Casper Lause
Casper Lause, whose well- improved farm of 48 acres is situated in section 6, Marion township, belongs to one of the honorable old pioneer families of this locality. He was born in 1862 on his father's pioneer farm, situated on the Spencerville road, one mile north of the present home. He is a son of Frederick and Mary (Pohlman) Lause.
The paternal grandparents of our subject were Henry and Mary (Giesker) Lause, and they had seven children, of whom Frederick was the fifth in order of birth.
Frederick Lause was born in Hanover, Germany, March 2, 1825, where he attended the common schools and then learned the carpenter's trade with Mr. Pohlman. In 1844 he came to America, locating in Allen County, where in 1850 he purchased a farm in Marion township. the country was all forest at that time and to settlers less robust and courageous than was Mr. Lause, the clearing and cultivating of this land, within the limits of a lifetime, would have seemed an impossible task. But he had come to America to found a home and in the years that followed no discouragement of hardship was too great to interrupt his industry of dampen his enthusiasm. He lived to see the forest cleared and the land developed into a rich agricultural estate. The old homestead in section 31 is still occupied by his widow and a son, A. W. Lause.
Frederick Lause was married on April 3, 1856, to Mary Pohlman, who was born in Hanover, Germany, May 2, 1838. When six years of age she accompanied her parents to America. They were Casper and Clara (Hensele) Pohlman. Casper Pohlman was one of the original colony to settle in "Section 10," as Delphos was first called, and he crossed the Atlantic on the same sailing vessel which brought here the late venerable Rev. John Otto Bredeick, the founder of Delphos and the organizer of the Catholic Church at Delphos, known as the Church of St. John the Evangelist.
Casper Pohlman was a carpenter and his work, with that of his son-in-law, Frederick Lause, may still be seen in Marion township. This locality soon outgrew log houses, and for many years the two men worked almost constantly in season, at their trade. Mr. and Mrs, Pohlman had 10 children, the two survivors being: Mary, the mother of our subject and Clemens, who resides in section 19, Marion township.
In the summer of 1884, Frederick use erected on his farm above mentioned, a fine farm residence, one of the commodious and comfortable homes of the locality. Here his last years were passed and here his wife and son enjoy comforts provided by his years of industry. The following children were born to Frederick Lause and wife, namely: Mary, wife of John Lower, of Ottawa, Ohio; Dinah, wife of John Laudick, a farmer living in Kansas; Casper, of Marion township; Henry, deceased; Frank, a farmer of Marion township; Clara, wife of A. J. Smith, of Topeka, Kansas; Anna, deceased; Cemens, a farmer of Marion township; Joseph, a blacksmith in the village of Landeck; Frederick, on the farm north of that of our subject; and Aloysius W., who lives on the homestead with his mother. All this family are consistent members of the Church of St. John the Evangelist.
Casper Lause, our immediate subject, was reared on the pioneer farm, and as the oldest of his father's six sons, he had more responsibility placed upon him at an earlier age than on his brothers. His education was obtained in the district and the parochial schools; he also attended night school at Delphos. All his training was along lines to make him a practical farmer. He remained at home until the year of his marriage and then settled on the farm which he now occupies. At that time it was a tract of 48 acres, all forest land- just the same kind of wilderness as that into which his father had penetrated in 1850. This land Mr. Lause set about clearing and in the course of time, through persevering industry, it was developed into a fertile farming tract. Mr. Lause has continued its improvement until the present time, setting out shade and fruit trees, erecting substantial buildings and intruducing modern methods of tillage wherever found advisable. The present year (1906) finds the family established in a beautiful, well_planned modern residence, one which is a credit to the locality and an abode of great comfort to our subject.
In 1886 Mr. Lause was married to Elizabeth Trentman, who is a daughter of John H. and Magdalena (Neidiken) Trentman. The former owns a farm in section 6, Marion township, and is in business as a florist at Delphos. Five children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Frederick, Lena, Hilda, Leo and Otto. Four of the children are at home but the eldest son is a student at Delphos. He is a very promising young man and is a member of the senior class of the Delphos High School, having taken the honors of the class in the junior year. Mr. Lause has reared his family in the Catholic faith and they are communicants at the Church of St. John the Evangelist at Delphos. In his political sentiments he is a Democrat.
Casper Lause is a thorough business man, a fine farmer and a most highly respected citizen. He is an earnest supporter of good schools and he has served the township for nine years on the School Board. He was one of those nominated after the number of township members was cut down to five, but declined to continue longer in office. During the building of the school-house in District No. 12, he was a member of the building committee and is now serving as one of the township trustees.
The Lause family is one of the best-known in the township. One highly respected member is Aloysius W. Lause, the youngest brother of Casper Lause. He was born in Marion township, January 24, 1880, and was educated in the district and parochial schools. He has always lived on the old homestead He married Annie Gerdeman, of Van Wert County, and they have one child, Edwin. His aged mother resides with him. She is the center of a large family of descendants, having 27 grandchildren and four great- grandchildren. She is a devout member of the Catholic Church, a noble, Christian woman.
Among other kindred of Casper Lause, who have been more of less concerned in the development of Delphos and vicinity, was Casper Mesker. He ws born in Germany and came as one of the early pioneers to Allen County. He worked on the canal in the early days, and assisted in the construction of the first church at Delphos, clearing the ground on which it was built. He was one of the party who crossed the ocean with Father Bredeick and was one of that pioneer priest's ready supporters. He settled a half mile east of the Delphos brewery, cleared a 40 acre homestead, added 36 acres more and lived there until his death, which occurred September 10, 1878. He married Clara Lause, an aunt of our subject, who is a daughter of Henry and Mary (Mesker) Lause. At the age of 85 years this lady still survives, residing in "Marbletown" Delphos. She tell many interesting tales of the early days here. One of the chief articles of diet was corn In order to get it ground, one of the family was obliged to carry a bag of the grain on his back to Fort Jennings, in Putnam County. On many occasions Mrs. Mesker ground enough corn in her coffee mill to make cakes and then cooked her potatoes in the kettle which later had to serve as the coffee boiler.