HENRY HECHT

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Henry Hecht and Mrs. Henry Hecht

With the business interest of Tipton, Henry Hecht has long been prominently identified and prior to this was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Cedar county but is now living practically retired, giving his attention only to his invested interests. A native of Pennsylvania he was born in Westmoreland county, June 21, 1833, his parents being John and Louise Catherine (Eisley) Hecht, natives of Wittenberg, Germany. The father was born in 1800 and in his native land was reared and educated. He was also married there and prior to his emigration to the new world two children were born to himself and wife. On crossing the Atlantic the family located in Pennsylvania and for some years the father followed his trade as a stone-mason and plasterer in West Newton but in 1854 he brought his family to Cedar county, Iowa, and in this state spent the remainder of his life. Both he and his wife died at Clarence when about eighty years of age. In their family were five children, namely: John, now a resident of Ida Grove, Iowa; a daughter who died in infancy; Henry, of this review; Fred of Clarence, Iowa; and Mrs. Elizabeth McKelvey, a widow, living in Chicago.

In his native state Henry Hecht was reared and educated, his home being at West Newton, Pennsylvania, until twenty years of age, and there he learned the trade of a stone-mason and plasterer with his father. He accompanied the family on their removal to Cedar county, Iowa, in 1854, making his home on the farm in Springfield township until his marriage, when his father gave him a farm of eighty acres adjacent to the home place. This he improved and continued to engage in agricultural pursuits with remarked success for many years, adding to his property from time to time, until he was possessed of five hundred and eighty acres of rich and valuable land all in one body and on retiring from farming he rented his place for a time and later sold it. It was on the 1st of March, 1888, that he removed to Tipton, where he has since made his home, building at that time his present fine residence on Meridian street. He still has farming interests in Minnesota and for three or four years after locating in Tipton was engaged in the hardware business in connection with his son-in-law, D. L. Diehl, under the firm name of Hecht & Diehl. He is now a director of the Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank and is also a stockholder in the Clarence Savings Bank, where he did all of his banking while residing on the farm.

On the 8th of April, 1856, Mr. Hecht was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Lichtenwalter, a native of Maryland. She came to this country in1854 with her parents, Abraham and Susan Lichtenwalter and settled in the same neighborhood as our subject. She died October 31, 1863, and of the three children born to them two are deceased: Werty, who died at the age of sixteen years, and Annetta, who died at the age of seven years. The eldest, Ida, is now the widow of Fred Hecht of Clarence, Iowa.

Our subject was again married May 17, 1864, his second wife being Miss Sarah Frances Denson, who was born in Jones county, Iowa, January 2, 1854. Her parents were Joseph and Mary (Riddle) Denson, natives of South Carolina and Kentucky, respectively. They were married, however, in Quincy, Illinois, and from that state removed to Jones county, Iowa, in 1851. The father went overland to California, where his death occurred. His wife died in Cedar county, Iowa, at the age of eighty-four years. During his residence in this state he ran a ferry boat at one time across the Wapsie river at Massillon, Iowa. In his family there were four children, namely: Mrs. Anna C. Bronson, now a widow living in Chicago; Margaret, the wife of Eugene Post of Chicago; Sarah F., the wife of our subject; and Zachariah, of Missouri. By his second marriage Mr. Hecht had four children, as follows: Lulu, the wife of D. F. Diehl, a banker of Tipton; Jessie V., the wife of W. P. Ross of Davenport; Alice, the wife of F. B. Cobb, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; and Ralph Hecht, a dentist of Hawkeye, Fayette county, Iowa. The republican party finds in Mr. Hecht a stanch supporter of its principals, and in his religious faith he is a Methodist. Wherever known he is held in high esteem and he has the confidence and high regard of all with whom he comes in contact whether in business or social relations. A man of sound judgment and reliable methods, he has met with more than ordinary success in his undertakings and is today ranked among the most prosperous as well as honored citizens of Tipton.