1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa
Page Index:
Carmichael |
Chatburn |
C Christensen |
F Christensen |
M Christiansen |
N Christiansen |
H Claussen |
P Claussen |
Clothier |
Cobb |
Constable |
Cox
The Carmichael family have been residents of Shelby county, Iowa, for
more than forty years. They are of Scotch descent, and the father of Edwin
Carmichael, with whom this narrative deals, was for many years one of the
largest farmers in Shelby county. His father is now living a retired life in
Harlan after a long career of usefulness in the county. Mr. Carmichael is
an enterprising and progressive farmer and has one of the best farms in the
county. He is an extensive breeder of Poland-China hogs and Polled-Angus
cattle. He has shipped some of his prize winning animals to many states in
the Union. He is a man of kindly disposition and charitable impulses and
has a large circle of friends and acquaintances throughout the county.
Edwin H. Carmichael, the son of Hugh and Margaret (McCall) Carmichael, was born in Vermilion, South Dakota, in 1872. His father was a
native of Scotland, his birth occurring there in 1836. He came to America
with his parents, Dugald and Sarah (Keith) Carmichael, in 1851. In 1856
the family removed from Livingston county, New York, to Canada. In
1867 Hugh Carmichael came to Missouri Valley, Iowa, where he lived a few
years, and then went to South Dakota. The grasshopper plague drove him
out of South Dakota and he came to Shelby county, Iowa, in 1874, where he
has since lived. Seven children were born to Hugh Carmichael and wife,
Douglas, Margaret, John, Edwin, Anna, Donald and Sarah Ann. The reader
is referred to the sketch of Hugh Carmichael, elsewhere in this volume, for
further details concerning the Carmichael family.
Edwin H. Carmichael was two years of age when his parents located in
Shelby county, Iowa, and his entire life has been spent in this county since
that time. He received a good common school education in the schools of
his home neighborhood and remained at home until he was twenty-four.
His father then gave him two hundred acres of land, to which he has since
added one hundred and sixty acres in Grove township, and one hundred and
sixty acres in Harrison county. He has placed at least eight thousand dollars' worth of improvements upon his farm and now has a beautiful country
home where he resides. He ranks among the most successful breeders of
Poland China hogs and Polled-Angus cattle in the county and has met with
marked success in the stock raising industry. He has forty acres of natural
timber on his farm, a share in the Farmers' Co-operative Lumber & Elevator
Company at Dunlap, and is connected with various other interests in the
county.
Mr. Carmichael was married in 1897 to Catherine Shields, who was born
in Illinois in 1873. She left there with her parents, John and Agnes Shields,
when she was five years of age and settled in Harrison county, Iowa. Both
of her parents are now deceased. Six children have been born to Mr.
Carmichael and wife, five of whom are living, Hugh, Claire, Anna, Marjorie
and Ronald. Edwin is deceased.
Mr. Carmichael is independent in his voting and prefers to cast his ballot for men rather than for platforms. He has served as trustee of Grove
township for four years, during which time he interested himself in everything pertaining to the duties of that office, and served with universal satisfaction. He has a large acquaintance throughout the county and is universally esteemed because of his many good qualities.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 834 - 835.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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Prof. George Richard Chatburn was born near the pioneer village of
Magnolia, Harrison county, Iowa, December 24, 1863. His father, Jonas
Wellington Chatburn, was born at Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, March
11, 1821 and his mother, Mary Burton Chatburn, at Wiswell, Lancashire,
England July 26, 1821. They were married at Whalley church, Whalley;
Lancashire, England, December 25, 1839. J. W. Chatburn died at Harlan,
Iowa, March 31, 1902, and his wife at Harlan, Iowa, March 12, 1900.
J. W. Chatburn attended private school and worked with his father
until he was about 12 years old, when he was apprenticed to a calico printer
and worked in a plant belonging to Richard Cobden, the eminent English
statesman and earnest advocate of the repeal of the "corn laws." Chatburn
did not like the calico printing business and as soon as his term of apprenticeship ended took up the trade of his father, that of a locomotive engineer.
From 1840 to 1844 he was an active participant in the Chartist movement
and with many others came under the ban of the British government.
Being threatened with arrest if he did not give up his principles, he decided
to emigrate to America, where "a man was free to do as he pleased." As
soon as possible after arriving in this country, he took out naturalization
papers, and his interest in our republican form of government never diminished. After a very stormy voyage of six weeks' duration, during
which the food supply had become salt water soaked and unfit for use, the
family landed in New York in the latter part of the summer of 1844.
They settled in Philadelphia, where Chatburn secured a job running the
engine of a large woolen factory. About 1849, through the influence of a
"missionary," Mr. and Mrs. Chatburn joined the Mormon Church and in
1850 started for Utah. Arriving at Council Bluffs (Kanesville) in August,
1850, Mrs. Chatburn learned that polygamy was being practiced, by the
Mormons, and refused to go farther. Mr. Chatburn worked as carpenter,
millwright and farmer in and near Council Bluffs until 1852, when he and
family removed to Harrison county, Iowa, where a claim was staked out.
Later this land, 160 acres, was purchased from the government at one dollar
and twenty-five cents per acre. It was one mile east of the present town site
of Magnolia.
Chatburn dammed Willow creek, which ran through his homestead,
and in partnership with Steven Mahoney built a saw mill. This mill sawed
the first lumber manufactured in Harrison county. Later, Chatburn made
a pair of buhr-stones from "nigger-heads," a sort of hard granite bowlder,
worn round by glacial action, found on the prairies, and with these were
ground the first corn meal and flour manufactured in the county. The first
wheat flour ground was "bolted" through a veil which Mrs. Chatburn had
brought from Philadelphia, and was used to make a wedding cake for one
of the early marriages in that county. The success of that mill led to the
erection of a flouring mill by Davis & Chatburn, about 1864, near Woodbine on the Boyer river. Thomas Davis, of this firm, was an early settler of
Omaha, and the father of F. H. Davis, now cashier of the Omaha First
National Bank.
When this mill was sold in 1867, Chatburn moved to Harlan, the county
seat of Shelby county, Iowa, and there built a mill on the Nishnabotna river,
which he operated till his death, 1902. This mill for many years was a
land mark in western Iowa, and is yet standing although a drainage ditch,
straightening the Nishnabotna river, has been constructed a few feet east
of the mill.
While J. W. Chatburn was always interested in politics, he held but
few political offices. He served as county judge and as member of the
county board of supervisors of Harrison county, for many years was coroner
of Shelby county, and served a term as mayor of the city of Harlan. Some
years after moving to Harlan, Mr. and Mrs. Chatburn united with the
Reorganized, i. e. the monogamous, branch of the Latter Day Saints' Church
and remained consistent members of that branch till death.
To Mr. and Mrs. Chatburn were born seven children, one of whom died
when a small child. They are: Thomas W. Chatburn, Independence, Missouri; Mrs. Jane E. Burcham, Defiance, Iowa; Mrs. Mary E. Roberts, Danbury, Iowa; Mrs. Margaret A. Chatburn, Albion, Idaho; Mrs. Cecile J. Tinsley, Deadwood, South Dakota; George R. Chatburn, Lincoln, Nebraska.
One of the Chatburn ancestors was Jonas Knowles, an English soldier,
serving under the Duke of Wellington, in the wars in Spain and India, and
against Napoleon, his last battle being Waterloo. It was he who gave
the father of Prof. Chatburn the name, Jonas Wellington. The Burton
family, according to tradition, lost their land through confiscation during
one of the civil wars in England. For many years the British court of
chancery sent notices to the family asking the mother of Professor Chatburn
to prove heirship to an estate.
Prof. Chatburn attended the public schools of Harlan, Iowa; entered
the Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, in 1881, and graduated with the degree,
B. C. E., in 1884; took a post graduate course in theUniversity of Nebraska,
receiving the degree A. M. in 1897; received the degree C. E. from the Iowa
State College in 1910.
In the fall of 1883 he secured a four months' term of school in Jackson
township, Shelby county, Iowa. After three and one-half months he was
taken sick with mumps and upon recovery asked the director to be excused
from filling out the remainder of the term. The director replied: "With
pleasure." In the thirty years since that time, Prof. Chatburn has not
been able to satisfy himself as to just what the director meant. After
graduation in 1884, he accepted a school in Fairview township, Shelby
county, and taught it for two four-months terms, receiving $35 and $40
per month. In the fall of 1885 he was elected to a position in the Plattsmouth, Nebraska, high school, and remained there four years. In 1889, he
was elected superintendent of the Humboldt, Nebraska, city schools, where
he remained two years. He was then elected superintendent of the Wymore
schools, where he remained three years. In 1894, Chancellor Canfield of the
University of Nebraska invited him to take a position as instructor in mathematics, in the university. Upon arriving at Lincoln, he was given half-time work in mathematics and half-time work in the department of civil
engineering, since which time he has been promoted to the positions of
adjunct professor, assistant professor, and associate professor to professor.
In 1895, he was advanced to the position of associate professor of applied
mechanics and machine design, at which time it was ordered that the department of mechanical drawing should be merged in the new department, of
which Professor Chatburn was made the head. The department of applied
mechanics and machine design is yet the department of which he is the
head. He has general supervision of the instruction in theoretical mechanics, mechanics of materials, the testing of materials of construction and the
testing of road materials. He also has general oversight of all the work
in engineering, drawing and machine design. He has taught for many years
and is still teaching for the department of civil engineering the subject of
"roads and pavements." As head of the department, he has oversight of
everything pertaining to the department, such as direction of the laboratories
and drawing rooms, and expenditures necessary to the work of the department. He has as subordinates, a full professor, an associate professor and
an assistant professor, besides a number of student assistants. At present,
as a member of the faculty, he is a chairman of the committee on delinquent
students, chairman of the committee on student organization, chairman of the
committee on student loan fund, and chairman of the committee on course of
study in the engineering college.
Professor Chatburn has had extensive practical experience in civil
engineering, being one summer in the office of the surveyor-general of
Nebraska; one summer with the city engineer of Sioux City; two summers
on paving work for the city of Lincoln; three summers with railroad companies, on maintenance of way and construction work for the B. & M.
R. R., and for the C. & N. W. Ry.
While teaching in the public schools, he was an instructor in the county
teachers' institute of Shelby county, Iowa, and in the counties of Richardson, Cass, Gage, Johnson, Nuckols and Lancaster in Nebraska. He served as trustee of the public library of Humboldt, Nebraska. He is a Republican
in politics. When a small boy he was baptised into the faith of the Reorganized church of the Latter Day Saints. At present he attends the Second
Presbyterian church, where his wife and daughter belong. He has been
prominent in the Masonic circles, and has held the position of past master
of Lincoln lodge Number nineteen, A. F. & A. M.; is a member of the
Knight Templar, Mt. Moriah Commandry Number Four, and is past commander; is grand patron of Electa Chapter Number Eight, Order of the
Eastern Star, and belongs to others. He is a member of the following
scientific and educational societies: Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education. Member of Council; American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow; National Geographic Society; American Society
for Testing Materials. Member committee to formulate methods of testing
and specifications for drain tile; Nebraska. Academy of Science; Nebraska
Good Roads Association, past president; Nebraska State Teachers' Association; past president of the Northeastern Nebraska Teachers' Association;
O. L. D. Good Roads Association: National Good Roads Association; member of the honorary societies of Sigma Xi, Sigma Tau, and Phi Kappa Phi;
Lincoln Commercial Club, member of committees on good roads, garbage disposal and library.
Prof. Chatburn was married at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, July 21, 1889, to
Miss Anna Murphy. She is a daughter of M. B. Murphy, pioneer, railway
postal clerk, grocer, city marshall, and a member of the city council. Mrs.
Chatburn attended the public schools of Plattsmouth and at the time of
her marriage was a teacher in those schools. She is a member of the Second
Presbyterian church of Lincoln, past matron of Electa Chapter Number
Eight, Order of Eastern Star; member of the Woman's Club, and, at present,
president of the Plattsmouth Club. She is also a member of the Debora
Avery Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Prof. and Mrs. Chatburn are the parents of two children, Mary Frances
Chatburn, born at Humboldt, Nebraska, April 6, 1891; and George Richard
Chatburn, Jr., born at Lincoln, Nebraska, September 9, 1900. A third child,
Alice Chatburn born at Harlan, Iowa, August 2, 1897, died August 3, 1897.
Sketches of the life and work of Professor Chatburn are found in the
following works: American Men of Science, edited by J. McKeen Cattell;
Science Press, New York; "Who's Who in Science," International, edited by
H. H. Stephenson, J. & A. Churchill, London; "Builders of Our Nation-Men of 1913," American Publishers' Association, Chicago.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1154 - 1158.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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It is a self-evident fact that the man who comes to this country from
Denmark without any money and becomes the owner of five hundred and
sixteen acres, as has Christian N. Christensen, is a man of more than ordinary
ability. This is more than many native born citizens have accomplished and
goes to show that we can take lessons in thrift from our adopted citizens.
Not only has Mr. Christensen accumulated a large tract of land but he has
also taken his share of the burdens of civic life. Such men have been largely
instrumental in placing this county where it is today and we owe a debt to
them which can never be repaid.
Christian N. Christensen, the son of Hans J. and Ellen (Jergensen)
Christensen, was born in 1860, in Denmark. His parents were both born in
Denmark in 1837 and never left the land of their birth, dying in 1905 and
1913, respectively. Hans J. Christensen and wife were the parents of five
children, four of whom are living.
The education of Christian N. Christensen was received in his native
land and when he reached the age of twenty-two he came to America. He
first went to Audubon county, Iowa, where he found work on a farm for two
years. He then married and bought eighty acres of land in that county and
by hard work and good management accumulated a farm of two hundred and
forty acres in Audubon county. He came to Shelby county in 1908 and
bought two hundred and eighty acres in Jackson township where he now lives.
Since acquiring the farm in this county he has made many improvements and
now has the satisfaction of seeing the farm pay him a handsome return on
his investment. He has a grove of fruit and forest trees covering seven
acres, one of the largest in the township.
Mr. Christensen was married in 1885 to Christena Nissen. She is the
daughter of Nis M. Nissen and was horn in 1863 in Denmark. To this union
have been born five children: Hans, a farmer of Audubon county; Mrs.
Hanna Claussen, Audubon county; Nis, single; and Elma and Hilda, who
are still living with their parents.
In politics, Mr. Christensen is allied with the Republican party and has
always been interested in local politics. While living in Audubon county he
served as school treasurer of his township. He and the rest of his family
are loyal members of the Danish Lutheran church and give it their hearty
support. Mr. Christensen has lived a busy and useful life since coming to
this country and is a sterling citizen who has performed his every duty in a
way which reflects honor on himself and credit to the land which gave him
birth.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 831 - 832.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The Danish citizens of Shelby county, Iowa, are worthily represented
by Fred H. Christensen, the present trustee of Jackson township, and a
man who has been a prominent farmer in this community for the past fifteen
years. He is a self-made man, and his fine farm of one hundred and twenty
acres is a tribute to his good management and industry, and while he has
devoted his time primarily to his own individual interests, yet he has been
prominent in the civic life of his community as well.
Fred H. Christensen, the son of Hans and Christena M. Christensen,
was born in Cass county, Iowa, May 2, 1877. His parents were both born
in Denmark, his father in 1854 and his mother in 1856. Hans Christensen
received a common school education in his native land, and at the early age
of sixteen came to America and located at Davenport, Iowa. He worked
as a laborer for some time in that city, and later removed to Cass county,
Iowa, where he bought a farm of eighty acres. He prospered and subsequently increased his holdings until he was the owner of one hundred and
sixty acres at the time that he retired from the farm and moved to Marne,
Iowa, in 1909. He and his wife are still living and enjoying good health.
Hans Christensen and wife are the parents of four children: Henry, who
married Victoria Gustason; Andrew, who married Lula Gunderson; Anna,
the wife of George Hansen, and Fred H.
The education of Fred H. Christensen was received in the district schools
of Cass county, Iowa, and after leaving school he remained on the home farm
assisting his father until he reached his majority. He then married and at
once moved to Shelby county, Iowa, where he rented a farm and began working for himself. After renting for six years he bought his present farm of
one hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, and has since made many
improvements upon it. He devotes the most of his time to stock raising
and feeds about seventy head of hogs for the market each year. His farm
is well equipped with the latest improved farming machinery, so that he is
enabled to get the maximum results from his labors.
Fred H. Christensen was married March 22, 1899 to Jorgenia Hansen,
born in Shelby county, October 21, 1878, the daughter of Hans and Sidsel
Marie (Hansen) Hansen, and to this union six children have been born:
Cecil Marie, Hans, Elmer, Arthur, Walter and Elva Marie. All of these
children are still living with their parents with the exception of Cecil Marie,
who is deceased.
The parents of Mrs. Christensen were both born in Denmark on the island
of Aro, and came to America in 1876, locating on a farm in Jackson township. The father died November 11, 1907, and the mother on February 17,
1887. Mr. Hansen and his wife reared a family of nine children: Knud,
deceased; Jorgenia Hansena, deceased; Knud, Hans P., Ellen M., Anna,
Engeborg, George and Jorgenia Hansena, wife of Mr. Christensen. The
history of George Hansen which appears in this volume gives further information concerning the Hansen family.
Mr. Christensen and his family are all loyal and consistent members of
the Danish Lutheran church. He is a Democrat, and has taken an active
part in the political life of his community. An indication of his worth as a
citizen is shown by the fact that he has been school director and is now filling
the important position of trustee of his township. In both capacities he has
given faithful and efficient services, and thereby proved himself the good
American citizen.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1139 - 1140.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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In 1884, there came to Shelby county, Iowa, a Danish youth of twenty.
He had just enough money to bring him to this country and to Shelby county,
Iowa. For the first few years Michael Christiansen worked as a farm hand
and then bought a small farm and started in for himself. As the years rolled
by he prospered and today he owns five hundred and sixty acres of land.
Such, in brief, is the career of Michael Christiansen, who is an honored resident of this county.
Michael Christiansen, the son of Christian and Mary (Larsen) Hansen,
was born in Denmark, September 30, 1864. Both of his parents were natives
of Denmark and came to this country in the same year, buying eighty acres
in Douglas township. Chris Hansen retired immediately after coming to this
country and he and his wife lived with one of their daughters. Christian
died November 2, 1894; his wife died in 1904, leaving a family of six children, all of whom are still living: Carrie, the wife of Fred Simonson;
Hans, who married Matilda Sorensen; James, single; Michael, the subject
of this brief review; Rebecca, the wife of C. J. Rold and Charles, who married Emma Andersen.
Michael Christiansen was educated in the schools of his native land and
at the age of twenty-three married. After working as a farm hand for a
few years he bought eighty acres of land in 1887, the same being part of his
present farm. He and his wife have worked together, saved and their labors
have been abundantly rewarded. Upon his farm he has placed several thousand dollars' worth of improvements, consisting of dwellings, barns and
several miles of fencing. He feeds about one hundred and forty head of
hogs and a car load of cattle each year for the market. In 1914, he had out
one hundred and twenty-five acres of corn which averaged fifty bushels to
the acre. The farm is well equipped with the latest improved machinery
for successful farming and everything about his extensive estate speaks of
the taste of the owner.
Mr. Christiansen was married February 2, 1898, to Mary Jensen, the
adopted daughter of Peter and Anna Jensen, and to this union have been born
eight children, five of whom are living: Anita, Perry, Bessie, Edward and
Lester. The three children who are deceased are Dora, Holger and Herbert.
Mrs. Christiansen's parents, Paul and Anna Jensen, were born in Denmark, and came to America in 1869 and located in Fairview township, Shelby
county, Iowa, where they lived the remainder of their lives. The father died
December 25, 1869 and his wife died in July, 1870. They were the parents
of two children, Mary, the wife of Mr. Christiansen and James, who married Sena Knudsen. Mrs. Christiansen was adopted by her uncle, Peter
Jensen.
Mr. Christiansen and his wife and family are loyal and consistent members of the Baptist church at Cuppy's Grove, and have always been interested
in its various activities. Politically, he has been a Republican and has taken
an active part in local political matters. He is now serving as a school
director and gives careful attention to the duties which fall to this office.
He is a man highly respected by everyone who knows him, and is such a man
as is entitled to the name of self-made citizen.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1125 - 1126.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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An enterprising farmer of German birth in Monroe township is Nicolaus
Christiansen, who has been a resident of this county since 1888. He came
here as a young man with no assets but a determination to succeed as a
farmer. He worked for a time as a farm hand and then rented land for a
few years until he was able to buy his present farm. His career has been
marked by hard work and ceaseless industry, and his present farm of one
hundred and twenty acres is a tribute to his ability.
Nicolaus Christiansen, the son of Hans and Ingburt (Jessen) Christiansen, was born August 4, 1859, in Schleswig, Germany. His father was
born in the same country in 1814 and died in 1900, while his mother died in
1877. Hans Christiansen was a life long farmer in his native land. Eight
children were born to Hans Christiansen and wife, seven of whom are still
living: Annie, Jacob, Marie, Andrew, Carson, John and Nicolaus. Hans is
deceased.
The education of Nicolaus Christiansen was received in the public
schools of his native land. After leaving school he worked on the farms in
his home neighborhood. As soon as he was old enough he joined the regular army of his country and served for three years. He then returned home
and farmed until 1888, when he came to America and settled in Shelby
county. Many of his countrymen had preceded him to this county, and the
glowing reports which they sent back concerning the fortunes to be made
here induced him to cast his lot with them. He had no money with which
to buy land so was compelled to work by day's labor for a time. After
his marriage in 1896 he bought his present farm of one hundred and twenty
acres, on which he has placed many improvements. He raises about forty-five acres of corn each year, and feeds all of his grain to his hogs, marketing
about fifty head each year.
Mr. Christiansen was married August 12, 1896, to Margaret Jave, the
daughter of John and Margaret Jave. His wife's parents were natives of
Germany, and came to America in an early day and settled in Shelby county.
Here John Jave purchased a farm and followed agricultural pursuits until
his death. The mother of Mrs. Christiansen is still living in Walnut, Iowa.
Three children have been born to Mr. Christiansen and his wife: Olga,
Herman and Edna, all of whom are still living with their parents.
Mr. Christiansen cast his lot with the Democratic party on coming to
America, but he has never taken an active part in the deliberations of his
party. He and his family are loyal and earnest members of the German
Lutheran church. Mr. Christiansen deserves a great deal of credit for the
success which has attended his efforts. He has so conducted himself in this
county as to command the esteem of those with whom he comes in contact.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1143 - 1144.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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The thirty years which Henry Claussen has spent in Shelby county, Iowa, have been sufficient to enable him to acquire a comfortable competence
for his declining years. He is now living a retired life in Shelby, Iowa, although he still retains his farm in the county. The Claussen family have
been prosperous farmers in this county for many years, and three of them have been prominently identified with the agricultural life of their respective
communities. They have never neglected to take their share of the burdens of civic life, and are truly loyal to their adopted country.
Henry Claussen, the son of Claus and Katrina (Tauck) Claussen, was born in Germany on September 16, 1860. Claus Claussen was born on
February 21, 1825, in Germany and came to this country with his family in 1884, although some of his sons had come here in 1881 and settled in Shelby county, Iowa. Katrina Tauck, the wife of Claus Claussen, was born in Germany on May 24, 1828, and died in Shelby county, Iowa, January 1,
1900. The father is still living with his son, Henry, in Shelby, and is now past ninety years of age and is the oldest living settler in Shelby county.
Claus Claussen and his wife reared a family of five children, four of whom are living, Peter, John H., Henry and Katharine, all of whom are living in
this county.
Henry Claussen left Germany in 1884 with his parents and consequently was twenty-four years of age when he arrived in this country. He received a good common school education in his native land and upon arriving in Shelby county, Iowa, began working for himself at once. He rented two hundred and forty acres of land in Shelby township, and in 1900 bought two hundred and forty acres. He operated this farm until 1909 and then bought one hundred and sixty acres in the northeastern part of Shelby township, which he still owns. Here he has put out a grove of fruit and
forest trees of five acres, which is one of the largest groves in the township. In 1908 he retired from active farm life and moved to Shelby, Iowa, where
he is now living. He has three lots on which he has built a beautiful, modern home at a cost of five thousand dollars. He is not married, and his
sister, Katharine, keeps house for him and his aged father.
Politically, Mr. Claussen has always been affiliated with the Democratic party since acquiring the right to vote in this country. He has not
been active in political affairs, although he is interested in everything which pertains to the welfare of his fellow citizens. He maintains his membership in the German Lutheran church, while, fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 958 - 960.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
Mr. & Mrs. Claus Claussen - Click photo to enlarge
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Though born and reared to manhood under political conditions differing radically from our own and retaining many warm and tender recollections of his childhood home in Germany, Peter Claussen, a well-known
farmer of Lincoln township, Shelby county, Iowa, is nevertheless loyal to
his adopted country and a great admirer of its laws and institutions. The
methods followed by him are those which ever insure ultimate success and
are those of the up-to-date tiller of the soil, and applied with an energy
which bespeaks the diligence of the man. He has never been known to
refuse his support to all worthy movements which make for the general
good of the community in which he has cast his lot and heartily favors
everything which he feels will advance the moral, intellectual arid material
interests of the county which he has chosen as his place of abode.
Peter Claussen, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Lincoln township, was born in 1863 in Germany, and is the son of Claus and Kathrine
(Tauck) Claussen. Claus was born in 1825 and came to this country with
his wife in 1885. His sons had previously settled in Shelby county, Iowa.
and the parents made their home with them. His wife was born in Germany in 1828, but died in this county in 1900. Claus Claussen and wife
were the parents of three children, one of whom is deceased, the other two
being prosperous farmers in this county.
Peter Claussen was educated in his native land, and with his brother,
John H., who is a prosperous farmer in this township, left Germany in 1881
in order to seek their fortunes in this country. They first settled in Clinton
county, Iowa, where Peter worked as a farm hand for the first two years.
In 1884 he came to Shelby county and for the next sixteen years rented land
in Shelby township. He then purchased his present farm of one hundred
and sixty acres of land in Lincoln township. He has made considerable improvements on this farm and has one of the largest groves of fruit and forest trees to be found in the county.
Peter Claussen has never married, having lived for several years with
a man and his wife, who occupy his handsome residence on his farm. Politically, he is a Democrat, but has never felt any inclination to take an active
part in politics. In his religious belief he is a loyal member of the German
Lutheran church and subscribes generously to its support. Mr. Claussen is
a fine type of the self-made man, having come to this country practically
penniless, and now being the owner of a fine farm in this county, which is
worth several thousand dollars. The history of such a man should be
stimulating to the youth who are now casting about in order to find something to do, as it shows what can be accomplished by a young man who is
determined to succeed, no matter what obstacles may appear in his path.
Mr. Claussen is a man of quiet and unassuming demeanor and is highly respected and esteemed by every one who knows him.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1184 - 1185.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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Among the citizens of Shelby county, Iowa, who have built up comfortable homes and surroundings for themselves with valuable personal property during the past generation may be mentioned Lehi Clothier, one of the
most successful farmers of Grove township. His parents were among the
earliest pioneers of the county, and Mr. Clothier was one of the first children
born in Grove township more than half a century ago. He was reared under
truly pioneer conditions and well remembers the discouragements which surrounded the early settlers of this county. As a result of the industrious life
he has led, Mr. Clothier is regarded by all who know him as a man of the
best type of American citizenship, unassuming, genial and obliging, who,
while advancing his individual interests, has not neglected his general duties
as a citizen of the commonwealth.
Lehi Clothier, the son of Eli and Caroline (Strohm) Clothier, was born
in Grove township, Shelby county, Iowa, in 1862. His parents were both
born in Ontario, Canada, his father in 1828, and his mother two years later.
They were married in Canada and came to Shelby county, Iowa, in 1861,
being among the earliest pioneers of the county. A short time afterwards
Eli Clothier took his family to Crawford county, this state, and shortly
afterwards removed to Michigan. He worked in saw mills and flour mills
of Michigan for a period of seven years, and then returned to Shelby county,
Iowa, where he purchased fifty acres of land in Grove township. He cleared
the timber from his land, made fence rails for himself and the neighbors and
planted his grain with a hoe. He bought his first cow with fence rails. In
fact, fence rails were the common medium of exchange between Mr. Clothier
and his neighbors. After living upon this farm for six years he disposed
of it and bought forty acres on the open prairie, and here he built a rude
log house in which he and his family lived for ten years. He subsequently
added forty more acres to his farm, and after farming in this county for a
number of years he sold this farm and moved to Kansas, where he bought
a section of land in Phillips county. He still owns one hundred and sixty
acres of land in that county. In 1910 Eli Clothier retired from active farm
life and moved to Oregon, where he is now living. His wife died in 1898
in Kansas. Nine children were born to Eli Clothier and wife, six of whom
are still living.
Lehi Clothier received his education in the schools of Phillips county,
Kansas, and remained under the parental roof until 1888, when he purchased
one hundred and sixty acres of his father's farm in Phillips county, Kansas.
He improved this farm, lived on it for five years, and then returned to his
old home in Shelby county, Iowa. He was married in 1894, the year he
returned to Shelby county, and since that time has been operating his wife's
farm of two hundred and thirty-five acres in Grove township. He has made
many improvements on this land, so that it is now one of the most attractive
farms of the township. He is an extensive breeder of Duroc and Chester
White hogs and has made most of his money from the sale of stock.
Mr. Clothier was married in 1894 to Mattie Holcomb, the daughter of
Harmon Charlton Holcomb, an early settler of Shelby county. Mrs. Clothier was born in this county in 1875. Four children have been born to Mr.
Clothier and wife: Homer, Cecil L., Zeta G. and Wesley.
Politically, Mr. Clothier is a member of the Republican party, but has
never been an aspirant for public office or taken an active part in political
matters. He and his wife are members of the Reorganized Church of Latterday Saints. Mr. Clothier is a man of kindly disposition and his long residence in this county has brought him many warm and true friends, who
admire him for his many good qualities.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1508 - 1509.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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There are different ways of winning a high place in the esteem of
any community. Some men achieve popularity by a sudden stroke of genius;
some seek fame through public office; others spend their lives in amassing
wealth; others go on serenely in the exercise of their privileges as citizens
and lead useless lives without making much of a stir in the world. The most
marked characters and the most respected in the average community are those
who have led self-sacrificing lives in behalf of their fellow men while following their chosen profession. In this latter category may be found the
learned pioneer physicians of this section of Iowa who have borne the brunt
of the hardships of pioneer days. Dr. Elliot A. Cobb, pioneer physician
of Harlan, and a successful practitioner, is a man highly respected and
honored because of his talents, and because of his daily life, and has gained
the good will of his associates and the general public. He has retained his
reputation for high character, but has never lost the dignity which is the
birthright of a gentleman.
Dr. Cobb is a descendant of a very old and distinguished American
family which traces its lineage back to the earlier part of the seventeenth
century when James Morgan, a native of Wales, emigrated to America and
settled at New London, Connecticut. The father of Dr. Cobb was Justis
Cobb, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1815 and died on January 18,
1896. He was born on a farm in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, the son of
Joseph Cobb, a native of the same county. The mother of Justis Cobb was
Abigail Stevens. Several generations of the Cobb family were born and
reared on the ancestral estate in Wayne county, Pennsylvania. The father
of Joseph Cobb was a native of Orange county, New York, who removed
to Wayne county, and there hewed a farm from the mountain wilderness.
Justis Cobb married Eliza J. Morgan, born in October, 1821 and died in
January, 1873, at Clyde, Ohio. She was the daughter of George and
Deborah (Headley) Morgan. George Morgan was the son of Jesse Morgan who was a direct descendant of James Morgan, a Welshman who was the
direct founder of the Morgan family in America.
In 1849, Justis Cobb and his family left the ancestral home in Wayne
county and removed to Sandusky county, Ohio, where he settled on a farm.
He made this his permanent home and here reared his family to useful
manhood and womanhood. When he was very old he came to Harlan to
reside with his son. He died January 18, 1896. He was the father of
eight children: Estella, Albert, William M., George, and Fannie, deceased;
Dr. Elliot A., with whom this review is directly concerned; Holly E., of
Clyde, Ohio; and Mrs. Jessie Reynolds, of David City, Nebraska.
Elliot A. Cobb received his primary education in the district schools
of Sandusky county, Ohio, and then entered the University of Michigan.
When the Civil war broke out and President Lincoln issued his call for
troops he was a student at Ann Arbor. Afire with patriotism, he offered
his services in defense of the Union and served with distinction and bravery
for nearly four years in an Ohio regiment of volunteers. He enlisted
as a private in Company A, Fifty-fifth Ohio Infantry Regiment and for
two years his command was a part of the Army of the East. His career
as a soldier began in June, 1861, and ended in the spring of 1865, when the
war was over and Richmond had fallen. Dr. Cobb was first encamped in
West Virginia and was there engaged in his first battle at Fort McDowell.
He participated in the following engagements in 1862: Cedar Mountain,
Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg. 1n 1863, his
command took an active part in the following great battles: Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, Wahatchee, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
Resaca, Burnt Hickory, and Kenesaw Mountain. He also participated in
the capture of Atlanta and Sherman's memorable march to the sea from Atlanta.
After his return home Dr. Cobb decided to resume his studies and
prepare himself for the practice of medicine. That his choice has been a
wise one is proved by his long and distinguished career following the completion of his studies. He first began the study of medicine in the office
of Dr. John B. Rice, of Fremont, Ohio. He next entered the Western
Reserve Medical College, Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated in 1868. He came
west shortly after his graduation and located in Washington county, Iowa.
After practicing there for about eleven years he again took up his studies
and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York City
in the year 1879. He came from the scene of his former professional
labors to Harlan in 1879 and has enjoyed a long and honorable career for
the past thirty-five years. Dr. Cobb bears the notable distinction of being
the oldest practicing physician in Shelby county and is at present the honored
dean of the Shelby county medical profession. Age has mellowed and
ripened his powers, but he still practices his noble calling.
Inasmuch as Dr. Cobb was the son of a farmer, whose father before
him was likewise a farmer, it was only natural that he should turn his
attention to agricultural activities while residing in such a rich and favored
locality as Shelby county. He is the owner of six hundred acres of very
fine farming land east of Kirkman and for the past twenty-five years he has
been an extensive breeder of Shorthorn cattle of which he has a herd of
one hundred and twenty-five head. This live stock is composed principally
of registered thoroughbreds. He is a large producer of hogs and his farms
are devoted to general farming and stock raising.
Dr. Cobb has been twice wedded. His first marriage took place on May
15, 1873, to Martha Foster, of Washington county, Iowa, who died in
1874, leaving one child, Mrs. Clydie White, wife of Attorney Edward S.
White, of Harlan, who is the historian and editor-in-chief of this volume.
His second marriage was on March 7, 1882, with Miss Nettie Cunningham,
who was born on June 19, 1856, in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, a daughter
of Loren and Ann Cunningham, natives of New York state. Mrs. Cobb
came to Shelby county from Wisconsin in 1882 with her husband directly
after their marriage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The parents of Mrs. Cobb
lived all of their days in Wisconsin. In his old age, Loren Cunningham
came to reside at the home of his daughter in Harlan and here died in 1907
at the ripe, old age of eighty-three years. To this latter union have been
born the following children: Ferne, died in infancy; Omer Edward, also
died in infancy; Dr. Elliot Cunningham Cobb, born September 7, 1887, a
graduate of the literary department of the University of Nebraska, degree
of B. A., and also a graduate of the medical department of the same
university in 1913, located in Sioux City, where he began his practice in
June, 1913; Celia Eliza, born December 23, 1890, graduated from the
Harlan high school, a student at the Normal College at Rockford, Illinois, and
a graduate from the University of Nebraska in 1812. Miss Cobb has taught
one year in the Harlan high school.
Dr. Cobb is a member of the county medical society, the Iowa State
and American Medical Associations. He and all the members of his family
are attendants of the Harlan Congregational church and give to this denomination their liberal support at all times. For many years, he has been
affiliated with the order of Free Masons of Harlan.
Dr. Cobb has not only kept in close touch with the trend of medical thought, but is a student of social and scientific subjects, being broad minded
and keenly interested in all that makes for the betterment of his fellow men. In every sphere of endeavor in which he has taken a part, his ability
and integrity have elevated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens. Dr. Cobb is one of Shelby county's grand old men.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1164 - 1167.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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A life of forty-four years in this county gives one the right to be called
a pioneer, for practically all the history of this county has been made within
that time. It is a pleasure therefore to meet an old settler who has lived
through forty years of Shelby county history and learn from his lips the
story of the interesting conditions of those primitive days. Such a man is
William Constable who has been for many years one of the leading farmers
and stock raisers of Jefferson township in this county.
William Constable, the son of William and Elizabeth (Horner) Constable, was born in Cambria county, Pennsylvania, near Conemaugh. William Constable, Sr., was born in Sussex, England, the son of Henry and
Urana (Wilson) Constable. Henry Constable came to this country with
his family when his son William was about eight years of age and settled in
Pennsylvania. Henry Constable was a brick maker by trade, while he also
farmed on a small scale near Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Horner
was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Decker)
Horner, her parents probably also being natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and
Mrs. William Constable, Sr. were the parents of twelve children, eight of
whom are living: William, Jr., whose history is here related; Mrs. Anna
Carter, Edward, Oliver, Melvin, Frank, Nelson, Mrs. Clara Douglass. In
1870 William Constable, Sr., moved to Shelby county, Iowa, with his family
where he bought land. He owned two hundred acres in sections 29, 31 and
32 in Jefferson township and lived there until his death.
William Constable, Jr. came to this county with his parents when he was
eight years of age, and received his education in the district schools of his
home township. He remained at home until he was twenty-six years of age,
assisting his father with the work upon the farm. He worked out by the
month for three years, after which with the money he had saved, he purchased eighty acres of land in section 21 of Jefferson township. Within a
few years he was able to add forty acres to his original purchase and upon
this one hundred and twenty acre farm he lived for the next eleven years.
He then came to Irwin in this township where he lived ten years, after which
he moved back to his farm where he is now residing. Although he raises all the
crops of this locality he has made a specialty of the breeding of hogs for the
market. In recent years he has been stocking up his farm with excellent
milk cows, and entering the dairy business. He has found this a profitable
investment and intends to increase his herd of milk cows. His farm is
well improved and highly productive and with his progressive ideas he is
enabled to make it yield handsome returns with the least possible effort.
Mr. Constable was married October 5, 1893, to Urana Sprague, who
was born May 2, 1863, in Sheffield, Illinois, the daughter of James and Eliza
(Constable) Sprague, her father being a native of England who had come to
this country when a young man. James Sprague worked in Pennsylvania by
the day and then went westward and settled on a farm in Illinois, in which
state he lived until his death. To Mr. and Mrs. James Sprague were born
ten children: Clara, Mrs. Ida Constable; Frank, George, Bert, James, Josiah,
Mrs. Mary Thomas, Mrs. Hattie Reider and Urana, the wife of William Constable whose history is here delineated. Mr. and Mrs. Constable have four
children, three of whom are living: Mary Elizabeth, born January 31, 1897;
Clara Edith, born November 20, 1899, and Ebal Sprague, born September
21, 1901. Hazel Eliza, who was born August 17, 1894, died when she was
five years of age.
Mr. Constable was formerly a Republican, but now he gives his hearty
support to the Prohibitionist party, feeling that the question of the liquor
traffic is really the largest question confronting the American people today.
While living in Irwin he was on the school board for three years, but outside
of this has never held any public office. He prefers to spend his time and
devote his energies to his home life. Mr. and Mrs. Constable are earnest
members of the Christian church and give their hearty support to all of the
activities of that denomination. Fraternally, Mr. Constable is a member
of the Modern Woodmen of America and takes an interest in the fraternal
work of that organization. Mr. Constable has always been a man of public
spirit and when the first telephone company was proposed in his township at
the town of Irwin he was one of the most enthusiastic supporters. He is a
stockholder in the telephone company at Irwin and has taken an interest in
the company since its organization. He is regarded by all who know him
as a prominent, wide awake, progressive, honest and obliging citizen and
no one in his township is held in higher esteem by his fellow citizens.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1389 - 1391.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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Click photos to enlarge
Above left, Orville and Margaret Cox. Above center, Orville & Margaret Melon Cox. Above right, Faustina, Nora and Vida Cox, Orville's daughters.
(Photos contributed by family, not found in 1915 Past and Present.)
From the time of Tubal-Cain, the artificer in iron has been one of the
most, important factors in civilization. It was he who forged the first implements of the field and the first weapons of war. The iron worker made possible the mail-clad knight of the middle ages and still later the cannon which
changed the whole course of civilization. In all the early communities of
Iowa, the blacksmith made all the tools the farmer used, the axes, the saws,
the hoes and the horseshoes. The blacksmith was the original iron founder,
the first iron manufacturer, and without him no community could long exist.
The blacksmith is as essential to the community in its industrial life as the
minister to its religious life, and the teacher to its intellectual life. Even to
this day no community could dispense with the blacksmith, and for these reasons too much honor can not be accorded the men who are following this
indispensable occupation.
Orville F. Cox, the skilled blacksmith of Defiance, Iowa, was born
September 11, 1858, in Livingston county, Illinois. His parents, John and
Mary (Patrick) Cox, were natives of West Virginia and Ohio, respectively.
John Cox was educated in West Virginia and after leaving school worked on
his uncle's farm, his father having died when he was a small boy. He
worked for his uncle until his marriage and then rented a farm in Ohio, and
began farming for himself. He operated a farm in Ohio for several years
and then moved to Laporte county, Indiana, and followed his vocation as a
farmer until 1855. In that year he removed with his family to Livingston
county, Illinois, where he farmed until 1875, when he moved to Nebraska
and settled in Fillmore county. Here he remained until October, 1880, at
which time his wife died and he returned to Livingston county, Illinois,
where he lived until his death in 1884. John Cox and wife were the parents
of nine children: Sarah, who died at the age of seven; Jane, the wife of
Henry Lundy; Elizabeth, the wife of N. Longnecker; Amanda, the wife of
John McCashland; Lydia, the wife of David Cutley; Charles, who married
Anna Ogden; Samuel, who married Mary Fry; William, who married Alma
Dennis, and after her death, Lillian Irick, and Orville F., whose history is
here delineated.
Orvi1le F. Cox was educated in the schools of Livingston county, Illinois, and was seventeen years of age when his parents settled in Fillmore
county, Nebraska. He worked on the home farm in the latter state until he
was twenty-three years of age, when he started to learn the wagon-making
trade. In 1881 he went to Walnut, Iowa, and bought a shop, but a year later
located in Defiance, where he has lived for the past thirty-two years. He
started the first wagon shop in Defiance, is a skilled iron and wood worker
and for many years has had all the work he could do. His shop is well
equipped with all of the latest tools and machinery for quick repair work,
and because of the good satisfaction which he gives he has built up a trade
which extends throughout this section of the county.
Mr. Cox was married in 1881 to Maggie Mellen, the daughter of Patrick
and Jane Mellen, of Fillmore county, Nebraska, and to this union eight children have been born: Nora May, Eaustina Fay, Ralph, Orlando Fred, Elton
Murell, Vida, Elnore and Leora Ota. Nora married Clyde James and has
four children: Gerald, Cecil, Keith and Doyle; Eaustina is the wife of Elmer
Ruffcorn, and has one daughter, Elsie; Vida is a nurse in a Methodist Episcopal hospital at Omaha, Nebraska; Leora is the wife of Charles Legge, and has
two children, Venora, and one infant; Ralph and Elton are deceased; Orlando
Fred is still single. Mrs. Cox's parents were natives of Ireland and moved to
Canada after their marriage, most of their children being born in that country.
Later they located in Fillmore county, Nebraska, where they lived the remainder of their days. Mr. and Mrs. Mellen were the parents of ten children: Robert, Maggie, Thomas, Charles, Samuel, James, Helen, Emma,
Ella and William.
Mr Cox is an independent voter, preferring to cast his ballot for men
rather than for platforms. He always has been actively interested in local
politics and since living in Defiance has served as councilman and school
director. He was city clerk for eight years and for sixteen years was a
member of the board of education of his home city. Mr. Cox and his family
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Cox is a member of
the board of trustees of that denomination. He is a man of sterling worth,
and no more highly respected citizen lives in Defiance than he.
Source: 1915 Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 1300 - 1301.
Contributed by: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs
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