CHAPTER XXVII (Part 121)
BIOGRAPHICAL
Bruce M. Wilson, farmer and stockman, Montrose, Missouri, is a native son of Henry County and is a member of one of the oldest and most prominent of the pioneer families of the county. He was born in Deepwater township, October 8, 1867, on the old Wilson homestead and is the son of Joseph H. Wilson, concerning whom an extended biography is given in this volume. He was educated in the public schools of Deepwater township and the Methodist Episcopal College at Morrisville, Missouri.
Mr. Wilson has always been engaged in farming and stock raising and resided on the farm until his removal to a home in Montrose, Missouri, December 22, 1916. He is owner of 236 acres of land in Henry County and is cultivating the old home place of the Wilson family in partnership with Edward Houx.
Mr. Wilson was married to Mrs. Maud (Post) Colson on December 22, 1916. Mrs. Wilson is the daughter of Allen and Caroline Post, former residents of Deepwater township, who were old settlers of Henry County and who are both deceased.
Mr. Wilson is a Democrat and attends the Methodist Episcopal Church of which Mrs. Wilson is a member. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Montrose and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Clinton, Missouri.
William Bettels - The Bettels family is one of the most substantial and respected in Henry County, every member of which has succeeded in accumulating a competence and are farm owners in the neighborhood of Germantowm, in Deepwater township. Forty-eight years ago, Frank and Gertrude Bettels left their old home in Hanover, Germany, and crossed the ocean with their family of six sons and four daughters, landing at New York City. They at once came to Missouri and settled in St. Charles County, residing there until 1876, at which time, they came to Henry County, Missouri. The sons of the family had preceded the parents in the removal to Henry County. Frank Bettels died in 1905 at the age of 75 years. His wife, Gertrude, is deceased.
The children of Frank and Gertrude Bettels are as follows: Joseph died in Henry County, in 1915; William, subject of this review; Frank, a resident of St. Louis; Ferdinand died in 1903; August, a prosperous farmer of Walker township; Bernard, a farmer in Deepwater township; Henry, a resident of Deepwater township; Sophia, deceased.
William Bettels was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1851, and was nineteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to America. He came to Henry County from St. Charles County in 1874 and during the first two years of his residence in this county, he worked at farm labor. During these two years, he saved his earnings and then invested in his present farm, which he purchased in 1876.
The Bettels farm consists of 140 acres and is located three miles southwest of Germantown in Deepwater township. The place is nicely improved with a good home and farm buildings, all of which have been erected by the proprietor, who has otherwise beautified the surroundings with shrubbery and evergreen, making the farm a very attractive one.
Mr. Bettels was married in 1876 to Margaret Hoele (born 1851, died 1911), the daughter of Matthias Hoele, a pioneer settler of Henry County, of German extraction. Seven children were born to William and Margaret Bettels, as follows: Mrs. Kate Weisman, Walker township; Frank Bettels, born 1883, married in 1914 to Anna Tilling, and father of one child, Ida, born January 11, 1915, is tilling the home farm; Sophia is a teacher in the parochial schools of Belleville; Lena and Ida are teachers in the parochial schools of St. Louis.
The Democratic party has always had the unqualified support of William Bettels, who is considered one of the best citizens of this county. He and his family are members of the Catholic Church.
Henry Kalwei, late of Deepwater township, was born at Otmos Doghold, Westphalia, Germany, November 16, 1833, and departed this life June 17, 1915, at his farm in Deepwater township. Mr. Kalwei came to America in 1869 and settled upon a tract of land given him by an uncle. This farm was all covered with timber but was partially improved with a log cabin which was entirely surrounded by virgin timber. Clearing this land was the hardest kind of labor, but Mr. Kalwie succeeded in clearing all of the land but twenty acres of the tract of 160 acres, of which forty acres was later sold by the Kalweis. For a period of nine years, Henry Kalwei plied his trade of shoemaker in Germantown and made boots and shoes with the skill of the craftsman who loves his trade. As he became well-to-do, he erected a large residence on the highest point of the land embraced in the farm.
Soon after his marriage in 1868 in Westphalia, Germany, with Catharine Krimphoff, the newly wedded couple started for America to find a home and rear their family. Mrs. Catharine Kalwei was born in September of 1843, is the daughter of Henry (died 1880) and Mary Elizabeth (Renekamp) Krimphoff (died 1877). Mrs. Kalwei is a sister of Mrs. Garland Dahlman of Deepwater township. To Henry and Catharine Kalwei were born children as follows: Mary, wife of Anton Hake, living near Germantown; Annie, deceased; John Bernard, died in infancy; John Gerard, a farmer in Deepwater township; Anton Lawrence, born August 10, 1875, is operating the home farm; Kate, wife of C. J. Kaumans, Deepwater township; Henry, and Anton, farmers in Deepwater township; Theresa, wife of George Giliph, Walker township; Clara (Kaumans), living in California, and Elizabeth, twins, at home.
Henry Kalwei will long be remembered as an industrious and enterprising citizen who bequeathed to his family a heritage of right living which will long be remembered. Anton Kalwei, his son, is a typical son of an excellent father who is likewise industrious and highly respected. He is a Democrat and with the other members of the family, belongs to the Germantown Catholic Church.
Frank Puthoff - There is one thing which Frank Puthoff of Deepwater township can boast of that most of his neighbors lack, and that is a splendid view of the surrounding country from his dooryard. Mr. Puthoff selected the highest place on his land, the topmost part of a high hill, for his home, affording a view of the surrounding country for many miles in every direction. He is owner of eighty acres of land upon which he was born March 5, 1866, in a log house. Mr. Puthoff is the son of Joseph (born October 26, 1826; died March 7, 1916), who was a native of Germany and the son of Henry Puthoff, who came to America in 1858 or 1860, and was an early settler of the Germantown neighborhood.
Joseph Puthoff was twice married, his first marriage taking place in Germany with Clara Harmon, who died leaving three children: Henry, Kansas City, Missouri; Theodore, living on a farm near Germantown, whose daughter, Margaret, is housekeeper for Frank, subject of this sketch; Joseph, lives near Germantown, Missouri. His second marriage was with Mary Hake, born in Germany in 1850 and died December 11, 1888. This marriage took place at Boonville, Missouri, and was blessed with ten children: Frank; Anton, Kansas City; Mary, wife of Anton Rotert, Walker township; Kate, wife of William Rotert, Deepwater township; Minnie, wife of John Grabel, Walker township; Mrs. Josephine Kalwei, Deepwater township; John, Kansas City; Mrs. Elizabeth Sickman, Deepwater township; Theresa and Annie, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Puthoff were devout members of the Catholic Church and so lived their lives that they left an indelible imprint upon the community which will endure forever.
Joseph Puthoff became owner of 160 acres of land and thirty acres of timber which his son Frank has managed for the heirs for some years. Frank Puthoff has purchased eighty acres of this land from their heirs, in addition to becoming owner of the timber tract. He erected his handsome home of eight rooms in 1914. Mr. Puthoff is a Republican and is a member of the Germantown Catholic Church.
