1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
Page Index:
A Langenfeld |
N Langenfeld |
A Smith |
Bohuk |
Heese |
Nelson |
Rogers |
Custer
One of the substantial farmers of German ancestry in Washington township who has borne his share in the general welfare of his township for many years is August LANGENFELD, the owner of 280 acres of fine farming land. August Langenfeld, son of Christian and Joanna (ACKERS) Langenfeld, was born January 20, 1858 in Langenfeld, Germany. His father was a farmer in his native land, buying a small farm at the time of his marriage and operating it with all the thrift and frugality which characterized the farmers of that country. In 1869 Christian Langenfeld decided to come to America where his children would have better opportunities. The family first settled in Fond Du Lac county, Wisconsin, where Christian bought a farm of 80 acres and lived for about 15 years. He then came to Shelby county, Iowa and purchased 80 acres of land in Westphalia township on which he lived until he retired to Earling, where he is now residing. To CHRISTIAN LANGENFELD and wife have been born 9 children: Katherine, wife of Joseph GOESER; Jacob, who married Anna K. LEFFELMAN; Anna Marie, wife of Fred LOEHR; Nicholas, who married Katherine KRUPP; August, who married Anna K. FREUND; Katherine, wife of John SHIMEROSKI; John, who married Mary WEILAND; Michael, who married Josephine LOCKMAN; and mary, wife of William WILWERDING.
August Langenfeld was 11 years of age when his parents came to this country and consequently received the rudiments of an education in his native land. He went to school for a short time after coming to this country, then worked upon the farm with his father until his marriage. Upon his marriage he moved to Johnsberg, Fond Du Lac county, Wisconsin, and engaged in business in that place for several years. Wishing to get out of business and engage in farming, he left Wisconsin and came with his family to Shelby county, Iowa, and purchased 280 acres in Washington township. Since acquiring the farm he has built a modern country home, commodious barns, and other outbuildings, making his farm one of the most attractive places in the county. Mr. Langelfeld was married November 22, 1881, to ANNA K. FREUND, born in Johnsberg, Wisconsin, July 19, 1858, daughter of Peter and Catherine FREUND, natives of Germany and to this union have been born 9 children: John, Joseph, Albert, Rose, Henry, William, Dora, Christian and Eulalia, six of whom are still living with their parents. John married Helen STEPHENY and has three children, Marcella Katherine, Mildred Katherine, and Anna Marie. Joseph married Rosa HEISE and has two children, Benita Elizabeth and Coleta Katrina. Albert married Anna BYERS and has one child, Elvira. The family are all devoted members of the Catholic church and Mr. Langenfeld is a members of the Catholic Knights of America. Politically he is a Democrat but confines his activity along political lines to the casting of his vote.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1397.
Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
Click photo to enlarge
This land of ours owes a debt of gratitude to the stalwart and sturdy European races whose sons have come in large numbers, especially during the past half century, when there was a crying need of sterling men to assist in the work of winning and developing the western states from their primitive wildness. The people of Germany have formed a large contingent and have ever been most welcome owing to their willingness to give their best efforts to this work. Almost without exception they have been industrious, law abiding, willing to upbuild and support our institutions and while holding their native land in grateful remembrance, yet at the same time they cherish their adopted country. Among the hundreds of German citizens who have made Shelby county, Iowa, their permanent home, there is no one more worthy of mention than Nicholas Langenfeld, one of the most substantial farmers of Shelby county.
Nicholas LANGENFELD, the proprietor of five hundred acres of farming land in Union township, was born January 20, 1855, in Germany. He is a son of Christian and Johanna (ECKES) LANGENFELD and received all of his education in his native land. Christian Langenfeld farmed with his father until he was married and then his father gave him a small tract of land, which, in addition to a farm which he bought, made him a very respectable tract. He continued farming successfully in his native country until 1869, when he felt that he would be able to give his children much better opportunities in the United States than they could ever receive in their native land. At that time there were hundreds and thousands of Germans coming to the United States, and a great majority of them at that time were settling in Wisconsin. Accordingly, in that year, Christian Langenfeld came to this country and settled in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, and here he lived until 1885, when he moved to Shelby county, Iowa, and located in Lincoln township. He bought a farm here of eighty acres and lived upon it until all of his children were married. He then retired from the active labor of the farm and moved to Earling, where he lived until his death, in 1906, his widow surviving him until 1909. Christian Langenfeld and wife were the parents of nine children: Kate, the wife of Joseph GOESER; Jacob, who married Katherine LEFFELMAN; Annie, the wife of Fred LOEHR; Nicholas, whose history is here presented; August, who married Katherine FREUND; Katherine, who became the wife of John SCHIMEROSKI; John, who married Mary WIELAND; Michael, who married Joseph LACKMAN, and Mary, the wife of F. W. WILWERDING.
Nicholas Langenfeld attended school in his native land and when his parents came to the United States, in 1869, was fourteen years of age. He worked upon the farm of his father in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, until 1881, and then went to North Dakota, where he worked for two years. In 1883 he came to Shelby county, Iowa, and rented a farm, living upon it for four years. He then purchased one hundred and sixty acres, on which he is now living, and by frugal and thrifty habits, has increased his land holdings until he now has five hundred acres of fine farming land in this county. He has two large barns, erected in 1891 and 1898. In 1905 he built a modern residence, at a cost of six thousand dollars, of twelve rooms, with hot water, bath room, gas and every modern convenience. He raises large crops of all kinds of grain common to this section of the state, and makes heavy shipments of live stock each year.
Mr. Langenfeld was married on February 19, 1884, in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, to Katherine KRUPP, the daughter of John and Clare Krupp, and to this union have been born ten children: Casper, Clara (died at the age of six and one-half years), George, John, Dora, William, Wilhelmina, Francis, Frederick and Odelia. Casper married Annie PETSCHE, and has two children, Felix and Alma; George J. married Anna SCHMITZ, and has one son, Leo. The reader is referred to the sketch of George J. Langenfeld, which is found elsewhere in this volume. The rest of the children are still unmarried and living with their parents. The Krupp family was also a German family and came to this country and settled in Calumet county, Wisconsin, in the early sixties. They lived there the remainder of their lives, rearing a family of five children: Bernard, Casper, Jacob, John, and Katherine, the wife of Mr. Langenfeld.
Politically, Mr. Langenfeld is a member of the Democratic party and has always been more or less interested in local politics. He has served as township trustee and also on the school board of his township, giving universal satisfaction in both capacities. He and his family are earnest members of the Catholic church, while Mr. Langenfeld holds membership in the Knights of Columbus.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 712-714.
Family Researcher: NA
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
A business which is never overcrowded and in which there is always a fair profit is that of contracting. It is no small honor to have helped build a great
many of the houses in Shelby county, and Alexander SMITH, a prominent bulding contractor of the county seat, is responsible for the erection of a great
many of the houses now standing. It is safe to say that no man in the city of Harlan today has been more active in advancing its interests than has Mr.
Smith, since locating here 20 years ago.
Alexander SMITH, son of Richard and Angeline (HENNING) SMITH, was born in Muscatine, Iowa, May 1, 1863. His father was a native of Ohio and his
mother of Muscatine County, Iowa. His father's birth occurred in 1829. Richard Smith was reared and educated in his native state and farmed and
hunted game until he came to Iowa. He arrived in this state several years before the Civil War and married in the early sixties. He was the father of three children by his first marriage to Angeline HENNING, one who died in infancy, Jerritt, and Alexander. His first wife died in 1866, after which Mr. Smith married Henrietta SEXTON, and to his second marriage one daughter, Adeline, was born, his second wife dying shortly after the birth of this daughter.
Alexander SMITH was educated in the schools of Muscatine County, Iowa, and early in life began to learn the trade of a mason. He came to Shelby
County, Iowa, when he was 20 years of age and located in Earling, where he remained for 12 years. While living in Earling, he was married and during
the 12 years that he resided in that place, he became known as one of the most successful building contractors of the county. In 1895, he removed with
his family to Harlan, and has since made the county seat his permanent home. He had previously been interested in the erection of many houses in the
county seat, and decided to move there in order to take care of his increasing business.
Mr. Smith was married April 8, 1884, at Omaha, Nebraska, to Hannah FRIEDRICKSEN, daughter of Andrew and Trenia FRIEDRICKSEN, and to this union
six children have been born, Effie, Roy, Tillie, Amy, Andrew and Hilda. Three of these daughters are married. Effie married Peter JOHNSON and has
three children, Harold, Margaret, and Bernice. Tillie is the wife of Frank JOHNSON, and has two children, Ilene and Walter. Amy is the wife of Walter
SCHALLER. Mrs. Smith's parents were natives of Denmark, and located in Avoca, Iowa, in 1876. Three years later, they moved to Shelby County, farmed for a few years and then moved to Harlan, where they are now living a retired life.
Mr. Smith and his family are all members of the American Baptist Church. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of the Maccabees,
and the Loyal Order of Moose. In politics, Mr. Smith has not allied himself with any particular party, preferring rather to cast his ballot for the best man,
irrespective of his political affiliations. He is a man of intelligence, who has ever been interested in the welfare of his community, and his hearty support
has always been given to such measures which he felt would improve the city in any way.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1481-82.
Contributed by: Mona Sarratt Knight
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
The American nation has been built up by emigration from every country in the world and to its shores have come adventurers and freedom loving people who are drawn here by their desire to enjoy that liberty which is guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and our constitution. The men who sat in the constitution convention of 1787 had the sagacity to foresee that such an asylum as they had to offer to the oppressed or those of limited opportunities of all lands, would result in its quick and satisfactory upbuilding. In proportion to population, no foreign country has sent so many desirable citizens to the United States as Germany. They have been coming to this land for more than two hundred years and incalculable and far-reaching good has been accomplished by them in every phase of our national life. Of this large number, the BOHUK family of Shelby County, Iowa, is a sterling representative.
Hans F. BOHUK, the son of Hans F. and Christina BOHUK, was born May 4, 1868 in Germany. His father came to the United States in 1870 and located
in Clinton County, Iowa, where he first started in to rent and later bought a farm of his own. He devoted his entire life after coming to this country to the
tilling of the soil and passed away in 1875, a highly respected and honored citizen of the county in which he settled, his wife dying in the same year. They were the parents of five children who are living and one who is deceased: Christina, the wife of Peter PETERSEN; Lena, who married Andrew CLAUSEN; Anna, the wife of Augustuc SMITH; Emma, who became the wife of August PLAIN; Hans F. Jr., whose history is here presented, and Mary, who died at the age of five years.
Hans F. BOHUK was only two years of age when his parents came from Germany and settled in Clinton County, Iowa. He received his public school
education in the schools of Clinton and Jackson Counties, Iowa, and from his boyhood worked upon his father's farm. After his marriage, he moved to
Walnut, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he lived sixteen years, nine of which he spent upon a farm and the remainder of the time working on the
railroad as a section hand. In 1910 he moved with his family to Shelby County and rented the three hundred and sixty acres in Monroe Township where
he is now living. He has been a successful farmer, dividing his attention between the raising of crops and livestock in such a way as to bring about the
best results. Because of the success which he has attained he is classed among the progressive farmers of his township.
Mr. BOHUK was married in 1892 to Amelia PAULSON, daughter of Fred PAULSON and wife, all natives of Germany, and to this union have been born ten
children: Mata, Alfred, George, Herbert, Annetta, Leona, Verna, Edward, Hans, and Emma. All of these children are living except Alfred, who died at the
age of seventeen years. The mother of these children died December 7, 1913. She was a consistent member of the Lutheran Church, and a woman
who was loved and respected by everyone who knew her. Mr. BOHUK is a member of the Woodmen of the World. Although he has been a resident of
this township but a comparatively short time, yet he has won the respect of his neighbors by his close application to his own affairs and the interest which he takes in all measures pertaining to the welfare of his community.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 901.
Contributed by: Mona Sarratt Knight
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
It is the progressive, wide-awake men of affairs who make the real history of a community, and their influence as potential factors of
the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples of such men furnish of patient urpose and steadfast integrity, strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. No higher class of citizens are to be found in this county than those who have come here from Germany, for without exception, they have been men of high character and good business ability. They are found in every line of activity and wherever they locate they soon make an impression upon the community as men of sterling worth.
One of the leading German residents of this county is John C. HEESE, a prosperous lumber and coal dealer of Earling. He is the son of John and Anna
(DREXELIUS) HEESE, and was born April 15, 1858, in Westphalia, Germany. His father was a farmer in his native land and gave him a farm of sixty-five
acres upon his marriage. He continued to farm until 1876 when he disposed of his farm and came to this country with his family and settled upon a farm
of one hundred sixty acres in Westphalia township, Shelby County, Iowa. He added to his land holdings from time to time until, at the time of his death, he owned two hundred twenty acres in this county. He retired from active work in 1882 and moved to Earling, where he resided until his death, February 14, 1899, at the age of seventy-eight. His wife was born June 1825 and died in Earling, September 26, 1894. John and Anna HEESE were the parents of four children: Henry, who married Amelia KUHL; Peter, who married Bertha SASSE; Bertha, the wife of Emil ZIMMERMAN; John C., whose career is here
briefly set forth.
John Carl HEESE attended school in his native land and after leaving school was apprenticed to a carpenter in order to learn the trade. He continued to
follow that trade until he came with his parents to America, but when his father located upon a farm in Shelby County, he assisted on the home farm. He
remained with his father until 1880, when he resumed the carpenter's trade, following it until 1886, when he opened a lumber and coal yard at Earling, a
business which he has since followed with marked success. He now has one of the largest and most complete lumber yards in the county and has built
up a trade which extends for many miles in every direction. He is a man of keen business ability, and because he has followed strict rules of honesty in
all his dealings with his customers. In addition to his business interests in Earling, he owns five hundred forty four acres in this county and one hundred
sixty acres in Colorado.
Mr. HEESE was married November 26, 1885, to Mary E. GOLOBITH, the daughter of John and Rosina (NIPP) GOLOBITH. Her father was born in Austria,
her mother in Switzerland, and they were married in Dubuque, Iowa. Mrs. HEESE is one of seven children, the other six being Rosa, Mary Elizabeth,
Katherine, Theresa, John and Annie. Mr. GOLOBITH was a farmer all his life, dying in 1894, his widow now living with her daughter, Mrs. HEESE.
To Mr. and Mrs. HEESE have been born eleven children: Mary Rosa, Anna Margaret, Cecelia Rosalia, Matilda Theresa, Magdalena K., Joseph, Albert,
Emil, Cornelia Bertha, Alphonso John, and Marcus Valerious. Mary Rosa is the wife of Joseph A. LANGFELD and has two children, Beneta and Coletta.
Anna Margaret married Matthew SCHOMERS. Cecelia Rosalie is the wife of A. N. FINKEN and has two sons, Sylvester and Austin. Matilda Theresa
married John S. FINKEN. All the remainder of the children are single and living with their parents.
The Democratic party has claimed the support of Mr. HEESE although he is not a blind partisan in any sense of the word. He is a farm believer in good
government and votes for the men whom he thinks will give the citizens the best service in public office. He and his family are zealous members of the
Catholic Church and are deeply interested in its welfare. Mr. HEESE is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a secret society for men of Catholic faith.
He has tried to live a consistent and praiseworthy life and that he has succeeded is indicated by the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens throughout the county.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1193-95.
Contributed by: Mona Sarratt Knight
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
Thomas K. NELSON, president of the Nelson Gas Engine and Automobile Company of Harlan, Iowa, inventor of the NELSON gas engine, the engine that
has become so famous among its users, was born in Elitzhoi, Denmark. He came to America with is parents in 1872, locating on a farm in Shelby
County, Iowa. Here he went to school and spent his early years working on the farm. Even in boyhood, however, Mr. Nelson was mechanically inclined
and, following this inclination, he moved to Harlan and secured employment with Cass & McArthur who were engaged in manufacturing plows,
cultivators, buggies, wagons, sleds, scoopboards, etc., also doing repair work of all kinds. He remained with this form about six years and mastered
practically every branch of the business. Being ambitious and anxious to get in business for himself, Mr. Nelson then bought a half interest in a
blacksmith and machine shop with Mr. H. P. HANSEN, where they did all kinds of repair work. In 1892 he sold out his interest to take a position as
foreman in the machine shop with Sunderland and Anderson, who started a new machine shop, foundry, and planing mill in Harlan, Iowa, at that time.
Here he served one year, when, upon the dissolution of this company, Mr. NELSON moved to Council Bluffs to work for the Ogden Iron Works Company,
manufacturers of Ogden automatic steam engine and other specialties. Here he worked for a short time and then secured employment with the Phoenix
Foundry and Machine Company at Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked until he came back to Harlan and bought the foundry and machine shop
equipment that he formerly had charge of and started again in business for himself, doing all kinds of machine and foundry work. In 1898, Mr. NELSON
invented a gasoline engine naming it after himself. After giving this engine a thorough test, both for power and also on practical work, and finding it
satisfactory, he put it on the market where it has proved a great success.
At this early date, the gasoline engine was in its infancy. Mr. Nelson states that at that time, it was impossible to secure any literature that would furnish
him the desired information regarding the construction of gasoline engines, as at that time an engine of this character was almost a curiosity.
Mr. Nelson operated this shop for about nine years. He employed several skilled mechanics and worked up a nice business. He made and sold a good
many of these engines in various sizes which have given the best of satisfaction. Owing to the limited facilities and the increased demand for these
engines, it became necessary to increase the capacity to take care of the demand. In 1903, he organized a company known as the Nelson Gas Engine
and Automobile Company, which is incorporated under the laws of the State of Iowa. Mr. Nelson being one of the principal stockholders. He also is
taking an active part in managing the business. Mr. Nelso is experienced in every branch of the business and can make an engine from the ground up.
He knows a gasoline engine from start to finish, as well as steam engines, automobiles and other machinery in a theoretical way. In 1905, Mr. Nelson
built himself an automobile, the first automobile built in the county, which he has run many thousands of miles. It has been the means of getting much
business for his company. This automobile was a two-seated touring car with a three cylinder air-cooled engine. At this writing, Mr. Nelson is working
out a gas tractor, a two-cylinder opposed, seven and one-half by eight, and also a four cylinder vertical, six and one half by eight inch stroke, and has high hopes that these tractors will meet with the same degree of success that the Nelson engine always has enjoyed. The company built a two-cylinder
traction engine about eight years ago. This engine has been in almost constant use ever since and has proved itself a success.
Mr. Nelson's wonderful business success has been attained by perseverance and practical work, careful observation, and mechanical ability together
with a high sense of initiative to carry out his ideas.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1318.
Contributed by: Mona Sarratt Knight
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
One of the most successful young farmers of Fairview township, Shelby County, is Arthur N. ROGERS, who was born in the county
where he has spent his entire life. From his boyhood days, he determined to be a farmer and, with a fidelity to duty and a persistency of purpose, he has
succeeded to a marked degree in his chosen life work. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, a tireless energy and everyday common
sense, which qualities have contributed not only to his own individual success, but also enabled him to be an important factor in the moral and material
life of his community. He comes of a very highly honored pioneer family of the county, his father having settled here before the Civil War.
Arthur N. ROGERS, the son of Nels and Sarah (JOHNSON) ROGERS, was born July 17, 1882, in Shelby County, Iowa. His parents were natives of
Indiana and came to this county in 1864. Nels Rogers located in Monroe township, where he accumulated a farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres
before his death in 1904. He took a very active part in the organization and development of the county, and was a typical pioneer of the early days. To
Nels Rogers and wife were born nine children: Bradford, who died at the age of 18 years; Amanda, the wife of George JEPSON; Douglas; William; Mary,
who died at the age of thirty-two and was the wife of Charles HARRIS; Ezekiel, who died at the age of thirty-seven; Warren, who died at the age of
twenty-seven; Arthur, whose history is here presented, and Esther, living at Casey, Iowa.
Arthur N. Rogers received a good education in the common schools, attending the district schools during the winter season and assisting his father on
the farm during the summer vacations. In this way, he gained an intimate knowledge of the various phases of agriculture so that when he started in to
farm for himself, he made a success from the beginning. He began farming immediately after his marriage in 1906, on a rented farm in this township,
but three years later bought his present farm in Fairview Township. It comprises two hundred acres of excellent farming land, on which he raises such
crops as are usually grown in this section of the state. He is considered one of the most scientific farmers of the county and keeps well informed on the
latest agricultural methods. He keeps a large amount of livestock on his farm and has found it more profitable to sell his corn on foot rather than on cob.
Mr. Rogers was married in 106 to Nellie LAWLESS, daughter of John Lawless, and to this union have been born three children, Mary, Bessie, and Philip.
Mrs. Rogers was born and reared in Shelby County. (end)
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 839-40.
Contributed by: Mona Sarratt Knight
Note to Genealogists:
This family appears in the 1870 census for Shelby County, Iowa, as follows. Please note spelling errors by the census taker. Apparently Nels Rogers
must have sounded like Lewis Rogers to the census taker:
ROGERS, Lewis, age 30, farmer, born Indiana
ROGERS, Sarah J., age 25, keeping house, born Ohio
ROGERS, Brafford, age 7, at home, born Iowa
ROGERS, Amanda J., age 6, at home, born Iowa
ROGERS, Douglas, age 4, born Iowa
ROGERS, Wm. J., age 2, born Iowa
Note: It is believed that Sarah J. Rogers was the daughter of Dr. W. J. JOHNSTON of Shelby County, Fairview Township. She had a brother named
Brafford Johnston (Johnson).
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
Click photo to enlarge
A retired farmer, gallant soldier and public-spirited citizen of Shelby County, Iowa, is Henry CUSTER,
who is now spending his declining years in the county seat of his county. His family has been prominent in the
communities in which they have lived for more than a hundred years.
John CUSTER, a native of Virginia, the great-grandfather of Henry Custer, moved from Virginia to Ohio about the year
1800, and bought three hundred acres of land near Goshen, Ohio. He had to walk back to Washington, D.C. in order to
get the deed for his land. A few years later, he sold his farm in Ohio to a Michael BANGHORT of New Jersey. In 1810,
Emanuel, the son of John Custer, came from North Carolina, where he had moved from Virginia when a young man, and
bought fifty acres of the farm which was originally owned by his father in Ohio, and this same fifty acres is still in
the Custer family. Emanuel Custer and wife were the parents of five children: John, who bought out the heirs of the
old Custer farm; Betsey, Henry, Mary, and Ward. The heirs of Percy, the son of John Custer, still own the fifty-acre
farm. Henry was the father of the subject of this sketch.
Henry Custer, Sr., was born in Ash County, North Carolina, on April 22, 1807, and died in 1885. His wife, who was
Elizabeth BURKETT, was born in 1808 in North Carolina and died in 1887. Henry Custer and wife were the parents of
twelve children: John, Rudy, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Jonathan, Abraham, Henry, Catherine, Caroline, Benton C.,
and one who died in infancy. Of these children, Benjamin, Caroline, Henry, Abraham, and Benton C. are still living.
Emanuel Custer, the grandfather of Henry Custer, moved to Ohio from Ash County, North Carolina, and settled in Clermont
County, Ohio, in 1821, where Henry Custer Sr. grew to manhood, married and then moved to Putnam County, Indiana, where
he farmed until 1852, after which he migrated to Shelby County, Iowa, and located on a farm in 1852. They had little
provender and decided to return to Mills County, Iowa, where they lived until March 1863. Henry Custer Sr. owned a
Mexican War veteran's land warrant for 80 acres and purchased 280 acres additional, making 360 acres in section 3 of
Fairview Township.
Henry Custer Jr. was born in Fountain County, Indiana, May 26, 1844, and was the eighth child born to Henry and
Elizabeth (BURKETT) Custer. The other children were born in the same county. Henry Custer Jr. was eight years of age
when his parents moved from Indiana to Illinois, and he was about eight and one-half years of age when they located in
Shelby County, Iowa. His education was very limited, due to the poor facilities afforded by the schools of his boyhood
days. He farmed with his father until he was 21 years of age and then married and rented a farm for one year, after
which he bought a farm in Center Township. He bought 40 acres of land, for which he paid two dollars and a half an
acre, but sold this farm in a short time and bought his present farm of 160 acres. He farmed from the time he came
home from the Civil War in 1865, until 1909, when he removed to Harlan to spend his declining years.
Henry Custer was eighteen years of age when he enlisted, on August 14, 1862, in Company A, 29th Regiment Iowa Volunteer
Infantry. He enlisted for three years, but on account of disability, he only served ten months. He has the unique
honor of being one of fifty-two men who enlisted from Shelby County, Iowa, which shows how meager the population of
this county was in 1860. Before his regiment was made up, he was with Companies A, B, and C of the 29th Iowa, fighting
the Indians in the western part of Iowa. With his regiment, he marched through Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansa,
and Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico. He was in the battle of Columbus, Kentucky, which lasted two days and in Feruary
1863, he was in the sharp engagement at Helena, Arkansas. Then he fell a victim to the measles and was finally
discharged from the service on account of ill health, due in large measure to the poor medical attention which he
received.
Immediately after the close of the war, Mr. Custer returned to Shelby County, where he has since resided. When he came
here, in the fifties, there were deer and elk roaming the plains, and even a few buffalo were still to be found. He
and his father made buckskin jackets and pants, and thus added to the meager family income by the same of these
substantial garments. There is probably no man now living in the county who is better acquainted with the development
of the county than Mr. Custer, and certainly there is no man who has been more deeply interested in its advancement and
welfare.
Mr. Custer was married January 22, 1865, to Catherine WRIGHT, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (COCHRAN) WRIGHT, and to
this union eight children have been born: Samantha, Jasper N., Perry, Mary D., Carl, Leroy, Jesse and Pearl. Samantha
became the wife of Fred DEWEY, and has five children: William E., Cecil, Hazel, Henry and Verle. Two of the Custer
children are deceased, Jasper and Perry. Mary is the wife of J. M. NOBLE, and has three children, Orphia, May and
Lotis. Carl married Samantha HOSKINS, and has seven children, Ira Harold, Mayme C., Henry H., Bernard, DeVerne, Clyde,
and Marvin. Leroy married Lola ROGERS and has one child, Vivian. Jesse is single. Pearl is the wife of Leroy
FERGUSON and has three children, Clara, Gladys and Ralph.
Mrs. Custer's parents, Thomas and Mary Wright, were born in Kentucky, her father's birth occurring in 1801, and her
mother's in 1807. The Wrights moved to Missouri when they were young and were subsequently married in that state.
They lived there until 1851, when they moved to Kanesville, Iowa, now known as Council Bluffs. Mr. Wright lived only a
short time after moving there, and the mother passed away in 1865. Her mother was married a second time, to William
HENDERSON, and moved near Avoca, Iowa, where her husband died. She subsequently married Oretus GEAR and moved to
Shelby County near Cuppy's Grove, where she died in 1865. Mrs. Custer's mother had three children by her first
marriage: Amos (deceased), Catherine, the wife of Mr. Custer, and Mary.
Politically, Mr. Custer has long been identified with the Republican party and has been interested in its welfare,
particularly in local affairs. He has served as road supervisor of his township and has also been a member of the
school board, holding the latter position for eight years. He is a loyal and enthusiastic member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and has been the doorkeeper of the post of Harlan for the past ten years. During his residence of more
than 60 years in Shelby County, Mr. Custer has been a man of influence, and such has been his life that he has ever
retained the warm friendship of everyone who has come in contact with him. He is one of the grand old men of the
county and is eminently worthy of a place in the biographical annals of the county which he served so faithfully in the
Civil War and to whose interests he has devoted a long and worthy life.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 968-69.
Contributed by: Mona Sarratt Knight
|
To Page Index ---
To Bio Index
|
