Isaac Havens, one of the prominent citizens of Elkader, is a son of Wm. and Hannah Havens, and was born in the town of Cohocton, Steuben County, N.Y., in 1817. At the early age of sixteen years he started out to seek his fortune, going first to Onondaga County, N.Y., living near Syracuse until 1836, at which time he started for the then far and unexplored West, reaching Dubuque, Iowa, March 2, 1837. He followed the mining business in the vicinity of Dubuque and Galena until April 1846, when he came to Clayton County, where he has since resided. After many years of constant labor, Mr. Havens has acquired an ample fortune and settled down to enjoy the fruits of his toil. In November, 1846, he was united in marriage to Sarah Wagner, of Wagner Township, a daughter of John Wagner, the pioneer of that township, and in honor of whom it was named. To Mr. and Mrs. Havens have been born six children. Two sons and a daughter died in infancy. The last and only remaining son, David W., one of Elkader's brightest and most promising young men, died in the fall of 1878. The two remaining children, both daughters, are now married, the elder, Mary Jane, to Thomas Williams, of McGregor; the younger, Ellen, to H.S. Merrill, who is now a resident of Elkader. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa, 1882, p. 659 |