JORGEN F. SCHROEDER.
Jorgen F. Schroeder, who owns a splendid farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Lincoln township, this county, was born in Schleswig, Germany, in 1844, the son of Peter and Anna (Tames) Schroeder, natives of the same place. Peter Schroeder was a farmer and laborer and lived in his native land all his life. He and his wife were the parents of three children, Margaret and Anna, who are still living in Germany, and Jorgen F., the subject of this sketch.
After leaving school, Jorgen F. Schroeder began working as a farm hand in his native land and when he was twenty-six years old joined the army, in which he served for two years. A few months after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, he came to America on the ship "Harmonia," locating in Davenport, Iowa, shortly after landing. From Davenport he moved to Muscatine county, this state, where he worked as a farm hand for three years, at the end of which time he rented one hundred and twenty acres and farmed for himself until 1878, in which year he came to Audubon county, locating in Audubon, where he worked with his teams, hauling sand which was used in the construction of the new court house. After two years' residence in Audubon he removed to Gray, Iowa, where he operated a tavern for five years, at the end of which period he moved to the farm where he now lives, first purchasing eighty acres. This original holding he gradually increased until he now owns three hundred and twenty acres, which he devotes to general farming, at the same time feeding about seventy-five head of hogs annually.
In 1876 Jorgen F. Schroeder was married to Mary Schluntz, daughter of Gottlieb and Anna (Jungjohan) Schluntz. Of the eleven children born to this union, only nine are living, Peter, Cleveland, Bismark, Anna, Ricka, Doris, Rosa, Margaret and Elsie. Of these children, Peter married Mae Stribe; Anna married Charles Ross and has five children; Ricka married Peter Ohrt; Doris married Fred Sievers; Rosa married Jack Moore, and has one child, Jack, Jr. Mrs. Schroeder was born in Holstein, Germany, her parents also having been natives of that place. She came to America when ten years old with her parents, who settled on a farm near Davenport, Iowa.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Schroeder served as township assessor for eight years. He also has served as member of the school board and as school director, and otherwise has been prominent in the educational life of his community. The Schroeder family are all members of the German Lutheran church.
Jorgen F. Schroeder has been an industrious farmer and an enterprising and successful citizen of this great state. He is a worthy representative of the many German families of this section, who have carved out comfortable homes and become the possessors of much wealth. No word of suspicion has ever been raised regarding the high character and sterling integrity of Jorgen F. Schroeder, and he enjoys the esteem and confidence of all his neighbors.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 373-374
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