Frank X. Wolter has been a
resident of the village of Guttenberg from the time
of his birth; here he succeeded to the control of the
flourishing boot and shoe business that had been
founded by his honored father in the early pioneer
days, and for the long period of thirty years he
continued as one of the representative merchants of
his native village, where he is now living virtually
retired, a loyal, public-spirited and influential
citizen whose sterling character is best attested by
the unqualified popular esteem accorded to him.
Mr. Wolter was born at
Guttenberg, Clayton county, on the 15th day of July,
1862, and is a son of John and Sophia (Boehmer)
Wolter, both of whom were born and reared in Germany,
whence he immigrated to the United States in 1848. He
landed in the city of New Orleans, but within a
comparatively short time thereafter he came to
Clayton county and became a member of the fine German
pioneer colony at Guttenberg. Here the father engaged
in the work of his trade, that of shoemaker, and
later he opened one of the early shoe stores of the
village. He developed a substantial and prosperous
business and gave to the same his personal
supervision until he was well advanced in years, when
he retired and gave over the store and business to
the management of his sons. He was 76 years of age at
the time of his death, which occurred in 1906, and
the cherished and devoted wife of his youth passed to
eternal rest in 1879, both having been earnest
communicants of the Catholic church. They became the
parents of five children, of whom three are now
living.
Frank X. Wolter is indebted
to the public schools of Clayton county for his early
educational training and as a youth he gained
practical experience in connection with the business
conducted by his father, so that he was well
fortified when he finally took charge of the well
equipped shoe store upon the retirement of his
father. With this line of business enterprise he
continued his active and successful identification
for thirty years, and he has since lived retired, as
previously stated in this context. He finds definite
demand upon his attention, however, in according a
general supervision to a valuable landed estate of
seven hundred and seventy acres, in Clayton and
Dubuque counties, and to his executive service as a
director of the Guttenberg State Bank. He is a
stockholder also in the canning factory at
Guttenberg, and his civic loyalty has been shown by
his efficient service as a member of the village
council and as treasurer of the school board of
Guttenberg, of which latter position he has been the
incumbent since 1908. Both he and his wife are
zealous communicants and liberal supporters of the
Catholic church at Guttenberg, and they have long
been active and influential in the affairs of the
parish.
On the 20th of January,
1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wolter to
Miss Augusta Eckart, who was born and reared in this
county and who is a daughter of Henry and Dorothea
(Benke) Eckart, who were born in Germany and who were
pioneer settlers in Clayton county; they became the
parents of twelve children, of whom seven are now
living. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Wolter
the firstborn was Monica Sophia, who died at the age
of eleven years; Cecilia D., who was graduated in the
college at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, is a talented
musician, remains at the parental home and is an
efficient and popular teacher of music in her native
city; Serena H., was graduated in the St. Mary's
School at Guttenberg and is now attending Campion
College, at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; and Dorothy
Catherine is now a student in the St. Mary's School.
source: History of
Clayton County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present; by Realto E. Price,
Vol. II; pg. 452-453
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
