Jacob B Sohm

SOHM WELTE WIELING

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/18/2010 at 19:53:50

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Jacob ‘Jake’ B Sohm
By Mrs Marshall L Sohm

Jacob Bernard Sohm was born February 23, 1865, at Turkery River, Iowa, and baptized into the Catholic Faith at St Mary’s Church at Guttenburg, Iowa, March 5, 1865. His parents were John Baptist Sohm, born August 15, 1825, in Hard, Austria; and Katherine Welte Sohm, born November 27, 1834, in Mauren, Liechtenstein. Other children were: John Sohm, born 1859, died at about 20 years of age; Amalia ALbertina Sohm, born February 14, 1863, (later Mrs Frank Erlemeier); Joseph SOhm, born February 20, 1869, married to Mary Stork of Breda; and a foster sister, Mary Johnston, born 1877 at Guttenburg and raised with the Sohm family. Mary took that name; she later married John Petrositch at Danbury.

Jacob B Sohm came to Danbury area of Woodbury County, Iowa, in the 1870s and worked as a farm laborer with several other young men, including a Welte cousin, son of Jacob Welte, an early settler at Danbury; and a young man named Wieling form Festina in Winneshiek County. Jacob met and later married a sister of Wieling, Frances Maggie Wieling , at Festina, on February 9, 1892. They began farming in Liston township, Section 1. They bought an 80 acre farm from the Railroad that had a few buildings on it. Later they bought another 80 acres north of the first purchase, and next to the road. The house and several buildings were moved north closer to the road. The two houses were attached together and gave the growing family six years.

Jake and Frances had eleven children: Katherine ‘Kate’, born February 2, 1892; Mary Anne, born May 13, 1895; John, born February 16, 1897; Henry, born June, 1899, died October, 1899, at five months of age; Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’, born December 29, 1900; Theresia, born April 17, 1902; Carl J, born September 26, 1904; Joseph, born March 19, 1906; Frances, born November 11, 1909; Herman, born February 13, 1911; Odelia ‘Dege’, born April 10, 1913.

As their family grew older Jake and Frances bought a farm about a mile north of Danbury in Section 22, Liston township, and they moved there with their younger children. Son, John, and daughter, Mary, stayed at the farm in Liston township, Section 1, and farmed that place. Later John and Mary bought a farm in Section 9 and son, Carl, and daughters, Lizzie and Theresia, moved to the original farm in Section 1. In 1937, Carl married M Margaret Harrigan and they set up housekeeping there, with Lizzie and Theresia, moving back with their parents. Lizzie and Theresia worked as daily helpers doing household work around the Danbury area such as painting, wall papering, and house cleaning.

In addition to their own children, Jake and Frances raised a Great-nephew, Leon Sohm, son of Jake’s nephew, Frank Sohm and Leonella Dirks Sohm. Leonella, died December, 1931, and Frank felt unable to raise his six young children alone. HE moved to Montana where his parents, Joe and Mary (Stork) Sohm and family were living. Frank took the two older sons, Vernon and Clair with him. Leon with the Jake Sohm family; two younger sons, Gene and Duane, lived with the Albertina (Sohm) and Frank Erlemeier family at Danbury, and the daughter, Evonne ‘Bonnie’ was raised at Carroll by her Mother’s family.

Mrs Jake ‘Frances Wieling’ Sohm, died at her home at Danbury, February 15, 1941. Jacob ‘Jake’ Sohm died at his home at Danbury, March 31, 1944. They are both buried at St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery at Danbury.