Zearing, Iowa 1956 History

John Henry died on October 26, 1893. Christine died on January 12, 1906. 'They are buried in the Illinois Grove cemetery.

William F. Young, the son of John Henry and Christine, lived on his farm in Lincoln township for sixty years. He could be rated as a master farmer among the pioneer settlers of our community. William F. was born near Lubeck, Schleswig Holstein, Germany, on October 29, 1852. He came to Lincoln township with his parents in 1869.

William F. married Augusta Maronda at Nevada, Iowa, on November 30, 1875. They settled in Lincoln township in 1878. William F. and Augusta were the parents of five children. They were Ruth A., Carrie, George, Fred, and William C.

William F. died on March 26, 1938. Augusta died on January 11, 1937. They are buried in the Zearing Cemetery.

Zeigler :

The Zeigler family will be remembered by the older residents of our community. The family was a well known family in our community for more than twenty years.

Richard F. Zeigler was born at Rushville, Illinois, on October 19, 1854. He married Eleanora Wallwork in January of 1883. Eleanora died on August 7, 1900, at Earlville, Illinois.

In 1901, Richard F. and the children moved to Zearing. The children were Frank, Grace, William, Mary, Laura, Byrdie, and Gail.

Richard F. died on March 31, 1931, at Marietta, Minnesota.

I know that some families have been overlooked in this history. It would be a miracle if they were all included. I can say that I did not intentionally overlook any family. I tried to include all of the families that helped to build our community.

There are many problems to consider. Many families came to Zearing to work for some organization. Other families were professional families who lived in our community for short periods of time and then moved away. Some families lived in Zearing because some member of the family taught in the local school. Most of the families in the above classifications did not consider Zearing as their permanent home.

There were families who considered our community as a temporary stopping place on their way west. There was the problem of families living on the border line of our community. I had to decide whether the evidence pointed to our community, or a neighboring community, as their home community.