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W. H. Kline
Born November 19, 1851 |
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W. H. Kline is one of the type of men who have won the success they now enjoy in this world entirely through their own efforts. He has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits and for more than thirty-five years has cultivated a farm of the one hundred and eighty acres he owns in sections 25 and 26, Greenfield township. He was born in Pennsylvania, November 19, 1851, and was fifteen years of age when his parents removed to Missouri. They later went to Illinois, where W. H. Kline remained for about seven years, coming to Jones county in 1872. His father, J. F. Kline, has also become a resident of this state and is living in Prairieburg, Linn county, at the advanced age of eighty-three. The mother died when her son, their only child, was but six months old. The father again married and has by this union the following children: Mrs. Sarah Knapp, residing in Prairieburg; C. W., who lives in Dakota; J. M., of Weldon, Iowa; Amanda, the wife of Henry Kohl, of Greenfield township; H. P., of Marion, Iowa; Mrs. Beebe, also of Marion, Iowa; Ella, who lives with her father in Prairieburg; and Mrs. Callie Knapp, whose home is in Martelle.
Having but just attained to man's estate when he came here, Mr. Kline was determined to succeed in his farming operations, and secured his tract of land. On this he has labored, cultivating the fields as best he could, keeping abreast of the advancement made in agricultural methods, and never sparing hard toil when such was necessary. He also possessed a realization of the need of thrift and the capacity to manage his affairs economically, so that little of his efforts or substance has been wasted. His life has not been without its struggles, but they were met valiantly and he now is in the enjoyment of many comforts.
Mr. Kline was married January 1, 1874, to Miss Mary Kohl. She is a daughter of Amos and Maria (Grimm) Kohl and one of a family of eleven children, the others being, Henry; William; John, deceased; Mrs. Hempy; Ida, deceased; Lewis; Mrs. Emma Stearns; Mrs. Tena Melton; Charles; and Mrs. Minnie Fink. Except Mrs. Melton, who lives in Cedar county, those surviving are residents of Greenfield township. Mr. and Mrs. Kline have had nine children: Mrs. Ida Andre, of Mechanicsville, who is the mother of a daughter, Lela, aged seven, and a son Melvin, aged three; Mrs. Anna Longerbeam who lives in Cedar county and has a daughter, Leola, aged seven; C. H., who lives in Hale township, southeast of Olin, and has two children, Mildred, aged five, and Valma, aged three; Elmer, who lives in Dakota; W. M., of Rome township; C. D., of Jackson township; Clayton and Cletus, twins, the latter deceased, the other living at home; and Clarence, who also lives at home.
The tenets of the Evangelical church have appealed strongly to the different members of the family and to it they have given their religious allegiance. The republican party is the one to which Mr. Kline looks for guidance in political matters, and while he has not sought nor held, any office for twenty years he has served most efficiently as a member of the school board of his township. Educational matters have always interested him and he has frequently acted upon the various committees appointed by his fellow directors.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 593. |
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© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
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