We don’t know why Juergen Gluhm came to America.
Maybe it was to seek a better life, or maybe he was running from something. Maybe it was just because he felt like it.
What we do know is that when he was about 33 years old, he found his way from Germany to a small town in eastern Iowa called Dixon. Being a farmer was very in vogue in those days and was considered to be an honest and noble profession. Apparently, Juergen wanted to be part of that in-crowd.
He rented an 80-acre farm from Louis Lilienfeldt, a former blacksmith turned landlord and real estate broker. For the first few months, everything went fine. Then everything began to take a sour turn.
Gluhm had quit paying Lilienfeldt the rent money for the farm, and by 1893 Gluhm owed nearly $145 in back rent for the property. While it doesn’t seem to be that much at first, it would be about $4890 today. Lilienfeldt tried to collect the money, but no matter how much he asked and pleaded, Gluhm would never pay.
Finally, the old blacksmith had no other recourse other than to begin official legal proceedings against his tenant.
On January 3, 1894, Henry Kuehl, a deputy sheriff for the county, rode out to Dixon to meet Lilienfeldt. He was there to serve legal papers to Juergen. In short, they stated that if Juergen couldn’t pay Lilienfeldt what was owed, then the landlord could instead take an equal amount of property in payment.
The two men exchanged a few brief pleasantries, and then set out to the Gluhm farm a few miles away, towards the town of Big Rock.
By the time they got there, darkness had fallen on the simple farmyard around the Gluhm home. Silently, Kuehl and Lilienfeldt walked to the front door and knocked, the sharp sound piercing the quiet of the night.
A few moments later, Kuehl and Lilienfeldt could hear someone moving inside. A woman answered the door, saying that she was Juergen’s wife, Carrie. Kuehl asked if Juergen was home. She replied that he wasn’t.
Kuehl explained that he was a deputy sheriff and was there to serve her and her husband legal papers. He paused for a moment, then gave her a summary of what they said. Taking the papers, Carrie said that she understood.
It was a pleasant enough night for January, relatively warm for the early part of the new year. Kuehl and Lilienfeldt said that they would start assessing goods around the farm while they were there. Carrie nodded and said that she would escort them around. Going back inside, she returned a few minutes later with her coat.
Carrie proved to be extremely helpful, guiding them wherever they wanted to go while pleasantly answering their questions. Lilienfeldt was thorough in his inspection, even having her escort him out to a distant part of the farm to inspect some hay growing there.
Finally, he was satisfied and told Kuehl that it was time to head back to town. Without another word, the trio began to walk back toward the house.
They had just passed the barn when they heard someone shout in German, “Fire!” A rapid series of gunshots came immediately after.
Kuehl, Lilienfeldt, and Carrie ran and took cover as best as they could, the shots continuing sporadically. Realizing that their assailants were using his lantern to help aim their shots, Kuehl quickly put out his light.
Without the light to aid them in the inky blackness of the farm, the attackers were firing blindly. Kuehl and Lilienfeldt heard a few more shots, and then the sounds of someone running away.
A tense silence followed, the deputy and the landlord listening hard for sounds of movement. After a while, they finally stood up and hesitantly looked around. No one shot at them. Relighting their lantern, the two men checked themselves for any injuries. Thankfully, neither of them had been hurt.
Quickly, the men left the Gluhm farm and rode back to town.
The next day, Kuehl returned, this time with another deputy. Knocking on the front door of the farmhouse, Carrie once again opened the door and greeted Kuehl.
She informed them that it was her husband, Juergen, along with William Ganzer, another local farmer, who had shot at them the night before. Kuehl thanked her and asked where Ganzer lived. Carrie told them and the two deputies left.
They immediately went to the Ganzer farm and arrested William. A short while later, they found Juergen at a relative’s house and took him into custody as well. They were then taken to the county jail in Davenport, Iowa, several miles to the south.
When they were questioned, Gluhm said that he thought that Lilienfeldt and Kuehl had come to the farm to extort him for money. Not about to let that happen, Juergen had decided to shoot at them in order to chase them away. He apparently had no answer for what he would do if he and Ganzer had killed one of them.
Juergen and Ganzer went to court, where they were eventually convicted of assault and fined $100 each.
Sources
The Gluhm Funeral. Davenport Democrat and Leader, 6/3/1934, p. 6
Gluhm Funeral. The Daily Times, 6/2/1934, p. 4
Juergen J.F. Gluhm. Davenport Democrat and Leader, 6/1/1934, p. 13
Gluhm. The Daily Times, 6/01/1934, p. 6
Richter, August P. Town of Donahue Settled in 1870; Was Claimed to Be Richest Town in U.S. The Daily Times, 5/10/1924, p. 19
Joyful Gluhm, Jug and Girl Are Arrested. Davenport Democrat and Leader, 7/1/1921, p. 10
Escapes Sentence as Woman He Beat Fails to Appear. The Davenport Democrat and Leader, 6/10/1921, p. 10
Beats Woman Arrested and Still Bared. The Davenport Democrat and Leader, 5/29/1921, p. 11
The Daily Times, 3/19/1894, p. 4
The District Court. Davenport Democrat and Leader, 3/19/1894, p. 1
The Daily Times, 3/15/1894
Guilty of Assault. The Daily Times, 2/21/1894, p. 4
Given to the Jury. The Daily Times, 2/20/1894, p. 4
The District Court. Davenport Democrat and Leader, 2/20/1894, p. 1
Fired From Ambush. The Morning Democrat, 1/4/1894, p. 4
Year: 1880; Census Place: Dixon, Scott, Iowa; Roll: 363; Page: 249B; Enumeration District: 253
Year: 1920; Census Place: Davenport Ward 3, Scott, Iowa; Roll: T625_512; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 155
Year: 1930; Census Place: Davenport, Scott, Iowa; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0028; FHL microfilm: 2340416