The Gross Family of Johnson County, Iowa

GREGORY GROSS, a farmer, residing in Liberty township, postoffice, Bon Accord; was born February 7, 1819, within twelve miles of Belford, France; came to America in 1837, settled in Stark county, Ohio, and in October, 1844, came to Johnson county, Iowa, purchased from Mr. Fowler the claim of 160 acres of land upon which he has resided ever since. Mr. Gross was married March, 1841, to Miss Elizabeth Shcunblin, of Stark county, Ohio; they had two children: Gregory and Vincent. His wife died in Iowa, March, 1846, and in February, 1852, he married Miss Katharine Rummelhart, of Liberty township; they have by this marriage two girls, Matilda, wife of Dr. Isaac W. Wright, who practices his profession in Liberty township, a graduate of the medical college of Iowa City, of the class of March, '82; and Levina, wife of N. Gross, of Chippeway Falls, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Catholic church of Liberty township. He was the first justice of the peace of Liberty township and has held that office continuously ever since. The people of Liberty township are peaceable and law-abiding, and Mr. Gross has always advised compromises and settlements among his neighbors when difficulties have arisen among them. His advice is most always respected and acted upon.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

VINCENT GROSS (Deceased)

The late Vincent Gross was one of the best known men in Johnson county, where he was one of the early settlers, and where he redeemed several pieces of land from the wilderness. He was born near Belford, France, January 8, 1822, and was a son of Gregory Gross, who fought twelve years under General Napoleon. He came to America in 1840 and first located in Ohio. He learned the trade of blacksmith from Henry Cook, of Harrisburg, Stark county, that state, and came to Iowa City in 1842, helping to make the first plows manufactured in that city. He laid out the village of South Liberty, the postoffice being named Bon Accord, and which was in Liberty township.

Vincent Gross crossed the ocean in a sailing vessel, which was thirty-two days making the voyage, and on the same ship there came Nicholas Birrer and his eldest son, Martin Birrer, the latter of whom still lives in Liberty township, Johnson comity. The place where Nicholas Birrer settled is now occupied by John Dietch. The Birrer family were prominent in the early history of the region and are given further mention elsewhere in this work. After landing at New York City, the Gross and Birrer families went on to Albany and thence over the Erie Canal to Buffalo, then by boat to Cleveland, whence they went overland to Canton, formerly the home of President McKinley. In June, 1845, Mr. Gross went to Wellsville, Pennsylvania, and thence down the Ohio and up the Mississippi river to what is now Muscatine, but was then Bloomington, Iowa. There his brother, Gregory Gross, met him with teams and they crossed the prairies to Iowa City, then the state capital. Soon afterward Vincent Gross opened a blacksmith shop at South Liberty, and the town was surveyed and the plat laid out May 9, 1857, the name of the postoffice, which was Bon Accord, being recorded July 10, of the same year, in the presence of F. H. Lee, a notary public of Iowa City. There were then eight or ten houses, two general stores, a harness shop, a shoemaker's establishment and a wagon shop. Around this little hamlet were sometimes seen as many as twenty ox wagons, and a stage coach passed the town.

Among the papers left by Vincent Gross were records of many early transactions in the town, which have been printed in the form of a pamphlet and which form interesting reading to the present generation. He purchased several preemption claims from soldiers of the War of 1812, and also made many purchases from the Government direct, the latter including the place now occupied by his son Charles, the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 18, township 78, range 6, the title for which was dated March 1, 1850, signed by Zachary Taylor (President), and made upon a sheepskin. He paid $50 for forty acres to Cushing Shaw, an Ohio veteran of the War of 1812, the deed being also signed by Polly Shaw, and dated January 29, 1853. He secured the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 17, Liberty township, by paying $100 to William Secor, who received a deed December 24, 1845. His brother Gregory entered forty acres comprising the northeast quarter of section 18 of the same township, the deed executed by William B. Ford, J. P. On September 4, 1848, Mr. Gross secured his final naturalization papers, before the district court at Iowa City, signed by Clerk Stephen Gardner and witnessed by Frank Joseph Schnoebelin. His land purchases included several other patents which he purchased from veterans of the War of 1812, and in this way the land now owned by his descendants has passed through very few hands and is subject to very few entries on the title deed. Gregory Gross executed a title dated March 13, 1856, when he was justice of the peace, the same being signed by Zachary Taylor and comprising the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 18, of the two previously mentioned, and this piece of ground, one-half an acre in extent, was the site of the school house.

Mr. Gross erected a log house, which he occupied for many years, then built a more pretentious home, but when the latter burned, he again lived in the original log house. He subsequently erected a comfortable residence which is now occupied by one of his sons. He continued working at the trade of blacksmith until 1860. His son Charles purchased the original homestead for the sum of thirty dollars per acre, and also owns all except two lots of the old townsite. As mentioned in the sketch of the latter, Vincent Gross made his own horse shoe nails. He was an expert in his line and worked at his trade many years before there was much machinery to make it easy to conduct a blacksmith and repair shop. He became well known for the high quality of his work and had a good patronage. He donated a piece of ground, where a log school house was erected, but upon the school being located elsewhere in later years, the land reverted to the door and is now a part of the farm of his son Charles.

Mr. Gross was one of the original members of St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic church, which was located in the same township and southwest of his home, and was one of the earnest workers in the cause. He was a democrat in politics. He was among the few pioneers who entered land from the Government, and was one of the most industrious men of his day. For a long time his nearest trading point was Bloomington, or Muscatine, as it is now named, and the medium of exchange was some kind of goods. Very little money was needed and that was for paying taxes, for which the early settlers managed to procure some currency. The old spinning wheel which his wife used for preparing the cloth for family use is still in the possession of the family. She used lindsey for the girls ' dresses and made jeans for the boys. She, as well as her husband, worked hard, and they reared a large family. She was a good manager and a kind and loving mother, caring for the physical and moral welfare of her family and helping to win the success which became their in a financial sense.

On Independence Day, 1846, Vincent Gross married Phoebe March, daughter of John and sister of Enoch Marks, of Hills. The marriage ceremony was performed by an early missionary in St. Mary's church at Iowa City. They became parents of the following children: Mary, Mrs. Jacob Hirt, of Hills, Iowa; Mrs. Sarah Anna Reed; Frank, of California; John, of

Omaha; Charles, a sketch of whom also appears in this work; Celia, wife of J. Smith, of Liberty township; Eva, wife of Philip Michael, of Sharon township; Ida, wife of Albert Ruppenkamp, whose farm adjoins the old Gross farm on the west. The father of these children served in many public offices, such as township trustee, school director, and member of the town board, of which he was president for some time. He died September 19, 1900, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his widow survived until January 8, 1906, when she passed away, at the age of seventy-five years. Both are held in loving memory by their surviving children and are held in kind remembrance by their many friends. They had made a home in a new country and had done their share to help along in the general progress of events, always having at heart the welfare of the community with which they were identified.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

CHARLES A. GROSS

Charles A. Gross owns one of the well-cultivated and productive farms of Liberty township, and is well known throughout Johnson county as a successful farmer and a breeder of fine draft horses. He has been successful to a large degree and has been able to retire from active life, although he still occupies a part of the old home farm. He was born on the homestead of his father, and is fifth of the eight living children of his parents, Vincent and Phoebe (Marks) Gross, natives of France and of Ohio, respectively, a sketch of whom is to he found elsewhere in this work. The parents came to Johnson county in an early day. Charles Gross remembers his father making his horse shoe nails and similar articles by hand, and has witnessed a remarkable change in the region where he has spent his entire life.

Mr. Gross was born January 31, 1865, and received his education in local schools and Iowa City Academy, supplemented by a course in Williams Business College, at Iowa City. He began farming when a mere boy and has always carried on this occupation, paying especial attention to stock raising. He is an intelligent and energetic worker and in this way made many improvements on his farm. He owns 230 acres in Sections 17 and 18 of Liberty township, which is all under cultivation and now conducted by a tenant. Since 1909 Mr. Gross has been importing fine horses and has made two trips to France to look after his interests in this line. He has about eighteen head (including colts) of fine draft horses, being one of the leading horsemen of his part of the state. He also has about forty-five head of cattle and ninety of hogs. His land is very fertile and in 1911 he had a yield of sixty-five to seventy bushels per acre of corn on some forty-five acres. His buildings are all modern and substantial, and he has two splendid barns, one of which holds one hundred twenty-five tons of hay. One of the beautiful and useful features of his farm is the natural well-spring, fourteen feet deep, which supplies his farm with water for most purposes.

In 1890 Mr. Gross was married to Miss Frances Melecber, also of Liberty township, daughter of John and Caroline (Shultz) Melecber, and they have three living children, namely: Vera W., wife of Alexander Gringer, of Hills, Iowa, has two children, Lela and Lillian; Blanche, a graduate of the high school and St. Joseph's school, of Iowa City; Clarence, at home. Mr. Gross has rented his farm for a few years past and resides in a pleasant and cheerful home he has erected on the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section is, township 78, range lie remained with his parents during their lifetime, and cared for their comfort and happiness. He has two children at home and the family have every comfort and convenience obtainable. They are well known and have a large number of friends in the community. The family is identified with the early history of Johnson county and has always borne an honorable part in local affairs. Mr. Gross is a democrat in politics and is a member of the Woodmen, of Hills. He has served as a delegate to the democratic county convention and in other ways has been active in political matters.

Although he has been dead many years, Fidell Heitzman is well remembered among the surviving early settlers of Johnson county. He was an industrious and representative citizen, an original member of St. Mary's church at Riverside, and always ready to help forward the welfare and prosperity of the region. He was born in Baden, Germany, April 28, 1810, and his death occurred in Riverside, June 25, 1888, at the age of seventy-eight years. He came to America in youth and became a pioneer farmer of Johnson county. He helped construct the foundation for the McClure Mill at English river, now Riverside, for which he received forty cents a day. He hauled grain to Muscatine with an ox team, the trip consuming several days, and he camping out nights on the way. His first claim was a quarter section of land which he entered from the government, and he became a successful farmer. At the time of the gold excitement he made a trip over the plains to California and spent two years there, after which he returned to Johnson county. He took a prominent part in the life of his community and won many warm friends.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.