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Born in Underwood, Iowa, in 1885, Harve Ulfers moved to Persia in 1904 at age nineteen after having lived at other Harrison County locations, learning the carpenter trade from his father, Christian Ulfers.
Christian, born 1850 in Jeverland, Germany, was apprenticed to the cabinet making trade and later built a furniture store for the sale of his products. He was married to Martha Eims of Hohenkirchen. They decided to cast their lot in America, sailing March 15, 1882, on the German steamer "Elbe" to New York City, spending eleven days on the seas. They reached Council...
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Born in Underwood, Iowa, in 1885, Harve Ulfers moved to Persia in 1904 at age nineteen after having lived at other Harrison County locations, learning the carpenter trade from his father, Christian Ulfers.
Christian, born 1850 in Jeverland, Germany, was apprenticed to the cabinet making trade and later built a furniture store for the sale of his products. He was married to Martha Eims of Hohenkirchen. They decided to cast their lot in America, sailing March 15, 1882, on the German steamer "Elbe" to New York City, spending eleven days on the seas. They reached Council Bluffs on March 30, after which he worked at the carpenter trade, along with farming. Chris and Martha were the parents of seven children: Martin and Gretchen, born in Germany, Martha, Harve, Adolph, Julius, and Tina. After Martha's death in 1903, Chris, Harve and three young children still at home, moved to Persia. As the result of a permanently crippling ankle injury sustained in 1890 while building a barn, Chris gave up carpentry with son Harve in 1905, and operated a billiard parlor, until his retirement in 1933. He died in 1938.
Harve Ulfers continued as a builder in the Persia area. In 1908 he was married to Kathryn Amelia Heyde, daughter of Emil and Anna Marie v.d. Heyde, also a pioneer Persia family. They became the parents of two children. My brother Dale was born in 1913 and I, Glenn, was born in 1917. Dale was married to Marjorie Stuart in Des Moines in 1938, and I married Mary Abbie Ellis of Emmetsburg, in 1942. Dale and Marge have one son Dennis, and Abbie and I have a daughter, Marilyn, and twin sons, Mark and Eric. Dale and I are both retired and presently live in Des Moines.
When Harve and "Millie" were married in 1908, he already had built a house in Persia for them to set up housekeeping, and where dale was born. He later built another house for them on the west edge of Persia, where I was born. In 1922 he built the last house for us, once again in town. My recollection of my father is one of admiration for the pleasure he brought to so many people during sixty years of almost uninterrupted construction of homes and farmsteads in and around Persia, Harrison County, Shelby and Pottawattamie Counties; and for the many employees to whom he taught the trade during that time, including Dale and me. Both Mom and Dad were civic minded and devoted to the Methodist Church in Persia, to improve the structure and to keep it a going concern. Harve died in 1966 and Millie in 1970. While I left Persia at an early age, I have returned periodically for visits, particularly while my parents were still living. I have always felt grateful that is people have been progressive and have insisted upon good schools for their children, who have been equipped educationally to meet the demands of life wherever they have gone. Submitted by Glenn H. Ulfers
Source: Persia Centennial: 1883-1983. Written by the People of Persia, Iowa. Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, Texas, 1983. p. 188. |
