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FRED BOESS

(Photo Included in Source Book)

This highly respected farmer of Fayette county is a member of a family who came over from Germany in 1881, he himself being at that time only about eleven years of age. The little colony consisted of father and mother and a number of children. They were very poor and the father had to go to work without delay at his trade as a carpenter in order to provide for the family. He had a hard struggle for many years as a mechanic, farmhand and renter, but eventually made good and at his death, in 1892, owned a fair-sized place in Bethel township. Fred Boess, his oldest child, was born in Hanover, Germany, January 11, 1870, and was a lad when the trip was made across the ocean. So he grew up with the training of an American boy, joined with the advantages that come from being a member of an ambitious German home. He attended school and worked on the farm, being of great assistance to his father as long as he remained with him, as he was steady, industrious and painstaking in business matters. When his father bought the farm in section 23, which proved to be his permanent home, he left the parental roof and concluded to strike a few blows for himself. For two years he did ordinary farm work by the month, but such was his German thrift and economy that he managed to save nearly every dollar of his wages, which were not large. By the fall of 1892 he had saved up enough to make a first payment on a farm, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres in section 22, Bethel township. In the spring of 1893 he took possession of his new place and immediately began to farm it on his own account.

On December 15, 1897, Mr. Boess married Louisa Hoepfner, a native of Fayette county. She is a daughter of Fred and Marie Hoepfner and of excellent stock. Before 1870 her parents came from Mecklenburg-Schwerin and located in Illinois. After spending two years in that state, they came to Iowa and settled in Fayette county on the south line of Bethel township. Mr. Boess lived on his first farm until spring of 1908. In the fall of 1901 he bought his father’s old place in section 23, still retaining the original place in section 22. The fact that he has prospered is shown by his present ownership of two hundred and eighty acres. He has four children, Albert, Clarence, George and Mildred. The family are members of the Lutheran church at Richfield. Mr. Boess has five brothers and sisters, all of whom are well settled in the world and have met with their share of prosperity. Marie, the eldest sister, married John Erhardt and is a resident of California. Lizzie, the second of Herman Boess’ daughters, married George Hucke, and they are residents of Chickasaw county. Minnie, who is the wife of Fred Brenner, lives with him in California. Adam lives with his mother on the farm in section 15, Bethel township. Anna, the youngest child, married Carl Sinner, of whom full particulars may be found in the sketch of Herman Boess. The family, by its intermarriages, is connected with some of the most substantial farmers of Fayette county. With the Sinners and others they constitute a wide and influential connection in Fayette county. Without exception, they are unostentatious people, noted for their industry and saving habits and attend to their own business. In business they are reliable and in social circles they are highly esteemed by all who know them. In politics, Mr. Boess is a Democrat, but is inclined to be liberal in his views. Religiously, he is a member of the Lutheran church, to which he gives generously of his time and means."

~Transcribed for Fayette Co IAGenWeb Project by Ann Borden