Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

History, heritage and the future

Hartley man maintains family cemetery with rich heritage

A tiny O'Brien County cemetery means the world to Hartley's LeRoy Steffens.

In 1884 Michael Steuck, Steffens' great-grandfather, buried his mother, Anna Steuck, on the family farm in Center Township in O'Brien County. She was the first in the family to be buried in the privately-owned pioneer cemetery. Born in 1819, Anna became a war widow in Germany and later brought her children to the United States to build a life in northwest Iowa.

Since then, 36 more family members have opted for burial in the family cemetery. Familiar names like Guse, Brandt and Brinkert rest there. Steffens says that an...