Casper Meisner

Casper Meisner was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria, (what is now modern-day Germany) on March 6, 1812. Little is known about Casper's life in Bavaria, however, the late 1840s was a period of great upheaval in many of the German states. In 1848, this social unrest led to the March Revolution (Märzrevolution) throughout the region. The supporters of the revolutions, known as the Forty-Eighters, wanted a more democratic government with increased human rights protections. The Forty-Eighters were not successful in their opposition to the conservative aristocracy and many of them immigrated with their families to the United States of America. It is unknown if Casper was a Forty-Eighter, however, records show that he arrived in the United States in 1848 at the age of 36 years old, with his wife Kunigunda (1814-1864) and his three children: Anna Maria "Mary" (1837-1899), George (1842-1909), and John (1840-1923). In August 1850, census records show the family was living in Troy, New York, approximately 10 kilometers north of Albany. Troy's population in 1850 was 28,785, which was comparatively small to the largest city in the nation at the time, New York City, which had a population of over 515,000. Casper found work in Troy at a "junk store" and made business connections that served him later in life. On Friday, August 25, 1854, a disastrous fire destroyed about 200 buildings in Troy, leaving over 300 families homeless. The Meisners were one of the families (many whom were immigrants) that lost their home and all of their possessions. Many families were left with only the clothing they wore the day of the fire. In the ensuing hours and weeks following the disastrous fire, residents of Troy and the surrounding cities assisted the victims by providing the families with shelter, food, and support. Sometime after June 12, 1855, Casper and Kunigunda decided to move west to Tama County, Iowa, to become farmers. Like many people who ventured west to become farmers, Casper and his family suffered great hardships when they first moved to the area. In a biographical sketch of Casper's son George, the hardships the Meisner family endured were described:  

"There, the earlier years of the subject of this sketch were spent, and it is no disparagement to the management of his father nor any discredit to Mr. Meisner himself to say that those years witnessed a series of long, hard struggles in the Meisner household. Those struggles did not consist alone in the difficult undertaking of making a start in a comparatively new country unsurrounded by the helps and conveniences found in the East; there were struggles, oftentimes, for bread and butter, with nothing with which to keep "the wolf from the door" save the willing hands and stout hearts of father, mother and children...There was no idling around the Meisner homestead. There was no wasting either of energy or material. Everything was turned to account. Everything was made to pay. Such industry and management must, of necessity, win. The Meisners could not always remain in straightened circumstances. Each year brought an improvement in their worldly affairs, and as the children grew up and added their aid to that of their parents the progress became more rapid."

1850 United States Federal Census

On May 25, 1858, Casper and Kunigunda's daughter, Mary was wed to a young German immigrant, Iowa farmer, and state militia member, Frederick Shafer. By 1860, Casper owned and ran a successful farm with his wife and two sons in York Township, Iowa. According to the 1860 Census, the Meisner farm was valued at $1,211, the highest valued farm in the surrounding area. The financial success of the family was quite an achievement having moved to the United States only 12 years prior.


After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the Southern states of the United States began seceding from the Union. Throughout the country, the U.S. Government called for volunteers for the military. Official hostilities began on April 12, 1861, and Casper, his son John, and his son-in-law Frederick Shafer joined the Union cause. Casper's youngest son George tended to the family farm because he was not accepted into the military due to an eye condition. Casper was 49 years old at the time of the call for volunteers, however most likely due to his strong desire to serve, Casper misrepresented his age and enlisted in the U.S. Army, Company C, 10th Iowa Infantry Regiment, stating on documents that he was 43 years old.

The Tenth Iowa Regiment on the march, April 28, 1862

Casper mustered with Company C on September 6, 1861, and saw action in the Battle of Iuka, the Battle of Corinth, the Battle of Port Gibson, the Battle of Raymond, the Battle of Champion Hill, the Battle of Big Black River Bridge, the Siege of Vicksburg, and the Third Battle of Chattanooga. Casper was fortunate that each of the battles he participated in were victories for the Union forces, even though his regiment saw over 235 fatalities and 277 wounded throughout the war. On May 16, 1863, during the Battle of Champion Hill in Hinds County, Mississippi, Casper was slightly wounded on his forehead. Casper's real age at the time of his injury was 51 years old. On July 25, 1864, probably due to his age, Casper was transferred to the Invalid Corps (later renamed the Veteran Reserve Corps). He was honorably discharged later that year. Casper's son John joined the 24th Iowa Infantry Regiment, Company E, and Frederick volunteered for the Iowa 28th Infantry Regiment, Company E.

Upon returning to Iowa after his military service, Casper found that his son George had been successful in his business practices, and become the owner of over 400 acres of "good land" in Tama County. On the other hand, the war years had been difficult for Casper's wife, and on November 22, 1864, just a few months after Casper returned from the battlefield, Kunigunda passed away leaving Casper a widower.

Hayes Cemetery

After the death of his wife, Casper moved into a new phase of his life which included a new marriage, becoming a saloon owner in two states, and relocating to Nebraska.

On July 30, 1865, Casper married a 28-year-old German immigrant named Sophia Anna Steuder, and they remained together until Casper's death. Casper and Sophia traveled between Troy, New York, and Iowa and it seems that Casper may have used some of the revenue that his farm and landholdings produced and went into the saloon business for a short period of time. According to Iowa State Gazetteer, Shippers' Guide and Business Directory Page 599, Casper was listed as a saloon owner in Toledo, Tama County. Casper also was listed in  1867 (Volume 39) and 1868 (Volume 40), Troy, New York business directory, The Troy Directory, as the saloon owner of the Lager Beer Saloon on 92 Broadway Street. By 1870, Casper must have sold his business interests in Troy because the Lager Beer Saloon was now listed in directories as owned by farmer Conrad Derolf of Newtonville, New York.

After purchasing some land in Buffalo County, Nebraska in the fall of 1870, Casper sold all interests in his Iowa businesses and land in the spring of 1871, and he moved with Sophia to join his son George in Buffalo County, Nebraska. After farming for a few years, Casper went into the mercantile business in Shelton, Nebraska and worked in that profession until his death in March 1879. Casper was listed as dying of "bone disease" at the age of 67. He was laid to rest at the Shelton Cemetery. 

Located in Shelton, Nebraska

It can be said that Casper lived a memorable life and his legacy endured through his children. Casper's daughter Mary and her husband Frederick became successful farmers in Iowa and were parents to five children. Casper's son George became very successful in Nebraska and became one of the wealthiest most respected landowners and bankers in the state. Casper's son John remained in Iowa and raised his family there. In the before mentioned 1890 biographical sketch of George Meisner, Casper is described: 

"[Casper] was a man of indomitable energy, and a hard worker all his life. Having met with some financial reverses he knew the value of a dollar, and thus learned to manage his affairs with care and discretion. He was devotedly attached to his family, and it may be said that the latter part of his life he lived chiefly for them. He gave his children the best of counsel, and he enforced all his teachings with a good personal example in himself."

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Shelton, Nebraska. Photo Credit: C. Frazier.

 Pictured above are Casper's children: George Meisner, Mary Meisner Shafer, and John Meisner.

Possible photo of Casper Meisner. Unmarked tintype from the 1860s found with other photos of the Meisner family.

List of names from the Iowa 10th Infantry (Company C), who died while serving with Casper Meisner during the Civil War: Truman Bixby, William H. Bryon, Luke Camp, Eli Clark, Charles T. Davis, George M. Gray, Jacob Lux, James Newport, Hiram R. Pugh, Phillip Ramey, Wesley Randall, Cyrus Rowland, Van Buren Rugg, John M. Stebbing, George W. Tomkins. Rest In Peace.

List of surviving members of the Iowa 10th Infantry (Company C) recorded in 1866: Albert Stoddard, Thomas Martin, George H. Conant, T. Walter Jackson, William. H. Stoddard, Knight Dexter, Levi B. Nelson, Darson Chase, Jacob W. Jones, Frank W. Crosby, John B. Hancox, William J. Carson, Alfred Davis, John R. Leex, Vincent P. Gray, Joseph Kellogg, Angello Myers, Noah P. Stephenson, Ephraim A. Jeffreys, Carl L. Palmer, Charles. W. Woodward, William Watts, Jacob W. Applegate, William Applegate, Charles Bailey, Oscar Baldy, Thomas Bronnen, Charles Bunce, Eugene B. Bailey, Joseph Budka, Thomas Clem, John W.B. Cole, James Conner, Robert D. Crosby, Benjamin Dunbar, James Fairbanks, Abington J. Folsom, Thomas S. Free, George W. Guilford, Andrew Goodwin, Timothy Griffin, Alpheus B. Harmon, Solomon Hayworth, James P. Henry, Carlos J. Herrick, Peter Higgins, John Hillmon, Benjamin F. Howard, William T. Hiatt, Amos H. Kellogg, James H. Lorimer, Thomas Laughlin, Henry Levin, Cyrus Maholm, George McCall, George McChesney, Caspar Meisner, Marcus L. Myers, George Newport, Stephen D. Newton, Felix Omwake, Charles W. Peek, William W. Reed, Jacob Reinig, Melvin Rhodes, James H. Richardson, Austin M. Roberts, John C. Roase, John Sawyer, Joseph H. Smith, James Smith, Ephraim A. Southard, Edwin M. Stevens, Raswell N. Stevens, Frederick Tice, Aaron Tice, James Turner, Uriah Van Horn, George Van Riper, Samuel Walker, James Walton, William W. Yarham, James Young, Charles L. Bailey, Dwight B. Mason, Manuel B. Myers, Wesley Camp.