CLAUS ROHWER DEAD; DIED AT CALHOUN YESTERDAY AT ADVANCED AGE OF 82 YEARS

Another of Washington County’s oldest residents has answered the call of the Master and passed into the beyond after a long life of usefulness, filled with hardships and later crowned with success, having raised a family of good, honest, substantial citizens, and accumulated enough of the world’s good to be termed a wealthy retired farmer. Claus Rohwer died at 2 o’clock Tuesday, September 5 of old age, at the home of his daughter Mrs. Jacob Mehrens at Ft. Calhoun, having first seen light of day in Prussia, March 27, 1829. In 1854 he was married to Catherine Frahm in his native land and the same year they immigrated to New York and thence to Iowa. Two years later they came to Washington County where he has since lived.

Mr. Rohwer represented this county in the legislature one term and served his third term as a county commissioner. At this time, funeral arrangements have not been made.

# 2 - - Published in the Tribune August 13, 1911

CLAUS ROHWER

Forty years ago we made our first visit to this grand German citizen and was always a welcome visitor. His wife, who died some years ago, was also a grand, noble woman.

When he came to Washington County he sent back to Germany and got a pair of Millstones and with his own labor and help of his family of young sons built a large two-story mill with overhead wheel of hundreds of maple clogs and run by four horses and ground meal and buckwheat flour, which he sent to Omaha by wagon. He afterwards put in a watermill on the same Long Creek farm, built a big dam and stocked it with German carp, but the fish undermined the dam and broke up the business. He was an excellent farmer and enthusiastic fruit grower.

His son, Henry, has been a member of the legislature and county supervisor several terms and still lives on the farm. Chris, a civil engineer at Blair, helped to lay out several railroads of the south. The other son is a farmer near Blair. The only daughter, a widow, lives here in Ft. Calhoun, where her father died.

The body was laid to rest in the Ft. Calhoun cemetery September 7, 1911, Prof. Hauck of Omaha officiating in the presence of a large gathering of people from several counties, including some of the officials of Washington County from Blair. Pallbearers- George Ohrt, Jake Seirk, Henry Lorenzen, George Rohwer, Otto Frahm and Fred Frahm. Honorary pallbearers-Pioneers Henry Frahm, Hans Schwager, Peter Schmidt, Tim Ohrt, Peter Klindt and Claus Rix. Choir-Mrs. Charles Rathjen, Mrs. Joe Bolin, Miss Edith Seirk and Miss Lena Schwager. W. H. Woods

(The publishing dates do not correspond with the death date, in that they are opposing months.)