The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 938 

DIETRICH GERHART LEUNING.

Dietrich Gerhart Leuning, whose wide experience and success as an orchardist
enables him to speak authoritatively upon questions relative to fruit raising in
the Yakima valley, makes his home a mile northwest of Buena, where he has lived
since the fall of 1909. he was born in Germany, January 5, 1858, a son of John
H. and Elizabeth (Tisfeld) Leuning. The father died in Germany but the mother
came to the United States at the age of seventy-five years and spent her last
days in South Dakota.

D. G. Leuning remained a resident of Germany until he reached the age of
twenty-five and then came to America in 1883, settling in Illinois. After five
years spent in that state he established his home in Iowa, where he lived for
twelve years, after which he was a resident of South Dakota for nine years. On
the 16th of October, 1909, he arrived in the Yakima valley and purchased twenty
acres of land a mile northwest of Buena. A part of this is in alfalfa. He also
bought nineteen acres more above the canal but that tract was covered with
sagebrush. He has since sold all but seven acres of the home farm, which is
planted to orchard. He put a pumping plant on the upper nineteen acres, cleared
it and also planted apples, pears and peaches there, converting the place into a
splendid orchard property. From both tracts he gathers a large amount of fine
fruit annually and as the years have passed he has prospered as one of the best
fruit raisers of the northwest. Upon his home place he has erected a good
residence and barns.

On the 2d of May, 1882, Mr. Leuning was married to Johanna Kremer, a native of
Germany, and they have become parents of twelve children: Anna, the wife of
Andrew Barker, a rancher near Zillah, by whom she has four children; Ernest, who
is also engaged in ranching in the same locality and has a wife and five
children; John, who is likewise a rancher and is married and has four children;
Ella, the wife of William Eiler, a ranchman living in the Zillah district, by
whom she has two children; Mary, the wife of Nels Nasby of South Dakota and the
mother of two children; Hannah, the wife of William E. Laupp, a farmer of the
Yakima valley, and they now have one child; Katherine, who is in the United
States reclamation service; Minnie, the wife of Elliott Johnston, of Yakima; and
George, William, Antze and Lydia, all at home. There are also seventeen
grandchildren and the family record is notable in that there have been no deaths
among the twelve children.

When Mr. Leuning came to the United States he was seventy-five dollars in debt.
As the years have passed he has prospered and at the same time has provided a
most comfortable living for his family. He and his sons have cleaned up and
improved many acres of fine land and his property holdings are now valuable and
return to him a substantial income.

Mr. Leuning and his family are all members of the Evangelical Association and he
assisted in founding the church near his home. His position upon the temperance
question is indicated by the fact that he has voted the prohibition ticket the
greater part of his life. His aid and influence are given to the support of
measures which tend to uplift the individual and advance the interests of
humanity.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.