Nels P. Bayers

BAYERS, RIES, CLARK, WALLS, ANDERSON, HENDRICKSON

Posted By: Gordon Felland (email)
Date: 5/28/2008 at 21:12:26

Among, the most prosperous residents of Winnebago county is Nels P. Bayers, a retired farmer now living in Forest City. There is much of interest concerning his life record and the methods which he has pursued in the attainment of success that can with profit be set down. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark, May 6, 1848, a son of Christ and Carrie (Vestergaard) Bayers, the former of whom died in Germany and the latter in Copenhagen.

Reared under the parental roof, Nels P. Bayers acquired his education in his native country and was a young man of twenty-three years when in 1871 he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling in Manistee, Michigan, on the 25th of October of that year. There he was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Marie Anderson, who came to the United States from Denmark in 1872. For five years Mr. Bayers continued a resident of Michigan, but thinking to find better opportunities in the west, resolved to remove to Iowa.

It was in 1876 that he arrived in Hancock county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Britt township, ten miles west of Garner, which he sold shortly afterwards. He then bought forty acres four miles east of Garner, where he remained for two years, after which he sold that and purchased ninety acres in Ellington township, which he cultivated for a time. Later he disposed of that land and bought one hundred and sixty acres in the same township. His next investment made him owner of one hundred and sixty acres adjoining and still later he bought one hundred and eighty acres where the town of Miller is now located. He continued to occupy and cultivate his farm in Ellington township until 1901, when he retired and removed to Forest City. He remains, however, an extensive holder of farm lands, his possessions including five hundred and forty-seven acres of valuable land near Rochester, Minnesota, two hundred and thirty-six acres near Charles City, Iowa, one hundred and sixty acres of irrigated land in Laramie county, Wyoming, and eighty acres of land in Sumner county, Kansas, which has become very valuable owing to oil discoveries there. Mr. Bayers is rated among the wealthy men of Forest City. He has been very successful, for although he came to this country a poor young man, he has worked his way steadily upward. When he arrived in Manistee, Michigan, he had had no breakfast and possessed not a penny to buy his dinner. Two days later he had fifteen dollars in his pocket, which his earnest labor had brought, him as much money as he made in the mother country in six months. He was ambitious and determined to get ahead. He worked hard, utilizing every advantage that would enable him to progress in a business way, and year by year marked an increase in his fortunes, owing to his persistent effort, his careful investment and his keen sagacity. In addition to his farming interests he became the organizer of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Hancock County, of which for twelve years he was the president. He was also the organizer of the Farmers Alliance of Hancock County and for two years served as its president. He is now a stockholder in the First National Bank of Forest City. For many years he was president of the Farmers Mutual Creamery Company of Forest City, the first mutual creamery company in Winnebago county.

In 1908 Mr. Bayers was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who passed away on the 2d of April of that year, leaving ten children, while three have departed this life. Those who still survive are: Celia M., the wife of H. J. Ries, of Billings, Montana; Mamie, who gave her hand in marriage to C. C. Clark, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Peter C., a resident of Antler, North Dakota; Carrie, the wife of John M. Walls, of Graf ton, North Dakota; Arthur, a banker, who makes his home in Lavina, Montana; George W., residing in Denver, Colorado; Marie, who is a music teacher of Minneapolis, Minnesota; John and Walter, who are Montana homesteaders; and Valeta, a trained nurse of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In May, 1909, Mr. Bayers married Miss Olivia Hendrickson of Chicago, Illinois, who is a native of Denmark.

Mr. Bayers gives his political allegiance to the democratic party but has never sought nor desired office. However, he served on the school board in Hancock county for several years. He is interested in progressive citizenship and his activities have been an element in the continued growth and development of his section of the state. Here he has lived for more than forty years and has ever been an interested witness of the events which have occurred that have molded the history of the county.

Source: History of Winnebago and Hancock Counties, Iowa, 1917, Vol. II, page 298.