Mills County, Iowa
History of Fremont and Mills County, 1901
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1901
Biographical Sketches
B

BADA, RICHARD F.
        Probably there has seldom been so sure and complete a return made for honest toil and persevering endeavor, as that given the subject of the present sketch, who has encountered and overcome almost insurmountable difficulties in his pursuit of a competence for his declining years. Richard F. Bada was born in Prussia, January 5, 1849, and lost his father when but two years of age. His mother was left with the care of six children , one a son, being by the first marriage of his father. Some time later Mrs. Bada married a Mr. Shultz, a Prussian who died in that country, leaving one son. Mrs. Shultz then married her present husband, August Waemka, a blacksmith by trade who served an apprenticeship in his own country and found plenty of work when he first came to Anderson and Silver Creek townships, for proficient workmen in that line were not numerous. The family of which Mr. Waemka became the father by marriage, came to America in 1856, on a sailing vessel to New York, passing seven long weeks on the ocean. The children were: Amelia, who later contracted two marriages, but died in 1879, leaving four children; Richard, the subject of this sketch; Paulina, the wife of Henry Wise, of this county, now the mother of five children; and Adolph Shultz, now a Nebraska farmer and the father of four children. Being in humble circumstances in a strange land and understanding nothing of the language of the people, no doubt life often presented to the family grave puzzles to be solved; but a forty acre homestead was secured, economy was practiced, charcoal was burned for fuel, and the time ultimately came when Mr. Waemka had a farm of one hundred and twenty acres which he traded for two hundred and forty acres west of Oakland, which he now owns. For the past fifteen years he and his admirable wife have lived at Oakland on their income, no necessity for labor continuing.
        Mr. Bada's brother, August was a blacksmith, having learned his trade in Berlin. He served in the German army and is now a successful farmer in Nebraska. He has a family of seven children. Our subject's step-brother is a prosperous farmer in Marshall county, Illinois, his farm of three hundred and twenty acres being worth over one hundred dollars per acre. There he lives with a worthy wife and family.
        Richard Bada had no educational advantages and can scarcely read and write, entering his contest with the world thus handicapped. He was reared to the hardest kind of farm labor, and evidently found it sometimes distasteful, for at the age of seventeen he left the shelter of the home roof. However, mother love brought him back, and he continued until almost of legal age when he set out to see what he could make for himself, ignorant of books, the world's ways and without means. However, Mr. Bada must have possessed strength of character, firmness of will and habits of thrift, capital in themselves. Farm hands were always in demand and thus he soon obtained employment, working by the month or by the year, and by the time he was twenty-three years old he was able to purchase his first eighty acres of land, in Anderson township, paying for this five dollars per acre, one hundred dollars being paid down. This land he broke, fenced fifty-five acres, raised upon it a crop of wheat and then of corn, and two years later sold it to his brother for thirty dollars an acre. This certainly must have been very encouraging, and his next purchase was of two hundred and forty acres of wild prairie land for which he paid sixteen dollars per acre, but he was obliged to contract a debt for all of it except one thousand dollars, which he paid. This land is a part of his twenty-two hundred and six acres of farm land which he now owns in this county and which he has divided into twelve farms. In Kansas, Mr. Bada owns three thousand and forty acres, all being wild except three hundred acres which he has had broken. This land is his latest purchase made in the spring of 1900.
        Mr. Bada was married October 2, 1876, to Miss Emma Ehlers, who was born on the borders of Denmark, October 1, 1859. She was brought to America when but eight years old by her mother and step-father, Fred Hammer, and well remembers the long trip of five weeks on the sailing vessel. Mr. and Mrs. Hammer are living in Mineola, Iowa. Mrs. Bada's stepbrothers and stepsisters are: John; Lewis, deceased; and Adelia, the wife of Joseph Trall, of Mineola, Iowa.
        Mr. and Mrs. Bada are justly proud of their own bright and intelligent children, who can look with pride also upon the successful career of their parents.
        In the family are seven children: Artimus R., born June 29, 1879; Albert W., born September 4, 1880; George H., born October 25, 1881; Clara A., born October 16, 1884; Anna A., born October 30, 1886; Mary J., who was born April 27, 1889 and died April 11, 1896; and Lena M., born November 11, 1893. The sons are intelligent young men and the second named is now in charge of the Kansas ranch. He is a graduate of the high school in Silver City and is his father's bookkeeper. The daughters, Clara and Anna, are both in school.
        Mr. Bada's life reads almost like a romance, so successful has he been in carrying out his plans, despite discouragements. He is one of the largest land -holders and stock-raisers in Mills county. He breeds horses, cattle and hogs extensively, has over six hundred head of cattle and forty-three horses and breeds as many as four hundred hogs per year, feeding and shipping two hundred and eighty head of cattle. Mr. Bada rents the most of his farms, and owns his residence in Silver City, also owning five other lots and houses. The farm presents a beautiful appearance fenced with wire and hedge, much of this work being done by himself. His home is still one of industry, although the time or any necessity has long passed. In politics Mr. Bada is one of the staunch Republicans who are ready and willing to uphold their principles in the face of all opposition. Justly is he regarded as one of the representative men of Mills county, Iowa.

BADHAM, AMAZON
        The subject of the present sketch, Amazon Badham, bears a well-known and much respected name, as he was the son of one of the pioneers of the state, one of the first settlers of Mills county. Amazon Badham was born on the farm which he now owns, January 22, 1853, and was the son of Samuel Badham, who was born in Herefordshire, England in 1815. He married Mary Bishop before leaving England to try his fortune across the ocean. After a long and tiresome trip in a sailing vessel the little English family reached the promised land, and soon located in Hancock county, Illinois. Here they remained for three years, when removal was made into the wilds of Iowa, the home selected being at Trader's Point, on a stream of water. The only neighbor in the section was a man by the name of Watson, who had located in Pottawattamie county. Privations were expected and bravely endured; but when Mr. Samuel Badham died, May 20, 1868, his wild prairie farm had become a valuable piece of property, worth twenty-five dollars an acre, and he also possessed a thousand dollars' worth of other property. All this had been accumulated by the time he was fifty three years old, giving one a sure basis upon which to estimate his character.
        He was energetic, persevering and laborious; was a man of judgment, having been long in the offices of school and township, and a veteran of the Mexican war, his wife receiving a pension for the same, he having served fifteen months. Mr. Badham voted the Republican ticket and took a vital interest in the affairs of the nation. In religious life he was a member of Latter Day Saints church. Before leaving Illinois his wife died and about 1845 he married Mary Richards, the mother of Amazon Badham and a native of Highland county, Ohio, and they had a number of children, viz: Milvern, an infant; Frances, who became the wife of William Gaylord and died at Shenandoah, Iowa, leaving two children; our subject; Violet, who became the wife of William James and died at Pleasant Hill, Missouri, January, 1877, leaving three children: Juan, who died at the age of two years; and Mary, who married Charles Wilson and died in western Nebraska, leaving two children. The mother of our subject died April 2, 1898, at the age of seventy-seven, lamented by all with whom she had been associated.
        Although the parents of Mr. Amazon Badham were obliged to endure many hardships, they succeeded in giving him a very fair education, which he put to practical use, teaching a short time both before and after marriage. On May 30, 1875, he led to the altar Miss Melvina Peck, of Glenwood, a daughter of Hezekiah and Jemima (Smoot) Peck, and seven children have been born to them, whose intelligence and superior attractions naturally cause a pardonable pride. Mabel Mercy is the wife of Archie Anderson at Macedonia, Iowa, and has one son, Paul; Clara Alice is the wife of Joseph Roberts at Tabor, Iowa, and has one daughter, Christine; Luella, who died at the age of six; Edith Grace; Ella Delphine; Myron Verne; and George Walter, a lad of eight years; and last but by no means least, the pet of the family, Melvina Gail, just seven months old when she was taken away by death.
        Mr. Badham has one hundred and twenty acres in his farm, upon which he carries on extensive operations, making corn his greatest crop, as he finds that cereal pays him best. He also has from sixty to eighty head of Poland China hogs, and of high grade cattle from sixteen to twenty head.
        Like his respected father, Mr. Badham votes the Republican ticket, remembering the pride with which his parents remembered his vote for Abraham Lincoln. In the affairs of his district he is always interested, serving constantly as a school director. In religious matters he adheres to the beliefs of the Church of the Latter-day Saints. Socially his family is prominent and enjoys the esteem and kind feeling of the whole neighborhood, and he takes the place of a son of the early pioneer.

BARNES, JAMES E.
        Among the representative farmers and prosperous citizens of Deer Creek township, Mills county, is the subject of this brief review, who was born in Missouri in 1850, and was about two years old when brought to this county. His father a William R. Barnes, was a native of Kentucky and a soldier of the Civil War, having enlisted here October 10, 1862, in Company B, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Captain Andrews. He remained in the service until hostilities ceased and returned home with a highly creditable war record. To the same regiment belonged a number of others who are represented in this work, and they all speak in very flattering terms of Mr. Barnes both as a brave soldier and a civilian. He died in Deer Creek township in 1884, at the age of fifty-seven years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Amanda Judah, still survives him and resides on her own farm adjoining that of our subject. She is a native of Lawrence county, Indiana, and a daughter of Martin and Nancy (Jennings) Judah. Her father was born in the same state of German ancestry, and died in Buchanan county, Missouri, while her mother was born in Kentucky and died in this county. Her people, as well as her husband's people came from Missouri to Mills county about 1852. Our subject is one of a family of six children, the others being Mrs. Arabella Archer, a resident of Nebraska; John W., who lives with his brother in this county; I. I.; and Mrs. Ellen M. Wyrick, both residents of Oregon; and Mrs. Coloma A. Morris, of Mills county, Iowa.
        On the home farm James E. Barnes grew to manhood, acquiring an excellent knowledge of all the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and obtaining his literary education in the district schools. He now owns and works a splendid farm of two hundred and ninety acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation, and is successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising.
        In Mills county Mr. Barnes was united in marriage with Miss Emma A. Riddell, a native of New York state and a daughter of Samuel T. and Lucy Ann (Beckwith) Riddell, who came to Iowa at an early day. The father is now deceased, but the mother is still living and makes her home in the state of Washington Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have five children namely: Mrs. Jennie E. Lang, of Mills county; and J. I., James H., Robert E. and Bertha M., all at home.
        The Republican party has always found in Mr. Barnes a staunch supporter of its principles, and he has been called upon to serve his fellow citizens in the office of school director several years and road supervisor for some time. He is a member of the Sons of Veterans Camp at Strahan, this county, and is one of the most highly respected citizens of his community. He is a whole-souled, genial gentleman who makes many friends and has the confidence and high regard of all who knew him.

BELLATI, JAMES L.
        James L. Bellatti, of Glenwood, was formerly connected with the farming interests of Mills county and the years of his active toil brought to him a comfortable competence. He is now numbered among the leading business men of Glenwood, being an active factor as a stockholder and director in some of the leading manufacturing and financial concerns of that city.
        Mr. Bellatti was born in England, October 24, 1848, his parents being Charles and Ann (Gurten) Bellatti. The father was a native of Newark, Nottinghamshire, England, and followed the pursuit of gilding frames. He came to the United States about 1849, taking up his abode in Morgan county, Illinois, his death occurring when he was eighty years of age, in Jacksonville, Illinois. His widow is still living in Jacksonville, Illinois. She was the mother of seventeen children, of whom twelve are yet living.
        In his boyhood days, James L. Bellatti acquired a district-school education and assisted in the work of the home farm until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life on his own account. Whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to his own efforts. On the 21st of December, 1873, Mr. Bellatti was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Williams, who was born in Holt county, Missouri, a daughter of John F. and Nancy M. (Dodge) Williams. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Bellatti, Shrewsbury and Elizabeth (Ramsey) Williams, both natives of Wales. They came to the United States with their respective parents and the latter died at the home of our subject, when but sixty-two years of age, while the former died in Missouri, at the age of eighty years. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Bellatti were Levi and Sarah (Hersey) Dodge, and the great grandparents were Edward and Lorena (Goulde) Dodge. The former was a Revolutionary soldier who served with the rank of lieutenant, and Mrs. Bellatti now has his discharge papers, and thus she is eligible to membership in the society of the Daughters of the Revolution. The father of Mrs. Bellatti was born July 22, 1822, in Franklin county, West Virginia. In his childhood he accompanied his parents on their removal to Clay county, Missouri, and there attended the subscription schools. Later he assisted his father in the operation of a ferry on the Missouri river, and remained in Clay county until nineteen years of age, when he went to St. Louis and obtained a position in a lumber yard. A year later he removed to Holt county, where he secured a claim. On the 4th of July, 1847, he enlisted in Company C. of the Oregon Battalion, and thus faithfully served during the war with Mexico, until November 8, 1848, when he was discharged at Ft. Leavenworth. On the 29th of April, 1849, he started on an overland trip to California, but in 1851 he returned to Holt county, Missouri. In 1862 he became a resident of Fremont county, Iowa, and in 1864 went to Nebraska City, where he engaged in the mercantile business for a year, after which he located in Lyons township, Mills county, Iowa. In 1867 he purchased the Phoenix Mills and a year later located on a farm adjoining, there becoming the owner of six hundred and eighty acres of land. He gave to each of his children a good home.
        Judge Williams was married April 16, 1845, to Miss Sarah Keeney, a native of Tennessee, and they had one child, Sarah. The mother died in December, 1847, and he again married, March 6, 1852, his second union being with Miss Nancy Minerva Dodge, of Marietta, Ohio, who was the daughter of Levi and Sarah (Hersey) Dodge. Seven children were born to them, four of whom are living, namely: Lethey E., Mary A., Elvira E., and John F. He was again married, in January, 1870, when Mrs. Louisa J. Phipps became his wife. By her he had four children: Alpha, Elizabeth, Shrewsbury and Fanny. The judge was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Christian church, in which he served as elder for many years. He has filled numerous official positions, having been three times elected county judge of Holt county, Missouri. He died at the age of nearly seventy five years.
        Throughout the greater part of his business career Mr. Bellatti carried on agricultural pursuits and his capable management and practical efforts brought to him prosperity. He is now the owner of two hundred and seventy acres of land, although when he came to the county he had but ten dollars He made his first money in this county by teaching school, following the profession through a period of four years. He then became identified with agricultural interests and as a tiller of the soil found profit in his labor of plowing, planting and harvesting. In the latter years of his life his financial resources have increased, he has made judicious investments along other lines and is now interested in manufacturing and financial concerns in Glenwood and Emerson. Such a history should be a stimulus to others who are forced to depend upon their own exertions, for it shows what may be accomplished through resolute will, laudable ambition and unfaltering industry. since casting his first presidential vote he has supported the Democracy. The honors of public office are of no attraction to him, as he prefers to give his time and attention to his business affairs, in which he has met with creditable success.

BERKHEIMER, ANDREW
        Among the honored and highly respected citizens of Mills county, who have for many years been identified with its agricultural interests and have met with success in their chosen calling is Andrew Berkheimer. He was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on the 17th of March, 1832, his parents being George and Lydia Berkheimer. They also were natives of the Keystone state, where they spent their entire lives, the father dying when about seventy years of age, and his wife passing away at the age of sixty seven. They were farming people and enjoyed the high regard of all who knew them, owing to their many excellencies of character.
        Our subject was reared in the manner of most farmer boys of his day, aiding in the cultivation of the fields and other farm work, and attending the district schools near his boyhood home. In 1849, at the age of seventeen years, Mr. Berkheimer left the paternal roof and went to Michigan, driving a team from his old home to St. Joseph county, that state. In the same year he located in Kalamazoo county, where he made his home for four years, being engaged in agricultural pursuits. He then made a tour through the west, visiting Illinois and Iowa, but returned to Michigan, and did not locate permanently in this state until 1858, when he took up his residence in Mills county. He purchased sixty acres of wild land in Silver Creek township, and to its improvement and cultivation he at once turned his attention. His first home here was a frame home, fourteen by sixteen feet, where he lived until 1865, when he built his present comfortable residence. He hauled the lumber for the first house in Milton, now Malvern, built for J. D. Paddock, the present postmaster of that place. Mr. Berkheimer has one of the best orchards in this section of the state, and his well improved and highly cultivated farm is one of the most desirable places of its size in Mills county.
        At Kalamazoo, Michigan, on the 17th of September, 1855, Mr. Berkheimer was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Oman, who was born in Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of Peter and Sarah (Cunningham) Oman, who with their family removed from Pennsylvania to Michigan at a very early day. Mrs. Berkheimer crossing the Alleghany mountains on foot. Her father was born in the Keystone state and died in Michigan, at a very advanced age, eighty-one years; and his wife, who was a native of New Jersey, passed away in Michigan, at the age of seventy-five. Mr. and Mrs. Berkheimer became the parents of fourteen children, eight of whom are yet living and are now married. They also have twelve grandchildren. Their living children are: Chester, who married Mary Oney; Sarah, now the wife of Henry Donner; George, who married Maude Elwood; Clara, now the wife of J. D. Barrick; Oscar, who married Gertrude McMillen; Louis, who married Albia Byers; Maggie, who married P. M. Cadwell; and Andrew, who married Carrie Byers.
        Since coming to Iowa Mr. Berkheimer has been a staunch supporter of the men and measures of the Republican party, and has even taken a deep and commendable interest in public affairs. He is a man of recognized ability and stands high in the community where he has long made his home. Those who know him best are numbered among his warmest friends, and he is justly deserving of the high regard in which he is held. He and his wife are active members of the Baptist church in which he has served as deacon for a quarter of a century. He liberally aided in building the house of worship for that denomination in Malvern. The first meeting was held in the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad depot, Mr. Berkheimer arranging some boxes obtained from the stores for use as a pulpit. When Milton-Malvern was being laid out there was no place in the town where the men could board so Mr. Berkheimer had to board them, also the depot agent. In surveying for the town he hauled the stakes around for staking off the lots. He has done everything in his power to promote the work of the church and his influence has been widely felt for good in his community. In his business affairs he has been particularly successful and though he started out in life empty-handed he now controls a good income, which he has won through earnest and indefatigable effort. His life illustrates the possibilities of labor, when guided by sound judgment, in conquering an adverse fate. From a humble financial position he has worked his way to a place of prominence among the substantial citizens of his adopted county and in its history he well deserves mention.

BLACK, HON. CHARLES W.
        Hon. Charles W. Black resides at Malvern, Iowa, surrounded by the comfort that earnest labor has brought him. His has been a busy active and useful career, and his close attention to agricultural pursuits has brought to him a handsome competence, his pleasant home with its attractive surroundings being a visible evidence of what he has accomplished. His father, William Black, was a native of Scotland, born in Strathaven, March 9, 1817, and in the spring of 1838 came to the United States. He took passage on an old sailing vessel at Glasgow and was forty-eight days upon the water. That summer was spent in and around Rochester, New York, and in the fall he went to Ohio, where he was residing at the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1900. In 1871, however, he came to Malvern, where for fifteen years he was engaged in the hardware business. He married Miss Martha Reed, who was born near Zanesville, Ohio, March 9, 1821, and died in Malvern, Iowa at the age of sixty-four years. Her father shouldered his musket as a representative of the Protestant side of the Irish Rebellion when only sixteen years of age.
        Mr. Black of this review, was born near Brownsville, Ohio, September 27, 1843, and was reared to agricultural pursuits like the average farmer boy. When the country became involved in civil war he resolved to enlist as a soldier for the Union, and at the age of seventeen responded to the first call for three months volunteers, but was not mustered into service. On the 1st of August 1861, he re-enlisted for three years service as a member of Company G, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This regiment had more names on its roll than any other Ohio regiment that went forth to defend the Union. He veteranized on the 17th of December, 1863, at Vicksburg, again enlisting for three yers. He was in the service altogether for about four years, being mustered out after the close of the war at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 20th of July, 1865. He entered the army from patriotic motives and was always found at his post of duty, valiantly defending the old flag and the cause it represented. He participated in all of the engagements in which his company took part, but fortunately was never injured, nor did he lose a day from illness or other cause.
        Returning to his home after the war, Mr. Black felt the need of a better education than he had previously acquired, and for two winters attended college, while devoting the summer months to work on the farm. In the spring of 1867 he removed to Tonica, Illinois, where he engaged in farming on rented land for a short time, and later bought a small place. He continued his residence there until the spring of 1872, when he came to Mills county, Iowa, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, two and a half miles north of Malvern, which he converted into a fine stock farm by adding to the original purchase. He continues actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, although now residing in Malvern.
        On the 9th of September, 1867, Mr. Black was united in marriage to Miss Martha Landes, who died in Malvern, in 1872, at the age of twenty-seven years. By that union were born two children, Marion and Margaret. Mr. Black was married January 14, 1875, in Mills county, his second union being with Miss Hannah B. Evans. She was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and completed her literary education in the Western High School of Baltimore. Her father, William M. Evans, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1813, and died in Mills county, Iowa in 1885. He married Sarah A. Van Kirk, whose birth occurred in Washington county, in 1812, and who passed away in Mills county in 1882, the family having come to the latter county in 1873.
        Mr. Black is liberal, public spirited and progressive and in his political views is an out and out Republican. He filled several local offices in the township where he resided, and in 1899 was elected to the state legislature, in which he faithfully represents his district. He is chairman of the committee on the Home for Feeble-Minded Children, and is a member of other important committees. His wise counsel is sought on many matters of interest to the county and state, and it is to such men as he that is due the credit of our wise and beneficent legislation. Since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, he has taken an active interest in public affairs, and has supported those enterprises which he believes calculated to advance the public welfare. He was one of the organizers, and is still a prominent member of Milton Summers Post, No. 204, G. A. R. of Malvern, of which he was the first commander. Religiously he and his family are members of the Presbyterian church, and are prominent in the community where they reside.

BRANDT, J. B.
        Among the German American citizens of Mills county who, loyal to the interests of their adopted land, are numbered among the representative men in this section of Iowa, is found J. B. Brandt, who was born in Schleswig, Germany, on the 15th of March, 1857, his parents being Jurgen and Anna (Miller) Brandt. In the year 1868 the father came to America, accompanied by his family, and took up his abode in Oak township, Mills county. He was a carpenter by trade and followed that pursuit for many years, but finally became extensively interested in farming and stock-raising. His was an active industrious and upright career, crowned with a richly merited degree of success and won the confidence and warm regard of all with whom business or social relations brought him in contact. He has attained the ripe old age of eighty four years, while his wife is now eighty years of age.
        Mr. Brandt of this sketch is the youngest in a family of ten children, six of whom are yet living. He was eleven years of age when he left the fatherland and with his parents came to the new world, continuing his education in the schools of Mills county. He remained under the parental roof throughout the period of his minority, and in 1882 started out upon an independent business career. Farming has been his chief occupation, and he has successfully followed it, becoming the owner of a desirable property. His business methods are such as to commend him to the confidence of all, for he is reliable in all his dealings. Upon his place are found all the modern accessories and improvements usually seen upon a model farm, and a glance will indicate to the passerby his careful supervision of this farm which he operates.
        In 1882 Mr. Brandt was united in marriage to Miss Mary Green, a daughter of Charles and Julia Green and a niece of Chris Plummer. They have six children namely: Carl, Albert, John, Martha, Paul and Julia. In his political views Mr. Brandt is a Democrat, giving an earnest support to the men and measure of the party and is now serving as one of the trustees of Oak township. The family belong to the German Lutheran church.

BRICKNELL, WILLIAM W.
        No finer stock can be found in Mills county than that raised on the Bricknell farm, of which the subject of this review is the owner. Mr. Bricknell is a venerable gentleman of eighty-one years but is still actively connected with business affairs, and his record should put to shame many a man of younger years who, growing weary of the struggles of business affairs, and his record should put to shame many a man of younger years who, growing weary of the struggles of business life, would relegate to others the burdens that he should bear. Veneration and respect are accorded our subject, who well deserves the high regard uniformly given him, for his career has ever been an upright one, characterized by true fidelity to duty.
        His birthplace is across the water, for he is a native of Devonshire, England, where he was born on the 2d of September, 1819 but since 1865 he has resided in Mills County. His father, John Bricknell, was one of the yeomanry of England and for a long period held the important position of superintendent for an aunt of Queen Victoria, thus becoming a member of the royal household. His property holdings were at one time very extensive, and his wealth was great; but he met with heavy losses and in his later life was a laboring man. His wife bore the maiden name of Hanna Watkins, and they became the parents of five sons and a daughter, but William W. of this interview is the only one now living.
        In the year 1858 William W. Bricknell crossed the Atlantic to the new world, believing that he might better his financial condition in a country where opportunities were greater and where no hindrance of caste was placed in the way of individual advancement. The voyage to the United States was made on the sailing vessel Amazon, which carried nine hundred passengers and reached the American port one month after leaving the English harbor. In 1859 Mr. Bricknell was married to Miss Sarah Savidge, a daughter of William Savidge, a butcher by trade, who died in early manhood. On coming to the new world our subject took up his abode in Lorain county, Ohio, near Oberlin, where he worked by the day and month for seven years, being employed at farm labor.
        In May, 1865, he came to Tabor, Iowa, with his wife and one son, their only daughter having died previously. Mr. Bricknell purchased eighty acres of land for four hundred dollars and the remainder of his capital was loaned out at interest. All that he had saved was from his earnings, for he never inherited a dollar. His present farm comprises two hundred acres of upland prairie and timber and extends for a mile to the north. It is one of the best and most fertile tracts of land in the township and is well adapted for grazing or stock-raising, having upon it timber, water and good drainage. His son William is associated with him in business. He was born in Ohio, forty-four years ago, and is now one of the energetic and enterprising men of Mills county. He relieves his father of much care, largely attending to the active management of the farm and marketing of the stock, which is sold mostly in Chicago. In May 1898, Mr. Bricknell was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died at the age of seventy years, in the faith of the Congregational church, of which she was a consistent member. Since that time the father and son have lived alone. They formerly engaged in raising corn, on an extensive scale, but now purchase several thousand bushels of corn annually, while most of their land is in grass, - all save a fifty-acre tract of timber. They buy many head of cattle to feed for the market and breed high-grade shorthorn cattle, having a fine registered bull which weighs two thousand pounds. While perhaps other stock-raisers of the county carry on the business on a more extensive scale there are none who take finer stock to market than do the Bricknells. One lot of three car-loads weighed from fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds, each averaging seven hundred and twenty pounds. They raise annually from twenty to thirty head and ship twice each year. They also keep from one to two hundred head of well-bred Poland China and Chester White hogs. One Chester White was a mammoth hog at five years, weighing twelve hundred pounds, alive. Their stock always commands the highest market prices, owing to their fine grade and excellent condition.
        The farm is well improved, is attractive in appearance and indicates the careful supervision of the progressive owners. The present residence was erected in 1882, and stands on a beautiful building site amid the trees, many of which were planted by Mr. Bricknell and will stand as monuments long after he has been laid to rest. The business methods of father and son are beyond question and the name is synonymous with honorable dealing. In the evening of his life Mr. Bricknell can look back over the past without regret and forward to the future without fear, for he has accomplished much that is commendable and has ever enjoyed the highest esteem of his fellowmen.

BROWN, WALTER S.
        Mills county is fortunate in the class of citizens who are now occupying her positions of public trust, among which number is Walter S. Brown, who is now serving as county recorder. He was born in Glenwood on the 17th of June, 1870, his parents being Thomas H. and Mary M. (Turner) Brown, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Ohio. The father came to Mills county in the late '50s, and for about forty years the mother has been a resident of this state.
        Their son, Walter S. Brown, was reared in the state of his nativity and at the usual age entered the public schools, there pursuing his studies until his graduation in the high school, in the class of 1891. He afterward pursued a business course in the Capital City Commercial College, at Des Moines, and was thus well prepared for the responsible and practical duties of a business career. He became actively associated with the army of workers as an employee of the D. L. Heinsheimer Company, whom he served as assistant cashier, bookkeeper and correspondent, acting in that capacity for eight years. For some time in 1898 he was in the employ of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, of Ottumwa, Iowa, as stenographer, and after withdrawing from that position was called to public service, being elected to the office of city treasurer of Glenwood in April, 1899, serving two years. He was the city treasurer when, in November, 1900, he was elected recorder of Mills county by a majority of three hundred and twenty-five, receiving the nomination for the position over three other candidates in the convention. He has always been an unswerving Republican, doing everything in his power to promote the work of the party and to secure the adoption of its principles.
        On the 5th of April, 1899, Mr. Brown was joined in wedlock to Miss Alta Wernwick, of Glenwood, and unto them has been born a daughter, Rohease. Mr. Brown is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. they are well known in the community and their many friends entertain for them high regard.

BRUEN, CHARLES E.
        A prominent capitalist and agriculturist of Mills county, Iowa is Charles E. Bruen, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Henderson county, Illinois, September 1, 1858, and was a son of John and Sarah (Sharpless) Bruen. The father died at Monmouth, Illinois, in 1886, at the age of fifty eight years, and the mother died in Illinois, near Gladstone, in 1865. Mr. Bruen attended the public schools at Monmouth, the academy for five years and at Monmouth College two years, this being supplemented by one year at a business college in Poughkeepsie, New York.
        The first business venture of our subject was when he engaged in farming in Mills county for two years on rented land, later bought fourteen hundred acres; and also owns, near Oakland, four hundred and forty acres and also has a large ranch in Nebraska, which is devoted exclusively to the raising of stock, the land in Nebraska amounting to nine thousand acres.
        Mr. Bruen was married January 8, 1884 to Miss Nancy A. James, a daughter of James and Margaret (Lewis) James, natives of Wales, who came to the United States about 1865, locating first in Utica county, New York. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bruen are: Edna M., Lucille and Marjorie.
        In politics our subject is now a staunch Republican and has been since 1896. He cast his first vote for General Hancock. He has too busy a life to fill any office, but he is a politician from principle, believing that every man should do his duty at the polls. The family connection is with the Baptist church, while he is socially a member of the Elks and Modern Woodmen, in both of these organizations being esteemed highly. Mr. Bruen has taken an active interest in the development of Mills county; always assisting in those measures which he could see would be of benefit.

BUFFINGTON, FRANCIS M.
        Since 1854 this gentleman has been a resident of Mills county and has therefore witnessed the greater part of its development from the period when its wild lands were still in their primitive condition, many acres being yet in the possession of the government. There came to the west men and women of strong purpose to claim the rich gifts of nature and to aid in laying the foundation for the present advancement in Mills and other counties of the great western empire. The parents of our subject were among the number that came with their families forty-six years ago and throughout the intervening period Francis M. Buffington has been a representative of the agricultural class. Splendid success has been achieved by him and today he is the owner of one thousand acres of valuable land.
        He was born March 12, 1835, in Meigs county, Ohio, a son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Barringer) Buffington. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America by three brothers, who located in Virginia, one of whom was the great-grandfather of our subject. The grandfather was born in the Old Dominion and married a lady who was a native of Maryland. Hezekiah Buffington, the father, was born in Ohio and in 1837 removed from the Buckeye state to Adams county, Illinois, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Mills county, Iowa, here spending his remaining days. His death occurred in 1864. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania and died in 1897.
        Francis M. Buffington was the fourth in order of birth in their family of ten children, seven of whom are yet living. He was but two years of age when his parents left Ohio and was about twenty years of age when they came to Iowa. After arriving at years of maturity he was married, on the 16th of May, 1861, to Miss Sarah Byers, a daughter of William and Nancy Byers, natives of Ohio, whence they came to Mills county in 1856. Six children blessed the union of Mr. and Buffington, but only two are now living: Carrie, wife of Oliver Hammers, a resident of Center township, and Effie, the wife of Richard Jackson, of Oak township, Mills county. those who have passed away are John, who died in February, 1898, at the age of thirty-two; Jennie E., Francis M., and Clark.
        Mr. Buffington is today the owner of one thousand acres of land in Center and Oak townships, and also has other town property and other interests, owning forty shares in the Mills County Bank. Industry and careful management have been the salient points in his career and he has won his success along the lines of the old-time trite maxims: "Honesty is the best policy." and, "There is no excellence without labor." He votes with the Republican party and is a public-spirited and progressive citizen and gives hearty support and cooperation to all movements which he believes will prove of public benefit.

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