Theo Rohwer
Among the younger business men who have attained more than a moderate degree of success in the commercial circles of their home town is Theo Rohwer, who is at present holding the responsible position of cashier in the banking establishment of Baxter, Reed & Company.
Born December 10, 1868, he is a son of Henry and Catherine (Barofsky) Rohwer, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father emigrated to the United States in 1858 and located in Davenport, Iowa, where he followed his trade as a shoemaker until 1862, when he and four other young men took an overland journey by wagon to Nevada, where for a few years he was employed in quartz mining. He made his homeward trip by way of San Francisco and the isthmus of Panama, again taking up his residence in Davenport, where he engaged in the shoe business until 1882, when he located on a farm in Tama county, Iowa, remaining there until 1904. That year he again returned to Davenport, where he now resides.
To him and his wife were born eight children, of whom the following are living: Julius, of Ida Grove, Iowa; Gustav, of Moline, Illinois; Theo, of this review; Henry, of Seattle, Washington; and Amanda, the wife of Fred Fick, of Ida Grove. The deceased members of this family are: George, who died in 1900; and Clara and Anna, both of whom died in infancy. The mother departed this life in 1885.
From his ninth birthday Theo Rohwer labored on the farm until seventeen years old. He attended the Davenport Business College during the winters of 1888 and 1889 and then obtained employment in a general store. He worked one year for Montgomery Ward & Company of Chicago, and then came to Ida Grove, where for the following six years he clerked in a general store. Since 1899 he has been in the bank of Baxter Reed & Company, acting in the capacity of cashier.
Mr. Rohwer was married at Ida Grove to Catherina Brechwald, a daughter of Andrew and Barbara (Schmidt) Brechwald. She is one of a family of nine children, the others being as follows: Mary, who became the wife of Charles Seaman and died in 1888; Agnes, who married John Schmidt, of Clinton county, Iowa; John, of Carroll county, Iowa; Ferd A., of Ida Grove; Barbara, the wife of William Murphy, of Ida Grove; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Robert Mien and resides in Kansas; Jacob, who is living in Canada; and Theresa, who married Frank Hart and makes her home in Nebraska.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rohwer have been born seven children: Julius, John, Theresa, Helen, Roland, Emmett and Alice.
In politics Mr. Rohwer has always cast his ballot for the democratic party and fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a man of keen business acumen and executive ability, is well known for his strict integrity and faithful attention to his duties, and he possesses the entire confidence of his employers as well as the high regard of his fellow townsmen.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.