Francis & Pauline Kirsch

KIRSCH BECKER SATTEL

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/21/2010 at 16:16:04

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Francis and Pauline Kirsch
By Pauline Kirsch

Friederich Kirsch was born in Vorderweidenthal, Germany on 18 March 1831. He emigrated to America in 1853, settling in Monroe County, Ohio. He raised his family there and helped raise his grandson, George Albert Kirsch. Albert came to Iowa in 1906 to visit relatives, liked the community found work and stayed the rest of his life in work and stayed the rest of his life in Woodbury County. He married Barbara Becker, a natiave of Holly Springs, Iowa, on 18 February 1914. Albert was a farmer and owned 210 acres of land at the time of his death, 23 October 1957.

Barbara is still living. Her parents were Martin Becker and Christina Sattel. Martin and Christina were born in Otterstadt, Germany and married there. Martin did not wish to do military duty so emigrated to America in 1883. He found work around Holly Springs, brought his wife to Woodbury County where they both resided the rest of their lives. He was a successful stockman and farmer, owning 340 acres of land at the time of his death on 29 November 1929. Christina died 20 December 1932. One of Barbara and Albert Kirsch’s four children was Francis Luverne Kirsch.

William George O’Connell and Elizabeth Sullivan were born in Ireland, and emigrated to Dubuque, Iowa, were they met and married, then moved to Woodbury County, settling on a wooded farmland east of Oto, Iowa. They resided there until their deaths on 11 October 1908 and 23 May 1917, respectively. William owned 240 acres at the time of his death. William and Elizabeth’s son, Jeffrey Jacob O’Connell, Sr, was born on this farm on 18 May 1872 and was the first child baptized in the Oto Catholic Church, which stood at the top of the hill of the present St Mary’s Cemetery at Oto, Iowa. HE met and married Emma Mary Eisenmenger of the Oto community.

Emma was born on 6 September 1874 near Peoria, Illinois. She came with her parents, Joseph and Mary Fellman Eisenmenger first to Pottawattamie County, Iowa about 1880, then to Woodbury County. Joseph purchased a farm west of Oto and alter purchased land northeast of Anthon. He owned 320 acres of land at the time of his death 4 January 1916. Mary died 8 December 1934.

Jeffrey J O’Connell, Sr and his wife, Emma, had 5 children; one was Jeffrey Jacob, Jr born on a farm east of Oto on 21 March 1898. He met and married Elva Ruth Gothier on 18 February 1919. Elva’s parents were John Edwin Gothier born in Illinois on 4 March 1858 and Clara Alice Davis born in Iowa on 6 December 1864. John Gothier came to Iowa with his parents, Edward Phillip Gothier and Alice Cecelia White from Illinois. They settled in the Lucky Valley area. Clara Davis’ mother, Ruth Emery, died when Clara was very young and her father, Calvin H Davis married again and they settled in the Lucky Valley area, also. John Gothier and Clara Davis were married in Sioux City on 5 November 1883 and they reared seven children. One of them was Elva Ruth who married Jeffrey O’Connell.

Jeffrey was a farmer and later a successful business man in the town of Anthon, Iowa, owning a Feed and Seed store. He owned 440 acres of land at the time of his death on 11 September 1976. Elva died 3 October 1980. Elva was born on 6 October 1900. Jeff and Elva O’Connell had two children, one was Pauline Veronica O’Connell.

Francis Luverne Kirsch is a lifelong resident of Woodbury County, having been born on 14 March 1919 on a farm one mile north of Hornick, Iowa. He attended schools in Hornick and Holly Springs and has been farming for 46 years. He has been Willow township clerk for four years. On 14 January 1943, Francis married Pauline Veronica O’Connell at Oto, Iowa. She was born on 12 February 1921 near Anthon and is also a lifetime resident of Woodbury County. She attended rural schools and Anthon an Oto High Schools, and later was a rural school teacher. They reside on the farm, ¾ mile north of Holly Springs that they purchased in 1956 and retired from farming in 1982. They both enjoyed traveling, fishing and antiques.

Francis and Pauline are the parents of three children. Franklin Kay Kirsch was born in Sioux City on 28 December 1945. He is an Army aviation aerospace engineer and lives at O’Fallon, Missouri. He married Geraldine Povis Steinman, born 24 April 1944 in St Louis, Missouri, on 11 April 1979, in Hornick, Iowa. Franklin and Geraldine have two sons, namely: Eric Paul Steinman Kirsh, born 21 May 1973 and Nathan Franklin Kirsch, born 25 February 1981. Both boys were born in St Louis, Missouri.

Francine May Kirsch was born on 9 October 1947 in Sioux City. She married William James McGregor, born 27 May 1943 in Yankton, South Dakota, at Hornick on 13 May 1967. Francine and William have three sons, namely: Scott William born 17 February 1968; Kevin Patrick born 5 December 1970; Brian Jeffrey born 6 June 1973. All three boys were born in Sioux City, Iowa. Francine has done secretarial work in several Sioux City businesses and is presently employed in the Sioux City school system.

Kathleen Ellen Kirsch was born 1 October 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa. She married James Lynn Geiger, born 26 July 1955, in Vinton, Iowa, on 25 July 1980 in Vinton, Iowa. They have one daughter, Amy Ellen, born 3 November 1981 in Vinton, Iowa. Kathleen is a business education teacher in the State Iowa Braille and Sight-Saving School at Vinton, Iowa.