CLAUS J. RANDALL

Mr. & Mrs. John Randall

Claus J. Randall, who is engaged in general farming on section 28, Lincoln township, Worth county, has been a lifelong resident of this section of the state and has witnessed its growth, development and improvement through a period of thirty-six years. In fact he was born upon the farm where he now resides, his natal day being October 5, 1882. His parents were John and Almeda (Overholt) Randall, the former a native of Scotland, while the latter was born in Ontario, Canada. The father came to the United States when a young man of nineteen years in company with his parents, who crossed the Atlantic in 1858. They made their way direct to Worth county, Iowa, and took up their abode in Hartland township, where the grandparents lived upon the farm for a number of years. Later they removed to Northwood, where their remaining days were passed and the grandmother lived to the very advanced age of ninety-seven years. John Randall at the time of the Civil war responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting for active service at the front as a member of Company B, Thirty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded at the battle of Pleasant Hill, was taken prisoner and was later exchanged. He proved a brave and loyal soldier, faithfully performing his duty at all times whether upon the lonely picket line or in the midst of the fray on the firing line. In 1871 he was married and took up his abode on a farm in Hartland township which he had previously purchased. In 1874 he entered a homestead claim in Nebraska upon which he lived for six years, but in 1880 he returned to Worth county and established his residence upon the farm where his son, Claus J., now resides. There he continued to make his home until 1900, when he removed to Lisbon in order to give his son the advantages to be secured by attendance at Cornell College in Mount Vernon. In 1903 he returned to the farm in Worth county and resided thereon until 1913, when he retired from active business life and removed to Kensett, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring September 30, 1917. His widow survives and is now a resident of Manly. She is one of the honored early settlers of the county, highly respected by all who know her. In the family were three children, but Arthur, the eldest, died at the age of three years and McKercher J. passed away May 9, 1918, leaving Claus J. Randall as the only surviving child of the family. McKercher J. Randall was a prominent attorney of Cedar Rapids, served as a member of the state legislature and had been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor. On the 9th of May, 1918, he was stricken with apoplexy and passed away two hours later. He was known as "Mac" Randall throughout the state and he figured very prominently not only in political but also in fraternal circles. He was a past grand master of the grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was elected a delegate to the Grand Lodge to be held in St. Louis in October, 1918. He exerted much influence over public thought and action along the lines in which he directed his activity and his honorable manhood and sterling worth commended him to the confidence, respect and goodwill of all with whom he came in contact. He was elected president of Western Union College at Le Mars, Iowa, but declined to serve.

Claus J. Randall was educated in the district schools and in the Nora Springs Academy, after which he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for a year. He next entered Cornell College, in which he was a student for three years and thus liberal educational advantages thoroughly qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties and for the conduct of important business interests. When his textbooks were put aside he began farming and during the following five years he devoted the summer months to agricultural pursuits, while in the winter seasons he followed the profession of teaching. Since 1908, however, he has given his entire attention to farming and has concentrated his efforts upon the operation and development of the old homestead since his twenty-first year. The place presents a most neat and attractive appearance, being proof of the care and labor which he bestows upon his fields and also of the intelligence which he displays in the direction of his business interests. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers' Bank, in the Manly Grain Company and in the Farmers Cooperative Creamery Company of Manly, but the major part of his time and attention is given to the development of the fields and he annually harvests abundant crops of those cereals which are best adapted to soil and climatic conditions here.

On the 13th of May, 1905, Mr. Randall was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hart, of Plymouth, Iowa, and to them have been born three children: Genevieve A., Lowell E. and Whitney C. In politics Mr. Randall is a republican and he and his wife are members of the United Evangelical church. They are highly esteemed in the community where they reside and in all things his life measures up to high standards of manhood and citizenship.

SOURCE: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, VOL. II; Pages 568 - 572

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, October 16, 2006