1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
Page Index:
Brodersen |
Moore |
Cook |
Benson |
Bocken |
Westergaard |
Nelsen |
Mayne |
Eggerss |
Thompson
Click photo to enlarge
During the forepart of 1914 there was, organized a peculiar society in
the United States under the title of the American Society of Thrift, of which
Simon W. Strauss, of Chicago, is president. During the present year he is
in France studying the thrift of the French people, who, he says, are recognized as the thriftiest people in the world. They are called the Chinese of
the West in this regard. We as Americans have passed out of the early stage
where the self-denial of our forefathers inculcated thrift. When our great
country developed and riches beyond any that history has recorded were
produced, the natural effect was seen. From high to low, we have become
prodigals with little plan or calculation for the most of us, pursuing wealth
and wasting it as we go. We are getting out of this stage and awakening
to the need of reform. This new society is a step in the right direction and
it is to be hoped that much good will result from it. Closely approaching
the French in thriftiness are the Germans and Danes and a great deal of the
property of Shelby county is due to the efforts of the people of these two races.
Peter Brodersen, the son of Jacob and Gena Brodersen, was born February 29, 1876, in Jackson township, in this county. His parents were born
in Denmark, his father coming to America in 1868. Jacob Brodersen worked
on a railroad in Iowa upon his arrival in this country and soon bought a farm
of forty acres in Jackson township, Shelby county, Iowa. In 1869 he sent
to Denmark for his wife and infant daughter and in the following year
started farming in this county. He prospered and a few years ago moved
to Harlan, where he is now living. His wife died in Harlan in 1910. Six
children were born to Jacob Brodersen and wife: Hans, Mrs. Dorothy Boysen, Christ, Peter, Mrs. Ella Christenson and Charles. The sketch of Hans
Brodersen elsewhere in this volume gives additional facts concerning the
family.
Peter Brodersen received all of his education in the schools of his home
township and remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age. He
then married, rented land for the first year and then bought the one hundred
and forty acres of his old home place. He has made some substantial improvements each year and now has one of the most attractive farms in the
township. He erected a beautiful country home at a cost of four thousand
dollars, which has all the modern conveniences. He has also built additional barns and outbuildings in order to care for his stock in a better manner. As he has been able he has added land to his original farm and now
owns one hundred and eighty acres of land in Jackson township.
Mr. Brodersen was married June 20, 1897, to Catharine Hoogensen.
She is the daughter of Henry Hoogensen and was born in 1868 in Jackson
township. Her father is now retired and living in Harlan. To Mr. Brodersen and wife have been born three children: Jacob, Cecil and Henry.
Politically, Mr. Brodersen is a Democrat and has served as school
director and trustee of his township. He and his family are members of the
Danish Lutheran church and he is a member of the Danish Brotherhood.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1024 - 1025.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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Prestige in medicine is the outcome of strong mentality, close application and ability to apply theory to practice in the treatment of diseases. Good
training made Edwin B. Moore eminent in his calling and he ranked among
the leaders of the medical profession of Shelby county.
Edwin B. Moore was born in Deer Creek, Pennsylvania, in the wild
land of game and forest and Indian terrors. The home, like others, had a
rough stone chimney built on the outside, and a fire-place inside held a crane
and bake kettle.
He grew to be a sturdy little fellow and often followed the older brothers
in the quest of wild game which served as the reliable food at that time.
Later the family moved to Ohio and from there to Marysville, Missouri,
where the father was a railroad contractor. The alarm of guerilla warfare
and the burning of the home caused him to flee with the family from Missouri, and they took refuge on a farm near Dayton, Iowa.
At the age of fifteen, Edwin secretly enlisted in the Union army in
Washington county, Iowa, but was detected by his father while trying to
join a volunteer company at the county seat and taken home. Soon after
this his father died, and this left Edwin practically at the head of the family
since the older brothers had enlisted in the army. This gave the responsibility of character building. By working days and studying nights he man-
aged to get an education. At the age of eighteen, he abandoned farming
and took up insurance, clerked in a drug store, and later managed the business. About this time he met Miss Sarah Elizabeth Watters, a daughter of
Samuel A. Watters, a native of Ohio, who migrated to Iowa about 1844 and
settled in Washington county. The father was one of the hardy pioneers
and the home was famous for its juicy, jerked bear's meat and venison hams.
The hospitality was marked by the gourd at the well and the latch-string
hanging on the outside. In this charming and substantial home little Sadie
grew to womanhood and was married to Edwin B. Moore in 1870. During
all the years that followed she was true to those principles which make her
children call her blessed. After his marriage Edwin B. Moore spent some
time in school at the academy in Iowa City, Iowa. Then he took up the
study of medicine and graduated from the medical school at Keokuk in
1878, locating in Harlan, Shelby county, soon afterwards. Later he took a
special course in Bellevue Hospital, New York, and graduated with the class
of 1881, delivering the valedictory address. He was a pioneer physician in
Shelby county and many times endured the hardships of snow storms and
biting blizzards to relieve suffering.
Dr. and Mrs. Moore, at the time of coming to Harlan in 1878, found
a frontier village with few buildings or dwellings of any importance. During their residence here of over thirty years they have seen the wilderness
develop and blossom into a modern city with the improvements and conveniences not dreamed of then, manufactories, paved streets, electric lights, a
court house in keeping with the county's wealth, a square enclosed with brick
business buildings and a college in the distance.
For several years Dr. Moore served as a member of the school board
and as city councilman. His evident appreciation of his fellow men gave
him personal popularity and influence in controlling to a great degree the
ballots at election. He was a clever student of politics and was always loyal
to the Democratic party. He was a prominent Mason and belonged to Dayton lodge No. 149, at Wellman, Iowa. He was a good friend, an honest
neighbor and a loving and affectionate father and adviser. Of the seven
children, two died in infancy. The living are Dr. E. A. Moore, Harlan,
Iowa; Mrs. C. W. Errett, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dr. Morris Moore, Walnut, Iowa; Mrs. H. A. Alcorn, Adair, Iowa, and Dr. Fred Moore, Glid-
den, Iowa.
Dr. Edwin B. Moore was born August 1, 1848 and passed away January 4, 1912, at the age of sixty-four years. Mrs. Moore is living in the
beautiful cottage on Durant street in Harlan which they together planned
shortly before he died, giving up a life of love, sacrifice and unselfishness.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1026 - 1028.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The purpose of history is to record indelibly the accomplishments of men and women working in concert to achieve a certain end. From the time of the pioneers to the present, there is much of vital interest in the memoirs of Shelby county to record. A citizenship which takes a just and abiding pride in having preserved for all time the deeds of their forbears and themselves is one which will forever endure. The individual views which have enriched this volume read like romance. When the biographer is given the opportunity to write facts concerning an eminent physician of long and successful practice, who also bears the proud distinction of having been a Union soldier in the great Rebellion, the duty is a pleasing one.
Dr. Elihu L. Cook is the third oldest living physician in Shelby county. He has lived a useful and interesting life. For twenty-six years, Dr. Cook has ministered to the sick of Harlan and Shelby county and is one of its grand and vigorous old men. A descendant of an old Quaker family whose forbears came to America with William Penn, he has kept the family name untarnished. This name has been prominent in America since the seventeenth century. It is recorded that his forbears came from England with William Penn and his colony and first settled in Philadelphia. One member of the family went south to Charleston, South Carolina and founded the branch of the family of which Dr. Cook is a member and worthy representative.
Eli Cook, the grandfather of Dr. Cook, was reared in South Carolina and migrated to Ohio in the early pioneer days. A son, Nathan Cook, who was the father of Dr. Cook, was reared in Preble county and here married Sarah Denny, a native of Virginia, whose parents also settled in Preble county, Ohio. Nathan Cook and his family migrated to Iowa in 1839 and settled near Salem, on a farm. He followed farming and also operated a mill about four miles west of Salem. He operated a saw mill on the Big Cedar river. Both Nathan and Sarah ended their clays at Salem. They were the owners of a farm of two hundred and forty acres, two miles south of Salem. It is recorded that Nathan Cook erected the first brick residence in Henry county, the brick which went into its construction being made and burnt on his farm. He hired a skilled brick maker to come from New York for the purpose of burning the brick and supervising the erection of the house. The lumber which went into the construction of the Cook residence was sawed at the Cook mill as early as 1844 and was kiln dried on the place. Nathan Cook, while a man of substance and great prominence in Henry county, was nevertheless just a plain, honest and hard-working Quaker Farmer. He reared a family of twelve children to follow the paths of righteousness and usefulness. Of these children, the following are deceased: Jonathan, Martha, Elizabeth, William, Susanna, Isaac, Amos, Charity, Henry and Louisa. Obadiah resides at Salem, Iowa. Hannah is thought to be living in Texas.
Dr. Cook is the youngest of this large family. He was born February 8, 1839, on a farm in Preble county, Ohio, and two months later was brought to Iowa by his parents. He received his elementary education in the public schools of Henry county and studied in the Salem seminary and Samuel Howe's normal school at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. For two years, he taught school in his home county. At the outbreak of the, Civil War, aflame with patriotism, he responded to President Lincoln's call for troops and enlisted October 21, 1861, in Company D of the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry as fifth sergeant. He was mustered into the service on November 5, 1861. He was promoted to third sergeant March 25, 1862; promoted to second sergeant May 1, 1863. His first engagement was in the battle of Ft. Donelson, and soon after this battle he was taken down with fever and remained on the sick list at Shiloh for some time. He was reported "missing" on April 6, 1862, and thereby hangs an interesting tale: During a march it devolved upon him to escort a comrade to the rear who had inadvertently swallowed a "chew" of tobacco and became sick. This was during the battle of Shiloh. Doctor Cook returned to the battle field after placing his comrade under medical care and on his return had a quarrel with his captain. He then took another man to the brigade hospital and was then ordered to take a load of wounded soldiers to the rear. On the performance of this duty he started back to the battlefield and lost his way for a time. He learned from his quartermaster, whom he met as he was going back, that his regiment had been taken prisoners. He was ordered back to camp to collect the men of his company who were left on sick and fatigue duty. He gathered these and they laid on arms waiting. His command became so decimated because of frequent fierce engagements that the Union brigade was organized comprising remnants of Companies D, F and K. Sergeant Cook was appointed a commissioned officer. During the march to Corinth his brigade was forced to erect breastworks on every mile of progress made. The Union brigade, on its arrival at Corinth, was stationed at Buford's farm, a distance of eighteen miles south of the city and were there entrusted with guarding the railroad trestle work. On October 2nd, the brigade was ordered to report to General Rosencrans at Corinth and in the afternoon of October 3 and October 4, they were engaged in battle. During this great battle, his colonel and brigadier general were killed and all other officers of his company and over half of the men. The command was reorganized and marched to a point one mile west of Corinth. After this important battle Lieutenant Cook was
engaged in many minor battles and skirmishes. He enlisted twice. His second enlistment was with Company H of the Ninth cavalry on November 19, 1863. He was mustered into the cavalry service on November 30, 1863. He served as second lieutenant of this company until October 22, 1864, when
he tendered his resignation and retired to private pursuits after a long and honorable record in defense of the Union.
After the war, Doctor Cook farmed for four years in Henry county and in 1869 removed to Montgomery county and bought two hundred acres of land which he tilled for another four years. He then rented out his land and removed to the town of Red Oak where he entered the office of Doctor Martin for the purpose of taking up the study of medicine. It was thus that he realized the culmination of long standing ambition. In November, 1875, he matriculated in the Keokuk College of Medicine and graduated therefrom in 1876. He began his practice at Macedonia, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and was engaged in practice there for over thirteen years. In 1885 he studied in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago and obtained another M. D. degree from this institution. On March 1, 1888, he came to Harlan and has practiced medicine continuously here since that time.
The wedded life of this grand old physician began on December 1, 1864 at Hillsboro, Henry county, Iowa, when he took for his life companion Miss
Mary E. Pope, a lady fitted to be a faithful and loving helpmeet for him and a wise mother for his children, of whom there are three living and one deceased. The children of this estimable couple are as follows: Fred E., located in the far West; Mrs. Dora Rose of Omaha, Nebraska; Mignonette,
wife of county treasurer Neeley of Thedford, Nebraska.
In politics, Doctor Cook is a pronounced Republican and has voted the ticket continuously since Abraham Lincoln's time. For the past twenty-five years he has served as secretary of the Shelby county pension board of examiners. For five years Doctor Cook filled the office of county coroner.
He values highly a membership in the State Historical Society and is a member of the Shelby County Medical Association and the Iowa State Medical
Society. He is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges of Harlan. Doctor Cook has not only been successful as a practitioner of medicine
but has amassed a comfortable competence. He is the owner of six hundred and forty acres of fine land in Nebraska and owns one hundred and sixty
acres in Washington county, Colorado, besides being the owner of a residence and twelve lots in the Omaha suburb of Benson, Nebraska. He and
his good wife reside in a comfortable residence in Harlan.
Doctor Cook takes a keen and abiding interest in local state and national affairs and keeps abreast of the strides made in his great profession. He is a
constant and unremitting student, even at his advanced age. His fine mind is ever alert and ready to absorb the discoveries made in the art of healing.
He is thus enabled to keep in the front ranks while practicing his profession. Doctor Cook is what we frequently call a young old man. He is a most
virile and active individual, both mentally and physically.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1028 - 1031.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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From the "land of the midnight sun" have come several of the most substantial farmers of Shelby county, Iowa, and among these there is no one more worthy of mention than Albert Benson, one of the large land owners of Cass county. He and his bride came to this county thirty-four years ago and started in at the foot of the ladder. By good management and strict economy, they have acquired a farm of two hundred acres, on which they have made extensive improvements. Several years ago, Mr. Benson retired from active farm life and turned the management of his farm over to his son. Since then he has been living a life of ease. He is a man who has always been interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his county, and no public-spirited measure has ever failed to receive his hearty endorsement.
Bert Benson, the son of Rasmusson and Cecelia (Englebredt) Benson, was born in Norway in July, 1844. His father was born in Norway and lived in his native land until his death in 1870. He was married three times, his first wife, the mother of Bert, dying at his birth. Bert Benson was one of two children born to his parents. He received his education in his native land. He remained in Norway until 1876, when he came to America and settled in Poweshiek county, Iowa, working in that county as a farm hand for a year, after which he rented land for the following two years. In 1880, he married a Norwegian girl and brought his bride to Cass township, this county. Here he bought one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land and broke the prairie on his farm for the first time. Some time after purchasing this quarter section, he sold eighty acres of it to his neighbor, although he has since added to his land holdings from time to time until he is now the owner of two hundred acres. On this farm he has placed at least twelve thousand dollars worth of improvements, and has one of the best improved farms in the county. He has been an extensive breeder of Shorthorn cattle and has found this to be the most remunerative phase of his farm work. In 1908, he retired from active farm work and his son, Andrew, has since been managing the home place.
Mr. Benson was married in 1880 to Lena Anderson, who was born in Norway in 1846, and to this union have been born two children, Sena and Andrew, both of whom are still living with their parents.
Politically, Mr. Benson is a Republican, and while he has always been interested in political matters, yet he has never been an aspirant for public office. The family are all loyal members of the Norwegian Lutheran church, and are interested in and liberal contributors to its support. Mr. Benson is a man who is well-liked by all who know him.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1031 - 1032.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The present age is essentially utilitarian and the life of every rising young man carries a lesson which will prove inspirative to those who come after him along the highway of success. Each life story carries some one point or. perhaps, several which will do some good in shaping the destiny of others. There is, therefore, some satisfaction in presenting in this brief resume, the salient facts regarding the biography and career of one of the successful and rising young physicians of Harlan, who while yet young in years as time goes, is making a success of his chosen life work.
Dr. Herman Bocken was born in the city of Harlan, September 4, 1887, and is the son of Henry and Josephine (Lohr) Bocken, natives of Germany and Minnesota, respectively. Henry Bocken was born in 1862 in Germany and is the son of John B. and Elizabeth (Warnke) Bocken, the latter dying at the age of fifty-eight years. John B. Bocken and wife were the parents of seven children, all of whom are living in Germany but Henry. Henry Bocken left the Fatherland in 1882 and emigrated to America, settling in Mills County, Iowa, where he worked at the tailoring trade. In 1884 he went to Council Bluffs and from there to Dunlap, Iowa. In 1885 he came to Harlan and started a tailoring shop on March 17, 1885. During the years that he has resided in Harlan he has built up an extensive trade and has prospered. He is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land in Lincoln township and has town property.
Henry Bocken was married in 1884 to Josephine Lohr, who was born in 1860 in Winona, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bocken have reared the following children: Mrs. Clara Miller, of Lincoln township; Dr. Herman Bocken, of Harlan; Frank, a student in the University of Nebraska; Emil, in school. Mr. Bocken is a Democrat in politics, is a member of the German Lutheran church and belongs to the Loyal Order of Moose.
Dr. Herman Bocken is a graduate of the Harlan high school in the class of 1906. He then entered the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and pursued a two years' course, after which he spent four years in study in the medical college connected with the Nebraska State University, located in the city of Omaha, graduating therefrom in 1911. While pursuing his college course, he became a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and also affiliated with the Nu Sigma Nu, a national medical fraternity. He began the practice of medicine in his home town with his office on the second floor of the Shelby County State Bank building.
Dr. Bocken was married on January 17, 1912, to Anne T. Duffey of Lincoln, Nebraska, the daughter of James F. and Margaret (McGinley) Duffey. They are the parents of one son, Donald Herman, born February 27, 1914.
Mrs. Bocken's parents are both natives of Pennsylvania and were married there. They afterwards located in Lincoln, Nebraska, where they are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Duffey are the parents of eight children: Ellen, Anne, May, James, Walter, Charles, Frances, Margarette. He is a member of the Shelby County, the Iowa State and the American Medical Associations. Politically, Doctor Bocken is an independent voter.
He and his wife are of the Catholic faith. It is a safe and reasonable prediction that this young physician will achieve a reputation for himself and in the years to come will win signal success, greater than that which has already come to him as the result of his endeavors.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1032 - 1033.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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Numbered among the rising and capable young men of Shelby county is Martin Westergaard who has spent the greater part of his life in this county and here received his education and earlier training, He is the son of Danish American parents who came to America in 1879, and who have reared their children to lives of usefulness. Mr. Westergaard holds the responsible position as assistant cashier in the Shelby County State Bank and fully measures up to the requirements of his position. The personnel of the employes of this leading financial institution are men of great ability and excellent citizens in every sense of the word. Mr. Westergaard belongs to this
class.
He was born in Cass county, North Dakota, June 12, 1881 and is the son of Jens C. and Kirstine (Paulson) Westergaard, who were born, reared and married in Denmark. Jens C. was born in 1840 and Mrs. Westergaard was born in 1843. Not long after their marriage they immigrated to America and settled in North Dakota. In 1884 they came to Shelby county and invested in a farm of eighty acres in Clay township on which they resided until 1900 when they sold the farm and moved to Harlan. Mr. and Mrs. Jens Westergaard are the parents of the following children: Chris S., a resident of South Dakota: Annie, wife of the Rev. C. Pedersen, a Baptist minister of Minnesota; Harry C., a real estate promoter and banker of Omaha, Nebraska; Martin. the youngest of the family.
Martin Westergaard was educated in the district schools of Clay township and for a while attended the Des Moines College. He later studied in the State Normal School at Cedar Falls. He completed a commercial course in the Cedar Rapids Business College in 1902. Soon afterwards he entered the Shelby County State Bank as bookkeeper and became the assistant cashier
in 1907.
He was married September 5, 1906, to Edna A., daughter of P. B. Brown, editor of the Republican. To them have been born three children: Marvyn, aged six years; Richard, four years old; Robert, two years of age. Politically, Mr. Westergaard casts his vote in favor of the nominees of the Republican Party. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a young man of well rounded character, sincere, devoted and loyal to his friends.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1035 - 1036.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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A retired farmer of Shelby, Iowa, is Martin Nelsen, one of the many sons of Denmark who have made their residence in this county. He has lived in the county for the past thirty-five years. For the past eight years he has been living a retired life in Shelby.
Martin Nelsen, the son of Nels C. Petersen and Katherine Petersen, was born in Denmark February 2, 1856. His father, a native of Denmark, born in 1802, and his mother in 1803, spent all of their lives in the land of their birth. His father died in 1888, and his mother in 1868. They were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are still living: Andrew deceased; Jens, deceased: Antone and Martin came to America. All the rest of the family live in Denmark.
Martin Nelsen received a good education in the schools of his native land and when he was twenty-three years of age came to America and located at Avoca, Iowa. where he worked as a farm hand. Then he worked near Cuppy's Grove for two years, and later as a section hand On the railroad. He married and rented a farm of eighty-six acres, until 1888, when he bought one hundred and twenty acres in Shelby township. He farmed this for three years and then traded it for eighty acres, on which he made many improvements. He now owns eighty-six acres in Shelby county, one hundred and sixty acres in Grant County, Minnesota, and eight and one-half business and residence lots in Shelby. He farmed until 1906, when he moved to Shelby, where he built a fine modern home and became identified. with the
life of the city. He still maintains a careful supervision over his farm, and one of his sons is in active charge of it. He has recently erected a fine, new home in Shelby. Mr. Nelsen, in September, 1914, purchased a brick building in Shelby and has fitted it with a shop for automobile repair and also a first class garage with cement floors and all conveniences for caring for the automobile trade. The garage has the agency of the Ford cars. There is over three thousand dollars invested in the business. Mr. Nelsen has rented out the building for garage purposes.
Mr. Nelsen was married in 1882 to Mary L. Petersen, who is a native of Denmark, born in 1859. She left her native land in 1881 and came directly to Iowa. To this union nine children have been born: Mrs. Minnie Hertman of Shelby county; Nels, living in Beatrice, Nebraska; Marius, a farmer, living in Minnesota; Andrew, a farmer of this county, and Mrs. Cina Kern, of this county. Chris resides in Avoca, Iowa; Nora and George are at home, and Bert is deceased.
The Democratic party has had the support of Mr. Nelsen since coming to this country. He and his family are stanch members of the Danish Lutheran church, while fraternally, Mr. Nelsen is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has been deeply interested in all public-spirited movements and gives his enthusiastic support to all measures bearing on the general welfare of his fellow citizens.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1036 - 1037.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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To make a success of agriculture requires intelligence and well directed effort as well as bodily strength. The farmer who depends entirely upon physical energy generally remains in the mediocre class of producers and never gets any where. On the other hand, the farmer who uses his brains and is possessed of intelligence sufficient to enable him to see ahead is bound to prosper accordingly. Specialization in farming is becoming attractive to the younger generation of farmers as it has become a necessity in various lines of commercial and scientific endeavor. There are hundreds of instances where.an individual has turned his attention to some particular phase of this vast industry and has achieved a notable success. A brief review of the life of Perry Mayne, proprietor of a modern dairy in Harlan, will reveal the fact that his possessions and attainments are due to innate intelligence.
Perry Mayne, owner and manager of the Jersey Dairy, Harlan, Shelby county, Iowa, was born on a farm near Sigourney in eastern Iowa, October 1, 1878, and is the son of John S. and Mary Jane (Pasley) Mayne, both of whom are natives of Ireland. The Mayne family came to Shelby county in 1879 and settled on a farm in Center township where the father still resides on his farm of two hundred acres. John S. Mayne is the owner of three farms aggregating a total of three hundred and fifty acres. They are the parents of the following children: Henry, a farmer in Center township; Thomas Alford, deceased; Perry with whom this review is directly concerned; George Logan, of San Diego, California; Francis, associated with his brother Perry in the dairy enterprise and owner of a large ranch in Nebraska where he became widely known as a breeder of registered Hereford
cattle.
Perry Mayne received his education in the district schools of Center township and graduated from the Harlan high school in 1901. For a period of one year succeeding his graduation he was employed as a member of a surveying corps running the line of the Great Western railway. He then married and settled on a farm at Rush Hill, Missouri, where he resided for three and one-half years. In 1905, he sold out and came to Harlan and located on the Ross place within the city limits. He engaged in the dairy business and has been remarkably successful. He owns a herd of pure bred Jersey cows and retails milk and cream to Harlan patrons. His thirty-three acre farm and dairy buildings are arranged in a modern manner. Sanitation is the keynote of the management and care of the place. His main dairy
barn is sixty by seventy-eight feet in dimension and is modernly arranged with two rows of iron stanchions which accommodate thirty cows. The floors of this structure are built of concrete. The building is equipped with a complete water and electric system. Mr. Mayne has his own water and electric systems. Litter carriers operating easily and noiselessly render the problem of sanitation comparatively easy. The water system is operated by windmill and storage gravity. A large, thirty-two foot silo has recently been erected on the place. Mr. Mayne maintains a herd of Cottswold sheep on the place and is. a well known breeder of fine Percheron horses of which he usually has seven head. Mr. Mayne has taken more prizes with his fine animals at county fairs and farmers institutes than any other breeder of the
county.
He was married on September 10, 1902 to Ethel, daughter of George D. Ross, an old resident of Harlan who located in Shelby county in the early seventies. The Ross addition to Harlan was platted from his land and it is one of the most attractive in the city. Baldwin street, the handsomest thoroughfare in the city, runs directly to the Mayne dairy. The upper part is lined thickly with beautiful shade trees. To Mr. and Mrs. Perry Mayne have been born two children, Gayther, aged eleven and Darrell, aged seven
years.
Mr. Mayne is allied with the Republican party but has no political ambitions. He is a stanch and faithful member of the Congregational church and the Modern Woodmen. There is not to be found a more likeable or more enterprising young gentleman than Mr. Mayne and every enterprise which calls for his assistance finds him a warm and faithful supporter.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1037 - 1039.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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One of the substantial business men of Shelby, Iowa, is Frederick C. Eggerss, the proprietor of a general mercantile establishment in that city. He has been identified with the business interests of Shelby for the past thirty years, and while he has been primarily interested in his own affairs, yet he has always taken a prominent part in the civic life of the city. For many years he served with honor on the school board of the city, and at the present time is a member of the city council. There has not been a measure brought before the people within the past thirty years that was for the public good which has not found hearty and enthusiastic support from him. He is upright in all of his business transactions, and such has been the conduct of his life, that he has won the high esteem of the city and county.
Frederick C. Eggerss, the son of Frederick and Mary (Kruger) Eggerss, was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, 1856. His father was born in 1823, and his mother in 1835. They were married in 1854. In 1877, Frederick Eggerss, Sr., came to America with his family and settled in Shelby county, Iowa, where he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He operated this farm for about six years, and then moved to Shelby, where he lived a retired life until his death in 1905. His wife died in 1884. Fifteen children were born to Frederick Eggerss, Sr., and wife, ten of whom are still living. Two of the children died in Germany and the others came to America.
Frederick C. Eggerss came to America with his parents in 1877, when he was twenty-one years of age. All of his education was received in the schools of his native land. He remained with his father on the farm in Shelby county until 1884, then went to Corley, Iowa, where he engaged in buying and selling grain. Foul: years later he located in Shelby, Iowa, where he has since been identified with the business interests of that city. He first started a flour and feed store, but sold this out in a few years, and, in connection with his brother Hans, started a general merchandise store. The brothers were together in business for five years, when Frederick bought his
brother's interest and continued to operate the business alone. He now has twelve thousand dollars' worth of stock and has one of the most attractive stores in the city. It is well arranged, and by his courteous treatment of his customers he has built up a trade which extends throughout this section of the county.
Mr. Eggerss was a member of the school board of Shelby for seventeen years and during this time exerted every opportunity in behalf of the educational interests of his city. At the present time he is on the city council, and is one of the boosters of his home city. He is identified in politics with the Democratic party, and has been one of its leaders for the past thirty
years.
Mr. Eggerss has never married. He is identified with the German Lutheran church, and has always been a generous contributor to its support. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Shelby, and has always taken an interest in the welfare of this fraternal organization.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1039 - 1040.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The people who constitute the bone and sinew of this country are not those who are unstable and unsettled, who fly from one occupation to another, who do not know how to vote until they are told and who take no active or intelligent interest in affairs affecting their schools, churches and property. The backbone of this country is made up of the families which have established their homes, who are alive to the best interests of the community in which they reside, who are so honest that the fact is well known to their neighbors, who work steadily on from day to day, taking the sunshine with the storm and who rear a fine family to high ideals and an honest life. Such people are always welcome in any community and in any country. They are wealth producers and this county is blessed with many of them, among whom may be included the subject of this sketch.
Albert Thompson, a well-known farmer of Polk township, Shelby county, Iowa, is a native of Norway, born in the "land of the midnight sun" on January 18, 1872, a son of Tennes and Malinda M. (Englebertson) Thompson. "Tennes" is an honored name in the Thompson family, descending in a direct line, through five or six generations, from father to son. Mr. Thompson is one of a family of six children, four sons and two daughters. Besides himself, Tennes, Jake and Christine (Mrs. Axland), also emigrated to this country where they still remain. Thomas and Bertie remained in the old country, as did the parents. The Thompson home was on Kloster Island, where the father engaged in farming on a small scale and also did some fishing. Mr. Thompson came to the United States when twenty-two
years of age and found friends in Shelby county. In order to familiarize himself with the methods of farming employed in this section, he hired out at farm labor by the month for about a year, when he secured a tract of land which he rented for eighteen years. In 1909 he purchased eighty acres in section 7 of Polk township but he has never taken up his residence thereon. Mr. Thompson does considerable farming, but pays particular attention to the raising of live stock, feeding and shipping about six car-loads of cattle each year. He keeps sixteen head of horses, milks eight cows and counts on producing for the market about one hundred hogs annually. In all his undertakings he meets with that degree of success which is the result of the conscientious effort he exerts.
On February 25, 1896, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Carrie Ash, born November 25, 1873, on Rennesso Island, in the kingdom of Norway. Her parents, Daniel and Christena (Hodne) Ash, also engaged in farming and fishing, as did those of Mr. Thompson and they too have remained on their native soil. Mrs. Thompson came to this country alone when fourteen years old, and located in Pratt county, Kansas, and six years later she came to this state. This union has been blessed with six children: Tobias, the eldest, born June 23, 1897; Clara, born July 13, 1900; Danby, born January 21, 1903; May, born December 2, 1905; Alice, born July 30, 1908, and died April 10, 1909, aged eight months and ten days. The baby of the family, also named Alice, was born December 18, 1913. A quite
unusual coincidence regarding Clara's age is that on July 13, 1913, she celebrated her thirteenth birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are devoted members of the Lutheran church and are rearing their interesting family in strict accord with its teachings, desiring that when they attain manhood and womanhood, they shall be fitted for useful places in the world. Mr. Thompson's political affiliation is with the Republican party and in its affairs he takes more than a passive interest, having served efficiently as a school director for the past five years. He is one of those worthy citizens who desires to do his full duty as a father and citizen and with that thought in mind is ever ready to lend his support to any effort hearing on the betterment of community life.
Before becoming a citizen of this country, Mr. Thompson saw service as a sailor on a merchant wine ship, touching at most of the European seaports and at various points on the Mediterranean sea. Among many interesting incidents, he recalls one time when in the stress of a severe storm, while carrying a heavy cargo, they were compelled to cut the hoops of some two hundred barrels of wine on deck in order to release the contents quickly and lighten their load. This so buoyed up the ship that they weathered the storm and finally made their port.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1040 - 1042.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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