Harlan Curtis Husted

ALLEN, HOLSTEIN, HUSTED, KIRSCH, LEONARD, MEANS

Posted By: Judy Wight Branson (email)
Date: 8/8/2004 at 20:14:37

Harlan C. Husted, filling the office of county clerk of Madison county, his home being in Winterset, has been a lifelong resident of this part of the state and has always been imbued with the spirit of enterprise and progress which has been a dominant factor in bringing about present-day conditions of progress and prosperity. He was born in Ohio township, this county, on the 16th of September, 1878, a son of Thomas and Mary S. (Means) Husted. His paternal grandparents were Peter and Rachel Husted, who removed from Indiana to Iowa at a very early period in the development of this state, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Clarke county, where Peter Husted entered land from the government and began the development of a farm, converting the wild prairie into rich fields. Thereon he made his home until his death and his wife has also passed away.

Thomas Husted was born in Des Moines county, Iowa, on the 30th of April, 1845, and was but a small boy when the family removed to Clarke county. His youthful experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of the farm lad. He assisted in the arduous task of developing new fields and shared with the family in the hardships and privations of life on the frontier. He remained upon the home farm until about seventeen years of age and then enlisted on the 26th of July, 1862, as a soldier of the Union army for service in the Civil war, becoming a private of Company B, Eighteenth Iowa Infantry, with which he was connected for three years. His regiment was attached to the Western army and on one occasion he sustained a slight gunshot wound in the neck. He was honorably discharged at Little Rock, Arkansas, July 14, 1865, and returned home to Clarke county, again taking up his abode upon the farm, where he remained until 1866. He then came to Madison county and the family has since been represented here. He married and took up his abode in Ohio township, purchasing fifty-two acres of land which he at once began to convert into richly developed fields. He followed general farming and stock-raising and as success attended his labors he added to his holdings from time to time until he was the owner of over four hundred acres. His life was thus a busy and useful one and he contributed in large measure to the agricultural development of his part of the county. In 1892 he rented his farm and removed to Winterset, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred October 5, 1913. He was a member of Pitzer Post, No. 55, G. A. R., and he gave his political endorsement to the republican party. He was also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and did everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. The forces in his life were well balanced. He gave due attention to business yet never allowed it to interfere with the other duties of life and did much toward promoting the political and moral advancement of the community.

In early manhood Thomas Husted married Miss Mary S. Means, who was a native of Indiana, born March 20, 1843. She was about thirteen years of age when she went to Burlington, Iowa. Her parents were William and Eliza (Holstein) Means. The former passed away in Indiana and the latter afterward brought her family to Iowa, settling at Burlington, where she lived for a year. She then came to Madison county, which was still a frontier district, much of the land being in possession of the government. She entered a claim in Scott township and became one of the early settlers of that region. Her death occurred in Des Moines when she had reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. Her daughter, Mrs. Mary S. Husted, spent the greater part of her life in this state and her death occurred in Osceola on the i2th of August, 1913, when she was in her seventy-first year, and her loss was deeply regretted by many who knew her, for she was an earnest Christian woman who long held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. By her marriage she became the mother of the following children : William F., who is an auditor in the postal department at Washington, D. C.; Robert S., who was engaged in the real-estate business at Osceola, Iowa, and died August 3, 1913; Charles E., a resident farmer of South township, Madison county; Thomas E., also living in South township; Cora B., the wife of Melvin Allen, of Winterset; Harlan C.; Rosa A., the wife of E. R. Leonard, of Winterset; and Orlando D., a farmer of Clarke county, Iowa.

Farm work early became familiar to Harlan C. Husted, who was reared on the old homestead and early began to assist in the labors of the fields. He attended the public schools and for two years was a student in the Iowa State Teachers' College at Cedar Falls. He taught in the district schools for a time and afterward became principal of the schools at Peru, Iowa, where he remained for three years, from 1906 until 1909. He was then appointed deputy county clerk, which position he filled for four years, and in 1912 was elected clerk. He discharged the duties of the position in such an able and conscientious manner that he was reelected in 1914 and is now serving for a second term, making eight years' connection with the office. He has supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and has always been an active worker in its ranks, for he believes that its principles contain the best elements of good government.

On the 27th of August, 1906, Mr. Husted was united in marriage to Miss Anna L. Kirsch, who was born in Clarke county, Iowa, and was there reared and educated. They have four children, Lucile, Ruth, John H. and Ella, all at home. Mr. Husted is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is a Catholic in her religious faith. Fraternally he is a Mason, connected with both the lodge and chapter, and he belongs also to the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. As an educator he made an enviable record for capability and in office his course has been above reproach because of his fidelity to duty and the high standards of citizenship to which he adheres.

Taken from the book, “The History of Madison County, Iowa, 1915”