Frank J. Tett Family
Frank J. Tett, who is now deceased, was a highly respected pioneer of Story County, who lived in the county over 70 years in the vicinity of McCallsburg. He took out his naturalization papers to become a citizen of the U. S. A. at the age of 19 years with a friend and they engaged in the Bakery business in Joliet, Illinois for five years.
On October 1878, he was married to Emma Bausor who also came from England in the year 1860 at age 3 years. Her parents were direct decendants of Prince Conde of France. The family lived adjoining the Lord Byron estate. Mrs. Tetts' parents came to America by sail boat and were on the water 3 weeks with a family of eight children. They located near Joliet, Illinois. On October 22, 1878 Mr. Tett and Emma Bausor were married. That same fall the Tetts with Mr. and Mrs. James Carver accompanied by a niece, whose parents were deceased, came to Iowa.
The niece walked to Ashurst to a post office north west of Zearing to get their mail. She was later married to Charles Menzel who was also a pioneer of Story County. A brother of Mr. Carver invested in the land where they lived at less than $5 an acre. Tett and Carver helped with the grading of the Iowa Central Railroad as it was being built from Zearing to McCallsburg. They spent 2 days driving to Squaw Creek for the winter coal. The farm where they first lived is now occupied by Alwin Johnson. Two years later Mr. and Mrs. Tett moved to the Mrs. Patton farm now occupied by the McKinney family.
Their first child was born in a one room house. Mr. Tett had to drive to Colo for a doctor and got lost on the prairie after dark and finally landed at the old Hix farm between Zearing and Colo where he got assistance to go on. In time they moved to the farm known as the old Thatcher place now occupied by Jess Bryants. From there they moved to the Kewitt farm and finally bought the 240 acre farm in 1895 one mile east of McCallsburg where they lived for 20 years. This farm is now occupied by Delmar Helland and his family. In 1915 the family retired and built a home in McCallsburg now occupied by their only daughter. Three sons, Charles, William and Frank, Jr., mother and father are all deceased.
Mr. Tett, while living, made three trips back to his native land. On one trip he was accompanied by a close English friend and neighbor Mr. William H. Lightfoot of Zearing and in October 27, 1927, he and Mrs. Tett went to England for the golden wedding anniversary.
Hans O. Hanson Family
The Hans O. Hanson family came to McCallsburg in 1903 from Milford Township. They settled on a farm one and three fourths miles west of McCallsburg which they had purchased in 1901. Hanson, a native of Norway, came to the United States in 1880. Mrs. Hanson (Anna Jorgenson) taught school in Districts 3 and 4 in Warren Township before their marriage in 1898.
They were the parents of six children —son, Harold, and daughters, Mrs. John (Hazel) Helland and Mrs. Ralph (Mae) Moore.
The W. H. Reid Family
Walter Howard Reid was born in Morning Sun, Louisa County, Iowa. His father and mother, Samuel and Tressie, later moved to Waco, Texas and then back to Nevada where Samuel had a store. It was during the time that Billy Sunday, the Evangelist, lived there. He and Howard played ball together. Then the family moved to McCallsburg in 1887 where Samuel started a grocery store where the Dorcas Hall now is. In 1890 he started a hardware store across the street east. Howard and his brother, Oscar, ran it. Oscar died in 1892. Before this however they built a building across the street south and started the Reid Brother's Hardware Store. Howard continued for fifty years in this location.
Howard was married to Ruth Belle Sanders in 1892. Ruth had come from Wheatfield, Indiana to Story County, Warren Township in 1875 with her parents and sisters and brothers in a covered wagon when she was only six weeks old. The reason they chose this location was because her father had a friend there, Asa Griffith. That same year her father, James F. Sanders bought a farm a mile south of the west road out of what is now McCallsburg. This farm was later sold to Mr. Hougen. At that time there were only a few families living there. An older sister remembers the Griffiths, Hansons, John Pecks and some others. It was not incorporated into a town until after the railroad was built from Story City to Marshalltown. At first it was called "Latrobe" Later it was named McCallsburg for Mr. McCall who drew for a chance to name it.
Samuel Reid died in 1898 but his wife "Tressie Reid" spent the rest of her life in McCallsburg. The Sanders family moved to Ames then to California but came back to McCallsburg and lived there the rest of their lives. Mrs. Sanders lived to ninety-four years old.
Except for about two years when they lived in Marshalltown. Howard and Ruth Reid lived in McCallsburg for as long as they lived. They had three children - a son who died at birth, a daughter, Mildred, who died at the age of twelve and Mrs. Sidney Dean Martin (Leah) who now lives in Carroll, Iowa.
Tom Johnson Family
Tom Johnson was born in Kbinherrod, Norway in 1859 and came to Clinton County with his parents at the age of 7.
The family came to Warren Township in 1875.
Christy Egenes Johnson was born in Benton County in 1870 and came to Warren Township with her parents in 1881. She was a teacher before her marriage.
Christy and Tom were married in 1893. To this union four children were born — Joseph, Albert, Martin and Edward.
Tom Johnson died in 1939 and his wife in 1957.