Benjamin Frieden has been a resident of Clayton county from the time of his nativity and is the owner of one of the large and splendidly improved landed estates of the county, the same being situated in Marion and Highland township and including the old homestead farm on which he was born, the date of his nativity having been January 14, 1836. He is a son of Benedict and Anna (Baumgartner) Frieden, both of whom were born in the fine little republic of Switzerland, whose "mountains still are free and keep the boon of liberty." Benedict Frieden was a young man at the time of his immigration to America, and after residing for a time in Ohio he came to Iowa and numbered himself among the enterprising farmers of Marion township, where he eventually accumulated and brought under successful cultivation a large landed property. Here he continued his residence, as one of the sterling and honored citizens of the county, until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-six years of age. The wife of his youth passed to eternal rest when their son Benjamin, of this review, was a child of three years. They became the parents of nine children: Frederick is now engaged in farming in the state of Missouri; John is a resident of Oklahoma; Samuel is deceased; Frank resides in Oklahoma; Eliza is deceased, as are also Mary Ann and Joseph; the subject of this sketch was the eighth child; and the youngest, Annie, is the wife of Joseph Sneider, of West Bend, Palo Alto county, this state. For his second wife the father wedded Mechlin Garber, who survives him, and they became the parents of two children — Rose, who died in childhood, and Selma, who is the wife of Tim Thomann, of Elgin, this county. Benjamin Frieden was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and in the meanwhile he made good use of the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native township. He continued his active association with the work of the home farm until the death of his honored father, shortly after which he purchased the interests of the other heirs and became the owner of the well improved property, which comprised three hundred acres, in Marion township. Material evidence of his success and progressiveness is given in his ownership at the present time of a fine estate of nearly seven hundred acres, and he is known as one of the enterprising and representative agriculturists and stockgrowers of his native county. The attractive family home, in Marion township, is on the homestead which was Mr. Frieden's birthplace, and it is modern in its facilities and appointments, as are also the other excellent and substantial buildings on the large domain owned by Mr. Frieden. He is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and he has served as township trustee and as president of the school board of his district. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Apostolic Lutheran church. April 9, 1887, recorded the marriage of Mr. Frieden to Miss Leah Sneider, and she passed to the life eternal on the 29th of January, 1905. Of this union were born eight children: Celia is the wife of Daniel Butikofer, of Marion township; William is engaged in farming in Highland township; Ida is the wife of Samuel Butikofer, of Fayette county; Esther is the wife of Emil Moor and they reside in Iowa; Levi and Bertha remain at the paternal home; Emil is identified with agricultural pursuits in Highland township; and Louisa died in early childhood. For his second wife Mr. Frieden chose Mrs. Rachel (Sneider) Sutler, a sister of his first wife. The parents, Joseph and Mary Pfarrer Sneider, were born and reared in Switzerland and became early settlers of Clayton county, where the father became a prosperous farmer and where his death occurred on the 7th of May, 1914. Mrs. Sneider survives her husband and still maintains her home in this county. At the time of her marriage to the subject of this review, Mrs. Frieden was the widow of Frederick Sutler, of Marion township, and of the children of her first marriage Joseph and Frederick are deceased; Lucy is the wife of John Butikofer, of Marion township; Daniel is a substantial farmer in that township; Marie is the wife of Elmer Bluiner and they are now residing in the state of Illinois; and William and Eli remain in Marion township. Of the second marriage no children have been born. source: History of Clayton County,
Iowa; From The Earliest Historical Times Down to the
Present; by Realto E. Price, Vol. II, 1916; pg.
130-131 |