Rev. Francis X. Boeding (1853 - 1928)

Grandson of Franz Xavier Boeding (1796 - 1878)

By: Rev. Arnold A. Boeding

My uncle 'F.X.' was my father's oldest brother, the Reverend Franz Xavier Boeding: born Neuenkirchen, Westphalia, Germany on September 5, 1853: died in St. Lucas, Iowa on October 9, 1928.

Uncle F.X. was a seminarian by the time the persecution of the church (Kulturkampf) by the German Chancellor Bismarck got under way. All German seminaries were closed. German youth who wished to continue studies for the priesthood were forced to enter seminaries in other countries. So, uncle F.X. entered the Grand Laval Seminary in Montreal, Canada. I do not know the exact date of his transfer, but it was probably 1875 or 1876. The original Record of Priests, in the handwriting of uncle F.X. is in the archives of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. In this he lists his seminary studies as follows: Classics: at Paderhorn, Philosophy: at Muenster, Theology: Muenster and Montreal. He was ordained a priest in Montreal for the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa on December 22, 1877. Bishop (later Archbishop) John Henessy was the Ordinary of Dubuque at the time.

F.X. was pastor at Guttenberg from February 1878 to September 1882. That month he was transferred to St. Lucas, Iowa where he was pastor until his death in 1928, forty-six years. Parishes attached as missions to St, Lucas in the early years of uncle F.X.'s service were: Fort Atkinson 1882-1887 and Cresco 1885-1900.

The mens' choir was one of F.X.'s special interests. His favorite sermon topic: "The Father as Head of the Family" and also "The Mystical Body, the Vine and the Branches".

Father Boeding always rose early. No matter how early in the morning the sisters came from the convent to the church for prayers and Holy Communion, they always found him kneeling in the sanctuary.

Father Boeding loved children and seemed to understand them well. He was prompt and regular to appear in the classroom for daily religion instruction. Sickness cut into this by May 1928. Before the opening of school that fall, the sisters approached him to request the opening date. He gave them the date but added with tears in his eyes, "I will not be there". He died a few weeks later. His favorite treat for the children was raisins.

Visiting parishioners in their homes was constant for Father Boeding. In a parish almost totally farmers, this meant a horse and buggy. Through the years he had a succession of horses. The current horse was always known as "Father's Pony". He never owned a car. Shortly before sundown he drove to the road leading "back home", wrapped the lines around the buggy whip, and said "Giddap". The pony knew the way home. Uncle F.X. got out his breviary and said his Office. If they met some one on the road, the pony habitually stopped. Uncle F.X. always "visited" with everyone he met.

In the late decades of the 19th century and for some time after 1900, young men migrating from Germany, found their way to St. Lucas. They usually worked as "hired hands" on farms for a year or two, and thus earned enough to start "on their own". Many of these "homesteaded" on the "Prairie". The Prairie was an area west of St. Lucas toward Waucoma and north to Fort Atkinson. In the beginning their lives were not easy. In the eyes of uncle F.X., their greatest and most dangerous hurdle was loneliness. This bothered him. It was inevitable that he would tackle the problem. As a result, he became a "matchmaker", ardent and active. If a marriageable young lady was not available locally, he and the young man would travel by rail to other parts. It is impossible to estimate the degree of success of his matchmaking, but it must have been considerable. In 1928, at his wake, a number of these men, now gray haired oldsters, stood alongside uncle F.X.'s coffin and cried unashamedly.

Details about the methods employed by uncle F.X. as a matchmaker are hard to come by. I know of one episode where a young bachelor from the Prairie tried to court a young lady, an only child. The young lady's response was favorable. But the parents vetoed the match on the grounds the young man was not good enough for their darling. Eventually, uncle F.X. heard of this. So, accidentally on purpose he called on the family. During the visit he and the young lady were out of earshot of the parents long enough for him to ask: "Liebst du den?" (Do you love the guy?) In tears she nodded "yes" and disappeared. The next Sunday he published the banns, and made it stick.

Father Boeding was shrewd in estimating the aftermath of the events of his day. He often warned young men that some day they would be called upon to fight Japan. Here he usually added: "But I will not live to see it". Several times during the First World War, he tried to explain to me the impact of oil on the history of the Middle East.

In things mechanical, his vision also reached into the future. He spoke of speeds in aviation then considered impossible, and of flights around the world. When the first automobiles appeared, they were very costly. "Just wait a few years, and each of my farmers will afford to buy one". I remember being present when he predicted telephones on "our wrists" or "in the pocket".

St. Luke's Church (the building) at St. Lucas, Iowa is the best evidence of uncle F.X.'s ability as an architect. He designed it and wrote the specifications. There was an architect of record whose name appeared on the blueprints. But there was never any question who originated the design or wrote the specifications. I do not recall the name of the architect. One afternoon, as a teenager, while a student at St. Joseph's in Dubuque, I accompanied him to call at the architect's office in Dubuque. The purpose of the visit was to make a change in the specifications.

I have always felt that during his best years he was the leading horticulturist of Iowa. His orchards, mostly apples and grapes were his best testimonials of this. He raised seedlings of trees suitable for shelters around farm buildings, mostly evergreens. When the seedlings were large enough for transplanting, he distributed them, free, to the farmers. Reputedly he was the developer of a strain of Concord grapes that could be grown in the cold Iowa climate.

For a number of years, each summer, a "team" (usually four) of teachers and instructors from the university at Ames, Iowa came for one week, Monday through Saturday, to work with uncle F.X. on horticultural matters. Their principle interests were pest control and crop disinfectants. These men had a genuine respect for the professional competence of uncle F.X.. Once, as a teenager, I was in St. Lucas and met several of these teachers.