1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
Page Index:
Muldoon |
Christiansen |
Gunderson |
Meyer |
Meier |
Juhl |
Mathisen |
Rold |
Larson |
Schleier |
One day in the summer of 1880 there alighted from the train in Harlan a rugged Irish youth of nineteen, who had spent practically all of his money in traveling from Syracuse, New York. As the train pulled out of the station his eves followed it with a lingering gaze, for the train seemed like a friend who had brought him to a new country. Today this same Irish youth ships more than one hundred car loads of stock each year over the same railroad which brought him into this county thirty-four years ago. James Muldoon is a striking example of the young man who accumulates a comfortable fortune through the exercise of his individual abilities and is eminently worthy of a place among the representative men of Shelby county.
James Muldoon, the son of James and Mary (Maloney) Muldoon, was born on January 16, 1861, in Cortland, New York. His parents were born in Ireland and came to this country before the war and located at Cortland, New York. James Muldoon, Sr., was a farmer all his life and died in New York state, December 5, 1875, his widow passing away at Harlan, Iowa, in May, 1888. They were the parents of four children, John, James, Alice and Joseph, the latter two being deceased.
James Muldoon attended the public schools at Cortland, New York, until he was fourteen years of age, and then went with his mother and father and the rest of the family to DeRuyter, New York, his father dying one year later. He attended school for a short time after moving to DeRuyter, and then began to work for himself. At the age of nineteen he left home and came to Shelby county, Iowa, with the mother and family, where he worked on the farm of Thomas McDonald until his marriage in 1886. Immediately after his marriage he rented a farm and lived on this farm for ten years, during which time he carefully saved his money with the intention of pur-
chasing a farm of his own. In 1894 he bought a farm of twenty acres in Fairview township; in 1896 bought eighty acres adjoining, and in 1910 traded a farm in Lincoln township for one hundred and seventy acres near Corley. Several years ago he began buying and shipping stock, and now ships more than one hundred cars of stock from Shelby county each year. He raises a large amount of stock on his own farm, which is one of the best watered and productive farms of the county, his farm being peculiarly adapted to stock raising. He is a man of keen business ability and great enterprise and has forged his way to the front in such a manner as to win
the admiration of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Muldoon was married March 31, 1886, to Augusta Kistnemacher, who was born in Scott county, Iowa, and to this union have been born seven children, Archibald, Mary, Joseph, James, Margaret, John and Helen. Augusta Kistnemacher was born November 26, 1864, in Scott county, Iowa, the daughter of Henry and Marie (Kruse) Kistnemacher, natives of Germany. Henry Kistnemacher came to America in 1848 in a sailing vessel taking nine weeks on the trip. He came up the Mississippi river to Scott county. He was an early pioneer settler in Scott county and saw many changes, from transportation by sled to automobiles. He hauled his belongings by sled. He became very wealthy and owned six hundred acres of land. He died at Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1909. Marie Kruse (his wife), came to America in 1855 by sailing vessel and located in Scott county. She died in March, 1902. There are seven children living out of nine born to Mr. and Mrs. Kistnemacher, Dorothea, William, Louie, Amelia, Augusta, Christina, Bertha, Adelia, Meta, of which William and Meta are deceased.
Politically, Mr. Muldoon is a member of the Democratic party, but his extensive business interests have been such as to keep him from taking active part in political affairs. Nevertheless, he is heartily in sympathy with every movement which makes for good government and can always be relied on to support all worthy measures. Fraternally, he is a member of the Woodmen of America, while in his religious faith he and the members of his family are devout adherents of the Catholic church. Such, in brief, is the interesting life history of James Muldoon, the Irish youth who came to this county thirty-four years ago to seek his fortune.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 922 - 924.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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There are many aspects which the farmer of today must consider which were totally unknown to the farmer of fifty years ago. The twentieth century farmer must understand something of the rotation of crops, soil analysis, scientific breeding of live stock, seed selection, fertilizing, fruit tree spraying, corn inspection and balanced rations. These are only some of the many things which are being taught in our agricultural schools and worked out by the experts in the employ of the department of agriculture. It is not the chance that one farmer raises eighty bushels of corn to an acre, while his neighbor across the road gets but forty; it is not a mere chance that Farmer Brown can lay away a thousand dollars a year from his farm, while farmer. Jones across the road cannot pay off the mortgage which encumbers his farm.
In fact, farming is not any longer run by chance, but has become a science, and the farmer who uses the most science is the farmer who makes the most money. One of Shelby county's farmers who understands the many details which go to make the successful farmer is Martin Christiansen, of Monroe township, who has those characteristics of thrift and economy which mark the Danish people, and has applied them so well that he is recognized as one of the most efficient farmers of his township.
Martin Christiansen, the son of Celius and Enger Christiansen, was born March 6, 1863, at Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father was born in Denmark, March 5, 1829, and came to the United States in 1853, and located in Brown county, Wisconsin. He bought land in that county and engaged in farming until the opening of the Civil War. He then enlisted in a Wisconsin regiment and saw much hard service before he was finally mustered out. After he returned from the war he continued to farm in Wisconsin until 1880, when he came to Shelby county and purchased two hundred acres of land in Monroe township, on which he lived until 1893. In 1893 he returned to his native country for a visit, and during the summer of 1894 he made his third visit to the land of his nativity and now makes his home in Denmark.
Celius Christiansen and wife are the parents of twelve children, Seni, Edward, Mary, Martin, Julia, Henry, Amy, Frederick, Celius, Charles, Maggie and Cecil. The mother of these children died in 1889, at the age of fifty-two years.
Martin Christiansen was educated in the schools of Brown county, Wisconsin, and attended the schools of Shelby county, Iowa, for a short time after his parents moved to this county. He remained at home until his marriage in 1894, when he located on his present farm of one hundred acres in Monroe township. He has improved his farm in various ways by the erection of good buildings and has brought it to a high state of cultivation by the proper methods of crop rotation and fertilizing. He keeps well abreast of the latest advances made in scientific agriculture, and in this way has the satisfaction of seeing his farm give satisfactory results for his efforts.
Mr. Christiansen was married January 23, 1895 to Lizzie Shafer, the daughter of Philip Shafer and wife, of Harlan. Mr. Shafer died in 1896. Mrs. Christiansen was one of five children, the others being Henry, Ella, Lottie and John. Mr. and Mrs. Christiansen are the parents of one son, Philip, who is still living with his parents.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 924 - 925.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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One of the most prominent young men of the city of Harlan is George B. Gunderson, the present mayor of the city. He is a man of splendid intellectual attainments and has received the best education which the University of Iowa affords. That he is a man of exceptional ability is shown by the fact that he was appointed mayor of Harlan before he had lived in the city a year and at the expiration of his appointment was elected to the same office in the administration of his official duties he has shown marked ability as an executive officer and has demonstrated on more than one important occasion the fact that he possesses a broad and comprehensive view of municipal affairs. Thoroughly trained in the legal profession, he is at the threshold of a useful career and the ability which he has so far demonstrated indicates a
most successful future for him.
George B. Gunderson, the son of Charles L. and Dena Cecelia (Christensen) Gunderson, was born March 24, 1886, at Rolfe, Iowa. His grandparents on both sides came from Norway with their families and located in the state of Wisconsin and in that state both his parents were born. Charles L. Gunderson was born October 13, 1859, in Grant county, Wisconsin, and was the son of George B. Gunderson, who was born in Norway January 29, 1825, and died July 22, 1906. Helen, the wife of George B., was born in Norway March 11, 1830, and died December 6, 1913. Dena Cecelia Christensen was the daughter of Ever Christensen, who was born May 6, 1837, and died March 1, 1911. Nelia, the wife of Ever Christensen, was born September 16, 1842, and died December 30, 1910. Ever Christensen and
wife removed to Western Springs, South Dakota, where they passed the remainder of their lives.
Charles L. and Dena (Christensen) Gunderson were the parents of six children: George B., Arthur Henry, John C., Ruth Josephine, Naomi Helen and Martha Charlotte. All of these children have graduated from college or are now taking college work. Charles L. came to Iowa from Wisconsin in 1880 and located in Rolfe, where the family are still living. George B. Gunderson graduated from the high school at Rolfe and at once entered the University of Iowa, graduating from that excellent institution in the spring of 1910 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He had made up his mind to enter the legal profession and remained in the university
two more years, during which time he completed a three-year law course, and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1912.
Mr. Gunderson located for the practice of his chosen profession in Harlan in the spring of 1913. On February 28, of that year, he became the law partner of Senator Thomas H. Smith, one of the best and oldest lawyers of the city. Before the end of the year Mr. Gunderson was appointed mayor of Harlan by the city council and gave such universal satisfaction that he was subsequently elected to the office in the spring of 1914.
Politically, Mr. Gunderson is allied with the Republican party and is already recognized as one of his party's leaders in the county. He has shown those qualities which characterize the public-spirited man of affairs and has won the approval of his fellow citizens by his efficient administration of the duties of his office. In religious faith he adheres to the Presbyterian church, while fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1462 - 1463.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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No man ever accomplished anything definite in life who did not have a purpose in view and the accompanying will power to conduct his life so as to realize his goal. No farmer lad ever accumulated a large farm by his own unaided efforts unless had a definite purpose which led him on until he acquired the farm. One of the famous men of the United States put the letter V on the door of his room when he entered college. The presence of the letter exposed him to question and ridicule, but paying no attention to either he kept the letter in its place. At the end of four years, graduation day came, and the youth who had kept the letter V pasted on his door for
four years, delivered the valedictory, address to his class. He had gone through his four years in college and no one had ever induced him to explain the mystery of the letter V, but on graduation day, after receiving the compliments of the faculty and his fellow students for the successful career which he had led in college he explained the significance of the letter on the door. He said that when he entered college he made up his mind that he was going to be such a good student that he would be appointed the valedictorian of his class, and that he never went in his room to study but that the letter pressed this fact upon his mind. The result was that he gained his goal. The story of this young man has been duplicated time and time again and may be seen in the career of William H. Meyer, a prosperous farmer of Fairview township, and a man who has accumulated a large farm by his own unaided
efforts.
William H. Meyer, the son of Peter and Margaret (Karsten) Meyer, was born June 24, 1857, in Germany. His father came to the United States in 1868 and located in Illinois, where he found work on the railroads of the state. His father and mother lived the remainder of their days in Illinois, where they reared a family of seven children, Mary, John, Jacob, Christina, William H., Margaret and Minnie.
William H. Meyer was educated in the public schools of his home town in Illinois, and early in life took up the trade of a brick mason. He followed his trade in Illinois until 1885 when he came to Shelby county, Iowa, and rented a farm in Fairview township. He continued to rent land until 1893, when he married and purchased his present farm of two hundred and twenty acres in Fairview township. Since acquiring this farm he has erected buildings of all kinds, including a house, barn and various, kinds of outbuildings. He has practiced scientific crop rotation with the result that he always keeps his farm in a high state of cultivation. The farm is well watered and is peculiarly adapted to the raising of live stock. He gives particular attention to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle and has some of the best cattle of this
breed in the county.
Mr. Meyer was married in March 7, 1893 to Mrs. Ella (Hock) Cushing, the daughter of John Hock, of Illinois, and the widow of Henry Cushing, and to this union have been born four children, Anna, William, Vernie and Nellie.
Politically, Mr. Meyer is a member of the Democratic party and has been honored by his party, on several occasions. He has been nominated and elected to the office of township trustee and township treasurer and filled both of these offices to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of his township irrespective of their political affiliations. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Meyer takes great pride in keeping his farm in an attractive manner and is heartily interested in everything pertaining to the general welfare of his community. He is a striking example of the man who starts out in life with nothing and, with a definite purpose in view, lives such a life as to realize his purpose. This he has done, while at the same time he has borne the full burdens of citizenship in such a way as to command the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 930 - 932.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The number of Germans who have cast their lot with the people of Shelby county, Iowa, is larger than the number coming from any other foreign country, and it has been noted repeatedly that they have proven to be most desirable and splendid citizens in every sense of the word. They have been industrious farmers, keen business men and talented professional men, and always supported such measures as made for the general public good. In 1867 there landed at New York harbor a small German lad by the name of Jacob Meier, a lad who had come to this country to seek his fortune, and he has found it as his subsequent history will reveal.
Jacob P. Meier, the son of Peter B. and Margaret (Carsens) Meier, was born in Holstein, Germany, on August 26, 1850. His father came to the United States in 1870 and located in Rock Island county, Illinois, where he lived until 1883, dying at the age of sixty-seven years, his wife passing away six years later at the age of sixty-nine years. Peter B. Meier and wife were the parents of eight children: Mary, deceased, who married R. Massen; Jacob; Christina, wife of Fritz Christensen, of Moline, Illinois; Annie; John, a farmer in Holstein, Germany; William H., a farmer of Corley, Iowa; Margaret, widow of August Carsen; Minnie, also married, of Monroe township, Shelby county.
Jacob Meier received such education as was afforded by the home schools of his native land and attended the manual training school and learned to knit, crochet, together with carpentering and blacksmithing, and when a mere boy began to dream of the days when he should come to the United States. He could not wait until his parents got ready to come, but when he reached the age of sixteen and one-half years, he left home and sailed across the Atlantic alone. Upon reaching the United States, he located with a family at Moline, Illinois, and later temporarily settled in Rock Island county in the same state, but remained there only a short time. He next went to Iowa and located in Scott county, where he lived for nine years. His next change took him with his family to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where he bought
one hundred and sixty-eight acres of land, on which he lived until 1883. In that year he came to Shelby county and purchased three hundred and sixty acres of land in Fairview township, on which he has erected fine buildings, and has made one of the most attractive farms in the township. He thoroughly understands every phase of scientific agriculture, and has so rotated his crops that he has brought his farm to a high state of cultivation and productivity. A few years ago Mr. Meier retired from active farm life and moved to Harlan, where he is now residing at 505 East Durant
street.
Mr. Meier was married in 1874 to Christina Hansen, a native of Schleswig, Germany, and the daughter of Peter H. and Margaret Hansen, also natives of Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Meier have been born seven children: Henry P., living at home; Jacob F., at home; Julius, a merchant at Corley, Iowa, who married Minnie Albers; Emma, the wife of George Stoufferson; Emil, at home; Frank, at home; Laura, the wife of Clinton Cushing, of Lincoln township.
Mrs. Meier's parents came to the United States from Germany in 1857 and settled in Davenport, Iowa, later settling in Walnut, Iowa, where they lived eight years. Later they engaged in farming near Dumont, Cedar county, Iowa. They were the parents of nine children: Sophie, the widow of P. F. Broders, of Dumont, Iowa; Mrs. Jacob Meier; Anna; Peter H., of Harlan; John, a farmer of Fairview township; Ernest, now living on the old home place; Julius, a farmer of Plankington, South Dakota; Arvena, the wife of W. F. Brown, of Plankington, South Dakota, and Emma, wife of William Ryaldt. In 1894 Peter Hansen bought a section of land in
Fairview township, Shelby county, on which he lived until a few years ago, when he retired, moved to Avoca, and there died.
Politically, Mr. Meier is a stanch Democrat and has always taken an active interest in the local affairs of his party. He has served as township trustee and as a member of the school board of Fairview township for several years and in both capacities rendered efficient service to his fellow citizens. .He and the members of his family are loyal adherents of the German Lutheran church to whose support they generously contribute. Mr. Meier is a striking example of the poor German emigrant who came to this country in the latter art of the last century and by hard work and good management accumulated a very comfortable competence for himself and family.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 932 - 933.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The mere acquisition of wealth cannot be said to be the stamp of a successful man in the strict sense of the term. Captain Kidd accumulated millions of dollars, but his piratical method of so doing could not allow him to be classed among successful men. Money does not in itself increase the personal merit of its possessor; and is not a sign so much as a test of real worth. It constitutes opportunity and stands for either virtue or vice, and its faithful use or hurtful abuse determines its owner's character. A man who accumulates wealth in an honest manner and then spends it in such a way that he himself, his family and his neighbors are benefited thereby is the successful man. He is the richest man who absorbs into himself the most of the best of the world in which he lives, and who gives the most of himself to others. The career of Paul M. Juhl, a well-to-do farmer of Fairview township, Shelby county, illustrates the type of a man who accumulates wealth and uses it for worthy purposes. Such a man is deemed a successful man in the highest sense of the term.
Paul M. Juhl, the son of Frederick and Marie Juhl, was born November 5, 1845, in Denmark. His boyhood days were spent in the public schools of his native land and in a manner customary to the youth of that country. By the time he had reached the age of twenty-three he had come to the conclusion that his country could not afford the opportunities for young men which might be secured in America. He had heard of many of his countrymen who had come to America and become substantial citizens and this fact led him to decide to come to the United States.
The year 1868 marked a turning point in the life of Paul M. Juhl, for in that year he severed all home ties and sailed for the new world, the land of opportunity. He first located in St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked by the month for a time and then bought a team and followed teaming in the city for two years. A fair haired girl in his native land induced him to return home and he returned to Denmark, married and brought his young bride to this country for their honeymoon trip. They located temporarily in St. Louis, and then with many misgivings they left the city and went to Shelby county, Iowa, where they bought eighty acres of land in Fairview township. For ten years Mr. Juhl worked on the farm and with the aid of his good wife saved his money with the intention of buying additional land. In 1887 he sold his eighty-acre farm and purchased one hundred and twenty acres in the same township, and has been since residing on this farm. He has made extensive improvements upon it since he acquired it, and now has one of the most prosperous looking farms in the township. He has a comfortable home, commodious barns and all of the outbuildings which he needs for the size of his farm. He has divided his time and attention between his crops and stock raising and in this way has laid aside a comfortable competence for his declining years.
Mr. Juhl was married June 11, 1876, to Christina Dinnsen, who was a native of Denmark, and the daughter of Andrew Dinnsen, and to this union have been born four children: Andrew P., who died at the age of sixteen; Anna; the wife of Charles Foss; Marie, the wife of Albert Severs; Fred Andrew, at home. Mr. Juhl and his family are all loyal members of the Lutheran church, and have always taken an active interest in its welfare.
Mr. Juhl votes independently and while not an active politician, yet he has always taken an intelligent interest in political life. During his younger years he served as school director and road supervisor, and rendered faithful service to his fellow citizens in both capacities. Mr. Juhl may be classed among the pioneers of the county, and now in his declining years can look back over a life in this county which has been well spent in the service of his fellow men. He has always tried to live by the Golden Rule, and such has been the character of his life, that today there is no more highly respected
man in the township.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 934 - 935.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The many farmers of Danish descent in Shelby county, Iowa, are universally prosperous. The habits of industry and fiugality, which characterized the Danish people in their native land, have made the Danish farmers of Shelby county, welcome additions to the cosmopolitan population. They give their adopted country the best of their efforts, and always take an active interest in the community life about them. Niels R. Mathisen, an enterprising stockman of Clay township, has lived in this county for a score of years, during which time he has won the admiration of everyone who knows him. Niels R. Mathisen, the son of Hans P. and Anna (Nelson) Mathisen, was born in 1868 in Denmark. His father was born in 1834, and his mother in 1833, and both of them spent all of their days in the land of their birth.
They were married in 1866 and reared a family of eight children, two of whom are deceased. Hans P. Mathisen is still living in his native land. His wife died in 1912.
Niels R. Mathisen was educated in the schools of Denmark. He came to America in 1888. He went directly to Audubon county, Iowa, where he worked on the farms of that county the first seven years. He then married, came to Shelby county, Iowa, and rented a farm for eight years, in Clay township. In 1903 he bought his present farm of eighty acres, and has made very extensive improvements. He keeps a high grade of live stock and by close attention to his interests, has succeeded in having his farm yield a very satisfactory revenue each year.
Mr. Mathisen was married in 1895 to Hansine Back, who was a native of Denmark, born in 1874. She came to this country alone in 1893. Her parents are still living in Denmark. Mr. Mathisen and his wife are the parents of one daughter, Clara, who was born in 1901. The Danish Lutheran Church receives the enthusiastic support of Mr. Mathisen and his wife, and to its support they have always been generous contributors. Politically, he gives his ardent support to the Republican party,
although he has never been an aspirant for any public office.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 935 - 936.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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An enterprising farmer of Shelby county, Iowa, is Samuel Rold, who by correct methods and unceasing industry, has accumulated a fine farm of one hundred acres, while at the same time he has taken an active part in the life of his community. He and his wife are both descendants of Danish ancestry, and have inherited those qualities which have placed the Danes among the most worthy citizens of this county.
Samuel Rold, the son of Jens and Charlotte (Jensen) Rold, was born in Fairview township, Shelby county, Iowa, September 19, 1875. His father was born in Denmark in 1839, received his education in his native land and worked out as a farm hand until his marriage. After his marriage, Jens Rold continued farming in his native land until 1870, when he came to America and located in Shelby county, Iowa. The county was just then being opened to settlement, and he was able to buy forty acres of good land in Fairview township for five dollars an acre. He lived on this farm for five years and then moved to Jackson township and purchased one hundred and twenty acres, increasing it to two hundred and forty acres within the next few years. He farmed in Jackson township until 1895, when he retired to Harlan, where he is still living in his seventy-fifth year. His wife died in 1900. There were sixteen children born to Jens Rold and wife, eight of whom are now living. Chris, who married Rebecca Christiansen; Annie, the wife of C. H. Christiansen; Christian, who married Della Roland; John, who married Mary Petersen; Rebecca, the wife of Nicholas Sorensen; Samuel, with whom this narrative deals; Martha, the wife of William Smith; Charles, who married Ida Frederickson.
The education of Samuel Rold was received in the district schools of Jackson township, and after leaving school he farmed with his father until he was twenty-one years of age. He then worked out for one year, after which he married and rented a farm from his father. He continued renting until 1900, when he bought sixty acres of the farm on which he is now living in Center township, later adding forty acres, so that he now has one hundred acres of well-improved land. Since acquiring this farm he has placed about five thousand dollars' worth of improvements upon it, with the result that his farm is now yielding very satisfactory returns. He has about
thirty-five acres of corn and twenty acres of oats each year and feeds all of his grain to his hogs and cattle. He averages about seventy head of hogs and thirty head of cattle for the market each year, and in common with other farmers of the county, has found that more than three-fourths of his income comes from the sale of stock.
Mr. Rold was married on Christmas Day, 1897, to Anna K. Johnson, the daughter of L. P. and Carrie Johnson, and to this union have been born six children: Luella, Clifford, Mildred, Harold, Lucy and Leonard. Mrs. Rold was born in Center township, while both of her parents were natives of Denmark. They came to this country in the early eighties and first settled in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but a short time afterward came to Shelby county and located in Monroe township. The father farmed in that township until 1913, when he retired from active farm life. Both of Mrs. Rold's parents are now living in the home of Samuel Rold. Five children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson: Lucy, deceased, who married Edward Ray, deceased; Julius, who married Ella Golden; Stella, the wife of Samuel Clayton; Louis, deceased, and Anna, the wife of Mr. Rold.
Mr. Rold and his family are loyal members of the American Baptist church and contribute of their means to its support. He has always taken an active part in Republican politics in local matters and has served his fellow citizens as school director in his home township. Mr. Rold is a man of strong character and has so managed his affairs as to win and retain the esteem of his fellow citizens.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 936 - 937.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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For more than forty years Jeppe Larson has been farming in Fairview township, in this county, and in that time has accumulated a farm of several hundred acres solely through his own unaided efforts. Born in Denmark, receiving a limited education in his native country, he landed in this county with his parents when he was fourteen years of age, and during the four decades which he has lived within the limits of this county, he has lived such a life as to win the esteem of his fellow citizens. His life is but another example of the many Danish youths who have started out in this county with nothing but a stout heart and willing hands, and yet with a persistency which is indeed remarkable, they have accumulated comfortable fortunes for themselves. While they are doing this they are not neglecting their
duties as citizens.
Jeppe Larson is the son of Jens and Mary Larson, and was born in Denmark, January 22, 1858. He accompanied his parents to America in 1872, and located in Shelby county, Iowa, where his father bought forty acres of land in Fairview township. Jens Larson proved to be a successful farmer and at the time of his unfortunate death in 1889 he was classed among the substantial men of his township. His death resulted from a runaway accident, in which he was so severely injured that his death shortly afterwards resulted. His widow died in 1902. Jens Larson and wife were the parents of seven children: Marie, the wife of L. C. Gregersen; Peter; Enger; Lars; Hannah, the wife of Henry Johnson; Anna, the wife of Lars Nelson; Jeppe.
Jeppe Larson was fourteen years of age when his parents started to farm in Shelby county, Iowa, and his whole life since that time has been spent on the farm in this township. He worked on his father's farm for a short time and then began farming for himself. By the proper application of his energies he has accumulated a fine farm of four hundred and thirty-five acres in Fairview township, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and made one of the most productive farms of the township. His farm is well watered and has some excellent timber growing upon it, with the result that it is peculiarly adapted to stock raising. Mr. Larson has a
large orchard of fruit trees of all kinds and takes a great deal of pride in keeping his orchard in good condition.
Mr. Larson was married in 1887 to Carrie Sorensen, the daughter of Mortenson Sorensen, and to this union have been born seven children, Laura, Clarence, Edwin, Grace, Edna, Roy and Della. Laura is the wife of Emory Lee and has one daughter, Orpha, while all of the other children are still unmarried and living with their parents.
The Republican party claims the support of Mr. Larson and it has always received his hearty approval. He has particularly been interested in educational matters and has served for several years on the school board of his township. Religiously, he and his family are members of the Baptist church and to its support contribute generously of their time and means. For several years Mr. Larson has been a trustee of his church. He is a man who has lived a clean and wholesome life since settling in this county, and because of his upright conduct and his square dealings, he is well worthy to be classed among the representative men of his township and county.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 938 - 939.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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In Matthew Schleier of Union township we have a fine type of progressive farmer and a leading citizen of his community. He is a native-born American citizen whose parents came from the Fatherland and are of high German extraction. Evidence of the high esteem in which Mr. Schleier is held is shown by the fact that for fourteen years past he has served the people of his township well and faithfully as assessor, an ofttimes difficult local office to fill and one which requires a great amount of good common sense and diplomacy.
Mr. Schleier is tilling two hundred acres of excellent land and is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section eight, of which he became the owner solely through his own efforts. He has a fine, modern home erected in 1912 at a cost of two thousand dollars; a large barn thirty-two by fifty-four feet, by twenty-two feet in dimension, which he built in 1912 at a cost of one thousand one hundred dollars and which is painted a deep red. His residence is painted a handsome slate color, trimmed in white, and presents an attractive appearance, viewed from the highway. On the farm is a new corn crib thirty-two by thirty-two feet square and having a capacity of over two thousand, five hundred bushels of grain. The place has a new hog house twenty by thirty-two feet, and a granary, which
is twenty by twenty-four feet in dimensions and it has a capacity of one thousand, two hundred bushels of grain. A power wind-mill furnishes the force which pumps water through a system of piping, and supplies the residence and the farm buildings. The water for this purpose is obtained from two fine wells. A fine driveway leads from the high-road to the residence and is kept in good condition.
The proprietor of this farm carries on general farming and raises live stock for the market. The farm produces from eighty to one hundred hogs annually and from thirty to forty head of cattle. The crops sown and cared for on the farm last year were eighty acres in corn, forty acres of oats, fifteen acres in wheat, and twenty acres of barley. A large grove of maples has grown up near the residence and provides a fine shade and windbreak. Mr. Schleier has over an acre of orchard trees and small fruits.
Matt Schleier was born December 31, 1864, in Wisconsin and is the son of Michael Schleier, a native of Prussia, born in 1828 and who died at Earling in Shelby county in 1911. His mother was Catherine Koll, who was born in Germany in 1840. In 1851, Michael came to America as a poor boy and settled in Wisconsin where he prospered through diligence and wise economy, and there married. His farm was located in Grant county, Wisconsin. Schleier, Sr., and his family came to Shelby county, Iowa, October 15, 1883, and located in the Catholic settlement of Westphalia. He resided for six years on a farm in this township, and then removed to Earling, where his widow still resides. Michael Schleier was the father of the following children: Mrs. Barbara Kirschbaum of Greeley township; Anna Abts, residing in Randolph, Cedar county, Iowa; Matthew; John, a resident of Winneshiek county, Iowa; Christ, a citizen of Earling; Rev. Fr. Herman, a priest of Leeds church, Sioux City, Iowa; Henry, a prosperous druggist of Earling; Mrs. May Kohnen of Randolph, Cedar county, Nebraska; and Dr. Frank Schleier, a practicing physician located in Omaha, Nebraska.
It is with Matt Schleier that this chronicle treats. He was born and reared on a farm in Grant county, Wisconsin, and was nineteen years of age when the family migrated to the cheaper and better lands of Shelby county, Iowa, to become a component part of the great Catholic settlement there. He received his education in the district schools and began farming for himself at the age of twenty-five years. He married when twenty-seven years old and in 1891 made his first investment in farm lands, buying eighty acres of land in Union township at a cost of twenty dollars an acre. It is a remarkable fact that he had saved up the full amount of capital for complete payment for this tract and it was a proud and happy day for the young couple when they were able to call this first "eighty" their very own. In the
year 1905 he added another eighty at a cost of sixty-five dollars an acre. This land is now worth one hundred and fifty dollars an acre and is well improved.
Mr. Schleier was married on June 7, 1900, to Catharina Gross of Westphalia, who was born in Shelby county in the year 1873, the daughter of Adam and Johanna Gross, pioneer settlers of Westphalia township. To this union have been born the following children: Johannah, at home with her parents; Mrs. Anna Lehan, residing on a farm in Union township across the roadway from the home of her parents; Michael, Frank and Matilda.
Mr. Schleier and his family are all steadfast members of the Defiance Catholic church. Politically, he has always been aligned with the Democratic party and has a firm and abiding belief in the principles of his party. He is a stanch supporter of the great President and leader of his party, Woodrow Wilson. For the past fourteen years he has filled the position of township assessor of Union township and it can be said with truth that no man stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than Matt Schleier. He is ever ready to assist in promoting any enterprise which has for its purpose the accomplishment of the greatest good to the greatest number.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 939 - 941.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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