Bernhard Siegfried Andresen
For the past five years cashier of the German Bank of Schleswig, Iowa, Bernhard Siegfried Andresen has attained a deserved reputation wherever he is known as a gentleman of education and discernment and of most excellent business ability.
He was born at Ahrenshoeft, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, October 29, 1868, a son of Carsten and Margarethe (Petersen) Andresen. The father engaged in farming, and the ancestors on both sides of the house lived for many generations at Ahrenshoeft or in the vicinity.
The subject of this review was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the common schools and at the Real Gymnasium at Rendsburg, graduating in 1886. He showed special talent for mathematical and historical subjects while at college. After leaving school he worked for a year in a public office but resigned as he did not like the work and the chances of promotion were small.
Having decided to seek his fortune under the stars and stripes, he came to America in 1888 and first took up his residence in Indiana, later arriving in Iowa, where he engaged in farming. In 1897 he visited his old home in Germany for a short time and in 1902 he became connected with the German Bank at Schleswig, Iowa, as assistant to Mr. Kruger, the cashier of the bank. Upon the death of Mr. Kruger, in 1906, he was appointed by the board of directors as his successor and has since continued in that position, discharging his duties in a way that has met the hearty approval of the directors and patrons of the institution.
On the 23d of September, 1908, Mr. Andresen was united in marriage at Denison, Iowa, to Miss Adelheid Niewoehner, formerly a deaconess at St. Louis. She was born at Annapolis, Maryland. One son, Bernard, has come to bless this union, his natal day being November 18, 1909.
Mr. Andresen has found in his estimable wife a worthy helpmate and they have entered upon their married life under most favorable circumstances. He has always been governed by high ideals and in the discharge of his various obligations has shown a fidelity to principle and a clearness of judgment which reflect upon him the highest credit. He ranks as one of the substantial and progressive men of Crawford county. Fraternally he has been identified with Sylvan Lodge, No. 507, A. F. & A. M., since 1906, with Lodge No. 696, I. O. O. F ., since 1910, and with the Sons of Herman since 1902. He is a sincere believer in the authority and inspiration of the Bible and holds membership in the Evangelical Lutheran church of the North American synod, which corresponds with the church to which his ancestors belonged in Germany as far back as 1535.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.