That the life history of Louis Strackbein is a record of success is due to the persistent effort and intelligently directed industry which he has displayed through the many years of his connection with agricultural interests of Springfield township. Prussia, Germany, is the place of his nativity, his birth occurring on the 12th of February, 1841. His parents, Franz and Magdalena Strackbein, both passed away in the fatherland, and our subject and his brother, George, also of Springfield township, are the only members of the family now living.
In the common schools of his native land Louis Strackbein acquired his education and when old enough began learning the mason’s trade. He followed that occupation for a number of years, and then, when war broke out between Germany and Denmark, he served for three years in the German army. Again, in 1870, he saw active service in the Franco-Prussian war, and, although not seriously wounded himself, he was compelled to witness the fall of his comrades on either side of him. He fought for a year as a soldier in that war and then, deciding to escape further service in the German army, he came to the United States in 1871 and has since continued to make his home in this country.
Mr. Strackbein made his way to Cedar county, Iowa, and here, besides working at the mason’s trade, he also became identified with agricultural pursuits as a farm hand, being employed by the month. By nature ambitious, he also possessed those sturdy qualities of industry, determination and frugality which are usually attributed to the German race, and he was not long in catching the spirit of progress which is one of the dominant traits of the people of this country. The combination of these excellent traits made his efforts effective forces in his struggle for success, and that they were resultant is indicated by the fact that by the year 1879 he had accumulated sufficient capital to invest in a farm, becoming the owner of his present property, consisting of eighty acres on section 3, Springfield township. It was but slightly improved when it came into his possession, but he immediately set about its further development and as time went by the results of his labor became more and more apparent, until today it is one of the well improved and valuable properties of the locality. The fields have been brought under a high state of cultivation and he has erected a good frame house and large, substantial barns and outbuildings, while he uses up-to-date machinery to facilitate the work of the farm. The place is neat and attractive in appearance, and everything about it indicates that he is in touch with the modern spirit of progress which is manifest in agricultural lines. He carries on general farming and is meeting with most gratifying success, being numbered among the substantial and representative agriculturists of his part of the township.
It was in Cedar county, in 1877, that Mr. Strackbein was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jane Anderson, a native of this county, and they became the parents of nine children, as follows: Louis, who is married and lives in Clarence, Iowa; Anna, the wife of William Niermier, of Springfield township; and Henry, George, Fred, John, Dena, Charles and Frances. They also have adopted a little girl, Freda, who is the daughter of a sister of Mrs. Strackbein and is now a year and a half old.
The members of the household belong to the Evangelical church, in the work of which they are deeply interested, and are well known and highly esteemed in the community in which their home has been maintained for so many years. For twenty years Mr. Strackbein voted with the republican party, but he now gives his support to the democracy, although the honors or emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. He prefers to live his life quietly on the farm, concentrating his attention upon the conduct of his own personal affairs, and he feels today that he has never had occasion to regret his decision to take up his home in this country, where competition is stranger but where at the same time opportunity for advancement is greater, and where prosperity waits upon ambition and determination and crowns efforts well directed and labor intelligently applied.
