Jefferson County Historical Society

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Henry Jobgen, nurseryman and farmer of Rock Township, was born in the 
district of Koblenz, Prussia, March 26, 1838 and is the second of eight
children born to William and Anna (Smitz) Jobgen, who were born in 1808
and 1810, respectively.  They were married in 1832, and came to the 
United States in 1855, settling at Lyons, Iowa, where the father died 
in 1871.  The mother is still living and is a resident of Lyons.  Henry
was educated at Kreuzberg, Rhine, Province of Prussia, and came with 
his parents to the United States and settled in Iowa.  Here he worked 
at whatever he could find to do and succeeded in learning the nursery 
business.  He came to St. Louis County, Mo., in 1860, and here followed
that business until 1871, when he came to Jefferson County and purchased 
fifty seven acres near Rock Creek, three miles northwest of Kimmswick, 
where he has since been successfully engaged in the nursery business.  
He was married in 1864 to Miss Mary McCarty, a native of Ireland who 
came to the United States when only eleven years of age.  Her father, 
Michael McCarty, was a native of Castle Main, Kerry County, Ireland, 
where he passed his life.  Of the five children born to Mr. Jobgen and 
wife only two are now living: William and Francis H.  Mr. Jobgen is an 
earnest worker for the cause of education and for the general upbuilding 
of the county.  He is a man of education, and has been active in helping 
to build up a good school in the neighborhood. He is a member of the 
Catholic Church, is a Democrat in politics, and his first presidential 
vote was for S. J. Tilden.