Families (4)
Browns, Sugar Creek and Riggs, Waterford Township, Clinton County, Iowa
Compiled by Lorraine Houghton and Marilu Thurman, updated August 2006.
Thank you so much to Lorraine and Marilu for sending this information to
us.
The Perion Family
Andrew Perion, Sr. was born about 1823 in Maierle #11, Gottschee, Austria. He
married Mary Rom in Austria. Mary was born in Bistriz #9. Four of their children,
John, Andrew, Jacob and Joseph were born in Loka #16, Austria. Why they moved
to Loka, I have no idea. The Perion’s came to the United States between
1867 and 1870. John married Mary Smith; Andrew married Elizabeth Carey; and
Joseph married Ella Murphy. According to the 1880 census records, their other
children were; Mary, who married Anton Fier; (See Fier family). Mathias, who
married Mary Maurin; and Peter who married Mary Ludwig. The marriage of Maggie
Banowetz to Andrew Perion in 1890 is shown in the Clinton County marriage records.
This was a year after Andrew, Sr.’s wife, Mary, died. The 1895 census
shows that he was living in the 3rd ward in Lyons, Iowa. He was 72 at that time,
and his wife Maggie (Banowetz) was 58. There were no children living with them
at this time. We have no record of a Maggie Banowetz at this time.
Mathias Perion, born in 1872, married Mary Maurin, the daughter of Joseph Maurin
and Maria German in 1908. Mary was born in 1882 in Lyon County, Kansas. In the
1920 census Matt and Mary and their two children, were living in Delmar, Iowa.
Mary’s mother, Mary Maurin was also living in Delmar in 1920. Matt and
Mary had a son, Ray, who married Winifred "Dot" Hansen.
The Peschel Family
There were several Peschel families in Sugar Creek, and they are very confusing.
Some of them were half first cousins, and some were the next generation, and
some were siblings. The Peschel families came here from Gottschee area of what
was then Austria. Many other Sugar Creek settlers came here from the same area.
Joseph Peschel came to the USA about 1861 and was from Bistriz #5. He served
in the Civil War as a Union Soldier. After the war, he married Maria, last name
unknown, and they had 2 girls. After Maria died in 1873, he married Maria Strutzel,
and they had 4 children: Anthony, John, Mary and Annie. Maria Strutzel was born
in Naklo #7, the daughter of Mathias and Maria Saje Strutzel, and came here
about 1872. After Joseph died in 1880, Maria married Joseph Shelko, and they
ended up in Cleveland, Ohio. Joseph Peschel, his first wife and 2 girls are
buried at St. Joseph’s at Sugar Creek. Brothers, Joseph Shelko came here
about 1877 and John Shelko came here about 1872. They were born in Von Javas,
the sons of Joseph and Ana Sodja Shelko.
Maria, John and Joseph Peschel were the children of Joseph’s brother Johan,
and were born in Bistriz #5. Maria came here about 1872 and she married John
Shelko in Sept 1874. He was listed as a laborer in Waterford Township in the
1880 census. By 1900 they had moved to Clinton, Iowa. Their children were: John,
Joseph, Mary, Andrew, Lena, Michael, and Frank. John Peschel married Annie Canda
Brunskule and they also lived in Clinton, Iowa. Their children were: Anna, Veronica,
Rosa, and Kathryn. Most of these two families are buried in Clinton, Iowa. Joseph
came to the USA about 1886 and he married Maria Schoenfeldt in 1887. Joseph
and Mary had 3 children before he died in February 1895. Their children were:
Mary, Kate and John. They were living in 1st Ward, Clinton in the January 1,
1895 state census. After Joseph died, Mary married Albert Winkel. Peter Peschel,
another brother to Maria, John, and Joseph, lived in Kankakee, Illinois. He
married Georgiana Crevier and they did not have any children. Peter may have
lived in Sugar Creek for awhile before he went to Kankakee. Franz, the son of
another sister who stayed in Gottschee, lived in Ely, Minnesota. I think Franz
was in Sugar Creek long enough to get his citizenship there in 1906. Franz married
Johanna Zunic and their children were: Stefanie, Marjorie, Mayme and Anne.
Brothers, John and George Lamuth were 1st cousins to Joseph Peschel and came
to Sugar Creek about 1860. Their mother, Catherine Peschel Lamuth, was an aunt
to Joseph and they were born in Gric #14. John married Maria Styer in Austria,
and they had 7 children, some of them were born in Sugar Creek. George married
Catherine Vogrin, probably in Sugar Creek, and they had five children. Both
men were farmers in Waterford Township. There is more about them in the Lamuth
story.
Andrew Peschel is the same generation as Joseph (in paragraph number 2), but
he is from a second marriage, so they are half first cousins. Andrew, his wife
and 2 daughters came here about 1866 from Bistriz #6. Andrew, Sr. was a farmer.
He and his wife, Mary, and several of their children moved to Todd County, Minnesota
about 1902. Andrew, Jr. and his wife stayed at Sugar Creek and are buried at
Sugar Creek. Andrew, Jr. at one time operated a grocery store and hotel and
was postmaster. Andrew Peschel’s store and the neighboring saloon were
destroyed by fire in 1910 when flames from the steam engine flew out. These
were later rebuilt.
These are Andrew, Sr.’s children and whom they married.
Maria Peschel married Martin Pluth, from Dolejna Paka #8, and moved to Minnesota.
Their daughter Anna married Joseph Messerich, son of John Messerich and Appolonia
Maurin. Other children were: Mary, Helen, Katherine, John, Joseph, Mae, Henry,
Rose, Frank, Edward, Clara and Evelyn.
Anna Peschel married John Teshack and they moved to Omaha.
Children were: Anna, John, Catherine, Lena, Joseph, Mary, Andrew, George, Rose
and Edward.
Andrew Peschel married Mary Lamuth, daughter of George, stayed at Sugar Creek.
Children were: Frank b. 1894, Ben b. 1895, Rose b. 1897, Joseph b. 1900, Genevieve
b. 1902, and Ann b. 1906.
Catherine Peschel married Leo Pezdirtz, from Podzemelj #5, and they moved to
Omaha.
Children were: Andrew, Joseph, Rosa, George, Lillian and Leo.
Theresa Peschel married Joseph Stuckel, moved to Minnesota.
Children were: Arthur, Clara, Edward, Mary, William, Art, Raymond and Clarence.
John Paul Peschel never married, moved to Minnesota
Joseph Peschel married Anna Lamuth, daughter of John, moved to Minnesota.
Children were: Gordon, Robert and Loretta.
George Peschel married Alice Grimes in Minnesota.
Children were: Marjory, Donald and Bernadette.
The Powers Family
John Powers was born around 1847 in Ireland. In 1870 John was living with his
mother, Mary, and 4 siblings. His wife, Joanna Burke, was born about 1856 in
New York, however her parents were born in Ireland. The Powers had the following
children: Richard, John, William, Anna, Mary, Robert, Josephine, Marie, Loretta,
Lydia, and Margaretha. In the 1880 census, John Powers’ mother, Mary Powers,
born about 1828 in Ireland is also living in the Powers home. A brother of John’s,
Matthew Powers, born about 1858 in Iowa, and a brother Robert Powers, born about
1860 in Iowa, is also shown living in this household. Based on the above information,
we believe the Powers family came to Browns around 1855.
The Proost Family
John Proost, was born about 1848 in Prussia and died in 1925. He was the Shoemaker
in Sugar Creek, with his shop located on what was later Reuter property. This
was across the road and to the southeast of the church. His wife, Mary Woltering,
was born about 1856 in Iowa and died in 1897. Their children were Christina
(b. 1876), who married Frank Diedrich in 1897, (whose family emigrated from
Luxembourg); Katherine, Herman; Ben; Frank; John, Henry and Nicholas. In 1920
John was living in Charlotte and he was still a shoe repairman.
The Reiff Family
From St. Joseph’s Church - Sugar Creek - 1855 - 1980
Peter Joseph Reiff was born in March in 1800 in Widdersdorff, Germany. He married
Margaret Lemper in 1827 in the village of Esch where he lived until all of his
ten children were born. Peter Reiff earned enough money to buy ten acres of
land, which he sold later for $1000.00. It was then that Peter and Margaret
Reiff came to America, landing in New York, to secure better advantages for
their family, and to have their sons escape the military compulsory draft in
Germany for all men between the ages of 18 and 21.
After a short stay in New York, the Reiff family traveled on to Kankakee, Illinois.
Later they lived in Potosi, Wisconsin, where Reiff worked in the lead mines.
Eventually, they traveled to Clinton County, Waterford Township. John Reiff,
their son, married Catherine Nurre, the daughter of Henry Nurre in Sugar Creek
on November 13, 1868. Upon their marriage, Peter Reiff presented his son with
$100 in gold, which John took to a bank and exchanged for $130.00 in currency.
The lived in the Browns area when their children were born: Henry, John, Mat,
Mary, Gertrude, Margaret, Peter, Elizabeth, Herman, Ann and Christine. Gertrude,
Peter and Herman died as small children. In 1892, the family moved to Early,
Iowa to a 400 acre farm purchased for $40.00 per acre. John Reiff died on May
23, 1913 in Hotsprings, Arkansas. Catherine lived on with her unmarried children
and died in Early, Iowa on January 19, 1935.
(Footnote: Herman Reiff’s son Joseph married Susan Underberg, daughter
of John and Mary Underberg in Carroll County. Herman was the son of Peter and
Margaret.)
The Reuter Family
Michael Reuter was born in Altenahr, Rhine, Germany, November 26, 1860, the
son of Peter and Catherine (Gasper) Reuter, also from Altenahr, Rhine, Germany.
Peter and Catherine did not come to the United States. They were engaged in
farming. They were the parents of six children, five of which remained in Germany,
Rhine Province. They were Margaret, Christine, Joseph, Katherine and Mary. The
other son, Michael came to America.
Michael Reuter received his education in the schools of Germany until the age
of 13, at which time he assisted his father on the farm. In May 1881, he sailed
from Antwerp on the "City of New York" and after a two-week voyage
landed in New York. He made his way westward, to Lyons, Clinton County, Iowa
where he obtained work for a week on the public road, and then worked in a sawmill
for four weeks. >From there he came to Waterford Township, where he secured
a position on a farm, and remained there for five years.
On February 2, 1886, Michael Reuter married Mary Burken, who was born in Clinton
County, Iowa on March 14, 1862. Mary was the daughter of William Burken and
Lizzie Cossman, both natives of Germany.
Michael Reuter and Mary Burken had 9 children:
Elizabeth Reuter married Jacob Lehnertz. They had 3 children.
Wilhelmina Reuter married Michael Banowetz. They had 15 children.
Peter Reuter married Katherine Banowetz. They had 14 children.
John Reuter married Lena Banowetz. They had 4 children.
Veronica Reuter married August Frett. They had 14 children.
Catherine Reuter became Sister Laurentia.
Mary (Mayme) Reuter married William Keiffer. They had 8 children.
William Reuter married Catherine Diedrich. They had 3 children.. He later married
Ludwina Franzen Luskey. They had seven children.
Joseph Reuter married Nellie Norton. He later married Martha Munseh. They had
four children.
The Roling Family
The 1892 Farmer’s Directory of Clinton County shows Herman Roling, Sr.
with a Browns address. In the 1900 census Herman and Christina had 9 children.
Herman was born about 1854 in Jackson County, Iowa and Christina Woltering was
born about 1858 in Iowa. The 1925 directory shows Catherine (Christina) Roling,
with the following children: Henry, Kate, Herman (born in 1886, see below),
George married Elizabeth, Joseph married Helen, Leo, Mamie, Lena, Loretta and
Rosella. Herman, Sr. died in 1923 and Christina died in 1952.
The 1925 directory shows Herman Roling, Jr. with his wife, Agnes Soppe. They
had nine children.
The Roschitsch Family
Michael and Mary Roschitsch came to the USA from Austria about 1875. Michael
was born about 1845, possibly in Golek. Mary was born about 1847, possibly in
Doblice. Their first 3 children were born in Austria, the rest in Iowa. Their
children were, from census records: Mike, John, Mary, Joseph, Margaret, Peter
and Matthew.
The Rose Family
The Rose family is connected through marriage to several of the families from
Browns. A detailed history can be found in THE ROSE HISTORY-CONRAD, JOHN, and
ALOYSIUS, and may be accessed through Arlene at arlenerose2000@yahoo.com. John
Rose and Christina Helming emigrated from Helmern, Westphalen. John came first
in 1865, and Christina arrived 6 years later. They married in Clinton in 1876
and settled in Center Township, Clinton County. Their children were Frank, Al,
Mary, Lena, Theresa and Frances.
Frank married Maggie Kisting from Highland, Wisconsin and stayed near Highland
where they farmed. They had ten children.
Al Rose married Elizabeth Banowetz who died of child birth complications after
the birth of their second child.
Mary Rose married Joseph Skoff. They had two children. After the death of his
wife, Mary, Joseph Skoff married Anna Boehmer. After the death of his wife,
Anna, Joseph married Anna Luckiesh.
Lena Rose married Mathias Boehmer, son of August. They had no children.
Teresa Rose married William Holdgrafer. They had nine children.
Frances Rose married Anton Teshak. They had four children.
The Ross Family
Charles Ross and his wife, Frances Miller emigrated from Germany. At one time,
they had a tavern in Old Browns. They had the following children:
Peter, who died young;
John, who married Dolores Cleary from the Petersville area, which is south of
Riggs and southwest of Browns. John Ross and his wife lived in the white house
on the hill, overlooking Old Browns. As of 2005, this house is still standing.
You can see it directly to your left, as you are heading south, down the hill
on 308th Avenue, just before the bottom ground where the tracks used to run,
and the buildings of the village of Browns used to stand.
Charles, who married Clara Portz, from the Springbrook, Jackson County, area.
They had two children.
Joseph, who died young;
Ferdinand "Fred", who married Mary Lena Gerlich from Bellevue. They
had five children.
Mary "Marie" who married Charles Wagner. They had four children.