Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed by Sharon Elijah July 15, 2020

One of the estimable German citizens of Union township, who is meeting with success in the cultivation of his homestead, is John Deppmann. His birth occurred in Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 23d of February, 1841, being a son of John and Lena (Bottenhall) Deppmann. Of the eight children born to them three became citizens of the United States, namely: John, our subject; Dorothea, the deceased wife of William Lau; and Christian, who is a resident of Chicago. The father, who was a laborer, spent his entire life in the old country, his death occurring at the age of fifty-two years. His widow joined her children in the United States shortly afterward, for a time living in Chicago, but her latter years were spent in Coon Rapids, where she passed away at the venerable age of eighty-two years. Both father and mother were life-long members of the Lutheran church.

John Deppmann after acquiring a limited education in the common schools of his native land began his career as a wage earner. He was the son of a laborer, and became a farm hand. He served in the German army, participating in the war of 1866, during which he was wounded, and in the Franco-Prussian war five years later. The first forty years of his life were spent in the land of his nativity, rebelling against the hardships inflicted by conditions of living under which he and his parents had suffered, and he exerted every effort to acquire the means to enable him and his family to come to America. His ambition was realized in 1881 when he hopefully set out for the United States. Upon his arrival in this country he made his way inland to Iowa, purchasing one hundred acres of prairie in Union township, Carroll county. He immediately began improving and cultivating his homestead and with the passing of years, by means of thrift, tireless energy and constant application he has been able to erect some very good buildings and bring his land into a high state of cultivation. His is one of the well-stocked and fertile farms of the township and he is recognized as one of the skillful agriculturists whose success is justly merited.

While residing in Germany Mr. Deppmann was married to Miss Mary Hase, their union being solemnized on the 2d of March, 1867. Mrs. Deppmann is a native of Pomerania, Prussia, her natal day being the 5th of January, 1844. She is a daughter of Charles and Dora (Kent) Hase, the father, a laborer, passed away in 1868 at the age of sixty-seven years, but the mother survived until 1880, her demise occurring at the age of seventy-three. Four children were born to them: Rika; Carl; Mary, now Mrs. Deppmann; and August.

Mr. and Mrs. Deppmann were the parents of six children, two of whom survive, namely: Mina, who married Fritz Pevestorf, of Green county, Iowa, and has eight children: Rose, Albert, Emma, Alma, Arthur, Walter, Elma and Julius; and Wilhelm, who married Miss Eliza Arndt, a daughter of Valentine and Christiana (Schmidt) Arndt, who has four children: Albert, Anna, Clara and Mabel.

Mr. and Mrs. Deppmann hold membership in the Lutheran church in the faith of which they were reared. During the twenty years which have elapsed since he became a citizen of the United States Mr. Deppmann has never had occasion to regret leaving the old country. There have been hardships and misfortunes but they have been softened with the passing of time, and are now almost forgotten in the enjoyment of the comfort and ease provided by the goodly income from their excellent farm.

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