PASVOGEL, HENRY

PASVOGEL, BEHRENS

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 11/13/2003 at 12:54:23

Biography reproduced from page 545 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

Henry Pasvogel, who carries on general farming and stock-raising in Wesley township, where he owns three hundred and twenty acres of highly improved and well cultivated land, located on section 29, is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in Holstein, October 17, 1853. He is the only son and younger child of Hans and Mary (Behrens) Pasvogel, to whom was also born a daughter, Anna, who is now deceased. The mother never came to America, but the father, who was a weaver by trade, made a trip to the United States in the ‘70s, but subsequently returned to Germany, where they both passed away.

Henry Pasvogel was reared in Germany and educated in the common schools of that country. In the choice of an occupation he chose the weavers’ trade, which he followed until he came to America in 1872 or 1873. He came directly to Iowa, locating in Davenport, and later he engaged in farming in that vicinity, continuing to reside there until 1883. In the latter year he removed to Kossuth county, purchasing half of section 29, Wesley township, in the cultivation of which he has met with a gratifying degree of success. The land was entirely unimproved when he purchased it, but he has since erected substantial barns and outbuildings and in 1909 he built his present residence, which was the first cement block house in the county. His entire acreage is fenced and his fields are tiled and in a high state of productivity, annually yielding harvests that well repay him for his years of toil. In connection with general farming, Mr. Pasgovel is raising stock, making a specialty of Shropshire sheep, his herd comprising several hundred head. Diligence and thrift have been the dominant factors in his success and he is numbered among the substantial citizens of Wesley township. He has recently increased his realty interests by the purchase of eighty acres of land in the vicinity of St. Cloud, Minnesota, his holdings now aggregating four hundred acres.

The religious faith of Mr. Pasvogel is manifested through his membership in the Lutheran church, while his political support is given to the republican party. He has been a resident of Kossuth county for practically thirty years, and has always so conducted his transactions as to entitle him to the confidence and esteem of those with whom he has dealings.