Watenpaugh, Ephraim

WATENPAUGH, THRALL, ADAMS, DAWSON, FRENCH, FAY

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 11/22/2009 at 19:24:51

Ephraim Watenpaugh has been a resident of Bremer county since 1856 and he has therefore witnessed practically the entire growth and development of the locality for few settlements had been made within its borders at the time of his arrival and pioneer conditions prevailed everywhere. For over a half century he has been closely and influentially associated with agricultural interests and is one of those who have contributed in substantial measure to the county's development and advancement, winning in the course of years a success which enabled him to retire from active life in 1912.

Mr. Watenpaugh was born in New York, February 22, 1835, and is a son of Isaac and Zoa (Thrall) Watenpaugh, the former a native of Germany and the latter of New York. They moved to Kane county, Illinois, in 1840 and there the mother passed away. The father afterward moved to Bremer county, this state, where he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred at the home of his son Martin. In his family were ten children, three of whom are still living: Ephraim, of this review, Martin, of Sumner; and Albert, who lives in California. All were soldiers in the Civil war, Albert and Martin as well as their brother Wallace having enlisted in Kane county, Illinois and Ephraim having been drafted into service in Bremer County.

Ephraim Watenpaugh accompanied his parents on the journey from New York to Illinois and although he was only six years of age, clearly remembers the trip on the lakes in a sailing vessel. After fifteen days on the water they landed in Chicago, which was then a small village with no wharf, and Mr. Watenpaugh remembers seeing wagons unloaded from the ship by means of ropes over the side. After their arrival in Kane county he attended school for a short time but his childhood was spent principally working on his father's farm. In 1854 he came from Illinois to Iowa and in LeRoy township, this county, entered one hundred acres of land from the government. He afterward returned to Illinois but in 1856 came again to Iowa, driving four yoke of oxen, and took up his residence upon his farm. The country was still a frontier district with few settlements within the borders of Bremer county and not a house on the present site of Sumner, McGregor being the nearest market place. With characteristic energy, Mr. Watenpaugh applied himself to improving and developing his farm, upon which he remained until 1893, when he moved to another tract of land west of Sumner, in Sumner township. Upon this he resided for several years, bending his energies to the development and improvement of his fields and making his farm one of the finest properties in this locality. At length his unremitting diligence brought him a success that enabled him to put aside further business cares and in 1912 he left the farm and moved into Sumner, where he has since resided.

Mr. Watenpaugh married Miss Elizabeth Adams, of New York state, who died in 1911. They became the parents of four children: Fields A., who lives in Montana; Clara, the deceased wife of Rev. John Dawson; Della May, the deceased wife of Edward French and Zoa, who married Frank J. Fay, of LeRoy township.

Mr. Watenpaugh gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served in various public positions, proving himself a reliable, capable and energetic official. Now that he has reached the age of seventy-eight he is enjoying a well earned rest won through many years of earnest labor in the past. His fellow townsmen honor and respect him and wherever he is known he has an extensive circle of friends.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914