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 September 20, 2020

A large number of the foreign-born residents of the United States who had their nativity in the fatherland have found excellent opportunities in the rich farming districts of Iowa for advancement along agricultural lines, in which number is included C. M. Ferdinand Mess. Born in Holstein, Germany, on the 28th of December, 1851, he is a son of Henry and Christina (Reise) Mess, both natives of Germany, who came to the United States in 1867, locating first in Chicago. There the father followed his trade of wagon-making for a number of years, and the family were still making their home in the western metropolis when the great fire of 1871 swept over that city. At that time various members of the family were afflicted with smallpox, but in spite of their precarious condition were compelled to get up from their beds and walk out of their burning home. There is today in the possession of the family a ball of glass which was originally a window pane in their residence and which had been melted to its present condition by the terrific heat of that conflagration. In 1873 Henry Mess brought his family to Carroll county, locating in Arcadia township, where he took up farming, being thus engaged until his death, which occurred March 2, 1878. In 1879 his wife suffered a stroke of paralysis and was helpless up to the time of her death August 5, 1895. Both were laid to rest in Arcadia cemetery. In their family were four children, namely: Dora, who married Henry Tank, of Arcadia; Emilie, the deceased wife of Frank Brown, of West Side, Iowa, her death occurred January 31, 1890; C. M. Ferdinand, of this review; and Henriette, residing with her brother.

Ere leaving his native country C. M. F. Mess acquired a good common school education, and was sixteen years of age when the family home was established in America. He remained with his parents until their death, and since 1890 has operated the old homestead, upon which he made many improvements. He planted all of the trees on the place and now has a fine grove of evergreens, has built substantial barns and outbuildings and in the fields are found modern equipment for facilitating farm labor. His farm now consists of three hundred and one acres of as valuable and well developed land as can be found in the township, his fields being under a high state of cultivation. He has not been afraid to work but on the contrary his place indicates, by its neat and well ordered appearance a life of industry, enterprise and thrift on his part. In addition to cultivating the soil he also engages in raising stock, the high grade of which commands ready sale and good prices on the market.

On the 20th of November, 1888, Mr. Mess was united in marriage to Miss Mary Waswo. Her parents, Claus and Margaret (Carson) Waswo, were born, reared and married in Kellinghausen, Holstein, Germany, which was also the birthplace of Mrs. Mess. In August, 1868, the family came to America and located in Chicago, Illinois, where the father conducted a tannery, making his home there for twelve years, and then removed to Wheatland township, Carroll county. Here he rented land and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died in Jackson, Minnesota, in 1909, but the mother of Mrs. Mess had passed away many years previously, dying in Chicago in 1876. In their family were four children, all of whom are living, Mrs. Mess being the eldest. Henry is a resident of Dakota. Anna is the wife of Lawrence Kelting, of Manning, Iowa, and Emma is the wife of Fred Wittmus, of Fairfax, South Dakota. The family were all members of the German Lutheran church and Mr. Waswo was a republican in politics. To Mr. and Mrs. Mess were born five children, namely: Christine M. E., Henry C. and Willie A., all at home; and Fred and Emil, both deceased.

Mr. Mess holds membership in the Lutheran church and fraternally belongs to the Legion of Honor at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In politics he is a republican, having served as road master and also as assessor of the township, and in his citizenship has ever been most loyal to his adopted country and its institutions. He has long been a resident of Carroll county, coming to this district when there were only about nine buildings in the village of Arcadia, and his nearest neighbor was five miles away. Since that time he has witnessed the growth and development of the township, doing all in his power to further the work of improvement that has steadily been carried on within its borders, and by the consensus of public opinion he is given a prominent place among the enterprising, progressive and public-spirited citizens of this locality.

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