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Note: From Jennifer Curran dated June 00; from the book Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, by Edward S. White, 1915 B.T. Bowen & Co., Indianapolis, IN.
SHELBY COUNTY, IOWA. 1362
THEODORE SCHWERY.
Among the enterprising and progressive citizens of Shelby County there are none who stand higher in the esteem of their fellow men than Theodore Schwery, the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and fifty-nine acres in Washington Township. Having lived in this county for the past quarter of a century he has seen it grow from a wide expanse of thinly settled terri-tory to its present prosperous condition and in this transformation he has borne no inconsiderable part. Theodore Schwery, the son of Godfred and Margaret (Jemming) Schwery, was born October i6, 1870, in LaSalle county, Illinois. His father was born in Switzerland, educated in Germany and then began a sea-faring life with his father who had a small freighter on the Mediterranean Sea and carried goods between the various ports bordering the sea. When still a voting man Godfred came to this country, located in Louisiana and found employment as a fiat-boatman on the Mississippi river. A few years later he located in LaSalle County, Illinois, where he worked for some years as a farm hand and then bought a small farm. He continued to reside in Illinois until 1 880 when lie came to Shelby county and purchased a farm in West-phalia township. He and his wife died only two days apart, he passing away on February 12, 1914, and his wife two days before. They were the parents of five children: Theodore, whose history is here recorded; John, who mar-ried Mary Schmitz; Susan, the wife of Joseph Leuschen; Melcher, who mar-ried Matilda Schomer (deceased), and then Theresa Klein; and Godfred, who married Dessie Miller. Theodore attended the schools of LaSalle county, Illinois, for three years and then was in school for five or six years after his parents moved to Shelby County. After leaving school he remained upon the home farm until his marriage in 1893 and then rented a farm from his father for a few years. Eventually he was able to buy a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Westphalia Township on which he lived for Seventeen years. He then bought his present farm of three hundred and fifty-nine acres, on which he is making some very extensive improvements. He is now erecting a beautiful home and another large and commodious barn and intends to make his farm as near up-to-date as he can. He has always been an exponent of the most advanced methods of agriculture and is justly regarded as one of the best farm-ers in the county. Mr. Schwery was married April 26, 1893, to Mary Foxhoven, the daugh-ter of John and Katherine (Karll) Foxhoven. To this union there have been born nine children: Katherine, Bertha, Anthony, Isadore, Louis, Lawrence, Agnes, John and William. The latter two are deceased while the rest of the children are still living with their parents. The Foxhoven family came from Germany, John Foxhoven Coming here with his parents when he was thirteen years of age; his wife, Katherine Karll, being ten years of age when her parents landed in this country. Both families settled in Johnberg, Wisconsin, and in that place John Foxhoven and his future wife attended school together. On reaching maturity they mar-ried and he began to work in the pineries of Wisconsin. In 1874 he came with his family to Shelby County, bought a farm in Lincoln Township, lived upon it twenty-eight years and then retired early in 1902 to spend the re-mainder of his days enjoying the fruits of his industry. To John Foxhoven and wife were born thirteen children: Bartholomew, who married Philomena Xiemeier; Anna, the wife of John Pimple; Peter, who married Eva Schmitz; Joseph. Deceased: William who married Anna Engle; Anthony, who married Emma Mevers; Mary, the wife of Mr. Schwery; Louis, who died in infancy; Bertha who died at the age of twenty-two; Christina, the wife of Stephen Lefeber; John who married Anna Kuhl; Katherine, the wife of Ralph Kirkpatrick; and Michael, who married Mary Jacoby. Mr. Schwery and all his family are loyal members of the Catholic church.
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