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 by Sharon Elijah September 20, 2020

No history of Carroll county would be complete were there failure to make mention of Andrew Jackson Loudenback, one of the old settlers of this district, now living retired in Glidden. A native of Illinois, he was born on a farm on the eastern boundary line of that state not far from Peoria, March 4, 1832, and is a son of James and Nancy (Barr) Loudenback. His parents were born in Germany but were reared and married in Kentucky and at an early day took up their abode in Illinois, being numbered among the pioneer setters of that state. They first located on what was known as the American bottoms but, that being a malaria infested region, they did not remains long but removed to Canton, Illinois, where the father followed the wheelwright’s trade for a number of years, manufacturing wagons, spinning wheels, etc. The mother passed away in that city in 1839. During the Indian war he enlisted but, owing to his wife’s illness, sent a substitute. He remained a resident of Canton until after the Civil war and then removed to Kansas, locating thirteen miles north of Fort Scott, at Lewisburg, where his remaining days were spent. After the death of his first wife he was again married, his second union being with Miss Harrington, and after her demise he was wedded a third time. Unto his first union were born seven children but only five attained maturity, as follows: Lucinda, now deceased, who was twice married, her first union being with James Tatam, after whose death she wedded John Artman; Jacob, a resident of Kansas; John; Andrew Jackson, of this review; and David, who died in Kansas. By his second wife he had one daughter, who married and died in early womanhood.

Andrew Jackson Loudenback was reared on a farm in Fulton county, Illinois, about a mile and a half from Canton, and in early boyhood attended the old subscription schools of his time. His educational advantages were limited, however, for at the early age of ten years he began to earn his own livelihood, his initial step in the business world being in the capacity of farm hand. He was thus engaged for six years, and for his first year’s service received board, clothing and schooling. At the end of the second year he was given a yoke of young steers for his work, after which he was paid twelve dollars per month. Carefully saving his earnings he purchased a horse, then rented land and began farming on his own account. For many years he was engaged in farming as a renter and two years after his marriage, which occurred in Canton, Illinois he removed to Stark county, that state, just prior to the Civil war, where he rented a farm for a few years. Wishing to continue the healthful and independent life of a farmer he purchased two tracts of land, one consisting of forty acres and the other of thirty-five acres, at a purchase price of twenty-five dollars per acre. To the development and improvement of this property he devoted his energies for the succeeding seven years, and at the expiration of that period was able to sell both farms for twice their original value, receiving fifty dollars per acre for the entire land. In 1872 he came to Iowa here investing in a farm one hundred and sixty acres in Carroll county, about seven miles northeast of Glidden, which remained his home for a number of years. He also purchased seventy-five acres in Greene county, to which he later added a tract of forty acres, and at the present time owns two hundred and seventy acres of as finely developed property as can be found in the county. He energetically and successfully carried on general farming until 1901, when he retired from active business life and removed to Glidden, where he purchased a home in which he is now spending the evening of his days, surrounded by many of the comforts which make life worth living.

On the 14th of October, 1856, Mr. Loudenback was united in marriage to Miss Susanna Millhouse, who was born July 22, 1832, and passed to her final rest February 4, 1874, at the age of forty-one years and five months. She was the mother of seven children, as follows: William H., a farmer of Greene county, Iowa, who married Miss Sadie May, by whom he has three children, Grace, Lee and Ralph; Charles H., who married Miss Carrie Smith, and with his six children, George, Toy, Dwight, Everett, Mildred and Arnold, resides near Cashmere, Washington; Mary Alice, the wife of Wood Trafford, of Glidden township, the mother of three children, Herbert, Agnes and Frank; Arthur L., residing at Midway, Slope county, North Dakota, who married Miss Ida Eldred and now has two children, Esther and Albert; Frank M., residing near Bagley, Minnesota, who married Miss Emma Miskey, and after her death wedded Miss Zella Eppert; Edgar M., a resident of Greene county, who married Miss Cora Bruntlett, by whom he has a son, Wayne; and Andrew Jackson, Jr., living on the old homestead in Glidden township, who married Miss Ethel Clark, by whom he has two daughters, Margaret and Eva. On the 19th of December, 1875, Mr. Loudenback was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Emeline Short, the widow of William Short and a daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Anderson) Waldron. She was born in Shelby county, Ohio, September 13, 1831, and by her former marriage had two children, Clara E. and Robert B. The daughter, now deceased, became the wife of John Sims, and they had two children, one of whom now survives, Mrs. Hattie Mayberry. The son, Robert B., is a resident of Glidden, Iowa. He wedded Miss Mary Dillavou and unto them have been born four children, Ray, Erwin, Vera May and Ralph. Mrs. Loudenback has five great-grandchildren.

Recognizing the harm caused by the liquor traffic, Mr. Loudenback has ever given his political support to the prohibition party, doing all in his power to assist the nation in overcoming this, one of the greatest evils against which is has to contend. He is a believer in the Christian religion but is not a member of any denomination. He has been a zealous worker against all forms of secret societies, believing that such organizations work harm to the people and especially to Christianity. A self-made man, Mr. Loudenback, with little education and without capital, started out in life for himself when only a lad and, being inspired by laudable ambition and possessed of aggressiveness and zeal, he applied himself energetically to the tasks set before him and on the strength of his own resources, reinforced by hard work and honesty, found success and finally attained his present prosperity. He has almost reached the eightieth milestone on life’s journey and can now spend his declining years in comfort amid the regard of friends who recognize his worth and justly account him one of the representative citizens of the county.

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