JOSEPH H. KUHL

Joseph H. Kuhl, of Union Township, is one of the many leading and thoroughly reliable citizens of Shelby County, Iowa, whose ancestors came from Germany. His parents, Mathias H. and Margarette (Glason) Kuhl, are natives of the Rhine country, Germany. Mathias H. was brought up on a farm, and follows this occupation at the present time in Mills County, Iowa. When he had been married one year, he and his wife emigrated to America, the land whither so many ambitious sons and daughters of the Fatherland had gone. They are the parents of nine children, of whom Joseph H. is the oldest. He was born in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, December 20, 1846, and passed his youth in the midst of agricultural industries. His education was begun in the common schools, and would have been extremely limited had it ended there. Without any instructor after he had left school he mastered the reading and writing of the German language, and in every way possible supplemented the narrow opportunities afforded him in his youth. At the age of seventeen years he made a trip across the mountains with a herd of cattle, and at the early age of thirteen years he embarked in the threshing business, which he followed almost every season for fifteen years. Mr. Kuhl was united in marriage, January 9,1870, to Miss Mary Finken, daughter of Mathias and Kathrina (Gans) Finken, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1855. Mrs. Kuhl is also a native of Germany. After his marriage Mr. Kuhl rented a farm in Mills County, Iowa, and began a record in his own name. His capital was not wholly tangible, being a large supply of pluck, energy and determination; but these are important factors in any enterprise, and have not proven worthless in Mr. Kuhl's experience. For two years he remained in Mills County, and in 1873 he came to Shelby County and settled on eighty acres of wild land in Westphalia Township, in which place he was one of the first colonists. In 1882 he sold his farm, then consisting of 160 acres under good cultivation, and bought 160 acres in Union Township, which has ever since been his residence. He has placed this land under cultivation and made many improvements, having erected a fine two-story frame house, and the buildings necessary for the storage of grain and the protection of live-stock. He has planted eight acres of grove, and has thus done his share in the advancement of forestry in the treeless prairies. Mr. Kuhl was one of the prime movers in the organization of Westphalia Township, and in the establishment of the Westphalia Colony, one of the most prosperous German institutions in western Iowa. He was the first postmaster of Westphalia, and was the first postmaster at Earling. He still holds this position at Earling, and on first coming to the place he was engaged in buying and selling of grain in connection with his farming interests, For some years he was in partnership with his brother Peter in the hardware business, but since January, 1888, he has devoted himself to his farming, the postoffice, and the agency of the Milwaukee Land Company. He has charge of the company's lands from Council Bluffs to Manning, and has been a most profitable employee. He was largely instrumental in the rapid growth of the town of Manilla, and has ever served the company to their best interests. He was elected to the office of county supervisor in the fall of 1881, and served until 1888, with honor to himself and perfect satisfaction to his constituents. He has represented his township in its various offices almost from the beginning of his residence within its borders. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party, being one of the political leaders of the county. He owns 187 acres of land in the county. Mr. Kuhl is a self-made man, affable, courteous and public-spirited. For integrity of character and upright dealing he has no superior in the community. Mr. and Mrs. Kuhl are the parents of seven children, - Kathrina, Nicholas B., John M., Mary A., Michael H., Edward N. and Anna.

Source: 1889 Biographical History of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 427-428. Transcribed and submitted by Marthann Kohl-Fuhs