Robert and Mary Jeanette had five children; Mary Elizabeth who married George Frain, William Alonzo who married Stella Kennedy, Ella Belle who married John J. Kilgore, John who married Bell Alexander, and Joseph who married Sarah Mercer.

Mary Elizabeth and George Frain were the parents of Mattie, Viola, Nettie, Lydia, Henry, Elmer, Sylvester, John Arthur, Clarence, Ernest, and Leona. Most of them lived in Pottawattamie Co. all their lives.

John and Bell Alexander moved to Council Bluffs and had three sons; Alonzo, Alfred and James.

Ella and John [Jack] Kilgore were the parents of Clyde, who was killed in Argonne, France during WW I, Arthur, and Vesta Viola. Two son’s died at an early age, Ralph and Carl and are buried in the Carson Cemetery.

Joseph and Sarah were the parents of Delpha, Morris, Vena, Jennie, and Verne Alexander. They moved to Adair and later to Polk County.

I.A. BOREN, farmer, P.O. Crescent City, was born in Hancock County, Ill., January 6, 1842, his father, J. B. Boren, was born in Illinois April 6, 1817, and married Nancy McIntosh who was born in Kentucky December 2, 1811, and died April 14, 1867. She was the mother of seven children, five of whom are living. I. A., with is parents, left Illinois and came to Davis County, Iowa, in 1846 and in 1847 came to Pottawattamie County; at that time, neighbors were few and far between. Mr. Boren attended the common schools, and, at an early age, adopted farming as his avocation, in which business he was successful. He married in Crescent City, Iowa, January 14, 1877, Mary SMITH, who was born in Michigan, October 24, 1854, daughter of William and Eunice (LACY) SMITH, both of New York. Mrs. Boren died in 1881, leaving one child, Frances M. Mr. Boren has also lost one child. In politics, he is a Democrat, having been elected a number of times to offices on that ticket; he is a member of the I.O. of G.T., and also of the M.P. Society.

Robert S. Cole, deceased, a prominent citizen of Henry County, was born in Dearborn County, Ind., Nov.. 23, 1822. His parents were Solomon and Sarah (Remy) Cole. His father was a native of Maryland, born of English parents, his mother was of French descent. Solomon Cole was a practical farmer and teacher, and was a man of superior ability and culture. His family consisted of a wife and nine children, of whom our subject was the third. They came to Iowa by teams, in 1851. The father was a confirmed invalid at the time, and the elder sons took all the responsibility and care of the family. On coming to this county the family purchased 250 acres of land, situated about twelve miles north of Mt. Pleasant. The title of one-half of this property was vested in the parents' name, and one-half in the names of James W. and Robert S., the elder sons. There the sons prepared a home for their parents, and cared for them during the remainder of their lives. They conducted the business of the farm and raised stock until 1849, when they removed to the city of Mt. Pleasant, and engaged in the lightning rod and pump business. Their first order was for $50 worth of lightning rods. The remittance of $50 was lost, but they received the rods. This business was established by J.W. and R.S. Cole. They soon added the manufacture of pumps to their trade, the work being done at Greencastle, Ind. Their venture was successful from the start, and they rapidly extended their line of operations. Two younger brothers, William and John, were admitted to the partnership, and in 1865 they formed and incorporated a company for the continuance of the business, with a paid-up capital of $30,000. They formed a limited partnership with their employes, establishing branch sale stations extending through Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and other States, having in all at one time fourteen branch stations, and employing from 150 to 200 men. At the expiration of the limit of the first corporation, in 1875, they formed a new corporation with a paid-up capital of $200,000. The Cole Brothers built up an immense business, and enjoyed a reputation for fair dealing and good work that marked a new era in the pump and lightning rod business. The elder brothers, J.W. and R.S., were associated in business twenty-five years before they had a settlement. During all that time their business relations were so harmonious and satisfactory that they had no unpleasantness whatever. They had everything in common, and although each of them had families, they had no separate accounts.

Robert S. Cole, the subject of this sketch, was married near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Dec. 24, 1846, to Miss Mary Jane Hutton, daughter of Rev. Samuel Hutton, an early and highly respected pioneer of Henry County. Her mother's maiden name was Mary Levi. She was born in North Carolina, and was of German descent. Mrs. Cole's father was born in Pennsylvania, and he was also of German descent. He was a minister of the Baptist Church, and did much preaching in the West. Mrs. Cole was born in Sangamon County, Ill., Sept 27, 1827. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cole, five daughters and three sons: Anna E. is the widow of Edward O. Boone and is a teacher in the Indian Territory; she has one child a son, Victor C.; Sarah J. is the wife of William Ridpath, an attorney of Brazil, Ind., they have three children; Laura M. resides with her mother; Hayden R.died Oct. 6, 1876, aged twenty-one years; Wlliam T. married Annie Maxwell, and resides at Council Bluffs, Iowa; Jay S. is engaged in the lightning rod business at Greencastle, Ind.; Mary and Minnie reside with their mother.

Mr. Cole continued to reside at Mt. Pleasant until 1880, when he removed to Council Bluffs, where he purchased the interest of one of their branch partners, and carried on the business at that point until the time of his death, Feb. 28, 1884. After his death his heirs parted with their interest in the business to Mr. Cole's brothers, Jan. 1, 1887.

Mr. Cole united with the Baptist Church when he was a youth, and was a zealous Christian during his life, prompt and liberal in support of the church and of missions, and charitable and kind to the poor and distressed. He was a philanthropist in the broadest sense of the word. He contributed liberally to the erection of the Baptist Church at Mt. Pleasant, and after having removed to Council Bluffs he made a liberal donation to repair the church after it was wrecked by a cyclone. He also took an active part in behalf of the church at Council Bluffs, and was foremost in all good works. A man whose word was regarded as inviolate, he enjoyed an enviable reputation in the community. After his death his widow and three daughters resided in Council Bluffs until July, 1887, when they returned to Mt. Pleasant, to the home which Mr. Cole had made in that city, which they had never parted with, and which is a commodious and comfortable residence.

Name: Corbaly, Enos P.
Pages:
Submitted by: Mona Sarratt Knight, 2002.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.


ENOS P. CORBALY, farmer, P.O. Crescent City, was born in Marion County, Ind., May 30, 1851; his father, J. B. CORBALY, was born in the same county August 18, 1828; he married Eliza PENDERGAST, who was born in Bedford County, and died in 1858. Mr. Corbaly spent his childhood days attending the common schools, where he received his education; coming to the age of manhood, he was for a time a salesman. His mind being of a mechanical turn, he learned the carpenter's trade, but afterward adopted farming, of which business he makes a success. September 13, 1870, he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa. August 30, 1874, at Crescent City, he married Mazie A. DUNKLE, who was born in Center County, Penn., August 19, 1856; her parents were L. K. DUNKLE, born in 1828, and Elizabeth (MYERS) DUNKLE, born December 25, 1834. Mr. And Mrs. CORBALY have two children, Harry G. and John L. In politics, Mr. Corbaly is a Republican; he belongs to the societies of I.O. of G.T. and the Grange.

Name: Graybill, Arno and Lula
Submitted by: Gail Meyer Kilgore, Mar 2003
Publication: written by Neva Kuhr


ARNO AND LULA GRAYBILL
Arno Peter Graybill was a self-educated man and for many years a telephone lineman and maintenance man for the Western Telephone Co. in Carson, Iowa. He was also an efficient carpenter. Arno was born near Wheeler Grove in Pottawattamie Co. on Nov. 3, 1883 and died May 16, 1955. Arno's parents were John A. and Fannie [Green] Graybill, both natives of Pottawattamie County. Arno was married to Lula Grace Alley, who was born in Fremont County near Hillsdale, Iowa on June 4, 1886 and died Jan. 19, 1964. Seven children were born to this union: Ruth, Harold, Hope, Cloyd, Bea, Laura and Franklin. Ruth Ora married Stephen Brubaker in 1929 and died at the age of 22 years at the University Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. She left a son Don LaRance, who at the present time is a Principal in the Inter-City School in DesMoines, Iowa. Harold Wayne, has retired from the U.S. Air Force and lives with his wife Lou in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hope Vera is married to Wayne F. Carr and lives in Carson, Iowa as do their two sons Walter and Ken with their families.. Cloyd LeRoy is also retired from the U. S. Air Force and lives with his wife Irene in Mesa, Arizona. Their son Robert is a student at the Illinois University. Bea Grace died at the age of 16 months. Laura Lucile married Homer Good and lives in Estes Park, Colorado. and they have three sons, William, Richard andRandall. Franklin Arno lives with his wife Jeanne in Fort Collins, Colorado. They have a son Daniel and a daughter Kathy. Franklin is a professor at CSU in Fort Collins and has written several textbooks on Statistics. Mrs Lula Graybill was know around Carson for her kindness and her neighbors and friends and was a hard working woman and a wonderful mother. Mr. and Mrs. Graybill and their children are all members of the Reorganized Latter Day Saints Church. Mrs. Graybill was living in her home at 812 Lucust Street at the time of her death. It had been the Graybill home for 52 years.

Name: Graybill, John and Frances
Submitted by: Gail Meyer Kilgore, Mar 2003
Publication: written by Neva Kuhr


JOHN AND FRANCES GRAYBILL
John Arno Graybill, son of Levi and Patience Graybill was born August 4, 1854 near Wheeler Grove, east of Macedonia, Iowa. He married Frances [Fannie] M. Green on Feb. 18, 1880 and to this union was born ten children, five of whom died in infancy. The other five children are: Arno Peter, Leslie Gould, Elba George, Vena Muriel and Neva Wanda. John was a carpenter by trade and both he and Fannie were affiliated with the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints. Fannie was born Aug. 4, 1861 in Fremont County, Iowa but lived in Carson, Iowa until her death May 26, 1920. She and Levi are buried in the Old Morman Cemetery, 3 1/2 miles east of Macedonia, Iowa.

Name: Graybill, Levi and Patience
Submitted by: Gail Meyer Kilgore, Mar 2003
Publication: written by Neva Kuhr

LEVI AND PATIENCE GRAYBILL
Levi Graybill was born in Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio on March 12, 1818 and died Nov. 30, 1912. He married Patience Smith on June 21, 1841 and they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1845, from Nauvoo to Kanesville [now Council Bluffs, Iowa] in June 1846. In the spring of 1847 Levi discovered a stone and a fall of water in the Nishna Botna River at Old Macedonia, Iowa and posted a squatter's notice at the waterfall and cleared 80 acres of timber near the river. Here he built the first log cabin one-half mile south of main street in the present Macedonia, Iowa. He moved his family back to live in the log cabin, later they moved to Wheeler Grove. Levi and Patience had several children but only five grew to maturity. Salathiel, Lafayette, David, John and Patience [Mrs. Sidney Pitt]. Levi was a farmer and a self-sustained missionary for the early Latter Day Saints and later was rebaptized into the Reorganized Latter Day Saints. Patience was born Nov. 26, 1825 and died Aug. 14, 1895. Both Levi and Patience are buried in the Old Morman Trail Cemetery, three and one-half miles east of Macedonia, Iowa.

Name: Gregg, V. A.
Page: 303
Submitted by: Mona Sarratt Knight, 2003.
Publication: 1A memorial and biographical history of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California : illustrated : containing a history of this important section of the Pacific Coast from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future, with profuse illustrations of its beautiful scenery, full-page steel portraits of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day.
Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1891, 698 pgs.


Virgil A. Gregg, Superior Judge of San Luis Obispo County, was appointed to the office he now holds by Governor Waterman, February 8, 1889. Mr. Gregg was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, in 1844. His father was born in Viginia in 1810, and his mother in Tennessee in 1819. Both parents were pioneers of Iowa when it was a part of Michigan Territory. The subject of this sketch, at the age of thirteen years, entered the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he continued until he entered his senior year in 1862. He then left college and entered the volunteer service in the War of the Rebellion in the Twenty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and continued in the army with Sherman until the close of the War. Then he entered the law department of the University of Michigan in September 1865, and graduated with the class of 1866, and located first for the practice of law in December, that year, in Memphis, Tennessee. Being in poor health, he left Memphis and traveled for nearly a year, and then settled in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and there practiced law and took an active part in politics, as a Republican, participating in every canvass as a speaker. In 1873 he came to California, at the instance of his friend, Josiah Earl. Mr. Earl having succeeded by a visit to Washington City in having a United States land office located at Independence, Inyo County, California, and being appointed Register, he got Mr. Gregg to come to California to put the new office in working condition. Mr. Gregg left Inyo and located at Bakersfield, Kern County, California, in 1876, and was there elected on the Republican ticket a member of the California Constitutional Convention that met at Sacramento in December 1878, and that formulated the present Constitution of California, and Mr. Gregg had the honor of serving on the Judiciary and Corporation Committees of that body. Mr. Gregg has been a resident of San Luis Obispo for seven years, and of the state for seven years. He has always been a Republican in politics and has for his party canvassed the state at one time and several counties at different times. He is a Grand Army man, a member of George H. Thomas Post Nbr. 2, San Francisco, and is in receipt of a pension of $16 per month from the Government for wounds received during the War. He has a wife and five children, having married at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 1879.

Name: Hack, Hiram P.
Pages: 915-922
Submitted by: Mona Sarratt Knight, 2002.
Publication: 1915, Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
by Edward S. White; B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

HIRAM P. HACK and Family
The life of Hiram P. Hack is that of a typical pioneer Iowa farmer, and within the sixty years which he has spent in Shelby county, Iowa, there is comprehended practically the whole history of his own county and that of this section of the state. He was born October 20, 1853, in Fountain County, Indiana, and is a son of Albert and Mary (Abernethy) Hack. Albert Hack was a native of Kentucky and removed to Fountain County, Indiana with his parents when he was a small boy. He was reared to manhood and married in Fountain County, and came to Shelby County, Iowa, in the fall of 1854 with a number of other settlers. He bought the farm on which Hiram P. Hack is now living in Fairview Township, and resided there until his death, June 29, 1859. His wife died December 28, 1898, at the age of 72 years. Albert Hack and wife were the parents of four children: John, who died in infancy; Hiram P., whose interesting history is here related; Margaret S., who died at the age of seventeen; and Hannah, the wife of Otis Preston.

Hiram P. Hack was educated in the rude log schoolhouse of his home township and has spent his whole life upon the farm where he was brought when he was 13 months old. At the age of 18 years, he took charge of the home farm and managed it for his mother. At the age of 24, he bought forty acres of land and began farming for himself. He kept adding land as he was able to do so, and is now the owner of the old homestead of 162 acres, which is one of the most productive farms in the county. He has improved this farm in every way and can point with pride to his elegant home and his commodious barns and out buildings. At the age of 21, he was elected school director and the following year was elected President of the Board of school directors, serving on the board of education for 13 years. In 1878 he was elected township clerk and served in this capacity for two years, after which he was elected township trustee, serving in this important office for nine years. In 1906 he was elected county treasurer and lived at Harlan during the four years of his term.

Mr. Hack was married November 29, 1877 to PHOEBE S. WILLIAMS, the daughter of John Z. and Laurahannah Williams. Mrs. Hack was born in Illinois and was the second child in a family of ten children. Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Hack are the parents of three living children, Venie A., Nora F. and Paul W., unmarried and living with their parents. Lula L. died in infancy. Mr. Hack was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Avoca, and has served as senior and junior warden of his lodge No. 297. He is now a member of the Harlan lodge. He has also served for 15 years as secretary of the Anti-Horse Thief Association of his county, an organization which has done effective work in the apprehension of horse thieves in the county.

The father of Mrs. Hack, JOHN Z. WILLIAMS, was born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1834 and died February 16, 1914. His wife, Laurahannah Daggett, was born in Warren County, Illinois, in 1837 and died February 12, 1905. After their marriage, John Z. Williams and his wife located in Warren County, Illinois, and lived there until 1872. In that year they moved to Shelby County, Iowa, bought a farm and began to improve it. In 1881 the Williams family moved to Crawford Co., Iowa, and lived on a rented farm there until 1886. They then returned to Shelby County and remained here until 1891 and then left the county for 16 years, returning here in 1906. Mr. Williams was an active Republican and took an intelligent interest in political matters. He and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. There were nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, as follows: Elda, Phoebe, Almiron (deceased), John (deceased), Minnie, Howard, George, Ira and Bertha.

This brief summary of the life of Mr. Hack indicates only the mere landmarks in his interesting career and is only introductory to the subjoined article. The Iowa Homestead, one of the best agricultural papers in the country, in its issue of May 7, 1914, submitted in detail the interesting history of the 60 years of Mr. Hack's life in Shelby County, and because of its light on the pioneer history of the county, it is here reproduced in full:

It was Will Carleton's idea that the man who would appreciate heaven well should have first some fifteen minutes of the other place. Possibly it is upon this theory that H. P. Hack, of R.F.D. No. 1, Avoca, Iowa, a resident of Shelby County since 1853, makes such extravagant claims for his section. He saw western Iowa when it was the wildest prairie, with Indians in camp in the river bottoms, and herds of deer running wild throughout the country. He endured every hardship of the early pioneer. He frankly admits that he does not tell all the hard luck stories that he has stored away from early experiences, because some of them are so bad the people now wouldn't believe them. And Mr. Hack has preserved a record for truthfulness and integrity in his neighborhood for so long that he will not take the chance of being pointed out as an exaggerator.

Because Mr. Hack has been for 37 years a loyal reader of The Homestead, one of the kinds of Iowans who have inspired the publisher to build up this great institution, he was visited a few days ago by one of The Homestead editors. It put new spirit into the writer to see and talk with this ideal type of successful Iowa farmer. It was a glimpse into the lives of our fathers. Landmarks on the Hack farm tell the story of early hardships and mark the steps of progress to the present day of prosperity and plenty.

I would scarcely know how to farm without The Homestead, said Mr. Hack. I read it from cover to cover every week and have secured from it for many years valuable and practical ideas to aid me in my farm work. I think every man I know in this entire community, at least all who own their farms are regular subscribers to The Homestead and many of them have been on the list for a long term of years. For the benefit of the older readers of this paper and the enlightenment of the younger generation, The Homestead, with the kind permission of Mr. Hack, is able to tell a story which should be of great interest to every reader.

It was in 1853 that thirty prairie schooners left western Indiana. This was a colony of home seekers looking for a new dwelling place west of the Mississippi River. A few stopped in Illinois, having wearied of the journey. Some went on to Monroe County, Iowa. The father and mother and uncle of H. P. HACK pushed on through the wilds, over the Indian trails, fording the unbridged streams until they reached the West Nishnabotna River, near the Pottawattamie and Shelby County line. Here on a strip of land which afforded good timber, Albert Hack, the father, pre-empted a quarter section of land, the foundations being laid for the present farm upon which the son lives. The senior Mr. Hack erected the third log house that was built on the strip between the Nishnabotna rivers. The house was built November 2, 1853, and it was regarded as a palace. The land upon which the house was built cost only one dollar and a quarter an acre. There were many farmers in the neighborhood today who would not sell for two hundred dollars an acre.

H. P. HACK was only thirteen months old when his baby eyes first saw the light of western Iowa, and for the first few years he had to be watched closely for fear he would stroll away and be kidnapped by the Indians. The Pottawattamies were frequently in the country and often camped four or five hundred strong in a big grove not far from the Hack homestead. In those days farm living was of the most meager sort. It was forty-five miles to Council Bluffs, the closest store. Mr. Hack, senior, couldn't even get a match or a candle any closer. To make the trip by wagon took four days, two each way, and marketing in town was done only twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall to lay in the winter supplies after disposing of the crop. One year, 1867, dressed hogs were taken to market and sold for one dollar and a quarter a hundred. Wheat sold in Council Bluffs at thirty-five cents a bushel. Mr. Hack remembers working for some days shelling corn by hand and then hauling the corn to Council Bluffs, forty five miles, to be sold at twelve and one half cents a bushel. He also remembers one trip where the farm crop of one year was hauled to the Bluffs and sold on the market there. After paying for the keep of their horses at the livery stable and for their board at the hotel, the Hacks had fifteen dollars left to show for their summer's work and purchase provisions for the winter.

In these days of plenty, the young folks cannot understand the hardships suffered by the pioneers. For five years, Mr. Hack's father struggled against debts and bad weather. he finally broke down. The nearest doctor was forty-five miles away, and he could only be secured by advancing one hundred dollars cash for the trip. It was much harder to get that one hundred dollars before the sixties in Iowa than it is now to get two thousand with which to buy a new automobile. Hack was in debt because he could get no market in which he could dispose of a crop if he raised one. In the winter of 1856, the hardest winter Iowa has ever seen, he walked to Council Bluffs to get a loan of a small sum of money to tide him over. For this money he paid forty per cent interest. He was five days making the trip. There were no roads and no good trails. About every time a man went to Council Bluffs, he made a trail of his own. The location of roads was governed by the points at which the streams were most easily forded.

In this same winter of 1855-56, the Hacks and their neighbors suffered from the intense cold and lack of food and water. The snow came on deep before the corn had been gathered and their entire patch of corn was covered so that not even the tops of the stalks could be seen. It was a case of digging out enough corn to eat. The deer running at large in the neighborhood soon got wise to this granary under the snow and made away with a large part of the crop, as practically everything which they usually ate was covered with snow. The snow as three and one half to four feet deep on the level and in many places drifted higher than a man's head. Two women named OVERBY, living west of the Hacks, started out in a storm one night and losing their way, were frozen to death. A fourteen year old lad who was with them managed to find his way back to the house, but his legs and hands were frozen stiff when he was found. During that winter, the Hack family larder ran low. Groceries gave out entirely. There was a supply of buckwheat in the house, and corn was gathered by digging in the snow covered fields. Occasionally, Mr. Hack's father bagged a deer and the family enjoyed a feast of venison. For months they had no tea or coffee. They had no ground meal in the house and no chance to get to market. A hollow place was dug out of a log and used as a mortar in which to crack the corn and grind it as best they could so that it was fine enough to make into cakes.

A good idea of the rugged pioneering can be secured by a glimpse back at the school house in which H. P. Hack got his first smattering of education. There being a few children growing up in the neighborhood, it was decided to erect a school and the settlers gathered and burned brick from mud. A brick building was erected and a teacher by the name of Miss RANDALL, from Shelby, hired to take charge of the school. For three years there was only one book, an elementary speller, used in that school. Each morning and afternoon the scholars were put to work mastering page by page of this spelling book. That speller was the sole equipment furnished the teacher by the school district. There wasn't a blackboard, lead or slate pencil, desk or chair; no writing paper, no pen, no ink; in fact nothing but the speller. First slabs from logs were taken and placed flat side up with pegs underneath for school benches. The flat side of the bench where the boys and girls sat proved to be very rough. As there were no planes and no sandpaper near at hand in those days, it was a problem to solve the removal of the splinters. The boys at last hit upon a plan. There were many brickbats left from the building operations and the benches were taken into the yard before school each day and given a thorough scouring with the brick bats. This soon reduced the rough timber to a smooth surface and made it possible for the boys and girls to squirm about on their seats without disastrous results.

The teacher, Miss Randall, had a Bible from which she always read at the opening of school. There was no one who objected to the Bible in those days. After reading the morning scripture lesson, Miss Randall offered prayers. In these prayers, she always asked that the boys and girls in her school might live to see the time when they would have school conveniences, books, desks, pencils and modern equipment of a school room. As a student in those early days, Mr. Hack says that morning prayer made an impression on his mind. He resolved that if he were ever able, when a man, he would do something to make the schools better. And that boyish resolve bore rich fruits. For thirteen years, he served unselfishly on the board of education of his district after he had grown and established a home of his own. And today he takes a keen interest in the country schools, remembering often the time when he studied three years with the one speller as his only textbook. When the first district school had been established three years, slates and pencils were introduced. Thus the small boy progressed into the days of the slate and red-topped boots. One slate pencil was all a boy was allowed for a year. To keep the pencil from wearing away too fast, the scholars used keel, a sort of slate rock found along the banks of the stream, which would make a fairly good pencil mark.

In the years 1864 and 1865, the Hacks came into their first real windfall. For three years the corn crop had been cribbed. Cribbing in those days consisted of a covering of slough grass. About eighteen hundred bushels were accumulated and it was about this time many emigrant trains began passing through the country to the West. Some were bound for Idaho, others for California, and others to the Pacific Northwest. One morning as young Hack was standing out in front of the house near the trail, he spied one of these trains coming over the hill. He was stopped by the emigrants and asked if he would sell any corn. Replying affirmatively, he was asked the price. I didn't have the slightest idea what corn was worth, but my nerve was up pretty high that day, and I said fifty cents a bushel, says Mr. Hack. Well, they took some corn at fifty cents, and I tell you we were all pleased and excited over that money. Only a few days later another train came through. I asked these men one dollar a bushel for the corn and they seemed very willing to pay it. Before the winter rolled around, we had sold the entire eighteen hundred bushels of corn at one dollar a bushel and that was the first real money in any considerable amount that we ever had on the place. We had no bushel measure on the farm and simply called a sackful a bushel. Any man who came along with a grain sack was charged for a bushel when he had filled his sack.

When the Hacks first moved to Shelby county, their equipment of farming implements consisted only of a cast iron moldboard single-shovel plow and an old harrow with wooden teeth. As a young man, H. P. Hack often hired out at twenty-five cents a day to break prairie sod. And a day in those times began when the stars were twinkling in the morning and closed when they again appeared in the heavens at night. Young Hack wore sandals and had trouble with the heavy prairie grass cutting his feet. To avoid lacerating his feet, he had to wrap them and tied on the wrappings with grass. String in those days was seldom seen, and when a string did come to the house on a package from the store, it was saved as an object of great value.

Clothing for the Hack family in the early days was made by the mother with an old fashioned loom. The boys got a suit once in two years of wool cloth and were provided with cheap flax cloth for working clothes. Some time after 1860, the old-fashioned blue denim came into general use and the working clothes were made of it.

Farmers of Shelby county and western Pottawattamie did not have a market for their stuff until 1869 and 1870, when the Rock Island railroad was completed. Mr. Hack had advised his mother that he intended to quit farming. What's the use of working all summer to raise crops when there is no place to sell them, was his reason. He insisted that they move back into a country where there was a market. But early in 1870, he made a trip to Avoca. He returned with a new idea of life. He had learned that he could take in any amount to market and get cash for it on delivery. He took a load of corn to Avoca and sold it for thirty-five cents a bushel and was back at work on the farm in half a day. If that system can be kept up, he told his mother, I'll stay on the farm. Ever since the railroad came the farmers have had a market. Mr. Hack says the real days of prosperity came with the railroad, and that profitable farming since that time has been merely a case of working and attending to business.

It would be easy to fill every page of this number with interesting experiences heard from Mr. Hack. He now runs a farm on business and scientific principles. He is a close student of the farm papers and, while he says he can't agree with all the editors say, he has learned much and he wouldn't be without the farm paper. He lived seven years at Harlan where he held the position of county treasurer. When his term expired, he was soon back on the farm. For about seven years, he has not done any field work. For ten years, he kept a record of the corn yield on his farm and it averaged sixty nine and one half bushels per acre. He practices crop rotation, alternating clover and small grains with corn and wheat. He challenges any man to show better all around farming land than can be found in the seventy five miles between and on either side of the Nishnabotna river in western Iowa. He uses the most modern farm equipment, has engine pumped water in his house, and barns, bath rooms, and all modern conveniences. He can go to town in his car now in twenty minutes and to the county seat in forty minutes. He keeps accurate records of his farm operations and knows just where he stands every day of the year.

Name: Hough, Denver
Page:
Submitted by: Mona Sarratt Knight, 2002.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.


DENVER HOUGH, farmer, P.O. Crescent City, was born in Deloit, Crawford Co., Iowa, June 1, 1859, and is a son of S. M. and Eliza J. (ALLEN) HOUGH. S. M. Hough was born in Oswego County, N.Y., January 6, 1818, and died November 9, 1881; he was a blacksmith by trade. His wife was born April 15, 1823; they had ten children, six of whom are still living. Subject came to this township with his parents in 1866 and has since resided here. He received his education in the common schools and began life as a farmer, which occupation he has since followed. He was married in Crescent City, Iowa, March 15, 1882, to Miss Allie ALEXANDER, a native of Pottawattamie County, born February 1, 1862, daughter of Charles and Catharine (SCOTT) ALEXANDER. Mr. Hough has held some township offices; he is a Good Templar and in politics, a Greenbacker. He is a good musician and has furnished the music for a great number of balls.

Name: Hough, Milton C.
Page:
Submitted by: Mona Sarratt Knight, 2002.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.

MILTON C. HOUGH, farmer, P.O. Crescent City, was born in Denison, Crawford Co., Iowa, August 3, 1863, and came to Pottawattamie County in 1866 with his father, Mortimer A. HOUGH. The latter was born in Lee County, Iowa, December 18, 1841; came to Pottawattamie County in 1846, and married Naomi BARRETT, who was born at New Boston, Mercer Co., Ill., July 13, 1842, and to them five children were born. Milton C. received his education in the common schools and is a natural penman, and also a musician. His father died November 25, 1874, since which he has worked at farming to maintain and educate himself, and assisted his mother in doing the same for her younger sons; he is a trusted employee, he joined the I.O.G.T. in 1877.

Name: Hough, Warren M.
Page:
Submitted by: Mona Sarratt Knight, 2002.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.


WARREN M. HOUGH, farmer, P.O. Crescent City, was born in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, April 24, 1849; his father, S. M. HOUGH, having come to Iowa in 1841 from Oswego County, N.Y., where he was born January 6, 1818, and where he learned the blacksmith's trade. He married Eliza J. ALLEN, who was born in Oswego County, N.Y., April 15, 1823; they raised a family of ten children, six of whom survive. The father died November 9, 1881; at the age of ten, Mr. Hough, with his parents, removed to Crawford County, Iowa, where he spent seven years, and came back to this township in 1866. Here he has resided since and has, by his industry and enterprise, gained the confidence of his neighbors and has, at various times, filled township offices. At present, he is a successful farmer and stock raiser. In politics, he is a Greenbacker, having been converted to that party in 1876; since then, he has also been a member of the I.O.G.T. He was married in Crescent City to Rebecca E. DUNKLE, November 28, 1872. She came to Pottawattamie County in 1870, with her parents, from Center County, Penn.; she was born October 19, 1856. Her father, L. K. DUNKLE, was born in 1828 and married Elizabeth MYERS, who was born in the same county, December 25, 1834. Mr. And Mrs. Hough have had three children, of whom but one, Walter, survives.

John F. MAASSEN, a prosperous farmer of Lincoln Township, was born on November 1, 1868, in Rock Island County, Illinois, and is the son of Reimer and Mary (MYERS) MAASSEN, his father being born in Germany in 1846 and his mother in the same country in 1850. Reimer Maassen came to this country in 1863 and settled in Illinois, where he first worked as a farm hand and later found employment in a paper mill. In 1878, he brought his family to Scott County, Iowa, where he farmed for six years, and then settled in Shelby County and purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land in Fairview Township. He was a progressive farmer, improved his land and added to it from time to time until at the date of his death he was the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of excellent farming land in Fairview Township and two hundred acres in Lincoln Township. His widow died in 1910 and both of them are now buried at Avoca, Iowa. To Reimer Maassen and wife were born ! twelve children, seven of whom are still living.

John F. Maassen was ten years of age when his parents left Rock Island County, Illinois, and came to Scott County, Iowa, and consequently received part of his education in Illinois and a part of it in this state. Owing to the fact that his father had such a large amount of land, he remained upon the home farm until he was thirty years of age, assisting his father until a few years before his death, and then assuming the management of the home place until his marriage in 1899. After his marriage, he rented land from his father until 1908, and then bought two hundred acres in Lincoln Township, which was part of the family estate. He has improved his farm with all the modern conveniences, having his home lighted with gas and heated with a furnace. He has erected a fine country home at a cost of four thousand dollars and equipped it with all the latest conveniences and improvements. Mr. Maassen is one of those sterling German farmers who take an int! erest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his community. He is a man who has the courage of his convictions upon the issues of the day. In 1913 he had seventy acres of corn, which yielded him about forty-five bushels to the acre, a low average, due to the dry season.

Mr. Maassen was married in 1899 to Sophia PAUSTIAN, who was a native of Cedar County, Iowa, her birth having occurred there in 1874, and to this union have been born three children who are living with their parents, Lillie Reimer and Edna.

In politics, Mr. Maassen has supported the policies of the Democratic party, but has never held any public office other than that of township trustee, a position which he is holding at the present time. He and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran Church, are very much interested in its welfare and to its various activities contribute generously of their means. By his persistent advocacy of wholesome living, honesty in business affairs, and sterling integrity of character, Mr. Maassen has long enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who know him and justly merits a place in this volume of biographical memoirs of his county.

Note: These people are buried at Avoca, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa

Mr. Pratt belongs to the church of Latter Day Saints. In politics, he is a Greenbacker, having been elected to township offices on that ticket; he is a member of the M.P. Society.

NATHAN SHERWOOD, farmer, P.O. Weston, was born in Delaware County, Ohio, June 6, 1837, son of Lewis and Lockey (ADAMS) SHERWOOD, natives of New Haven County, Conn., he, a farmer, born November 1, 1794, and is still living with his only daughter, Sarah, in Clinton County, this state; she, born December 13, 1798, and died September 15, 1867. They were the parents of nine children - seven sons and two daughters - of whom six are living. Our subject received a common school education in his native State and has followed farming all of his life. In 1857, he came to Clinton County, this state, where he lived for seventeen years, after which he moved to Harrison County, this state, living in that county for four and a half years, when he came to this county and settled in Norwalk Township, where he stayed until 1880, in which year he purchased his present farm of 160 acres of improved land, on which he has since remained. He was married in his native county in Ohio, April 4, 1865, to Isabella E. JOHNSON, born in the same county August 3, 1843, daughter of Harvey and Julia Jane (HASKINS) JOHNSON, natives also of Delaware County, Ohio, he born October 27, 1810, and is still living in his native county; she born in 1813 and died October 21, 1845. Mr. And Mrs. SHERWOOD have four children - Dellie C., Jennie O., Sarah H., and Harvey Lewis. The Sherwood family are descendants from three brothers who came to this country about one hundred years ago. Our subject's father was one of the earliest settlers in Berlin Township, Clinton County, this state, at which time he entered land at $1.25 per acre. He was in the War of 1812 and now draws a pension. Although eighty-nine years old, his life has been one of hard work. Our subject is a member of the Methodist Church and his wife of the Baptist Church. He is a strong Republican and a member of the Masonic fraternity.

Name: Smith, Henry A.
Page: 995-996
Submitted by: Constance Diamond, 2003.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.


Henry A. Smith, now living in the village of Macedonia, has for a long period been connected with the farming and stock-raising interests of the county and is now engaged to some extent in carpentering and building. His birth occurred in this township, October 13, 1857, his parents being Stephen and Mary (Frain) Smith, who are now residing in Grove township, this county, where the father follows farming, to which pursuit his entire life has been devoted. In their family were four sons and a daughter: George M., who is now living practically retired in Tabor, Iowa; Willard E., whose home is in Macedonia township; Clara V., the wife of C. E. Bogue, of Glenwood Springs, Colorado; and Arthur J., at home.

The other member of the family is Henry A. Smith, who was reared to the occupation of farming and has always resided in this county. He was a pupil in the public schools and when he had mastered the common branches of English learning, he turned his attention to agriculture pursuits as a life work. He has prospered in his undertakings, bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation, and through his practical and progressive methods of tilling the soil has secured good crops, which have brought a very satisfactory price on the market. He is now the owner of two excellent farms in Macedonia township, one comprising one hundred and twenty acres of land and the other containing eighty acres. He now leaves the active work of the farm to others, but still gives personal supervision to his places. In 1901 he removed to the village of Macedonia and erected a residence, which he has since occupied. For five years he was engaged in the hardware business but has now retired from commercial pursuits. He is, however, engaged to some extent in carpentering and building and is thus identified with the improvement of the town.

Mr. Smith was married, in Grove township, in 1883, to Miss Ella Travis, a native of Jefferson county, Iowa, and unto them have been born three children: Grace, Fae and Harry, all at home.

In his political views Mr. Smith is a republican and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have frequently called him to position of political preferment, so that he has filled all the township offices. He has been trustee, township clerk and in Grove townships now serving as a member of the council. His duties have been discharged with promptness and fidelity and his worth as a public-spirited citizen is widely acknowledged. He belongs to the Masonic Lodge at Macedonia, and he and all his family are members of the Christian church of Grove township. In the community they are much esteemed and their circle of warm friends is an extensive one.

After the death of his wife Elisabeth in Adams County, he married Sarah Winegar. Their children were Rhoda Ann, Hiram, Samuel Carolos [Lot] and Abraham who married Olive Melissa Knopp. Several children died in infancy.

In the fall of 1847 Stephen Smith helped some friends and relatives move to Council Bluffs and he stayed there through the winter. Due to illness in the family and bad weather John Smith did not come all the way until April of 1848. He built the first house in what is now known as Macedonia Township and lived there six or seven years, In 1853 or 4 he built a house in Grove Township. He build a saw mill on Farm Creek and on Jordon Creek. Up until then the pioneers had been making their houses of round logs. However, the elements were against him and his saw mills were either washed away or damaged so badly he gave it up and devoted his life to farming. We know that he had a kind heart because when the Mormons were sick and starving out along the Platte he and some of his sons took some grain to the mill to be ground and took it to them so they could bake bread at least.

He served several terms as commissioner of his township and was a member of the County Board when the courthouse at Council Bluffs was built.

John Smith helped organize the first Religious Organization in Grove Township around 1863 and a church was built on the road north of the McKenzie Blacksmith shop near the Lawrence and Hollis Frain farm. Some of the first members were John Smith and wife Sarah, E. W. Knopp and wife, A. J. Fields and wife Sarah, James Otte and wife Mehitable, Levi Greybil [Graybill] and wife Patience, John Winegar and wife Eizabeth, Joseph Smith and wife Rachel and Stephen Smith. John Smith was president of the organization. John and Sarah and many of their descendants wre buried in the Latter Day Saints Cemetery in Grove Township.

Children of Stephen Smith and Mary Catherine Frain were Henry, George M., Mrs. Clara Bogue, Willard and Arthur.

Children of Peter Frain and Lydia Smith were George, Elisabeth, Mary and Margaret.

Name: Smith, Stephen
Page: 1066-1067
Submitted by: Constance Diamond, 2003.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.


Stephen Smith, now living retired but still residing on his farm on section 27, Grove township, came to Pottawattamie county about the 1st of November 1847. On this day he arrived in Council Bluffs, where he spent the winter. In the following April his father arrived in Macedonia township, bringing his family with him, and there he built the first house within what is now the borders of the township. John Smith, the father, resided there for eight years or more, and in the fall of 1853 or 1854 became a resident of Grove township, settling on section 8, where he continued to reside until his death occurred, in 1870, when he was seventy-two years of age. His remains were interred in the cemetery of the Latter Day Saints in Grove township. He was a farmer by occupation and at one time he built the first saw-mill on Farm creek, which he operated for several years, thus becoming associated with the industrial development as well as the agricultural interests of the county. In politics he was originally a Whig, but upon the dissolution of that party became a Republican. He served for several terms as supervisor from his township and was a member of the county board when the first courthouse at Council Bluffs was built. As a determined pioneer and influential citizen he was well known in this county. His birth had occurred in North Carolina and he had resided for some time in Indiana prior to coming to Iowa. The wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Martha Koonts, was born in Indiana, and from that state they removed to Adams county, Illinois, where the death of Mrs. Smith occurred, in 1840.

Stephen Smith was born in Henry county, Indiana, January 28, 1836. His father wedded a second time, having wedded Miss Sarah Winegar in Adams county, Illinois, after losing his first wife. She accompanied her husband to Pottawattamie county and died here in 1882. By the two marriages there were seven sons and six daughters. Those of the family who came to Pottawattamie county were: Mary, Patience, Hannah, Elizabeth, Lydia, Rhoda, Anna, Stephen, Joseph, Hiram, Carlos and Abraham. Two brothers of the family died in early childhood. Of the children Stephen, Lydia and Abraham are still living, the sister being a resident of Cheyenne county Kansas, while the brother makes his home in northwestern Nebraska.

Stephen Smith was eleven years of age when he came with his father to Pottawattamie county. In Illinois he had attended subscription schools, but owing to the fact that this county was a frontier district in which the homes were widely scattered he had no educational advantages in this locality. He has always followed farming as a life work. In early days he underwent the hardships, privations and experiences incident to pioneer life and performed the arduous task necessary to the development of a new farm , but as the years passed he was very successful and now is enabled to live retired in the enjoyment of all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.

In Mills county, Iowa, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Mary C. Frain, who was born May 31, 1837, and was brought to Iowa at an early period in its development when about five years of age. The family home was established in Cedar county, where both father and mother died. To her husband she has been a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey and they have reared a family of five children: Henry A., living in Macedonia; George M., of Fremont county, Iowa; Mrs. Clara V. Bogue, of Eagle county, Colorado; Willard E., a farmer of Macedonia township; and Arthur J., at home.

Mr. Smith of this review was reared in the faith of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, but is not connected therewith at the present time. In politics he is an earnest Republican, having supported the party since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has served in various township offices and as township trustee altogether for about seventeen years, a fact which indicates his fidelity to duty and the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellowmen. Wherever known he is held in high esteem and his good qualities entitle him to the record which is uniformly given him, while his close application and industry in business have justly merited the success that has came to him through his farming operations

Name: Smith, Williard E.
Page:
Submitted by: Constance Diamond, 2003.
Source: History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1907
From the Earliest Historic Times to 1907
By Homer H. Field and Hon. Joseph R. Reed; 1907, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.


Willard E. Smith, who is engaged in general agriculture pursuits on section 27, Macedonia township, was born May 12, 1865, in Grove township, this county, and is therefore a representative of one of its old families, his parents, Stephen and Mary (Frain) Smith, being still residents of Grove township. Their family numbered four sons and a daughter: Henry, of Macedonia; George, of Tabor; Clara, the wife of Charles Bogue, of Colorado; Willard E., of this review; and Arthur, at home.

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Willard E. Smith in the days of his boyhood and youth. He remained with his parents until he attained his majority, with the exception of two years spent in Colorado and Montana -- 1884 and 1885. He was engaged mining in the former state and was employed upon a ranch in the latter. He then returned home, was married at the age of twenty-one years and started out his life on his own account as a farmer of Grove township. He first rented one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he cultivated for three years, and on the expiration of that period he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Macedonia township, where he resided for three years. On selling that property he made investment in two hundred and forty acres, constituting the northwest quarter and the west half of the southwest quarter of section 24, Grove township, which he now owns. In March, 1905, however, he bought his present farm and took up his abode upon this place, comprising one hundred and eighty acres on sections 22 and 27, Macedonia township. He therefore has a total of four hundred and twenty acres in the two farms and is cultivating both tracts, raising grain and stock. He is a large stock feeder and shipper, and his business is bringing to him a very gratifying financial return.

Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Smith was married in 1887 to Miss Susan Knox, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio, October 21, 1867, and came here at the age of ten years with with her parents, Andrew and Matilda (Young) Knox, natives of Ireland, who were married, however in Massachusetts. The family home was established in Grove township when Mr. Knox brought his wife and children to Iowa and upon the farm which he there developed and cultivated both he and his wife spent their remaining days. Unto Mr. & Mrs. Smith have been born eight children: Ruby, Lois, Lottie, Ralph, Dart, LeRoy, Violet, and Lyle. The family attend the Presbyterian church and Mr. Smith belongs to Ruby Lodge, No. 415, A. F. & A. M., of Macedonia. For one term he served as trustee of Grove Township, but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, although he gives stalwart allegiance to the Republican party.

Starting in business for himself after his marriage, Mr. Terry now has a nicely improved farm about two miles north of Crescent City. Mr. and Mrs. Terry have one child, born January 2, 1879.

HERBERT M. THOMAS, farmer, Council Bluffs, was born February 24, 1847, at Jacksonville, Vt., and is the son of R. C. and Mary Ann (BASSETT) THOMAS. He had three brothers and three sisters. Coming to Hardin Township while quite young, most of his education was obtained in the common schools of Hardin Township. His whole life has been spent on a farm. In 1857 he moved with his parents from their home in Vermont to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, his father settling on the farm where he has lived ever since. Mr. Thomas lived on the old farm till in November 1869, when he was married to Mary L. SMITH, daughter of John Godfrey and Johanna Christina SMITH. Her parents moved from Germany to Indiana; from there moved to Iowa, and are still living, and following farming. After getting married, Mr. Thomas moved to his present home, where he has a farm of 240 acres, made by his own industry. He also has three sons. Mr. Thomas is, as his father, a Republican in politics. The father of Herbert M. Thomas, R. C. Thomas, is one of the oldest citizens in Hardin Township, being born in Wilmington, Vt., in 1809, and is the son of Nathaniel and Hannah (CUMMINGS) THOMAS. His father was born in Salem, Mass., and mother in Vermont. Mr. R. C. Thomas, when only nine years old, was sent from his home in Vermont back to Massachusetts, where he learned the boot and shoe trade. He remained there till he was twenty-one years old, when he returned to Vermont and worked at his trade there till he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1857 and has been on the place he first improved ever since. In the year 1844 or 1845, he was married to Mary Ann Bassett, daughter of Jonathan and Army (MOORE) BASSETT, and was born in Vermont. Their family consisted of four sons and three daughters, of whom two sons and one daughter are still living; also his wife is still alive. When they first settled in Hardin Township, there were only one or two houses between Keg Creek and Council Bluffs, a distance of about twelve miles, except now and then a log hut along some of the streams, belonging to the Mormons.