The 1911 History of Dubuque County sketches two Kerper households that came to America in the early 1850s and settled on farms near New Vienna. John and Anna Maria Kerper came from Germany when their son Jacob, born in Rheinish Prussia in 1848, was four years old; John built an 80-acre farm up to 240 acres and died in 1899. Jacob became the general merchant at New Vienna, president of the German State Bank at Dyersville and mayor of New Vienna for six years, and he and Mary Ann Meyer had twelve children. In the other household John and Mary Kerper came to America in 1852 with their son Bernard, who cleared a farm near New Vienna; Bernard's son John A. Kerper, born there in 1873, became secretary of the Peter J. Seippel Lumber Company in Dubuque. The book never says whether the two Johns were the same man, so the households are kept apart here. Every fact below is cited to the public-domain 1911 county history.
Earliest in the record
Jacob Kerperborn 1848Most recent in our records
John A. Kerperborn 1873Each number matches a section below. Tap a name to jump to that person.
Pioneer farmers at New Vienna
General merchant and banker, New Vienna
Jacob Kerper, general merchant at New Vienna, was born August 26, 1848, in Rheinish Prussia, Germany. When four years old he came with his parents, John and Anna Maria Kerper, to the United States and, locating at the then frontier settlement of New Vienna, Iowa, the father bought an eighty-acre tract of land and engaged in farming. By hard work and economy he gradually increased his real estate holdings until he at one time owned 240 acres. He was one of the thrifty, upright men of Dubuque county and died with the high esteem of all who knew him, in 1899, at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife died in 1896, aged seventy-eight years. Jacob Kerper received a liberal education in the public schools and the Epworth Seminary. He taught school for a time and clerked in the store of A. C. Walker Company, at Farley, until June, 1872, then came to New Vienna as salesman for George Meinhart. Eventually Mr. Kerper, by purchase, succeeded to the business of Mr. Meinhart, and rebuilding the premises, now conducts one of the best equipped mercantile establishments in the surrounding community. Mr. Kerper inherits the thrift and industry of his parents, and aside from his mercantile interests is the owner of valuable real estate in North Dakota, Washington, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. He is also president of the German State Bank at Dyersville, and as an independent Republican in politics has served as mayor of New Vienna six years, trustee many years and school treasurer for twenty-five years. He is a member of the Catholic church, of which, for sixteen years, he has been secretary. June 30, 1873, he married Miss Mary Ann Meyer, daughter of George and Magdalena Meyer, old pioneers of this locality, and to this union have been born twelve children: Mathias, who died in 1890, when eight years old; George L.; Bernard V.; Otto N.; Edmund M.; Alver H.; Eugene P.; Annie G. (Mrs. E. H. Willging); Agnes C. (Mrs. Dr. F. X. Lang); and three who died in infancy. Mr. Kerper and family are among the best known people of western Dubuque county.
As printed in the source1. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
Came to America in 1852
Farmer near New Vienna
Secretary, Peter J. Seippel Lumber Company
John A. Kerper, secretary of the Peter J. Seippel Lumber Company since its inception, was born near New Vienna, Dubuque county, on December 17, 1873, and is a son of Bernard and Mary Magdalena (Steil) Kerper. The father was the son of John and Mary Kerper and came with them to America in 1852, when they located on a farm near New Vienna, which he cleared and cultivated; he is at present residing in New Vienna at the age of sixty-four years. After attending the district schools John A. Kerper entered the Northern Illinois Normal School. He then completed his studies with a course in the Dixon Business College, which he left in 1891. The following three years he worked on his father's farm, then went to Farley and became a bookkeeper and salesman for the George McGee Lumber and Farm Implement Company, remaining thus employed until 1896. Succeeding this he was employed in a like capacity by the Meuser & Seippel Lumber Company, East Dubuque, and when Mr. Seippel came to Dubuque Mr. Kerper came with him and they have been associated together in the lumber business ever since. The Peter J. Seippel Lumber Company was incorporated on February 25, 1904, and Mr. Kerper was elected secretary thereof, and at present has an interest in the concern. He is independent in politics and is Grand Knight at the present writing of the Knights of Columbus, and a member of St. Raphael's Cathedral. To his marriage with Miss Angeline Marshall, solemnized in East Dubuque, September 26, 1891, three daughters, Bernice, Constance and Kathleen, have been born. Mrs. Kerper is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Marshall, who were descended from old French families. Mr. Marshall is residing in Rock Island, Illinois, is a blacksmith by occupation and a very worthy man. The Kerper home in Dubuque is located at 206 Bluff street.
As printed in the source1. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
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