JOSEPH GEORGE HUNCHIS

Joseph George Hunchis is the owner of a well developed property situated on section 29, Union township, Worth county, and it was upon the old Hunchis homestead whereon he now resides that his birth occurred on the 7th of April, 1864, his parents being Joseph and Catherine (Heiny) Hunchis, the father having been born on the 6th of September, 1834, and the mother on the 18th of October of the same year. They were reared to manhood and womanhood in their native country and on the 12th of February, 1855, were united in marriage. On the 1st of November of the following year they started for the new world with John and Catherine Heiny, the parents of Mrs. Hunchis. Mr. and Mrs. Heiny also brought their family to the United States and with them also came the families of Casper Chada and Joseph Yesek. They experienced a very rough voyage of more than two months but at length landed safely in New York city on the 7th of January, 1857. Three days afterward they boarded the train for Chicago, where they arrived on the 12th of January. For eight months they continued residents of that city, after which they made their way westward to Iowa, it being the ambition of Mr. Hunchis to own a farm. Before leaving Chicago he went to the stock yards in that city and purchased a yoke of wild Texas steers to use in plowing his prairie farm. These he brought with him by rail as far as the train would carry them, after which he drove his steers to his new home. On arriving in Iowa he took up his abode in Bristol, then a small settlement in what is now Bristol township, Worth county. There was a government land office in Osage but it was open only at infrequent intervals and while waiting for the land agent to arrive Mr. Hunchis picked out the tract which he desired to claim. The first home of the family was a little dugout and amid true pioneer conditions they began life in the west. After the arrival of the land agent, however, Mr. Hunchis found that the tract had already been taken up, so that he then removed with his family to Mitchell county. For two years thereafter he cultivated a rented farm near St. Ansgar and in 1860 he again came to Worth county, at which time he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of the farm in Union township which was to be the home of himself and wife throughout their remaining days. For his farm he paid twelve dollars per acre, which was a large sum for that period. He traded in a team of horses and a wagon as part payment for the purchase price. Forty acres of the land had already been broken and a comfortable log house had been built on the place by the former owner. Mr. Hunchis at once began the further development and improvement of the place and as the years passed he prospered in his undertakings. As his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his farm by making additional purchases and became the owner of four hundred acres of rich and productive land. To him and his wife were born twelve children, only three of whom are now living, namely: John, George and Lena, the last named being the wife of Anton Michalek. Mr. and Mrs. Hunchis were a most highly esteemed and worthy old couple, who passed through the hardships and privations of pioneer life, living here at a period when true hospitality reigned supreme. A neighbor could always count upon the assistance of others in the neighborhood and Mr. and Mrs. Hunchis were ever ready to extend their aid and hospitality to all who knew them. His death occurred on the 1st of November, 1914, while Mrs. Hunchis passed away on the 15th of July, 1910.

Joseph George Hunchis was reared and has always lived upon the old homestead farm, which is still his place of residence. His educational opportunities were extremely limited. As early as six years of age he was engaged in herding cattle and when ten years of age he was regarded as old enough to plow. He worked with his father until he attained his majority, after which he rented the old homestead, which he then farmed on shares. He remained at home looking after his father and mother and was not married until 1906, when he wedded Miss Mary Michalek, a daughter of John Michalek, one of the early pioneer settlers of Union township, Worth county. Mr. Hunchis is today the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of the old home property and forty acres just across the road, so that he now has one hundred and sixty acres of excellent land. He also farms one hundred acres, which he rents, and in addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, he makes a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs, his live stock interests constituting an important feature of his business and contributing much to his success. He is also a stockholder in Ehler's Bank of Plymouth, and a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator and the Farmers Creamery of Plymouth. In business affairs he displays sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise, and while his advantages in youth were extremely limited, he has ever made good use of his opportunities and as the years have gone by has gained for himself a creditable place among the men of affluence in Union township. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church and guide their lives according to its teachings, their genuine worth winning for them the friendship and confidence of all.

SOURCE: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, VOL. II; PAGES 586-588

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, October 26, 2006