ED E. SHEKA

Ed E. Sheka, who is engaged in general farming on section 22, Union township, Worth county, was born near St. Ansgar, Mitchell county, Iowa, November 14, 1873, a son of Henry and Mary (Choda) Sheka. The father was born in Bohemia, where he pursued his education, and in young manhood he left that country for the United States in company with his parents, who settled near Watertown, Wisconsin, where they purchased a farm, which his father operated for a number of years but eventually sold preparatory to removing farther west. He then made his way to Mitchell county, Iowa, where he again secured land and engaged in farming for several years. Both he and his wife died in Litchfield, Minnesota.

Henry Sheka followed farming in Mitchell county on the old homestead for a number of years but eventually sold that property and bought land in Union township, Worth county, to which he added from time to time as his financial resources increased until the boundaries of his farm embraced six hundred and forty acres. He was one of the early settlers here and contributed to the pioneer development as well as to the later progress of the community. He was a wide awake, energetic and progressive agriculturist and did much to develop the county along agricultural lines. He was married in Mitchell, Iowa, and died upon the old homestead farm, while his wife passed away in Plymouth. She, too, was born in Bohemia and came to the United States with her parents, who proceeded westward to Chicago, where her father purchased a yoke of oxen which he drove across the country to Bristol township, Worth county. Later he settled in St. Ansgar township, Mitchell county, where he secured land which he carefully developed and improved. He afterward took up his abode in Lincoln township, Worth county, where he purchased a tract of land of eighty acres. His remaining days were spent upon that place, after which his wife married again and removed to Minnesota, where her death occurred.

It will thus be seen that Ed E. Sheka is a representative of old pioneer families of northern Iowa in both the paternal and maternal lines. He was reared in Mitchell county to the age of seven years and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Union township, Worth county, at which time the family home was established upon the farm that is still the property, of Ed E. Sheka of this review. It was a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, to which the father added from time to time as his financial resources permitted until he owned more than a section of land. Ed E. Sheka is now the owner of two hundred acres of the old home farm and in addition he has three eighty-acre tracts north of Grafton, in Barton township. His entire life with the exception of his first seven years has been passed upon the farm which he now occupies and he has always carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock raising. He keeps good grades of stock upon his place and he has brought his fields under a very high state of development and cultivation, so that he annually gathers excellent crops. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Cooperative Elevator Company at Plymouth and at Grafton and is also a stockholder in the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank of Grafton. In business affairs he displays keen discrimination, which enables him to readily determine the value of any business situation and its opportunities. In 1907 Mr. Sheka was united in marriage to Miss Julia Chladek, a daughter of Joseph Chladek, who was a native of Bohemia and came to the United States in early life. His wife, whom he wedded in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, was also a native of Bohemia and Mrs. Sheka was born in Plymouth, Iowa. By her marriage she has become the mother of six children: Elmer, Harold, Clarice, Doris, Beatrice and Arnold.

In politics Mr. Sheka maintains an independent course. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to fill several township offices, the duties of which he has promptly and efficiently discharged. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. His entire life has been passed in northern Iowa and thus for forty-five years he has been a witness of its growth and development, covering almost the entire period of its progress since the first settlements were made to aid in reclaiming the region for the purposes of civilization. He and his family have borne active part in the agricultural development of the neighborhood and Mr. Sheka remains today one of the most progressive farmers of Union township, Worth county.

SOURCE: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, VOL. II; PAGES 601 & 602

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, October 28, 2006