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 Photo: Carol Wilson
Henry F. Kohl, one of the substantial farmers of Greenfield township, though not a native of this state was only eight years old when in 1864 his parents, Amos and Maria (Grimm) Kohl, came to Iowa and procured their homestead in Greenfield township, Jones county. They removed from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and later came to Iowa, where they made their home until their death. They secured a good tract of land at a very moderate cost and upon it reared their family of nine children, four sons and five daughters: Mrs. Mary Kline, Henry F., Will, Mrs. Nellie Hempy, Lewis, Mrs. Emma Stearns, Mrs. Tena Melton, Charles and Mrs. Minnie Fink. The parents have both passed away, but the children all survive and many of them are living in Greenfield township.
 Henry F. Kohl was born in Greenfield, Wisconsin, March 4, 1856, and grew to manhood upon his parents' farm, learning the secrets of the cultivation of the soil and acquiring an education in the public schools. When he attained his majority he had no desire to leave the scene of his early endeavor and secured two hundred acres of land in Greenfield township, on which he is living at present. It represents the result of many years of labor, while the many improvements and the modern buildings are additional evidence that his toil has been productive of substantial results. Progressive in his agricultural methods, he shares in the general prosperity of the county.
In 1876 Mr. Kohl married Miss Mary Amanda Kline, who was born on the 26th of August, I857, and is a daughter of John F. and Catherine (Hickathorn) Kline, residents of Prairieburg, Linn county, Iowa. Five sons and one daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kohl; Mrs. Lona Smith, of Blunt, South Dakota; Eldon Lewis, who lives north of Martelle; Harry Amos, a resident of Blunt, South Dakota; and Dewitt, Lowell Delos and Otto Albert who are living at home. A firm believer in the doctrines of the Methodist church, Mr. Kohl has reared his children in that faith and those of the family at home are members of the congregation at Martelle. Politically he is a democrat, having faith in the measures advocated by that party, and while not a politician he has held offices in the township, namely that of trustee, a position he has occupied for six years, and that of a member of the school board. In educational matters he is especially interested and has ever been zealous in working for the increased efficiency of the instruction given to the youth of the locality. Fraternally he enjoys pleasant relations with the White Rose Lodge, No. 279, K.P., at Martelle, for whose welfare and that of his fellow members he is always deeply concerned.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 567.
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 Sarah Grimm, Henry's maternal grandmother. Photo: Linda Baldwin |
