The younger generation of farmers is making its presence known all over the country and Cedar county claims not a few stanch young men who grew up on the farm and are now flourishing at a business in which their fathers gained a fortune. While there are other branches of industry that possess attractions for ambitious young men, none has the stability of the farm and it is a growing conviction that the farmer’s son, who has the consent of his mind to continue in the work which he learned as a boy, is in a great majority of instances much more fortunate than the one who seeks some other field, unless the latter possesses marked talents for other lines. Among the members of the younger generation of farmers in Cedar county who have attained commendable success may be named Herman P. Thede, now the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Farmington township, which possesses all the modern improvements recognized in the best agricultural communities.
Mr. Thede was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, November 7, 1875. He is a son of Juergen Thede, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, and Maria Catherine (Broders) Thede. He was educated in the district schools of Cedar county and after leaving the common schools became a student in the high school at Durant and also at Wilton, later taking a course at Duncan’s Business College, Davenport, Iowa. For five years Mr. Thede was identified with the mercantile business in Davenport and Durant and showed a capacity and adaptability that speak well for the education which he received. Coming into possession of one hundred and sixty acres of the old homestead in Farmington township, including the buildings, he has devoted his attention to agriculture and stock-raising and is recognized by his associates as one of the wide-awake and successful agriculturists in a region where the art is carried to a very high degree of perfection. He is known as a good general farmer, and no young man in the township is better acquainted with the resources of the farm and the demands of an ever changing market. He is an observer, a reader and a student and is well informed not only concerning the various phases of agriculture but of the progress of the world and is a consistent advocate of education as one of the great blessings of life, having in his own experience discovered its beneficial effects.
On February 16, 1899, Mr. Thede at Davenport, Iowa, took unto himself a life companion, the lady of his choice being Miss Anna Kuehl, who was born in Germany and is a daughter of Hans and Catherine Kuehl, of Durant. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Thede: Donald G., Rudolph A. and Herbert H.
Mr. Thede politically is allied with the republican party and is in full sympathy with its principles of progressiveness and protection to industries that otherwise would not be able to meet foreign competition. He is now fairly at the beginning of an active and useful career and has the qualities which in the opinions of his friends will lead to gratifying success.
