Henry Schlake
Henry Schlake is
consistently to be designated as one of the
substantial and influential citizens of his native
county and is a representative of one of its honored
pioneer families, the name which he bears having been
identified most worthily with the history of Clayton
county for fully seventy years. He has substantial
and varied capitalistic interests, not the least of
which are those involved in the ownership of the
splendid old homestead farm in Garnavillo township,
on which he was born, the date of his nativity having
been June 22, 1858.
He is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth Schlake, who were
born and reared in Germany, where their marriage was
solemnized and whence they immigrated to America in
1845. Shortly after their arrival in the land of
their adoption they came to Iowa and numbered
themselves among the early pioneer settlers of
Clayton county. Here Joseph Schlake obtained a tract
of wild land, in what is now Garnavillo township, and
for several years thereafter he and his family
resided in a primitive log house of the true pioneer
type. Energy and earnest and honest endeavor brought
to Mr. Schlake increasing prosperity with the passing
years, and he eventually became the owner of one of
the large and finely improved landed estates of the
county, all of this having been incidental to his
development of the original pioneer farm on which he
located when this section of the state was still
thinly populated and on the virtual frontier. This
sterling pioneer couple continued to reside in
Clayton county until their death, when well advanced
in years, and their names merit enduring place on the
roll of those worthy citizens who contributed to the
development of the resources of and furthered the
industrial and civic upbuilding of the county.
Of the four children the subject of this review is
the elder of the two now living, and his sister,
Louisa, is the wife of Charles F. Schmidt, their home
being at Elkader, the county seat. Henry Schlake was
reared under the conditions that obtained in the
pioneer period of Clayton county history, and he soon
gained the fellowship with honest toil that has made
him enduringly appreciative of its dignity and value.
He made good use also of the advantages afforded in
the common schools of the locality and period and
after attaining to his legal majority he rented the
old homestead farm for a period of four years, at the
expiration of which he purchased the property, his
valuable landed estate now comprising three hundred
and seventy-four acres, in sections 21 and 28,
Garnavillo township. He added greatly to the
improvements on this excellent demesne and continued
to reside upon the farm, with status as one of the
most progressive agriculturists and stock growers of
the county, until 1910, when he removed with his
family to the village of Garnavillo, where he has
since lived virtually retired, save that he continues
to give a general supervision to his farm and his
other important capitalistic interests.
Several years ago Mr. Schlake purchased thirty-two
acres of land lying within the corporate limits of
the village of Garnavillo, and upon this property he
has made excellent improvements, including the
erection of a number of houses in addition to his own
modern residence, which is one of the fine homes of
the county. He is a director in the Garnavillo
Savings Bank, of which he was one of the organizers,
and is president of the Live Stock Commission Company
of Clayton county. His political allegiance is given
loyally and intelligently to the Republican party and
he is serving in 1916 as trustee of Garnavillo
township, besides having served several years as a
member of the school board.
In the year 1882 was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Schlake to Miss Elizabeth Wilker, who was born in
Garnavillo township, and who is a daughter of Clamer
and Anna M. (Kurppenberg) Wilker, the other two
surviving children being Fred and John Wilker, both
still residents of Clayton county. On coming from
their German Fatherland to the United States, in
1849, the parents of Mrs. Schlake established their
residence in Ohio, but about a year later they became
pioneers of Clayton county, Iowa, where they passed
the remainder of their lives and where the father was
long numbered among the successful farmers of
Garnavillo township. In conclusion is entered brief
record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs.
Schlake: Ida is the wife of Henry D. Backhaus of
Worth county, Iowa; and Anna the wife of Henry J.
Schroeder, of this county; John J. of Guttenberg;
Albert has the active management of the old homestead
farm; Herman C. is a farmer of Farmersburg township;
Alma is the wife of Arthur Hamann, of this county;
Ruth, Leroy, Nettie and Victor remain at the parental
home; and Arthur died at the age of twenty-one years.
~source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical Times Down to
the Present; by Realto E. Price, Vol. II; 1916, pgs
362-363
~transcribed by Keith Schrader
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