Jacob Forret
Excerpt from: Wood, Prof. R.F. "Past and Present of Dallas County, Iowa."
Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907, pp. 470-471.
Revised 11/24/00 by John Robert Smith, San Francisco, California
Jacob Forret, a native son of France,
was born August 1, 1856. He is the son of Nicholas and Margaret (Falen)
Forret, who emigrated from a village in the upper Moselle region of France near the
Luxembourg border. In 1863, the Nicholas Forret family came to the United States, where they located in Dallas county, Iowa, on a farm.
The mother is still living upon this place, while the father passed
away in 1868. To their union were born eleven children, nine of whom
are still living: Madalene, the wife of Nicholas Feller, who lives
in Miner county, South Dakota; Nicholas, Jr., a resident of Boone
township, Dallas county; Matt and John, who are living here; Anthony of
Van Meter township; Edward, Champ, and Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas
Chushing, all residents of Boone township; and Jacob, of this review.
Jacob Forret was only seven years of age when his parents came to
America, so that he had scarcely time to acquire much of the French
education. He has, however, received the advantages of the public
schools of America, but like most farmers' sons, was obliged to
divide his time between the schoolroom and the fields. His practical
training came largely from the assistance which he gave his father
upon the old home farm. When he started out for himself, he rented a
piece of land for ten years and worked it as conscientiously as though
it had belonged to him. That he was well repaid for his labor on this
ground is evidenced by the abundant returns which he received. He was
thus enabled to buy three hundred and twenty acres of land in Sheridan
county, Nebraska, and it was here that he lived for five years,
improving the land and adding buildings necessary to carrying on his
agricultural pursuits. He subsequently returned to Dallas County in 1899,
where he bought the Kubitschek Family farm from Josef Kastner.
With the sentiment which
usually attaches to the place upon which one has spent his boyhood, Mr.
Forret took an unusual interest in remodeling the buildings and in
adopting the progressive methods and implements which should put his
home place upon an equal footing with the newer farms of the vicinity.
He has since then purchased three acres on section 16, where he has
built a home and now lives a retired life. That his agricultural
life has been a success is evidenced by the fact that he now owns two
hundred and eighty acres of land in Dallas County and three hundred
and twenty acres in Nebraska.
Mr. Forret was married in 1878 to Mary Kubitschek, who was born
June 28, 1861. She is the daughter of Franz and Pauline (Biedermann)
Kubitschek of Rokitnitz im Adlergebirge, Northeastern Bohemia,
who came to America in 1870 and located on farmland near Perry in
Dallas County. To their union, five
children were born, four of whom are now living, namely:
Mrs. Forret; Frank, who now lives at Eagle Grove, Wright County, Iowa;
Adolph, a resident of the same place; and Dr. Pauline, the wife of Franz Exner-Christen, who is living in Rokitnitz. The parents of these children
are still living in Rokitnitz, to which they returned in
1891, and where they anticipate spending the balance of their days.
To Mr. and.Mrs. Jacob Forret, no children have been born, but they
have adopted a son, whose name is Edward Kautzky. They recently
presented him one hundred and sixty acres of their Nebraska land.
(Edward Kautzky's parents, Josef and Anna [Biedermann] Kautzky had
both died before 1876 leaving a family of six children without a
father or mother. The children were adopted by several family
relatives living in the United States. Edward Kautzky married Jennie
Slaniná [Slaninger], the daughter of Joseph Edward and Anna [Kubitschek]
Slaniná. Four children were born to them: Mary [Book], Edward, Paul,
and Joseph. Members of the Kautzky Family have always been exceptional
sportsmen and women. The Fort Dodge, Iowa branch of this family
developed the "Lazy-Ike" fishing lure [among others] and owned an
internationally renown sporting goods company in that community.)
Mr. Forret is a stalwart Democrat and has always given valuable
assistance to his party in their campaigns. He and his wife are
both members of the Catholic church at Perry, Iowa. Not many a farmer
has been able to acquire a financial standing that enables him at
fifty-one to retire and enjoy his remaining days in ease, but Mr.
Forret has accomplished this. With the stalwart character inherited
from his foreign ancestry he has worked hard and lived frugally and
his name now stands as that of one of the honest, straightforward
agriculturists of this county.
All photos courtesy of John Robert Smith, San Francisco, CA Click on a thumbnail to view at full size
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The Nicholas and Margaret [Falen] Forret Family
Back row; left-to-right: Jacob, Nicholas, Mathias, Anthony
Front row; left-to-right: Edward, John, Elizabeth, Margaret [Falen],
Magdalene [Feller], Jean-Pierre
Booneville, Dallas County, Iowa (About 1874)
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The Nicholas and Margaret [Falen] Forret Family
Back row, left-to-right: Jacob, Mathias, John, Edward, Anthony
Front row, left-to-right: Nicholas, Magdalene [Feller], Margaret [Falen], Elizabeth [Cushing], Jean-Pierre
Booneville, Dallas County, Iowa (About 1890)
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The Nicholas and Magdalene [Forret] Feller Family – 50th Wedding Anniversary
Back row, left-to-right: Elizabeth [Feldhaus], Frank, Nicholas, Henry, Margaret [Kubitschek], Anna [Schueller].
Front row, left-to-right: Andreas, Nicholas, Magdalene [Forret], Marie [Neises]
Howard, Miner County, South Dakota (1912)
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The Nicholas and Margaret [Falen] Forret Family & Descendants
Left-to-Right, Back Row: Annie [Feller] Schueller, Magdalene [Feller] Schmitz, Marie [Feller] Neises, Margaret [Feller] Kubitschek, Unknown, Lena [Feller] Feldhaus, Unknown, Unknown.
Left-to-Right, Second Row from Back Row: William Neises, Joseph Schmitz, Nicholas Feller, Henry Feller, Unknown, Frank Feller, Andreas Feller.
Left-to-Right, Third Row from Back Row: Jacob Forret, Matthias Forret, Anthony Forret, Nicholas Forret, Edward Forret, Thomas Cushing, Peter Schueller.
Left-to-Right, Fourth Row from Back Row (seated): Marie Remacle, Mayme Dietrick, William Neises, Unknown, Loretta Morgan, Unknown.
Left-to-Right, Front Row (children): Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown
Booneville, Dallas County, Iowa, 1921
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Margaret [Falen] Forret - 100th Birthday Celebration
Booneville, Dallas County, Iowa, 1922
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