Louis Martin Henry Mundt
Louis Martin Henry Mundt, one of the worthy native sons of Crawford county, is well known as a successful agriculturist and respected resident of East Boyer township, where he owns three hundred and twenty acres of rich and arable land.
His birth occurred in that township, one mile from his present residence, on the 7th of July, 1878, his parents being Robert and Frederica (Voss) Mundt. The father, a native of Hanover, Germany, crossed the Atlantic to the United States about 1865, locating near McGregor, Clayton county, Iowa, where he resided for two or three years. On the expiration of that period, in company with Fred Heiden, he came to Crawford county in a covered wagon, locating in East Boyer township, where he followed farming until 1898. In connection with the tilling of the soil he devoted considerable attention to the feeding of stock, meeting with success in both branches of his business.
On putting aside the active work of the fields he took up his abode in Denison, where he lived in honorable retirement until called to his final rest in 1908. He had prospered in his undertakings and at the time of his demise owned eleven hundred and thirty acres of valuable land. Coming to the new world in early manhood, he eagerly availed himself of the opportunities here offered and as the years passed by worked his way steadily upward to a position of affluence. He justly merited the proud American title of a self-made man and in his passing the community lost one of its most esteemed and substantial citizens. His widow, likewise a native of Germany, still makes her home in Denison, where she has an extensive circle of warm friends.
They were the parents of seven children, as follows: one who died in infancy; W. N., who is a resident of California; Ida and Willie, who are deceased; Freda, the wife of William Plagge, of Buckgrove, Iowa; Louis M. H., of this review; and Emma, who has likewise passed away.
In pursuit of an education Louis M. H. Mundt attended the common schools of his native township and also spent one term in the German school at Denison. He remained with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when he was married and established a home of his own, locating on the farm which has been his place of abode continuously since. The property embraces three hundred and twenty acres of land and is lacking in none of the improvements and accessories of a model farm of the twentieth century. The place in its neat and. thrifty appearance gives evidence of his careful supervision and the well tilled fields annually yield golden harvests in return for the care and labor which he bestows upon them.
In 1900 Mr. Mundt was united in marriage to Miss Dora Kahl, a native of Holstein, Germany, and a daughter of Christ and Henrietta (Coke) Kahl, who were likewise born in that country. They emigrated to the United States in 1890, settling in Goodrich township, Crawford county, Iowa, where they have resided continuously since.
Unto them were born eight children, namely: August, living in Goodrich township, this county; Lizzie, who is deceased; Bertha, the wife of Fred Kahl, of Milford township; William, who makes his home in Goodrich township; Anna, the wife of John Keighan of Shelby county, Iowa; Minnie, the wife of William Watje, of Redlands, California; Mrs. Mundt; and Augusta, the wife of William Warn, of Goodrich township.
Mr. and Mrs. Mundt have three children, Freda, Albert and Hattie, aged respectively ten, eight and four years.
Mr. Mundt is a democrat in politics and has served as school director. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church, of which his wife is also a communicant. He has resided in Crawford county from his birth to the present time and is well known as a reliable and straightforward business man, fully meriting the confidence and good will which are extended to him by his fellow citizens.
Source: History of Crawford County, Iowa. Vol. II. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911.