ANSON S. CULVER.
The history of every man is an account of his life work, of his up-bringing, his youth, his early struggles to gain a livelihood, his successes and failures and his rise to affluence and prestige in the community, in whatever vocation he has selected as best fitted to accord with his temperament and abilities. The gentleman of whom this chronicle is written seems to have been adapted to the trade of miller, from boyhood having followed that vocation from choice, and has made a success of his calling. Anson S. Culver likewise enjoys the distinction of being the only Union naval veteran in Audubon county. Speaking of this important part of the life of Mr. Culver it can truly be stated that too much honor cannot be given the boys in blue who fought in the long and bloody struggle in the sixties. When they heard their country's call they forsook their ordinary vocations, enrolled under the Stars and Stripes, and with patriotic fervor and enthusiasm braved all the dangers of the battlefield in order that our beloved flag might continue to wave from the lakes to the gulf. The homage of a grateful people is theirs and we delight to accord them all the praise so justly due them. Among the few veterans left in Audubon county none is more deserving of a worthy place in this volume than A. S. Culver, only naval veteran of the county.
A. S. Culver and his son are the proprietors of the Audubon flour-mill, which began operations in August of 1887 and has continued to grind uninterruptedly since that time. This mill was under the ownership and management of Kuhn & Culver until 1913, in which year the son of Mr. Culver, Vern Culver became his partner. The capacity of the mill is seventy-five barrels daily and the two principal brands are "A No. 1" and "Straight."
Anson S. Culver was born on October 3, 1841, in New York state, son of Lemuel and Patience Culver, natives of Vermont and Massachusetts, respectively, agriculturists in New York state, in which state their last days were spent. They were the parents of seven children, of whom A. S. Culver is the only one now living. Mr. Culver learned his trade of miller in New York when a boy and worked at his trade in St. Lawrence county, New York, until 1872. In the meantime the great Civil War came on and it was not to be expected that a young and vigorous man of his calibre would fail to listen to the call of his country for assistance in quelling the rebellion. Anson S. Culver enlisted in the Union navy in 1863 and was detailed for duty on the "Susquehanna." His vessel participated in the five days' battle and bombardment of Ft. Fisher and in many blockades on the Southern coast. He served until the close of the war.
Mr. Culver came west from New York in 1872, locating for a time at Anita, Iowa, and in August, of the same year, journeyed to Nebraska, where, at Ft. Calhoun, he followed his trade of miller for nine years. In 1881 he became the proprietor of a flour-mill at Anita and operated the same for six years. In 1887 he disposed of his interests there and came to this county, locating at Audubon, where he engaged in the milling business and where he has since resided, being accounted one of the county seat's foremost citizens.
In 1866 A. S. Culver was married to Celeste Rose, who departed this life in 1900. To this union three children were born, namely: Vern, partner in the milling business with his father, the father of six children, Lucille, Edith, Catharine, Helen, Mary and Alice; Genevieve, at home, her father's housekeeper, and Mrs. Emma Dickinson, of Saskatoon, Canada, the mother of one child, Ruth.
Mr. Culver is a Republican and is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is allied with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Grand Army post at Audubon. Mr. Culver is a man who by his own unaided efforts has worked from a modest beginning to a position of affluence in the community. His life has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance and the systematic and honorable methods which he has followed have won for him the confidence of his fellow citizens of Audubon, whose interests he has ever had at heart.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 349-350.
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