Spending his youthful days among strangers and dependent upon his own labor from a very early age, Juergen Thede has become one of the substantial residents of Durant by reason of his unflagging industry, his unfaltering perseverance and his firm purpose. His record is an honorable and creditable one and his example may well be followed by others. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, September 6, 1835, a son of Claus and Christina (Kruse) Thede. The father died in Germany, after which the mother came to America and spent her last days in the home of a daughter in Crawford county, Iowa. Juergen Thede was educated in the common schools and at twenty-two years of age came to the United States, making his way direct to Davenport. For a year and a half he worked on a farm by the month, receiving a wage of eight dollars per month. In 1859 he went to New Orleans, where he was employed for a year and a half or until after the Civil war broke out. He made his way north on the last boat that came up the river before the blockade was declared and war was in progress. He afterward was employed at farm labor for a year in Scott county and all this time was acutated by the laudable ambition of engaging in business on his own account, to which end he carefully saved his earnings and utilized every opportunity for advancement.
He made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage, on the 28th of February, 1862, to Miss Mary Catherine Broders, who was born in Holstein, Germany, April 23, 1836, a daughter of Jacob and Marguerite (Hansen) Broders. Her father died in Germany, after which his widow became the wife of Jochim Inbeck, with whom she came to America, spending her last days in Durant. Her daughter, Mrs. Thede, came to the United States with her brothers in 1861. She had been acquainted with Mr. Thede in the old country but had not heard anything of him for three years, although she knew he was in America somewhere. One day she met him on the road but did not recognize him until the man for whom he worked and with whom he was riding told her who he was. They renewed their acquaintanceship and in time were married.
After operating a rented farm of eighty acres for two years, Mr. Thede, in partnership with two of his brothers-in-law, purchased three eighty-acre tracts of land in Muscatine county. It was raw prairie, necessitating the arduous task of breaking the sod. This was done and in 1864 they raised their first crop. The following year they divided their interests and Mr. Thede received his eighty-acre share, after which he built the first house on the place. With characteristic unfaltering energy he began the improvement of the farm and bought eighty acres more, making his home thereon until 1875, when he sold out and came to Farmington township, Cedar county, where he purchased and improved a farm of three hundred and twenty acres. This place had been settled long before but everything upon it was in a state of dilapidation. He began to fix it up according to the modern ideas of farming and lived thereon for fifteen years, transforming the place into a fine farm. He then retired and removed to Durant, occupying a neat home in the south part of the town. In the meantime he had added to his possessions as his financial resources increased and at the time he retired was the owner of six hundred and eighty acres of valuable land in Muscatine and Cedar counties. The first eighty acres he bought in Scott county at eight dollars per acre; in three years he bought another eighty-acre tract at twenty-eight dollars per acre and in 1875 he paid seventeen thousand dollars for three hundred and twenty acres in Cedar county. Since his retirement he has divided most of his property among his children. His success indicates his excellent business ability, his unfaltering diligence and his intelligent management of his affairs.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thede have been born five children who are yet living while three have passed away. The family record is as follows: Augusta, who died at the age of eighteen years and ten months; Henry W., who is mentioned on another page of this work; Christina, who passed away when but two years old; Mary, the wife of Gust Guemmer, of Cedar county; George, who likewise died at the age of two years; George F., an agriculturist of this county, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume; Herman P., who operates the old homestead farm and who is also represented elsewhere in this work; and John, a resident of South Dakota.
Mr. and Mrs. Thede were reared in the Lutheran faith but as there was no church of their denomination near their home in this locality, they have never united with another organization. During their early days they saw many hardships and practiced close economy. Following their marriage in two years they bought just two pounds of coffee, which at that time sold for fifty cents a pound and they felt they could not afford the luxury. They browned barley and corn and other cereals and from this made beverages which they substituted for coffee. While working on a boat on the Mississippi river they would dip up the very muddy water below St. Louis and let it settle, after which they used it for drinking and cooking purposes. Their limited financial resources made it necessary that they not spend a cent needlessly but, practicing the closest economy, they were at length able to gain a start and now, in the evening of life, they are able to enjoy many comforts and luxuries.
Mr. Thede has always given his political support to the democratic party and has served as school director, road supervisor and in other minor township offices. Both he and his wife are held in the highest esteem, enjoying the warm friendship of all with whom they have come in contact. They have both passed the Psalmist’s allotted span of three score years and ten, Mr. Thede being now seventy-five years of age, while his wife has reached the age of seventy-four. They have traveled life’s journey happily together for forty-eight years, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity, and their labors have received a fitting crown in the success which is now theirs.
