Charles Zittergruen was a
lad of about fourteen years when he accompanied his
parents on their immigration from Germany to America,
in 1869, and the family home was established in
Clayton county, where within the intervening years he
has gained through his own energy and ability a
generous measure of success and prosperity, as
indicated in his ownership of a large and valuable
landed estate in this county. He now makes his home
on a fine farm in close proximity to the village of
Garber, and is giving special attention to dairy
farming, with the best of modern equipment and
facilities.
Mr. Zittergruen was born in
Pomerania, Germany, on the 9th of March, 1855, and
there received his rudimentary education. He is a son
of Carl and Regina (Wassmund) Zittergruen whose
marriage was solemnized at Greiswald, Pomerania,
about the year 1851, and who immigrated to America in
1869, as previously noted in this sketch. Soon after
their arrival in the United States the parents came
to Clayton county and the father purchased a farm
near Garnavillo. In 1877 he sold this property and
purchased one hundred acres in Section 13, Volga
township, where he continued his successful
activities as a farmer and stock grower until his
death, which occurred about the year 1899 and when he
was seventy-four years of age. He was a zealous
communicant of the Lutheran church, as is also his
widow, who still resides in this county and who
celebrated, in 1916, her eighty-seventh birthday
anniversary. Of the six children the subject of this
review is the eldest; Mary became the wife of Joseph
Raefeldt and is now deceased, her death having
occurred in Clayton county; and the other four
children died prior to the family's immigration to
America.
In the schools of Clayton
county Charles Zittergruen supplemented the
educational discipline he had gained in those of his
Fatherland, and he continued to be associated with
his father in the work of the home farm until he had
attained to the age of twenty-six years, when he took
unto himself a young wife and helpmeet and initiated
his independent career as a farmer on a tract of
eighty acres of land which he purchased at that time,
in Volga township. The passing years crowned his
labors with cumulative prosperity, and he manifested
mature judgment in adding gradually to his landed
estate until he now has five hundred and seventy-four
acres. He remained on his original homestead until
1913, when he rented the place to three of his sons
and removed to the present farm, which he purchased
at that time, near the village of Garber, just south
of the corporate limits. Here he has a well-improved
farm of one hundred and thirty-four acres, in the
operations of which he has the effective assistance
of others of his sons, the place being given largely
to dairy farming, as previously noted.
Mr. Zittergruen is a
director of the Garber Creamery and a member of the
Elkport Commission Company. He has been known at all
times for his progressiveness and public spirit, and
has commanded the unqualified confidence and good
will of the people of the county in which he has
achieved large and worthy success through his own
honest efforts. His political allegiance is given to
the Democratic party and he has been called upon to
serve in various offices of public trust. In past
years he served several terms as township trustee and
as road supervisor, and he is now the vigorous
incumbent of the office of superintendent of roads in
Volga township. He has given years of effective
service as school director, and holds this office at
the time of this writing. He and his wife are most
zealous communicants of the Lutheran church, and he
has served for many years past as treasurer of the
church of this denomination at Elkport.
On the 14th of March, 1883,
was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Zittergruen to
Miss Lena Brandenburg, of Garnavillo, and they became
the parents of ten sons and two daughters, of whom
the first-born was John, who died in 1887, aged two
years and five months; Herman is associated with his
father in the work and management of the home farm;
Charles, Emil and Louis have charge of the older
homestead farm of their father; Lucina is the wife of
Adam Thein; Romondo is the wife of Norman Nichols;
Ernest died in infancy; and William, Edward, Arnold
and Elmer remain at the parental home and assist in
the work of the farm. All of the children are well
upholding the prestige of a name that has been
signally honored in connection with the civic and
industrial history of Clayton county.
source: History of
Clayton County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present; by Realto E. Price,
Vol. II; pg. 456-458
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
