OBIT: Conrad J. REITZ, 1945, native of Somerset County, PA

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Meyersdale Library.
Transcribed and proofread by: Richard Boyer.

Copyright 2007.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/somerset/
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CONRAD J. REITZ

Conrad J. Reitz Died at Great Age of Nearly 104
Resided in Iowa Most Of His Life But Was Native of Somerset County, Penn'a 
[sic].

  At Maxwell, Iowa, Oct. 9, 1944, there passed away Conrad J. Reitz, a native of 
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, who attained the great age of 103 years, 10 
months and 14 days.  He was a son of Hartman and Catherine (Gindlesperger) Reitz 
and was born on Nov. 25, 1840, in the little log house that stood for many years 
near the big log grist mill, build by Hartman Reitz in 1806, three fourths of a 
mile north of the village of Roxbury, in Stonycreek Township.
  He was one of a family of twelve children, nine sons and three daughters all 
born in the little log house that was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hartman Reitz, 
and all now deceased, except one son, John J. Reitz, the youngest member of the 
family, now living at 70 Wise Street, Akron, Ohio.
  The following biography of Centennarian Conrad J. Reitz was written for The 
Republican by his surviving brother, who was 83 years old on his last birthday, 
December 27th, and is still well and alert mentally.  In reviewing the life 
history of his remarkably long-lived brother, John J. Reitz says:

Started as a Farm Hand

  Conrad's time of growing to maturity was the tight period just before the 
Civil War.  There were not many little red schoolhouses in Somerset County then, 
so the older members of our family did not get much schooling.  All had to start 
working when still quite young.
  When Conrad was 14 years old, Father allowed him to hire out to a neighboring 
farmer, Johnny Koontz, for six months, at three dollars a month.  When his six 
months were up he rehired to make four years that he worked for Koontz.  Then he 
hired to Charley Ream, another leading farmer in that section, along the 
Somerset and Bedford Pike.  Ream, besides farming, also had a blacksmith shop, 
where Conrad learned the blacksmith trade.

Married at 21

  By this time he was grown to manhood and had a very Christian attitude toward 
life.  On October 29, 1861, he married Miss Elizabeth Keller, a daughter of 
Casper and Sally (Shank) Keller, at their farm home near Shanksville.  They were 
married by Rev. Ephraim Cover, and soon went to housekeeping at Roxbury, a 
little crossroads village on the turnpike (now U.S. Highway No. 31) in 
Stoneycreek Valley a few miles west of Allegheny Mountain.
  When the young couple started housekeeping, the husband had $2.50 in cash and 
his wife had $2.00, but they had good health and honest standing with the good 
people of the community and could get all the credit and help they wanted to get 
started as a new family.  In those times people who walked to church on Sunday 
did not put on their shoes until they got near the church house.  After church 
they took them off again and walked home barefooted.  Everybody worked hard and 
practiced the strictest economy.

Village Blacksmith

  After starting housekeeping at Roxbury, Mr. Reitz bought the village 
blacksmith shop and conducted it for several years.  He soon had plenty of work 
at horse, mule and ox shoeing, wagon repairing, etc., for the turnpike at that 
time was a busy thoroughfare for vehicles of all kinds drawn by horses, mules 
and oxen.  There were also many travelers on mule and horseback, and all beasts 
of burden needed plenty of shoeing.  Farmers did not have much money for the 
blacksmith in those times or for use in any other trading, as they needed all 
the cash they could get and save up to meet their April payments, April 1 being 
their main settle-up and moving day.  But transient customers paid the 
blacksmith cash for his services, so Conrad had a prosperous business and 
sometimes had to do considerable night work in his smithy.  He said at one time 
he shod horses, mules and oxen continuously for two nights and one day without 
any rest.

Took Greeley's Advice

  About that time there was much talk about the Far West (even Ohio and Indiana 
then being considered far western states) and many young men were taking Horace 
Greeley's advice to "Go West and grow up with the country."  Almost every day 
people were going west through Roxbury in covered wagons or stage coaches.
  After a few years at blacksmithing in Roxbury, Conrad Reitz got the fever to 
go west also. Presently he got a chance to sell his blacksmith shop, and then he 
and his wife, with their one child, Allie, began to pack up their few belongings 
to seek a home in the boundless, booming land west of the Alleghenies.
  His father-in-law, Mr. Keller, took them on the first stage of their journey, 
on the farm "blutz" wagon, a distance of 30 miles north of Roxbury to Johnstown, 
the nearest railroad station.  From there they went by train to Dixon, Illinois, 
at that time a western border town that was the goal of the Pennsylvanians 
seeking farms in the Prairie State noted for its rich soil.
  They lived at Dixon several years, and while there a son, Edward, was added to 
the little family.  Then they moved a little farther toward the Mississippi 
River, to the little town of Nachuso, Ill., where they lived several more years, 
and another daughter came into the family circle.
  Their next move was across the Father of Waters into Iowa where they bought a 
160-acre farm in Boone County and began raising corn in the state that has since 
become famous as the place where the tall corn grows.  In the course of time he 
bought another farm to add to his first one, and in the 20 years they lived in 
Boone County, the price of land went up in bounds.

Living Long in Retirement

  Although he prospered at farming, Mr. Reitz thought it good business policy to 
sell his farms when the land became of much greater value than the crops 
produced on it by hard work. So when he was getting pretty well along in years, 
he sold his farms and moved to Maxwell, a good residental town in Story County, 
Iowa, where he invested his money in different business enterprises and built an 
up-to-date dwelling house in which he and his wife lived the remainder of their 
long lives.
  Mrs. Reitz died after they had lived together over 62 years.  They were always 
for right religious living and brought up their children in that attitude of 
living.
  From the time that he was old enough to cast a vote at a presidential election 
he was a staunch Republican in politics, and voted for Abraham Lincoln and every 
Republican candidate for President since Lincoln, except Thomas E. Dewey.  He 
missed voting for Dewey because he died a few weeks before the election.
  Although he was always interested in politics, he never aspired to any 
political office for himself, but in church and in doing God's work, he was 
always willing to serve.
  After he and his wife retired from farming, they took many long trips to look 
at God's wonderful works of creation.  They also made many trips back to 
Pennsylvania to visit the scenes of their youth and their many relatives and 
friends in Somerset County.
  
Blind During Last Years

  God gave him an unusual long life and many blessings, but about 15 years ago 
his sight began to fail, and during his last five years, he was totally blind.  
He longed to be taken home to his dear Lord and Savior, a wish that was 
fulfilled on last October 9th.
  Funeral services were held in the Church of the Brethren in Maxwell, Iowa, of 
which he was a member, by his pastor, Rev. J. D. Brower, assisted by Rev. Stacey 
Shenton of Des Moines, Iowa.  His body was laid to rest in the Maxwell Cemetery 
beside that of his beloved wife.
  He left to revere his memory one son and four daughters and one brother.

Centennial Birthday

  When he reached the age of 100, the whole town and people from far and near 
turned out to celebrate his centennial birthday.  A turkey dinner in his honor, 
at which 300 people were seated, was tendered him in the dining room of the 
Presbyterian Church.  Ministers, layman, doctors. lawyers, farmers, businessmen 
and others offered him congratulations on his long and honorable life and 
extolled his character and many virtues.  In response he expressed his heartfelt 
appreciation and in his talk took for his theme: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of 
God and all these things will be added unto you."

Meyersdale Republican, January 11, 1945