USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 2
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Aside from his activity in other directions Mr. Miller assisted in the organiza- tion of the Iowa Funeral Directors' Association and was active in securing legis- lation whereby all funeral directors are required to secure a license. For three years he served as secretary and treasurer of the society and was its president for one year. He has been in business in Tipton continuously since 1879 and is
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
the oldest merchant in the city in years of continuous connection with trade interests here. The many lines in which he has been interested have profited by his cooperation, feeling the stimulus of his sound judgment and well defined plans. His life history illustrates what may be accomplished by tireless energy, keen perception, a genius for devising and executing the right thing at the right time, joined to every day common sense-a quality which is too often lacking in the business world. While he has met with success in his undertakings, it has not been alone the end for which he was striving, for at the same time he has found opportunity to cooperate in the movements and projects which have furthered the intellectual, moral, political and social interests of the community.
C. HENRY HAESEMEYER.
C. Henry Haesemeyer, occupying a prominent position in Cedar county, has for some years been cashier of the Union Savings Bank at Stanwood and is re- garded as a prominent representative of financial interests. He has lived in Cedar county since 1892. As his name indicates, he is of German lineage, his birth occurring in Hanover, Germany, July 10, 1878.
His father, Fred Haesemeyer, was also a native of that country, where he spent his boyhood and youth. After arriving at years of maturity he married Wilhelmine Busching, a native of Germany, and in 1892 the family came to the new world, settling in Cedar county, Iowa. Mr. Haesemeyer was a farmer here, spending his last years in this state, and died in 1899. His wife survived him for about a decade and passed away in 1909. Their family numbered two sons and three daughters : Fred H., a business man of Stanwood, who is the proprietor of a general store; Lena, the wife of Louis Meyer, a farmer of Cedar county ; Louisa, the wife of Henry Reinking, who carries on general agricultural pursuits in this county ; and Minnie, the wife of Louis Goldsmith, also a farmer of this county.
C. Henry Haesemeyer spent the first fourteen years of his life in his native country, pursued his education there, receiving instruction in both German and French. He then came to the new world and continued his education in the Stanwood high school, where, of course, his instruction was in English. He was thus liberally trained and not only mastered the various branches of learning taught in the public schools but also became familiar with the three languages. He afterward took a position as bookkeeper in a bank and later became one of the organizers of the Union Savings Bank and subsequently was made cashier. He is one of the well known business men of the county, and his reliable and tried business integrity have constituted important factors in the conduct of the bank. His judgment is sound and his business integrity has never been called into question.
Mr. Haesemeyer was married in Stanwood in May, 1908, to Miss Minnie Lehrman, who was born and reared here and is a daughter of H. J. Lehrman of
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Stanwood. They have one child, Irene. In his political views Mr. Haesemeyer is a republican and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He has served as secretary of the school board and is now treasurer of the school dis- trict. He likewise fills the office of town clerk and has been officially identified with the schools since attaining his majority. Both he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church, in the faith of which they were reared and to which they have always been most loyal.
Mr. Haesemeyer came to Cedar county with his parents when a lad of but fourteen years, completing his education in Stanwood high school, and thus well equipped started out in life in connection with the banking business, to which he has always devoted his energies. He has made a close study of the business in all its phases, and his determination and energy have enabled him to work his way upward, while his efforts have constituted an important element in the suc- cess of the bank.
JUDGE WILLIAM NEWTON TREICHLER.
Presiding for the second term as judge of the eighteenth judicial district, the consensus of public opinion accords Judge William Newton Treichler recogni- tion as one of the most honored and valued residents of Tipton. He was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, January 8, 1856, a son of Abram and Mar- garet (Miller) Treichler, who were also natives of that county, where they re- sided until their removal westward to Cedar county, Iowa, in the spring of 1866. Their remaining days were here passed, the father's death occurring when he had reached the venerable age of ninety-two years, while his wife attained the ad- vanced age of eighty-four years ere her demise. He was a blacksmith and car- riage builder in Pennsylvania at the time when all the work on carriages was done by hand and the vehicle sold from four hundred to six hundred dollars. After removing to Cedar county Mr. Treichler engaged in farming. He was prominent in Masonic circles in the east and attained high rank in the order. His early political allegiance was given to the whig party and on its dissolution he joined the ranks of the republican party. He was a stanch advocate of the cause of abolition and when the republican party was formed to prevent the further extension of slavery he at once espoused its cause.
Judge William N. Treichler, who was the seventh in order of birth in a fam- ily of nine children, was a lad of ten years when he accompanied his parents on their westward removal to Cedar county, Iowa, the family home being estab- lished in Linn township. He assisted his father in the development of the new farm for two years and then began working by the month as a farm hand, being thus employed through the summer season, while in the winter months he at- tended school. Desirous of receiving better educational advantages than the dis- trict schools afforded, he spent the winters in study and at the age of sixteen years entered the University of Iowa, graduating from the law department of that institution at the age of twenty-three. He had also attended a business col- lege at Davenport, in which he completed a full course.
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WILLIAM N. TREICHLER
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Immediately after his graduation from the university Judge Treichler was admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Iowa and in the spring of 1880 came to Tipton, where he entered the law office of Wolf & Landt. There he put his theoretical knowledge to the practical test and after two years spent with that firm entered into partnership with H. L. Huber, with whom he was associated for a year or two. Since that time he has been alone in practice and earnest application, intuitive wisdom, keen power of analysis and careful prepara- tion of cases gained him prominence and success at the bar. In 1898 he was elected judge of the eighteenth judicial district of Iowa, which comprises the counties of Cedar, Jones and Linn, and on the expiration of his eight years' term was reelected in 1906, so that his present incumbency will continue until 1911. He has been connected with the trial of various important cases, including the Boulevard Paving case of Tipton when he was one of the attorneys, and since coming to the bench has rendered the decision in the famous Cedar Rapids Wa- ter case. At the bar and as a trial lawyer Judge Treichler has always been courteous but forceful, logical, convincing and never a quibbler over non-essen- tial points. In practice he prepares his cases with patience, faithfulness and ability and seldom is involved by his opponents in a phase of the litigation which he has not carefully considered. As counselor he is astute but conservative. In his decisions he has exhibited the same traits as marked his career at the bar, al- ways thoroughly examining the pending matter and basing his clearly expressed conclusions on the fundamental principles of the law. Those who know him personally or have had professional dealings with him in his judicial capacity need not be told that his decisions from the bench are quite devoid of political considerations or individual leanings.
Judge Treichler has always given his political allegiance to the republican party and aside from judicial office served as mayor of Tipton for one term, having been elected to that position in 1884. During his administration the pres- ent water-works system was constructed and the first municipal electric light plant installed in the city. Moreover, his public service in other connections has been of great value. He is now president of the Tipton Public Library Asso- ciation and has been a member of its board of trustees since its organization. It was through his correspondence that Tipton secured the Carnegie Library. At the urgent request of a trustee Judge Treichler consented to write Mr. Carnegie, knowing, however, that different people had previously addressed him upon the subject and failed to receive any response. Three weeks passed and Judge Treichler received no reply to his letter. The same trustee requested him to write again and his importunity prevailed. He addressed the second letter to Andrew Carnegie-an apology from beginning to end caused by his former and similar letters. Within a week a reply was received asking for a copy of his first letter and after some correspondence Tipton received a donation of ten thousand dol- lars toward the building of a library. This was the first small library to receive a donation from Mr. Carnegie.
In March, 1883, at Norristown, Pennsylvania, was celebrated the marriage of Judge Treichler and Miss Joanna Rhoads, a native of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Joseph and Ann (Crawford) Rhoads, who al-
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
ways remained residents of the Keystone state. Mrs. Treichler is closely con- nected with the Jacob De Haven family of Revolutionary fame. By her mar- riage she has become the mother of three sons: Joseph Rhoads, now a mer- chant of Mitchell, South Dakota; Abram H., at home; and William Edmond, a student in the Iowa State University.
Aside from his law practice and public interests Judge Treichler is president of the Tipton Light & Heating Company. Always interested in education and scientific research, he is a member of the State Historical Society of Iowa and the National Geographical Society. He has likewise been president of the Cedar County Chautauqua Association since its organization and, in fact, was one of its founders. In this connection he puts forth earnest effort to have the Chautauqua assemblies a source of deep interest and of educative value, and through his instrumentality some of the finest lecturers of the country have appeared upon the platform here, while musical and literary entertainments of equal merit have been given. The activities of Judge Treichler touch the varied interests of society and constitute a stimulus for activity along lines which work for the benefit of the individual and the betterment of the community.
ED DEARDORFF.
The property known as the Pinewood Farm, adjoining the city limits of Tip- ton, is the home of Ed Deardorff, the place comprising one hundred and sixty acres of valuable and productive land. Mr. Deardorff was born in Tipton, his natal day being February 15, 1868. He is the fifth in a family of six sons born of the marriage of Daniel Koch and Mary (Dunlap) Deardorff, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Dillsburg, York county, De- cember 19, 1825, while the latter claimed Altoona as the city of her nativity, her natal day being January 4, 1829. She lost her parents in early life, after which she was reared by people who in 1853 came to Cedar county, Iowa. In 1852 the father accompanied his brother Louis to the middle west and shortly after their arrival in this part of the country they came to Cedar county. The father was a wagonmaker by trade and followed that business during his early life but dur- ing the last thirty years of his life he engaged in farming on the tract of land which is now owned by our subject. He inherited many of the sterling traits of his German ancestry and became a very successful and prominent resident of. Cedar county. Unto him and his wife were born six sons: Charles Lewis, who died in May, 1905, at the age of forty years ; William C., who resides in St. Louis. Missouri ; Walter J., a resident of Columbus, Ohio; Olin G., of Chicago; Ed. of this review; and Frank A., who makes his home in Los Angeles, California. Both the parents are deceased, the mother passing away on the 27th of February. 1891, when she was sixty-two years of age, while the father, surviving for a long period, departed this life on the 2d of April. 1909. when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-four years.
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Mr. Deardorff has spent his entire life in and near Tipton and acquired his education in the public schools of this city. It was during his early youth that his parents took up their abode on the farm which is his present home, so that much of his life has here been passed. He early became familiar with the work of the fields and is now the owner of the old homestead, embracing one hundred and sixty acres, located in Center township, just outside the corporation limits of Tipton. The place is valuable, owing to its close proximity to the city and to the highly cultivated fields. The old home was destroyed by fire and in 1908 was replaced by a beautiful country residence, supplied with all modern con- veniences, and the place in its entirety, known as the Pinewood Farm, is one of the attractive properties of this section of the county. Mr. Deardorff carries on general farming and stock-raising, in which he is meeting with excellent success, being numbered among the representative farmers of his locality.
In 1889 occurred the marriage of Mr. Deardorff and Miss Mary Ellen Porter, who was born ten miles south of Tipton, April 17, 1867, a daughter of John and Margaret (Matter) Porter. The father was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, while the mother was born in Germany, whence she emigrated to the new world at the age of nineteen years. She came direct to Cedar county and it was here that she gave her hand in marriage to John Porter. Her death occurred April 17, 1901, when she was sixty-eight years of age. She had for a long period survived her husband, who died in 1885, at the age of fifty-eight years. By her marriage Mrs. Deardorff has become the mother of three daughters and one son, Myrtle, Helen, Dorothy and Ralph, all born on the home farm.
Mr. Deardorff gives his political support to the republican party, while his fraternal relations connect him with Cedar Lodge, No. 11, A. F. & A. M., and with the Knights of Pythias, in both of which he is a valued member. The fam- ily belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. Having spent his entire life in and near Tipton, Mr. Deardorff is well and favorably known, fully sustaining the reputation that was borne by his honored father.
HENRY SYRING.
Henry Syring, a well known and enterprising agriculturist of Inland town- ship, devotes his attention to the operation of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres. His birth occurred in Waldeck, Germany, his parents being Wil- liam and Catherine Syring, who were likewise natives of that country. Both are now deceased. Their family numbered eight children, only two of whom came to the new world, namely: Henry, of this review ; and John, who is a resi- dent of Fairfield township, Cedar county.
Henry Syring attended the common schools of his native land until fourteen years of age and when a youth of fifteen began learning the carpenter's trade. working at that occupation for three years. He then turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits and was actively engaged in the work of the fields until the time of his emigration to the United States. He was a young man of twenty-four years when he set sail for American shores and it was with a cash
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
capital of but fifty cents that he arrived in Durant, Cedar county, Iowa. Finding immediate employment a necessity, he hired out as a farm hand and thus worked for a period of seven years. At the end of that time he rented a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Inland township and has resided thereon contin- uously since, having purchased the property eight years ago. When he first took up his abode thereon the place was in rather a run-down condition, but he has since remodeled the house, built fences and outbuildings and put in tile to the value of several hundred dollars. The property is now lacking in none of the improvements and accessories of a model farm of the twentieth century and the well tilled fields annually yield golden harvests in return for the care and labor which is bestowed upon them.
As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Syring chose Miss Catherine Danceglock, the wedding ceremony taking place in Inland township. She was born on the 22d of December, 1869, her parents being William and Mina (Rampft) Danceglock. It was as a young lady of twenty that she left her native land-Germany-and crossed the ocean to the United States. Unto Mr: and Mrs. Syring have been born three children: William, Mina and Frederick.
Mr. Syring has always been a republican in politics and has been school di- rector for six years and has served on the jury. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the German Evangelical church of Bennett, to which his wife also belongs. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world and though he started out in life empty-handed, he has gradually worked his way upward, enjoying the advantages offered in this country, which is unhampered by caste or class.
MONTGOMERY FRASEUR.
Montgomery Fraseur is one of the pioneer settlers of Cedar county Upon the walls of his memory hang many pictures of early days; pictures of a broad open prairie covered with the native grasses and wild flowers in the summer months and presenting the appearance of one glittering and unbroken sheet of snow through the winter seasons; pictures of early pioneer homes, little cabins built upon a tract of land whereon a few plowed acres showed that the work of civilization was begun. The homes were lighted by candles, the farm work was done with machinery very crude as compared to that in use at the present time and the life of the pioneer was one of earnest, persistent toil from early morning until nightfall. Mr. Fraseur tells many interesting incidents of the days when Cedar county was on the frontier and of his boyhood and youth here.
A native of Clermont county, Ohio, he was born February 12, 1827, and there resided until 1837, when he came to Cedar county, Iowa. His parents were Benjamin and Sarah (Stroup) Fraseur, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. They were married in the Buckeye state and became the parents of the following children: William, who died in Denver, Colorado; Jacob, who passed away in Oregon; George, who died in Tipton ; Mrs. Barbara Hunter, deceased; Montgomery, of this review; James, who passed away in
Montgomery Frascur
Mrs Montgomery Fraseun
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Nevada; Jackson, who was in Nevada when last they heard from him; and Eliza, the wife of Henry Shank, of Tipton. After losing his first wife Mr. Fraseur married Phoebe Huffman and they had two children: Frank, a resident of Boone, Iowa ; and Mrs. Cassie Hull, also of that place.
As the family traveled westward from Ohio in 1837 they made a short stop eight miles below Lafayette, Indiana, and then continued on the journey with four yoke of oxen and one wagon. They were four weeks in making the trip for it was the spring of the year and the roads were in poor condition. They located two miles west of the present site of Tipton on a tract of raw prairie land, from which one could ride for miles without coming to a fence or habita- tion to impede his progress. The family lived in a tent until the log house was built, and thus amid the wild environment of pioneer life they began the devel- opment of a farm. Their first visitors were Indians who were friendly but begged for flour. The father preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land and when it came into market entered it from the government.
Montgomery Fraseur made his home upon that place and aided in the work of early improvement and development until the spring of 1849, when he went to California, following the trail with a company of forty wagons that crossed the Missouri and proceeded over the sand plains and the mountains to their destina- tion. One of the number died of cholera soon after crossing the Missouri river. After six months of wearisome travel they arrived at their destination and Mr. Fraseur spent two winters in the gold mines. He then purchased a ranch and engaged in the raising of cattle, having a tract of land three miles wide and about twelve miles long which had formerly been a Spanish claim. In the winter of 1853 he returned to the Mississippi valley by way of the isthmus route to New York, thence westward to Chicago, by stage to Rock Island and by horse- back from Davenport to his destination. His mother died in 1852, while he was in California.
After reaching home Mr. Fraseur purchased four hundred acres of land four miles west of Tipton for twenty-four hundred dollars. At once he began its development and for several years continued its cultivation, making his home thereon until he removed to Tipton about twenty-six years ago. Here he has resided continuously since. A part of the old homestead is now owned by his son, while the remainder has been sold. On taking up his abode in Tipton Mr. Fraseur built his present good home at the went end of Fifth street, having here twelve lots and twenty-nine acres of land which is used for pasture. He is a director of the Cedar County State Bank, with which he has thus been asso- ciated for many years.
In 1854 Mr. Fraseur was married to Miss Sarah Reeder, who was born in Clermont county, Ohio, August 28, 1835. She was only five years of age when her mother died and her father passed away soon afterward. She was a daughter of William and Nancy Reeder, and having been left an orphan she came to Iowa with an aunt in 1852. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fraseur have been born ten children : Charles, now a resident of Missouri; Almira, the wife of J. W. Morton, of Kan- sas ; Mattie, the wife of Isaac Wertz, living about four miles from Tipton ; Fre- mont, a farmer whose home is also about four miles from Tipton ; Fred, living in the county seat; Carrie, the wife of George Escher, living two miles north of
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Tipton ; Emma, of Chicago; Mrs. May Hibbard, a widow whose home is in Seattle, Washington ; Homer, who died at the age of thirteen years; and Hattie, who is the widow of William Brew and lives with her father.
Jacob Fraseur, a brother of Montgomery Fraseur, went to California by the overland route about 1852. The same year their father crossed the plains, the son making the trip with horses and the father with oxen. Jacob had his horses stolen one night while on the way by Indians but he recovered them together with some silver money that had been taken. They were twenty miles away when he found them.
Mr. Fraseur of this review visited Chicago in 1853 when it was little more than a mud hole with a few plank sidewalks. When the family first came to Cedar county the father hauled wheat to Chicago and there purchased two stoves and two barrels of salt, for Chicago was the nearest market at which he could obtain these commodities. Mr. Fraseur hauled wheat to Muscatine, where he has sold it for twenty-five cents per bushel and dressed pork for two dollars and a half per hundred. He has lived to witness great changes since those times, for today every Iowa farm is at most but a few miles distant from a railroad. Prices have greatly advanced until the farmer today receives a goodly return for his labor and, moreover, his work is not nearly so arduous as it was many years ago, for much of it is done by machinery where formerly it was done by hand. It seems hardly possible that it is within the memory of a living man when Indians inhabitated this district and yet Mr. Fraseur remembers seeing the red men here for some time after the arrival of the family. But pioneer conditions have long since given away before advancing civilization; the red men's hunting grounds have been transformed into highly cultivated farms, wild game has been replaced by high grade stock, the little crossroads villages have been converted into thriving towns and cities and Tipton is situated in the center of a rich agri- cultural district, the county taking its place among the best and most productive counties of the state.
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