Notes for John William MATHERN

Family History Pages

Thank you for visiting our family history pages, are you in some way connected to this family group? We'd like to include your family history and you are invited to submit you data by e-mail . We also accept information submitted by postal mail, please contact us by e-mail for the appropriate mailing address.

Ancestorial Home Page

Notes for John William MATHERN

William J. and Cora E. (Breyfogle) Mathern are living in Calumet, O'Brien, IA where William is working as a stock merchant with his brother Frank W. Mathern. Frank is living with the couple on a farm they own. Frank is 43 with Cora being 20 and they report having been married for 1 year.

SOURCE: 1900 Federal Census Liberty Twp, O'Brien, IA

John W and Cora continue to live in Calumet, O'Brien, IA and although the census form is very faint it appears that he reports his occupation as stockman. There family now has 3 sons as well as a person listed as a servant and two boarders. The children are as follows:

G. William - Son
Francis A. - Son
C. Ronald - Son

SOURCE: 1910 Federal Census Liberty Twp, O'Brien, IA

J. William and Cora E. Mathern are living in Calumet in a home they own. William reports being a dairy farmer and their family now has 5 children and an adopted daughter as follows:

G. William - Son
Francis A. - Son
C. Ronald - Son
John Henry - Son
Angeline I. - Daughter
Lorenthina J. Haas - Adopted daughter

The first three sons are listed as farm laborers - working out, which may mean they are not working for their father.

SOURCE: 1920 Federal Census Liberty Twp, O'Brien, IA

The methods followed by John W. Mathern, a retired farmer and stockman in Liberty township, O’Brien County, now living in Calumet, were those which ever secure ultimate success. He has used those methods of the up-to-date tiller of the soil, and has been a man who believed in relentlessly pursuing those ideals and principles which bring not only material success, but which are calculated to result in various blessings. He comes from good German parentage and has never been known to refuse his support to any movement looking to the general good of the community in which he has cast his lot, and for this reason he has made many lasting friends in O’Brien county, who admire him for his many good qualities.

John W. Mathern, a retired farmer of Calumet, Iowa, was born in Iowa County, Iowa, in 1856. He is the son of Anthony and Frances (Brecht) Mathern, both of whom were natives of Germany, his father being born in that country in 1832. Anthony Mathern was a son of John Mathern, who was born in Germany in 1790 and died in Tama County, Iowa in 1888. The Mathern family left their native land in 1843 and came to America, and first settled in the state of Ohio, where Anthony was married to Frances Brecht and within a short time they moved on westward and located in Iowa.

John W. Mathern is one of eight children, four being dead. He received his education in the schools of his native county and when twenty-three years of age rented a farm, where he lived for one year, after which he secured work as a farm hand and worked upon the farms in Tama County for the next six years. In 1886 he came to O’Brien County and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land and has made extensive improvements on this land since buying it and has brought it to a place of high excellence. He has always been an extensive stock raiser and takes a great deal of pride in his high grade stock. In 1893 he retired from the active labor of the farm and moved to Gaza, where he was engaged in the buying and selling of stock for six years, in partnership with his brother, Frank, of Primghar, Iowa. In 1899 he moved to Calumet, where he bought and sold grain and stock for a few years and then retired from active business life. He is a man of good business ability and has a reputation for scrupulous honesty in all his financial transactions. In his business life he has always borne the Golden Rule in mind, and for this reason has never incurred the ill will of any of his friends and neighbors. Mr. Mathern was married in 1899 to Cora Breyfogle, and to this union have been born four children. William, Francis, Ronald and John Henry. Mer. And Mrs. Mathern are giving their children the best educational advantages possible, feeling that in this twentieth century a good education is the best legacy which can be given to children.

Mr. Mathern and his family are loyal members of the Catholic Church and are generous supporters of their favored denomination. Politically, Mr. Mathern is a Democrat and is a firm believer in the principles as enunciated by President Wilson. He has never held any official position other that that of township constable. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus at Sheldon, and takes an active interest in the work of this organization. Mr. Mathern is a man of keen business discernment, is able to foresee with remarkable accuracy the future outcome of a present transaction, and is by nature an organizer and promoter. Obliging and generous, kindly and hospitable, he numbers his friends by the limits of his acquaintances and enjoys the good will and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.

SOURCE: History of O’Brien County, Biographical, Volume II

| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |

In an effort to save space on this web site we have abbreviated the source information to the barest minimum. In many cases our source information is available in Word documents or other electronic files as well as links to other web sites. If you would like a complete source list on an individual please let us know and we will be happy to e-mail it to you. We would also be happy to share a complete GEDCOM file as well.

Ancestorial Home Page

This page is sponsored by www.breyfogle.com and all information, presentation, and graphics are considered the property of it's authors.