Welcome to
Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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John M. Varenkamp Mr.
Varenkamp was born in Marion County, Iowa, March 3, 1872, the son of Edward C.
and Gertrude (Boat) Varenkamp, the father born in the Netherlands and the mother
in Marion County, Iowa. The father
is at present
editor of the Pella Weekblade, printed in the Holland language. He came to Iowa
when about twenty-four years old and worked on a farm for some time, then bought
land and up to five years ago devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, since
which time he has been managing in a very able, manner the newspaper referred to
above; he has lived in Pella for the past twenty-one years.
Early in his career in this country he spent three years in Nebraska and
Dakota. He is a man of influence, general education and praiseworthy
characteristics in general. He
belongs to the Second Reform Church at Pella.
His family consists of the following children: Mrs. Hattie Louder, Mrs.
Anna Roten, Mrs. Lydia Renaud, Mrs. Mary Wise, Mrs. Emma Stratton, Nella, Fred
and John M. The
maternal grandmother, Henriett Boat, came to Pella, Iowa, in the early forties
with a colony of one thousand two hundred Hollanders, early settlers there.
John M. Varenkamp of this review attended school at Pella, Iowa, and
after leaving school he worked on a farm for about seven years. He went to
Nebraska and herded cattle and sheep for some time, then worked in a flouring
mill fourteen months in Pella. Desiring
to learn the mercantile business, he clerked seven years, during which time he
mastered the ins and outs of the same, and in January 1899, he bought out
Cornelius Boat, a half interest in the Boat Brothers general store in Sully,
Jasper County, and he and A. C. Boat have since carried on the business in a
most successful manner, enjoying a wide and every growing patronage with the
surrounding country. They carry a large, well-assorted, carefully selected stock
of general merchandise and their prices are always right, according to their
many customers. They have a neat and well-arranged store building. Theirs is the
oldest store in Sully. Mr.
Varenkamp has taken considerable interest in local affairs and has ever
manifested a desire-to do what he could in behalf of the community's welfare.
He was appointed postmaster at Sully on December 22, 1902, and has served
in this capacity continuously to the present time in a manner that has reflected
much credit upon himself and to the department and the people. He is a member of
the Reform Church at Sully, and, politically, he is a Republican. Mr. Varenkamp was married on March 23, 1898, to Nettie Vanderkrol, who was born in Mahaska County, Iowa, the daughter of G. Vanderkrol, a substantial farmer of that County. To this union one child was born, Gertrude H. The wife and mother was called to her rest on July 8, 1909, in a hospital at Des Moines. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen.
James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, 1044. |
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