USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74
Gc 977.701 C32a v.2 1236872
M.L:
GENEALOCY COLLECTION
-
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01081 0452
A TOPICAL HISTORY CEDAR of COUNTY IOWA
Edited By C. RAY AURNER, M.A.
VOLUME II
CHICAGO The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1910
1236872
midland-$27.50 (2 vols)
J. W. Reeder
BIOGRAPHICAL
J. W. REEDER.
J. W. Reeder, who has occupied a central place upon the stage of public ac- tivity in Tipton and Cedar county and in all things has achieved success which indicates the careful direction of his labors, his keen insight and his unfaltering perseverance, is now numbered among the capitalists of Cedar county, and the work which he has done in behalf of the public schools is an indication of his deep and abiding interest in the public welfare.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Reeder was born in the village of Goshen, Clermont county, not far from Cincinnati, on the IIth of October, 1836, his parents being George and Sophia (Straub) Reeder, the former a native of Virginia and of English descent. His grandfather, Jacob Reeder, was born in England but, com- ing to America in the Colonial days, participated in the Revolutionary war as an American soldier under General Washington. He afterward removed to Ohio with his wife and four sons, Michael, George, Jacob and William, and there spent his remaining days. The mother of J. W. Reeder was of German lineage, her grandparents having come from the fatherland to this country, at which time they established their home in Pennsylvania. Soon after the Revolutionary war both the paternal and maternal grandparents of Mr. Reeder emigrated to Ohio, settling near Cincinnati among the early residents of that locality. The parents of J. W. Reeder were married in Ohio and after removing westward spent their remaining days near Tipton. They had seven children: Mrs. Eliza Parks, now deceased ; Mrs. Elizabeth Mason, who has also passed away ; Michael, deceased; William B., of Tipton ; George W., deceased ; J. W., of this review ; and A. C., of Tipton, who served for three years as a member of the Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer In- fantry during the Civil war.
5
6
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
J. W. Reeder spent the first fourteen years of his life at the place of his nativity and then came with his parents to Cedar county. Reaching Tipton on the IIth of October, 1850, he arrived on the fourteenth anniversary of his birth after crossing the Mississippi river in a side-wheel ferryboat. The family had driven from Ohio and were three weeks upon the road. J. W. Reeder later was closely and prominently connected with the educational progress of Iowa, entering the district school at Goshen when six years of age, at which time he had already mastered the alphabet and the numeration table and could print his name in capi- tals. He had been taught to believe that a school teacher had but little love and less compassion for a dull boy and that the application of the rod would create aptness in learning as well as prove an antidote for disobedience. From that time until he reached the age of sixteen his time was about evenly divided between attending school and performing the work of field and meadow. He supple- mented his early educational privileges by study in the Upper Iowa Conference Seminary at Mount Vernon and he was not only a pupil in the institution but was often called upon to hear recitations in the absence of the teacher. This en- couraged him to study the methods and acquaint himself with the elements that enter into and make up the character and tactics of a successful teacher. He completed a course in the high school of Tipton and in 1857 began teaching in the country schools, notwithstanding his father's desire that he should assume the management of the farm. From the first his ability as a teacher was mani- fest. The three directors of the school district in which he made application for a school favored him, stipulating only that he must maintain discipline. He had an average attendance of fifty-five pupils, while sixty-six were enrolled. That he was successful during the term of three months was indicated by the fact that he was employed to teach two more weeks at the close of that period. He was offered the school again the following year but returned to the seminary at Mount Vernon to resume his studies and later entered the Tipton high school, where he remained until the following winter, when he was employed to teach a four-months district school at twenty-eight dollars per month. He there not only faced the situation of teaching well advanced pupils but also had to harmon- ize the discordant factions. The task was successfully accomplished and he then returned to resume his studies in the Tipton high school. After another winter term in the district schools, he was chosen principal of the grammar department at Tipton. He entered upon his duties April 9, 1859, and bent every energy to the task of establishing a school of high grade and character. The following year he was again chosen for the position at an increased salary and when it was de- cided to divide the school at Bethel, having the high school in the Methodist Epis- copal church and the younger students in the schoolhouse, Mr. Reeder was ap- pointed principal and teacher of the high school. During the time when the legality of the free school law was under advisement by the supreme court of the state, teachers received only school orders pending the legality of the new school law and received no remuneration until the law went into effect, by order of the court. Mr. Reeder continued to teach in Tipton for two years and altogether in the Cedar county schools for ten years.
He then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and the live-stock busi- ness, becoming well known as a farmer, feeder and shipper. About thirty-five
Sarah. E. Reeder.
9
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
years have been devoted to this line of business and as his financial resources have increased, Mr. Reeder has made extensive investments in real estate and is now the owner of eight hundred and eighty-five acres of valuable land adjoining Tipton. In fact he is one of the largest landowners of the county. His extensive tract is all in one body and is only a quarter of a mile north of the county seat. Through his own efforts Mr. Reeder has become one of the prosperous residents of this part of the state and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. as his success has all been won through his earnest efforts and intelligently di- rected labors. He was one of the original directors of the Cedar County State Bank, with which he has transacted business since 1881, serving through the entire time as one of the directors. In connection with his brother, A. C. Reeder, he shipped live stock to Chicago and other markets for thirty-one years, under the name of Reeder Brothers. He ably and satisfactorily adjusted the business in connection with the Joseph E. Lee estate of Mechanicsville, one of the largest estates in the county at that time, and in connection with his brother A. C. Reeder, he has been a trustee for the large estate of P. J. Friend for twenty-seven years. With great faith in Cedar county he has invested nearly all of his business capi- tal in property here and in addition to his farm lands, he erected the J. W. Reeder block, containing three large rooms on the first floor with offices on the second floor. It is located opposite the courthouse and is one of the most prominent blocks of the city. He was one of the organizers of the Cedar County State Bank and in all business affairs his judgment is regarded as most sound and reliable.
While carrying on an extensive farmnig and live-stock business, Mr. Reeder's interest has never abated in the cause of education but remains to the present time one of its stalwart champions. For about twenty years he was a member of the board of education in Center township and served as a director and secre- tary of the board. For nine years he was also a member of the board of trustees of Cornell College at Mount Vernon, from which institution six of his children have graduated. He withholds his cooperation from no movement which he be- lieves will promote the educational progress of the locality.
In his political views Mr. Reeder is an earnest republican and has always taken a citizen's interest in the political situation and questions of the day. His many friends in Tipton in 1905 requested him to become a candidate for the state legislature but owing to the extent of his business interests he declined the proffered honor. At the primaries held June 7, 1910, however, he received the republican nomination for representative, carrying every ward in Tipton and Center township, where he has lived for sixty years, by a majority of over one hundred and the county by a majority of one hundred and sixty-four.
His religious faith is indicated in his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he has been identified since 1854. He has been untiring in his efforts in behalf of the church and for about thirty years he was superin- tendent of the Bethel Sunday school. Since removing from the farm to Tipton in 1896 he has been a teacher of the first Bible class of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday school and is chairman of the board of stewards, having acted also as district steward for many years. That he is an earnest champion of the tem- perance cause is indicated in the fact that he is an active member of the Inde-
10
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
pendent Order of Good Templars. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity.
In 1861 Mr. Reeder was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Lee, who was born in Reynoldsburg, Fairfield county, near Columbus, Ohio, August 6, 1844, and was brought to Iowa by her parents, the Rev. and Mrs. William A. Lee, in 1845. Her father was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reeder were born nine children: Charles, at home; Lilly Maria, who died at the age of twenty-one years; Rosella, the wife of Charles Fayram of Los Angeles, California; Arthur C., of Tipton; Luanna, the wife of Edwin Zerkle of Chicago; Ralph M., living near Tipton; William G., a practicing physi- cian of Chicago; Herbert, at home; and Grant, a student in Rush Medical Col- lege of Chicago and a graduate of the Chicago University.
Mr. Reeder has ever been a most public-spirited citizen and has cooperated in many progressive movements for the welfare and progress of his adopted county. He was chairman of the Reunion executive committee and also planned the semi- centennial program of the Tipton union schools. He took a most active and help- ful part in making that a memorable and never to be forgotten occasion. The committee selected Washington's birthday as an appropriate time for the cele- bration, making it a patriotic as well as reminiscent day. A most interesting program was arranged, setting forth the conditions fifty years before, and in- dicating as well the progress that had been made in the school system in half a century. Mr. Reeder was among those prominent in organizing the school sys- tem of Tipton under its present unified form and many other evidences of his public spirit could be cited. Whatever he undertakes he seems to carry for- ward to successful completion, his labors being resultant factors, while his spirit is undaunted by any difficulty or obstacle that may arise.
WENDELL WILLER.
Wendell Willer, the proprietor of the Cloverdale Stock Farm, is one of the most progressive and up-to-date agriculturists of Cedar county, his home being on section 12, Center township. He was born on the 9th of October, 1859, in Meigs county, Ohio, and is a son of George and Julia (Thress) Willer, of whom extended mention is made on another page of this volume. It was in 1865 that the family migrated to Cedar county, Iowa, and located on the present farm of our subject, where he has resided continuously since.
At an early age Wendell Willer became familiar with all of the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist and as an enterprising and energetic farmer and stock-raiser he has met with far more than ordinary success during his business career, now owning a well improved place of five hundred and thirty acres, all in one body, which includes ninety acres of the old homestead. This lies on sections II, 12 and 13, Center township, and is finely located two miles southwest of Tipton. Raising a large amount of stock, he has two hundred and forty acres in blue grass pasture and as there is considerable clover upon the place, he has given to his farm the name of the Cloverdale Stock Farm. He
11
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
raises cattle, horses and hogs, but his specialty is Percheron horses, of which he now has a fine herd of sixty, including one imported stallion, Etonne (68536) 51,327, which is a drab gray of immense size, weighing at present two thousand one hundred and ten pounds. This horse is large of bone and has a certain style and action like a coach horse.
The Cloverdale Stock Farm is conspicuous for its fine new buildings. These include a modern up-to-date residence, which is one of the finest in this part of the county. It was erected in 1908, is two stories in height with a basement and contains twelve rooms. It is complete in all of its appointments, having all modern improvements. This is the third house that has stood upon the farm, a good residence having been torn down to erect the present magnificent home. The other buildings upon the farm are in perfect keeping with the residence, a fine large barn being built in 1901, forty-six by sixty-four feet in dimensions, with twenty-four-foot posts, also a smaller barn and hog house, machinery house, corn cribs, etc.
On the, Ist of January, 1891, Mr. Willer was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Moffett, whose birth occurred in Center township, this county, April 27, 1867. Her parents were Samuel and Drusey (Wilkinson) Moffett. Her father, who was born in Ohio, April 16, 1843, came to this county in early life and died in Tipton, November 8, 1906. He made farming his occupation. The mother was born in Center township and now resides with our subject. She is one of a family of three children, the others being Perry W., a resident of Center township, and James Wilkinson, deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Willer have been born three children: Russell Moffett; George Caldwell, who died at the age of four years ; and Paul, who died at the age of nine months. Having lost two of their sons, they are now rearing a young man by the name of Edwin Carlson.
They hold membership in St. John's Reformed church of Tipton, of which Mr. Willer is an elder, taking a very active and influential part in its work, and as a republican, he has been quite prominent in public affairs and is now serving his second term as township trustee. His fellow citizens recognize his worth and ability and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed. As a business man he stands deservedly high and in every relation of life he commands the respect and confidence of those with whom he is brought in contact.
AUGUST DRESSELHAUS.
August Dresselhaus, who passed away on the 3d of April, 1903, was long numbered among the substantial and representative agriculturists of Cedar county, owning and operating two hundred and sixty-four acres of rich and pro- ductive land in Inland township. His birth occurred in Germany on the 29th of June, 1841, and there he spent the first twenty-nine years of his life, carrying on general agricultural pursuits and also serving as a soldier in the German army for six years.
12
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
In 1870 Mr. Dresselhaus crossed the Atlantic to the United States, locating first in Chicago, Illinois, where he spent three months. On the expiration of that period he came to Cedar county, Iowa, and here worked as a farm hand for one year. He then rented a tract of eighty acres in Inland township and at the end of two years had accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to purchase the property. Subsequently he bought forty acres more, afterward added to his holdings by the purchase of eighty acres and still later bought another tract of sixty-four acres, so that at the time of his demise he had accumulated two hun- dred and sixty-four acres of valuable land in Inland township. A man of inde- fatigable energy, untiring industry and excellent business ability, his labors as an agriculturist were attended with a gratifying measure of success. He likewise assisted in organizing the Bennett Savings Bank, acted as its vice president for four years and was a director of the institution until the time of his death.
On the 27th of October, 1871, in Wheatland, Iowa, Mr. Dresselhaus was united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmine Schlueter, a daughter of Fred and Wil- helmine (Dunkelmeier) Schlueter, who were married in Germany. Fred Schlueter, who followed farming in the fatherland, came to Cedar county, Iowa, in 1884 and here passed away in 1895. His wife was called to her final rest in 1908. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dresselhaus were born nine children, two of whom died in infancy. The others are as follows: Herman, whose natal day was March 28, 1872; Otto, whose birth occurred May 10, 1873; Ernst, who was born Jan- uary 7, 1875; Emma, June 24, 1877; Fred, February 18, 1884; Carl, August 7, 1886; and August, who first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 13th of August, 1896.
Mr. Dresselhaus was a democrat in politics and his fellow townsmen, rec- ognizing his worth and ability, called him to several positions of public trust. He served as school director for a number of years and also held the offices of township trustee and road supervisor. In religious faith he was a Lutheran. He never regretted his determination to come to the new world, for here he found the opportunities which he sought and in their wise utilization won pros- perity. His widow still survives and now resides in Bennett with her youngest son, August, who is a public school student.
M. H. MILLER.
The history of M. H. Miller cannot fail to prove of interest to the readers of this volume, for he is a native son of Cedar county, one of the most prominent business men of Tipton and a citizen of wide acquaintance and popularity. While he has been connected with various business interests, he is perhaps best known as a merchant, having for many years engaged in the furniture business, while at the present time he is giving his attention to financial affairs as the presi- dent of the Cedar County State Bank.
One of Cedar county's native sons, Mr. Miller was born at Pleasant Hill in Sugar Creek township, January 18, 1854, and has always resided in this county, remaining to the age of twenty-five years upon the farm which was his birth-
C
mAt miller
15
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
place and the home of his parents, Martin G. and Elizabeth (Rider) Miller. Both the father and mother were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born Jan- nary 27, 1811, and the latter in June 18 of the same year. They were married in the Keystone state and on coming to Iowa in 1853 settled first in Muscatine county but after a few months removed to Pleasant Hill, Cedar county, where the father secured land and carried on farming until the death of his wife in March, 1876. He afterward came to Tipton and spent his last two years with a son in Cherokee county, Iowa, where he died January 1, 1895.
Martin G. Miller followed merchandizing for a short time in Pennsylvania but afterward became a clergyman of the United Brethren church and devoted his life to the work of the ministry until he removed to Iowa. His attention was then given to farming until he retired from business life, but he remained always a local minister of the church. He took an active part in the public life of Cedar county and for many years served as county surveyor, to which position he was elected upon the republican ticket. He engaged in school teaching in early manhood in Pennsylvania and also for a short period in Iowa. His noble character and upright life made him uniformly beloved and at his passing he left an example well worthy of emulation. During the latter part of the Civil war he had served in the Christian commission for about a year.
In his family were ten children, all of whom were born in Pennsylvania with the exception of M. H. Miller, of this review. John R., the eldest, died in Craw- ford county, Iowa. Jacob B. died in Wilton, Iowa, in the fall of 1909, after re- tiring from farm life. George W., of Independence, Iowa, served for three years in Company D of the Eleventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry and was for three terms county recorder of Cedar county. J. J., who was a soldier of the Civil war as a member of Company D, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, is now a merchant at Scotia, Nebraska. W. O., who enlisted from Cedar county as a member of Company C, Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, died in Winchester, West Virginia, during the progress of the war as the result of wounds received at the battle of Cedar Creek. Wireman, who was also in Company D, Eleventh Iowa Regiment, is now living in Sioux City, Iowa, and for three terms has served in the state legislature. Maggie A. became the wife of Lieutenant F. M. Walker of Wilton Junction and is now deceased, but her husband is living in California. David died in infancy. Edmund is a farmer of Emmet county, Iowa. Four of the sons and the father were all in the south the same time during the war, the sons all enlisting from this county.
M. H. Miller has always resided in Cedar county, remaining upon the farm which was the place of his birth until twenty-five years of age, the district schools affording him his educational privileges. In October, 1879, he came to Tipton and here entered the furniture and undertaking business at his present location on Cedar street. He has carried on the furniture business to the present time and was alone as sole proprietor until 1906, when he admitted his son Charles L. to a partnership under the firm style of M. H. Miller & Son. He extended the field of his activity when, on the 9th of October, 1907, he was elected presi- dent of the Cedar County State Bank and has since been active in its direction and control. In 1892 he was made a director of the Cedar County Bank, which
16
HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
was the predecessor of the Cedar County State Bank. He has farming interests in Emmet county and a large tract of land in Colorado and western Kansas. He is likewise a stockholder in the Tipton Canning Company and thus is promi- nently connected with the industrial, commercial and financial interests of his native city.
Moreover, he has figured prominently in local political circles and is an active republican, recognized as a leader in the party. He was a member of the city council at the time the city water-works and electric lights were installed and was in favor of the progressive movements which have greatly benefited the city. Neither is Mr. Miller unmindful of his obligations in the work of moral development here. He is an active official member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was secretary of the building committee at the time of the erection of the new house of worship and is the secretary of the board of church trustees. Fraternally he is connected with Cedar Lodge, No. II, A. F. & A. M., which he joined in 1896, and of which he is now a past master. He also belongs to Alhambra Lodge, No. 79, K. P.
Mr. Miller has been married twice. On the 26th of December, 1876, he wedded Mary A. Leech, who was born in Sugar Creek township, this county, and died April 18, 1878. She was a daughter of Judge J. H. Leech, who served as probate judge of the county at an early day. There was one son, Charles, born of the first marriage and he is now his father's partner in the furniture and undertaking business, acting as manager of the store since Mr. Miller became president of the bank. He was born in Sugar Creek township, April 18, 1878. and is a graduate of the Tipton high school, having completed the course in 1895. At that time he entered his father's store as clerk and, closely applying himself to the mastery of the business and acquainting himself with every de- partment of the trade, he became in 1905 a partner and manager the next year. He married Miss Blanche Farrier, a native of Wilton, Iowa, and a daughter of T. D. Farrier. Charles Miller is regarded as an exemplary young man and a leader in business circles. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and is also identified with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias.
For his second wife M. H. Miller chose Miss Dollie Sheldon, whom he mat- ried on the 29th of September, 1881. She was born in Center township, Cedar county, October 26, 1856, and was a daughter of Hon. C. P. Sheldon. In 1905 Mr. Miller was called upon to mourn the loss of his second wife, who died on the 23d of July of that year, leaving a son, Clare S. Miller, who was born in Tipton, April 29, 1885, and is a graduate of the high school of this place. After completing his course here he entered Cornell College at Mount Vernon and was there graduated in June, 1906. He is now engaged in the real-estate busi- ness at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He married Winifred Warren, of Mount Vernon.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.