John A. Ries holds
distinctive precedence as one of the most vigorous
and progressive business men of the younger
generation in Clayton county and is an influential
and popular citizen of the village of Clayton. He
here conducts a substantial general merchandise
business, has the active management of a
well-equipped lumber yard, and has the further
distinction of being president of the Clayton Savings
Bank, of which he was the organizer, in 1915. He is a
stockholder in other Clayton county corporations, is
alert and enterprising as a business man and his
energy and ambition are backed by the steadfast
rectitude that begets objective confidence and
esteem.
Mr. Ries was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, on the
11th of October, 1883 and is a son of John and
Katherine (Heidershide) Ries, the former of whom was
born in Germany and the latter of whom was born in
Iowa, as a representative of one of the pioneer
families of the Hawkeye state. John Ries was seven
years old at the time of the family immigration to
America and was reared and educated in Iowa, where he
has long been a prosperous exponent of agricultural
industry and been associated with other lines of
business enterprise. He and his wife now maintain
their home at Luxemburg and of their union have been
born ten children, all of whom are living.
John A. Ries gained his preliminary education in the
public schools of his native state and thereafter was
for some time a student in the college at Prairie du
Chien, Wisconsin. He further prepared himself for the
active affairs of business by completing an effective
course in a commercial college in the city of
Dubuque, and after leaving this institution he went
to the city of Chicago, where he was employed as a
bookkeeper for a period of four years. He then made a
somewhat extended trip through South Dakota, after
which, in 1912, he established his residence at
Clayton, where he has since built up and successfully
conducted a general store that caters to a large and
constantly increasing patronage. Mr. Ries is aligned
as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic
party and has served most efficiently as a member of
the village council of Clayton. His name is still
enrolled on the list of eligible young bachelors in
Clayton county.
source: History of
Clayton County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present; by Realto E. Price,
Vol. II; pg. 350-351
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
