William H. Sheka

William H. Sheka, who follows farming on section 22, Union township, Worth county, is a native son of Mitchell county, his birth having here occurred on the 1st of December, 1870, his parents being Henry E. and Mary (Chada) Sheka, both of whom were natives of Bohemia. The mother came to the United States with her parents in company with the Hunchis and two other families in 1857, and after some months spent in Chicago they continued their journey to the west in the fall of that year, settling in Bristol, Worth county. Mr. Sheka also came to the United States with his parents in the late '50s or in the early '60s and the family home was established near Watertown, Wisconsin. About 1867 he removed westward to Iowa, taking up his abode in Mitchell county, where his father purchased land, and there the father and grandfather of William H. Sheka continued the cultivation of a farm for a number of years in partnership. Henry E. Sheka afterward purchased land from his father and carried on general agricultural pursuits in Mitchell county until 1879, when he removed to Worth county and took up his abode upon a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres, constituting the present Sheka homestead. This he had purchased previous to his removal here with the assistance of his sons, who remained with him up to his old age. He prospered as the years passed and acquired six hundred and forty acres of Worth county's most fertile land. To the energy, industry and good management of his sons may be attributed much of his success, for they greatly assisted the father, who was one of the well known pioneer settlers of Worth county and was rated as one of the most prosperous and valued citizens of Union township, becoming a man of wealth as the years passed on. He died in February, 1918, having for about two and a half years survived his wife, who died in September, 1915.

William H. Sheka was educated in the district schools and at the Cedar Valley Seminary. On reaching manhood he and his brother Ed rented the home place, which they farmed to the time of their fathers' death. William H. Sheka now owns one hundred and sixty acres of the estate, which he has improved and today has one of the valuable and productive farm properties of the county. Everything about the place is indicative of his progressive spirit and of the practical methods which he utilizes in caring for the farm. He is a stockholder in the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Graf ton, also in the Farmers Incorporated Cooperative Society of Grafton and the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company at Plymouth. He likewise holds stock in the Farmers Creamery Company of Grafton and his business interests are most wisely and carefully conducted and his investments judiciously placed.

In 1895 Mr. Sheka was united in marriage to Miss Anna Reindl, a daughter of Wenzel Reindl, one of the early settlers of Worth county. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheka have been born five children, of whom four are living: Wilma, Harley, Minnie and Gladys, all yet at home.

In politics Mr. Sheka maintains an independent course and he has served for several years as justice of the peace, in which connection he renders decisions that are strictly fair and impartial. However, he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, having always preferred to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, which have been wisely and carefully directed, bringing to him a substantial measure of success. He is a man of determined energy and perseverance, working steadily toward the goal of prosperity, and he recognizes the fact that when one avenue of advancement seems closed he can carve out other paths whereby he may reach the desired goal.

SOURCE: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, VOL. II; Pages 573 & 574

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, October 15, 2006