Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 368
AARON D. HOYER

Aaron D. HOYER, of section 8, Douglas Township, has been a resident of the county since May, 1878, when he bought a piece of wild land consisting of five hundred and sixty acres, of which he sold four hundred acres, first building a frame house 16 x 28 feet, with a basement and cellar the same size as the house. From year to year he has improved every opportunity of making a valuable home, which he now possesses. Our subject was born in Berks County, Pa., May 16, 1835. Like most of the boys reared in the old Keystone State, he remained under the paternal roof, assisted his parents in the country not free from stones and stumps, until he was twenty-eight years of age. He was a canal boatman during a greater portion of his young manhood, employed on the Schuylkill navigation.

Upon the same day which President Lincoln sent forth the Emancipation Proclamation (January 3, 1863), he was married to Miss Amelia F. BAUMANN, of Berks County, Pa., and of the city of Reading. They are the parents of six children, as follows: Frank M., Louis B., Ferdinand B., Ernest J., Bertha H. and Millie J., all of whom were born in Reading, Pa.

After Mr. HOYER'S marriage he was engaged in the hotel business, which he followed until he came to Harrison County, Iowa. His place of business was Reading, Pa. Prior to his marriage he was engaged in steamboating for a time, from Philadelphia to Georgetown, making three trips a week. During the spring of 1862 he made three trips from Philadelphia to Washington, D. C., his boat being loaded with gas coal, and the rebels had the Potomac River blockaded at two points, and the blockade had to be run to unload their cargo. After making these three trips the boat was chartered by the Government, and he carried stores for the army, coming back to Reading the fall of 1863.

Mrs. HOYER was born in the State of Baden, Germany, September 17, 1845, and emigrated with her parents to Reading, Pa., where she grew to womanhood.

Our subject is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Charter Oak Lodge No. 401, at Woodbine, Iowa.

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