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History of Clayton County,
Iowa:... N Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton. Prominent in the history of Strawberry Point, of Cass township and of Clayton county as well as in the annals of the state of Iowa, stands Byron W. Newberry. He has been one of the most helpful, progressive and energetic men of his home city, he has well represented Clayton county in legislative halls and he has helped to write upon the statute books of Iowa many of its best and most effective laws. It is, therefore, altogether fitting that his life history should be included in this volume as one of the representative men of Clayton county and as one who has added luster to its name and fame. He was born at Brownhelm, in the old Buckeye state, on the first of September, 1853, the son of James Newberry and Maria (Westfall) Newberry, both of whom were natives of the state of New York. The father was born in Orange county, New York, May 26th, 1827, and the mother in Onondaga county of the same state, April 14th, 1828. They were imbued with that pioneering instinct which was such a potent factor in the development of the great central West and filled with the courage and energy of youthful ambition they left the Empire state to make their home together and to carve out fortunes for themselves in Ohio. After some length of residence in Ohio they again listened to the call of the West and made Iowa and Clayton county their home. In their new home they soon made impress through their industry and enterprise and their spirit of progressive citizenship, and it was here that their two sons, Byron W. and Charles W., were reared to honored manhood. With that instinct of Americanism which knows that "Knowledge Is Power," they gave to their children not only the lessons of thrift and industry from their own example, but equipped them with the best educational advantages which the state afforded. Thus Byron W. Newberry not only faithfully attended the schools of Clayton county, but after completing their course of study he received a collegiate education at Upper Iowa University, at Fayette, an institution which has ever been a just favorite with the people of Northeastern Iowa on account of its thoroughness and its Christian surroundings. Graduating from this seat of learning with the class of 1875, Mr. Newberry, the next autumn, matriculated in the law department of the State University of Iowa, an institution from which a very large per cent of the successful lawyers of Iowa have graduated. In 1876 he graduated from the University law school, receiving his degree of LL. B. and being admitted as a member of the Iowa bar. He at once began the practice of his chosen profession and in 1887 the brothers, Charles and Byron, entered upon that successful partnership which still continues and which has brought to them not only a competency, but established reputation as among the notable attorneys of the state. With the years of successful practice came added interests, and Mr. Newberry is now not only an attorney but a banker and a farmer on an extensive scale and his name is connected with many interests of his home city and indissolubly linked with all that has made for its progress and upbuilding. Throughout his manhood days Mr. Newberry has been a staunch and earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party and for many years he has been a prominent factor in its councils, not only in Clayton county, but in the state at large. Mr. Newberry was elected on the Republican ticket as senator for the Thirty-sixth Senatorial district and he served with distinction during the thirtieth, thirty-first and thirty-second sessions of the legislature of Iowa. During this time he served on many important committees and his name is now attached to legislation which with each passing year gives added proof of its value to the people of the entire state. In the year, 1916, he is again the standard bearer of his party for this important position, and his friends insist that his record and his eminent qualifications will assuredly meet with the endorsement of an election. Mr. Newberry is a man who has never sacrificed his convictions for expediency. His life has been as an open book and no endorsement at the polls could be stronger than that which has loon been accorded him by his fellow citizens through their confidence, esteem and real affection. Always an earnest student and a lover of Iowa and all that pertains to it Mr. Newberry has for a number of years been a valued member of the Iowa State Historical Society, and it is a pleasure to note that a large portion of the interesting and carefully prepared history of Cass township written by him has been incorporated in the first volume of this work. Mr. Newberry is also a member of the Iowa State Bar Association and, fraternally, is affiliated with the order of the Knights of Pythias, while his religious allegiance is faithfully and zealously given to the Congregational church. On December 30th, 1905, Mr. Newberry was united in marriage with Miss Eve M. Buckley, a native of Strawberry Point, and the daughter of Frank R. and Helen M. (Turner) Buckley, long respected citizens of that community. The home of Senator and Mrs. Newberry is one of the centers of the social life of their community and both are known and loved for their kindliness, their steadfastness to high ideals and their broad and genuine interest in all that pertains to the welfare and happiness of their friends, who include all the people of Strawberry Point and vicinity. John
Nuehring is one of the sterling and honored citizens who is specially entitled
to specific representation in this history, for he is not only one of the
extensive landholders and prosperous and influential farmers of the county,
which has been his home from the time of his birth, but is also a scion of one
of the very early pioneer families of Clayton county, with whose history the
name has been identified for more than seventy years.
Mr. Nuehring was born in Jefferson township, this county, of the 16th of
November, 1848, and is a son of William and Mary (Biermann) Nuehring, both
natives of the Kingdom of Hanover, Germany.
William Nuehring was reared and educated in his native land and was a
youth when he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in
America. He came to this country
about the year 1838 and first established his residence in the city of
Cincinnati, Ohio. About the year
1843 he came to Clayton county, Iowa, and became one of the pioneer settlers of
Jefferson township, where he obtained a tract of wild land and set to himself
the task of reclaiming a farm. He
proved himself well fortified for the activities and responsibilities of pioneer
life, but his life was not spared to enable him to gain the fruition of his
earnest labors. He passed to
eternal rest about the year 1851, when in the prime of his useful manhood and
when his son John, of this review, was a child of about three years. His wife survived him by more than forty years and was
summoned to the life eternal about the year 1896, when venerable in age, both
having been devout communicants of the Lutheran church.
Of their children the first-born was Eliza, who died at the age of 76
years; Mary is the widow of Adam Brown and maintains her home in the city of
Columbus, Ohio; William is deceased; John, of this review, was the next in order
of birth; Henry is a resident of Guttenburg, this county; and Frederick is
deceased. John Nuehring was, as
already noted, a mere child at the time of his father's death, but he was reared
to manhood under the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm, the while he made
good use of the educational opportunities afforded in the schools of the village
of Guttenberg, a fine German colony having seen to it in the early days that
excellent schools were provided for the youth of the community.
Mr. Nuehring as a youth continued his active association with the work
and management of the old home farm which was the place of his birth, and
finally he purchased the property, his present valuable landed estate, which
comprises four hundred acres and constitutes one of the model farms of the
county. He still gives his active
supervision to the operations of his splendidly improved farm, which is devoted
to diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade live stock,
including the Aberdeen type of cattle. Mr. Nuehring has never wavered in his allegiance to the
Republican party, has been loyal and public-spirited as a citizen, has served as
school director, and both he and his wife have long been zealous communicants of
the Lutheran church at Guttenberg, which is their post-office address.
In April, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nuehring to Miss
Annistina Ribbie, who was born in Hanover, Germany, on the 18th of September,
1852, and who was a child when her parents, William and Louisa (Luehring) Ribbie
came to Clayton county and established their home in Jefferson township.
Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Nuehring the first was Amelia, who died
when about 18 years of age; Alvina remains at the parental home; Louisa is the
wife of Otto Lake, of Guttenberg; William is a substantial farmer of Jefferson
township and is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; and Mary
died in childhood. William Nuehring is a scion of the third generation of the Nuehring family in Clayton county and as an ambitious and progressive agriculturist and stock-grower he is effectively upholding the civic and industrial prestige of the honored name which he bears and which has been worthily linked with the history of this county since the early pioneer days. Due record concerning the family history is given on other pages of this compilation, in the sketch of the career of his father, John Nuehring, and it is thus unnecessary to repeat the date in the present article. William Nuehring was born in Jefferson township, this county, on the 16th of August, 1877, and is a son of John and Annistina (Ribbie) Nuehring, who still reside on their fine landed estate in Jefferson township. William gained his early educational training in the schools of his native township and continued to be associated in the work of his father's farm until he had attained to the age of twenty years, after which he conducted independent farming operations on rented land for eight years. He proved in this connection his versatility and resourcefulness as an exponent of agriculture and live stock industry, and in 1905 he purchased his present admirably improved stock farm, which is eligibly situated in Section 30, Jefferson township, and which comprises two hundred acres of as fine land as is to be found in this favored section of the Hawkeye state. He is giving special attention to the raising of Hereford cattle and approved grades of swine, in connection with his general agricultural operations, and his success has been of unequivocal order. He is one of the wide-awake and progressive farmers and loyal and popular citizens of his native township and county, is an active member of the Farmers' Shipping Society and a director of the Clayton County Mutual Insurance Company. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he has served with marked efficiency and acceptability in the office of township trustee, besides which he has accorded equally effective service as a member of the school board of his district. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church at Guttenberg, from which village their attractive home receives service on rural mail route No. 2. On the 18th of February, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nuehring to Miss Mathilda Dittmer, who likewise was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Gustav and Ricka (Rausch) Dittmer, of Guttenberg. Mr. and Mrs. Nuehring have four children, namely: Verni, Sylvia, Augusta and Mathilda. |