A Narrative History of The People of Iowa with SPECIAL TREATMENT OF THEIR CHIEF ENTERPRISES IN EDUCATION, RELIGION, VALOR, INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, ETC. by EDGAR RUBEY HARLAN, LL. B., A. M. Curator of the Historical, Memorial and Art Department of Iowa Volume IV THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Inc. Chicago and New York 1931 FREDERICK SCHWERTLEY was an interesting representative of the pioneers of Iowa. He was of German nativity, came to America after reaching manhood, had to overcome the handicap of a foreign tongue, and all the capital he brought with him to Iowa was of his own earning and saving. The thrift, industry and fine management exemplified by Frederick Schwertley and a number of other Germans undoubtedly profoundly influence the development of the state as a whole. He was born in Wurttemberg, Germany, April 28, 1828, son of Conrad and Margaret (Schmidt) Schwertley. His parents lived all their lives in Germany. His father died April 6, 1858, when sixty-eight years of age, and his mother lived to be ninety-three, passing away in 1886. Frederick Schwertley was the youngest of a family of sixteen children. After the common schools he went to work, when about fourteen, and work was teh keynote of all the substantial success he achieved. While a youth in Germany he was a teamster and did freighting from one town to another. He was twenty-five years of age when he landed in New York City, January 10, 1853. Going on to Wheeling, West Virginia, he was employed there as a hostler, looking after the horses of the Northwestern Stage Company. The work gave him an opportunity to familiarize himself with the English language, and he remained in and about Wheeling until he introduced himself as a citizen of Iowa in the spring of 1855. His experience with horses gave him his first job, as driver of a stage between Iowa City and Marengo. He drove the stage for eighteen months, during summer and winter, over rough and muddy roads, and once he went through a terrific blizzard, and on reaching the end of his journey had to be dragged off the driver's seat and was carried into the house supposedly dead. He was frozen stiff, and one of his fingers was permanently injured. For six months he also drove stage from old Calhoun in Harrison County to Kirby in Pottawattamie County. He left that work to return to Iowa City, which was then the capital of the state, where he married Salome Brecht. She was born in Baden, Germany, October 10, 1832, daughter of Franz and Phillipine Brecht. Mr. Schwertley and his bride left Iowa City and drove overland to Harrison County. He had a wagon, team of horses, and these comprised practically all the possessions he and his wife owned. The first year he lived near Magnolia. Later he bought 160 acres in Taylor Township. This was the beginning of his career as an Iowa land owner. In 1858 Mr. Schwertley was attracted by the stories of gold discoveries in the Pike's Peak country of Colorado. He and Josiah Crum fitted out a wagon and started over the overland trail, but on reaching Fort Kearney met so many disappointed old explorers and prospectors who were returning empty-handed that he and his companion also turned back. In the spring of 1860 Mr. Schwertley moved to a farm in Taylor Township. On this land he built a log house eighteen by twenty feet, the floor being made of cottonwood logs, roughly surfaced on the upper side. He and his wife lived there working, managing, thriftily saving, improving the land, and gradually seeing prosperity come upon them. In the spring of 1869 Mr. Schwertley bought a prairie farm of 160 acres farther west in the same township. This was his home until 1887, when he moved into Calhoun Township. In the meantime his landed possessions had grown and at one time he owned over 1,600 acres. He did farming on an extensive scale, raising many cattle and hogs, and as a business man his name and credit were valid with all the banks and business houses of this region. Mr. Schwertley passed away June 10, 1901, at the age of seventy-three. His death occurred before he was able to carry out his plans to move to Missouri Valley, where he planned to live in comfortable retirement. His widow survived him and passed away at Missouri Valley in 1921. Mr. Schwertley had been reared in the Lutheran faith in Germany. After coming to Iowa he did not join any church. His wife was a devout Catholic, and until the children were grown he always saw that they got to church on Sundays. The children were reared in the mother's faith. Mr. Schwertley was a Democrat, but had no desire for the honors of politics. He practiced the gospel of hard work, and his sturdy good sense and his integrity of character won him an enviable degree of respect. He and his wife had the following children: Francis W., who was a successful farmer, owning several hundred acres of land in Iowa, and is now a resident of Florida; Margaret, Mrs. Peter Hoffman; Phoebe Ann, who died in 1918, the wife of Frank Behm, of Holden, Missouri; Emma, who died in 1909; Frederick A.; Mrs. Ida Fitzgibbons; Miss Katherine; Mrs. Frances Dougherty, of Los Angeles; Leo, who died when ten years old; and two other children who died in infancy. The son Frederick A. Schwertley was one of Harrison County's prosperous farmers, and died at Missouri Valley in 1918, just after he had moved to town to retire. He was at the time of his death president of the Valley Savings Bank. His widow and children reside in Missouri Valley. Miss Katherine Schwertley, who also makes her home at Missouri Valley, was for a number of years engaged in school work. She graduated from the old Woodbine Normal in 1891, from the State Normal at Cedar Falls in 1894, and in 1904 graduated from the University of Nebraska. Part of her work as a teacher was done in Nebraska, and she was connected with the high school at Holdrege for several years. Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa History Project _http://iagenweb.org/history/_ (http://iagenweb.org/history/) Scott County, Iowa _http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/index.htm_ (http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/index.htm) **************Lose weight like TV’s Biggest Loser finalists. Start w/ a FREE Weight-Loss Plan! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220200127x1201334384/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B213622551%3B35099622%3Bc)