PAST AND PRESENT OF
O'Brien and Osceola Counties, Iowa

BIOGRAPHIES

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JOHN P. BOSSERT.

John P. Bossert was born on a farm near Tipton, Cedar county, Iowa, on February 19, 1863, where he grew up. He attended the regular rural schools of that county in the usual course. He later took a course in Lenox College at Hopkinton, Iowa. Though not among the very earliest of settlers or homesteaders, he came early enough to have resided in the county for thirty years, or fully long enough and more to be a full-grown old settler and amply long enough to learn of and understand the needs of the county and of its conditions. These years prepared him for the long service of ten years in the ofifice of county auditor, concededly the most important in the county. He came to Paullina in 1883, only twenty years of age, and there engaged in the mercantile business. There were but few old men in the county in those years. The body citizenship were then composed of young men like himself. The town had just started. This is well illustrated in the statement that the store building which he erected and in which he did business was built from the first shipment of lumber received at Paullina over the then new Northwestern railroad. He was married at twenty-one years of age, on November 27, 1884, to Amy L. Camp, of Cedar county, where they both grew up. He continued in the mercantile business at Paullina until 1887, when he sold out, but remained with his family a resident of Paullina, himself becoming a travelling salesman.

At the general election of 1902 Mr. Bossert was called upon by the people of O'Brien county to assume the duties of this important office. While he was well acquainted with the people all over the county, the duties of this office brought him into direct business relations with state, county, town, township and school officials, and indeed with every citizen of the county. Indeed this office is now equal to any bank in the county in the number of its business items as well as in aggregates in dollars computed. The making of the tax lists, the dealings with assessors, school boards and treasurers, road supervisors, town and township officials, redemptions from tax sales, the handling of the uniform school book system, the issuing of all orders of the board of supervisors and the keeping of their records, all contribute to make this the first office. But it was not merely as an accountant and record man that Mr. Bossert filled the place. He reached out farther as in reality an advisor of the board of supervisors, as to the large policies and business items handled.

The board can not always be in session, and in this office it is all but mandatory that they have an auditor, who at each session will have the in-

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stant business at hand, digested and ready for action, with advice that five members of the board can rely upon and will accept. The very fact that for five terms, or ten years, more than four thousand voters continued him in office by their votes evidences this measure of his qualification for this large office. He retired January 1, 19 13, and moved with his family to Koshkonong, Missouri, where he is engaged in fruit growing and other lines of farming.

Mr. and Mrs. Bossert have five children: Mavis M., now the wife of Mr. Kenneth Rerick, abstracter in Primghar; H. B. (Burdette) Bossert, bookkeeper for Henry Williams in his store, and his son-in-law; John C. Bossert, at Primghar, and Eleanor and Dorothy, at home. It is not often that three children in turn should acceptably serve in so large an office through the years as did Mavis, Burdette and John, the latter continuing with J. B. Stamp, the present auditor, for about one year.

FRANK N. DERBY.

Frank N. Derby, clerk of the courts for two years and county treasurer for six years, was born at Union City, Indiana, October 11, 1855. His parents moved to Ottumwa, Wapello county, when he was six years of age. His father, George A. Derby, was sheriff of that county for four years commencing January, 1866, and during his term hung the notorious Lant Combs. Frank was raised in Ottumwa and attended the graded and high schools there. In 1871 the family removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Frank remained until 1875, when he came to O'Brien county and clerked in the stores for nine years. In the fall of 1877 he was a candidate for auditor against George W. Schee, but was defeated. In 1878 he was elected clerk of the courts. His brother, Alonzo F. Derly, practically filled the office, though Frank performed many of its duties.

The brother, Alonzo F. Derby, who filled this office and its duties, should perhaps receive a notice in connection with this item. He was born in Licking county, Ohio, March 4, 1847, and was raised in Ottumwa. Though very young, he served one hundred days in the war near its close. He has later been employed in the express offices and as cashier with several railroads. He was appointed deputy clerk by his brother. He will long be remembered at the county seat for his blunt and severe denunciation of everything that in his judgment was not as it should be, and was especially severe in denun-

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elation of many county matters then needing criticism. There was neither politics or policy in his nature. He spoke his sentiments from the shoulder outward, and made his criticisms as bluntly and vigorously as any official ever in the court house.

Frank N. Derby was elected county treasurer in 1883 and assumed its duties January 1, 1884, and continued in office for six years. He was married to Marian A. DeLong. They have three children. He now resides in Salem, Oregon. He conducted large farming operations for several years adjacent to Primghar and engaged in stock raising with W. S. Armstrong. He took a leading part in the procuring of a railroad to Primghar and was one of the ten men who signed a guaranty to furnish twenty-two miles of right of way to the Central road to secure its building. He, with James Rowan, of Dubuque, laid out and platted Derby & Rowan's addition to Primghar, which is one of the finest and most beautiful plats in the town. Since going to Salem, Oregon, he has been interested in its street car system and in real estate.

WILLIAM CORY HAND, M. D.

Professional success results from merit. Frequently in commercial life one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but in what are known as the learned professions advancement is gained only through painstaking and long-continued effort. Prestige in the healing art is the outcome of strong mentality, close application, thorough mastery of its great underlying principles and the ability to apply theory to practice in the treatment of diseases. Good intellectual training, thorough professional knowledge and the possession and utilization of the qualities and attributes essential to success, have made the subject of this review eminent in his chosen calling and he is recognized today as one of the leading physicians and surgeons in northwestern Iowa.

Dr. William Cory Hand, proprietor of the Hand Hospital and one of the most successful physicians of this section of the state, was born June 12, 1877, in Miami county, Ohio. He is the son of Alvin and Lucinda (Balzell) Hand, both of whom were natives of Ohio. His parents came to Iowa in 1885 and settled in Franklin county, where the father died. The mother is still living in Hampton, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Hand were born six children, two of whom died in infancy. The four living children are Roy C., of Los Amgeles, California; Doctor Hand, whose life history is here

Picture of WILLIAM C. HAND, M. D.

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sketched; John Carl, of Hampton, Iowa, and Harry, a farmer living in Ohio.

Doctor Hand was educated in the public schools of Hampton. Iowa, and later taught school in the country for four years. In 1902 he entered the medical department of the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, and graduated in 1906. He immediately located in Hartley and has been very successful. In 1908 he erected the Hand Hospital, which is a commodious building, with all the conveniences of a modern hospital; it has accommodation for fifteen patients and has two resident nurses in attendance at all times. The hospital takes care of one hundred and fifty patients annually. Practically all of the surgical cases are attended to by Doctor Hand personally. The hospital draws patronage from a large section of this part of the state.

Doctor Hand was married in 1902 to Jessie Ellis, of Sheffield, Iowa. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and has attained to the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the O'Brien County, Sac County, Sioux Valley, Mississippi Valley and American medical associations and takes an interest in the various annual meetings of these organizations. Doctor Hand has achieved a notable success within a short time and has been recognized and appreciated throughout this section of the state for the excellent work he is doing in his field. While he is primarily interested in the practice of his profession, he does not neglect his duties to the body politic. In every relation of life he performs his full duty as an American citizen.

LOUIS WOLLENBERG.

It is well known that the great majority of the successful business men of our country are proud of the fact that they are self-made men, owing the influence and position to which they have attained not to any gift or inheritance from others, but to those qualities within themselves which make for the accomplishment of the great work of the world. The subject of this review is such a man, and it is by means of his energy, sound judgment and integrity that he has risen to his present position in the community and acquired for himself a competence for the declining years of his life.

Louis Wollenberg was born in the year 1858 in Cook county, Illinois, the son of Joseph B., a native of Germany, whose natal day was in the year

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1810. The father spent the early years of his married life in the country of his birth, but as his family increased in numbers and in size the problem of support which confronted him was one of increasing concern, and he set forth with his wife and children to seek the broader opportunities of the New World. But while en route to America, the call of death came to the father and he was buried at sea, leaving the sorrowing mother and her seven children to brave the future in a strange land. They made their way to the city of Chicago, and in this vicinity was born her youngest son, Louis. She remained in the state of Illinois until the day of her death, which occurred in the year 1901 in the town of Beecher. But three of the children are now surviving: John, a retired farmer of Germantown, Iowa; Sophia (Mrs. Awe), a resident of Santa Ana, California, and Louis, the subject of this review.

This youngest son received his education in the schools of Cook county and when he attained to years of maturity he obtained employment in a general merchandise store. Five years later he migrated to O'Brien county, Iowa, and here he continued the same line of work in a store in Paullina. Here he worked faithfully, living with characteristic German thrift and saving his earnings, and in time he was enabled to purchase an interest in the store of J. W. Bunker. Later he bought Mr. Bunker's interest in the concern, and continued with the business. He continued to labor assiduously for the upbuilding of the buisiness in which he was interested, whether in the capacity of proprietor or employe, and each change brought him renewed profit and increased capital for investment. Thus did he continue as the years advanced, ultimately investing his profits in farm lands, and when, in the year 1912, he decided that he had earned the right to enjoy at ease the competence which he had acquired by many years of toil, he found himself the possessor of eight hundred acres of farm land in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa.

In the year 1888 he was married to Belle West, a lady of his own age, she having been born also in the year 1858 in the state of Ohio. No children have been born of this union and they are enjoying the autumn of their life together in their comfortable home in Paullina.

Mr. Wollenberg is a man of progressive ideas, well informed and an interesting conversationalist upon the affairs of the day as well as upon the earlier history of the county. Though he has retired from active business life, he is still interested in all movements looking toward the betterment of the community in which he resides and the good of the country at large.

Politically, Mr. Wollenberg is a firm adherent of the principles espoused

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by the Independent Progressive party and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian chnrch. He is prominent also in the order of Masons, having served for a number of years in its council. He is widely known throughout the county and is richly deserving of the respect in which, he is held by his fellow citizens.

INA DORNBUSCH.

The subject of this review is a typical example of the great things which can be accomplished by the steady worker who exercises sound judgment in his labors and wisely directs his business affairs.

Ina Dornbusch, a prominent farmer of Union township, was born in the year 1869 in Germany. His father, Martin Dornbusch, was also a native of the fatherland, his birth occurring in 1820. The father, in his youth, learned the trade of shoemaking, and to this vocation he adhered throughout his life. In the year 1850 he was united in marriage to Trinke Brunken, whose birth was in the year 1827, and to this couple were born seven children, five of whom are now surviving. In the year 1870, after twenty years of wedded life, the father was taken from the bosom of his family by the call of death, and the following year the mother, with her children, emigrated to America. Here, in Whiteside county, Illinois, they made their permanent abiding place.

The son, Ina, in whom we are directly interested, remained with the family only until his eighteenth year, when he migrated to Plymouth county, Iowa, and obtained employment upon a farm, laboring by the month. Later he was enabled to cultivate a tract of land for himself and here he labored early and late, living frugally and looking forward to the opportunity to acquire for himself a competence. In the year 1898 he was enabled to purchase a quarter section of land, and to this he gradually added additional tracts, always laboring assiduously to cultivate and improve his holdings. In the year 1895, however, he entered into the state of matrimony, taking for his bride Sarah Moser. Two children, Martin and Ina, were born of this union, both of whom are still residing with the father. The hand of death, however, was laid upon the mother in the year 1904. In 1906 Mr. Dornbusch was again married, taking for his wife Mrs. Anna Stern, who was born in the year 1870 in Whiteside county, Illinois, and who is now his faithful helpmate. Her son, Arthur Stern, is a member of the family also, assisting in the labors of the place.

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Mr. Dornbusch's holdings of farm land have constantly increased in size and value and he is now the possessor of more than eight hundred acres of valuable farm property. Of this, six hundred and forty-four acres are located in O'Brien county, one hundred sixty acres in South Dakota, and a tract of fory-four acres on the north edge of the town of Paullina is now the family homestead, being cultivated by Mr. Dornbusch and his sons, he being relieved of the more arduous labor which characterized the earlier years of his life. Truly a wonderful accomplishment, all this, for a man who started at the foot of the ladder and is yet in the prime of life.

Mr. Dornbusch is a firm believer in the principles of Democracy and consistently votes the Democratic ticket. He is a member of the German Lutheran church of Paullina, but has not been interested in fraternal affairs, belonging to no lodges, but preferring to devote his time and his energies to his home and the upbringing of his family. Though a man who has labored assiduously and steadily, he has found time to take an interest in movements looking toward the general uplift of the community and is respected as one of the representative citizens of the county.

SELONIOUS BRUNDAGE.

Among the strong and influential citizens of Sac county the record of whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, the gentleman whose name appears above occupies a prominent place and for years he has exerted a beneficial influence in the locality where he resides. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, a tireless energy, honesty of purpose and motive, and every-day common sense, which have enabled him not only to advance his own interests, but also largely contribute to the moral and material advancement of the community.

Selonious Brundage, a retired farmer of Sheldon, Iowa, was born April 25, 1866, in Canada and is the son of Philip and Eliza (Warren) Brundage, who also are natives of Canada. Philip Brundage and family came from Canada to Marshall county, Iowa, and settled near Lamoille in 1870 and continued to reside in Marshall county until 1883, when they moved to O'Brien county and settled in Summit township where they purchased a farm. Philip Brundage died on his farm in 1899. To Mr. and Mrs. Philip Brundage were born six children: Mrs. Henrietta Wyatt, of Nebraska; William M., of Summit township; Mrs. Alameda Fitch, of Floyd township; Selonious, with

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whom this narrative deals; John, of Summit township, and Mrs. Anna Bradley, of Sheldon.

Selonious Brundage received his education in the common schools of Marshall and O'Brien counties, Iowa, starting early in life to follow the occupation of farming. He remained on the farm after completing his schooling and assisted his father. When he was twenty-one years of age he purchased land of his own and now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Summit township and a similar amount in Dakota.

Mr. Brundage was married March 23, 1898, to Lula Harkins, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Harkins, and to this marriage has been born one daughter, Lulu Marie, who is still with her parents and is now attending school. Politically, Mr. Brundage is a Republican, but has never felt inclined to take an active part in politics. He keeps well informed upon the current issues of the day and is able to discuss them intelligently. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Brundage's career in this county has been an honorable one and although leading the life of the simple and unostentatious farmer, yet he has done his duty as he saw it in all the relations of life. He has borne himself so that his relations with his fellow men have ever been above reproach and his good name beyond criticism.

WILLIAM H. NOYES.

William H. Xoyes, four years recorder of deeds and four years sheriff of O'Brien county, was born October 3, 1850, at Barnet, Caledonia county, Vermont. His family removed to Wisconsin in 1864, and at eight years of age he learned or commenced the tanner's trade, then the spool and bobbin business for three years, then a year on the farm, and then learned the printer's trade at Elkader, Iowa. For Colonel Eibeck in 1868 he set type on the Osage Tribune, and later became editor himself of several Iowa papers. Later he became a fireman on the Milwaukee road and then yard master at Sheldon. He was married to Susan A. Smith in 1874. He was elected county recorder in 1882 and again in 1884. In 1887 he removed to Sanborn and the same spring was elected its mayor. In the latter part of the same year he removed to Primghar and engaged in the mercantile business. He was mayor of Primghar for two years. In the fall of 1889 the people again called him into service by electing him sheriff of O'Brien county over the popular Clark Green. Later on he removed to Minnesota, where he was a member of

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the Legislature of that state for several terms. He has since resided in Wisconsin, his old home, and took part, as an official, in some of the disturbances by the notorious Deitz in the famous defense of his claim and mill dam. He did duty in O'Brien county as one of the long-term officials, eight years, during which he was "hale fellow well met" and known as "Billy" Noyes.

ROY R. CRUM.

The profession of the pharmacist and the druggist is one requiring technical training and a large amount of native ability in order to make the profession a successful one. In fact there is no vocation, except that of the physician, which touches the life of the people any closer than that of the pharmacist. It is a matter of fact that all of the prescriptions of the best physicians are compounded by pharmacists and thus it is easy to see the relation which exists between the life of the people and the profession of pharmacy. Hence it is necessary that the pharmacist be a trained man in order to meet the requirements of his profession. Roy R. Crum is a man of sound judgment, discretion, fair technical knowledge and business ability of a high order and has managed his affairs with splendid success since coming to Sutherland.

Roy R. Crum was born in Terre Haute, Illinois, in 1878, and is the son of Pierce and Salina (James) Crum. Pierce Crum was born in 1854 in Virginia, Illinois, and was for many years a professor in the seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was a man of culture and refinement, being a graduate of Adrian College in Michigan. He was killed in a railroad accident in 1884. Salina James, the wife of Pierce Crum, was born at LaHarpe, Illinois, in 1856. Pierce Crum and wife were married in 1869 and to this marriage were born five children: Charles E.; James E.; Mrs. Mable C. McManiman, of Galesburg, Illinois; Virgil A., a lawyer of Portland, Oregon, and Roy R., whose history is here briefly sketched.

Roy R. Crum remained with his parents until nineteen years of age, and then started to work selling books. Later he qualified as an electrician and followed this profession for three years. At the end of that time he started to clerk in a drug store, but, realizing that a practical education was necessary, matriculated in the College of Pharmacy, at Des Moines, and graduated from that institution in 1901. After graduating he added

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to his practical experience by clerking in the drug store at Primghar, Iowa, in the employ of the E. G. Prist Drug Company. In 1902 he came to Sutherland and bought out the L. J. Price Drug Company and until recently maintained his store in this city. He carried a large and carefully selected line of drugs and druggists' sundries, and by his earnest earnest (sic) efforts to please all who entered his store and by his sound business judgment he met with well deserved success in this enterprise.

Mr. Crum was married in 1901 to Florence B. Todd and to this union have been born four children, Rupert, Virgil, Samuel and Mary, all of whom are still at home with their parents. Politically, Mr. Crum identifies himself with that large and intelligent class of citizens who are not bound by party allegiance to vote for any particular candidate. He casts his vote for the best man at all times and feels that in so doing he is serving the interests of his country. He and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church and give it their support at all times. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Yeomen and the Modern Woodmen of America. As a citizen he stands high in the esteem of his fellow men, being public spirited and progressive and at all times willing to lend his aid and influence in behalf of all enterprises for the material advancement of his city, and the intellectual, social and moral good of its people.

JOHN WEAL.

There have been few residents of O'Brien county, Iowa, who have come here from the sturdy little country of Wales in western England, but those who have made this country their home have been prosperous and substantial citizens. The Welsh people have as interesting history as any of those in Europe and there are no finer citizens to be found in the United States today than those who came from that little mountainous country.

The late John Weal was born in Wales and reared to manhood in his native country. He was married in his native land to Gwen Jones and came with his wife to this country in 1894. Immediately upon coming to this country they settled in O'Brien county, Iowa, where they first purchased one hundred and seventeen acres of land in Waterman township. Mr. Weal proved to be a very successful farmer and within seventeen years he had accumulated a fine farm of five hundred and twenty acres in this county.

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Before his death, in 1909, he had retired from active work upon the farm and lived in Sutherland, where his widow is still living. The farm is highly improved and represents an investment of fifteen thousand dollars in addition to the price paid for the land. John Weal was married in 1894 to Gwen Jones, the daughter of William and Mary (Davis) Jones. William Jones was born in Wales in 1829 and his wife was born in the same country in 1825. William Jones began working as a wool buyer when nineteen years of age and followed this line of business until his death in 1899, dying at Builth Wells, Wales. He was married in 1848 to Mary Davis, and to this union thirteen children were born, eight of whom are still living and seven of the number still residing in Wales: William, Thomas, George, Mary, James, Ellen, Anna, and Gwen, the widow of Mr. Weal. William married Alice Evans and is a wool buyer. Thomas married Ellen Davis and followed the trade of a blacksmith; George married Elizabeth Lloyd and is a wool buyer; Mary is the wife of Thomas Weal, a carpenter; James is a painter and married Mary Hughes; Ellen is the wife of Rev. Morgan Thomas; Anna is the wife of Thomas Richard. Mr. Weal died on the 9th of October, 1909. He was a member of the Church of England and in politics he was a Republican.

LEWIS WOODMAN.

It is interesting to note how the successful farmers of O'Brien county are gravitating to Sheldon, where they may spend their declining years in comfort and quietude. Scores of the finest residences in Sheldon have been built by farmers who have made their fortunes on the wide prairies of the couny and then come to Sheldon to await their final summons. Among these worthy farmers who have made a success of farming in this county and have retired to Sheldon, there is no one more worthy of mention than Lewis Woodman, a retired farmer of Dale township.

Lewis Woodman was born April 4, 1845, in Alexander, Grafton county, New Hampshire, and is the son of David B. and Jane (Patten) Woodman. David Woodman was born January 1, 1809, in Deerfield, New Hampshire, and died in 1886 in the state of his birth. To David B. Woodman and wife were born seven children: Mrs. Sarah J. Smith, of New Hampshire; Mrs. Laura Downing, of New Hampshire; Mrs. Lydia Aldrich, of New Hamp-

Picture of LEWIS WOODMAN.

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shire; Mrs. Susan C. White; George, who died in infancy; Edward, a farmer of Kansas, and Lewis, whose history is here presented.

Lewis Woodman received a good common school education in the schools of New Hampshire and remained with his parents on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then decided to come west and seek his fortune and accordingly settled first in Clayton county, Iowa, where he worked out on a farm in the summer of 1867. Then he and his brother Edward purchased two hundred and forty acres in Poweshiek county and farmed it for the next eleven years. The land was a prairie at the time they purchased it, but they brought it under cultivation and have the satisfaction of seeing it yield handsome returns. In 1878 Lewis Woodman left Poweshiek county and came to Sac county. From Sac county he drove on through to O'Brien county and finally decided to settle in Dale township, although there were only two other families in the township at that time. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, which had never been touched by the hand of man and about eight years later he added another one hundred and sixty acres in Summit township in this county. He now owns a total of three hundred and twenty acres of land in this county which is well improved in every way and nets him handsome returns on his investment. He has five acres of orchard grove on his farm, a feature which is found on all of the better farms of the county. Several years ago Mr. Woodman decided to retire from active farming and at the time moved to Primghar, where he lived for seven years. However, his love for the farm drew him back and in 1907 he went back to his farm and remained until 1910, when he permanently retired to Sheldon. He has two lots and a beautiful residence at Sheldon where he is now living a life of ease.

Mr. Woodman was married in 1873 in Tama county, Iowa, to Amanda Voorhees. To this marriage were born four children: George O., of North Dakota; William B., of Montana; Andrew L., of Nebraska, and Mrs. Lillie M. Barnett, of Montana. On December 23, 1891, Mr. Woodman was married a second time to Mrs. Mary E. Quigley. Politically, Mr. Woodman is a Progressive in his belief, but not in party affiliations. He prefers to be classed as independent, with progressive tendencies. It is noticeable that there are a large number of men throughout the county who are of the same opinion as Mr. Woodman in regard to their politics. He belongs to the Congregational church with his family and contributes liberally of his substance to its support. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Primghar.

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Mrs. Woodman's father was Simeon Mead, of New York, who came to Iowa in the early days and died at Cedar Falls. Her mother passed away in Dale township, having spent her later days with her daughter, Mrs. Woodman.

DR. WILLIAM H. KENDERDINE.

The true western spirit of progress and enterprise is strikingly exemplified in the lives of such men as Doctor Kenderdine, men whose energetic nature and laudable ambitions have enabled them to conquer many adverse circumstances and advance steadily to leading positions in the professional and business life of the communities in which they reside. Doctor Kenderdine is a worthy representative of thee dental practitioners of this section of Iowa and has been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession in the town of Sutherland, O'Brien county, for the past thirteen years.

Dr. William H. Kenderdine, a successful dentist and popular citizen of Sutherland, was born in Clay county, Iowa, in 1875, and is the son of Thomas and Mary (Reeves) Kenderdine. Thomas Kenderdine was born in 1843 in England and was reared to manhood in his native country, following the vocation of a farmer. In young manhood he came to America and settled in Ohio, where he worked as a farm laborer for a few years, after which he went to Iowa, settling in Clay county, where he homesteaded a tract of land, thereby securing a good farm in that county. In 1903 he retired fmm active farm life and moved to Dickens. Clay county, where he is now living. Thomas Kenderdine and wife were the parents of two children, Thomas, a farmer in Canada, and Dr. William H., with whom this narrative deals.

Dr. William H. Kenderdine was given a good common school education and afterwards took a two-years' course in the Nora Springs high school, where he graduated, after which he taught school for a time. He then took a position as clerk in a grocery store, where he worked for a short time and afterwards went to work in the office of Doctor Peck, a dentist at Spencer, Iowa. After working there for one year he went to Iowa City and entered the College of Dentistry, from which institution he graduated three years later. He immediately entered upon the active practice of his profession, at Peterson, Iowa, and one year later moved to Sutherland, O'Brien county, where he has been actively engaged in the

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practice of his profession since 1901. He possesses a thorough knowledge of his work and keeps in touch with the latest advances made in the science of dentistry, being numbered among the ablest and most successful in his line in this section of that state. He owns a handsome home in Sutherland, as well as one hundred and sixty acres of land in South Dakota.

Doctor Kenderdine was married in 1904 to Alma Colby, the daughter of Mrs. Nellie Colby, and to this union has been born one son, Harold. Politically, Doctor Kenderdine belongs to that large class of intelligent citizens who reserve the right to cast their votes for the best men, feeling that in so doing they are giving the country the best service within their power. Fraternally, the Doctor is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias, of Sutherland. Doctor Kenderdine is a straightforward, conscientious man and his fellow citizens have marked confidence in him because of his public spirit and splendid personal qualities. Personally, he is a genial and companionable man and is popular in the various circles in which he moves.

ROBERT JOHN MOORHEAD.

Among the prosperous young business men of Sutherland, O'Brien county, Iowa, is Robert John Moorhead, who has been associated with Medealt & Cannon in the grain business in this city since March 1, 1914, yet has already impressed those with whom he has been associated as a man of exceptional ability. Previous experience as a farmer has made him well qualified as a grain dealer and his capable management of his business in this city is fast winning for him the confidence of the farmers of this locality. He is the son of George and Anna (Willis) Moorhead, and was born at Garrison, Benton county, Iowa, in 1881.

George Moorhead was born in Ireland in 1840, grew to manhood and married in his native country and came to the United States in 1868 and located at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh he worked for Jones & Laughlin in the steel mills for several years. He then came to Garrison, Benton county, Iowa, where he lived several years and farmed rented land, and in 1884 he came to O'Brien county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land near the city of Paullina. He improved his farm and had the satisfaction of seeing it yield handsome returns on his investment. In 1904 he bought another quarter section of land and continued to farm until 1910 when he retired and moved to Paullina, where he is now living.

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George Moorhead was married to Anna Willis, who was born in Ireland in 1854. To this union have been born four children: Andrew, who is now tending the home farm; Jennie married James Conn, a farmer living near Primghar, in this county; Helena, who is still living with her brother on the home farm, and Robert J.

Robert J. Moorhead received a good common school education and assisted his father upon the home farm until March 1, 1914, when he began to deal in grain in Sutherland. Previous to that time he had purchased a quarter section of land in Spink county, South Dakota, near Redfield, and has owned this since 1910. Mr. Moorhead has been in business only a short time at Sutherland, but in that time he has demonstrated his fitness to be classed among the progressive business men of his city.

Mr. Moorhead is unmarried. He is a stanch Republican in politics, although he has never had the time to take any active part in political affairs. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Lodge No. 499 at Paullina. He is a member of the Presbyterian church at Paullina and is a liberal supporter of its various activities. Mr. Moorhead is a young man with fine prospects for the future and his success in the past presages a successful career for him. He is a man of genial disposition and kindly manner and wins friends wherever he goes.

GEORGE L. JONES.

Among the successful farmers and business men of this community, George L. Jones has had much to do in advancing the material interests of O'Brien county, making it one of the important agricultural and commercial centers of this section of the state. A study of his life cannot fail of interest and incentive, for he has not only been distinctly representative in his sphere of endeavor, but has established a firm reputation for integrity and honor and is now actively identified with the Farmers Elevator Company as manager and is numbered among the substantial and worthy citizens of his community, and no one more than he deserves representation in a work of this character.

George L. Jones, the manager of the Farmers Elevator Company, of Ritter, Iowa, was born in 1865, in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Mary (Howell) Jones. James Jones was born in Wales in 1821, and came with his parents to Bradford county, Pennsylvania, when he was but three years of age. Upon reaching his majority he engaged in the

Picture of GEORGE L. JONES.

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occupation of farming and became a prosperous farmer in that county, owning one hundred and ninety-six acres at the time of his death. He was married in 1859 to Mary Howell, who was born in 1831, and she is still living in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. To James Jones and wife were born nine children: Mrs. Marion Green, who lives in Pennsylvania; Martin, deceased; Arthur, who is a resident of New York state; Benjamin, of Sioux county, this state; Martha, deceased; Mrs. Addie Whitaker, of Bradford county, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Anna Williams, also of Bradford county, Pennsylvania; Elmer, of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and George L., whose history is here portrayed.

George L. Jones received his education in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-three years of age. In 1888 he came west and settled in Sioux county, Iowa, where he lived on a rented farm for one year, after which he went back to Bradford county, Pennsylvania, married and followed the occupation of a farmer in that state for six years. He bought one hundred and ninety-six acres of land in his native county and operated it until he sold out in 1896, when he came back to Iowa, settling in O'Brien county. He first rented three hundred and twenty acres of land in this county, which he operated for a short time, afterwards moving to Sioux county, Iowa, and rented land there for the next seven years. At one time he was the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land in Minnesota, which was well improved, and at this time has an interest in one hundred and sixty acres in O'Brien county, and also owns an interest in the Farmers Elevator Company, of Ritter, of which he is the present manager. He also takes an active interest in the breeding of blooded horses, making a specialty of Percheron horses and takes much pride in his stock, which took first prize at the Sheldon fair in 1905 and again in 1909.

Mr. Jones was married in Pennsylvania in 1890 to Agnes Davis, who was born in 1869 in that state, and to this union there have been born four children, Harriett and Leigh, who are both in the high school at Sheldon, and James and Gordon, who are both deceased.

Mr. Jones has always taken an active interest in politics and while living in Sioux county, Iowa, was township trustee for one term and assessor for one term. He and his family are earnest and faithful members of the Congregational church and subscribe generously to the support of that denomination. Mr. Jones has made his way through the world unaided and attributes his success solely to his own undivided efforts. He persevered because he had the determination and ability to take advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves, and make the most of them.

1032 O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.

LOUIS RUWE.

A man who boldly faces the responsibility of life and by determined and untiring energy carves out for himself an honorable success exerts a powerful influence upon the lives of all who follow him. Such men constitute the foundation of our republican institutions and are the pride of our civilization. To them life is so real that they find no time to plot either mischief or vice. Their lives are bound up in their duties, they feel the weight of their citizenship and take pleasure in sowing the seeds of uprightness. Such has been the career of the subject of this brief notice.

Louis Ruwe, automobile dealer of Moneta, O'Brien county, Iowa, was born in Scott County, Iowa, in 1874, the son of Henry and Rica (Carlson) Ruwe. Henry Ruwe was born in 1834 while his parents were crossing the ocean to this country from their native land of Germany. Upon arriving in this country his parents settled in Davenport, Iowa, where Henry Ruwe was interested in mining and agricultural pursuits. He became one of the large land owners of Scott county, Iowa, and lived on his farm until 1898, when he retired and moved to Davenport, Iowa, where he is now residing. Henry Ruwe and wife were the parents of twelve children: Henry, Jr., of Buena (sic) Vista county; Fred, deceased; John, a farmer of Scott county; William, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; David, who lives in Cedar county. Iowa; Charles, deceased; Jacob, deceased; Mrs. Minnie Moeller, who is a resident of South Dakota; Mrs. Mary Golinghort, of Lake Park; Mrs. Emma Bader, who lives in South Dakota; Rica, who is living at Davenport with her father, and Louis, whose history is here presented.

Louis Ruwe received a good common school education and when twenty- one years of age left his home and settled in O'Brien county, Iowa, where he engaged in the buying and selling of grain in the employ of an elevator company. He worked for this company for about four years and then began to work on the farm where he lived until 1911, when he came to Moneta and engaged in the automobile business. He has erected a building in which he stores his stock and maintains a repair shop, which is well equipped with all of the improved machinery for the repairing of automobiles, and he enjoys a large and increasing patronage. Mr. Ruwe is the owner of several lots in Moneta and is also one of the stockholders of the Moneta Savings Bank, of which financial institution he is a director. He is agent for the Moon and Overland automobiles and has built up a good trade in the community surrounding Moneta.

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Mr. Ruwe was married in 1904 in Clay county, Iowa, to Anna Voss, the daughter of John Voss. The political party to which Mr. Ruwe owes his allegiance is the old time-honored party headed by Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson. Since reaching his majority he has been casting his vote for the Democratic party. He and his wife are regular attendants of the German Lutheran church and subscribe generously to the support of that denomination. He is a public-spirited citizen and his influence is always felt in the various enterprises which are advanced for the benefit of his community. He has always been regarded as a man of sterling honesty and worth and has the confidence and respect of a large circle of friends and acquaintances owing to his upright and industrious life.

DANIEL M. SHELDON.

Daniel M. Sheldon was born December 4, 1846, at Belvidere, Illinois. While yet in his teens, on August 14, 1862, at Cherry Valley, Illinois, he enlisted in Company E, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, First Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, and served in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Dalton, Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Franklin and Nashville. He was wounded in the face by a musket ball July 4, 1864, at Marietta, Georgia, and was honorably discharged June 10, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee. He settled permanently in Sutherland in 1882 and was engaged in the mercantile business for thirty years. While not among the earliest of the settlers in the county, he came at the beginning of the substantial period in the county and for thirty years participated in all the upbuildings of a permanent character in his own town. On January 29, 1874, he was married to Catherine E. Davis. They have six children, Frederick E., Charles M., Edna B., Ethel I., Frank M. and Roy H.

But the public activities of Mr. Sheldon were not confined to his own home town. His substantial work became county wide. He was a member of the board of supervisors of O'Brien county from 1884 to 1886 inclusive and again from 1894 to 1899 inclusive, a period of nine years in all, and was chairman portions of that time.

Mr. Sheldon in his very make-up is a positive, definite man in all his movements and life. During this nine years he stamped this definiteness into all the public affairs of the county. He did not become a member of the

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board until the main troublous period of the county had practically ended. He belonged to the first of the building period of the county. Fortunately he was surrounded by the new conditions demanding betterments and uplift. Mr. Sheldon's very presence on the board said in positive terms, "there must be nothing questionable even suggested to this board or to myself as a member." For nine years he stood out like a stone wall in the county affairs as one of the strong men of the strong boards in the later half period of the county, and as a preventative against any possible relapse in public matters. We will not attempt to individual the items connected with his work as they are substantially recited in various articles during these nine years. He participated in all those public administrative and healthy improvements, now commenced and continued, during his nine years of public service, as in this history recited in the building up of a larger and better O'Brien county.

FOSTER HAIN.

A farmer of Floyd township, O'Brien county, Iowa, who has inherited in a large measure the characteristics which made his father a successful farmer in this county, is Foster Hain, a successful agriculturist and stockman. His father, it is safe to say, was not only one of the most successful farmers of the county, but was one of the most successful in this section of the state.

Foster Hain was born May 28, 1876, in Illinois, the son of Joseph and Mary E. (Cooper) Hain. Joseph Hain was born in Pennsylvania in 1851 and came to Illinois with his parents when he was four years of age. Marrying at the early age of nineteen, he lived for twelve years in Illinois and then came to O'Brien county, Iowa, in 1887 and purchased eight hundred acres of unimproved land. This land he has improved, at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars, and has added to this until he is now the owner of fourteen hundred acres of land in O'Brien county and six hundred and forty acres in Canada. He has always been an extensive stockman and has fed hundreds of cattle each year until 1909, when he retired from active farm work and turned his land over to his sons, Foster and Earl, to manage. Joseph Hain was married in 1875 to Mary E. Cooper, who was born May 28, 1856, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Cooper. Peter Cooper was born in 1822, and when eighteen years of age he crossed the Alleghany mountains on foot

Picture of MR. AND MRS. FOSTER HAIN.

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to seek his fortunes in the West. Joseph Hain and wife were the parents of seven children: Mrs. Lavina E. Griffith, of this county; Calvin G., of this county; Mrs. Carrie E. Garrard, who lives in Sheldon; Earl W., who is on the old homestead; Peter C, who lives in Saskatchewan, Canada; Mrs. Hila Brewster, who is a resident of Sioux county, this state, and Foster, of whom this narrative speaks.

Foster Hain was educated in the schools of Illinois and Iowa, and has always lived with his parents. At the present time he is renting land from his father. He has taken first and second prizes in farm products on several occasions at the O'Brien county fair.

Mr. Hain was married in 1901 to Kitty Larch, who was born in 1875 in Michigan, and to this marriage have been born three children, Lawrence, Howard and Mildred.

Mr. Hain is independent in politics and casts his vote for the best man at all times. He is progressive in his inclinations and favors all measures which he feels will benefit his community and fellow citizens. He and his family are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church and subscribe liberally to its support. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active interest in the work of that organization. He has always been interested in educational affairs and has served as clerk and secretary of the school board of Floyd township. Mr. Hain is a worthy descendant of his father, and promises to be no less successful in his agricultural career than his father before him. He has shown those characteristics which made his father a leader in his community. He is a man of pleasing address and manner, and has a large number of friends throughout the county who admire him for his many good qualities.

JAMES B. MURPHY.

Many of the best citizens of O'Brien county, Iowa, have come from the good old Hoosier state of Indiana. Among the native-born citizens who have lived in O'Brien county for more than thirty years is James B. Murphy, a prosperous farmer and stock man of Grant township. Since coming to this county he has ever had the upbuilding of his home community at heart and has led the life of a good citizen in every respect, for while living to advance himself along material lines he has not neglected those larger duties to his neighbors and to the public.

1036 O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.

James B. Murphy was born in Rushville, Indiana, in 1856, and is the son of Maurice and Sarah (Gilson) Murphy. Maurice Murphy was born in Ireland in 1833 and when thirteen years of age left his native land and came to Indiana, where for a time he worked at day labor and then secured work on the railroad which was built through Rushville, Indiana. For a number of years he was a railroad brakeman on this road and made his home in Rushville. Late in life he became a farmer in Rush county, Indiana, and followed that occupation until his retirement in 1903. Sarah Gilson was born in 1837, in Rushville, Indiana, and is still living, while her husband died in 1908. To this union were born four children, three of whom are still living.

James B. Murphy received his education in the schools of Rushville, Indiana, and when twenty-three years of age married and began to farm on a rented farm. Believing that Iowa offered better opportunities for farming than Indiana, he came to Iowa in 1882 and settled in O'Brien county. He rented land for the first nine years and was so successful that he was enabled to purchase the same one hundred and sixty acres which he had been renting. He has a fine grove of fruit and forest trees upon his farm in which he takes a great deal of pride. He raises high-grade live stock of all kinds and is counted among the most successful stock raisers of his township. He owns a share of stock in the Farmers Elevator Company and also the fair association at Sutherland, and has always been an active member of the O'Brien County Fair Association. At the present time he is a director and one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the association.

Mr. Murphy was married in 1879 to Carvana Bebout, who was born in Rushville in 1857 and died in O'Brien county in 1913. To this union were born eight children: Mamie, who is a trained nurse in Sioux City, Iowa; Lettie, who is still at home with her father; Grover, who is a farmer of Grant township, this county; Carmie, now Mrs. Lee Ferguson, of Grant township; Maurice a farmer, with the Western Bridge Company; Charles, Jr., and Jessie, the last two named children being still with their father.

Since coming to this county Mr. Murphy has always taken a prominent part in public affairs and his interests have always been identified with the Democratic party and his party has honored him on several occasions by nominating him for township offices. During the past thirty years of his residence here he has served as township clerk, road superintendent, township trustee and is now holding the office of treasurer of the township school board. During his incumbency of these various positions he exer-

O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA. 1037

cised the same care and fidelity to duty that he uses in his own private affairs, and it is safe to say that no more popular official ever held an office in Grant township than Mr. Murphy. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes a deep interest in the affairs of that organization. He has done a great deal for his township, whose interests he has ever had at heart and for this reason he is really one of the representative men of his township.

CHARLES F. AND GEORGE REIFSTECK.

Among the prosperous business men of O'Brien county, Iowa, who are connected with the banking interests of the county are the Reifsteck brothers, Charles F. and George. They have forged to the front in their profession, because of their natural endowment and force of character. It is always profitable to study the lives of such men as these, because their lives have been characterized by that devotion to duty which must actuate every successful man. They have obtained their present position in the business world of the county only through hard work and the success which they enjoy today is richly merited.

Charles F. and George Reifsteck, the sons of Louis and Katherine (Kirmeileh) Reifsteck, were born in Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1868 and 1870 respectively. Louis Reifsteck was born in Germany in 1834 and when a young man came to this country and settled in Galena, Illinois. Several years later he moved to Jamestown, Wisconsin, where he became engaged in the mercantile business and still later became identified with the mining industry in that state. He was one of the men to open the mine and plot a town in Grant county which was known by the name of Louisburg. Louis Reifsteck was postmaster and took a great deal of interest in the young town in its earliest history. He subsequently moved to LeMars, Iowa, where he engaged in the mercantile business. After living in LeMars for three years he came to Calumet, Iowa, in 1893, and opened up a mercantile establishment which he managed for a few years. He is now the president of the Calumet State Bank and one of the stockholders. To Louis Reifsteck and wife were born five children: Louis, Jr., a merchant of Chicago, Illinois; William, deceased; Charles; Mrs. Katherine Rall, whose husband is a minister of the gospel, and George.

Charles F. Reifsteck, the elder of the two sons whose life histories are

1038 O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.

here reviewed, was given a good common school education in Grant county, Wisconsin, and when eighteen years of age left home and went to Plymouth county, Iowa, where he worked for a short time. Later he entered the mercantile business with his brother George at Neptune, Iowa. He was appointed postmaster there under Cleveland's administration and after serving his term removed to Gaza, Iowa, where he again engaged in the mercantile business. In 1893 he was appointed postmaster at Gaza and lived there for the next ten years. He then disposed of his business interests and moved to Calumet, Iowa, where he again became identified with the mercantile business. In 1909 he disposed of his store and became cashier of the bank of Gaza, known as the Farmers Savings Bank. He is heavily interested in real estate in this county and now owns five hundred acres of excellent land in the county. He was married on December 19, 1898, to Florence C. Henderson, and to this union have been born three children, C. Dewey, Katherine and Melba. Politically, Charles Reifsteck is a Democrat, but has never been actively identitied with politics. He and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while in his fraternal relations he is found affiliated with Knights of Pythias and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen.

George Reifsteck, like his brother Charles, received a good common school education in Grant county, Wisconsin, and when eighteen years of age left home to work for himself. He clerked first for three years, then he and his brother Charles opened up a general store at Neptune, Iowa. In 1897 he disposed of his interests in the store and moved to Calumet, where he again engaged in the mercantile business. He was appointed postmaster of Calumet and three years later sold out his interests in the store and resigned as postmaster to accept the position of cashier in the bank at Calumet, later reorganized as the Calumet State Bank. He is a heavy stockholder in the bank and also holds considerable land in O'Brien county. He was married in 1904 at Calumet, Iowa, to Grace Hessenius. In his political affiliations he identifies himself with that large and intelligent class of voters who are not bound by any partisan rule. He prefers to cast his vote for the best men irrespective of their party affiliations. Since moving to Calumet he has been actively identified with all the interests of the city and at one time or another has held every office within the gift of the people of the city. He was mayor for eight years and while filling that responsible office did everything he could for the welfare of his city. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and takes a deep interest in the work of that fraternal organization.

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The two brothers are men of influence in their respective communities and are a high type of the excellent American citizens who, while advancing their own material interest, never neglect their duty to their commonwealth. They are men of high qualities of character and deserving of the high standing which they enjoy.

FRED GUHL.

Practically every country in Europe has contributed to the population of O'Brien county, Iowa. It is a matter of history that Germany has gone through several revolutions within the past century which have forced thousands of their best citizens to leave the country. After the revolutions of 1820 and 1848 there were thousands of citizens of Germany who came to America and settled in various parts of the United States. As a matter of fact whenever any German settlers came to this country and made a success, it usually followed that the neighbors who lived in the same locality in his native land also came over to this country. No German who has settled in O'Brien county, Iowa, has ever been an inmate of the poor house. This fact alone shows that they have been uniformly successful. Among the successful men of Lincoln township, O'Brien county, Iowa, who came to this country after reaching their majority there is no one who occupies a more prominent position in his township than Fred Guhl, of Lincoln township.

Fred Guhl, the son of Joachin and Elizabeth (Janert) Guhl, was born in 1866 in Germany. His father was born in 1835 and followed the profession of a sailor and fisherman in his native land. Joachin Guhl and wife were married in 1865 in Germany and to their union were born four children: William, who was killed by a team on his father's farm; Mrs. Ricker Lach, of Pocahontas county, Iowa; Albert, a cement worker of Minnesota, and Fred, whose life history forms the theme of this narrative.

Fred Guhl went to school in Germany and received a good common school education. After leaving the school room he worked out as a farm hand in the vicinity of his home neighborhood. He came with his parents from Germany to Benton county, Iowa, in 1888 and stayed with his father on the farm two years after he came to this state. He then came from Benton county to O'Brien county in 1896. In the year 1894 he was married and first rented land in Benton county. After coming to O'Brien county

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he rented land for six years; he then bought one hundred and sixty acres in Lincoln township, which he is still farming. Since purchasing this farm he has made eight thousand dollars' worth of improvements on it. His father also owned one hundred and sixty acres in this same township and had the largest grove in the township. His father sold his farm a short time before his death and moved to Hartley, where he lived until 1913, the year of his death. Mr. Guhl is a large stock raiser and keeps a good grade of stock, and from the sale of this he realizes a handsome return each year. He has a share in the Farmers Elevator Company of Hartley, Iowa. Mr. Guhl was married in 1894 to Marie Wiedite and to this marriage have been born two children, William and Elizabeth, both of whom are still with their parents. Mr. Guhl gives his support to the Democratic party at all times, although he has never taken an active part in politics, preferring to devote all of his time to his aoricultural interests. Mr. Guhl and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and contribute generously of their means to its support. Mr. Guhl came to this country after reaching his majoritvyand in the course of twenty-five years obtained a position of influence in his community, solely through his own efforts. He is a man who is held in high esteem by his neighbors because of his kindly manner and his upright way of living.

DR. PLEASANT S. STEARNS.

One of the professions which is indispensable to the community life of an agricultural country is that of a veterinary surgeon. While for many centuries we have had physicians to minister to human ills, it has only been within the past century that the treatment of diseases of animals has risen to the dignity of a science. At the present time we have colleges which are giving technical training of a high character to treatment of the diseases of horses, cows, dogs, cats, etc. A veterinary surgeon who understands his business is one of the most valuable assets a farming community can have, and for this reason Dr. Pleasant S. Stearns is one of the representative men of O'Brien county, Iowa.

Pleasant S. Stearns was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, in 1856, the son of Isaac and Lorana (Knox) Stearns. Isaac Stearns was born in Oswego county, New York, in 1819, and was a minister in the United Brethren and Methodist Episcopal churches. He was a man who was a power for

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good in his community. As a young man he settled in Illinois, and at the opening of the Civil War enlisted in an Illinois regiment of volunteer infantry. However, he served only a short time, being mustered out on account of disability caused by rheumatism. After leaving the army he returned to Illinois, where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1907. He was married in 1842 to Lorana Knox, who was born in Ohio in 1819, and to this union six children were born, all but one of whom are still living.

Pleasant S. Stearns received a common school education in his home schools, and when a very small lad began working on his father's farm. At the age of fifteen he secured employment in a street car barn in Illinois, where he worked for a short time, after which he went to work with a veterinary surgeon by the name of Scott, and studied with him for a year, afterwards working and studying with other veterinary surgeons, and in 1883 began to practice by himself at Gladbrook, Iowa, where he remained for six years, after which he came to Sutherland, where he has since continued to reside, and has built up a practice which carries him beyond the limits of this county into all of the neighboring counties of the state. Although he has never taken a graduate course of any kind in his profession, yet he is recognized as one of the most skillful veterinary surgeons in the state of Iowa. He has a well equipped laboratory, where he has performed some very skillful and interesting operations. He is frequently called into consultation by other veterinary surgeons throughout this section of the state and his advice is always considered very good. He is a member of the Hawkeye Veterinary Association of Des Moines, Iowa, and is its treasurer and takes an interest in the work of that organization. Doctor Stearns has invested in Iowa lands and is now the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land in Clay county which yields him a good return on his investment. He also owns a share in the fair association of O'Brien county, as well as a share in the Farmers Elevator Company of Sutherland.

Doctor Stearns was married in 1885 to Lula Pray, and to this union have been born five children: Harvey, a graduate of the Sutherland high school and also from the civil engineering course in Ames College, is now teaching manual training in St. Paul, Minnesota; Mrs. Mabel Fredenburg, who lives in Clay county, Iowa; Mrs. Belva Willie, of Sutherland, Iowa; Homer and Florence, who are still with their parents.

Doctor Stearns is independent in his political belief and has never felt bound by any particular party ticket. On the other hand he casts his ballot for the best men rather than voting a party ticket. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of

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Odd Fellows at Sutherland. He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Doctor Stearns is a wide reader of current affairs and a close observer of men and events and has kept in close touch with the issues of the times. He is considered one of the substantial and influential citizens of the locality which is honored bv his residence.

SAMUEL BOYCE.

Among the distinguished veterans of the Civil War who make their home in Hartley, O'Brien county, Iowa, there is no one deserving of a greater meed of respect than Samuel Boyce, a prosperous farmer of this county. He was born in 1839 in Allegany county, New York, and has lived a long and useful life, three years of which were spent in the service of his country during that long and bloody conflict, which determined that the Union was one and inseparable. He is the son of Samuel and Betsey Ann (Hall) Boyce. The father was born in Ireland and settled in Clayton county, Iowa, where he lived the life of a farmer. His mother was born in Ireland in 1812 and to their union were born six children: Mrs. Mary Ann Wood, deceased; Mrs. Elizabeth Dull, of Clayton county, Iowa; William, of North Dakota; Robert, of Clayton county, Iowa; James, deceased, and Samuel, whose life history forms the theme of this narrative.

Samuel Boyce remained with his parents until twenty-one years of age. He received a good common school education and when a small lad went with his parents to Iowa. He was living in Iowa when the war broke out and was then seized with that same patriotic feeling which seized the youth of the North. He enlisted in Company H, Sixteenth Regiment. Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and his company was assigned to service under General Sherman. He fought in the battles of the eastern part of Tennessee and then followed Sherman on his march to the sea, participating in the battles of Resaca, Dalton and Atlanta, and was at Savannah with Sherman when they took the city on Christmas day, 1864. He was finally mustered out in the spring of 1865 in Tennessee.

Immediately after he was mustered out of the service, Mr. Boyce returned to Iowa and settled in Allamakee county. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. This land was unimproved and was known as "grub land." For seventeen years he lived upon this farm, improving it in such a way that when he sold it in 1863 he realized a handsome profit

Picture of SAMUEL BOYCE.

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upon his investment. He came to O'Brien county in 1883 and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land at twelve dollars an acre. Since buying this land he has made five thousand dollars worth of improvements on it, consisting of houses of various kinds, fencing, drainage and groves of fruit and orchard trees. He continued to operate his farm until 1900, when he retired from active farm life and moved to Hartley, where he is living in a handsome residence of his own. He owns six lots in Hartley besides other property.

Mr. Boyce was married in 1866, immediately after the close of the war, to Philena Young, who was born in Iowa in 1844. To this union have been born four children: Thomas, deceased; Adam, a logster in Mississippi; William and Charles, who are farming the home place.

In politics, Mr. Boyce is a Republican and. while he has always been interested in politics, he has never been a candidate for any public office. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have been earnest and consistent supporters of that denomination. He is a member of the Grand Army post of Hartley. His life since coming to this county has been such as to win him the commendation of his fellow citizens.

JOHN F. O'DONNELL.

Among the enterprising and prosperous citizens of Irish extraction whose energy and strength of character have gained for them a prominent place in O'Brien county, Iowa, is John F. O'Donnell, a retired farmer and stockman of Sutherland, Iowa. A residence of thirty years in the county has given his friends the opportunity to estimate his character and worth as a man, and they willingly accord him a place among the representative citizens of the county. While in active life his influence was all exerted for the advancement of his fellow citizens, and for this reason his life history is briefly set forth in this volume.

John F. O'Donnell, the son of John and Bridget (Hoben) O'Donnell, was born in 1848 in Ireland. His father was born in that country in 1816 and lived the life of a plain farmer until 1869, when he left his native land and came to America, settling in Dubuque county, Iowa, where he followed agricultural pursuits until 1882, when he came to O'Brien countv, Iowa, and lived with his son until his death, which occurred in 1889. His widow is still living in Dubuque county, this state.

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John F. O'Donnell is one of seven children born to his parents, three of whom are deceased. He was given a meager education in the schools of Ireland and when nineteen years of age started to come to America to seek his fortunes. He arrived in Dubuque county, Iowa, in 1867, and immediately found employment as a farm hand. After working for farmers for years and getting thoroughly acquainted with the practical ideas of American farming, he rented land for himself and continued to farm in Dubuque county until 1882, when he removed to this county and worked on a ranch in Union township for the Paullin brothers. In 1882 he purchased land in Summit township and in the course of the next three years he bought and sold several different farms, and finally permanently located in Liberty township, on a farm of his own, and continued to reside there until 1911, when he retired from active farm life and moved to Sutherland. He is the owner of three hundred and six acres of well improved land, as well as ten acres and a handsome modern home in the north part of the city of Sutherland. As a farmer he raised all of the crops common to this latitude and took a special pride in breeding pedigreed live stock. As a breeder of thoroughbred Poland China hogs he has taken prizes at the Sutherland county fair and has also won prizes on draft horses at the fair. He owns a share of stock in the Co-operative elevator at Sutherland, an elevator which is owned by the farmers of that community.

Mr. O'Donnell was married in 1884 to Ella Zehring, the daughter of Adam Zehring, and to this union have been born seven children: Agnes, deceased; Walter, who lives in Colorado; Ruby, who is living in Colorado with her brother; Mrs. Ella Wilkerson, of Gaza, Iowa, and Earl, Murl and Iva, who are still with their parents.

Mr. O'Donnell has been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and has been honored by his party by being given various offices. He has served as road supervisor and school director in his home township and filled both of these offices to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of the township and community. He and the members of his family are loyal and earnest members of the Catholic church and give to it their earnest and zealous support at all times. Fraternally, he is a member of the Yeomen and the Homesteaders and takes an active interest in these fraternal organizations. Mr. O'Donnell is a man of optimistic views of life and possesses to a marked degree those characteristics which win friends. He is a man of high moral character, persistent industry and excellent judgment, and throughout the locality where he has lived for more than thirty years he occupies an enviable position among his fellow men.

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JOHN THIETJE.

Among the prosperous farmers and stockmen of Lincoln township, O'Brien county. Iowa, of German parentage is John Thietje, a prominent citizen of Lincoln township. It is an inspiration to read the careers of men who came to this country with no visible assets except ability to work and their honesty of purpose, and in the course of a few years accumulated a comfortable competence for their declining years. John Thietje was born in 1856, in Germany, the son of Henry and Charlott (Petersen) Thietje. The father was born in 1824 and lived and died the life of a farmer in his native land, passing away in 1908. To Henry Thietje and wife were born eight children: Fred, of Germany; Henry, of Germany; Paul, of Germany; Mrs. Anna Meier, of Minnesota; Mrs. Dora Burer, deceased; August, deceased; Crist, who is farming with John in this county, and John, whose history is here briefly presented.

John Thietje received a common school education in his native land and learned the carpenter trade. Upon reaching the age of twenty-three he wished to better his condition and with this end in view sailed for America. After arriving in this country he first went to Jackson county, Iowa, and worked on a farm and did some carpenter work. Upon marrying, in 1885, he came to Union township, O'Brien county, and purchased eighty acres of land. He and his young wife worked diligently to bring the farm to a state where it would yield a comfortable living, and spent ten years of their lives upon this farm, then sold it in 1896 and moved to Kossuth county, in this state, where they again bought a farm. After six years they sold it and moved back to O'Brien county, buying one hundred and twenty acres of land in Lincoln township, on which they are still living. He planted five acres of grove and orchard trees and raises a high grade of live stock of various kinds. He raises all the crops which are peculiar to this section of the state and finds a ready market for any of his surplus grain.

Mr. Thietje was married in 1885 to Anna Koock, and to this marriage have been born six children: Mrs. Charlott Pottersen of Spencer, Iowa; Henry, of Spencer, Iowa; Albert; Dora; Emiel and Louise. The three younger children are still at home with their parents. Politically, Mr. Thietje is a member of the Democratic party but has never been actively interested in the affairs of his party. He votes for the best man at election and in so doing he believes he is performing the best service for his state. Religiously, he and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran

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church and contribute generously of their means to its support. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Hartley, Iowa. Mr. Thietje is a fine example of the self-made man who came from a foreign country with no knowledge of the English language and in the course of a few years accumulated a comfortable fortune for his declining years. He is a man of pleasant personality and easily makes friends wherever he goes. He is highly regarded by everyone who knows him because of his upright character and cleanliness of life.

MICHAEL P. MULLIN.

The citizens of O'Brien county who claim Ireland as their native land, or who are descendants of natives of the Emerald isle, are among the substantial and enterprising citizens wherever they are found in this country. Someone has said that an Irishman never died in the poor house and it is certainly a tribute to the people of that country to make such a statement.

Michael P. Mullin, a prosperous farmer of Carroll township, O'Brien county, was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1870. He is the son of Dennis and Margaret (Mahoney) Mullin. Dennis Mullin was born in Ireland in 1823 and farmed in his native land until he was twenty-four years of age and then came to this country and worked in Massachusetts for about ten years in railroad construction work. While living in Massachusetts he married and in 1857 went to Canada, where he engaged in farming until 1885. He then moved to O'Brien county, Iowa, and homesteaded in Carroll township and lived there until his death in 1909. Dennis Mullin and wife were the parents of fourteen children, five of whom died in early infancy. There are only five of the children who are now living: Dennis, of Montana; Jerry, who is living a retired life in Minnesota; Mrs. Mary Wilsey, of Sheldon. Iowa; Mrs. Maggie Haynen, of Sioux City, Iowa, and Michael P., with whom this narrative deals.

Michael P. Mullin lived in Canada until he was fifteen years of age and there received a good common school education. He came with his parents to this county in 1885 and worked with his father on the farm until the latter's death in 1909. He then took the home place and has made many improvements upon it within the past five years. He has set out three acres of orchard and forest trees and has the whole farm of two hundred acres in a high state of cultivation. He is an extensive raiser of live stock and

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finds this a profitable source of income. He is a director in the Farmers Elevator at Archer, Iowa, who is also secretary of the Farmers Telephone Company in this county.

Mr. Mullin was married in 1904 in Sheldon, Iowa, to Nellie Griffin, and to this marriage have been born four sons, Dennis, Earl, Michael and Daniel, all of whom are at home.

Politically Mr. Mullin is a stanch Democrat and is now serving as clerk of Carroll township, an office which he is filling to the entire satisfaction of everyone in the township. He and his family are earnest members of the Catholic church and contribute generously to its support. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Mullin is a man of good judgment and enjoys a wide acquaintance throughout his township and the remainder of the county because of his genial disposition and uniform courtesy to everyone with whom he is associated. His excellent personal character and integrity have made him respected and highly esteemed by a host of friends and acquaintances.

ALBERT H. AGAR.

One of the most prosperous and substantial farmers of West Holman township is Albert H. Agar, who has always taken a great deal of pride in being a plain, every-day farmer. Everything which he has today has been gained solely through his own unaided efforts and therefore he deserves a great deal of credit for his substantial position in the affairs of his county.

Albert H. Agar, the son of Thomas and Sarah (Rowan) Agar, was born November 29, 1867, in Muscatine county, Iowa. Thomas Agar was born in Lincolnshire, England, and came to this country in 1847. He had followed the cabinet-making trade in his own country, but after coming to the United States he worked on a farm by the month. He first worked in New York state for seven years and then became manager of a large thirteen-hundred-acre farm owned by David Pifford. For ten years he worked here as foreman and in 1864 came to Iowa, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Muscatine county. Here he lived until 1897 and he moved to Montpelier, where he lived until his death, August 29, 1906. His wife, Sarah Rowan, was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, and came to Iowa in 1848 with her parents, John A. and Catherine Rowan. They went on a steamboat down the Ohio river to Cairo, Illinois, and then up the Missis-

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sippi to Iowa and landed at Buffalo, building a log house there and lived as did the other pioneers at that time. Thomas Agar and wife were the parents of seven children: Elizabeth, the wife of C. F. Sauetman; Henry; Anna, the wife of G. W. Van Camp; Lollie, the wife of Fred Grimm, deceased; Albert H., whose life history is here presented; Eugenia, the wife of O. A. Bohnsack, and Thomas.

Albert H. Agar received a good common school education in the schools of Muscatine county, Iowa, and lived at home until he was twenty-nine years of age. He then rented two hundred and sixty acres of land in his home county for three years, later moving to his present farm in Osceola county which he had purchased in 1889. He now owns two hundred and forty acres in section 2 of West Holman township, which he purchased in 1898, and eighty acres which he has since added in East Holman township. When he moved upon his farm in 1898 it was very much run down, but he has increased its productivity by a system of scientific crop rotation. He has built a comfortable and convenient country home, two large barns and a granary which will hold seven thousand five hundred bushels of grain. He has also fenced his farm and installed a complete system of drainage, thereby adding greatly to the value as well as to the attractiveness of the farm. He has not neglected to provide shed room for all of his tools and implements, thereby demonstrating that he is a careful and methodical farmer.

Mr. Agar was married April 26, 1900, to Lena Drumm. She is the daughter of Thomas and Minnie Drumm, and was born February 7, 1872, in Muscatine county, Iowa. Her parents were both natives of Germany and reared a family of five children, Henry, Rosa, Lena, Minnie and Jacob. Mr. and Mrs. Agar are the parents of two children, Alice and Edward, both of whom are still living under the parental roof. Alice was born February 26, 1901, and Edward was born June 16, 1906.

Mr. Agar is a Democrat in politics but has been content to devote all his time and energy to his agricultural interests. He raises all the crops of this section of the state and in addition raises a large amount of stock and poultry. He is a man who takes a great deal of pride in his farming and is thoroughly in love with his chosen life work. He is a member of the Modern Brotherhood of America and is a charter member of that organization at Sibley. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and while he has never formally identified himself with the church, yet he has always lived a life which conforms to the rules of Christian ethics. He is a man who has won a host of friends throughout this community because of his genial and unassuming manner.

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FRED NOTT.

Peculiar interest attaches to the history of Fred Nott, from the fact that he is a native of the county where he has spent his whole career. He is a man of education and culture, as well as a man of business ability, and has been a prominent factor in the history of his county for the past forty years and in that time has never failed to give his hearty support to all measures which he felt would benefit his county. He has never been seized with the wanderlust but has been content to stay within the limits of his native county, believing that it offered as many opportunities for advancement as any other county in the state. As a citizen of the city of Calumet he has been active in bettering its welfare in many ways and is responsible for the efficient electric lighting plant which is in use at the present time.

Fred Nott, an automobile dealer of Calumet, O'Brien county, Iowa, was born in O'Brien county in 1874 and is the son of Thomas B. and Flora A. (Kelley) Nott. Thomas B. Nott was born in Devonshire, England, February 10, 1841, and is the son of Thomas and Ann Lucy (Bucknell) Nott. Thomas Nott, Sr.. was born in England in 1806. To Thomas B. Nott and wife, who were married in 1870, have been born five children, of whom four are living.

Thomas B. Nott, the father of Fred, whose history is here delineated, was a soldier of the Civil War, a member of Company H, Fifth Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He was mustered in as a corporal in 1864 and was assigned to duty in Virginia, where he participated in the campaigns of General Grant against Petersburg and Richmond. He received his honorable discharge at Madison, Wisconsin, in the summer of 1865. In 1870 he came to O'Brien county and he and his young wife homesteaded in Liberty township. Here they lived for the next thirty years and upon their retirement from the farm, in 1901, they were the owners of a fine farm in the township. Thomas B. XNtt died in 1910 and his wife is still living in this county.

Fred Nott was given a good common school education and later graduated from the Sutherland high school. While going to school he assisted his father upon the home farm and after graduating from the high school his father sent him to business college at Cedar Rapids, where he took the complete course in the business department. He then became assistant cashier of the bank at Calumet and rendered the bank faithful and efficient service for

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four years. After this he built an automobile garage and took the agency for different kinds of automobiles and has been engaged in the business up to the present time. He maintains a repair shop, with competent mechanics, and is doing a flourishing business in the city of Calumet and the surrounding country. In the installation of an electric light plant for the benefit of the citizens of Calumet he has performed a public favor which is worthy of mention. The residents of Calumet are now receiving a twenty-four-hour lighting service at a rate which is as low as any in this section of the state.

Mr. Nott was married in 1907 to Beatrice Henderson, and to this union has been born one daughter, Ruth.

Mr. Nott is independent in politics and as a public-spirited citizen votes for the best men regardless of their political affiliations. Mr. Nott is a public-spirited citizen who is widely interested in the welfare of his home city and has done everything he could to advance its interests. For this reason he is justly regarded as a representative man of his city as well as the countv which is honored by his residence.

WILLIAM H. SCHOELERMAN.

One of the most progressive of the younger farmers of O'Brien county is William H. Schoelerman, who is a son of German parents. Consequently it may be expected that he has been a prosperous citizen of his township, and such proves to be the case. While he has attended strictly to his own business and accumulated considerable of this world's goods, yet he has not neglected to take his full share in the public life of his community.

William H. Schoelerman was born in 1870 in Benton county, Iowa, the son of Nicholas and Sophia (Voss) Schoelerman. Nicholas Schoelerman was born in 1839, in Germany, and was a shepherd in his native land. When eighteen years of age he decided to cast his fortunes with the thousands of emigrants who were leaving his native land for America. He settled in Davenport, Iowa, where he worked for two years as a day laborer. In 1859 he went to Benton county, Iowa, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land for three dollars an acre. He and his brother, Jacob, were working together at this time and for some years they added to this tract until they owned a good farm when they divided their interests. Nicholas made many improvements and rapidly brought his farm to a place

Picture of WILLIAM H. SCHOELERMAN AND FAMILY.

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where it yielded him a goodly return on his investment. Mr. Schoelerman had been a farmer, who did not neglect to take advantage of the latest developments in farming machinery and the most approved methods of farm management, until he retired, owning many hundred acres of well improved land, as well as the home in Keystone, Benton county. He is now living a retired life in Keystone, where he moved in 1905. He married, in 1866, in Durant, Iowa. Sophia Voss, who was born in Germany in 1858. To Nicholas Schoelerman and wife have been born eleven children: Peter F., a farmer of Everly, Iowa; John, who is a farmer of Royal, Clay county, this state; Fernand, a farmer of Benton county, this state; August, who is living a retired life in Everiy; Mrs. Caroline Mussman, who is a resident of Keystone, Iowa; Henry, a farmer of Clay county; Cecelia, deceased; Reimer, deceased; George, who is a farmer of Benton county, and Herman, a farmer of Benton county, this state.

William H. Schoelerman remained with his parents on the home farm in Benton county until he was twenty-five years of age, receiving a good, common school education and then worked with his father until he left home, at which time he rented a part of his father's farm and when his father moved to Keystone, in 1905, he purchased the farm. Since coming into control of the old homestead he has put fifteen thousand dollars worth of improvements on it. He has always kept a high grade of cattle and feeds from sixty to one hundred head for the markets each year. He is a stockholder in the Hartley Elevator Company and also in the Hartley Lumber Company.

Mr. Schoelerman was married in 1898, in O'Brien county, Iowa, to Sophia Jensen, who was born in Benton county in 1880, and to this union have been born four children, Alfred, Clara, Nicholas and Cecelia. Politically, Mr. Schoelerman is identified with the Democratic party and has always taken an interest in public affairs. He has been particularly interested in educational affairs and as a member of the school board of Hartley township he has rendered efficient service. He has also been road supervisor of Hartley township, in this county. He and all the members of his family are earnest and devoted adherents of the German Lutheran church and subscribe generously to the support of their denomination. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes an interest in the various activities of that fraternal organization. Mr. Schoelerman is a man who has won many friends because he has tried to live a life which would be consistent with the Golden Rule.

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JAMES C. BRIGGS.

For the past thirty years one of the representative and spirited men of Sutherland, O'Brien county, Iowa, has been James C. Briggs, who is now living a retired life in the city for which he has labored so long. He has made his iufluence felt for good in this city and his life has been closely interwoven with its history for the past score and ten years. As city councilman and as mayor he did everything he could to advance the interests of his city and place it in the first ranks among the other cities of its size in this section of the state.

James C. Briggs, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edmond L. Briggs, was born in 1851 in Grant county, Wisconsin. He was given a good common school education and also graduated from the Bloomington, Wisconsin, high school. At the age of twenty-two years he began to work upon the farm in Wisconsin and for a number of years rented land in that state. He saved his money with the intention of coming farther west and investing in richer land than could be secured in Wisconsin. Accordingly in 1884 he came to O'Brien county, Iowa, on a prospecting tour and finally decided to start in business in Sutherland rather than embark in farming. He bought a retail meat market in Sutherland and operated it for one year. The next year he engaged in the harness-making business and for the next twenty- five years engaged in the harness and saddlery business in Sutherland. In 1910 he sold out his business and retired from active bussiness.

Mr. Briggs was married in 1874 to Marilla C. Tubbs, who was born in 1857, and to this marriage have been boni four children: Mrs. Dora Bidwell, of Union, Montana; Walter, of Primghar, Iowa; Mrs. Nellie Johannsen, of Sutherland, Iowa, and Harry J., of Sutherland.

Mr. Briggs has always taken an active part in the public life of his city. During the thirty years that he has been a resident of the city he has done as much for the public welfare as any other man. He was city councilman and mayor for two different terms and brought about many reforms in the city government. He started the agitation for public improvements of all kinds and has the honor of establishing the fire limits in the city. At the present time Mr. Briggs is city assessor. He owns a fine modern home in the city, together with sixty acres of land inside the corporation limits. He has been a life-long Republican and has always taken an active interest in political affairs. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active part in Masonic work. He is a

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great student of Masonry and is one of the best informed men upon the history of the institution in this section of the state. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Briggs' career exhibits a life of integrity, indefatigable industry and wholesome home and social relations, and a most commendable career in every way. As a private citizen and as a public official, he has those traits of character which are of special value in such a state of society as exists in this country. Possessing a strong social nature and exercising a genial and friendly attitude towards those with whom he comes in contact, it is not strange that he has a large and loyal following among his acquaintances in Sutherland.

JOHN BOBZINE.

It was once remarked by a celebrated moralist and biographer that "there has scarcely passed a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not have been useful." Believing in the truth of this opinion, expressed by one of the greatest and best of men. the writer of this review takes pleasure in presenting a few facts in the career of a gentleman who, by industry, perseverance, temperance and integrity, has worked himself from an humble station to a successful place in life and won for himself an honorable position among the well known and highly esteemed men of the locality in which he resides.

One of the worthy descendants of German extraction who are counted among the prosperous farmers of O'Brien county is John Bobzine, who was born in 1873 in Johnson county, Iowa, the son of Fred B. and Dorothea (Possehl) Bobzine, both of whom were natives of Germany. His father was born in 1847 and was a laborer in his native country. To improve his condition, as well as that of his family, he came to America and settled in Johnson county, Iowa, and here he became engaged in farming and later came to Benton county, this state, where he lived the life of a farmer until his death, which occurred in 1894. To Fred Bobzine and wife were born eight children: Mrs. Mary Beulow, of Algona, Iowa; Fred, deceased; Henry, who is a farmer of this county; Louis, a resident of Dakota; Mrs. Tillie Bauserman, of Des Moines, Iowa; Mrs. Sophia Jones, who lives in Clay county, this state; Mrs. Martha Jones, also a resident of Clay county, and

John, with whom this narrative deals. John Bobzine was reared on his father's farm in Benton county, Iowa,

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and received his education in the schools of that county. He remained with his parents on the home place until the death of his father, which occurred in 1894, afterwards operating the homestead farm for his mother until her death, and in 1901 he came to O'Brien county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Grant township. Later he sold this tract and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Lincoln township, where he is now living. He has improved and cultivated this farm until it is one of the finest in the township. He has three acres of orchard and grove, an attractive and modern home, as well as large and commodious barns and other outbuildings on his place. He is progressive in his methods of agriculture and as a result reaps the reward of excellent crops and handsome pecuniary returns for his efforts. He has an interest in the Farmers Elevator Company at Hartley. Iowa, an organization which is of immense benefit to the farmers of the community.

Mr. Bobzine was married in 1899 to Emma Kruse, of Clay county, Iowa, and to this union there have been born four children. Neva, Clarence, Esther and Glenn. Politically, Mr. Bobzine is a Republican and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party, but his farming interests have made such heavy demands on his time and attention that he has never aspired to public office at the hands of his party. Religiously, he and his family are earnest and devoted members of the German Lutheran church and are actively interested in the work of this denomination and contribute liberally to its support. Mr. Bobzine is a man who is genial and unassuming in his manner and easily wins friends and by his sturdy integrity and upright living, retains them, and he and his family are highly esteemed members of the community in which they live.

EDWARD MANN.

Some one has said that there is work for every man if he can only find it. While most men are adapted peculiarly to some particular vocation in life, there are a few men who can do several things equally well. The men who are fortunate enough to have ability can make a success in several different vocations while the men who are so unfortunate as not to possess much business ability have hard work to succeed in any vocation. Edward Mann, whose life history is here presented, has been successful as a farmer, as an implement dealer, and as a grain dealer, while as a public official he

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has been one of the most efficient men who has ever transacted official business at Calumet, Iowa, where he is now living. He has those characteristics of sterling honesty and integrity which mark every successful man, while in his administration of the duties of his public office he is wide awake and alive to the interests of his town.

Kdward Mann, the present mayor of Calumet, was born in Scott county, Iowa, in 1873 and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Schafer) Mann. William Mann was born in Germany in 1834 and when nineteen vears of age left his native land and came to this country. He traveled in several different states in this country, before finally settling in Scott county, Iowa, where he engaged in the implement business. He was a business man and a highly respected citizen of the town where he lived for many years. He died in 1911.

Kdward Mann is one of a family of seven children, all of whom are living but one. He was given a good common school education in the schools of Scott county and when nineteen years of age started to clerk in a merchandise store. A year later he secured employment in a hardware store in Pierson, Iowa, and for two years gave his employers good service. He afterwards bought a half interest in the hardware business at that place and remained there for the next seven years. He carried a complete stock of shelf and heavy hardware, furniture and undertaking supplies, and had a good trade in Pierson and the surrounding territory. In 1902 he sold out his interests there and came to Calumet, Iowa, and purchased the elevator at this place. He buys and sells grain and handles about one hundred and twenty- five car loads each year. He is a man of integrity and in all of his business transactions since coming to this county he has so conducted himself that he has gained the confidence of all with whom he has had dealings.

Mr. Mann was married in 1898 to Christene Benedix and to this union has been born one son, Randolph B., who is still living with his parents.

Mr. Mann is an active Republican in politics and has always taken a prominent part in public affairs in this town and county. He has the honor of organizing the first fire company and was instrumental in securing a chemical engine for the use of the city of Calumet. He was a member of the city council for eight years and threw his hearty support in favor of every measure which he thought would benefit his city. While secretary of the school board, an office which he held for three years, he did everything possible for the educational interests. At the present time he is the efficient mayor of Calumet. In his executive capacity, he stands for strict enforcement of all the municipal laws and at the same time gives his hearty en-

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couragement to all measures tending to improve the welfare of the city. He subscribes liberally to both churches at this place. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias and takes a deep interest in the various activities of those fraternal organizations. He has been one of the city's best counsellors, and since coming to this city his name has never been coupled with anything disreputable nor has there been a shadow of a stain upon his reputation for integrity and unflinching honesty.

ADOLPH GOSCH.

Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free out-of-door life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterize true manhood and no truer blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and the majority of our nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm and were indebted largely to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained.

Adolph Gosch, a prosperous farmer of Lincoln township, O'Brien county, was born in Scott county, Iowa, in 1872, the son of Claus and Anna (Untiedt) Gosch, both of whom were born in Germany. Claus Gosch was born in 1828 and followed the trade of a miller in his native land until he came here in 1866. In that year he came to America and settled in Davenport, Iowa, where he worked for a short time. He then engaged in farming in Scott county until 1899, when he came to O'Brien county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Lincoln township, where his son, Adolph, is now living. To Claus Gosch and wife were born four children: Mrs. Agnes Muhs, deceased; Henry, a farmer of Scott county, Iowa, who is living with his father; Gustave, a resident of Scott county, and Adolph, of Lincoln township, with whom this narrative deals.

Adolph Gosch received his education in the schools of Scott county, Iowa, and remained with his parents until his marriage in 1896, at which time he moved to O'Brien county and began farming on his father's farm.

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He set out three acres of grove trees and has made many extensive improvements on the land, amounting to more than three thousand dollars, since moving to the farm. In addition to his grain crops he raises a considerable amount of graded stock, which adds not a little to his annual income.

Mr. Gosch was married in 1896 in Scott county, Iowa, to Ida Brehmer, and to this marriage have been born four children, Stella, Gustav, Mabel and Ida, all of whom are still with their parents.

In his political affiliations Mr. Gosch has identified himself with the Republican party and has taken an intelligent interest in the affairs of the body politic, and he has been especially interested in education and has served as school director of Lincoln township. He and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and render to it faithful service at all times. His life has been one of activity, and by reason of the success with which it has been attended it is safe to predict for him a future of greater usefulness. He is familiar with all the different phases of agriculture and is regarded as one of the most progressive and substantial farmers of his community. He is a man who wins many friends by his kindly manner and personality.

WILLIAM EGDORF.

The gentleman of whom we wish to speak in this review is an exemplification of the accomplishment of a man who came to this country a stranger and, starting at the foot of the ladder, has, by his own efforts and by means of his intrinsic worth, placed himself in a position of affluence and prominence.

William Egdorf is a native of Germany, having first seen the light of day in the year 1864. His father, Charles B. Egdorf, was born in 1823 and remained in the fatherland until he reached mature years. His wife, Sophia, was born in 1830 and to them came six children, five of whom are now living.

The son, William, accompanied his parents to this country in his youth, soon after his arrival here finding employment as a farm hand. True to the teachings of his childhood, he labored diligently and lived with characteristic German thrift, looking toward a future of competence and independence. In 1889 the advantages offered to settlers in O'Brien county appealed to him, and to this locality he journeyed, settling in Caledonia township, where

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he rented a quarter section of land. So diligent was he and with such sound judgment did he direct his efforts that he was enabled at the expiration of four years to purchase a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Baker township and, later, eighty additional acres were added to his holdings. Mr. Egdorf has consistently adhered to his original manner of living, laboring at all times energetically for the improvement of his estate and the acquirement of those comforts which are a necessity for the enjoyment of a peaceful rest in the declining years of life. At this time he is the possessor of two hundred and forty acres of well cultivated land, and five thousand dollars' worth of improvements have rendered it a handsome homestead.

Mr. Egdorf is unmarried. Politically, he is an adherent of the Republican party, which ticket he has voted from his youth. He is a faithful member and supporter of the German Lutheran church, but has taken no interest in fraternal affairs, being a member of no secret societies. He is known throughout the community as a conservative gentleman of unquestioned integrity. upright and honorable in his dealings and a citizen of sterling worth.

GEORGE W. WALTER.

One of the enterprising and successful farmers of O'Brien county, Iowa, who traces his ancestry back to the land of the Kaiser, is George W. Walter, a man who has succeeded in his life work from no other cause than that he has worked persistently and along proper lines. He has not only succeeded in his chosen vocation of agriculture, but has also won a reputation for honesty and fair dealings throughout the county.

George W. Walter, the present trustee of Hartley township, and a prosperous farmer and stockman, was born in 1857 in Marshall county, Iowa. His parents were George and Elizabeth (Little) Walters, his father having been born in Germany in 1819 and his mother in Ohio in 1823. George Walter, Sr., learned the wagon-maker's trade in his native land and upon coming to this country, in 1837. followed his trade in the state of Ohio for a number of years. While living in Ohio he was married, in 1833, to Elizabeth Little. In 1855 he and his family moved to Marshall county, Iowa, where he continued to follow his trade until 1865, at which time he purchased one hundred and eighty acres of timber and prairie land in Marshall countv and began to follow the vocation of a farmer. He added to his

Picture of GEORGE W. WALTER.

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land holdings from time to time until, when he retired, in 1890, he was the owner of three hundred acres of fine farming land. He lived with his children after his retirement until his death, which occurred in 1899. To George Walter and wife were born eleven children: Elizabeth, the wife of T. H. Jones, a retired druggist, now living in California; Mrs. Mary Curtis, deceased; John, also living in California; Mrs. Carrie (Havens) Conrad, who lives in Iowa; William, deceased; Mrs. Emma Jones, of Marshalltown, Iowa; Frank P., who is a retired farmer of Iowa; Charles E., deceased; Albert, deceased; Warren, of Marshall county, this state, and George W., with whom this narrative deals.

George W. Walter remained with his parents until he was twenty-four years of age. He received a good common school education, and after completing his studies he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Humboldt county, Iowa, and, after farming it for five years, sold it and came to O'Brien county, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of unimproved land in Hartley township in 1887, and broke the most of this tract himself the first time. He was very successful in his efforts after coming to this county and is now the owner of five hundred and ninety acres of land in the county. One hundred and sixty acres of his land adjoins the city of Hartley. He is a large breeder of Shorthorn cattle and finds the sale of his cattle one of the important sources of his income. He also owns a share in the Hartley Lumber Company.

Mr. Walter was married in 1889, in Hartley township, to Alice Elsberry, the daughter of Carden and Anna (Lupton) Elsberry. Carden Elsberry was born in Wisconsin in 1822, and his wife was a native of Ohio, her birth having occurred in Belmont, that state, in 1834, their marriage occurring in 1868. George Walter and wife are the parents of five children: Veda Iona; John, a farmer who is living with his parents; Elizabeth, Oletha and George F. The two older children, Veda Iona and John, graduated from the high school at Hartley and the other three children are now attending school in Hartley. Mr. and Mrs. Walter are firm believers in the efficacy of a good education and are intending that their children shall have the best advantages along that line.

Politically, Mr. Walter has been identified with the Republican party ever since reaching his majority. His worth as a citizen is shown by the fact that he is now holding the office of trustee of Hartley township, and he is also school director of his township. He and his fanfily are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they contribute lib-

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erally of their means. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes an active interest in the work of that organization. Mr. Walter has always looked upon the sunny side of life and as a result of this fortunate disposition he has made it pleasant for those with whom he comes in contact either in a business or social way. With kindly nature and social impulses he is recognized as a man of high moral character and thus enjoys the confidence and good will of all who know him.

ROSS L. RAYMOND.

Among the younger farmers of O'Brien county, Iowa, who take an active interest in the affairs of the community in which they live and at the same time are taking front rank as agriculturists, there is no one who deserves more praise than Ross Raymond, of Lincoln township. It has been said that the tendency of our modern education is to take boys away from the farm and yet Mr. Raymond turned to the farm after graduating from the high school and takes pride in being a farmer. That he is successful is evidenced from his well-kept farm and the appearance of thrift which is seen on every hand.

Ross Raymond was born in Cedar Falls, Black Hawk county, Iowa, in 1881, and is the son of Albert and Susan (Smith) Raymond. Albert Raymond was born in 1851 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and when seventeen years of age came to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he worked for a few years as a farm laborer. In 1893 he came to Lincoln township, O'Brien county, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, only a part of which was improved. He put six thousand dollars worth of improvements on the farm and when he left the farm, in 1903, it was rated as one of the most productive of the township. He retired from active farm life in 1903 and moved to Cedar Falls, where he and his wife are now living. Albert Raymond and wife were the parents of seven children: Effie, living at Cedar Falls, Iowa, is a graduate of the Cedar Falls schools; Myrtle, is a teacher in Colorado; Fannie is a teacher in Iowa; her twin brother, Fred, died at the age of twenty-one years; Wayne, who is manager of the garment factory at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Rolla, a pharmacist at Cedar Falls, and Ross, whose history is here presented. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond are justly proud of their splendid family of children, all of whom have been given good educations and are filling useful positions in society.

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Ross Raymond graduated from the common schools and later graduated from the Sanborn high school. He has been operating his father's farm since 1902 and is fast forging to the front as one of the most progressive farmers of the county. He raises a large amount of stock each year, makes a specialty of breeding Shorthorn cattle and markets about fifty head of cattle each year, besides other live stock.

Mr. Raymond was married in 1904 to Amy Hakeman, daughter of Sarah Hakeman, and to this marriage have been born four children, who are still living with their parents, Merton, Faye, Lee and Fern.

Politically. Mr. Raymond is an adherent of the Republican party and subscribes to the principles of that political organization. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, belonging to the camp at Sanborn. Mr. Raymond has taken an active interest in the educational affairs of his township and at the present time is acting as school director, and in this position he finds an opportunity to do great good in advancing the educational interests of his township, favoring every measure which he feels will better the schools. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond move in the best circles of their community and entertain their friends in their home with genuine hospitality.

DR. GEORGE A. AUPPERLE.

Devoted to the noble work which his profession implies, the gentleman whose career we essay to briefly outline in the following paragraphs has been faithful and indefatigalble in his endeavors and has not only earned the due rewards of his efforts in a temporal way, but has also proved himself eminentlv worthy to exercise the important functions of his calling, by reason of his ability, his abiding sympathy and his earnest zeal in behalf of his fellow men. His understanding of the science of osteopathy is regarded by those who know him as being broad and comprehensive, and the profession and the public accord him a distinguished place among the men of his class in Iowa. His has been a life of earnest and persistent endeavor, such as always brings a true appreciation of the real value of human existence — a condition that must be prolific of good results in all the relations of life.

George A. Aupperle, a successful osteopath of Sutherland, O'Brien county, Iowa, was born at Lancaster, Wisconsin, in 1879 and is the son of George and May (Lickel) Aupperle. George Aupperle, Sr., was born in

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Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1831 and when twelve years of age moved to Wisconsin with his parents. He came from Pennsylvania with his parents when he was twelve years of age and upon reaching his majority he hecame a farmer in that state. In 1881 he came to Sac county, Iowa, purchased land and farmed there until his retirement in 1913. He then sold his farm and moved to Sheldon, Iowa, where he and his wife are now living. George and Mary Aupperle were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are now living.

Doctor Aupperle received his elementary education in Wisconsin, and at the age of twenty-one began working on his father's farm by the month. Later he went to Minnesota where he worked for three years, and then at the age of twenty-four he went to Des Moines, Iowa. In 1906 he took up the study of osteopathy in the osteopathic college at Des Moines and graduated in 1909. Immediately after his graduation he came to Sutherland where he has been practicing up to the present time. Since moving to Sutherland he has built up a good practice and has taken an active part in the life of the city.

Doctor Aupperle was married in 1910 to Winifred Neff, who was born in Auburn county, Iowa, in 1886. To this marriage has been born one son, Donald K. The Republican party has claimed the support of Doctor Aupperle since reaching his majority. He has always taken an active interest in political affairs and was elected mayor of Sutherland in April, 1914. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and render it their support at all times. Doctor Aupperle is a man of pleasing personality and since coming to Sutherland has impressed everyone with whom he has been associated by his sincerity of purpose and high ideals.

WILLIAM THEO. FREDERICK KARL VOSS.

The life history of William T. F. K. Voss, one of the well known and highly esteemed German residents now living in honorable retirement in Hartley, O'Brien county, Iowa, shows what industry, good habits and stanch citizenship will accomplish in the battle of acquiring property and rearing children to lead steady and respectable lives. He came to this state at the age of ten and his life has been replete with duties well done and in all of his career in this county he has never shirked his duty either in the role of a private citizen or in the capacity of a public official. The score of years

Picture of WILLIAM T. F. K. VOSS.

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which he has lived in this county has made his life well known to his fellow citizens, and they have ever been outspoken in their commendation of his clean and wholesome life.

William T. Voss, a retired farmer and banker of Hartley, was born in Germany in 1847, and is the only son of Carl and Sophia (Koster) Voss. Carl Voss was boirn in Germany in 1800 and upon reaching manhood joined the police force in his native land, continuing to hold this public position in his native land until 1857, when he came to this country with his wife and son and settled in Scott county, Iowa. He lived there until 1867, when the family moved to Cedar county, where Carl Voss died the same year. He was twice married, his second wife, Sophia Koster, being the mother of William T., whose life history is herein sketched.

William T. Voss received the elements of a common school education in his native land and after coming to this country completed his education in the schools of Scott county, Iowa. After his father's death, in 1876, he continued to live on the old home place in Cedar county for the next twenty-five years, then sold the farm and moved to O'Brien county and in 1893 purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in Center township. He made extensive improvements on the farm in various ways, among which were the setting out of ten acres of fruit and forest trees, and in the twenty years that he owned the farm he put about eight thousand dollars worth of improvements upon it and when he sold it in 1912 he cleared a good profit upon his investment. Mr. Voss had previously moved to Hartley and retired from active work. He has now lived in Hartley for the past four years. In addition to his agricultural interests he owns extensive banking and manufacturing interests. At this time he is the largest stockholder in the German Savings Bank of Hartley and is a director in that institution. He also is interested in the Farmers Elevator Company of Hartley, and the lumber company of the same town. He also has shares of stock in the Garden Plow Works of Hartley.

Mr. Voss has been twice married. His first marriage occurred in 1868 to Katherine Shaffer, and to this union were born seven children, of whom the following are living in O'Brien county: Mrs. Emma Petersen, Charles F., William, Frederick, Louis, Otto. The second wife of Mr. Voss was Mrs. Augusta Miller.

The Democratic party has always claimed the support of Mr. Voss, and he has been honored by his party on several occasions by being nominated for local offices. He has served as justice of the peace of Center township, school director, road overseer and township trustee, and in all of these offices

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he has rendered faithful and efficient service to the citizens of the township. He and his family are devoted members of the German Lutheran church and give it their earnest and hearty support at all times. Mr. Voss has always looked upon the sunny side of life and has ever been hopeful that the good would rule instead of the bad. He is a man of kindly and genial nature and of high moral character, and for these reasons he has won the confidence and good will of everyone with whom he has been associated.

HENRY P. SCOTT.

Few men of O'Brien county were as widely and favorably known as the late Henry P. Scott, of Liberty township. He was one of the strong and influential citizens, whose lives became an essential part of the history of this section of the state. For years his name was synonymous with all that constituted honorable and upright manhood. For about thirty years he was one of the most influential factors in the civic life of his township. At different times during his career he was county supervisor, township trustee, township clerk and secretary of the school board of his township. In all of these various official capacities he performed faithful and efficient service to his fellow citizens.

Henry P. Scott was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, in 1844 and died in Liberty township, O'Brien county, Iowa, in 1907. He was one of nine children born to William and Maria (Lampson) Scott. William Scott was born in 1815 in Ireland and died in 1900; his wife was born in 1819 and died in 1892. In 1869 Mr. Scott and Sarah E. Marsh were married in Illinois. She was born in Illinois in 1846 and is the daughter of Edwin and Mary (Frank) Marsh. Edwin Marsh was born at North View, Massachusetts, March 13, 1818, and was a farmer and saw-mill operator. After reaching manhood he moved to Illinois, where he continued in agriculture and the saw-mill business until his death in 1903. Mary Frank, the mother of Mrs. Scott, was born at Warsaw, New York, in 1827 and died in 1913. Edwin Marsh and Mary Frank were married in 1845 and to their union were born eight children, all but three of whom are still living. Sarah E. Marsh was given a good education and taught school before her marriage in Madison, Cook county, Illinois.

After his marriage Henry P. Scott went to the state of Wisconsin and engaged in the mercantile business. Two years later he went to Libertyville,

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Illinois, where he was in the mercantile business for twelve years. In 1881 he moved to O'Brien county, Iowa, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Liberty township, where he lived until his death in 1907. He was a progressive farmer in every sense of the word and was one of the best agriculturists in the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry P. Scott were the parents of eight children: Mrs. Julia McClanahan, of South Dakota, Edward, deceased; Arthur, of South Dakota; Warren B., who is now farming the home place; George, a farmer, of South Dakota; LeRoy, a farmer of this county, and Lawrence, a farmer of Harper county, Kansas.

Mr. Scott was a loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was always interested in the affairs of this denomination. Politically, he was a Republican and in that capacity served in several important offices in his township and county, as county supervisor, township trustee, township clerk and secretary of the school board, playing an important part in the civic life of his community. Fraternally, he was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Scott was a man who performed his every duty in a way becoming the true American citizen and consequently he left behind him a name which is honored and cherished by his family.

HENRY ZAHN.

The subject of this sketch is of German extraction and from his ancestors he inherited the habits of thrift and industry which have made possible his attainments. He came with his parents to this country at a time when it was torn by the Civil War. For many years his parents struggled in their new home in the wake of the war and with adverse administrations which followed. As a boy he had all the hardships that were common to the youths in the latter seventies and the early eighties. But the mold in which he was cast only served to bring out the sterling qualities that lay within.

Henry Zahn was a son of George B. and Susan O. (Plauder) Zahn and was born in Germany in 1865. There were four other children in the family: Lucile (Yearter), who now lives in Colorado; Louise (Espheshiet), now in Illinois; Helen (Berger), now in Minnesota, and a child which died during its infancy. When George B. Zahn brought his family to this country he settled in Clifford county, Ohio, on a farm where he reared his

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family and remained till he retired from active operation a few years ago. He died in 1905.

Mr. Zahn secured employment on a farm where he worked seven years. In 1895 he removed to Iowa where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land. By means of consistent farming and frugal and industrious habits he has increased its acreage until he now has two hundred and forty acres. This is one of the modern farms in O'Brien county. There are improvements on the place amounting to eight thousand dollars, and a beautiful grove of several acres, which he planted soon after he bought the farm. Stock raising has occupied an important place in his life and he was one of the first in this community to realize that it is the blooded stock that pays. He has made a specialty of Norman horses, of which he has several head, and Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs.

In 1896 Mr. Zahn was united in marriage to Anna Flunk. To them have been born five children, Helen, Tillie, William. Elizabeth and Leonard, all of whom are at home with their parents.

Mr. Zahn has been busy with the duties of the farm and the breeding and raising of pure blood stock. His interest in politics is the interest of the patriotic citizen rather than that of the office seeker. His sympathies and vote have always been with the Republican party and he is regarded as one of their stanchest supporters. He and his family are members of the German Lutheran church, to which he contributes freely.

JAMES CUTSINGER.

Happy is the man who can retire after a life of hard work and feel that he has sufficient to provide for his wants for his declining years. It is very evident that the man who can retire to a life of ease in his later years has been a man of energy and well-defined purpose. At the close of the Civil War many farmers left the Eastern states and took advantage of the cheap lands in Iowa. At the same time there were many soldiers who were given free transportation to O'Brien county, as well as other counties in the state, and allowed to take up government land at a very low rate. Among the distinguished veterans of the Civil War who made this county their home after the close of the war, there is no one who is more deserving of mention in this volume than James Cutsinger, a retired farmer now living in Sheldon.

Picture of JAMES CUTSINGER.

O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA. 1067

James Cutsinger was born in 1841, in Johnson county, Indiana, the son of Perry and Clara (Harter) Cutsinger. The father was a native of Kentucky, born in 1811, and died in Indiana in 1846. His wife was born in Indiana in 1822. To Perry Cutsinger and wife were born three children: Sarah Ann, deceased; Jacob, who is a carpenter living in the state of Washington, and James, whose history is here given.

James Cutsinger was four years of age when his father died, and in 1851 his mother married Garland Flanner, who was born in 1822, and he was a veteran of the Mexican War and, after his marriage to Mrs. Cutsinger, went to Minnesota, where he engaged in farming. To this second union were born three children: Jasper, a member of the fire department of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Harry, deceased, and Mrs. Mary Jane Austin, also deceased.

James Cutsinger was ten years of age when his mother was married the second time and he then lived with his mother and stepfather until he was twenty-six years of age. At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted in Company B, Tenth Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. After seeing service with the Indians in that state his regiment was transferred to Missouri, and he saw hard service in the South and West and was discharged at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in 1865. Immediately after the close of the Civil War he came to Jasper county, Iowa, purchased a farm and began to lay the foundation of his present prosperity. For twenty years he lived in that county, buying and selling several farms in that time, and in 1885 he came to Osceola county, where he lived on a rented farm for ten years, after which he bought one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land in that county, to which he later added eighty more acres. He has improved his two hundred and forty acres at a total cost of four thousand dollars. Among other improvements he put out six acres of fruit and orchard trees. In 1912 Mr. Cutsinger retired from his farm and moved to Sheldon, where he owns a fine residence in the northern part of the city. In addition to his farm in Osceola county, he has a share in the elevator company at Rittier, (sic) Iowa, and an interest in the elevator at Ashton, Iowa.

Mr. Cutsinger was married in 1866 to Paulina Rudsell, who died five years later. To this marriage were born three children : Perry, who lives at Ashton, Iowa ; Edward and James, who are living in the state of Washington. In 1872 Mr. Cutsinger was married to Rachel Gardner, and to this union there were born nine children : Mrs. Clarrisa Power, who is a resident of Montana; Mrs. Minnie Walker, of this county; Arthur, of this county; Mrs. Mamie Lockwood, who lives on the home place in Osceola county;

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George and Clay, living in Sheldon; Ethel and Hazel, who are with their parents in Sheldon.

Mr. Cutsinger cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and has continued to vote the Republican ticket down to the present time. While he has always taken an active interest in politics, public office has never had any attractions for him. He and his family are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church, and give to it their earnest support at all times. His fraternal relations are restricted to his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, which, in many ways, is the most honorable fraternity to which a man can belong in the United tSates. (sic) Mr. Cutsinger is a man who has lived a life singularly free from contention and for this reason has always been regarded with confidence and respect by all with whom he has been associated.

HARRY H. HENDRICK

Men are of value to any community in proportion as they take part in the life of the community in which they live. In every community there are always leaders and when these leaders are men of character and integrity the general standard of the civic life of the community will naturally be high. On the other hand, where these men are not actuated by the highest motives, the oeneral tone of the locality is lowered. Among the citizens of Grant township, O'Brien county, Iowa, who combine strength of character with good business and administrative ability, there is no one who is more deserving of mention in this biographical volume than Harry H. Hendrick, the present trustee of Grant township.

Mr. Hendrick was born in 1866 in Carroll county, Illinois, and is the son of Louis C. and Catherine L. (Herald) Hendrick. Louis C. Hendrick was born in 1832 in New York state and when a young man left his native state and settled in Illinois, where he engaged in farming until his retirement in 1890. His death occurred one year after he had retired from active farm work. Louis C. Hendrick and wife were married in 1863 and to their union were born four children: Mrs. Carrie M. Calkins, of Carroll county, Illinois; Arthur Y., deceased; Carlton C, of Carroll county, Illinois, and Harry H., whose life history is here sketched.

Harry H. Hendrick received a good common school education in the schools of Carroll county, Illinois, and on reaching his majority left home and worked on farms in Illinois and Iowa for six years. He lived on his

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father's farm in Carroll county, Illinois, for seven years. In 1898 he came to O'Brien county, Iowa, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Grant township. Within the past sixteen years he has made extensive improvements upon the farm in various ways. He has a splendid and attractive residence, commodious and substantial barns and other outbuildings, which indicate that he has adopted modern methods in his agricultural operations. In 1910 he sold his farm at a good profit and purchased two hundred and fourteen acres in the same township, on which he has made many improvements. He has always been a large stock raiser and has paid special attention to the breeding of Shropshire sheep and keeps from ninety to a hundred head every year. He has exhibited them at the O'Brien county fair and has won first and second prizes.

Mr. Hendrick was married in 1891 to Lottie R. Thomas, and to this union have been born two children, Arthur and Eula, both of whom are graduates of the high school at Sutherland. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick have given their children the advantage of the best education, feeling that at this day and age of the world a good education is necessary for success in life.

Mr. Hendrick belongs to that large and increasing class of men who are independent in their voting, and believes he is best serving the interests of his state when he casts his ballot for the best man and not for any single group of men because they happen to be on a particular party ticket. He and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take an active interest in the work of their favorite denomination. In his fraternal relations he is found afiiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. While he has always been an active worker in promoting his own interests, Mr. Hendrick has never lost sight of the fact that the best citizens are those who take their part in public life, to the extent that they may be acquainted with government under which they live. He has never shirked any public duty and has felt that he should take of his time for such public duties as came his way. With this idea in mind, he has served as school director in his township and is now serving as trustee of Grant township. He gives to his official positions the same careful and painstaking service which he did to his own affairs, and for this reason is highly commended by every one with whom he comes in contact. He is a man of genial and pleasing personality and has a host of friends throughout the township and county who admire him for his public spirit and interest in everything affecting the life of the county in which he is an honored resident.

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MICHAEL YUNGBLUTH.

Among the prosperous farmers and stock raisers of Waterman township, O'Brien county, Iowa, who have made a pronounced success in their chosen vocation, there is no one who deserves more worthy mention in this biographical volume than Michael Yungbluth. who is descended from sturdy German ancestry and he has all of those excellent characteristics which have marked the people of that country through the centuries of their history. He is a splendid type of the self-made man and has the satisfaction of knowing that everything which he possesses today has been won by the sweat of his brow. Starting in at the foot of the ladder, he has gradually climbed to agricultural success until he is today recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of his township.

Michael yungbluth was born in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, in 1863, and is the son of Adam and Maria (Trevethen) Yungbluth. Adam Yungbluth was born in Germany in 1822 and his wife was a native of England. He received a common school education in the schools of his native land. Early in life he became ambitious to try his fortunes in the New World, and with this intention he left his native land when only seventeen years of age. Upon arriving in this country he at once went to Illinois, where he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1901. Starting in with practically nothing, he worked his way to a position where he was able to retire many years before his death and spend his declining days in ease.

Michael Yungbluth was one of ten children born to his parents and one of the six who are now living. He received a good common education in the schools of Illinois and when nineteen vears of age left his father's home to work for himself. He had heard of the good lands to be bought at a moderate price in Iowa, and with the good intention of investigating conditions in this county, he came to Clay county in 1882, where he worked as a farm hand for one year and then went to Cherokee county and for several years he worked at different places until 1892, when he came to O'Brien county. Upon marrying in 1898 he purchased one hundred and forty-four acres of land in Grant township, which he improved in such a way as to sell it at a handsome profit in 1913, after which he immediately bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Waterman township, and is now living on this farm. Since buying this farm in 1913 he has made extensive improvements, among which may be mentioned the installation of electric lights in his home. As a farmer he keeps apace with twentieth-century methods in agriculture and has found

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that it pays to use the best efforts if the greatest returns are to be expected. While raising all of the crops common to this locality, he has not neglected giving special attention to the breeding of live stock, as farmers in this section of the state have found that stock raising is always profitable, and especially when a good grade of stock is bred. Realizing this, Mr. Yungbluth has always kept a high grade of live stock and has always found a ready market for this product. He has made a specialty of the breeding of Poland China hogs and has met with marked success along this line.

Mr. Yungbluth was married in 1898 to Luella Brown, and to this marriage have been born three children, Edna, Fred and Donald, who are still living with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Yungbluth are giving their children the advantages of a good education in order that they may be better fitted to fight the battle of life when they leave the parental roof.

Mr. Yungbluth is a stanch Republican, but has always felt that his agricultural interests demanded the greater part of his attention, consequently he has never been active in political life in his county. However, he has been a constable in Grant township, and filled that office in a very satisfactory manner. He and his family are earnest and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church and subscribe liberally to the support of their favored denomination. Fraternally, he is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and takes an active interest in the affairs of that fraternal organization. Such has been his life since coming to this county that he has won the confidence and esteem of everyone with whom he has been associated.

SAMUEL C. FLINDER.

It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to that individual who, beginning the great struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable environment, removes one by one the obstacles from the pathway of success and by the master stroke of his own force and vitality succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a competency and a position of esteem and influence among his fellow men. Such is the record of the popular citizen of Waterman township, O'Brien county, Iowa, to a brief synopsis of whose life and character the following pages are devoted.

Samuel C. Flinder, the son of Henry and Maria (Challand) Flinder, was born in Brichfield, England, in 1859. His father was a professional

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musician in his native land and was born in 1832, and his wife's birth occurred in the same year. In 1863 Henry Flinder came to America with his family and settled in DeKalb county, Illinois, where he taught music for nine years. He then moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa, and taught music there for nine years, after which he retired and lived with his children until his death, which occurred in Montana in 1898.

Samuel C. Flinder was one of eight children, all of whom are now living but two. He was four years of age when his parents came from England and settled in Illinois. He was given a good common school education and remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age. He then went to Webster county, Iowa, and worked on a farm for four years. In 1882 he and his brother, John, came to O'Brien county, and purchased five hundred and sixty acres of land in Waterman township. At the present time Mr. Flinder is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of his own, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and productivity. By the most indomitable perseverence, sturdy industry and wise management, he has prospered and is now numbered among the successful and up-to-date farmers of his community, with modern and progressive ideas regarding business affairs, and he has maintained his farm at the highest standard of excellence and found it althogether a profitable enterprise. In addition to the raising of heavy crops of grains he has always been an extensive breeder of live stock and keeps only the best grades.

Mr. Flinder was married in 1885 to Mary Dek, and to this union have been born two sons, Arthur, a graduate of Minnesota College, and now assistant cashier of the Platte, South Dakota, bank, and Vernon, who is now attending the high school at Sutherland.

Politically, Mr. Flinder gives his support to the Republican party and has always taken an intelligent interest in political affairs. He has been especially interested in the educational affairs of his township and was a school director of Waterman township, having been instrumental in raising the standard of education in his home township. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, belonging to the lodge at Sutherland. Progressive and methodical in his farming affairs, it is hardly surprising that Mr. Flinder should achieve a a splendid success, for he possesses to a notable degree those qualities which contribute to prosperity in any undertaking. At all times he has been actuated by the highest motives and has so ordered his life as to retain throughout his career in this county the confidence and good will of all with whom he has been associated.

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SUMNER F. MILLER.

Among the prominent citizens of Liberty township, O'Brien county, Iowa, was the late Sumner F. Miller, who for many years was one of the most influential men in his township. In his capacity as township trustee, school director and road supervisor, he was actively connected with the civic life of his community and he always performed his duty in a conscientious and satisfactory manner.

Sumner F. Miller, the only son of Antoine and Mary (Randolph) Miller, was born in 1861 in Wisconsin. The father was born in France in 1828, while his mother was born in New York state in 1833. Mr. Miller received a good common school education in the schools of Wisconsin and when still a young man came to O'Brien county, Iowa, and rented land in Waterman and Liberty townships, where he lived for ten years. Upon his marriage in 1890 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Liberty township, on which he put extensive improvements. He was a thrifty farmer, who took advantage of the latest modern methods and never hesitated to keep abreast of the times. At the time of his death he left an estate of two hundred and forty acres in the township as well as one hundred and sixty acres in Pipestone county, Minnesota.

Mr. Miller was married in 1890 to Idalie Ray, the daughter of Cassius W. and Mary (Merrick) Ray. Cassius Ray was born in New York state in 1847 and was the son of Robert and Mary (Brush) Ray. Robert Ray was born in 1814 and was a farmer and school teacher of Michigan. Mary Brush was born in New York, state in 1828 and died in 1898. Hartley Merrick, the grandfather of Mrs. Miller on her mother's side, was born in Marre in 1828 and died in 1904. His wife was Elsie Cunningham, who was born in May, 1830. and died in 1879.

Cassius W. Ray, the father of Mrs. Miller, left New York state in 1886 and came to Illinois where he lived about thirty years and then came to O'Brien county, Iowa, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land at six dollars an acre. He improved the farm, building a home, barn and outbuildings of various kinds and in the course of time was rated as one of the successful farmers of the township. In 1900 he retired from active farm life and moved to Illinois, then later to Peabody, Kansas, where he is now living.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller were the parents of nine children, all of whom are still living with their mother on the home farm in Liberty township: Ray,

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Ruth, Dora, Clinton, Howard, Margaret, Lucile, Edith and Rosevelle. Mr. Miller was a life-long Repubhcan and always took an active part in the affairs of his township. He served his people faithfully in the capacity of township trustee, school director and road supervisor, and always gave efficient service, not only to those who voted for him. but to all the citizens of the township. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He was a true citizen in every sense of the term, worthy of all confidence and performed every duty to which he gave his attention worthily and well.

THOMAS FARNSWORTH.

The best history of a community or state is that which deals most with the lives and activities of its people, especially of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have forged to the front and placed themselves where they deserve the title of progressive men. In this brief review will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active plodders on the highway of life and achieved a career surpassed by few of his contemporaries, a career of marked success in agricultural affairs and a name which all men who know him delight to honor owing to his upright life and habits of thrift and industry.

Thomas Farnsworth, a coal dealer and merchant of Sanborn, Iowa, was born in 1860 in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Henry and Nancy Ann (Wilson) Farnsworth, who were natives of the same state. Henry Farnsworth was born in 1829 and was a farmer and an inventor. He died in 1897. Henry Farnsworth and wife were the parents of six children: Mrs. Mary Aldrich, of Dysart, Iowa; Mrs. Jane Clough; Mrs. Louise Bates, deceased; Minnie, deceased; Charles, a real estate man of Sanborn, Iowa, and Thomas, whose life history is here briefly sketched. The family moved to Benton county, Iowa, in 1870.

Thomas Farnsworth left his home when thirteen years of age and went to Nebraska and started to work on a cattle ranch. After workmg here two years, he returned to Benton county, Iowa, and worked on his mother's farm. Later he bought a threshing outfit and broke up raw prairie land for his neighbors. He then moved to Tama county and engaged in several different kinds of business and in 1886 came to O'Brien county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land in Lincoln township. In 1889

Picture of THOMAS FARNSWORTH.

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he had eighty acres of prairie hay in stacks and was unfortunate enough to lose it all by fire. He made extensive improvements on his farm and raised considerable sheep and cattle. In 1900 he sold this farm and moved to Sanborn and bought and sold cattle for twelve years, after which he engaged in the coal business and now is in the retail coal business in Sanborn. He owns sixty-six acres of land within the corporation and also has several lots scattered over the city. He has extensive land holdings in Canada and some property in Rock Valley, Iowa.

Mr. Farnsworth was married in 1881, in Tama county, Iowa, to Dora Furnas, and to this union have been born three children: Frank, a graduate of Iowa City College and a dentist at Sanborn; Mrs. Grace B. Neitzke, whose husband is a farmer in this county; Pearl, who is at home with her parents.

Politically, Mr. Farnsworth has always been a Republican and has taken an active interest in local politics. He has been a school director, a road overseer and a councilman of O'Brien county. In all of these offices he has shown executive ability which stamps him as a man of more than ordinary ability. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Farnsworth has led a moral, honest and strenuous career since he was thirteen years of age and has had many discouragements to meet during his life.

THOMAS E. MANN.

One of the conspicuous names on the list of O'Brien county agriculturists is Thomas E. Mann, proprietor of a six-hundred-and-forty-acre farm in Grant township, a gentleman of high standing to whom has not been denied a full measure of success. Long recognized as a factor of importance in connection with the farming and stock raising industries here, he has been prominently identified with the material growth and prosperity of this part of the state, his life having been closely interwoven with the history of the county where he has been content to live and follow his chosen vocation for over a third of a century.

Thomas E. Mann, one of the most, substantial farmers of Grant township, O'Brien county, Iowa, was born in Galena, Illinois, in i860, and is the son of Harvev and Catherine (Sidner) ]Mann. Harvey Mann was born in

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New York in 1805, and while a young man served in the United States regular army for a number of years. After marriage he came to Illinois with an ax, a piece of corn bread and twenty-five cents in his pocket. He first worked at cutting wood, for which he received twenty-five cents a cord. As he was a man of determination, within the course of a few years he obtained a comfortable living for himself and family. He worked for a time in the lead mines of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and later operated a saw mill in that county. He eventually became a landholder and at the time of his death in 1895 was an agriculturist of affluence in his community. His wife, Catherine Sidner, was born in Missouri in 1825 and died in 1901.

Thomas E. Mann was one of eleven children, six of whom are still living. He received a good education and continued to assist his father at home until he was twenty-two years of age. Then he came to Iowa and first settled in Cherokee county. Shortly afterwards he drove through to Grant township, O'Brien county, where he purchased three hundred and twentv acres of unimproved land for twelve and a half dollars an acre. Though only twenty-two vears of age at this time, he and his young wife started in to make their fortune in this comparatively new county. That they have succeeded is shown by the fact that they are today the proud possessors of one section of land in this county, which is easily worth one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Mann has made extensive improvements of all kinds upon his farm, has a handsome grove of forest and fruit trees, covering twelve acres. He also is very much interested in the raising of high-grade live stock, being a breeder of Percheron horses, Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. He makes a specialty of the feeding of cattle for the market and has from two to twelve carloads of cattle every year. Mr. Mann is especially interested in the fair association at Sutherland and has a race horse which has won several prizes during the past few years on different tracts in Iowa.

Mr. Mann was married in 1883 to Sarah Williams and to this union have been born eight children: Mrs. Mabel Barry, whose husband is a railroad engineer in South Dakota; Clyde, a farmer of Canada; Eva, a nurse in the hospital at Cherokee, Iowa; Hallie, a graduate of the Sutherland high school; Octavo, Harold, Russell and Cyril. The four youngest children are still with their parents and are now attending the public schools.

Mr. Mann has always cast his vote for the Republican party since reaching his majority, and since living in this township has been the recipient of several official positions at the hands of his party. He has been school director, road supervisor, township assessor and was for seven years county su-

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pervisor; while holding the last named office he threw his influence in support of various reforms for the county. In fact, every measure which he felt would improve his county in any way found in him an enthusiastic and hearty supporter. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, while in his church affiliations he and his familv are allied with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Mr. Mann has performed well his part in life and it is a compliment worthily bestowed to say that O'Brien county is honored by liis citizenship. In various official capacities in which he has been found since coming to this county he has made every effort towards improving the conditions of his county in every way, and for this reason Mr. Mann is justly regarded as one of the representative men of the township and county.

MERRIETT S. DRAPER.

One of the early pioneers of O'Brien county, Iowa, is Merriett S. Draper and during his career of more than thirty years in the county he has been a prominent factor in bringing it to its present high condition among the agricultural counties of the state. He has met with many discouragements since coming here and yet through it all has maintained his optimistic view of life and has lived to see prosperity smile upon him. With a determination which characterizes the good American citizen, he has never let any obstacle deter him, but has manfully forced his way forward and today stands as one of the prosperous and substantial citizens of Waterman township. He was born in Benton county, Iowa, in 1858 and is the son of Orin and Mrs. Elizabeth (Jewell) Hadden Draper.

Orin Draper was born in New York state in 1826 and is the son of Orin and Aurilla (Robinson) Draper. Orin Draper, Sr., was born in Vermont in 1793 and was a farmer and herb doctor in that state. His wife was born in New York state in 1795 and died in 1872, her husband dying eight years later. Orin Draper, Jr., came to Ohio when thirteen years of age and worked out as a farm hand for the first few years. He then came to the state of Iowa and farmed in several counties in the state, and in the early seventies he came to Osceola county and homesteaded eighty acres of land. However, the grasshoppers came along one summer and ate up all of his crops, with the result that he was so discouraged that he traded his eighty acres for one cow. After his unfortunate experience in Osceola county he went to Cherokee county and farmed for a number of years, after which he retired and moved to O'Brien county on the farm with

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his son, Merriett S. Orin Draper, Jr., was married four times. His second marriage occurred in 1847 to Mrs. Elizabeth (Jewell) Hadden, who was born in 1826 in New York state. Of the eleven children born to this marriage eight are still living.

Merriett S. Draper received a good common school education in the public schools of Iowa and upon reaching the age of twenty-one left home and worked as a farm hand in Cherokee county, Iowa. For two years he received fifteen dollars a month, but he was not satisfied to continue working for some other man and in 1881 he came to O'Brien county, Iowa, and purchased eighty acres of land in Waterman township for five dollars an acre. He and his young wife then set to work to make the farm pay and their present farm of four hundred and eighty acres is an indication of the success which attended them in this county. Mr. Draper has placed seven thousand dollars' worth of improvements upon his farm, in the shape of a home, commodious barns, groves of orchard and forest trees and other improvements. He has been an extensive breeder of high-grade live stock and has always found a ready market at a good price for his surplus stock. He owns stock in the Farmers Elevator Company at Sutherland and also stock in the Farmers Co-operative Store at the same place.

Mr. Draper was married in 1880 in Cherokee county, Iowa, to Rosabelle Wight, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Orange Wight, and to this union have been born thirteen children: James F., a graduate of Taylor University of Indiana and a Methodist minister at Rutland, Iowa; Charles E., a farmer of Cherokee county; Mrs. Amy F. Gilbert; May, a school teacher at Taylor University, Indiana; Paul B., deceased; Mrs. Grace E. Henderson, of O'Brien county; Leroy; Lester, a student in Taylor University, Indiana; Morris V.; Dewey S.; Wesley B.; Rosa R., and Esther B. Mr. and Mrs. Draper have given their children the best educational advantages, believing that the best legacy that can be left to the twentieth- century child is a good education. It is with a sense of gratification that they have seen their children taking their place in the affairs of the world and doing their share towards advancing civilization in general.

Mr. Draper is independent in his politics. He believes that the citizen of todav is best serving his nation who votes for the best man irrespective of their politics. He and his family are all earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have always taken an active interest in church work. Mr. Draper is now Sunday school superintendent of the Highland Methodist church of Waterman township and takes a great deal of pride in keeping the Sunday school to a high standard of excellence.

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He has always been interested in civic affairs and during his life in this township he has been township trustee, road supervisor and school director. It is needless to say that there is no man in the township who has done more for the advancement of the social, educational and moral welfare of the community than he. Such men are a blessing to the community in which they live and their influence is one which cannot be calculated by human agency. Mr. Draper has a large circle of warm friends throughout the township who admire him for his uprightness and wholesome way of living.

ALBERT G. GEISTER.

The roster of prominent business men of O'Brien county would be incomplete were mention not made of the young man whose name appears at the head of this article. Mr. Geister is essentially a product of this locality, having first seen the light of day in the year 1887 in O'Brien county. His father, Joseph Geister, was born in 1863 in Cook county, Illinois, near the noise and hurry of the immense city of Chicago. However, seeing the endless battle waged by the thousands for sustenance in the congested parts of the country, he sought the larger opportunities to be found in the more sparsely settled sections, and came to O'Brien county, where he engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. Here, on the homestead farm, Albert, his son, spent his boyhood and youth, attending school and giving his father such assistance as a boy of his years could render in the labors of the place. He attended the elementary schools of the township and later the high school at Sheldon. Then he followed a course in a business college at Spencer, Iowa, after which he returned to his home to relieve his father of some of the arduous labor of the farm. Here he remained, devoting his energy and his strength to the cultivation and improvement of the homestead, until 1907. when he wished for a change of occupation and environment. This "wanderlust" led him to the beautiful city of Detroit, where he found employment in an automobile factory, and as he labored here all his powers of observation were brought into play and he gained an insight into the mechanical construction of the huge machines on which he worked. But eventuallv home ties proved stronger in his heart than the attractions of a great city, and he returned to Primghar and here accepted employment in an automobile garage. Here his business training in Spencer and his mechanical training in Detroit both stood him in good stead, and so dili-

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gent did he prove that in a year's time he was enabled to purchase an interest in the business. With all his energy he continued to work and save, and eventually the entire business was purchased by him and it has steadily increased under his management. Still a young man, he is one of our well-knoWn citizens, and that he will continue to rise it is easy to predict.

In the year 1912 Mr. Geister took one of the important steps of his life when he embarked upon the sea of matrimony, taking for his wife Cora Ahrend, daughter of Frederick Ahrend, of Primghar, a retired farmer. Miss Ahrend was one of the favorites in the circle in which she moved, in this city, and as Mrs. Geister she has lost none of her charm or popularity.

Mr. Geister is a member of the German Lutheran church of Sanborn, and is affiliated with the Order of Yeoman and the Odd Fellows of this place. Politically, he is an adherent of the principles of Jefferson and consistently votes the Democratic ticket. Broad minded, intelligent, energetic, with a genial manner which soon wins the confidence of those with whom he comes in contact, a bright future for this young business man of Primghar seems assured.

GEORGE W. WATERHOUSE.

The science of agriculture finds an able demonstrator as well as successful practitioner in the person of George W. Waterhouse, who maintains a productive and desirable farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Liberty township, O'Brien county, Iowa. However, it is through his connection with the breeding and selling of live stock that Mr. Waterhouse is most widely known, as in this branch of farm work he has won for himself an enviable reputation. The degree of success to which he has attained is especially gratifying when it is understood that Mr. Waterhouse has won his way alone and unaided from the smallest of beginnings .and in spite of serious handicaps.

George W. Waterhouse, farmer and stockman, was born in 1858 in Grant county, Wisconsin, the son of Charles B. and Elizabeth (Hutchcroft) Waterhouse. Charles B. Waterhouse was a native of England, born in 1830, and when eighteen years of age he emigrated to Canada, where he remained for a few years. He later went to Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming and where he spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring in 1878. Fired with patriotic love for his adopted country, he,

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early in the Civil War, pledged his support to the Union, enlisting as a private in Company C, Wisconsin cavalry. He received his honorable discharge in 1864. having, during" his enlistment, been in several of the more important engagements of the war. In Canada he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Hutchcroft, also a native of England, born in 1833. Her death also occurred in 1878 and the loss of both parents orphaned a family of twelve children, two of whom are now deceased. After the parents' death, the subject of this sketch assumed the responsibility of the family, remaining with them until he was twenty-three years of age. At that age he started out in life for himself, renting and farming land in his native state. In 1884 he first came to O'Brien county and secured a tract of land in Liberty township, which he rented until 1891, when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres, on which he has since made his home. He has made many and vast improvements in this homestead since first taking posession of it and has, through untiring energy and fine executive ability, built up a good business in his chosen lines. In addition to the usual amount of grain, etc., produced on a farm of this size, he pays especial attention to breeding horses and cattle. In the latter he prefers the Shorthorn variety and has produced many fine specimens. He has exhibited at the fair in Sutherland, his exhibit being such as is worthy of more than local interest. He is also a breeder of roadsters and trotting stock and has won a number of prizes on his animals. There is one branch of horticulture in which he takes particular interest and that is the raising of fruits, in which he is highly successful. In endeavoring to win a competence for himself, Mr. Waterhouse has ever brought to bear business principles of the highest order, coupled with a determination to win.

Mrs. Waterhouse before her marriage was Earla D. Briggs, daughter of Edmond Briggs, a sketch of whose career will be found elsewhere within the pages of this book. To their union have been born three children, namely: Bessie L., who is the wife of E. F. Broders, a banker of Hartley, this state: Edna May (Mrs. Yocom), who resides in Sutherland, and Marlow Alderson, who remains at home. Mr. Waterhouse is one of the stanch supporters of the old-line Republican party and has taken more than a passive interest in the affairs of that party as applied to local interests. He is one of the wide-awake men of brain and substance who are able to exert such a beneficent influence upon the affairs of the community. An excellent tvpe of manhood, he stands "four square to every wind that blows" and in every walk of life has proven to be of sterling worth. The family is well-known and highly respected, taking an active part in the best

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interests of the community, and being attendants at the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they give generously of time and means. Mr. Waterhouse has proven true to every trust and is justly popular in his locality.

JAMES BROSH.

While practically every country in Europe has furnished some of its best citizens for OBrien county, Iowa, there have been very few who have come from faraway Bohemia. Sutherland boasts of one enterprising citizen who was born in that land where human liberty is scarcely known and where oppression stalks about on every hand. It is no wonder that this country has furnished so many emigrants to the United States.

James Brosh, manager of the Frank Klema Automobile Company, of Sutherland, was born in Bohemia in 1849. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Brosh, who came to this country in 1855 and first settled in Davenport, Iowa. Later John Brosh drove a team overland to Iowa City and engaged in farming in that neighborhood until 1901, when he retired from active life and moved to Solon, Iowa, where he spent his declining years. James Brosh is one of twelve children born to his parents and was only about six years of age when the family came over the ocean to this country. He received a very limited education, but has been a wide reader all his life. As soon as he could work out he began to work for himself and in 1870, having reached the age of tweny-one years, he came to O'Brien county and homesteaded in Highland township and continued to manage this farm in this township until 1907, when he moved to Sutherland and engaged in the real estate business. In 1913 he became manager of the Frank Klema Automobile Company and in that position is demonstrating his marked business ability. In addition to his eighty acres of land in Highland township, Mr. Brosh is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land in Richland county, North Dakota.

Mr. Brosh was married in 1871 to Elizabeth Dobicka, who died in 1882, and to this marriage were born four children: Mrs. Anna Campbell, who lives in Canton, South Dakota; Mrs. Josephine Severance, who is a resident of this county; William, who is now farming the old homestead in Highland township, this county; Mrs. Lillie Lowell, who lives at Canton, South Dakota.

Mr. Brosh has taken an intelligent interest in politics since reaching his

Picture of JAMES BROSH.

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majority and his fellow citizens have recognized in him more than ordinary ability and conseqnently they have elected him to various township offices within their suffrage, and in all of these positions he has given faithful and efficient service, not only to those who voted for him, but to all other citizens of the township as well. In fact, his service as a public official has been so excellent that he has held no less than four township offices, a record which it would be hard to duplicate in O'Brien county today. He has been constable, road supervisor, school director and township trustee, and has given each office the same careful and efficient attention as he shows in his own private business affairs. Religiously, he and the members of his family are loyal and faithful adherents of the Catholic church and contribute liberally of their time and substance to its support. Mr. Brosh is a man who has entered heartily into all movements having for their object the welfare of his community, is energetic in his efforts and has built up a splendid reputation as a man of good business judgment. His actions have been prompted and controlled by the highest motives, so that at all times he has enjoyed the unqualified confidence of his fellow citizens.

MRS. ADDIE C. McFARLAND.

Wholly devoted to home and domestic duties, doing through all the best years of her life the lowly but sacred work that comes within her sphere, there is not much to record concerning the life of the average woman. And yet what station so dignified, what relation so loving and endearing, what offices so holy, tender and ennobling as those of homemaking wifehood and motherhood. As man's equal in every qualification save the physical, and his superior in the gentle, tender and loving amenities of life, she fully merits a much larger notice than she ordinarily receives, and the writer of these lines is optimistic enough to indulge the prediction that in no distant future she will receive due credit for the important part she acts in life's great drama and be accorded her proper place in history and biography. The foregoing lines are prompted by a review of the career of one of Floyd township's grand ladies, who is numbered among the most respected and esteemed residents of this favored community.

Mrs. Addie McFarland, who is now living a retired life on her beautiful Maplewood farm in Floyd township, O'Brien county, Iowa, was born

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in Akron, Ohio, in 1859. She is the daughter of Robert and Prudence (Falor) Osborn. Robert Osborn was born in 1832 in Pennsylvania and enlisted in the Union army at Cleveland, Ohio, and was a fife major during the entire period of the war. He is now the leader of the martial band at Long Beach, California. He was at one time a furniture and shoe dealer in Sheldon, Iowa, and a large land owner in Floyd township, in O'Brien county. He was married in 1856 to Prudence Falor, who was born in Ohio in 1838 and died March 14, 1891. Mrs. and Mr.(sic) Robert 0sborn were the parents of three children: Eva, deceased; Pearl, who died February 25, 1900; Mrs, Addie McFarland, whose life history is here delineated.

Mrs. McFarland remained with her parents until she was eighteen years of age and then married James McFarland, who was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1851. He was the son of William and Louisa (Sutton) McFarland. William McFarland was a homesteader of O'Brien county and he and his wife reared a family of four children: Mrs. Caroline Griffith, deceased; Robert, who died during the Civil War; Mrs. Mary Virgil, of Sheldon, Iowa, and James, who died August 14, 1902. James McFarland homesteaded in Floyd township, O'Brien county, and was a very prosperous farmer, leaving to his estate two hundred and forty acres of well improved land upon his death. He had fifteen acres of fine maple trees, the largest grove in O'Brien county. Addie Osborn and James McFarland were married in O'Brien county in 1877, and to this union were born five children: Mrs. Louise M. Williams, a graduate of Sheldon high school; Mrs. Addie B. Marker, who is now living on the home place with her husband, who is farming it; Robert, who graduated from the Capital City Commercial College of Des Moines and is now farming in Saskatchewan, Canada; Mrs. Prudence Hoeven, who is now living in Alton, Iowa. She graduated from the musical department of Drake University, and is the leader of the Presbyterian church choir at Alton, Iowa; James, the youngest of the five children, is living in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Mrs. McFarland taught school in O'Brien county in 1876 and 1877 and has been prominently identified with history of the county from that time down to the present date. She kept and fed the men who built part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway through O'Brien county. She owns two hundred and forty acres in O'Brien county and has an interest in six hundred and forty acres in Canada. Her home is modern in every respect and is equipped with electric lights and hot and cold water. It is located two miles east of Sheldon, in Floyd township, and is one of the most modern and up-to-date homes to be found in the county. Mrs. Mc-

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Farland is a zealous member of the Christian church and contributes of her substance to its support in every phase. She takes a deep interest in everything which she feels will benefit the community in which she lives. She has a host of friends throughout the county who admire her for her noble character.

BRUNO SAUPE.

In the year 1875 there came to America from Germany a little lad twelve years old without any money at all and with no knowledge of the English language. He came direct across the country to Illinois where he worked for a time with his uncle and attended the German Lutheran school. This small German lad, who had no capital other than that of a clear brain and a strong hand, is now one of the most prosperous farmers of Carroll township, O'Brien county, Iowa.

Bruno Saupe. ex-trustee of Carroll township, this county, was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1863. He worked for his grandfather in his native country until he was about twelve years of age, when he came to America. His parents were Theo and Christianna (Miller) Saupe, who came to America later. He had six brothers and sisters, all of whom came to America, William, Anna, Frank, Emil, Minnie and Otto.

Bruno Saupe went to live with his uncle, Fred Miller, in Illinois, upon coming to this country in 1875, and for three years attended the German Lutheran church school in his locality, after which he worked at farm labor, and in 1881, although he was only eighteen years of age, he came to Benton county, Iowa, and purchased eighty acres of land. Six years later he sold this tract and came to O'Brien county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Carroll township. He was only twenty-two years of age at this time and yet he had such confidence in his ability to pay for the land that he did not hestitate to go into debt for it. This confidence in his own ability has made him the successful man that he is today. He has added from time to time to this original quarter section until he is now the owner of six hundred and forty acres of fine farming land in O'Brien county and three hundred and twenty acres in Colorado. On his home farm he has placed ten thousand dollars' worth of improvements and has a fine orchard grove of six acres. He also has an interest in the Farmers Elevator Company at Archer, Iowa. He has also been a large breeder of cattle and sells annually at least two car loads of cattle.

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Mr. Saupe was married when he was twenty-four years of age to Sarrah Fritzsche, who was a resident of Illinois, and to this marriage have been born eight children: William, deceased; Edward, who is farming with his father; Anna, a graduate of the Sheldon high school and the Teachers' Course at Cedar Falls, Iowa, and is now teaching in Archer; Fred, at home; Alice; Franklin; Herbert, and Lillian. The four younger children are still at home and attending school.

Mr. Saupe has been a Republican in politics and has been honored by his party by being nominated for the office of township trustee, and in this important office he administered its duties with entire satisfaction to all the citizens of the township, irrespective of politics. He is a regular and faithful attendant of the German Lutheran church and is interested in the various activities of that denomination. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Mystic Shrine. He has always been interested in the educational affairs of his township and has served as school director for ten years. During the period when he served as township trustee he was also instrumental in bringing the schools to a higher plane of efficiency and improving the schools in every way. Mr. Saupe and his brother, Otto, are fine examples of the German settlers who have made their home in O'Brien county, and are both esteemed for the wholesome lives they have led and the beneficent infiuence which they have shed upon the life of their respective communities.

WAYLAND M. BUNCE

Among the earliest pioneers of O'Brien county, Iowa, is Wayland M. Bunce, who has been a resident of the county for nearly twenty-five years. He was born in Washington county, Wisconsin, in 1847 and is the son of Eben S. and Elmira (Stage) Bunce.

Eben S. Bunce was born in the state of New York in 1822 and was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church and the United Brethren church for sixty years. When a young man he settled in Wisconsin as a missionary and in 1862 came to Tama county, Iowa, where he farmed for a short time, then became the pastor of Western College, now known as Toledo College, at Toledo, Iowa. He served the congregation there for a few years and went to Muscatine, Iowa, where he was minister of the United Brethren church. From Muscatine he went to Wilkins, Iowa, where he preached for a few years. In 1879 he came to O'Brien county, where he

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purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Liberty township and lived upon it until his retirement in 1890, his death occurring two years later. Eben Bunce was twice married, his first wife being Elmira Stage, and to this first union were born four children, all of whom are dead but Wayland M., whose history is here briefly presented. Eben Bunce's first wife died in 1850 and he then married Mrs. Salina A. Bramble, who was born in New York and died in 1890.

Wayland M. Bunce was given a good common school education in Wisconsin and Iowa and remained with his parents until twenty years of age. then went to work as a farm hand by the month and after a short time went to Tama county and secured employment as a breaker of prairie land. He had a yoke of oxen and with these found all the work he could do. Shortly after coming to Tama county he entered land and farmed for a year, after which he attended Western College at Toledo for a year. In 1870 he bought six yoke of oxen and started northwest from Tama county, Iowa, and finally landed in O'Brien county, on section 22 in Liberty township. He homesteaded the tract of land which is now occupied by the town of Calumet. He farmed this land until the railroad was built through the county and then laid the town out in 1887. For many years he held a half interest in the land where the town was platted, and has always taken an active interest in the upbuilding of the town. At the present time is living on his two-hundred-and-forty-acre tract just south of Calumet. He has been a successful farmer since coming to this county, notwithstanding the many discouragements through which he has passed. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of well improved land in the township and has it all under a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Bunce was married in 1871 to Harriett E. Pray, who was born in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, in 1854, and to this union six children were born: Mina, the wife of E. E. Scott, of Primghar; Eben J., a horse trainer of Virginia; Harvey, deceased; Elmar W., a dentist of Minnesota, and a graduate of the university of that state; Mrs. Laura M. Fredenberg, of Calumet, Iowa, and Clarence E., a chauffeur of Minnesota. In 1902 Mr. Bunce was married to Mrs. Ida Bell (Rerick) Harris, widow of Stephen Harris, an old settler of O'Brien county.

Politically, Mr. Bunce had always been a Republican up until 1912, having cast his vote for Republican presidents from Ulysses S. Grant down to and including W. H. Taft. In the summer of 1912 he allied himself with the new Progressive party and cast his vote for Roosevelt. He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his town and county

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and was the mayor of Calumet, as well as justice of the peace for several years. He and his family are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute liberally of their means to its support. Personally, Mr. Bunce is a genial and unassuming man, a splendid companion and good conversationalist and has always evinced those qualities which are bound to win success in any vocation.

A. J. W. EMERY.

O'Brien county is justly noted for its beautiful homes, well cultivated farms and the generally progressive character of its public officials, and this reputation is largely due to the unusual aggressiveness and high character of its citizens. The farmers and business men of the community, as a class, are virile, active, energetic men, thoroughly awake to the needs of the place and alive to the opportunities within their grasp. Among these gentlemen, few are deseving of greater praise for these characteristics than A J. W. Emery.

The love of the soil, the beauties of nature and the free, unhampered life of the farmer, together with the ability to draw from the earth bountiful harvests, is inbred in him, for his parents, and his grandparents for generations back, were famed as successful agriculturists and breeders of fine live stock.

The subject's father. Eli Emery, is a native of Stark county, Illinois, where he was born in 1842, while his grandfather, Joseph Emery, who was born in Ohio in 1811 and came to Illinois in a covered wagon drawn by an ox team, was one of the pioneers in the vicinity of Toulon, Illinois. Here he purchased land and reared his family, making it his permanent home until death came to him in the year 1856, while on a visit to Osceola, Iowa.

Eli Emery purchased land in Stark county. Illinois, when he reached the age of maturity, and established a permanent homestead there. So successful was he in his ventures that he was known throughout the state as a breeder of Berkshire hogs and Merino sheep, by reason of his having exhibited his stock at numerous county fairs, where valuable premiums were awarded him. In 1904 he retired from active farming, having, bv his energy and sound judgment, amassed for himself a competence for his later years, and he is now enjoying the fruits of his labor.

In the years (sic) 1865 Mr. Emery was married to Mary C. Johnson, a

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native of Indiana, and in her he found a faithful helper and companion. Eight children were born to them, as follows: Ella M. (Quinn), of Shelbina, Missouri; Lora M. (Miller), of Wyoming, Illinois; Gertrude (Farley), of Toulon, Illinois; William L., of Edmondton, Canada; Plessie (Winnans), of Cherokee. Iowa; Grace (Emery), of Toulon, Illinois; Harry Leroy, of Toulon. Illinois, and the immediate subject of this article.

A. J. W. Emery was born in 1867, in Toulon, Stark county, Illinois, and there his childhood and youth were spent. There he received his schooling, and as he grew and developed into manhood he was his father's valued assistant about the labors of the farm. When he reached the age of twenty-one his father entered into an arrangement with him whereby the proceeds of the place were to be divided with him, he working "on shares." This arrangement continued until he reached the age of twenty-six years, when he purchased forty acres of land for himself in the vicinity of his father's home. So well and so wisely did he labor on this place that at the end of five years he was enabled to purchase eighty additional acres, and six years later one hundred acres were added.

In the year 1893 one of the most important moves of his life was made, for at that time he met and married Mary O. Kamerer, the daughter of Andrew Kamerer, of Germany, and from that time forth he was not alone in his ventures, but was assisted and encouraged by a faithful wife. Ten years after his marriage he disposed of his holdings in Illinois and with characteristic foresight, saw the future of the state of Iowa and invested his capital here. Bringing his family to Story county, he purchased a quarter section of land near Ames, paying the sum of eighty dollars per acre for the tract. Today this land is worth more than two hundred and fifty dollars per acre, an evidence of the sound business judgment and farsightedness which has characterized all the dealings of Mr. Emery. In 1909 he came to O'Brien county and purchased the northwest quarter of section 25 in Summit township, and here he has established his homestead. Never content with mediocrity, he has sought to make the very best of this place, and now, after five years of residence, beautiful groves have appeared, a splendid orchard bountifully supplies them with the various fruits in their season, the farm is in a high state of cultivation and stocked with various kinds of high grade live stock, and evidences of unbounded energy, directed by sound judgment, are on every hand.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Emery has been blessed with four children: Lois V., at home; Clifton H., who is now attending the high school at Primghar; Eddis E. and Forest H., who are in the elementary grades.

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Mr. Emery is a man of clear thought, decisive action and remarkable perseverance in his undertakings. Broad-minded, progressive and public spirited, he is deeply interested in all movements for the welfare and general uplift of the community at large. He served efficiently for a time as member of the school board of Gilbert, Iowa, fully justifying the confidence placed in him by his fellow citizens. His family attend the Congregational church, though he is not actively a member. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is, politically, a firm believer in the principles of the Independent Progressive party.

Mr. and Mrs. Emery are well known socially and are interested in affairs for the enjoyment of the younger clement of society. Broad minded, intelligent and seeking the best in life, in the truest sense of the word, for their family and themselves, they are deserving of the high position which they hold in the estimation of their fellow men.

WILLIAM H. DUMMETT.

The early history of O'Brien county, Iowa, was made by the pioneers under conditions which were often very discouraging. The earliest pioneers were the men who planted the trees in this county, put in the drainage system and plowed the tough turf for the first time and built their rude domiciles. The broad and tractless prairie was made to yield its tribute under the effective endeavors of these forefathers of ours and slowly but surely did they lay the steadfast foundation upon which has been built the structure which we call O'Brien county today. Additional honors should be granted those pioneers of this county who fought the long and bloody fight of the Civil War, and under any conditions they deserve faithful honor. Among the earliest pioneers of this county is the distinguished veteran, William H. Dummett, who has been a settler of this county since 1872.

William H. Dummett was born in 1841 in New Jersey and is the son of Henry J. and Christina (Westkett) Dummett. Henry J. Dummett was born in 1809 in Pennsylvania and was a glass blower by trade. Later he moved to Ohio and still later came to Benton county, Iowa, reaching here in 1856. He lived the life of a farmer in Iowa until his death. His wife was born in 1815 and died in 1901. Henry J. Dummett and wife were the parents of eleven children, only four of whom are now living: Mrs. Susan Isabelle,

Picture of WILLIAM H. DUMMETT.

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of Cassville, Missouri; Mrs. Cassie Parshall, of South Dakota; Mrs. Agnes Hart, of Kansas, and William H., whose life history is here set forth.

William H. Dummett was educated in the schools of New Jersey and Ohio. He was fifteen years of age when his parents finally settled in Benton county, Iowa, and when the war broke out in 1861 he was one of the first to enlist in his county. He enlisted in Company H, Sixth Iowa Cavalry, and served throughout the whole war, being discharged October 17, 1865, at Sioux City, Iowa. His record during his service was indeed a notable one and, although he was in many hard fought battles and went through many trying situations, yet he came forth unwounded and with himself unimpaired.

Immediately after the war Mr. Dummett returned to his home in Benton county, Iowa, where he farmed for two years. In 1872, having previously been married, he came to O'Brien county and homesteaded in Franklin township on the farm where he and his wife now live. The house, which they built forty-two years ago, is still standing and a part of it is built in their present home. They went through some terrible tribulations during their first few years in this county. During the first year of their residence, the cold was so intense that their baby's death was hastened. Mr. Dummett has profited since moving to the county and now owns two hundred and forty acres on which he has made very extensive improvements. He owns twelve acres of fruit and forest trees, it being one of the largest groves in the county. He is a large breeder of live stock, especially of Shorthorn cattle and Chester White hogs.

Mr. Dummett was married in 1869, in Benton county, Iowa, to Mary A. Daly, and to this union have been born ten children, five of whom are deceased: Mrs. Mary Merrill, Mrs. Sarah Brahan, Elmer, William and George. The first three are in O'Brien county and the last two are living in Minnesota.

Mr. Dummett was old enough to cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and since that time his vote has always been cast for the Republican candidate. He has always been active in local politics and has held various township oflices, among them being that of school director, assessor and road supervisor. He is an enthusiastic member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Sanborn and takes an interest in all its activities. He and his family are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church and give their earnest support to it at all times. It can be readily seen that Mr. Dummett has lived a long, busy and useful life and. whether in public office or in

1092 O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.

private life, he has ever been faithful to his duties as he saw them. As a soldier on the battlefield, as a public official and as a private citizen he has never let anything deter him from his duties or swerve him from the path of rectitude and honor. For this reason he is highly regarded bv everyone with whom he has been associated and now in his declining years can feel that he has lived at life that has ben filled with usefulness to his fellow men.

WILLIAM FRIEDRICHISEN.

It is an undoubted fact that the history of O'Brien county, Iowa, owes a debt to its German citizens which never can be repaid. In fact, it is not too much to say that the present prosperity of the county is largely due to its citizens of German extraction. Without exception they have become prosperous citizens and in every township where they have settled they have taken active parts in the civic, intellectual and moral life of the community. They have those habits of industry which have not only made themselves successful, but their example has stirred others to greater action and thus they have acted as a leaven to less active plodders along the pathway of life.

William Friedrichsen, a prosperous farmer and stockman of O'Brien county, was born in 1858, in Germany and is the son of Herman and Lizzie (Jackofsen) Friedrichsen. Herman Friedrichsen was a tailor by trade and was born in 1821 and lived all of his life in the land of his birth and died there in 1896.

William Friedrichsen was educated in Germany and came to this country in the same year that he was married. He felt that there were more and better opportunities for a man in the new world than in his native land, and with this idea in view he came to America and settled in Tama county, Iowa, in 1891. For the first three years he worked as a farm hand by the month, and then lived on rented farms for eleven years in Tama and Cherokee counties, and all the time was saving his money with the intention of purchasing a farm of his own, and by the year 1910 he was able to buy one hundred and sixty acres of land in O'Brien county. On this farm he has made extensive improvements since acquiring it and has had the satisfaction of seeing it rapidly advance in value since taking charge of it. He had ample experience in agriculture before taking charge of his own farm and thus was enabled to put into execution all those ideas which he had learned while farming in different counties in the state. He had learned

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that the most successful farmers were those who raised live stock and for this reason he has stocked his farm with the best grades of Hereford cattle, Chester White hogs and draft horses.

Mr. Friedrichsen was married in 1884, in Germany, to Emma Manson, who was born in the fatherland in 1857, and to this union have been born eight children, seven of whom are still living: Mrs. Lizzie Stuart, of Cherokee county, Iowa; William, who is also a resident of Cherokee county; Henry; Herman; John; George; Ella, deceased, and Caroline, who is at home with her parents.

Since acquiring the right to vote in this country, Mr. Friedrichsen has been casting his ballot for the best men at election time, rather than tying his vote to anv particular party. He and the members of his family are earnest adherents of the German Lutheran church and give to it their hearty support at all times. Considering what Mr. Friedrichsen has accomplished since coming to this country, he is certainly deserving of much credit.

MRS. SARAH SHEARER.

Mrs. Shearer was born in 1846 in Ontario, Canada, and there she spent her childhood and youth. Her maiden name was Sarah Shearer, she being the daughter of Archibald Shearer. In the year 1864 she was married to Archibald Shearer, also a native of Ontario, born September 17, 1836, and for many years their home was in this locality. Early in their married life they purchased a farm of one hundred nine acres, and here they labored together, building for themselves and the little ones which came to them a home, hallowed by all the memories of their early wedded life. In the year 1885, however, hearing of the vast amount of land awaiting development in the state of Iowa, and believing their labor in this climate would be productive of greater results, they sold their home in Canada and emigrated to O'Brien county, where they purchased a large tract of prairie land. An entire section of cultivated farm land eventually proved to be their homestead, and since then improvements have been added to the place to the

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extent of about eight thousand dollars, thus vindicaling their judgment in making the radical change from Ontario to Iowa.

Nine children came to bless their home, now located as follows: John, a plumber of Freeport, Illinois ; Agnes, now Mrs. Bell, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Archie and Douglas, who are farming the home place; William, whom death called in 1898; Sarah, a dressmaker in Primghar, Iowa; Harvey, a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ethel, a schoo] teacher in Primghar, and Leona, whose death occurred on January 25, 1900.

In the year 1904 Archibald Shearer was taken from his family by the ruthless hand of the Grim Reaper, and the burden of this great estate was thrown upon the shoulders of the faithful wife, and so ably has she administered the affairs of the farm that it has steadily increased in value. Her two devoted sons, Archibald and Douglas, have proven faithful and able assistants in the work also, and their ability as successful agriculturists has been fully demonstrated. The place is in a high state of cultivation, and an acre of mixed fruit bountifully supplies their table, leaving also a very profitable margin.

Mrs. Shearer has at all times sought the best things of life for her children, giving them educational facilities beyond those ordinarily enjoyed ; nor is she lacking in interest in all movements for the improvement of the surrounding country.

Mr. Shearer, when living, was an adherent of the Democratic party, and attended the Congregational church, where Mrs. Shearer now has her membership. He was not interested in fraternal affairs, finding abundant scope for his energies in the cultivation of the farm and the upbuilding of his homestead. Industrious, thrifty, devoted to his home and family, he gave to the world a goodly number of respected citizens to perpetuate his name and work out the principles instilled into them from their youth.

DAVID F. SHUMWAY.

It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of this review a man who has led an active and eminently useful life and by his own exertions reached a position of honor and trust in the line of industries with which his interests are allied. But biography finds justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a life history, as the public claims a certain property interest in the career of every individual and the time in-

Picture of DAVID F. SHUMWAY.

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variably arrives when it becomes advisable to give the right publicity. It is, then, with a certain degree of satisfaction that the chronicler essays the task of touching briefly upon such a record as has been that of the subject who now comes under this review.

David F. Shumway, the son of Franklin and Laura (Mixer) Shumway, was born in Lake county, Illinois, in 1854. His father was born in Vermont m 1824 and later became a farmer in Lake county, Illinois, where he lived for several years. He then invested in farming land in Iowa and led an active life upon the farm until 1871, when he retired. He died in 1896. His wife was born in 1824 and died in 1859. Franklin Shumway and wife were married in 1845 and to their union were born seven children: Mrs. Marion Hunter, of Illinois ; Emma, who is superintendent of the Jane McCalester Hospital at Waukegan, Illinois: Eva, deceased; Mrs. Evangeline Flagg, of Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. Florence Kingman; Roy A., of Waukegan, Illinois, and David F., whose history is here briefly portrayed.

David F. Shumway received a good common school education and remained with his parents until seventeen years of age, then secured work on the neighboring farms and for eight years worked as a farm hand. In 1881 he came to Waterman township, O'Brien county, Iowa, and bought a farm from Edward Brown. Shortly after coming to this county he was married and for six years after his marriage he and his family lived upon the farm. He was a successful farmer from the start and added to his possessions from time to time until he now owns five hundred and eighty acres in O'Brien county, three hundred and twenty acres in Clay county and one hundred and sixty acres in the state of Minnesota. In addition to his extensive land holdings he has eight shares in the Farmers Elevator of Sutherland, besides a beautiful home and several lots in that city. In 1889 he retired from farming and moved to Sutherland and in 1897 engaged in the implement business in that city. He carries a complete line of agricultural implements and has a large trade in Sutherland and the surrounding territory. He carries four thousand dollars worth of stock all the time and by good business methods has made as pronounced a success in business as he did in his farming. He has always taken an active interest in the fair association of Sutherland and is now a director in the association and superintendent of the fair grounds.

Mr. Shumway was married in 1883 to Margaret Montgomery, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1865. They are the parents of four children: Mrs. Laura Mitchell, of Algona, Iowa, who graduated from

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Morningside College; Clarence A., deceased; Gaylord, a student in the high school at Sutherland, and Margaret, who also is attending school.

Mr. Shumway is classed with the independent voters, belonging to that large and intelligent group of men who have freed themselves from partisanship and vote for the best man at election. He has been interested in every phase of the city life of Sutherland since coming to the city and has served a term as mayor of the city. During his term of office he gave excellent satisfaction and gave his hearty support to every movement which promised to improve the city in any way. For more than twenty years he has helped in the industrial, commercial and civic life of Sutherland, and his name merits a conspicuous place on the role of those who have worthily served the citizens of not only Sutherland, but of O'Brien coimty in general. His integrity has been of the most consistent and unswerving type and no shadow rests upon any portion of his career as a private citizen, as a public official or as a business man. He is a man of kindly motives and has taken a prominent part in the development and progress which has characterized Sutherland and his county.

DANIEL BYSOM.

In the early days of her statehood, as now, the beautiful state of Iowa held out to the man of ability and energy unlimited opportunities to acquire for himself and his descendants a home and a competence. Nor were these abundant opportunities limited to her own inhabitants, but newcomers were gladly welcomed and shared in the good things which she had to offer. Among these men who had the foresight and the determination to grasp at the opportunities which have come his way, we find one who has risen to prominence in this community and has brought forth from the barren soil an abundant harvest.

Daniel Bysom was born in the year 1850 in Berkley county, West Virginia, and from his youth has engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. His father, John Bysom, was born in 1816, in Germany, but in 1837 he joined the westward tide of emigration and sailed for America. Immediately after his arrival he settled in Berkley, West Virginia, taking up the life of the farmer and breeder of live stock, and a year later was married, his wife Elizabeth being also a native of Germany. In 1865, seeing the greater opportunities of the west, he brought his family to Polo county, Illinois, and from

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there traveled with horse and wagon to Poweshiek county, Iowa, where he again engaged in the pursuit of agriculture and stock raising.

Fourteen children were born to this worthy couple, as follows: Maria (Yearmans), deceased; Henry, a veteran of the Civil War, now in the Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown, Iowa; Elizabeth, deceased; Maggie (Hall), of Belle Plaine, Iowa; Laura (Steffa), of Garwin, Iowa; Susie (Kester), of Valley Junction, Iowa; George, a farmer living at Mott, North Dakota; William, deceased; Fannie (Robinson), of Jackson, Mississippi; Mary Kizer), of Irvine, Iowa; Charlie, of Braton, Iowa; Daniel, and two children whom death claimed in infancy.

Daniel Bysom spent his boyhood and youth in the county of his birth, in West Virginia, attending the schools of that locality and assisting his father with the work of the farm. Here the principles of agriculture were taught him, while his frame developed and his muscles hardened and the foundation of a strong physique, the most valuable asset of a successful farmer, was laid. He remained with his father, accompanying him in his journeyings westward until the year 1870, when he was married to Laura H. Stanley. She was the daughter of Horatio Stanley, a native of Pennsylvania who had also sought larger opportunities in the state of Iowa, and spent his days here until he reached the ripe age of ninety-three years. With characteristic foresight, the young man wished to lay the foundation for his future home, and brought his bride to a tract of land in O'Brien county, homesteading the same and gladly enduring the toil and privation of the pioneer. Here they have remained, improving the place and building for themselves a permanent home.

Four children have been born to them: Lillian, who is now Mrs. A. H. Whitmer. resides in Primghar; Nellie, now Mrs. Robert Miller, is a resident of Center township; Shirley, a graduate of Primghar high school, spent four years in the Capital City Commercial College of Des Moines, Iowa, taking a full business course, and after graduating entering the employment of the Bank of Primghar. He soon left this position for the added responsibility of assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Dexter. Later, feeling that brighter prospects were before him in the life of a farmer, he followed the example set by his father and homesteaded a claim in the state of Montana. Leslie, the younger son, after graduating from Primghar high school, took a four-year electrical course in the college at Ames, Iowa, and is now employed as an architect in Des Moines.

Mr. and Mrs. Bysom are now in the full enjoyment of the fruits of their early labors and have vindicated the soundness of their judgment in

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starting a home for themselves early in life. Their farm supplies their needs abundantly and, with its comfortable buildings and beautiful orchards, bears little resemblance to the place which was their first abiding place. Their children have been blessed with unusual educational facilities and are well settled in life.

Mr. Bysom is well and favorably known throughout the county and has for many years served the community as justice of the peace, giving the same conscientious thought and energy to his duties in this capacity which has characterized his own undertakings in the past. He was also, for a time, a member of the school board of Center township. He is a strong adherent of the principles of the Republican party and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Not interested in fraternal affairs, he is a member of no lodges, preferring to give his energies to his own affairs and the service of the community which has placed the administration of justice in many respects into his hands.

JOHN SNIDER.

It is the dictate of our nature, no less than of enlightened social policy, to honor those whose lives have contributed in any way to the good of their community and their associates; to bedew with affectionate tears the silent urn of departed worth and virtue; to unburden the fullness of the surcharged heart in eulogium upon deceased benefactors and to rehearse their noble deeds for the benefit of those who may come after us. It has been the commendable custom of all ages and all nations. Hence the following feeble tribute to John Snider, a gallant veteran of the Civil War and an honorable citizen of O'Brien county, and a man whom to know was to love. In contemplating the many estimable qualities of the late John Snider, industry and integrity appear as prominent characteristics. His devotion to every duty was intense, while his perception of truth and worth was almost intuitive.

John Snider, the son of Jesse and Katharine (McLaughlin) Snider, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1837, and died in O'Brien county, Iowa. November 21, 1913. Jesse Snider was born on December 28, 1814, in Greenbrier county, Virginia, while his wife was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on January 8, 1818. John Snider was given a good, common school education, and when the Civil War broke out was living in Indiana, with his parents. He enlisted on March 11, 1862, at Muncie, Indiana, in

Picture of MR. AND MRS. JOHN SNIDER.

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Company G. Thirty-sixth Regiment Indiana volunteer Infantry, and was discharged in Tennessee on March 20, 1865. During his three years of service he participated in many hard-fought battles and always acquitted himself in a manner befitting the highest type of American soldiery.

Immediately after the close of the war Mr. Snider came back to Indiana, married and at once left the state for Iowa. He and his young wife began housekeeping in Madison county, Iowa, on a rented farm and for seven years continued to reside in that county. In 1873 they moved to O'Brien county and were among the earliest pioneers in this county. They purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land in Liberty township, on which they lived until 1906, when they moved to Sutherland. They improved this tract in various ways until it is now yielding a good return on the original investnient. The farm has eight acres of fruit and forest trees, which is one of the finest groves in the county. When they came to this county there were no horses, and practically all of the land had to be broken up by oxen teams. However, they prospered from the start and in the course of time Mr. Snider was recognized as one of the prosperous farmers of the township and he finally bought eighty acres more, making one hundred and sixty acres.

Mr. Snider was married in 1865 to Catharine Yahne, the daughter of Frederick and Susan (Kimley) Yahne. Frederick Yahne was born in Ohio in 1810 and lived the life of a farmer there all his days, his death occurring in that state. Mrs. Snider's mother, Susan Kimley, was born in Ohio in 1822, and is now living in Madison county, Iowa, with one of her daughters, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Yahne were the parents of seven children.

Mr. and Mrs. John Snider reared two children, both of whom are still living, Minnie F., who is living with her mother in Sutherland, and Mrs. Anna May Seaman, whose husband is a farmer in this county. Mrs. Snider sold the home farm of one hundred and sixty acres in 1914, but still owns forty acres adjoining the city of Sutherland.

Mr. Snider was a Republican in politics and always took an intelligent interest in political affairs. However, he was never an aspirant for any public office, preferring to devote all of his time and energies to his agricultural interests. He was a loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church and always took a great deal of pleasure in the work of the church. Being a veteran of the Civil War, it was but natural that he should ally himself with one of the Grand Army of the Republic posts which are found in this countv, and for many years he was a loyal and faithful member of the

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post at Sutherland. Mr. Snider enjoyed a large acquaintance throughout this part of the county, and among those who knew him best he was considered a man of unusual character, one who impressed his personality upon the locality which he honored with his citizenship. He was charitable to the faults of his neighbors and a man whose kindly impulses endeared him to every one with whom he came in touch, and he left a record which will be honored by his many friends and cherished by his children.

AUGUST KOPP.

Although he was only a boy of seventeen years of age when he came to this country and despite the fact that he had no money to make a start, yet today August Kopp is the owner of eight hundred and thirty acres of land in Grant township, O'Brien county, Iowa. Certainly the history of a man who comes to this country in young manhood, penniless, with no friends and with no knowledge of the English language, and with these handicaps becomes one of the most prosperous men of the county, is full of human interest. He has all those characteristics of the German people, such as thrift, economy, perseverance and honesty, and he has won not only material success, but also the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.

August Kopp, the son of Charles and Katherine (Oberle) Kopp, was born in 1866 in Germany. His mother was born in that country in 1842 and is now lving with her son, August. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kopp; John, a farmer of O'Brien county; Mrs. Kardula H. Weise, deceased, and August, whose history is here delineated.

August Kopp received a good common school education in his native land and when only seventeen years of age came across the broad Atlantic to seek his fortune. He immediately came west and settled in the state of Illinois, where he worked on a farm by the month for the first six years. In this way he secured a good knowledge of the English language, as well as acqainting himself with the methods of agriculture in vogue in this country. In 1899 he and his brother, John, went to O'Brien county, Iowa, and rented land in Waterman township, on which they lived for eight years. During this time their mother kept house for them until August was married in 1891. In 1899 Mr. Kopp bought three hundred and twenty acres of land in Grant township, this county, and has since been adding to his possessions

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until he is now the owner of eight hundred and thirty acres of land in one body. He has made extensive improvements upon his land and now has the finest residence in Grant township. He now has thirty acres of timber land, which is very valuable in this section of the state. He is one of the most extensive stockraisers in the county and keeps graded stock of all kinds. He feeds at least one hundred and fifty head of cattle for the markets annually, and besides his agricultural interests he is a stockholder in the Mcneta State Bank, and also in the Farmers Elevator Company at Sutherland.

Mr. Kopp was married in 1891 to Elizabeth Litzel, who was born in Decatur county, Iowa, in 1874, and to this union have been born ten children: Charles (a bookkeeper in the Savings Bank at Primghar, Iowa), Mrs. Augusta Rose (who lives in Cherokee county. Iowa), Oscar, Edna, John, Elizabeth, Clara, Wilfred, Hazel and Harold, and all of these children except the two oldest are still with their parents.

Politically. Mr. Kopp is a stanch Democrat, but his heavy agricultural interests have prevented him from taking a very active part in politics. He and his family are all loyal members of the Catholic church and give generously of their means to its support. Mr. Kopp is truly a self-made man, having started in life with practically nothing and now is one of the most substantial men of his township. He has led an upright life and has made many friends since coming to this county.

JOHN WOLF.

While every nation in Europe has contributed its quota to the population of O'Brien county, there has been no country that has sent better settlers to this country than Germany. It is safe to say that there is not a German settler or a descendant of the German settlers who has not become prosperous since settling in this county. The thrift which marks the Germans in their native land, when applied to the fine soil of O'Brien county, is sure to make them successful. Among the many Germans who have come to O'Brien county to make their home, there is no one more deserving of mention than John Wolf, of Carroll township.

John Wolf was born in Germany in 1849 and is the son of John and Katherine (Benter) Wolf. John Wolf. Sr., was born in Germany in 1829 and came to Lee county, Illinois, in 1851 with his family. There he purchased two hundred acres of unimproved land and gradually became a very

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prosperous farmer. He kept adding to his land holdings until he had seven hundred and eighteen and a half acres in Illinois. In 1896 John Wolf, Sr., came to Sheldon, O'Brien county, where he bought property and made his home until 1899, then went to California and returned to Sheldon, where he died in 1904. He was buried at Mendota, Illinois. John Wolf, Sr., was married in 1848 to Katherine Benter, and to this union were born six children: Nicholas, who is living a retired life in Sheldon; Mrs. Mary Englehardt, of Sheldon; Adams, who is living a retired life in Illinois; Jacob, in Illinois; Mrs. Elizabeth Mass, of South Dakota, and John, Jr., with whom this narrative deals.

John Wolf. Jr., remained with his parents in Lee county, Illinois, until he was twenty-three years of age. He then took charge of one hundred and seventy acres of land and farmed it for three years. He then sold this farm and bought one hundred and forty acres of unimproved land, and after improving it he sold it at a good profit. In 1884 he came to O'Brien county, Iowa, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of unimproved land. He was the first man in O'Brien county to run a wire fence between O'Brien county and Sioux county. He was successful from his first venture in O'Brien county and now owns three hundred and twenty acres of well improved land. He has three acres of orchard and grove trees, as has practically every other farmer in the county. He is a breeder of Hereford cattle and keeps a high grade of this particular breed. Since moving on to his farm he has put twelve thousand dollars' worth of improvements on it. He owns a share in the Farmers Elevator at Hospers, Sioux county.

Mr. Wolf was married in 1880 to Lenoro Singer in Dixon, Lee county, Illinois. To this marriage have been born ten children: Lydia, deceased; Mrs. Sophia Benson, of Sanborn, Iowa; John F., a farmer in Carroll township, O'Brien county; Edward, a farmer of Canada; Mrs. Louise Benson, of Wisconsin; William, a farmer of this county: Daniel; Michael; Mary, and Sadie. The two youngest girls were twins, who are now fourteen years of age.

The Wolf family are loyal members of the German Lutheran church and are interested in all the activities of that denomination. Politically, Mr. Wolf is a progressive independent, with pronounced progressive tendencies. He has always taken an active interest in the educational affairs of his township and has been school director for the past fourteen years. He is a man who is well liked by everyone and has a host of friends throughout the county.