MARX HENRY HARTZ

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Marx H. Hartz and Mrs. Marx H. Hartz

For thirty-nine years Marx Henry Hartz has been a resident of Cedar county, closely identified with its agricultural interests, and today it is doubtful whether the county contains within its limits a more honored resident. The high position which has been accorded Mr. Hartz is due to characteristics of energy, persistence, integrity and public spirit that gain recognition everywhere and are at the foundation of all that is best in our modern civilization. These characteristics Mr. Hartz inherited from a long line of worthy ancestry and their application has resounded not only to the credit of himself and family but to that of the entire community. Although four score and six years of age Mr. Hartz is in the enjoyment of health and faculties which have continued in a large degree unimpaired and through which he has been able not only to advance his own interest but the interests of many others with whom he has been associated.

He was born at Holstein, Germany, January 19, 1824, and is the son of Hans and Anna (Rower) Hartz, natives of Germany, who long ago passed to their reward. He received his education in the common schools and after arriving at twenty-two years of age served for two years and nine months in the German army. The training he there received has undoubtedly been of great benefit to him through life. At thirty years of age, having heard and read a great deal concerning the opportunities that awaited ambitious young men in the United States, he came to this country, landing at New Orleans, May 2, 1854. Mr. Hartz began in his adopted country at the bottom of the ladder. He started as a farm laborer at Davenport, Iowa, and later began renting land in Scott county. By industry and good management he was able to buy eighty acres of land in 1865, living in Scott county until 1871, when he came to Cedar county andlocated in Farmington township, where he has since lived. Here he operated with constantly increasing success. From the beginning of his career as a farmer he showed talent for agricultural pursuits that gave unusual promise for the future. As a young man he cleared the land, guided the plow as it broke the virgin soil and gained a knowledge of plowing,planting and harvesting so necessary in a farmer’s life. He also learned a great deal concerning live-stock and the grades that bring the best prices, and thus he has been able to meet the demands of buyers looking for choice animals. As a farmer he made use of improved machinery and his farm residences and surroundings indicate the good judgment and careful management of one fully alive as to the comforts and conveniences of the up-to-date farming establishment. He started in this county upon one hundred and sixty acres of land that was very slightly improved and increased the acreage until his farm became one the of the largest and finest in his portion of the county. He has divided four hundred and seven acres among his children and some time ago sold four hundred acres which he owned in O’Brien county, Iowa. It will be seen that as a farmer he attained an enviable success.

On October 21, 1860, Mr. Hartz, in Scott county, Iowa, was united in marriage to Miss Mary Stoeterau, a native of Holstein, Germany, born October 19, 1837. Mrs. Hartz is a daughter of Detlef and Elsie Stoeterau. The father died in his native land, but Mrs. Stoeterau came to this country and made her home with her daughter in Cedar county, where she was called to her final rest at an advanced age. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hartz; Julius, who married Miss Lizzie Horst and now lives in Durant, Iowa; William; Annie, now Mrs. Otto Schiele, of Cedar county; Henry; John; Mary; Charles, a farmer of Cedar county; Eliza, the wife of Richard Peterson, of Scott county, Iowa; Emma, now Mrs. Henry Glaser, of Muscatine county, Iowa; and George, who lives with his brother, Charles.

Mr. and Mrs. Hartz were reared in the Protestant Lutheran faith but have never united with any church since coming to America, although they have always been liberal supporters of the cause of religion and of all other causes aiming to promote the welfare of their fellowmen. Mr. Hartz is an ardent supporter of the republican party, believing that its principles are best adapted to preserve the liberties of a free people. He has never sought political preferment but has at different times served as a member of the school board. He received a good education in his boyhood years and has through life been an observer and a reader and as a result has a mind well stored with information upon many useful and interesting subjects. Mrs. Hartz has a vivid recollection of her trip across the ocean in a slow-going sailing vessel more than half a century ago, the voyage requiring ten weeks. She also remembers the scenes on the Mississippi river, her trip up the river from New Orleans to Davenport requiring three weeks, every day of which was full of interest to the travelers seeking a home in a new country. After many years of labor, in the course of which they scattered many blessing by the way, this venerable couple, who were united in the ties of marriage fifty years ago, are now enjoying the restful period that rightfully follows a life of usefulness and unselfishness. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Hartz has never regretted the day in which he decided to bid farewell to old associates and seek home and friends under the promising skies of the new world.