There came into Iowa in the first half of the nineteenth century courageous men who undertook the task of developing the region hitherto inhabited by red men and the haunt of wild animals and wild game. It was a stupendous work that lay before them, but with undaunted spirit they accomplished it and laid the foundation for later progress. Then came the sons of those men who continued the work which their fathers had begun and builded upon the broad foundations which the fathers had laid the superstructure of progress and prosperity that has given Cedar county rank with the leading counties of this great commonwealth. Frank K. Gleason belongs to the latter class while his father was one of the pioneers who blazed the path of civilization here.
He was born April 10, 1861, on the farm where he yet makes his home, his parents being Myron W. and Amanda (Walbridge) Gleason, who are represented on another page of this volume. The home farm was his playground in youth and his training field for life’s cares, duties and responsibilities. The work of the fields early became familiar to him and his farm labors were alternated with attendance at the district school. He remained with his father until after he had attained his majority, and following his marriage operated the farm for a year. He then located where he now resides, renting five hundred acres of land for five years, after which he invested in two hundred and four acres. The further development and improvement of the place was at once begun, and his activity is manifest in the fact that he erected a large and comfortable residence, also built two big barns, two double cribs and sheds that are necessary in protecting grain and stock from inclement weather. The golden harvests gathered in the late autumn are proof of his labor in the early springtime. He raises and feeds stock, fattening and selling from three to four carloads of stock each year. He has made a specialty of breeding Hereford cattle and now has a fine herd of high grade and pure blooded stock of seventy-three head. In fact he is one of the best known dealers in Hereford cattle in this part of the state, much of his farm being given over to pasture lands, although he has also extensive and well cultivated fields upon his place of two hundred and sixty acres, which is situated on sections 15, 16, 21 and 22, Pioneer township. His resourceful business ability and recognition of opportunity have led him to reach out into other directions. He became one of the first stockholders and assisted in the organization of the Mechanicsville Telephone company and for fifteen years he has owned and operated a steam thresher.
On the 5th of September, 1884, Mr. Gleason was married to Miss Fannie Ellen Guthrie, who was born and reared in Pioneer township and is a daughter of Smith Guthrie, who came from Pennsylvania, casting in his lot with the early settlers of Cedar county. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Gleason has been blessed with two sons and a daughter: Guy S., a resident farmer of Pioneer township, who is married and has two sons, Oscar F. and Guy S.; Harry G., who is married and carries on farming in Pioneer township; and Lillie Belle, now a student at Cornell College, Iowa.
The family are widely and favorably known, the members of the household occupying an enviable position in the social circles in which they move. The name of Gleason has long been an honored one in Cedar county, having been found upon the county records through more than seven decades. The work instituted by the father has been carried on by the son, who has long occupied an enviable and creditable position among the practical farmers and stock-raisers of Pioneer township. The extent and importance of his live-stock interests have made him known far beyond the borders of the county, and his labors have been an element in advancing the grade of stock raised. In all of his business transactions he has never been known to take advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen and has pursued a policy which has never sought nor required disguise.
