Macal, John B. 1861 –

MACAL, MASHEK

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 4/8/2015 at 16:57:42

JOHN B. MACAL.

Through well directed business activity and enterprise John B. Macal has gained recognition as one of the prosperous farmers of Winneshiek county. He owns four hundred and eighty acres of well improved land on section 29, Madison township, and has spent practically all of his active life in this locality, during which time his labors have not only contributed to his own prosperity but have proven effective forces in advancing the general welfare. He was born in Dubuque, Iowa, June 24, 1861, and is a son of John and Barbara (Mashek) Macal, natives of Austria. The parents came to America and settled in Dubuque in 1857 and for eight years thereafter the father engaged in the hardware business in that city. At the end of that time he came to Winneshiek county, buying one hundred and ninety acres of land in Washington township and setting about improving and developing this farm. He operated it until 1882 and then retired from active life, moving to Fort Atkinson, where he and his wife have since resided, being respectively seventy-eight and eighty years of age.

John B. Macal acquired his education in the schools of Dubuque and in district school in Winneshiek county. He assisted his father with the work of the homestead and remained with his parents until after their retirement, when he assumed full charge of the property in Washington township. He purchased the land and cleared eighty acres of it, erecting substantial and modern buildings and adding to the machinery and equipment. For twenty-two years thereafter he carried on general farming and stock-raising upon the property but at the end of that time sold it to his eldest son and moved to Madison township, where he had in 1893 purchased three hundred and twenty acres on section 29. After he took up his residence upon it he turned his attention to its further development and upon it he has since made his home. From time to time he has added to his holdings and now owns four hundred and eighty acres in the home tract as well as another two hundred acre farm in Mower county, Minnesota. He is a representative and progressive agriculturist and his labors, being always practical, have been rewarded by excellent results.

On the 24th of January, 1882, Mr. Macal was united in marriage to Miss Annie Mashek, a daughter of Wenzel and Katie Mashek, natives of Austria. The parents came to America at an early date and located in Dubuque, Iowa, where Mrs. Macal was born in the same house in which her husband's birth occurred. Her father worked for a time in Dubuque but after two years went to Wisconsin, buying land in La Crosse county, near La Crosse. This property he operated for the remainder of his life, dying in 1895, having survived his wife for two years. Mr. and Mrs. Macal have become the parents of seven children : Edwin, who is engaged in farming in Washington township; John M., who follows farming in Madison township; Maurice, a farmer of Mower county, Minnesota; William, Otillie and Arthur, all at home; and Frank, who died June 19, 1897, at the age of thirteen years.

Fraternally Mr. Macal is affiliated with the Western Bohemian Brotherhood, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Masons. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and a stanch republican in his political beliefs, rendering the township capable and able service as trustee at the present time. He is an active and willing worker for the upbuilding and advancement of the county along many lines and stands high in the regard of all who know him.

Source: History of Winneshiek County, Iowa Vol. II Chicago the S. J. Clark Publishing Company 1913