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1907 Past and Present Biographies

Cornelius Picht

Cornelius Picht makes his home in Churdan while giving supervision to his farming interests in Greene county. He was born in Germany on the 27th of November, 1862, and his parents, Philip and Catherine (Hans) Picht, were also natives of that country, the former born in 1824 and the latter in 1830. They remained residents of Germany until 1867, when they came with their family to the new world, settling in Jones county, Iowa, where the father purchased an unimproved farm. Later he also bought eighty acres in Clinton county and, removing to that place, he and his wife continued to reside thereon until called to their final rest. Mrs. Picht passed away in 1885, while the death of Philip Picht occurred in 1887. They were the parents of ten children, of whom eight are yet living: Jacob, a resident of Seattle, Washington; Mrs. Kate Klob, who is living in North Dakota; Mrs. Margaret Coon, who is living in Farmville, Iowa; Philip, located in Fort Scott, Kansas; Cornelius; Anthony, whose home is in Story county, Iowa; and Albert and Martin, both of Greene county.

Cornelius Picht was a farm boy who, brought to America when only five years of age, had the advantages of the common school system of his state; while under the parental roof he was trained to the work of the fields. He remained with his parents until nineteen years of age, assisting his father in the work of the home farm, and then came to Greene county, where he was employed at farm labor for a number of years. He desired, however, that his work should more directly benefit himself, and accordingly he began farming on his own account in Story county, Iowa, upon a tract of rented land. There he lived until 1890, when he came again to Greene county, and bought eighty acres of land in Highland township, thus investing the money which he had saved from his earnings. For ten years he resided upon that place, bringing it under a high state of cultivation, and in 1900 he sold the property and came to Churdan, where he owns and occupies a nice residence. He is also farming one hundred and ten acres of land at the edge of the town and also had eleven lots in the village. He is a great lover of fine horses and owns three superb Percheron stallions. As a breeder of horses he has done much to improve the grade of stock, thereby advancing prices and contributing to general prosperity in the community. He is the owner of Black Stallion, two years old, weighing eighteen hundred pounds. recorded as No. 15404 in volume 10 of the National Register of French draft horses: sire, Count; dam, Rosa. He also has another black Percheron stallion, weighing nineteen hundred pounds, which was bred by M. Robin, of La Ferte, France, and imported in 1898 by H. C. Lowery, of Nevada, Iowa. This stallion was purchased by Mr. Picht in 1900. He also has a gray stallion, Prince, No. 10236, in volume 8 of the National French Draft Horse Association, and weighing seventeen hundred and ten pounds. These stallions are very fine specimens of horse flesh, of which he has every reason to be proud, and he is well known in Iowa and Nebraska as a breeder of horses.

In 1887 Mr. Picht was married to Miss Martha Jones, who was born in the state of New York in 1863 and is a daughter of Ralph and Celia (Weller) Jones. Mrs. Picht is the only child of this marriage. Her father died and her mother afterward became the wife of a Mr. Laughlin, by whom she had three children, of whom two are living: Mrs. Minnie Spear and Mrs. Fannie Drew, both of New York. Mrs Picht has become the mother of seven children: Otto, Earl, Myrtle, Mattie, Louis, Orvis and Forrest.

Mr. Picht belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He served as constable for two terms and is now village marshal, in which position he discharges his duties with promptness and fidelity. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and he is true to every trust reposed in him, whether of a public or private nature. He has many good qualities, as manifest in his business career and in his social relations, and well deserves mention among the representative citizens of Greene county.


Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead,"
by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver,
Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.


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