John Pfaff is the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred acres in Cass township but makes his home in Tipton, having retired from the active operation and management of the place. It was upon that farm that he was born October 10, 1855, his parents being Abraham and Susan (Labuscher) Pfaff, both of whom were natives of Germany. Prior to his marriage the father crossed the Atlantic to Boston, Massachusetts, later became a resident of Pennsylvania and subsequently went to Ohio. He was married while still in the east and in the ‘40s removed from Ohio to Cedar county, Iowa, where both he and his wife spent their remaining days upon the farm where the birth of their son John occurred. The father died March12, 1885, when about sixty-nine years of age, having long survived his wife who passed away on the 10th of November,1867, when forty-six years of age.
Abraham Pfaff was the owner of three hundred acres of valuable and productive land at the time of his death. In early life he had learned and followed the butcher’s trade, giving to it his attention until he came to Iowa, when he began farming and found it a profitable source of income. He was a well read man and kept in touch with the leading events and questions of the day. He gave his political support to the democratic party, did all in his power to promote its success and held a number of township offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity. He held membership in the German Reformed church and in all life’s relations were true to the standards of individual worth and high citizenship. Moreover, he was a self-made man, for when he came to this county his financial resources were very limited. Eventually he worked his way upward, however, his energy and diligence enabling him to gain a substantial measure of success.
His family numbered nine children: William, who died October 10, 1867; Lena, the wife of Thomas Henry Hughey of Lebanon, Iowa; Abraham, a resident of Tipton; Peter, who died in Tipton, May 20, 1909, leaving a widow and one daughter; Carrie, living in Cass township with her sister; Charles, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; John, of this review; Anna Amelia, the wife of Fred Kohl of Lisbon; and Susan, the wife of C. A. Dodds of Cass township.
Upon the home farm where he was born and reared John Pfaff continued to reside until he took up his abode in Tipton in 1904. He always carried on general agricultural pursuits, owning and cultivating two hundred acres of land on section 7, Cass township, from which he yet derives a substantial rental. The place is well improved with good buildings and under his supervision the fields were brought under a high state of cultivation so that he annually gathered therefrom rich crops.
In 1886, Mr. Pfaff was united in marriage to Miss Fanny Smith, who was born in Warren county, Illinois, near Gerlaw, in 1863 and is a daughter of Ryan G. and Elizabeth (Buch) Smith, both of whom were natives of Ohio, whence they removed to Warren county, Illinois, in their childhood days, remaining residents of that state until called to their final rest.
In his political views Mr. Pfaff is a democrat and, as every American citizen should do, keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He has served as trustee of Cass township and resigned that position at the time of his removal to Tipton. He owns a good home in the city, which he purchased when he left the farm. His life has been well spent, and his has been an active and useful career, bring him a substantial reward for his labor, so that he is now enabled to rest from further business and yet enjoy the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.
