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Joseph F. Fisher

    Joseph F. Fisher, his wife Catherine, and eight children came to Cedar County, Iowa from Carroll County, Maryland in the fall of 1856, by coming as far as Davenport on a train. Here they transferred to a team and wagon furnished by Adam Lichtenwalter who had come to Cedar County in 1853 from the same area that the Fishers came from. The first night in Cedar County was spent with Lichtenwalters whose farm home was located in the southwest corner of Section 21 in Springfield Township. The remainder of the fall and following winter, the Fishers lived with the Dave Winter family whose home was located in Section 8 of Springfield Township across the road from where Merle Bentrott now lives. By the spring of 1857, they were on their own and lived on a farm southwest of Lowden in the north part of Section 10 which is now owned by Richard Krutzfeld.

     While living on this farm, Mr Fisher used oxen to haul the ties that were used to extend the Chicago, Iowa Nebraska Railroad (now the Chicago and North-….

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. . . western) west from Lowden. Mrs Fisher prepared the meals for the railroad workers which were served in a railroad car. One time after a hard rain, the track on one side of the dirt fill settled so much lower than the other side that the dishes on the table in the railroad car nearly slid off the table.

     In 1867 Joseph F. Fisher bough an eighty acres which was the S ½ of the NW ¼ of Sec. 17 in Springfield Township. This farm was kept in the Fisher family for 104 years and operated by Fishers for 102 years. After Joseph F. retired, it was operated by James M., then Homer S., and last by Howard R. This farm is now owned by Mr and Mrs Louis L. Miller.

     All but three of the Joseph F. Fisher children moved out of the state. Joseph H. owned and operated a farm that was located in the southwest corner of section 9 and James M. owned and operated a farm in the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 17. Abbie (Mrs Charles Peters) lived the latter part of her life on a farm which was the E ½ of the NW ¼ of Sec. 36 in Dayton township.

     There were sons from each of the succeeding generations of Joseph F. living in the Lowden area who answered their country's call to arms. A son, Joseph H. enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, Sept. 1862 to August, 1865. He took part in battles in the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. William Francis known as Frank, a second son of Joseph F. enrolled in the Union Army during the Civil War, Sept. 1861 to July 1865. He took part in the capture of Atlanta, was taken prisoner, and held in Andersonville Prison in Georgia for nine months. A grandson Forest R. entered the Army during World War I, September 1918 and died from the effects of the flu in Camp Dodge one month later.

     A great-grandson, Milo H. enlisted in the Marine Corp during World War II, May 1941 to May 1946. He saw action in the Pacific area and spent most of the last year in service in China. A great-great grandson, David A. enlisted in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, Aug. 1866 to March 1970. He was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam during his last year of service.

              Arthur J. Fisher, A Great-Grandson of Joseph F.