Adam Messer was born in Gilfershausen,
Germany, March 31, 1843. At the age of 20, he managed to obtain enough means to
buy passage in the steerage of a schooner that took him to New York. It became
known among the crew on the schooner that he was a cabinet-maker, & an
officer requested him to come up into the forecastle and try his hand in making
a chest. He made such a fine one that he was invited to take a berth and rations
with the crew in the forecastle in return for making more chests and other
cabinet work. It took 6 weeks to make the trip to New York. He followed the
carpentry trade in Illinois for some years, later moving to Benton County, Iowa,
where he married Anna Catherine Griesey in 1868.
Pictured: Adam and Anna Messer
In 1881, they moved to Richland Township, Sac County, eventually owning a section of farmland. When he bought his first farm the lawyer wrote in the deed his name as "Adam Knife". When he read it over and saw how his name was written, he turned to the lawyer and told him he was not intending to "Americanize" his name. "Please write me another deed and put in my name as "Adam Messer".
Adam and Anna were the parents of the following children: Henry, John, Anna, Katharine (Mrs. Conrad Hoefling), Minnie (Mrs. George Sudenga), Martin (married 1st Minnie Stanley, 2nd Ruth Mead), Harry (married Emily Stanley), Charles (married Minnie Konradi), Pearl (Mrs. John Gibson), Arthur, Edna (Mrs. Joseph P. Konradi). Anna Griesey passed away February 6, 1920. Adam married for the 2nd time to Mrs. Antonia Herring, & in 1923 moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he died December 31, 1926.
Adam Messer Family- (back, l to r) Charles, Martin, Kate, Harry.
(middle l to r) Edna, Minnie, Adam and Anna. (front) Pearl
(Click the below photos for enlargement)
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The above was submitted by Judith (Messer) Bauer;
Photos submitted by her daughter, Erin Bauer
Family Letters from Germany During Hitler's Time
October, 2005
From Judy Bauer - The following four letters were written between 1932 &
1945 by Messer cousins from Gilfershausen, Germany, to their American relatives.
Some of the children of Karl & Elizabeth (Henert) Messer stayed in Germany, &
others, like my great-grandfather Adam Messer, came to America in the early
1860's. Adam settled in Odebolt. Adam's son, Charles Messer, & Charles'
son, Floyd Messer (my father), were residents of Ida Grove.
Editor's note: While the letters contain information on Messer relations, they are especially interesting because they reveal the rise and fall of Hitler and the effect on the family, as well as how difficult communicating with relations in the "old country" could be.
Click on the image to enlarge. Files are 150 to 180 KB,
so allow time to load.
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