with General Sherman on his "March to the Sea."

Chris was mustered out of the Army at the end of the war in 1865. He then came to Iowa where he bought 80 acres in Sec 8, Bloomfield Twp. Later he married Margaret Steffens (b. 1837).

Will went West and homesteaded near Utica, NE. Brother George also homesteaded in Nebraska. Will and George came back to Iowa to encourage Chris to move to Nebraska, but Margaret did not want to leave her family.

Chris and Margaret were the parents of 2 children: Anna (b 1872) and Henry (b 1874 or 5). Both were born in a log house in Sec 8, Bloomfield Twp. Anna married Charles Schweinefus.

Christian Althouse died 8 Mar 1894. Margaret died in 1912. They are both buried in Eldorado, IA.

Winneshiek County, Iowa
Biographies - 1996