Lewis D. Moser
is the owner of one of the fine farms of his native county, the
same being eligibly situated in Jefferson township and
comprising one hundred and eighty-one acres. Mr. Moser
has shown marked energy and circumspection in his independent
operations as a farmer and his success furnishes the best
voucher for his ability as an agriculturist and as a grower of
high-grade live stock. In the stock-raising department of his
farm enterprise he specialized in the breeding and growing of
the best breeds of Durham cattle and Poland-China swine.
Lewis Daniel Moser was born in Mallory
township, this county, on the 26th of September, 1868, and is a
son of Nicholas and Annie (Mollat) Moser, both of whom were
born in the fair and noble little republic of Switzerland.
Nicholas Moser was reared and educated in his native land and
upon coming to America, when a young man, he first established
his residence in Ohio. He remained in the old Buckeye state
three years and then came to Clayton county, Iowa, where he
purchased the land from which he developed one of the fine
farms of Mallory township, this old homestead having continued
as his place of abode until his death, which occurred January
26, 1904, his cherished and devoted wife having passed to the
life eternal on the 31st of the preceding month, so that “in
death they were not long divided,” after an earthly
companionship that had been one of ideal devotion and sympathy.
Both were earnest members of the United Brethren church and Mr.
Moser, in consonance with his well fortified opinions, gave his
support to the cause of the Democratic party.
Of the surviving children, the eldest is Henry,
who is a farmer of Mallory township; William follows
agricultural pursuits in Jefferson township; Frederick
continues a representative of agricultural industry in Mallory
township; Andrew resides at Millville, this county; Lewis D.,
of this review, was the next in order of birth; Lydia is the
wife of Charles Friedlem, of Mallory township; Emma is the wife
of George Hansel, of Manchester, Delaware county; and John is a
prosperous farmer in Mallory township.
Lewis D. Moser acquired his youthful education
in the schools of Mallory township, and he continued to assist
in the work and management of the home farm until he had
attained to his legal majority, after which he rented the
place, to the operation of which he continued to give his
attention until he was twenty-six years old, when he rented the
farm of which he is now the owner, the property having been
purchased by him fourteen years later and he having remained on
the place during the entire intervening period. The farm
comprises one hundred and eighty-one acres of most fertile
land, improved with good buildings, the most of which have been
erected by the present owner, and it is one of the valuable
farm properties of Mallory township.
Mr. Moser is a staunch supporter of the cause
of the Democratic party but has consented to serve in only one
public office, that of township assessor. He is an appreciative
member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which his
ancient-craft affiliation is with the Lodge of Ancient Free &
Accepted Masons at Guttenberg, where he likewise maintains
membership in the adjunct organization, the Order of the
Eastern Star. He has received various degrees in the Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite of this great fraternal order, and is in
this branch of Masonry affiliated with the consistory in the
city of Clinton, this state. He is identified also with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of
America.
On the 21st of February, 1894, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Moser to Miss Ella Friedlein, who was born
in Jefferson township, this county, on the 24th of January
1875, and who received the advantages of the public schools in
the village of Osterdock. She is a daughter of Frederick and
Harriet (Schrunk) Friedlein, representatives of sterling
pioneer families of Clayton county. Frederick Friedlein was
born in Schmalz, Germany, on the 7th of August, 1850, and was
but two years old when his parents came to the United States
and established their home in Clayton county, Iowa, where he
was reared and educated and where he became a representative
farmer of Jefferson township, his death having there occurred
June 3, 1886, and his widow having passed to eternal rest on
the 26th of June, 1913, her entire life having been passed in
Clayton county, where her parents settled in the pioneer days,
soon after their immigration to this country from Germany.
Frederick Friedlein and his wife were earnest and consistent
communicants of the Lutheran church, and their daughter Ella,
wife of the subject of this review, is a member of the Eastern
Star at Guttenberg, she being one of their five surviving
children.
Mr. and Mrs. Moser have six children, all of
whom remain members of the attractive and happy home circle,
their names being here entered in the respective order of their
birth: Irwin, Mildred, Harold, Reuben, Merrill, and Myrna.