USA > Iowa > Mills County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 50
USA > Iowa > Fremont County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 50
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In 1865 Mr. Hale removed to Atchison county, Missouri, locating in the western portion and there remained through three decades. In 1895 he came to his present farm in Fremont county, comprising one hundred and twenty acres in Washington township. This is all planted in fruit of every variety that can be cultivated in this climate, and the fruits of Hale farm are of such excellent size. quality and flavor that they find a ready sale on the market and command the best prices. He has made a close study of horticulture, understands the needs of the various kinds of fruit which he cultivates, and his opinions on the subject are widely accepted as authority.
Mr. Hale was married in Atchison county, Missouri, to Miss Sarah York, who was born in Crawford county, Illinois,, a daughter of Ezekiel and Elizabeth ( Easton) York, of Kentucky. They became the par-
ents of five children, of whom three are vet living: Charles, Owen and William. Mrs. Hale died in 1881, and the following year Mr. Hale married Elvira Miller, who was born in Athens county, Ohio, a daughter of James and Susan ( Townsend ) Miller, also of that county. Two children grace the second marriage-Orpha May and Eu- ing Everett.
Mr. Hale and his wife hold membership in the Christian church of Hamburg. In politics he is a Republican, carnest in his advocacy of the principles of the party. and socially he is connected with Jerusalem Lodge, No. 253, A. F. & .A. M., and with the Grand Army of the Republic. . Is a cit- izen he is as true and loyal to-day as when he followed the old flag upon the battle- fields of the south.
ISAAC ABSHIRE.
One of the most progressive and suc- cessful young agriculturists of Fremont county, lowa, is Isaac Abshire, the subject of the present review. He was born within a mile of his present home, north of Sid- ney, in 1879. a son of David and Susan ( Palmer) Abshire. The former was a very prominent farmer of this locality. Ile went to California during the gold excite- ment, in 1849, from his home in Tennessee, butt came back in 1850 and located in Fre- mont county, where his death occurred in January, 1888, at the age of sixty-six. Mrs. Abshire was born in Indiana and was a daughter of Hiram Palmer, who was born in Ohio, but died in Missouri, and a grand- daughter of John Palmer, whose birth took place in Virginia, and his death in Ohio. The maternal grandmother of our sub-
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ject was Eleanor ( Hampton) Palmer, and was born in North Carolina, a daughter of Oliver and Betsey ( Bryan) Hampton, the father of Oliver having been Ephraini Hampton, who came to America from Eng- land. The maternal great-great-grandfa- ther was Samuel Bryan, who fought as a Tory soldier in the Revolutionary war; and the wife of the great Daniel Boone was a daughter of Joseph Bryan, a great-uncle of our subject's mother. The family history is very interesting and future generations will be glad to have it preserved, for a noble lineage is more to be desired than an accu- mulation of wealth.
Our subject was educated in Sidney, graduating at the excellent high school of this place, and immediately took charge of the farm. He is one of the energetic, pro- gressive and industrious young men who are willing to adopt modern methods in their business, and who study farming in a man- ner ,as careful and scientific as in any other branch of industrial life. Success has at- tended his efforts, and he is regarded as ons of the rising men of the township. Like his father, he votes with the Democratic party, believing its principles to be right.
JONH G. FLANAGAN.
The subject of this sketch traces his lin- eage to an old Irish family, several members of which have become prominent in various lines of activity. John Flanagan, his grand . father, was born and reared in Ireland, where his eldest son, Peter, was born about 1819. About 1825 he came to America. where he died in middle life, leaving a widow and two sons and a daughter. He located in Maryland, where he engaged in freighting,
driving six-horse teams employed in that service. His three children all married and have families, and all came west. Peter, his oldest son, was born in Ireland, became a farmer in Nebraska and died there in 1896, aged about seventy-seven years. His daugh- ter Catherine, known in the family as "Aunt Catherine," married James Davis, who be- came a farmer in Nebraska, where she died at an advanced age, leaving one daughter.
His younger son John, father of John G. Flanagan, was born in Maryland, January, 1827, and died in December, 1898, and his wife, Mary A. Piles, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, August 28, 1831, and married Mr. Flanagan in her native state, March 20, 1851. She was the daughter of James Piles, who married a Miss English, and lived one year afterward in Guernsey county, Ohio, and then moved to Montgomery county, In- diana, where they remained between three and four years. After a short stay at Pot- tawattamie county, Iowa, they removed in 1856 to Atchison county, Missouri, and there John G. Flanagan, the subject of this sketch, was born November 9, 1857. Soon after that event they returned to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where, in March, 1863, they bought and settled on four hundred acres of land, acquired at four dollars an acre, but they had to go in debt for most of it. There stood on their property a small frame house which is a part of the more pretentious res- idence standing there at this time. Mr. and Mrs. Flanagan reared their family there and lived there until the spring of 1887, when they moved to Malvern, where they lived re- tired from active life until they died, Mrs. Flanagan in December, 1896, and Mr. Flana- gan just three years later. They were laid to rest in East Liberty cemetery. They had
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eleven children, concerning whom some in- formation will be afforded in the following statements : Sarah, born pril 16, 1852, married Thomas MeCoy, and has ten chil- dren. She lives in Kansas. Charles T. has traveled extensively in the west since 1883 and is living in California, unmarried. Thomas B. was born in Indiana, January 18, 1856. John G. is the immediate subject of this sketch. Emma, born November II. 1859, is the wife of Edwin Morse and lives in Nebraska. She has had four children, two of whom are dead. Amanda J., born in Mills county, Iowa, September 13, 1861, is the widow of John Nickerson and lives at Mal- vern, lowa. Walter A. was born July 23. 1863, and died November 23. 1868. Wil- mie was born April 23, 1865, and died April 16, 1866. Frank was born March 19, 1867, and when a young man went to California, where he was married in 1899. Edward Martin was born November 11, 1868, and died March 20, 1888. Lee Webster was born May 30, 1871, and died November 5, 1878.
John G. Flanagan received a common- school education and was reared to farm life. He worked on his father's farm until the spring of 1883 and then went to Central Kansas, where he was married. March 31, 1886. to Miss Blanche E. Crawford, born in Lorain county, Ohio, August 23. 1865, a daughter of John W. and Sarah J. ( Rob- ertson ) Crawford. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford were natives of Ohio. They went to Kan- sas in 1881 and there Mr. Crawford died at the age of forty-four years, leaving a widow. three daughters and two sons. The eldest son, Bert Crawford, of Oklahoma, is mar- 'ried and has five children. Ida MI. is the wife of W. B. Essick, of Ellsworth, Kansas.
Mand .A., Mrs. Flanagan's twin sister, mar- ried Edwin Walker, has four sons and lives in Kansas. Charles C. is living in Kansas, unmarried. Mrs. Crawford, mother of these children, is residing in Ellsworth, Kansas. Mrs. Flanagan removed with her parents to Kansas and at sixteen years of age she began teaching school in Ellsworth county, which profession she followed for six years. Mr. and Mrs. Flanagan have had three children, Roy .A., the eldest, was born February 4. 1887, in Ellsworth, Kansas, and is now in school. Ella Maud, also in school, was born April 29, 1889, in Mills county, lowa. Neva May was born March 7. 1895. and died Feb- ruary 5. 1897.
In December, 1888. Mr. Flanagan re- turned from Kansas to his old home, accom- panied by his family, and has since been farming on the Flanagan homestead, which he bought for ten thousand dollars. He has come to the front as a stock-farmer and raises and fattens beef cattle, which he sells at Omaha and Chicago, shipping about twelve car-loads per year; and he raises and sells also about two hundred fat swine each year. Ile raises some colts and keeps about twenty horses. He began handling sheep in 1900 by purchasing two hundred and fifty head. He does general farming, selling such of his products as are not re- quired for his stock. He cuts about one hundred tons of hay each year and has about one hundred and twenty-five acres planted to corn, and in addition to his own large crop is usually obliged to buy more corn for feed- ing.
Politically Mr. Flanagan is a Democrat and he has served his fellow townsmen as justice of the peace two terms. He was elected assessor in 1898 and still holds that
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office, and wields considerable influence in the councils of his party. His judgment in business affairs is excellent and he is re- garded as one of the foremost stockmen in his part of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Flana- gan are both young appearing and are active · socially. Their domestic life is a happy one and their geniality and generous hospitality have won them hosts of friends.
WILLIAM W. BRICKNELL.
No finer stock can be found in Mills county than that raised on the Bricknell farm, of which the subject of this review is the owner. Mr. Bricknell is a venerable gentleman of eighty-one years but is still actively connected with business affairs, and his record should put to shame many a mall of younger years who, growing weary of the struggles of business life, would rele- gate to others the burdens that he should bear. Veneration and respect are accorded our subject, who well deserves the high re- gard uniformly given him, for his career has ever been an upright one, characterized by true fidelity to duty.
His birthplace is across the water, for he is a native of Devonshire, England, where he was born on the 2d of September, 1819 but since 1865 he has resided in Mills county. His father, John Bricknell, was one of the yeomanry of England and for a long period held the important position of superintendent for an aunt of Queen Vic- toria, thus becoming a member of the royal household. His property holdings were at one time very extensive, and his wealth was great ; but he met with heavy losses and in his later life was a laboring man. His wife bore the maiden name of Hanna Watkins,
and they became the parents of five sons and a daughter, but William W. of this re- view is the only one now living.
In the year 1858 William W. Bricknell crossed the Atlantic to the new world, believ -. ing that he might better his financial condi- tion in a country where opportunities were greater and where no hindrance of caste was placed in the way of individual advance- ment. The voyage to the United States was made on the sailing vessel Amazon, which carried nine hundred passengers and reached the American port one month after leaving the English harbor. In 1859 Mr. Brick- nell was married to Miss Sarah Savidge, a daughter of William Savidge, a butcher by trade, who died in early manhood. On com- ing to the new world our subject took up his abode in Lorain county, Ohio, near Oberlin, where he worked by the day and month for seven years, being employed at farm labor.
In May, 1865, he came to Tabor, Iowa, with his wife and one son, their only daugh- ter having died previously. Mr. Bricknell purchased eighty acres of land for fout hundred dollars and the remainder of his capital was loaned out at 'interest. All that he had saved was from his earnings, for he never inherited a dollar. His present farm comprises two hundred acres of upland prairie and timber and extends for a mile to the north. It is one of the best and most fertile tracts of land in the township and is well adapted for grazing or stock-raising, having upon it timber, water and good drainage. His son William is associated with him in business. He was born in Ohio, forty-four years ago, and is now one of the energetic and enterprising men of Mills county. He relieves his father of much care, largely attending to the active
WILLIAM W. BRICKNELL
THE NEW Y
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management of the farm and marketing of the stock, which is sold mostly in Chica- go. In May, 1898, Mr. Bricknell was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died at the age of seventy years, in the faith of the Congregational church, of which she was a consistent member. Since that time the father and son have lived alone. They formerly engaged in raising corn, on an extensive scale, but now purchase several thousand bushels of corn annually. while most of their land is in grass,-all save a fifty-acre tract of timber. They buy many, head of cattle to feed for the market and breed high-grade shorthorn cattle, having a fine registered bull which weighs two thousand pounds. While perhaps other stock-raisers of the county carry on the business on a more extensive scale there are none who take finer stock to market than do the Bricknells. One lot of three car-loads weighed from fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds, each averaging seven hundred and twenty pounds. They raise annually from twenty to thirty head and ship twice each year. They also keep from one to two hundred head of well-bred Po -- land China and Chester White hogs. One Chester White was a mammoth hog at five years, weighing twelve hundred pounds, alive. Their stock always commands the highest market prices, owing to their fine grade and excellent condition.
The farm is well improved, is attractive in appearance and indicates the careful su- pervision of the progressive owners. . The present residence was erected in 1882 and stands on a beautiful building site amid the trees, many of which were planted by Mr. Bricknell and will stand as monuments long after he has been laid to rest. The business 24
methods of father and son are beyond ques- tion and the name is synonymous with hon- orable dealing. In the evening of life Mr. Bricknell can look back over the past with- out regret and forward to the future without fear, for he has accomplished much that is commendable and has ever enjoyed the high- est esteem of his fellowmen.
JOSEPH DEFOREST ROBBINS.
One of the most highly esteemed resi- dlents and successful agriculturists of Mills county. Iowa, is Joseph Deforest Robbins, whose acres of beautiful bottom farm lands extend for many miles through Anderson township. He was born at Valparaiso, Por- ter county, Indiana, December 4. 1854. and is a son of Samuel Putnam Robbins, a name- sake of Gen. Putnam, of Revolutionary fame. His father was born near Boston. Massa- chusetts, on March 26, 1809. a son of Sam- uel Robbins, also of Massachusetts, who lo- cated at Nelsonville, Ohio, in 1819. estab- lishing there a tannery and gristmill. His wife was a great-granddaughter of Israel Putnam. These grandparents of our subject passed the remainder of their lives at Nel- sonville, rearing six children, all of whom, with their parents, have passed away. Sam- uel Putnam Robbins was married to Caro- line Coe. June 18. 1837, in Athens county, Ohio. She was a native of that county, born September 6, 1815. a daughter of Jo- siah and Mary Ann Coe, the youngest of thirteen children. Her death occurred Oc- tober 19. 1898, her husband having died on April 8. 1889.
Samuel Putnam Robbins was a pioneer in Indiana, reaching that state from Ohio when twenty-six years of age, and owning
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at that time a pair of oxen. a saddle pony and a cash capital of three hundred dollars. He filed upon a quarter-section of govern- ment land in Porter county, and that land is still owned by one of his sons, always re- maining free from mortgage. At one time he owned eighteen hundred acres of land in Indiana and engaged largely in agriculture, and later became a railroad contractor, con- structing at one time eleven miles of road. He was made county commissioner, which position he filled for twelve years, giving perfect satisfaction. In his political faith he held with the Republican party. He and his good wife left an estimable family, some of them still living, owners of large farms. Amos K. was born in 1841 and died at the age of thirty-eight. He had married Laura V. Stafford and had one daughter ; Andrew clied at the age of one year : Lyman died in infancy; Levi is a resident of Woodson county, Kansas, owning there two thousand acres of land and has eight children : James (now deceased) owned seven hundred acres of Indiana farm land; and Lewis is an In- diana farmer on thirteen hundred acres.
Our subject enjoyed exceptional educa- tional advantages, attending the normal school at Valparaiso, where he received a diploma in the commercial course. He early engaged in farming and when nine .. teen years old received a guarantee deed for a one-half interest in nine hundred and thirty acres of land in Porter county, with his brother Lewis. In 1881 he married Miss Henrietta Gaylord, who was born in Porter county, a daughter of Charles Hen- ry and Theodosia (Sayles) Gaylord, botlı of whom were natives of New York. Mr. Gaylord was a soldier in the Civil war, and died in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee,
at the age of forty-four, April 14, 1865, the day upon which occurred that horrible crime, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Mrs. Gaylord survived him until 1874, dy- ing at the age of fifty-one, and was laid at rest in the church-yard at McCool, Indiana. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord were : Elizabeth D., who died at the age of thir- ty-one ; Emily J., the wife of James B. Rob- bins (deceased) ; she died at the age of thir- ty-seven, leaving three children; Charles, who died in infancy ; Ina A., the wife of L. W. Miller, a farmer of this county; and Mrs. Robbins, the wife of our subject.
Mr. and Mrs. Robbins began domestic life in Woodson county, Kansas, where Mr. Robbins removed in 1880 and bought two hundred and forty acres of land and es- tablished a cattle ranch. In the fall of 1882 he left Kansas and returned to Indiana, re- maining there until February, 1883, when he came to his present location, buying one thousand and fifteen acres of land, paying for the same fifty-three thousand, five hun- dred dollars. Only eighteen acres were im- proved. In 1893 Mr. Robbins invested in a half-section of wild land in Dawson county, Nebraska, realizing that that land will soon more than double its value.
Mr. Robbins makes a specialty of fine stock, breeding registered stock, raising Aberdeen Angus cattle and Poland China hogs. His first experiment with this fine stock was made in 1887, through imported animals, and he now owns six hundred head and ships from one car-load to two hundred and sixty-nine head per year, shipping to Chicago and Omaha.
In 1894-5 Mr. Robbins erected his fine residence, the most complete and imposing in all this neighborhood. It is a beautiful
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modern residence, supplied with all mod- ern conveniences, and as elegantly appoint ed within as it it imposing without. Its location is particularly fine, overlooking the beautiful surrounding landscape for many miles.
Mr. and Mrs. Robbins have three chil- dren : Ina May, born September 23. 1883. who has spent two years at Simpson Col- lege, Illinois; Lewis Leroy, born June 14. 1887, a bright, manly little gentleman : and Fern Lynette, born June 9th, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins are most valned members of the Methodist church, of twelve years' standing, in which Mr. Robbins has accept- ably filled many official positions.
AUGUST ANDERSON.
Among the enterprising agriculturists of Green township, Fremont county, is Au- gust Anderson, who resides on section II. He is a native of Sweden and has been a resident of this country since 1881. Upon his present farm he has resided since 1894 and to-day he has a well developed property. He spent the days of his childhood and youth in his native land, where he was trained to habits of industry and economy. Before leaving Sweden he was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Hanson, and their second child died in that country ere their emigration to the new world. In the year 1881 Mr. Anderson resolved to try his fortune in America, for he had heard favora- ble reports of the opportunities here offered. Accordingly he crossed the briny deep to the new world and made his way to Iowa, since which time he has been identified with its agricultural interests. Making prepara tion for a home, he sent for his family, who
joined him six months after his arrival in the new world.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of four children who are yet living : AAugust John, a farmer of Fremont county, who is married and has one son : Elmer. a commer- cial agent for the Home Stock Food Com- pany; and Delia and Axel, twins, who are still with their parents. The children were provided with excellent educational privi- leges, all having been students in the pub- lic schools of Tabor, and thus they were fit- ted to meet the practical and responsible du . ties of life. The daughter possesses a deci- ded musical talent. Fourteen years after his arrival in this country, Mr. Anderson's father died, February 27, 1901, at his home in Fre- mont county, which with his wife ( who sur- vives ) had been his residence for some time. There are three other sons and two daugh- ters, and all are married and have children. One brother, Peter Anderson, is a farmer near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and has eleven children.
Throughout his entire career. Mr. Ander- son has carried on agricultural pursuits. In 1894 be located upon his present farm of two hundred acres, which he has managed with success continuously since. He had previ- ously rented land and by its successful man. agement had added continually to his capital until he was enabled to purchase land of his own. In 1890 he bought .his present farm of two hundred acres, paying for it twenty. seven dollars and fifty cents per acre. There were only poor buildings upon the place, and it bore little resemblance to the farm which one sees there to-day. In 1894 Mr. Ander- son removed to the land which he had pur- chased and erected his fine residence. at a cost of five thousand dollars. It is one of
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the best country homes in the entire county, a large, commodious structure, built in the modern style of architecture and supplied with all the improvements and conveniences. It stands upon a natural building site and commands a splendid view of the surround- ing country and the beautiful landscape that spreads out before it. Upon the house has been built a cupola, from which one has a most extensive view, showing forth the fields of grain, verdant meadows and fine stretches of timber land. As time has passed Mr. Anderson has added to his property. In the fall of 1900, however, he sold one farm of one hundred and sixty acres, but has made a contract for a farm for his son. In addition to the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to the climate, he is engaged extensively in stock-raising and feeds about one hundred head of beef cattle annually, and also has a large number of logs. He also has some excellent horses of a high grade-some fine driving stock in which his son takes much pride. Upon the place is a young apple orchard, which he planted five years ago and which is now in excellent condition. Everything about the place is neat. The fences and buildings are kept in good repair and a spirit of thrift and enter- prise pervades the place.
Mr. Anderson certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished. He had neither influential friends nor wealth as he started upon his business career, but was de- pendent entirely upon h's own efforts and resources. He has made the most of his opportunities and worked his way steadily upward, overcoming all the difficulties and obstacles in his path by a determined pur- pose and resolute will. His unfailing indus- try has been a most potent and forceful ele-
ment in his prosperity and it is certainly a basis for success. In the county of his adoption Mr. Anderson enjoys the respect and confidence of all with whom he is asso- ciated and his worth as a man and a citizen is widely acknowledged. In politics he is a Democrat.
JAMES W. CARTER.
The true western spirit of enterprise and progress is exemplified in the life of James WV. Carter, one of the most active, enterpris- ing and successful agriculturists of Mills county. He was born in this county in 1861 and is a representative of one of the old fam- ilies of Tennessee. His father, John Carter, was a native of that state and in 1852 came to Mills county, Iowa, by the way of Mis- souri. In Glenwood he married Miss Mar- garet Williams, whose people were from In- diana. On both sides they were representa- tives of the agricultural interests. At the time of the Civil war John Carter responded to his country's call for aid, enlisting at Glen- wood as a member of Company B, Twenty- ninth Iowa Infantry. The eldest brother of James W., Stephen A. Carter, was also a Union soldier, and Mr. Williams, the ma- ternal grandfather, of our subject, was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war. The brothers and sisters of J. W. Carter were as follows : Stephen and E. Benjamin, who are living in Kansas; David A., a resident of Whiting, Iowa; Mrs. Patronilla Mickel- wait, of Ord, Nebraska; Mrs. Mary Puffer, of California; Mrs. Sarah Anderson, of Ma- con, Illinois; Mrs. Kate Noah and Mrs. Jane McCammon, both of Kansas.
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