Individual Details
Henry E. Eilers
(18 Nov 1862 - 23 Apr 1940)
Henry was a farmer of record on 1 Dec. 1886 in Lovell Tsp., Jones Co., Iowa. After marriage, they lived three years on the farm known as the "Bennett farm." They then moved to a 160 acre farm they purchased from Henry's father in Sections 32 and 33 of Lovell Township. This farm (Crops/Animals) was immediately across the road from the A.E. and Blanche Eilers Hanssen farm. They retired from farming in 1936 when the farm was lost to the bank because of loans they had consigned for two of their sons. The county was still in the grips of the great depression, and times were difficult. They moved to a house on Main Street, Monticello, near the road to Oakwood Cemetery.
Henry had an accident on 13 April 1940 which fractured his hip. He died Tuesday at 2:60 AM in John McDonald Hospital in Monticello from complications from this accident.
He was the last living charter member of the farmers who organized the Klondike Creamery in Monticello which later merged and became the Farmers Mutual Cooperative Creamery. He also served as a trustee of Lovell township at one time. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Albert Lou Heiken says about Grandfather Eilers, "I don't remember him ever talking to me. Grandmother Eilers always played cards with us. Served us grape juice and made popcorn. Grandpa would just sit in his chair."
George Hanssen says, "Our farm was directly across the road from our Eilers grandparents, and our Hanssen grandparents lived on the adjacent farm to the east of us. The Eilers farmhouse was large and had a row of massive while pines along the drive as a windbreak. The pines in your picture were very small. That definitely looks like a dinner bell on top of the summer kitchen (see photo of farmhouse), although I do not remember it as such. We usually went for meals at the Eilers during the winter holidays and I can't remember ever hearing it ring.
We went to the Eilers grandparents every Christmas for years when I was small. I still remember putting our coats on a bed in a downstairs bedroom. That bed was piled high with coats and it was hard to find ours when it was time to go. The cigar smoke was heavy and everyone laughed a lot.
I remember the summer kitchen well. Grandmom Eilers was out there cooking great meals all summer long and breezes would blow through the wall screens to keep it cool. I always wondered why we couldn't have one, although the Eilers were the only farmers that we knew that built one.
When Henry lost the farm in the 1930s (he signed notes for two of his sons who could not repay the bank for their loans) Bill Hoffman bought it, and Bill's daughter Marjorie (Marge Stubbe owns the Eilers farm, she was a elementary phys-ed teacher at Monticello for years still lives there.) I stopped to see her in 2001 and she had torn down the old farm house and built a beautiful home in its place. The windmill was still there along with initials in the concrete base "HE" that Marjorie did not know the meaning of -of course I told her."
Steve Hanken says the Eilers family had over extended themselves making sure their sons all had farms when the depression hit and it cost them their fortune. A sad thing to have happen, but it happened to many then.
Sept. 10, 1903
Henry F. Eilers was caught in a belt and thrown into a nearby tree, but was not seriously injured; ...
(Nov 26, 1936)
Mr., Mrs. Henry Eilers Married Fifty Years
Friends Attend Open House At Eilers Home Tuesday Afternoon In Honor Of Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eilers were hosts Tuesday afternoon and evening to their many friends and relatives who gathered to congratulate the couple on their golden wedding day.
Throughout the afternoon open house was held for friends and neighbors and in the evening approximately 60 relatives visited and played cards at the Eilers home. A lunch was served at 10 o'clock.
Mr. and Mrs. Eilers were married in Lovell township, Nov. 24, 1886. and lived there continuously until they moved to Monticello last March.
In addition to spending their married life in this vicinity, both Mr. and Mrs. Eilers are natives of the community. Mrs. Eilers being born in Monticello, Jan. 4, 1870, and Mr. Eilers in Lovell township, Nov. 18, 1862.
Mr. and Mrs. Eilers are the parents of the following children: Mrs. A. E. Hanssen. Mrs. Louis Heiken and Grant Eilers, all of Lovell township, Paul Eilers of Langworthy. Herman Eilers of Central City, Irving Eilers of Center Junction, and Mrs. Lou King of Hopkinton. There are twenty-five grandchildren.
Henry had an accident on 13 April 1940 which fractured his hip. He died Tuesday at 2:60 AM in John McDonald Hospital in Monticello from complications from this accident.
He was the last living charter member of the farmers who organized the Klondike Creamery in Monticello which later merged and became the Farmers Mutual Cooperative Creamery. He also served as a trustee of Lovell township at one time. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Albert Lou Heiken says about Grandfather Eilers, "I don't remember him ever talking to me. Grandmother Eilers always played cards with us. Served us grape juice and made popcorn. Grandpa would just sit in his chair."
George Hanssen says, "Our farm was directly across the road from our Eilers grandparents, and our Hanssen grandparents lived on the adjacent farm to the east of us. The Eilers farmhouse was large and had a row of massive while pines along the drive as a windbreak. The pines in your picture were very small. That definitely looks like a dinner bell on top of the summer kitchen (see photo of farmhouse), although I do not remember it as such. We usually went for meals at the Eilers during the winter holidays and I can't remember ever hearing it ring.
We went to the Eilers grandparents every Christmas for years when I was small. I still remember putting our coats on a bed in a downstairs bedroom. That bed was piled high with coats and it was hard to find ours when it was time to go. The cigar smoke was heavy and everyone laughed a lot.
I remember the summer kitchen well. Grandmom Eilers was out there cooking great meals all summer long and breezes would blow through the wall screens to keep it cool. I always wondered why we couldn't have one, although the Eilers were the only farmers that we knew that built one.
When Henry lost the farm in the 1930s (he signed notes for two of his sons who could not repay the bank for their loans) Bill Hoffman bought it, and Bill's daughter Marjorie (Marge Stubbe owns the Eilers farm, she was a elementary phys-ed teacher at Monticello for years still lives there.) I stopped to see her in 2001 and she had torn down the old farm house and built a beautiful home in its place. The windmill was still there along with initials in the concrete base "HE" that Marjorie did not know the meaning of -of course I told her."
Steve Hanken says the Eilers family had over extended themselves making sure their sons all had farms when the depression hit and it cost them their fortune. A sad thing to have happen, but it happened to many then.
Sept. 10, 1903
Henry F. Eilers was caught in a belt and thrown into a nearby tree, but was not seriously injured; ...
(Nov 26, 1936)
Mr., Mrs. Henry Eilers Married Fifty Years
Friends Attend Open House At Eilers Home Tuesday Afternoon In Honor Of Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eilers were hosts Tuesday afternoon and evening to their many friends and relatives who gathered to congratulate the couple on their golden wedding day.
Throughout the afternoon open house was held for friends and neighbors and in the evening approximately 60 relatives visited and played cards at the Eilers home. A lunch was served at 10 o'clock.
Mr. and Mrs. Eilers were married in Lovell township, Nov. 24, 1886. and lived there continuously until they moved to Monticello last March.
In addition to spending their married life in this vicinity, both Mr. and Mrs. Eilers are natives of the community. Mrs. Eilers being born in Monticello, Jan. 4, 1870, and Mr. Eilers in Lovell township, Nov. 18, 1862.
Mr. and Mrs. Eilers are the parents of the following children: Mrs. A. E. Hanssen. Mrs. Louis Heiken and Grant Eilers, all of Lovell township, Paul Eilers of Langworthy. Herman Eilers of Central City, Irving Eilers of Center Junction, and Mrs. Lou King of Hopkinton. There are twenty-five grandchildren.
Events
| Birth | 18 Nov 1862 | Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | |||
| Marriage | 24 Nov 1886 | Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters |  |  | |
| Occupation | 1 Dec 1886 | Farmer - Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | | ||
| Census (family) | 1895 | Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | | |
| Census (family) | 1 Jun 1900 | Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | | |
| Census (family) | 5 May 1910 | Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | | |
| Census (family) | 19 Jan 1920 | Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | | |
| Census (family) | 1925 | Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | | |
| Census (family) | 8 Apr 1930 | Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | | |
| Census (family) | Apr 1940 | Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States - Talke Maria "Mary" Peters | | ||
| Death | 23 Apr 1940 | John McDonald Hospital, Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States | | | |
| Burial | 27 Apr 1940 | Oakwood Cemetery, Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States | | |
Families
| Spouse | Talke Maria "Mary" Peters (1870 - 1942) |
| Child | Blanche Margaret Eilers (1887 - 1942) |
| Child | Herman Raymond Eilers (1889 - 1962) |
| Child | Grant Gerd Eilers (1891 - 1988) |
| Child | Albert Eilers (1892 - 1892) |
| Child | Laura Anna Eilers (1894 - 1923) |
| Child | Alma Adena Eilers (1896 - 1969) |
| Child | Paul George Eilers (1899 - 1979) |
| Child | Irving H Eilers (1906 - 1981) |
| Child | Elaine Irene Eilers (1911 - 1994) |
| Father | Honorable Gerhardt "Garret" Eilers (1837 - 1906) |
| Mother | Margaretha (Margaret) Jacobs (1842 - 1905) |
| Sibling | Anton "Tony" Eilers (1861 - 1920) |
| Sibling | William George Eilers (1864 - 1923) |
| Sibling | Paul Gerhard Eilers MD (1878 - 1958) |
Notes
Marriage
The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Wittenwyler, pastor of the Reformed church.Eilers Henry, Peters Mary, 11/24/1886, Monticello, 2169, 216, Monticello, Monticello.
Eilers Henry, Parents: Eiler Gerhard, Jacobs Margaret,
Peters Mary, Parents: Peters Herman, Freiderics Anna,
Occupation
After marriage, lived three years on the farm known as the "Bennett farm" and then moved to a farm they purchased in Sections 32 and 33 of Lovell Township.. This was 160 acres. They stopped farming in 1936 when the farm was lost to the bank because of loans They had co-signed for two of their sons.Census (family)
27 111 111 Eilers Henry 32 M M Iowa Jones F F Farmer German Ref28 Eilers Mary 25 F M " " " "
29 Eilers Blanche 7 F S " " " "
30 Eilers Herman 5 M S " " " "
31 Eilers Grant 3 M S " " " "
Page #482
Ln Dw Fm Surname Given Name Age Sex M Birthplace Fa Mo Occupation Religion Other
1 Eilers Laura 0 F S Iowa Jones N N German Ref German Ref
2 Peters John 20 M S " F F Farm Hand "
Census (family)
SD 1st ED 57, sheet 1B line 78 (same page as his parents)13, 13 Eilers, Henry, Head WM, Nov 1862, 37, Married 13 yrs, IA, Germ, Germ, Farmer, Own Mortagaged Farm
Mary Wife, WF, Jan 1870, 30, M-13, 6 child born & living, IA, Germ, Germ
Blanche, Daughter, WF, Nov 1888, 11, Single, IA IA IA, at school
Herman, Son, WM, Nov 1890, 9, Single, IA IA IA, at school
Grant, Son WM, Aug 1891, 8, Single, IA IA IA, at school
Laura, Daughter, WF, June 1894, 5, Single, IA IA IA, at school
Alma, Daughter, WF, Jan 1896, 4, Single, IA IA IA
George, Son, WM, Dec 1899, 5/12, Single, IA IA IA
Meyer, Alfred, Boarder, WM, June 1875, 24, single, Switz, Switz, Switz, 1892 8 yrs Pa Farm laborer
Census (family)
107, 107 Hanssen, Authur E., & Blanch (daughter & son-in-law)108, 108 Eilers, Henry, 48, Married 23 yrs.born Iowa, Ger. German both parents. Spoke English, Farmer, Dairy Farmer, Own Account, read yes, write yes, Own, Mortagage, Free, Farm Schedule 98.
Mary, Wife, 39, 8 children born, 7 living. born in Iowa, of German parents., Spoke English.
Herman, Son, 20, born Iowa, Carpenter
Grant, Son, 18, born Iowa, Farm Labor, Home
Laura, Daugh. 15, born Iowa, attended school within year
Alma, Daugh. 14, born Iowa, attended school within year
Paul, Son, 10, born Iowa, attended school within year
Irwin, Son, 3, born Iowa
Census (family)
123,123 Eilers, Henry, Head, Own mortagage 51, Married Iowa, Oldenburg, OldenburgMary, Wife, 50, Married Iowa, Germany, Germany
Paul, Son, 20, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa
Irving, Son, 14, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa
Elaine, Daughter 8 Iowa, Iowa, Iowa
Henry - Farmer - General OA
Census (family)
Book #56 L SURNAME GIVEN NAME A BP R FATHER A BP MOTHER A BP MP1 EILERS HENRY 62 IA H EILERS, GERHARD GER JACOBS, MARGARET GER
2 EILERS MARY 55 IA W PETERS, HERMAN GER FARRICHS, ANNA GER GER
3 EILERS IRVIN 18 IA S IA
4 EILERS ELAINE 13 IA D IA
Census (family)
25, 26 Eilers, Henry, Head, Own, radio, farm, MW, 67 yrs, Married at 24 yrs old, IA, Ger, Ger, FarmerMary, Wife, FW, 60 yrs, Married at 17 yrs old, IA, Ger, Ger, none
Ervin, Son, MW, 22, single, IA, IA, IA, Farm labor
Elaine, Daughter, FW, 17, single, attended school, IA, IA, IA, none
Census (family)
339 S Main, rent $15Head Henry Eilers M 77 Iowa, 8th grade
Wife Mary Eilers F 70 Iowa, 5th grade
Residence in 1935: Rural, Jones, Iowa
Death
Will Conduct Final Service For H. EilersResided In Lovell Township; Death Ended Life at 77
Henry Eilers, one of the older residents of Monticello, passed away at the John McDonald hospital Tuesday morning at 2:30. He suffered a fractured hip April 13 and was taken to the hospital for care. His death followed complications from this accident.
Funeral services will be held at the First Congregational church Saturday afternoon, April 27, at 2 o'clock. The services will be in charge of Rev. Samuel G. Gutensohn and burial will be made at Oakwood Cemetery.
Born in Lovell Twp.
Mr. Eilers spent his entire life as a resident of Lovell Township and Monticello. He was born Nov. 18, 1862. His parents were Gerhard and Margaret Eilers, early residents of Jones County. Mr. Eilers attended the Monticello Public schools in the old school building which is now a part of the William Skelly home.
He was married Nov. 24, 1886, to Mary Peters. The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Wittenwyler, at that time pastor of the Reformed church. Mr. and Mrs. Eilers lived on what was known as the Bennett farm for three years and then removed to the farm now operated by William Hoffman, where they lived until they came to Monticello to make their home in 1936.
Charter Member
Mr. Eilers was the last one of the charter members of the farmers who organized the Klondike creamery in Monticello, which later was merged and became the Farmers Mutual Creamery. He also served as a trustee of Lovell Township at one time and had been a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
In addition to his wife he is survived by the following children: Mrs. Arthur Hanssen, (Blanche), Lovell township; Herman, Cedar Rapids; Grant, Anamosa; Mrs. Lou King, (Alma), Lamont; Paul, Langworthy; Irving, Center Junction; Mrs. Lou Heiken, )Elaine), Sand Spring. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Mrs. Carl Schatz, (Laura), who passed away in 1923, and by a son, Albert, who died in infancy. He is also survived by one brother, Dr. Paul Eilers, of Riverside, Calif., 26 grandchildren, and one great grandson.
Burial
Funeral services were held at the First Congregational church Saturday afternoon.Endnotes
1. Jones Co. Iowa marriage books, online.
BOOK D 1877-1884 :: BOOK E 1884-1891 :: BOOK F 1891-1898 (USGenWeb
2. 1895 Iowa State Census. Castle Grove Township PAGES 44-67 + 931 Monticello Township PAGES 463-490 Monticello City PAGES 494-515, PAGES 516-537 Scotch Grove PAGES 753-776 (transcribed by Joanne Wilken http://www.rootsweb.com/~iajones/census/census.htm 2002).
3. U.S. Census images. Heritage Quest Online. Subscription database through the Sonoma County Public Library. (ProQuest LLC, 2009.), 1900 > Iowa > JONES > LOVELL TWP Series: T623 Roll: 440 Page: 106 .
4. 1910 Federal Census, USA, Iowa, Jones Co. (read July 2000 by Nancy Prouty).
5. U.S. Census images. Heritage Quest Online. Subscription database through the Sonoma County Public Library. (ProQuest LLC, 2009.), 1910 > IOWA > JONES > LOVELL TWP Series: T624 Roll: 409 Page: 115.
6. US Population Census - Iowa, Jones Co., 1920 (read Dec 17, 2001 by Nancy Prouty), SD 5 ED 72 sheet B.
7. Jones Co. Iowa Census, Jones Co. Iowa GenWeb online [http://iowajones.org/census/census.htm], accessed.
8. U.S. Census images. Heritage Quest Online. Subscription database through the Sonoma County Public Library. (ProQuest LLC, 2009.), 1930 > Iowa, ED 53-11, SD 10, sheet 2A Series: T626 Roll: 662 Page: 148.
9. Eilers, Henry obituary, , Monticello, Iowa, Apr 1940,.
10. Newspaper article clipping. (Monticello Express.).