General Notes

[Joanne's Tree.1 GED.GED]

2  PLAC 268
2  SOUR S332582
3  DATA
4  TEXT Date of Import: 14 Jan 2004


[daveanthes.FTW]

The following is from the book,   "Harvesting the Rice (Reiss) Crop by Pat Wiff  Chapter 7 (pg 306)

MARRIED
Tuesday, March 21st, 1893, Mr. William. F. Klein and Miss Anna, daughter of
     Mr. and Mrs. George Reiss,  in the presence of about 60 guests. Promply at 8 o'clock P.M., the wedding march was played by the bride's twin sister, while the bride and groom and attendants took position under an arch of evergreen from which was suspended a beautiful wedding bell. They were united in the holy bonds of matrimony by Rev. Hammond. After congratulations an elegant supper was served in the dining room, after which a social hour was happily spent. A number of elegant gifts were received by the worthy bride and groom. The worthy couple are highly esteemed by all who know them and begin life's voyage with the best wishes of their large circle of friends. Mr . K. is a graduate of Tilford Academy, Class of  '02. He is an energetic young man and well deserves the good fortune which has come to him. Their future home will be in Cedar Rapids.

Obituaries.
George Reiss, reported in the ASHTON GAZETTE, Ashton, Illimis.
FORMER RESIDENT DIES AT HIS HOME  NEAR GARRISON, IA.
George Reiss Succumbs  Friday at Age of Nearly 85 Years.

   George Reiss, formerly a resident of Ashton township, passed away at his home south of Garrison, Iowa, last Friday, having reached the age of nearly 85 years. Mr. Reiss was a member of a pioneer family coming here from Germany in the early 1850's, some of his older sisters having been born in Germany. The family settled near Lee Center where George was born October 8, 1849.
     He was married to Wilhelmina Anthes January 10, 1873, when the young couple moved to their farm west of Ashton, where Willard Knapp resides, and were the Reiss's lived for fourteen years and where their family of seven children were born. The children are Erma, Anna, John, Martha, May, Ezra and Josephine, some of whom received their early education in the stone school house in Ashton. In 1887 the family moved to a farm near Garrison, Iowa, where they have since resided.
    Mr. Reiss was preceded in death by his wife who passed away on December 28, 1915. He is survived by his seven children, all of whom live within a short distance of home except Anna (Mrs. W. F Klein) who lives in Wisconsin, 27 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
   Funeral services were held in the Garrison Methodist church Monday, of which the deceased is a member, and burial was made at Vinton, Iowa. Those from Ashton attending the funeral were John J. Wagner, George Wagner, Mrs. George H. Kersten, Mrs. F. 0. Smith, Mrs. Fred Kienke, Jacob Wagner and son Ervin; also Mrs. William Wiener and Miss Minet Wagner of Dixon.

               page 321
1910 BENTON COUNTY HIST0RY.
BIOGRAPHICAL SECTION
(Watch for errors)
George Reiss, who has practically retired from active life, but still resides in his fine residence- in Big Grove township, owns 400 acres of well improved land. He was born in Lee County, Ill-Illinois, 8 October 1818, son of Jacob and Julia (Aschenburner) Reiss, both deceased; Jacob died of cholera in 1850, aged about 35; and his widow died in 1871, aged 63. They came from Chrieseschway, Germany, where they married, after which they emigrated to America.
They came to Chicago by water, and thence by ox team to Lee Co., which was then very sparsely settled. He worked one year, and in payment received an 80 acre tract of land, on which he built a home. He died the same fall, leaving a widow and six small children, 3 being sons and 3 daughters.
The family resided on this farm until George was about 12 years old, the children working and caring for themselves as soon as old enough. Of the six children but three survive, namely George; Mrs. Martha Krug of Lee Co., Ill., and Jacob H. of Guthrie Co, Iowa.
George Reiss received a very limited education and has earned his living since twelve years of age. In his youth and early manhood, he studied during his leisure hours, and to such good advantage that he became a well informed man. When 23 years old he began fanning on his own account, having by that time saved up some $1500.
After carrying on a farm in Lee Co., Ill., he sold out to good advantage and decided to move farther west. After looking through Nebraska and Iowa, he decided to locate in Benton Co., and purchased 240 acres in Big grove Twp., to which he has since added as he was able. He has erected substantial buildings on his farm, and it is well tiled, containing some 4,000 rods of tiling.
Politically Mr. Reiss is a Republican, and has filled various local offices. He is a member of the Modern Brotherhood of America and he and his family are members of the M. E. Church of Garrison.
Mr. Reiss married, in Lee Co., Ill., Minnie Anthes, born in Henry Co., but reared in Bureau Co., Ill., dau. of Rev. J. C. and Louisa (Just) Arthes, who were early residents in Illinois.
j. C. Arthes died in 1884, in Ill., and his widow died in Nebraska, where the family had resided for several years, in 1907, in her 81st year.
Mr. Reiss and his wife have 7 children:
Anna:     W. F. Cline
Emma: S. F. Robinson
John F.: Miss Brandt, operates a valuable farm of 240 acres.
Martha, wife of C. H. Martin, of Des Moines
Mary, living at home.
Ezra C. Married Miss Baum, lives on the farm.
Josephine:     wife of Carl Marietta.

Land, entered for taxation purposes 1 November 1886.
W.   T. Reynolds and Marta F. Reynolds, his wife, sold to George Reiss and Wilhelmina of Lee
Co.,  Ill., for $28OO.
Fast  of the NW 1/4 of Section 20.
Second purchase by George and Willie, paid $8000 for the NE'4 of Section 20.
They were the third owners. A Robinson homesteaded it, then W. T. Reynolds who apparently married a Martha F. Robinson.


1917 Plat for Big Grove Twp.,
Sections 20 and 21. 880 Acres.
Geo. Reiss: 280 Acres
George and Willie Reiss: 40
Joh~ F. Reiss: 80
Mrs. F. Reiss: 240
John F. Reiss: 160
George and Willie Reiss: 80

According to records found, Jacob Reiss had land in the area, although he resided in Guthrie Co.

Source of information from the book "The Harvesting of the Rice (Reiss) Cropp by Pat Wiff, page XVI
  BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE CHILDREN OF JACOB AND JULIA REISS AND OF JACOB AND
JULIA , THEMSELVES as put together by Jennie Leah Reiss, daughter of Jacob Reiss Jr.
    George Reiss, was born in Lee Co., IL 8 October 1840 where he lived until an adult.  When he was young he and his brother Jacob did play with Indain boys when they lived near Lee Center. He married Wilhelmina Anthes, born October 15, 1850, a daughter of Kasper John Anthes (buried in the old Bradford Cemetery) and Louise Emma Just Anthes.  Louise Emma Just was the sister to Wilhelmina Just Maas, mother of the wife of Jacob Reiss.  George Reiss farmed near Ashton and then moved to Garrison, Iowa in 1883.  He died July 13, 1934 at the age of 84 years, 9 months, 5 days. He had Wilhelmina had seven children: Anna and Emma, twins; John, Martha, Mary, Ezra and Josephine.

Source of information: Luella M Schwalen as provided to Pat Wiff for her book 'Harvesting the Rice (Reiss) Crop   see page 430
   In 1886, Grandpa George Reiss took his daughters Mary (May) and Martha, ages six and four, to Sutton, Nebraska to visit his mother, great-grandmother Louisa Anthes (mother-in-law) and to look for a farm he might buy. Great-grandmother Anthes had moved to Nebraska following the death of her husband. at this time Grandpa Reiss was living in Ashton, IL about 35 miles south of Rockford, IL.
   A hot, dry wind had withered the corn and the other crops in Nebraska look doubtful. Grandpa went back to Ashton and told Willie that he could not let his children live in Nebraska and starve. subsequently, he bought a farm near Garrison, Iowa and the family lived there for the rest of their lives. The decision to move to Garrison was influenced by the fact that Grandpa knew Rinehart Shellhouse who had already moved to that area. Shellhouse was a cousin of Grandpa's brother-in-law Conrad Crook (Krug). The youngest child was only a month old when the family moved to Iowa.
   Grandpa sold his farm in Illinois for $78 an acre and bought 350 acres in Iowa for $45 an acre.  The years proved the wisdom of the move as the land proved to be good and provided the family with a good living.  until the time of his death, Grandpa was firm in his belief that Iowa had the best farmland in the entire world. He prospered and accumulated more and more land until he got to be considered a very wealthy farmer. He and other neighbors did well. His business dealings were not always so fortunate when he ventured into fields other than farming and some of his affluence was diminished when he invested in banking. He and other stockholders were left holding the bag following the embezzlement of a large sum of money by a cashier.  he was among those caught in the market crash in 1929. Even so, there was sufficient property and capital to provide for all the families needs.
    Sometime prior to 1907, Grandpa Reiss retired and turned the farms over to the sons. He hired Will Klein to build a new home for him and Grandma and those children still at home.
    Grandmother Willie died in 1915 of complications resulting from gallstones. I was five years old at that time.