USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 50
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party were attacked. Indians often visited his home in those early days and wild game of all kinds was plentiful.
John Ferguson married Miss Isabella Starak, also a native of Scotland, who died in 1847. By that union there were four children, namely: Hugh, who died several years ago in Louisiana, leaving a wife and large estate; Mrs. Anna Rogers, who died in the state of Washington; Mrs. Mary Davidson, a resident of that state; and Mrs. Margaret Greig, of Clarence, Iowa. For his second wife Mr. Ferguson wedded Jeannette Fairchild, the mother of our subject. She was also born in Scotland and died in Tipton. Their union was blessed with eight children, as follows: John, who died in middle life, was a druggist of Tipton for a number of years, carrying on business where the City National Bank is now located, the building having been erected by his father. He mar- ried Ella Culbertson, who passed away before his death. She was a daughter of John Culbertson, one of the pioneer merchants of Tipton and a very prom- inent man of Cedar county. Mrs. C. E. Jones, the second of the family, was educated at Lenox College and the Valparaiso (Ind.) State Normal. She was for many years a successful teacher in the graded schools of Tipton and is now following the same profession in Chicago. Mrs. Nellie J. Woods is a resident of Cedar Rapids. Isabelle is the wife of James Albright, of Lake Andes, South Dakota. James D., a farmer, died in 1898, leaving a widow and three children. William A., whose name introduces this sketch, is the next in order of birth. Mrs. Alice Ely is also a teacher in Chicago. She was educated in the Morrison (Ill.) high school and at Mount Carroll Seminary in that state. Clara, the youngest of the family, was graduated from the Mount Carroll Sem- inary and pursued a medical course in Chicago, continuing her preparation for the profession at Vienna, Austria. For several years she was connected with the Cook County Institution at Dunning but is now engaged in the general practice of medicine in Chicago.
The father was a large and powerful man, of fine physique, and in his younger years was considered the strongest man in his community. He was also regarded as the leader of the Scotch settlement in Red Oak township, which has made its presence ever felt throughout the county. These Scotch- men have always been extremely honest and industrious and there has never been a criminal or pauper come from Red Oak township. Mr. Ferguson was: very active in political affairs and exerted a wide felt influence for good. He was an earnest and faithful member of the Scotch Presbyterian church and was held in the greatest respect by all who knew him. He was honored with several local offices and it is needless to say that any trust reposed in him was always faithfully fulfilled. He was a great lover of music and was the first violinist on this side of the Mississippi river, bringing his violin from Scot- land and playing all of the popular old Scotch airs. He played remarkably well, even when passed the age of seventy years. His useful and well spent life was ended in September, 1884, and his death was widely and deeply mourned.
William A. Ferguson was reared to agricultural pursuits and on starting out in life for himself chose farming as the occupation to which he would devote his energies. He is still the owner of the old homestead in Red Oak
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township, which he successfully operated for many years, but in 1903 re- moved to Tipton, where he now makes his home. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Miss Ada Williams, whose birth occurred in Red Oak township in 1865. Her parents were Theodore and Susan (Lindsay) Williams, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Scotland. They were married after coming to this county and spent much of their lives in Red Oak town- ship, though both died in Tipton. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson have one son, John, now eighteen years of age, who is attending the high school here.
Mr. Ferguson, like his father, is a stalwart supporter of the republican party and a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. His father was one of the organizers of the first church of that denomination in Cedar county, it being located in Red Oak township but is now extant. For many years the family has been one of prominence here and no history of Cedar county would be complete without their record.
M. B. WATERS.
M. B. Waters is a well known resident of Springdale township, being the proprietor of the Greenwood Stock Farm on section 33. His early home was in Ohio, for he was born in Belmont county, that state, on the 10th of December, 1842, and is a son of William B. and Edmonia (Hogue) Waters. The former was born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the son of an English- man who died when William was quite young, leaving two sons. At an early age the father of our subject learned the carpenter's trade and continued to fol- low that occupation throughout his active business life, his death occurring at the home of his youngest daughter in Bethany, West Virginia. His wife was a native of Belmont county, Ohio, and was residing there at the time of her death. Her parents were among the pioneers of that county, being from Loudoun county, Virginia. Our subject is the eldest in a family of seven children, the others being: Mrs. Sarah A. Gardner, now a resident of Moville, Iowa; Wilber E., who is engaged in the raising of fine stock in Brookings county, South Dakota ; Mrs. Sina M. Yocum, of Omaha, Nebraska; Modora, who was a great singer, and died unmarried; Mrs. Adele Moore, of Bethany, West Virginia ; and Eli H., who has engaged in the practice of medicine in Nebraska for many years, but is now developing an orange grove at Santa Ana, California.
In the state of his nativity M. B. Waters grew to manhood and, on starting out in life for himself worked by the month from the time he was eleven years of age until he entered the army during the Civil war, his home being at Lloyds- ville, Ohio. He responded to the first call for three years' men, in August, 1861, becoming a member of Company E, Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee. He remained in the service until November, 1864, participating in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Iuka and Chickamauga, besides many minor engagements. At Chickamauga he became ill with the typhoid fever and was in the field hospital at Nashville for some time
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but was afterward transferred to other hospitals in Indiana and Ohio. When convalescent he joined the Invalid Veteran Reserve Corps and afterward was on duty guarding prisoners most of the time. He was honorably discharged in November, 1864, and returned home.
On the 20th of February, 1864, Mr. Waters left his native state and started westward, arriving in Springdale, Iowa, on the 21st of the following March. He had brought with him four horses which he rode and led, receiving fifty cents per day for bringing them to Cedar county, as they belonged to another. During the first year of his residence here he engaged in farming upon rented land, receiving a fourth of the crops in payment for his services. After his marriage in December, 1865, he commenced farming upon a forty-acre tract, which his father-in-law had given him, and as time passed he steadily prospered and was able to add to his property until he had one hundred and seventy-six acres of land in Muscatine county. This he sold in 1884 and in the spring of 1885 came to Cedar county and purchased his present farm of three hundred acres in Springdale township. He has since extended the boundaries of his place and today has three hundred and forty-eight acres on sections 32 and 33, known as the Greenwod Stock Farm. He has always given considerable attention to the raising of fine stock, having for forty years raised Hambletonian horses and has also given considerable attention to Norman horses for a number of years. He raises double standard polled Hereford cattle and in the spring of 1910 sold eighty head of registered stock. He has bought thousands of bushels of corn but has never sold any until the last two years, as all of his crops have been fed to his stock. He is a progressive, energetic business man and is widely known throughout this section of the country as a most reliable farmer and stock- raiser.
It was on the 26th of December, 1865, that Mr. Waters was united in mar- riage to Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, who was born on section 6, Wapsie township, Muscatine county, Iowa, December 5, 1844, her parents being Samuel and Esther (Tuvis) Hendrickson. Her father was a native of Holmes county, Ohio, while her mother was born in Michigan. It was in 1836 that Mr. Hendrickson came to Iowa and settled in Muscatine county, where he entered land and continued to reside thereon until two years prior to his death; owning and operating three hundred acres. He was three times married, the mother of Mrs. Waters being his first wife, by whom he had seven children, five of whom reached years of maturity. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Waters have been born ten children, five sons and five daughters, namely: Maggie, now the wife of Benhard Marticke of Goshen township, Muscatine county ; Mrs. Mollie Smith, deceased; William S., who is engaged in the meat and stock business in West Liberty, Iowa; Ida, the wife of A. E. Barnes, a farmer living near Iowa City; Ella, the wife of Henry Mosier, a farmer living near West Liberty; Hallie O., of Iowa City; Fred E .; Sherman, a farmer of Hazleton, Iowa; Frank, also a farmer of Hazleton, Iowa; and Wilber W., a farmer of Springdale township. The children were all born in Muscatine county with the exception of the youngest, whose birth occurred on the present farm of our subject, and the four youngest daughters have all engaged in teaching school.
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Mr. Waters is by birthright a member of the Society of Friends and is a man who commands the confidence and esteem of all with whom he is brought in contact, either in business or social life. Coming to this state in limited circumstances, the success that has come to him is but the just reward of his own untiring efforts and good management.
E. F. JOCKHECK.
For a long period E. F. Jockheck was closely associated with the farming interests of Iowa, but since 1883 has lived retired. Aside from effort put forth . , in his own behalf, however, he has done effective work for the public welfare, cooperating in many measures that have been of inestimable value to the com- munity. He is now eighty-two years of age, enjoying excellent health, and he keeps in touch with the progress of the times, wide reading promoting his familiarity with the leading questions and issues of the day.
He is one of the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to this country, his birth having occurred in Westphalia, August 25, 1828. His parents were Johann Frederick and Anna Maria Elizabeth (Stasing) Jockheck, who were likewise natives of Germany. The father died in 1832 and the mother in 1845, so that E. F. Jockheck was but a lad in his teens when left an orphan. His education was acquired in the schools of Germany, which he attended to the age of fourteen years, when he began working upon a farm, being thus employed until after he had attained his majority, when he came to the United States. From the 16th of November, 1849, until the Ist of June, 1851, he worked in a sugar refinery in New Orleans and through the succeeding four years was employed in a soap factory in Quincy, Illinois. He removed from the latter city to St. Louis, where for one year he was employed in a soap factory owned by Anheuser, the great beer manufacturer.
Mr. Jockheck reached Davenport, Iowa, on the 5th of May, 1856, and for a year worked in a sawmill or at anything that he could get to do in that city; but the desire to engage in business on his own account led him to rent land and thus he began farming in Scott county in 1857, there remaining for six years, during which period he carefully saved his earnings until his capital was sufficient to enable him to purchase land. In 1863 he broke prairie and leased one hun- dred and sixty acres for four crops, thus gaining a start, and in 1864 raised twenty-seven hundred bushels of wheat, fourteen hundred bushels of barley and an extra crop of oats, corn, potatoes and onions. He then bought one hundred and thirty-seven acres of wild prairie in Muscatine county and broke the sod with oxen. He also built a house and barn upon the place and otherwise improved the farm, making it his home until 1883, when he retired and removed to Durant. In the meantime he diligently prosecuted the farm work, rotating his crops and utilizing modern methods in carrying on the work of the fields, so that his labors were crowned with substantial success and he became the possessor of a com- fortable competence, enabling him to live a retired life. When he set sail for the United States he had eleven dollars in South American money, which in New
MR. AND MRS. E. F. JOCKHECK, SR.
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Orleans he changed into the currency of this country. He has been a hard worker and more than ordinarily successful, and as the years have gone by he has pur- chased property from time to time, while his generous spirit has been manifest in the gift of one hundred and sixty acres of land to each of his children. He still owns valuable property, from which he derives a substantial annual income.
Mr. Jockheck was married in New Orleans, on the 22d of December, 1850, to Miss Sophia Steinhagen, who was born in Germany, November II, 1827, and came to America in 1849. They have five living children, namely: Mary, the wife of Ferd Peterson, of Cedar county; Emma, who is the wife of George Hamann and likewise resides in this county; John L., who is a resident of Sioux City, Iowa; Louisa, who is the widow of Louis Moeller and makes her home in Scott county, Iowa; and Ernest F., living in Durant, Iowa.
While Mr. Jockheck has won success in business and has given much time to the promotion of his own interests, he has yet found opportunity for coopera- tion in public affairs and his section of the county has profited much by his efforts. He has taken an active part in many works of a public nature. He helped build the first bridges at Walcott, Iowa, hauling the timbers for fifty miles. In 1865 he organized school district No. 7 in Blue Grass township, Scott county, and built the schoolhouse. The cause of education has ever found in him a warm and helpful friend and for four years he efficiently served as president of the school board in Fulton township, Muscatine county. Since living in Durant he has served for the past ten years as justice of the peace and for one year he was street commissioner and for one year mayor of the city, exercising his official prerogatives at all times in support of measures of progress and reform. He has been a lifelong democrat and had a personal acquaintance with Stephen A. Douglas. In 1900 Mr. and Mrs. Jockheck celebrated their golden wedding and if both live to December, 1910, they will have traveled life's journey together for sixty years-a record seldom paralleled. Both are still enjoying excellent health and it is the wish of their friends that they may be spared for many years to come. Mr. Jockheck keeps in touch with the movement of the times and is a well informed man who reads much, while his mind is as clear as it was fifty years ago.
C. L. RICHMANN.
C. L. Richmann, operating an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 6, Springfield township, claims Germany as the land of his birth, for it was in that country that he first opened his eyes to the light of day in 1863. His parents, Fred and Minnie Richmann, who took up their abode in Cedar county, Iowa, in 1867, passed away many years ago.
C. L. Richmann was but four years of age when brought to this county by his parents and has remained within its borders continuously since. General agricultural pursuits have claimed his attention throughout his entire business career and have proved a gratifying source of remuneration to him. He now operates his wife's farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 6, Springfield
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township, and the well tilled fields annually yield golden harvests in return for the care and labor which he bestows upon them.
About 1892 Mr. Richmann was united in marriage to Mrs. Emma Miller, nee Kreinbring, by whom he has four children, namely: Mattie, Gustie, Edna and Elvin. By her first husband, Louis Miller, Mrs. Richmann likewise had four children, three of whom are yet living: Edward, Paulina and Hugo.
Mr. Richmann is a stalwart democrat in politics but has never sought nor desired office. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Evangel- ical church at Lowden, with which his wife is also identified. The period of his residence in Cedar county covers more than four decades and he is widely recognized as one of its substantial and representative citizens.
HERMAN P. THEDE.
The younger generation of farmers is making its presence known all over the country and Cedar county claims not a few stanch young men who grew up on the farm and are now flourishing at a business in which their fathers gained a fortune. While there are other branches of industry that possess attractions for ambitious young men, none has the stability of the farm and it is a grow- ing conviction that the farmer's son, who has the consent of his mind to con- tinue in the work which he learned as a boy, is in a great majority of instances much more fortunate than the one who seeks some other field, unless the latter possesses marked talents for other lines. Among the members of the younger generation of farmers in Cedar county who have attained commendable success may be named Herman P. Thede, now the owner of a fine farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres in Farmington township, which possesses all the modern improvements recognized in the best agricultural communities.
Mr. Thede was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, November 7, 1875. He is a son of Juergen Thede, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, and Maria Catherine (Broders) Thede. He was educated in the district schools of Cedar county and after leaving the common schools became a student in the high school at Durant and also at Wilton, later taking a course at Duncan's Business College, Davenport, Iowa. For five years Mr. Thede was identified with the mercantile business in Davenport and Durant and showed a capacity and adaptability that speak well for the education which he received. Coming into possession of one hundred and sixty acres of the old homestead in Farm- ington township, including the buildings, he has devoted his attention to agri- culture and stock-raising and is recognized by his associates as one of the wide- awake and successful agriculturists in a region where the art is carried to a very high degree of perfection. He is known as a good general farmer, and no young man in the township is better acquainted with the resources of the farm and the demands of an ever changing market. He is an observer, a reader and a student and is well informed not only concerning the various phases of agri- culture but of the progress of the world and is a consistent advocate of edu- cation as one of the great blessings of life, having in his own experience discov- ered its beneficial effects.
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On February 16, 1899, Mr. Thede at Davenport, Iowa, took unto himself a life companion, the lady of his choice being Miss Anna Kuehl, who was born in Germany and is a daughter of Hans and Catherine Kuehl, of Durant. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Thede: Donald G., Rudolph A. and Herbert H.
Mr. Thede politically is allied with the republican party and is in full sym- pathy with its principles of progressiveness and protection to industries that otherwise would not be able to meet foreign competition. He is now fairly at the beginning of an active and useful career and has the qualities which in the opinions of his friends will lead to gratifying success.
AUGUST MEYER.
August Meyer, a prosperous and progressive farmer and stock-raiser of Springfield township, is the owner of two hundred and twenty acres of val- uable land within a half mile of Lowden. His birth occurred on, the Atlantic ocean on the 13th of May, 1864, while his parents were enroute from Germany to America, the vessel being about half way between the two countries when he first opened his eyes to the light of day. His parents, Joachim and Catharine Marie (Corse) Meyer, were both natives of the province of Hanover, Ger- many, the former born in 1836 and the latter on the 30th of August, 1830. After landing in the United States the father made his way to Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for two years. On the expiration of that period he came to Lowden, Iowa, and secured employment with Peterson Brothers, gen- eral merchants of that place. While still in their service he was killed by a runaway team, leaving our subject fatherless when not yet five years of age. His widow, who long survived him, passed away in Lowden on the 5th of July, 1904.
August Meyer attended the village school at Lowden in the acquirement of an education but put aside his text-books at an early age in order that he might assist, his widowed mother in providing for the support of the family. He made his first business venture in association with his brother Fred, the two young men operating a rented farm of one hundred and eighty acres east of Lowden for two years. Subsequently they rented a tract of one hundred and sixty acres and cultivated the same for three years. Fred Meyer was then married and our subject worked for him until such time as he was enabled to buy land of his own, first coming into possession of a tract of one hundred and forty acres. Later he made an additional purchase of one hundred acres sit- uated a half mile east of Lowden. When the boundaries of that town were. extended to include a portion of his farm he sold twenty acres for building purposes, so that his holdings now embrace but two hundred and twenty acres. The property is very rich and productive and is equipped with all modern im- provements. In addition to his home farm he owns ten acres of timber land in this county. General agricultural pursuits have claimed his attention throughout his entire business career and in connection with the tilling of the
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1
soil he has also been engaged in stock-raising, finding both branches of activity congenial as well as profitable.
On the 19th of December, 1890, Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Mrs. Hannah Daehın, the widow of Herman Daehn, of Lowden. They now have seven children, as follows: Frieda, whose birth occurred June 1, 1892; Alma, whose natal day was September 24, 1894; Walter, born October 30, 1895; Herbert, who was born February 14, 1897; Hugo, whose birth occurred on the 27th of May, 1898; Bernhard, born September 16, 1899; and August C., who first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 26th of September, 1901. The mother is a woman of more than ordinary intelligence and culture and enjoys the high regard and esteem of all who know her.
Mr. Meyer is a democrat in politics and has long been an active worker in the local ranks of his party. For the past fifteen years he has served as school director and also as township trustee, holding those positions at the present time. He and his family attend the services of the Lutheran church at Low- den. In the county where practically his entire life has been spent Mr. Meyer is well known and highly esteemed as a representative agriculturist and valued citizen.
DAVID RHOADS.
David Rhoads, who is now living practically retired on his fine farm on section 36, Pioneer township, was for many years prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Cedar county, owning and operating four hun- dred acres of valuable land. He dates his residence in this county from 1856 and is therefore largely familiar with its annals from pioneer times down to the present.
His birth occurred in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of September, 1833, and there he was reared to manhood on a farm. He learned the bricklayer's trade and worked at that occupation for nine years. In 1856, when a young man of twenty-three years, he came west to Cedar county, Iowa, and in March, 1860, was married to Miss Anna Mary Heneks, likewise a na- tive of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Her father, John Heneks, came to this country from Pennsylvania about 1854.
Following his marriage Mr. Rhoads located on section 36, Pioneer town- ship, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he prepared for cultivation and farmed in association with his brother, Edwin Rhoads, for three years. On the expiration of that period he sold out to his brother and bought one hundred and sixty acres of the farm on which he now resides, forty acres of the tract having been broken. Turning his attention to its further development and improvement, he eventually brought the fields under a high state of cultivation and, as his financial resources increased, extended the boundaries of the farm by additonal purchase until it embraced four hun- dred acres. He erected a substantial two-story residence, two large barns, set out a grove and orchard and fenced and tiled his land. In addition to
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