E. E. Branstad

BRANSTAD, GRYTTNES, OLSON, HAGE, LIEN

Posted By: Peter Gausmann (email)
Date: 1/8/2010 at 05:08:29

E. E. BRANSTAD

E. E. Branstad is the owner of four hundred and forty acres of valuable land in Winnebago county and from his holdings he derives a substantial annual income by reason of the practical and progressive methods which he follows in the conduct of his farming interests. He was born in Norway on the 5th of June, 1866, a son of Endre and Dorde (Gryttnes) Branstad, who are mentioned in connection with the sketch of their son, Andrew E. Branstad, on another page of this work. It was in 1873 that the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world, at which time E. E. Branstad was a little lad of but seven summers. His education was acquired in the common schools of this country and about the time he attained his majority he began farming on his own account, bringing to this work the knowledge and ability which he had gained from practical experience in his youthful years. He rented the old homestead for three years and afterward cultivated other land for a year. In 1892, with capital acquired through his industry and economy, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Newton township, on which he took up his abode, there continuing his residence until 1904, when he removed to his present home farm of eighty acres. He now owns two farms of one hundred and sixty acres each in Newton township and another tract of forty acres in the same township, so that his holdings now embrace four hundred and forty acres of rich and valuable land that responds readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon it. His place is divided into fields of convenient size by well kept fences and he has the latest improved farm machinery and equipments upon his place.

Mr. Branstad's whole life is dominated by the spirit of serving his community. This is shown by the brave step taken in the critical time of 1900. Centralizers were then trying to induce the people to ship their cream. Against this course, he set to work, heart and soul, fighting for the preservation of local creameries in its stead. His efforts were not in vain and the creamery was reorganized at Thompson, Iowa. The success of his earnest labors is marked by the growth of the band of patrons from fifty, with more than half of the people shipping their cream, to three hundred and seventy in the course of four years of his management, with not a single man shipping. His field of serving was not limited to this alone, as he was one of the organizers of one of the first farmers elevators organized in Winnebago county and a member of the first board of directors of this elevator at Thompson. When the bill was passed providing for the free mail delivery, he gave his time that the people of his community might enjoy this privilege, and he succeeded in getting two routes from his home town of Leland, a small place of less than one hundred and seventy inhabitants. Mr. Branstad is still a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Leland and is a stockholder, and the secretary and manager of the Farmers Cooperative Creamery Company. He was the dominant factor in the organization of both of these, his efforts being largely instrumental in bringing the two companies into existence.

On the 3d of May, 1887, Mr. Branstad was united in marriage to Mrs. Delia O. (Olson) Hage, the widow of Lars Hage, of Fertile, Worth county, Iowa. Her parents emigrated to the United States from Norway and took up their abode among the early pioneers of Winnebago county, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Branstad have been born eight children, seven of whom survive, as follows: Philip is a graduate of Waldorf College and cultivates one of his father's farms. David, who is a carpenter by trade, lives at home. Daisy, a graduate of Waldorf College, is now the wife of H. P. Lien of Newton township, Winnebago county. Rudolph has completed a course in violin at the Siegel-Myers School of Music and also a course in C. A. Coey's School of Motoring and is now assisting his father in operating the home farm. Esther and Ellen are students in Waldorf College at Forest City. Ruth is attending school in Leland. Nels Hage, a son of Mrs. Branstad by her first husband, operates one of his stepfather's farms.

Mr. Branstad exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the democratic party and has been especially honored in being chosen for many positions in this organization, such as chairman of county conventions, member of the county central committee and delegate to various other conventions. He was twice nominated as state representative from Winnebago county without opposition and at the primaries June 5, 1916, on the fiftieth anniversary of his birth, he was nominated as state senator from the forty-first senatorial district. This was a very special honor, being the first one the democratic party of this district had ever nominated for this office. Although he made no active campaign and in spite of the fact that the district is strongly republican, seventeen hundred votes were cast at the polls for the democratic candidate. Mr. Branstad is a member of the United Lutheran church and a stockholder in the Waldorf College Association. He is a believer in all those forces which work for the uplift of the individual and the betterment of mankind, and his aid and influence are given to the side of progress and improvement as related to the development of his county in many ways.

Source: History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II. Pioneer Publishing Company (Chicago), 1917. pp. 321-322.