John A. GAUL

  General Notes:

John Gaul, born September 4, 1988, married Odelia Schuettgen on February 10, 1914 in St. Joseph Church in Earling, Iowa. John and Odelia (Schnuettgen) Gaul, lived on and farmed the Theodore and Fredericka Schnuettgen (Odelia's parents) home place three miles southeast of Earling, Iowa. Odelia's brother August and his wife, Crescentia "Grace" (Schechinger) Schnuettgen, originally were toget the farm, but Grace died about three months after she and August had married in September of 1912. August didn't want to continue to live on the placewhere he suffered that loss, so when John and Odelia married in 1914 they took over. Grace was the sister of Catherine, William Gaul's wife, and of Elizabeth, Peter Gaul's wife. John was persuaded by his brother Jacob to accompany him to the State of Florida. This must have been late in 1910 or early 1911, for on March 3, 1911, John got a deed to 20 acres of land in what was then Hillsborough county (now Pinellas county) Florida. We think Jacob talked John intogoing to Florida with the idea that it was a lot better place than prosaic Shelby County Iowa. However, John's ties to Iowa were stronger than Jacob's and,after a time, he returned to Iowa. One of those ties back in Iowa was a young (16 in 1910 and 17 in 1911) farm girl, Odelia Schnuettgen, with whom he corresponded while in Florida. In one of those letters, Odelia went on for two pages very prosaically relating what was going on in Iowa. But the P.S. went something like this: "They say to love is sin They never told me why But if to love you is sin I'll sin until I die." Pretty strong sentiment for a 16 year-old girl raised in a very strict and pious home, even if it is only a quotation of a poem. Persuasive enough however to convince John a lasting love waited his return to Iowa. On May 20, 1912, John Gaul, back in Iowa, signed a deed conveying lots 12 and 19 in subdivision of the south 1/2 of Government lot 2 section 29 south range to Jacob B. Gaul. In 1918, John and Odelia bought their first car; a brand new 1918 Buick. That same year they decided to attend the State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa and make the trip in their new car. It is not toobad a drive now but in 1918 the roads were unpaved with only primitive markings. It must have taken a very long time to drive that distance when everything went right. But things didn't go as planned and they got lost along the way.They continued to drive along until finally off in the distance they saw a sign. Surely it had the directions to go. When they finally got close enough to read it, it was only a sign for "brown's Shoes." In 1928, John set out an elaborate apple orchard. The well laid out plot consisted of four rows of trees; one row Golden Delicious, one row Red Delicious, one row Starkings and one rowof mixed including one Jonathan and one Red Crab-apple tree. There were perhaps 25 or 30 trees in all. Around the west and north side of the orchard he planted a wind-break consisting of two rows of evergreen trees. This orchard wasa long term investment and John knew it would be years before the trees wouldreally start to produce. John tended this orchard for the next ten years. Finally, in 1938, he harvested his first substantial apple crop - 20 bushels. Nowapples apparently produce every other year, so in 1939 there were very few apples. However, in 1940 the apple trees were in full production. That year he harvested so many bushels of apples he lost track of the amount. They were picked and stored in the steel grain bin until they sold. He sold the apples for a dollar a bushel to whoever wanted them; a real bargain compared to the fiftyor sixty cents a pound or more we pay today. The Starking was an especially good tasting apple, even better than the Delicious in the opinion of some, although it was never sold commercially that we know of. By comparison, all of these apples were good eating except the apples fro

John married Odelia "Tillie" SCHNÜTGEN, daughter of Theodore SCHNÜTGEN and Marie Bernardine Fredericka KOESTERS, on 10 Feb 1914 in St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Earling, Shelby Co., IA. (Odelia "Tillie" SCHNÜTGEN was born on 28 Jul 1894 in Earling, Shelby, IA, USA, died on 24 Jul 1963 in Earling, Shelby, IA, USA and was buried in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Earling, Shelby Co., IA (Gravesite: Iv-9-19).)