Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed and donated by Vance Tigges & Kathy Weaver.

It has been through unwearied application and many years of earnest endeavor that Edward Clarence Havens has attained a position as one of the flourishing merchants of Glidden. A clear insight into the business which he chose as his vocation and its possibilities has also assisted him and there are few men of his age in Carroll county whose opinion in business affairs commands more respect than that of Mr. Havens. He is a native of Glidden, born March 14, 1872, a son of James Orrin and Miriam C. (Evans) Havens, both of whom were born in New York state. The father of our subject was reared in New York and in his young manhood lived in Chicago and Waukegan, Illinois, where he was a clerk. He came to Glidden from Waukegan and engaged in the furniture business. Subsequently he operated a fruit farm in Glidden township, retiring to Glidden two years before his death. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, his wife, who survives him, also being connected with that organization. At the time of the Civil war he served in the Ninety-sixth Illinois regiment, becoming captain of his company. He took an active interest in politics and for about twenty years was clerk of Glidden township. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Havens: Lottie, the wife of J. W. Hazelton, of Carroll county; George Lester, of Pierre, South Dakota; Minnie Esther, who married H. A. Towne, of Perry, Iowa; and Edward Clarence.

Mr. Havens of this review was reared on his father's farm in Glidden township and secured his early education in the district and public schools. Not being attracted to farming as an occupation he started in business life as a clerk for McNaught & Son and later served in a similar capacity in the drug store of William E. Foster for seven years and then went to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma. After one year, however, he returned to Glidden and became connected with Halstead Brothers, grocers, and in 1906 bought out the establishment. He has since added general merchandise and by close attention to the wants of the people and a thorough knowledge of his business he has succeeded in establishing a lucrative and growing trade which yields a handsome revenue. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of good land in Roberts county, South Dakota.

On the 25th of October, 1905, Mr. Havens was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Kyle, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Charles Kyle. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Havens has been blessed by the birth of a daughter, Virginia Elizabeth. In political belief he yields his allegiance to the republican party and religiously he and his wife adhere to the Presbyterian church. They have many friends in Glidden and enjoy the confidence and respect of all with whom they come in contact. Throughout his life Mr. Havens has been identified with the mercantile business and his history is an excellent illustration of what may be accomplished by an unalterable purpose and wisely directed effort.

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