William F. Baak
A highly productive and valuable farm on section 34, Soldier township, is an indication of the business ability of William F. Baak, who carries on general farming and the raising and feeding of stock.
He has made his home in Crawford county all his life, having been born in Soldier township, November 17, 1883. He is a son of August Baak, a record of whom is given in the sketch of Herman Baak that appears on another page of this work.
William F. Baak was reared on his father's farm and possessed the advantages of education in the district schools. He continued at home until twentyfour years of age and was then married and began farming on his own account on one hundred and fifty acres on section 34, Soldier township. He has a comfortable residence and convenient barns and outbuildings, and the general appearance of the place indicates careful management and gratifying financial returns. He engages in general farming but makes a specialty of raising and fattening stock for the market.
On the 4th of March, 1908, Mr. Baak was united in marriage to Miss Clara Wendt, who was born in Morgan township, October 4, 1888, and is a daughter of Adolph and Elizabeth (Mahnke) Wendt, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Chicago. They were married in Charter Oak township, Crawford county, Iowa, and Mr. Wendt purchased a farm in Morgan township, which he cultivated for two years. He then sold his property and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Soldier township, which he managed excellently until his retirement in 1910. He and his wife are now making their home in a pleasant residence at Ute, Iowa, and are enjoying the fruits of many years of labor.
There were six children in their family: Clara, now Mrs. William F. Baak; Elsie, Lillie and Willie, all of whom are at home; and Carl and Catherine, both of whom are deceased.
Two children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Baak: Leonard E. R. E., who was born May 20, 1909; and Clarence E. A. H., born December 21, 1910.
Mr. Baak and his wife give their hearty suppot to the German Lutheran church, of which they are members. While not a politician, he performs his duty at the polls by voting for men and measures that he believes to be best adapted to promote the welfare of the country. Although a young man, he is well started as a farmer, and the prosperity he has acquired is the visible evidence of his good judgment and his progressiveness in a work to which he is devoting the best energies of his life.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.