1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
Page Index:
Coughlin |
Jacobs |
Dreier |
Doyle |
Poling |
Hack |
Slaughter |
Leuschen
The furniture and undertaking business of Portsmouth, Iowa, is in the hands of Patrick M. Coughlin, who has been identified with the business life of this town for the past six years. He is of Irish descent and has inherited all those rare characteristics which make the Irish citizen welcome everywhere. He possesses a fund of wit and humor and a genial disposition which easily makes friends, and he has built up a trade in Portsmouth and vicinity which speaks well for his honesty and integrity.
Patrick M. Coughlin, son of Thomas and Margaret (Haggerty) Coughlin, was born March 17, 1871, in Canada. His parents were both natives of Ireland and lived there until after their marriage. They then came across the ocean and settled in Canada, where Thomas Coughlin farmed in the summertime and worked in the winter in the timber camps. In 1874, the Coughlin family moved to Crawford County, Iowa, and remained there until 1879, when they permanently located in Washington Township, Shelby County. Here Thomas Coughlin bought 80 acres of unimproved land and farmed so successfully that, at the time of his death November 30, 1897, he was the owner of a well improved tract of 600 acres. He was a man of influence in the county's early history and was prominently identified with a large number of its enterprises. His wife died in 1912. Eight children were born to Thomas Coughlin and wife: John, Ellen, Elizabeth, Thomas, Margaret, Patrick, Michael and Mary.
Patrick M. Coughlin was only three years of age when his parents moved from Canada to Crawford County, Iowa, and eight years of age when they moved to Shelby County. He received his education in the schools of Crawford and Shelby counties, and later attended a business college at Omaha, Nebraska. After returning from Omaha, he farmed with his father, and after the latter's death, he took charge of the large home farm. In 1908, he disposed of his farming interests and moved to Portsmouth where he purchased a butcher shop. He continued in that business until 1913, when he bought the furniture and undertaking establishment of John Pheiffer, and has been successfully conducting that establishment since that time. He keeps a large and well selected stock of up-to-date furniture, and his store enjoys a large patronage in the town and surrounding territory.
Mr. Coughlin was married November 16, 1897 to Anna Korth, daughter of Peter and Anna (Leinen) Korth, and to this union have been born five children: Gertrude, Mary, Margaret, Anna and Rosella.
The family are all earnest members of the Catholic Church and are liberal contributors to its support. Mr. Coughlin is a member of the Knights of Columbus. Politically, he is allied with the Democratic party and has served as constable of Washington township and as councilman of the city of Portsmouth, giving his fellow citizens faithful and efficient service in both capacities.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1020-1021. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
One of the youngest farmers of Cass Township, Shelby County, Iowa, is Nicholas M. Jacobs, now living on the farm where he was born a quarter of a century ago. Of German parentage, he has all the good characteristics of the German farmers of this county. Although a young man, he is already one of the progressive farmers of his township.
Nicholas M. Jacobs, the son of Nicholas and Margaret Jacobs, was born in Cass Township, Shelby County, Iowa, in 1889. His father was born in Germany in 1851, and he came to this county when he was 17 years old. He located in Keokuk County, Iowa, working there as a farm laborer for five years. Then he moved to Shelby County where he bought 40 acres of land. A few years ago, Nicholas Jacobs, Sr. rented his farm and retired to Portsmouth where he now lives.
Nicholas Jacobs, Jr. received all of his education in the district schools of Cass Township and remained on the farm until he was 21 years old. He then rented land from his father and has since been renting land in the townships. He now has charge of 200 acres of well improved land. In 1913 he had 90 acres of corn averaging 80 bushels to the acre, and in 1914, one hundred five acres of corn and thirty acres in oats. He also keeps high grade livestock.
Mr. Jacobs was married in 1910 to Matilda Micholski, who was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin, in 1889. She is the daughter of August Micholski who is now farming in Harrison County, Iowa. Mr. Jacobs and wife are the parents of two children: Raymond and Evelyn.
Politically, Mr. Jacobs is a Democrat, but so far has never taken an active part in politics. He and his family are members of the Catholic Church. He maintains his membership in the Roman Catholic Mutual Protective Society.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1021-1022. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
A prosperous merchant and public spirited citizen of Portsmouth, Iowa, is DANIEL T. DOYLE, proprietor of a general mercantile establishment in that city. He is a young man of splendid ability and has already demonstrated his qualifications for a business career. He comes from an excellent family and has all those qualities which characterize the men of affairs.
Daniel T. Doyle, the son of PATRICK and HANNAH (BARRY) DOYLE, was born in 1888 in Ireland. His father was also a native of Ireland, his birth having occurred in 1855. At the time of his death in 1894, he was the owner of 120 acres of excellent land in that county. Hannah Barry, mother of Mr. Doyle, was born in London, England, in 1866, of Irish parentage and died in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1913. Six children were born to Patrick Doyle and wife: Michael, who is now serving in the United States Army and located in Honolulu; Mamye, who married O. S. Kennison, is now living in Omaha, Nebraska; Patrick of Neola, Iowa; Loretta, who is living in Omaha; Eugene, deceased; and Daniel T., whose history is here briefly portrayed.
Daniel T. Doyle was only six years of age when his father died, and when twelve years of age, he went to make his home with a man by the name of M. O'Connor, who is now his partner in the store at Portsmouth. He received a good common school education, and from the time he was twelve years of age has been interested in the mercantile business, either as a clerk or owner. The store in which he has a half interest is well stocked with such goods as are usually found in general mercantile establishments in towns of this size. It has built up a large and lucrative trade in the town and surrounding community. Mr. Doyle bought a half interest in the store with M. O'Connor April 20, 1914.
Mr. Doyle was married in 1912 to Alice McDERMOTT, who was born in 1885 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and is the daughter of THOMAS McDERMOTT. Mr. And Mrs. Doyle have one son, Patrick T.
Mr. Doyle and his wife are loyal members of the Catholic church. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus. Politically, Mr. Doyle is affiliated with the Democratic party, but the demands of his business have been such as to prevent him from taking an active part in political affairs. He is a man of optimistic disposition and genial manner whose integrity has never been questioned.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1025-1026. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
Chris Dreier, a farmer of Shelby County, has been a resident here for the past 30 years. Born of German parents, he has all the thrift and industry which characterize that people. The application of these qualities has made him one of the substantial men of Cass township. He is a man of energy and determination and everything to which he lends his hand is brought to a speedy conclusion. Shelby County is largely indebted to its German farmers and business men for the material prosperity of the county. Without question, these citizens from across the sea have contributed in no small measure to the high position which this county holds today among its sister counties.
CHRIS DREIER, the son of Chris and Anna (Gottburg) Dreier, was born in 1872 in Schleswig Holstein, Germany. His father was born in 1845 and his mother in 1849, coming to America in 1885 with their children. After coming to America, Chris Dreier, Sr. and family located in Shelby county and a year later rented 40 acres of land in Cass township. Chris Dreier Sr. continued in active farming until 1909 when he retired to Persia, Iowa, where he and his wife now live. He now owns 143 acres of land in Cass township as well as two lots in Persia. Five children have been born to Chris Dreier Sr. and wife, only two of whom are living.
Chris F. Dreier, Jr. was 13 years of age when his parents moved from Germany to Shelby County, Iowa. As a lad in this county, he herded cattle on the plains for two summers, and then began farming for his father. In 1901 he invented a rail joint which was constructed in such a way that it would prevent the rails from sagging at the joint. He has not yet placed his invention on the market. He has taken out patent on his invention, but has not organized a company for its manufacture, or attempted in a definite way to put it on the market.
Mr. Dreier has a half interest in his father's farm, and since his father moved to Persia in 1909, he has been in active charge of the farm. An interesting incident occurred in the life of Mr. Dreier when he was about 17 years of age. Late one summer he saw a prairie fire coming across the plains directly toward the barn. In order to save the barn, Mr. Dreier removed his dress coat to fight the flames. Fortunately, he did not have much difficulty in staying the fire, and the barn was saved, although he suffered a loss from the burning hay and other crop.
Mr. Dreier was married in 1909 to LENA DOHRMAN, who was born in Germany in 1883. His wife came to this country the same year they were married. Three children have been born to Mr. Dreier and wife: Chris, Erma, and Herbert.
Mr. Dreier has always exercised the privilege of an American citizen and voted for the man whom he believed to be the best qualified for the position. He has served as trustee of Cass township, and in this capacity has given efficient service. He is a man of public spirited ideas and gives his hearty support to all worthy measures. The family are members of the German Lutheran Church.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1034-35. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
A man of wide experience in the business world is Martin H. POLING who has been a resident of the city of Harlan for the past eight years. He is
essentially a self-made man and whatever success he has attained has been solely through his own efforts. For many years he worked at the
blacksmith trade, and in this way secured an intimate as well as thorough knowledge of iron. It is not surprising, in view of his early training, that he has
made a pronounced success of the iron industry since becoming connected with the Gopher Iron Company of Minnesota. He was the kind of a man who
knew when opportunity knocked at his door and when he had a chance to become financially interested in the iron industry, he felt that here was the
chance for which he had been looking. Such men are a credit to the community in which they live, and Mr. Poling well merits the name of being one of the representative men of his city and county.
Martin Hamilton Poling, the son of Martin and Peree (CARPENTER) Poling, was born March 27, 1859, in Jasper County, Iowa. Both of his parents were
natives of West Virginia. His father received his education in his native state, and shortly after his marriage moved to the state of Ohio where he farmed a few years. As a young man, he had learned the carpenter's trade but upon moving to Ohio engaged in agricultural pursuits. From Ohio, Martin Poling, Sr., moved to Van Buren County, Iowa, but remained in that county only a short time on a farm. He next located in Mahaska county, Iowa, where he engaged in the general mercantile business for a few years. his next move took him into Jasper County, Iowa, where he farmed and followed his trade as a carpenter until 1865. In the latter year, he became one of the first settlers in Shelby county and lived the remainder of his life in this county. He purchased a farm of eighty acres near Bowman's Grove and farmed it until he retired in 1889, his death occurring January 12, 1907; years before, his wife passed away, her death occurring october 7, 1888. Martin Poling Sr. was a justice of the peace for several years prior to his death and made an excellent reputation as an adjudicator of difficult cases. He was recognized as a man eminently fair in all his decisions and the older citizens of the county can remember the crowds which used to attend the trials over which he presided. In fact, so well were his decisions given that the higher courts never had occasion to reverse any of them. At the time of his death, he was one of the best known and best loved men in the whole county, a man whom everyone for years had recognized as one of the best citizens of the county.
The education of Martin H. Poling was received in the school at Bowman's Grove. After leaving school he assisted his father on the home farm for a short time and then learned the trade of a blacksmith, which occupation he followed for twenty years in the town of Irwin, Iowa. He then became interested in the real estate business in Irwin. In this line of endeavor his business increased so rapidly that in 1906 he felt it necessary to move to the county seat. While he is still personally interested in this sphere of activity, Mr. Poling has devoted the greater part of his time and attention in the last few years to the financing of the Gopher Iron Company of Minnesota, one of the largest and best known iron companies of that state. In fact, the business of the company is increasing at such a rapid rate that he is being compelled to withdraw from his real estate activities to devote more of his energy to the iron industry. While he has been connected with the company a comparatively short time, yet he has demonstrated that he has marked ability along this particular line and is forging to the front as one of the prominent men in the iron business in the state of Minnesota.
Mr. Poling was married February 4, 1880, to JOANNA TAGUE, daughter of Ephraim and Phoebe (WARD) Tague. Mrs. Poling's parents were born in Indiana and Jackson County, Illinois, respectively. Mr. Tague came to this county when a young man, married here and farmed until his death, May 27, 1912. His wife is still living. Mr. Tague and wife were the parents of thirteen children, seven of whom are still living: Joanna, Mrs. Mary Carter, George, Ephraim, Frank, Roy and Noah.
Mr. Poling and his wife have reared a family of five children: Vinnie Mae, Grace Edna, Guy Hamilton, Orpha June and Agnetta Jane. Vinnie M. is the wife of Earl Branson and has one child, Normal. Grace E. is the wife of Edward L. Tyler. Guy H. married Zelpha Vandevener and has one son, James. Orpha J. is the wife of Harry Fisher. Agnetta J., the youngest child, is still single and makes her home with her parents.
The family are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and always are ready to assist its interests in every way. Politically, Mr. Poling is a
Republican but is not taking an active part in politics at the present time. While living in Irwin he served in the city council and was president of the school board for a number of years. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons while his wife holds her membership in the Eastern Star.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1309. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
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.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 915-922. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
A self-made farmer and stock raiser of Shelby township, Shelby county, Iowa, is Ura B. Slaughter, who has attained success in this
county by overcoming many difficulties. Coming to this county in 1882 when a lad of eleven, he made his home with his uncle until he reached his
majority, and since that time he has been dependent upon his own resources. That he has been successful is shown by his fine farm of 300 acres, on
which graze more than a hundred head of Polled Angus cattle the year around. As a stock raiser, he easily ranks among the best in the county, and no
small part of his material success is due to his skill in handling livestock. He is a man of sterling qualities, highly respected by his neighbors and a man who has been a leader among his fellow citizens.
Ura B. Slaughter, son of Andrew and Rhoda (BELL) SLAUGHTER, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1871. His parents both were born in the
same county in 1847. His father died in 1874, when he was only three years of age and his mother later came to Shelby County where she lived until
1902. Andrew Slaughter and wife were the parents of two sons, Ura B. and George, both of whom are prosperous farmers of this county.
Ura B. Slaughter received part of his education in Muskingum County, Ohio, and finished it in the schools of Shelby County, Iowa. On coming to Shelby
County, he made his home with his uncle, Jesse SUTTON, a prominent man of the county. His uncle gave him every advantage and being a man of
strong character, exerted a very helpful influence on his nephew. Mr. Slaughter is free to confess that his uncle gave him a father's care, and tht he owes much of his success in life to the excellent training and discipline he received at the hands of his uncle.
Mr. Slaughter remained in the home of his uncle until he reached his majority and then started to work out as a farm hand in Shelby Township. Four
years later he married and rented a farm from his uncle, but within a few years he was able to buy a farm of his own. The three hundred acres, which he
has accumulated since his marriage in 1896, is sufficient proof that Mr. Slaughter has been more than usually successful. He is one of the largest
farmers of the county, and farms 560 acres of rented land besides his own farm of 300 acres. As a breeder of Polland Angus cattle, he ranks among the
best, not only in the county, but in the state of Iowa, and always has from 150 to 200 head of this excellent breed of cattle on his farm. He also handles
Percheron horses, and finds a ready sale for both his horses and cattle.
Mr. Slaughter was married in 1896 to OLIVE B. MILLER, daughter of Frederick Andrew MILLER, an early settler of Shelby County, and she was born
in Shelby Township in 1876. To this union have been born five children: Ralph A., Howard, Gladys B., Donald H., and Helen B. of these children, Ralph
and Howard are deceased, while the other three are still living with their parents.
Politically, Mr. Slaughter is identified with the Republican party and has always taken an active interest in the local affairs of his party. He was nominated and subsequently elected trustee of his township in 1910 and for two years held this position, filling it to the entire satisfaction, not only of his own party but of all the citizens of the township. He and his family are earnest members of the Presbyterian Church, to whose support they are generous
contributors. Mr. Slaughter is a man of high ideals and such has been the wholesome character of his life that he is universally accorded the respect and esteem of everyone who knows him.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 990-991. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
Click photo to enlarge
The man who has spent forty years in this county is justly entitled to the honorable title of pioneer, and the historian of this volume is glad to find so many of the early settlers of Shelby county represented in the list of citizens presented in this book. A life of forty years in this county covers practically all the active history of the county, and Benedict Leuschen has been a participant in the various activities here for that length of time. Coming to Westphalia township in 1874, he has had the satisfaction of taking an active part in every movement which promised to benefit the county, and that he has done his part well is evidenced in the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens.
Benedict Leuschen, the son of Nicholas and Anna Mary (MULLITOR) Leuschen, was born June 7, 1848, in Schoenecken, Germany. His father was a school teacher for four or five years and then learned the cabinet maker's trade, following it the remainder of his life. To Nicholas Leuschen and wife were born eight children: Benedict, whose interesting career is here briefly set forth; Elizabeth, the wife of John SCHMITZ; Valentine; Magdalena, the wife of John Hansen; Katherine, the wife of Nicholas THIELAN; Frank; Susan, who is still living in Germany on the old homestead; and Nicholas, who died young. The mother of these children died in 1850 and the father in 1881.
Benedict Leuschen attended school in his home town of Schoenecken and, being a young man of much more than ordinary ability, taught school for a few years, as his father had done before him. He then learned the cabinet maker's trade with his father and followed this until he was married in the summer of 1875. He decided to come to America in 1871 and with high hopes and enthusiasm he set out on the voyage across the broad Atlantic. That was a memorable June when he came across and first settled in Chicago, where he spent the first eight months working at his trade. Benedict followed his trade of cabinet making in Chicago and then went to Mattoon, Illinois, where he and five other men engaged in the furniture making business, but the panic of 1873 put them out of business.
He then came to Shelby county, Iowa, and bought a small farm of forty acres in Westphalia township. There were no improvements upon the land and he put up a rude cabin until such a time as he could afford a better home. That he prospered as the years went by is shown by his present farm of two hundred and eighty acres, which is one of the best improved farms in the county. Not only has Mr. Leuschen prospered materially but he has at the same time taken a prominent part in the various communal activities of his township. For ten years he was a school director and he was one of the organizers of the Westphalia Fire Insurance Company, a mutual company which has been of great benefit to the citizens of this county. He has been the secretary of the company since its incorporation, twelve years ago.
Mr. Leuschen was married May 22, 1875, to Anna Mary NOLLES, the daughter of Joseph and Anna Mary (FINKEN) Nolles, and to this union there have been born eight children: Joseph, who married Susan SCHWERY and has seven children, Beatrice, Benedict, Adelaide, Leonard, Dorothy, Walter, and an infant; Nicholas, who married Elizabeth THIELAN, and has three children, Hilda, Henrietta and Mary; Lena, the wife of Henry Thomas (deceased, 1911), and the mother of two children, Benedict and Henrietta; Mary, the wife of William HARGARTEN, of Saskatchewan, Canada, and the mother of one son, Benedict; Frank, who married Rosa Pulvemacher, of Canada, and has two children, Loretta and Winifred; Matthew and Benedict, both single; Katherine, the wife of Anthony Gosser. The mother of these children died March 16, 1911. Her parents were both natives of Germany, and after the death of her mother in her native land, her father and the children came to this country, arriving here in 1872. He located in Mills county, in this state, with his four children: Lena, John, Valentine and Barbara. The fifth and other child was Mrs. Leuschen. Mr. Nolles died in 1900.
Mr. Leuschen has supported the Democratic party since coming to this country. He and all the family are devout Catholics and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 732-733. Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
|
