Rev. Henry John Pietenpol

Reverend Henry John Pietenpol was an original member of the library trustee’s board, serving on the book committee.[1] He served on the board through the construction of the library, leaving after the board meeting on 13 January 1908.[2]

According to his obituary, Pietenpol was born in Gibbsville, Wisconsin on 24 February 1859. He attended business courses in Milwaukee, where he married his wife Mattie. He moved to Iowa in 1884, working in a general store with his brother-in-law in Newkirk. He moved to Michigan in 1887 to attend seminary, graduating in 1893. He ministered in Michigan and Minnesota before accepting a position at the Third Reformed Church in Pella in 1902. He spent the next six years in Pella, leaving for Alto Wisconsin in 1908.[3]

He led congregations in Chicago and Otley, Iowa, before returning to Pella for retirement in 1928.[4] Pietenpol died in Des Moines on 28 November 1947 and was buried in Gibbsville.[5]

-Russell Buchanan

[1] First Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Free Public Library, Pella, Iowa, 27 July 1905.

[2] Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Free Public Library, Pella, Iowa, 13 January 1908

[3] “Rev Henry John Pietenpol.” Findagrave.com, Find a Grave, www.findagrave.com/memorial/29319518.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.