W. F. Boeck
A highly improved and cultivated farm of one hundred and sixty acres is a credit to the well directed energies of W. F. Boeck, who was born in Davenport, Iowa, on the 10th of September, 1867.
He is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Peterson) Boeck, both natives of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, from which country they emigrated to the United States, locating in Davenport in 1858. The father, who was a carpenter, followed his trade until the breaking out of the Civil war and, enlisting in the Second Iowa Cavalry, he went to the front serving for four and a half years. During that time he saw much active service, participating in some of the most notable battles of the war. Returning to Iowa after receiving his discharge, he invested the money he had earned at his trade in land in Crawford county.
Ultimately he acquired eleven hundred and seventeen acres, all of which he brought to a high state of cultivation and still retains in his possession. Mr. Boeck retired several years ago and is now living in Davenport, spending his winters in Florida. He was married twice, and his first wife, who passed away in 1873, was the mother of our subject and two daughters: Elizabeth, the wife of Fred Brandenberg, of East Boyer township, and Laura, the widow of Otto Teegan, of Davenport, Iowa. For his second wife Mr. Boeck chose Miss Catherina Kahler, and they are the parents of five children, four sons and one daughter: Herman, who is a resident of East Boyer township; George, of Nishnabotny township; Ferdinand, of Davenport. Iowa; August, also of Davenport; and Louisa, the wife of August Schnoor, of Nishnabotny township.
W. F. Boeck was reared at home, acquiring his education in the common schools of Davenport, which he continued to attend until he had attained his sixteenth year. In 1884 he came to his father's farm to assist in breaking the prairie and has been here ever since. He has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He owns a section of land in Logan county, Kansas. His place is thoroughly modern in all of its appointments, and he is the only farmer in this section of the state who has an electric lighting plant, his residence and all outbuildings being wired. Although Mr. Boeck has engaged in general farming and stock-raising for over twenty years, he has made a business of threshing during the season, which has proven to be most lucrative.
In 1893 Mr. Boeck was united in marriage to Miss Anna Gosch, who is also of German parentage, and they have become the parents of the following children: Viola Augusta, Henry Theodore, Harry William, Howard Herman, Veronica Bertha and Hugo Fred, all of whom are at home.
The family attend the Lutheran church, of which the parents are members, while fraternally Mr. Boeck is affiliated with the Masonic order, being identified with Manilla Lodge, of which he is a senior steward, and Mrs. Boeck is a member of the Eastern Star. Politically he is identified with the republican party. He always takes an active and helpful interest in all local affairs and is now serving as assessor in Nishnabotny township, and he also served for several years on the school board. He is one of the enterprising citizens of the community, whose efforts have been rewarded with good financial returns because of his carefully considered and capably executed plans.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.