USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 23
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On the 16th of March, 1875, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Laubscher to Miss Charlotte Jacobs, who was born in Johnson county, Iowa, December 5, 1855, a daughter of John and Rosanna (Frankhauser) Jacobs. Politically Mr. Laubscher has been a life-long democrat and has exerted a wide felt influence in the counsels of his party. He has not only been called upon to serve as county auditor, but has also filled the positions of township trustee in Cass township for a number of terms, assessor of that township for one term and also served as a member of the city council of Tipton one term of three years, these positions having come to him unsought. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed and his party realized that he was thoroughly capable and reliable. He filled the offices not only with credit to himself but to the entire satisfaction of all con- cerned. He is today regarded as one of the leading citizens of Tipton and is a popular member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias fraternities.
N. E. JACOBS.
N. E. Jacobs, whose name is an honored one in the business circles of Tipton, has throughout his business career been identified with the hardware trade and is today a member of the well known firm of Laubscher & Jacobs. He is a native of this state, his birth occurring near Iowa City in Johnson county on the 26th of July, 1861. He was only three years old, however, when he accompanied his parents, John and Rosanna (Frankhauser) Jacobs, on their removal to a farm in Cass township, Cedar county. The father was born in Switzerland, Decem- ber 13, 1818, but the mother was a native of Ohio. She died in Cass township, this county, in 1870, at the age of forty-four years. The parents were married in the Buckeye state and came to Iowa about 1845, making their home in John- son county for some years. The father, who made farming his life occupation, was about thirteen years old on the emigration of the family to America and he grew to manhood in Ohio, which state continued to be his home until coming to Iowa. In his family were nine children, of whom seven still live, namely : Louisa, the wife of W. W. Johnson of Sanborn, O'Brien county, Iowa; William R., of Correctionville, Iowa; A. P., of Paulina, Iowa; Lottie, the wife of A. C. Laub- scher, who is engaged in business with our subject ; Ernest, a farmer, living one mile from Correctionville ; N. E., of this review ; Alexander, of Tipton ; and two who died in infancy.
N. E. Jacobs grew to manhood upon his father's farm in Cass township and acquired his education in the local schools. On starting out in life for himself he decided to engage in mercantile pursuits and for six years conducted busi-
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ness in Paulina as a dealer in hardware and farm implements, being at that time in partnership with his brother, A. P. Jacobs, under the name of Jacobs Brothers. In 1896, however, he sold his interest in the business to his brother and came to Tipton, where he has since been connected with A. C. Laubscher under the firm style of Laubscher & Jacobs. They carry a large and complete line of hardware and implements and are doing a successful business. While a resident of Paulina, Mr. Jacobs also served as a director of the Farmers State Bank of that place and has ever been regarded as one of the leading business men of the community in which he resides.
It was in 1893 that Mr. Jacobs was united in marriage to Miss Emma Han- dorf, also a native of this state, who was born in Marshall county, February 23, 1870, her parents being Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Handorf. Two children were born of this union, Donald Alexander, who is still living, and Florence, who died at the age of two years.
Fraternally Mr. Jacobs affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows at Tipton but has never been active in public life, preferring to center his energies upon business affairs. His indefatigable energy has constituted a prominent factor in the growth and substantial progress of his business, and today he is regarded as one of the leading citizens of Tipton.
CAPTAIN J. N. BOLING.
Captain J. N. Boling, one of the well known and leading citizens of Cedar county, within the borders of which he has resided for four decades, has long been a prominent factor in business circles and is now successfully engaged in real-estate operations. For the past twenty-four years he has been connected with the public life of Stanwood and for some years previous was successfully identified with agricultural interests in Dayton township. He is likewise one of the few remaining veterans of the Civil war and may well be proud of the splendid record he made as a defender of the Union.
His birth occurred in Holmes county, Ohio, on the 3d of December, 1838, and there he grew to manhood on a farm. His education was limited to that afforded by the common schools but since attaining mature years he has become well informed through reading, experience and observation and is largely a self-educated man. On the 14th of September, 1861, he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company B, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was appointed sergeant, was subsequently promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and still later to first lieutenant. He was first under fire at Cumberland Gap and his regiment was under fire a total of eighty-seven days during the war. On one occasion he was hit by a spent ball and knocked down, receiving injuries which disabled him for a few days. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi, went with General Banks' expedi- tion up the Red river and served 'in a great many other important engagements. After his term of enlistment had expired he was mustered out and returned to Ohio, being honorably discharged at Columbus on the 31st of October, 1864,
J. N. BOLING
MRS. J. N. BOLING
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with the rank of first lieutenant. Governor Tod appointed him captain of a company of home guards immediately after his discharge.
On the 27th of December, 1864, in Holmes county, Ohio, Captain Boling was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Hoyman, who was born and reared in that county, her father being John Hoyman. Following his marriage our sub- ject bought a portable sawmill and engaged in the manufacture of lumber for a few years. In 1869 he came west and took up his permanent abode in Cedar county, Iowa. Captain Boling owned and operated three hundred and twenty acres of land near Stanwood, in Dayton township, and devoted his time and energies to the further cultivation and improvement of that property for fifteen years, erecting a good residence, barn and outbuildings and making the place a model farm. On abandoning agricultural pursuits he sold the property and re- moved to Stanwood, where he erected a tile and brick yard, put in a good manu- facturing plant and began the making of brick and tile, carrying on the business successfully for a period of eleven years or until his plant was destroyed by fire. For some years past, however, he has dealt largely in real estate, handling Colorado and Dakota lands, in which connection he has built up an extensive business. He built a good brick residence and business house for himself and also owns other buildings. For seven years he was identified with journalistic interests, publishing the Stanwood Herald. He has been connected with various local enterprises and is well entitled to a foremost place among the substantial, progressive and public-spirited citizens of the county. His connection with any undertaking insures a prosperous outcome of the same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever he is associated with. He has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business, and in his dealings is known for his prompt and honorable methods, which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellowmen.
Unto Captain Boling and his wife were born three sons and five daughters, namely : A. J., a farmer residing in Stanwood; C. O., a lawyer by profession, who makes his home at Tipton; John F., a stock-dealer of Stanwood; Nellie M., the wife of E. H. Anthony, of Stanwood; Minnie, who was called to her final rest in May, 1898; Hattie, who passed away on the 2d of January, 1900; Nettie, whose demise occurred on the 23d of May, 1906; and Mary Ellen, who died in infancy.
In politics Captain Boling is a stanch republican, having supported every presidential nominee of that party since casting his ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. For many years he has been an active and influential worker in the local ranks of the party. He has served as justice of the peace for a quarter of a century and is still filling that position and at various times has been elected mayor of Stanwood, holding that office for fourteen years. He has likewise been sent as a delegate to numerous state and county conventions and his public duties have ever been discharged in an efficient and conscientious manner. He still maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his member- ship in the Grand Army of the Republic and recently transferred his membership to T. Z. Cook Post of Cedar Rapids from the post at Stanwood, of which he was commander for a time. His religious faith is indicated by his membersnip in the Methodist Episcopal church at Stanwood, to which his wife also belongs.
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At this point it would be almost tautological to enter into any series of state- ments as showing Captain Boling to be a man of broad intelligence and genuine public spirit, for these have been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. Strong in his individuality, he never lacks the courage of his convic- tions, but there are as dominating elements in his individuality a lively human sympathy and an abiding charity which, as taken in connection with the sterling integrity and honor of his character, have naturally gained him the respect and confidence of men.
CHRISTIAN ROHLF.
Christian Rohlf, one of the successful farmers of Inland township, makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, in addition to engaging in general agricultural pursuits. His splendid farm of three hundred and twenty acres on section 7, came to him as a result of individual effort, coupled with ster- ling honesty in all his business transactions. He is rated among the represent- ative citizens of Cedar county.
The son of Fritz and Elizabeth (Schults) Rohlf, Christian Rohlf first saw the light of day in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the date of his birth being July 13, 1860. With his parents he came to this country in 1869, and finally arrived in Davenport, Iowa, September 15 of that year. The children were all quite small, and for a year the family lived in a brick house which stood on Ripley street on the site at present occupied by a brick business block. The father and some of the elder children found work in the city. In February, 1870, Fritz Rohlf bought eighty acres of land lying five miles west of Davenport on the Buffalo road, where they lived for three years, then sold and bought two hundred and eighty acres in Butler township, Scott county. That place became their home and continued as such until 1889, when Mr. Rohlf retired to Daven- port, where his death occurred a few months later. He was a man of strong individuality and proved an exceptionally good farmer and citizen, being held in high esteem by his many friends. He and his family were devoted members of the Lutheran church and he was actively interested in all the church work. His success in life-for he had made his way from a poor man to a very well-to- do farmer-was due entirely to his perseverance and to honest methods of con- ducting his affairs. At the time of his death he was sixty-eight years old. His wife, Elizabeth (Schults) Rohlf, was also a native of Germany. Her death oc- curred at Eldridge, Iowa, when in the seventy-ninth year of her age.
Christian Rohlf is one of a family of six children, all of whom were born in Germany, and but three are now living. Louisa and John Rohlf both live in Davenport. The early education of Christian Rohlf was obtained in the schools of Scott county. He learned the carpenter's trade and remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years old, working at his trade all the while.
On November 4, 1885, Christian Rohlf was united in marriage to Caroline Schmidt, a native of Springfield township, Cedar county, and a daughter of John and Sophia (Kruse) Schmidt, both of whom are now deceased. Unto Mr. and
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Mrs. Rohlf were born six children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are: Minnie, the wife of Peter Ruser, of Inland township; Edward, Walter, Hilda and Lucinda, all of whom make their homes with their parents.
For two years following their marriage Mr. Rohlf worked at his trade of carpentering and then engaged in farming, renting land for this purpose for a period of five years. He was remarkably successful in this venture and at the end of the five years bought eighty acres of land in Lincoln township, Scott county. That was in 1891 and until nine years ago, at which time he bought the present home of the family, they lived there, making a decided success of farming and improving the place in every manner possible. The present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Inland township, Cedar county, was purchased in 1901. Just five years ago he purchased an eighty acre tract of land adjoining his farm, and in the spring of 1910 he added another eighty, making his total acreage three hundred and twenty. The entire place has been fenced with hog-tight wire fencing, and new tiling has been laid throughout the entire farm. Mr. Rohlf carries on general farming but pays special attention to registered shorthorn cat- tle, which he raises for breeding purposes. He has been remarkably successful in this line of work and is known throughout the entire country as one of the best informed stockmen of the district. The success which he has achieved is due entirely to his splendid energy, coupled with an exceptional ability.
Mr. Rohlf has found time to serve his township as trustee for six years. For a number of years he was school director in Scott county and at the present time is secretary of the school board. He is connected with a number of frater- nal organizations, being a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Pythian Sisters. A self-made man in every sense of the word, Christian Rohlf has made his way and has become a man of worth by honesty in business, coupled with a strong determination to succeed.
ANDREW MANN McCORMICK.
Andrew Mann McCormick, who is now successfully engaged in the furni- ture and undertaking business in Tipton as a member of the firm of McCormick & Wills, was born in this city on the 25th of February, 1879, and is a son of Alexander McCormick, whose birth occurred in County Cavan, Ireland, No- vember 4, 1839. During his infancy the latter was taken by his parents, George and Jean (Stewart) McCormick, back to their old home in Scotland, locating in Linlithgowshire, where he was reared and educated. George McCormick made three different attempts to come to the United States but each time was shipwrecked and never reached the shores of this country. On one of the voyages he lost a son and daughter and again another daughter was drowned. He was a tailor by trade, and both he and his wife died in Scotland. Of their eight children only three are now living, these being Alexander, the father of our subject; Mrs. Margaret Machelson, of Glasgow; and Mrs. Mary Ann Innes, of Tipton, Iowa.
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During his youth Alexander McCormick served a three years' apprentice- ship to the shoemaker's trade and for several years followed that occupation in Glasgow, Scotland; Dublin, Ireland; and Liverpool, England, after which he returned to his old home in Scotland, where he continued to work for three years. In 1863 he married Miss Margaret Scott, by whom he had one child, but both mother and child died prior to his emigration to America in the fall of 1869. He came direct to Iowa and has since made his home in Tipton, working at his trade, having been at his present location since 1878. He has employed three men at one time and has also dealt in ready-made shoes but is now principally devoting his attention to repair work. In 1871 he again mar- ried, his second union being with Miss Margaret Mann, who was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in January, 1839, and came to this country with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Mann, in the spring of 1869. The children born of this union are: W. G., who is now a linotype operator in the Republican office at Cedar Rapids; Alexander, thirty-six years of age, who is today the smallest man in America and has been offered excellent positions with several circus companies but has always declined; Jane, who is assistant principal of the high school at Mechanicsville; Mary, who died at the age of fourteen years ; Andrew McCormick, whose name introduces this sketch; and Margaret, who was assistant principal of the schools at Lake Park at the time of her death. The parents are both faithful members of the Presbyterian church and the father has been connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen for twenty-five years. In politics he is a republican.
Reared in Tipton, Andrew Mann McCormick is indebted to the public schools of this city for the educational privileges he enjoyed. After attending the high school he began his business career as clerk in the grocery store of W. R. Fields, where he remained for five years. At the age of sixteen he joined the National Guards and when the Spanish-American war broke out enlisted April 26, 1898, in the United States service, becoming a member of Company F, Forty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Louis J. Rowell. He ac- companied the regiment to Cuba but they were never called upon to participate in any engagement. After thirteen months of service Mr. McCormick was mus- tered out May 13, 1899. He now holds the office of first lieutenant in Com- pany F, Fifty-third Iowa National Guard.
After the war Mr. McCormick was engaged as street car conductor in Cedar Rapids for one year and on his return to Tipton entered the employ of S. F. Witmer, who was engaged in the furniture and undertaking business and for whom he worked for eight years. He was later with that gentleman's succes- sors, Kingsbury & Hammel, for one year and then with F. W. Casterline. On the IIth of January, 1909, he formed a partnership with Oscar Wills and they have since engaged in the same line of business under the firm name of McCor- mick & Wills. They carry a large and complete line of furniture and have built up an excellent trade in the undertaking business.
On the 12th of October, 1904, Mr. McCormick was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Dysart, a native of Granville, Illinois, and a daughter of C. W. Dy- sart. Unto Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were born two children, Martha J. and Elizabeth Margaret, but the latter died at the age of ten months.
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The republican party finds in Mr. McCormick a stanch supporter of its principles and on that ticket he was elected in 1908 to the office of coroner of Cedar county, entering upon its duties January 1, 1909. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church and fraternally is identified with several different orders, including the Knights of Pythias, Rathbone Sisters, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masons, and the Order of the Eastern Star. He is quite prominent in business, social and military circles and is today regarded as one of the leading citizens of Tipton.
AMOS H. ROBINSON.
Amos H. Robinson, extensively engaged in farming upon over four hundred acres of land situated on section 15, Dayton township, has since 1857 lived in Cedar county. His memory compasses the period of early development here as well as of later progress. He can remember when much of the farming was done with machinery that was very primitive in comparison with that in use at the present time; when the homes were small and contained little more than the necessities of life.
Mr. Robinson was born in La Salle, Illinois, March 19, 1855, and is of Eng- lish lineage. His grandfather, John Robinson, was a native of England and on emigrating to the new world settled in Canada. His son, W. T. Robinson, also born in England, was a lad at the time when the voyage across the Atlan- tic was made and continued a resident of Canada until after he had attained his majority. He was married in that country to Miss Anna Ernest, a native of New York. He had previously learned the wheelwright's trade and while living in Canada he built and operated mills. Thinking to find better opportunities elsewhere he removed to La Salle, Illinois, where he also worked at his trade until 1857, when he came to Cedar county, Iowa, and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Making his home in Dayton township, he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government and at once began the development of the farm. Upon that place his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in June, 1902, while his wife, surviving him for five years, was called to her final rest in 1907. Their family numbered but two sons, the brother of our subject being W. E. Robinson, who owns and operates the old home farm.
It was upon that farm that Amos H. Robinson was reared, there living with his father and operating the place for twenty-five years. He has always carried on general agricultural pursuits and his life has been crowned with the success that always follows persistent effort, intelligently directed.
Mr. Robinson was married in Clinton, Iowa, on the 14th of May, 1875, to Miss Mary J. Watkins, a native of Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and a daugh- ter of Jesse Watkins, who was also born in Clarion county, as was his wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Hyle. Mr. Watkins was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in 1861 and dying in the service. His widow came west
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to Iowa in 1865, settling in Clinton, where Mrs. Robinson was reared and educated.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Robinson began their domestic life on the old home farm but later removed to Clarence, where he did carpentering and concrete work for five years. He afterward rented the Scott farm near Clarence and continued its cultivation for three years, while in the spring of 1910 he removed to the farm upon which he now resides, the place which he rents embracing more than four hundred acres situated on section 15, Dayton township. All the features of the model farm of the twentieth century are there found-good buildings, the latest improved machinery, well kept fences and fine stock. He makes a specialty of raising hogs and from the sales an- nually derives a good income.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson has been blessed with ten children: Silas, who is now living in Clarence; Pearl, who is married and resides in Clar- ion, Iowa, where he is manager of the Iowa Telephone Company; Rollie E., now in Wisconsin; Ralph, who is married and resides upon the Scott farm ; John; James; Anna Belle, the wife of Charles E. Cole, a practical printer of Grand Junction, Colorado; Nellie, the wife of Frank Thompson, a farmer of Red Oak township; Gladys May, who is attending school in Clarence; and a son, Clarence, who died in 1897 at the age of thirteen months.
With firm belief in the principles of the republican party, A. H. Robinson gives his support thereto save at local elections, when he does not consider party ties in casting his ballot. He has served as road boss and on the petit jury but has never been an office seeker. He has felt that his time and attention were fully occupied by his business affairs, in the control of which he has made steady progress until success in large degree crowns his efforts, making him one of the men of affluence in Dayton township.
JOHN WILLIAM ARGO.
More than half a century has passed since John William Argo became a resident of Cedar county and through the intervening years he has taken a deep interest in all that has pertained to the welfare of the community and in as far as possible has cooperated in measures and movements for the general good. For a long period he was associated with farming interests and is now living retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. He makes his home in Tipton, where he has lived since February, 1902.
He was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, October 13, 1850, a son of John Wesley and Mary Elizabeth (Grandstaff) Argo, who were also natives of the Buckeye state. The ancestry of the Argo family can be traced back to Alex- ander Argo, a native of Scotland, who, after emigrating to America, settled in Sussex county, Maryland, where he died at the advanced age of one hundred years. His son, William Argo, was born in Sussex county in 1762 and removed thence to Fayette county, Pennsylvania. He was a local preacher of the Metho- dist Episcopal church for sixty-three years and died in that faith in 1845 at the
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