MEISENHELDER, Charles - 1914

MEISENHELDER, STARK, KNUFT, CARPINA, LEYSAN

Posted By: Volunteer
Date: 7/10/2009 at 08:39:10

HISTORY OF
Cherokee County
IOWA
VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1914
by Thomas McCulla

CHARLES MEISENHELDER.

Among the men who have during the past quarter of a century made substantial contributions to the agricultural growth and development of Cherokee county is numbered Charles Meisenhelder, who since 1880 has lived upon his present farm in Afton township, giving practically all of his attention to its improvement and development. He was born in Germany in 1841, a son of Philip and Katie Meisenhelder, both of whom died in that country. Eight children were born to their union, one of whom died in Germany and three of whom are still living in that country. The four who came to America were: Charles, of this review; William and Philip, both of whom passed away in Virginia; and Jacob, of Sioux Falls, Iowa.

Charles Meisenhelder came to the United States in 1864 and after remaining two months in New York came west, settling near Peoria, Illinois, where for a short time he engaged in farming as a monthly laborer. He then moved to Gilman, Illinois, and there worked for two years in the employ of Dr. Wilson, afterward engaging in farming independently. He came to Iowa at the end of twelve years and settled in Cherokee county, where he has since been identified with agricultural interests. In 1880 he bought one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie land in Afton township, seven and onehalf miles beyond Aurelia, and he has since resided upon this property, which he has greatly improved, developing it into a modern and productive farm. Mr. Meisenhelder is now an extensive landholder, owning eight hundred acres, all in a high state of cultivation. Three hundred and twenty acres of this lie in Minnesota, and the farm there is in excellent condition and fully as valuable as the Iowa land.

In Illinois, in 1866, Mr. Meisenhelder married MissAnnie Stark, a native of Germany, who came to America in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Meisenhelder became the parents of eight children: Charley, who lives on his fathers farm in Minnesota; Louis, also of Minnesota; William, of South Dakota; John, at home; Lena, the wife of Edward Knuft, of Canada; Elizabeth, who married Carl Carpina, a resident of the state of Washington; Katie, the wife of John Leysan, of South Dakota; and Emma, who died at the age of three.

Mr. Meisenhelder is a member of the German Lutheran church and is independent in his political beliefs, voting for men and measures without regard to party lines. During his many years of residence in Cherokee county he has become known as a progressive agriculturist and a publicspirited citizen whose contributions to general advancement have been many and substantial.