IowaJones/Biographies/H. E. Tech

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H. E. Tech–I. D. Terwilliger

Herman E. Tech
Born October 7, 1873

While Herman E. Tech is of German birth the greater part of his life has been passed in Oxford Junction, and he has come to occupy a leading position in the business circles of the town as proprietor of a furniture store and undertaking establishment. He was born in Germany, October 7, 1873, his parents being Michael and Wilhelmina (Rux) Tech, who in the year 1882 left their native country and with their family came direct to Oxford Junction, Iowa, where they spent their remaining days, the death of the mother occurring March 26, 1893, while the father passed away November 26, 1902. In their family were five children: Augusta, now the wife of M. Herbstretch, of Oxford Junction; August, who is living at Strawberry Point, Iowa; John E., who follows farming near Algona, Iowa; Carrie, the wife of William Abernethy, of Portland, Oregon; and Herman E.

The last named was but nine years of age when the family sailed for the new world, and in the town where he yet lives he was reared and educated, the public schools affording him his opportunity for intellectual development. Following his mother's death he went to Arizona, where he was employed in mining copper, and after several years spent in the southwest he returned to Oxford Junction in 1902 and purchased a half interest in his present business. The store contains a large line of furniture of various grades, and in addition a well stocked undertaking establishment is conducted. Mr. Tech was in partnership with F. E. Zeigler until about 1906, when he became sole owner. He also is half owner of the building in which he conducts business, it being one hundred and ten by twenty-two feet, and its entire space being occupied by Mr. Tech for his stock of furniture. He has a well appointed establishment and the neat and tasteful arrangement of his store, together with his well known business probity, is a prominent feature in his success.

On the 24th of September, 1902, Mr. Tech was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Nowachek, who was born in Oxford Junction, March 7, 1873, and has always resided here. She is a daughter of Frank and Katie (Heilak) Nowachek, the former a native of Bohemia, while the latter was of Bohemian parentage. The father is deceased, while the mother makes her home with her children, who are six in number. Mr. and Mrs. Tech have one child, Lois. Theirs is a hospitable home, whose good cheer is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. They are members of the Catholic church.

In politics he is an independent republican, advocating the principles of the party at national elections but voting without regard to party ties on other occasions, regarding only the capability of the candidate in his election to the public service. Mr. Tech is now acting as a member of the village council, in which position he discharges his duties with promptness and fidelity, seeking at all times the general welfare of the community. He is a self-made man, for whatever he has achieved is attributable entirely to his own labors. He started out empty-handed and in the legitimate lines of trade and commerce has worked his way upward.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 155.

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J. A. Templeman
Born November 29, 1879

J. A. Templeman, who has but recently become identified with the farming interests of Rome township, was born in Anamosa, Iowa, November 29, 1879. His father, U. F. Templeman, was a native of Ohio, but in 1852 came to Iowa with his parents, who located on a farm. On the inauguration of the Civil war he enlisted in Company H, Twenty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He served valiantly for three years and in one of the numerous battles in which he participated he was wounded in the right leg. Upon the culmination of the struggle he returned to Jones county, which remained his home for about twenty-five years. On the 24th of March 1908, he passed away, and he was laid to rest in Anamosa. His wife, who before her marriage was Miss Celia Postelwait, was a native of California and preceded him to the grave by almost a quarter of a century, her death having occurred in 1883. Three children were born to them: J. A., of this review; Alice, who has passed away; and Oliver, who is now a resident of Kansas City, Missouri.

J. A. Templeman has had a varied career. Having received a good education in the grammar and high schools, he started in life at the age of sixteen, learning the trade of a painter and decorator. After three years devoted to that business he found employment as a clerk in one of the cities of California and six years later came to Anamosa, where he clerked in a shoe store. At the end of two years he married, gave up his position and moved to the state of Washington, where for one year he operated a shoe factory. In 1908 he returned to Anamosa and the following year located on the farm in Rome township he now occupies. It embraces three hundred and twenty acres on section 29, and is only one of three pieces of land Mr. and Mrs. Templeman own. One of the two others, consisting of eighty acres, lies on section 34, Cass township, while the other, also eighty acres in extent, is in Linn county, Kansas. Mr. Templeman proposes to make a specialty. of raising and feeding stock, and as his farm is well suited for that business he should find his labors well repaid.

In 1907 Mr. Templeman was united in marriage to Miss Lorenda M. Peet, who was born December 23, 1882, and is a daughter of William G. and Eliza E. (Saum) Peet, both natives of Jones county. Her father died December 12, 1893, but her mother is still living in Anamosa. They were the parents of four children: one who died in infancy; James S., of Anamosa; Lorenda, who is now Mrs. Templeman; and Truman G., of Anamosa. Mr. and Mrs. Templeman have no children.

Politically Mr. Templeman is a republican, but he has not taken any active part in public matters. He has for a number of years, however, been a member of several Masonic bodies and now belongs to the lodge at Anamosa. Acquainted with the life of a farmer from his boyhood days and broadened by his acquaintance with other walks in life, there is every reason to believe that the years will bring him success in the line of work he has so recently adopted.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 639.

Ives D. Terwilliger
Born January 27, 1854

Among the many men who left the east and came to Jones county when they were desirous of securing a home of their own, may be numbered Ives D. Terwilliger, who for the past twenty-four years has been a resident of Lovell township. A native of the state of New York, he was born in Cortland county, January 27, 1854, his parents being Lewis and Lucy (Briggs) Terwilliger, both natives of the same state. The mother died when her son was but four years old, and the father survived only until he was eleven. A year after his wife's death, however, Mr. Terwilliger broke up housekeeping and Ives D. found a home with a Mr. Hammond, with whom he remained until his fourteenth year. For the five subsequent years he worked for various farmers in the locality of his birth, and then, at the age of nineteen, started upon his journey to the west.

He stopped first in Boone county, Illinois, where he spent the greater part of three years, working in the store of an uncle in Belvidere. In 1876 he came to Iowa, locating in Boone county, where he found employment for two years as a farm hand. At the expiration of that period he returned to New York state, but after a few months' sojourn there started upon his second western journey, following roughly the same line of travel as on the previous trip, for he spent some time in Illinois before he came to Iowa again. He lived for one year in Sac county, after reaching this state and then in 1882 came to Jones county, locating in Monticello, where he found employment in a mercantile establishment and later with the Diamond Creamery Company. It was in 1885, after his marriage that he engaged in agricultural pursuits in this county for a number of years operating rented land belonging to his father-in-law, and then in 1901 purchasing the farm. In consequence, for a period of almost a quarter of a century it has continuously been his home and has been the scene of those exertions which have been so well repaid that he is now numbered among the successful men of his locality. His place embraces one hundred and fifty-three and a half acres, and while other farms may exceed it in area, few can equal it in the fertility which makes possible the plentiful harvests, for which Mr. Terwilliger has attained a reputation.

On the 9th of June, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Terwilliger and Miss Flora P. Hall. She is a daughter of David M. Hall, who came to Jones county from New Hampshire in 1863, and took up his residence in Lovell township. where he became one of the substantial agriculturists. Three sons have been born of this union: David M., Lewis D. and Burgess H. The ,eldest is now attending the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, while the two younger are pupils in the high school at Monticello and live at home. Mr. Terwilliger gives unqualified support to the republican party, finding himself in agreement with the principles expressed in its platform, but is not active in political matters. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, being a member of Root Camp, No. 282, and with the Mystic Workers of the World, as a member of lodge No. 159. With his wife he belongs to the Presbyterian church. Progressive in his ideas, hardworking to a high degree, and guiding his life by strong principles of honor, he has every reason to be gratified by the success which has come to him from his many years of toil, all the more so since he is aware that it represents his own efforts, for he was compelled to start in life for himself at an age when many another boy gives little thought to the real responsibilities of life.

From History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 270.