USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 7
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
district, and the reception accorded him proved the greatest out-pouring of citizens that was ever witnessed in the county, either before or since that event.
Dr. Chapman graduated second in the high school class of 1893 with an average of ninety-eight per cent, which was one-half of one per cent below his victor. Following his graduation he entered Cornell College at Mount Vernon, lowa, possessing, aside from his clothing, cash to the extent of twenty-five dollars. He paid his way through college, as he had done in school, working at anything which would give him the needed money. During his vacation periods he worked for the Diamond Creamery Company, of Monticello, and became competent as an operator and demonstrator of separators of any type. The first season of his employment in the creamery he held the position of demonstrator and weigh-master, as was the case the second year. He also became proficient in the making of butter and frequently had the making of from eight to ten thousand pounds per day. He aided in the manufacture of a portion of butter which was sent to the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, where it took first prize in 1893. It was while attending high school that Dr. Chapman worked for this creamery and on many occasions he arose at one o'clock to ride into the country and demonstrate a separator's action, then rush back to town in time to attend his classes in school. Upon the com- pletion of his high-school course he decided upon the medical profession as the one he would follow, so studied and read under Dr. Mckenzie, at Elwood, Iowa. He entered the State University of Iowa and was graduated from the medical department in 1901. During his first year in college he secured the agency for D. Appleton & Company and sold books, which business he continued the second year, adding the company of W. B. Saunders to his original firm. Following his graduation from the university he did post-graduate work there, also taking a course at Chicago Post Graduate School, Chicago, and then entered upon the practice of medicine at Bennett, Iowa. For five years he successfully practiced there and then removed to Durant, Iowa, where he con- ducted a drug store in connection with his practice. Two years after going to Durant he decided to return to Bennett, where he has since lived, practicing in a field with which he is entirely familiar, and he is one of the most successful and extensive practitioners of the county.
Not alone in a professional way has Dr. Chapman been successful but in business enterprises as well. The record of his successful ventures proves him a man of affairs, as well as a student and scientist, and places him well to the fore as the leading professional man of the community. In 1902 he aided in the organization of the Davenport & Tipton Independent Telephone Company, his own persistent efforts and indefatigable energy contributing in a great measure to its successful launching in the business world. Today the company is capitalized at sixty thousand dollars, of which stock Dr. Chapman owns three-fourths. He is now serving as president and general manager of the concern and is virtually in complete control.
In politics Dr. Chapman has played no inconspicuous part. Elected state senator from the twenty-fourth senatorial district in 1904, he worked for the best interests of his constituents during his incumbency of the office, and made a record for efficiency which has characterized his every movement either in
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private or public affairs. He has twice been honored by the citizens of Bennett, who conferred upon him the highest honor within their gift by electing him mayor, and he also similarly served the citizens of Durant for a term of two years. At present he is a member of the village council and of the school board and is ever to be found working for the best interests of the community. In his fraternal relations the Doctor is connected with the Masonic Order, being a thirty-second degree Mason, holding membership in the Tipton blue lodge and in the Mystic Shrine at Davenport. He has held all the chairs in the Knights of Pythias lodge of Bennett and is also venerable consul in the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, having held that office for six years.
Dr. Chapman was united in marriage to Miss Pearl M. Hiner September 15, 1897. She is the daughter of Eugene and Emma (Smith) Hiner, natives of Virginia, who were among the early settlers of Clinton county, Iowa, where Mrs. Chapman was born. Mrs. Hiner passed away six years ago, while Mr. Hiner is yet living, making his home in Clinton county. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Chapman two children have been born, namely : Eugene Ray and Vilera Emogene.
JOHN M. ROWSER.
John M. Rowser, the oldest son of Samuel Smith Rowser, in company with A. B. Safley, went to O'Brien county, Iowa, in the spring of 1878, where they rented a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. They bought wheat at a dollar and at a dollar and a quarter a bushel and sowed one hundred and forty acres in wheat, giving one-half of the crop as rent, the ground having been broken and the landlord agreeing to furnish machinery to take off the crop. They cut and threshed what could be got and their share was six hundred bushels of such poor quality that it only brought thirty cents a bushel. In 1882 Mr. Rowser went by wagon to Wyoming territory, where he engaged in the business of farming and stock-raising.
In 1890 Mr. Rowser married Miss Margaret Mahnken, who was born in Vernon county, Missouri, her parents being Herman C. and Sarah (Rosenbum) Mahnken. Her father was born in the city of Bremen, Germany, in 1836 and was but seventeen years of age when he came to America, finally settling in Mis- souri. He served three years in the Federal army as a butcher, receiving his discharge in 1864. He was married in Fort Scott, Kansas, and in 1880 moved with his family to Wyoming territory, where he engaged in farming and in the cattle business until the death of his wife on the 25th of October, 1901. They had four children, namely: John C., of Alzada, Montana; Margaret C., the wife of our subject ; W. L., of Bellefourche, South Dakota ; and Thomas F., of Merced, California, with whom the father lives.
Our subject and his wife 'have four children: Ruth, born November 18, 1899; Margaret, born November 14, 1901 ; Edwin, born June 28, 1904; and Melvin W., born September 18, 1909. Mrs. Rowser was for several years a student in the Spearfish Normal School of Spearfish, South Dakota, and before her marriage
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was a successful teacher in the public schools of Crook county, Wyoming. Mr. Rowser with his family returned to Cedar county in December, 1909, after twenty-eight years in the west. Disposing of his interests there, he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Red Oak township, where he now resides.
HOSEA BALLOU.
In every community there are men who are recognized as leaders in busi- ness affairs or in public life, their labors contributing to the welfare and up- building of the district in which they make their homes. Such a position does Hosea Ballou occupy in eastern Iowa. For twenty years he was a farmer of this part of the state and is, moreover, one of the native sons of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Jones county on the 24th of April, 1860.
His father, Asa Ballou, was born in New York, in January, 1835, and was a son of Jerry Ballou, who removed with his family to Michigan in 1840. In that state Asa Ballou was reared and when a young man came to Iowa, settling in Jones county in 1855. He was married in that county to Dilla Batchelor, who was born in New Hampshire and became a resident of Jones county, Iowa, in her girlhood days. She was married when sixteen years of age. Asa Ballou was a prominent farmer of Jones county, owning at one time a thousand acres of land. He reared his family in this part of the state and remained a valued and honored resident of his district until his death, which occurred in Clarence after he had retired from active business life. His wife still survives him.
Hosea Ballou was reared upon the old home farm and was educated in the district schools. He continued with his father until he had reached his majority and was married in Jones county when in his twenty-first year to Miss Maria Schaaf, the wedding being celebrated December 11, 1880. She was born and reared in Cedar county and is a daughter of Jacob Schaaf, one of the early settlers, who came from Germany to the new world and first located in Ohio, after which he came to Cedar county, Iowa.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ballou took up their abode on a farm near the old homestead, there cultivating rented land for three years. At the end of that time his father gave him eighty acres and he also bought an adjoining tract of eighty acres. This he farmed and improved, adding to and remodeling the house and building two good barns, double cribs, machine house and gran- ary. Extending the boundaries of his place from time to time, he at length became the owner of four hundred acres, which he continued to cultivate until 1900. He engaged in feeding stock for fifteen years and sold from ten to fifteen carloads of fat cattle and hogs annually. In 1900 he removed to Clarence and rented his farm. He has since sold one hundred and sixty acres and has invested in Texas lands, owning fourteen hundred acres in the Panhandle. There he has improved one section. In Clarence he turned his attention to buying and shipping stock and for four years shipped about two hundred carloads per year. He was one of four promoters of the Clarence Telephone Company and superintended
MR. AND MRS. HOSEA BALLOU
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
the building of the line. He has been engaged in the real-estate business for the past sixteen years and handles Texas and Iowa lands. In Clarence he pur- chased eight acres, in the midst of which stands a fine residence, where he now makes his home. Moreover, it is the abode of hospitality and its good cheer is greatly enjoyed by many friends.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ballou have been born two children. Frank, who is mar- ried, now follows farming in Jones county. He is a well educated man, being a graduate of the Clarence high school and also Parker College of Winnebago, Minnesota. He was ordained a minister of the Freewill Baptist church but had to give up church work on account of his health. Capitola also attended the high school of Clarence and Parker College, where she took up music and also pur- sued a teacher's course until her graduation. She is now the wife of Professor C. W. Bond, of Mitchell, Iowa, who is principal of the schools of that place.
The political endorsement of Mr. Ballou is given the republican party and while living in Jones county he served as township trustee for six years. He has been a delegate to county and state conventions both in Jones and Cedar counties and is interested in all that tends to promote the progress and insure the success of the political principles in which he believes. He and his wife and children are all members of the Freewill Baptist church, and Mr. Ballou is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, having joined the blue lodge in Clarence in 1895. He has since served through the chairs and by reelection has been continued in the office of master for nine consecutive years. He is also a member of the consistory, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scot- tish Rite. He is thoroughly in sympathy with the teachings and purposes of the Masonic order, which recognizes the truth of the universal brotherhood of man- kind and inculcates a sense of conscientious obligation in the individual to his fellowmen.
HENRY L. HUBER.
Almost from the beginning of Cedar county's recorded history the name of Huber has been associated with the practice of law here and has been a synonym for professional integrity and ability during the years in which Henry L. Huber and his father have been active factors in the litigated interests of this district. Henry L. Huber was born about three and one-half miles southwest of Tipton, Iowa, September 7, 1856, his parents being John S. and Harriet A. (Newell) Huber.
The father was born near Lancaster in Fairfield county, Ohio, while the mother's birth occurred near Delaware, that state. They were married in Dela- ware on the 6th of July, 1839, and in October of that year started from Ohio for the west, making the journey in a buggy drawn by a single horse as far as Gene- seo, Illinois. Mrs. Huber remained there during the following winter, while Mr. Huber continued his journey on horseback, crossing the Mississippi river at Rock Island, after which he rode a day's journey to the farm on section 9, Cen- ter township, on which his son, W. Scott, now resides. He purchased about three
.
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
hundred and twenty acres of land from James W. Tolman and Harvey B. Bur- nap. In the spring of 1840 he returned to Geneseo for his wife, whom he brought to Cedar county. In the same year, however, they went to Marion, Linn county, where they resided for two or three years, during which time Mr. Huber engaged in the practice of law. He was a graduate of the college at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and one at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, after which he read law in Delaware, Ohio, and later formed a partnership with a Mr. Swisher for the practice of his profession there. He had been engaged in active practice for a year or two before he removed to the west and while following his profes- sion in Marion, Iowa, was engaged in the prosecution of the Goudy robbery case, which was tried in the winter of 1842 or 1843. He then went to Dubuque, where he remained for a short time, and in about 1845 or 1846 came to Tipton. That this was a pioneer district is indicated in the fact that he took up his abode in a log house which stood upon the present site of the City National Bank. There he remained for a few months, after which he located on the farm which he made his home until his death. However, he continued in the practice of law until 1861 in Tipton and was in partnership with William P. Wolf, under the firm name of Huber & Wolf. He was among the first lawyers of Cedar county and served as prosecuting attorney of the county for one or two terms, being elected on the whig ticket. He was regarded as a strong and able lawyer, ready and resourceful, strong in argument and scarcely if ever at fault in the applica- tion of legal principles. In antebellum days he was a strong believer in the cause of abolition and made his home one of the stations of the famous "under- ground railroad," whereby many a poor slave was assisted on his way to free- dom in Canada. He voted with the whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the new republican party that was formed to prevent the fur- ther extension of slavery. He held membership in the Universalist church at one time, while his wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He took an active interest in educational affairs and helped organize Sunday schools. At the same time he was an earnest advocate of the interests of the free schools and did all in his power to establish upon a substantial basis the system of public instruction in this county. As the years passed by he prospered and at the time of his death was the owner of about five hundred acres of valuable land. A part of that which he entered from the government is still in the possession of the family. He died on the farm on which his son Henry was born, passing away March 9, 1870, at the age of fifty-nine years, nine months and twenty-two days. His wife died in Tipton, Iowa, April 5, 1899, at the age of seventy-nine years.
In their family were ten children: John, who died in infancy ; Nathan, who died in August, 1879; Caroline S., the wife of John Webb of De Witt, Nebraska ; Frances Z., who died at the age of two years; Lysander, who died in infancy ; Philip Rudolf, who is living in Missouri; Mary Katharine, the wife of T. J. Lar- rison, of Mitchell, South Dakota; Henry L .; Lucy M., the wife of R. M. Elly- son, living near Frankfort, South Dakota; and W. Scott, who occupies the old home farm in this county.
Henry L. Huber has resided in Cedar county throughout his entire life, his
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youthful days being spent upon the home farm, where he was born and where he early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agri- culturist. After mastering the branches of learning taught in the country schools, he attended the Tipton high school and also the Davenport Commercial College. He prepared for his profession as a law student in the office of Wolf & Landt and was admitted to the bar in 1884, after which he remained with his former preceptors for two years. He then formed a partnership with Judge W. N. Treichler under the firm style of Treichler & Huber, which connection was continued for about three years, since which time Mr. Huber has been alone. The zeal with which he has devoted his energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients, and assiduous and unrelaxing atten- tion to all of the details of his cases have brought him a fair business and made him successful in its conduct. His arguments have elicited warm commendation not only from his associates at the bar but also from the bench. His briefs show wide research, careful thought, and the best and strongest reasons which can be urged for his contention, presented in cogent, logical form and illustrated by a style unusually lucid and clear.
On the 24th of October, 1889, Mr. Huber was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Reichert, who was born in Tipton, Iowa, January 5, 1866, and is a daughter of J. C. Reichert, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Huber have two sons and a daughter: Kirkwood, Bertha R. and Louis R.
Mr. Huber has been a lifelong republican, giving his support to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Masons, belonging to Cedar Lodge, No. II, A. F. & A. M., and Siloam Chapter, No. 19, R. A. M., of Tipton. In his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft and his strongly marked characteristics are those which make him a valued and popular citizen as well as an able lawyer.
AUGUSTUS R. BIXLER.
Augustus R. Bixler, who is called Gus by his numerous friends, is one of the well known farmers and stock-feeders of Dayton township, whose farm com- prises two hundred and seventeen acres of good land on section 22, Dayton township. A part of this lies within the corporation limits of Clarence and the remainder adjoins the boundaries of the village. It was in this township that his birth occurred on the 4th of April, 1865, his parents being John Austin and Amanda (Speelman) Bixler, both of whom were natives of Ohio, where they remained until after their marriage. They came to Cedar county among its early settlers and here reared their family. The father, however, died in 1876 at the age of thirty-six years, but the mother still survives and now makes her home in Clinton.
Augustus R. Bixler spent his youthful days on the home farm and at the usual age entered the public schools, wherein he mastered the elementary branches of English learning. He afterward devoted two winter terms to study in Clarence high school and after arriving at years of maturity he worked by the
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month at farm labor for a few years. He was ambitious, however, to own a farm of his own, and utilized the opportunities that led in that direction. He also early realized the fact that untiring labor is the strongest element in success and his life therefore has been one of industry and perseverance.
On the 19th of February, 1890, Mr. Bixler was married in Clarence to Miss Ella Wilkin, who was born in Cedar county and was educated in the public schools. Her father, Noah Wilkin, is a native of England and in early man- hood came to the new world, while some time later he established his home in Cedar county. Following his marriage Mr. Bixler rented the old home farm for a time and afterward purchased from his mother the place upon which he now resides, constituting a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. Afterward he extended the boundaries of his place until it now comprises two hundred and sev- enteen acres and upon the farm he has put up good buildings and otherwise has greatly improved the place in accordance with the modern methods of agricul- ture. For fifteen or sixteen years he has engaged in buying and feeding stock, sending from fifty to sixty carloads of fat cattle, hogs and sheep each year to market. Owing to the excellent condition of his stock he finds a ready sale upon the market and this constitutes a profitable source of income to Mr. Bixler.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bixler have been born two children: Clarence H., who assists in the cultivation of the farm; and Alta, who is now pursuing her educa- tion in the town of Clarence. Politically a republican, Mr. Bixler has never been an office seeker but was elected and is now serving as township trustee. He and his wife attend the Methodist church of Clarence, although they are not members. His has been a well spent life and his business enterprise and integrity are well known to all. He is one of the largest stock feeders and shippers of Cedar county and the careful management of his extensive business interests has given him a place among the substantial citizens of this part of the state.
FRED HECHT.
For over a half century Fred Hecht has been actively engaged in business in Cedar county, where he has made his home since 1855. The years chronicle the progress he has made and his fellow citizens bear testimony of the honorable and progressive methods which he has pursued in all of his business relations. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 13, 1836, and is a son of. John Hecht, a native of Germany, born in the year 1800, who spent his youthful days in that country and was there married, January 12, 1826, to Louise Catherine Eisley, who was also born in Germany. Coming to the United States in 1832, they settled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Hecht was a mechanic, who followed the trades of a stone-mason, brick-layer and plasterer while in Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1854 he came to Cedar county, Iowa, and turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, opening up a farm. Some of his family had preceded him here and reported favorably concerning the condition of the country and its future prospects. John Hecht passed away at Clarence, May 1I, 1880, and his wife's death also occurred in that city on the IIth of August, 1881.
FRED HECHT
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY
Fred Hecht was reared in Pennsylvania to the age of nineteen years and benefited by the instruction given in the public schools of that state. He started out in life as a clerk in a store in Pittsburg and there received a thorough prac- tical business training that well qualified him for the duties that have devolved upon him in later life. In the spring of 1855 he came to Iowa and engaged in clerking in Tipton, which was then but a crossroads village. He remained there for six years and in 1861 came to the town now known as Clarence. Here he purchased an interest in a general mercantile store and carried on the business until 1885. In connection with the store he also conducted a banking business for several years, opening the second bank in the town in 1885. He owned and controlled the institution until 1894, when it was reorganized under the name of the Clarence Savings Bank with Mr. Hecht as vice president. For some years now he has been engaged in the real-estate business, largely handling Dakota lands. He has embraced his opportunity for judicious investment here and is now the owner of four business houses, one a good brick store building. In 1862 he erected a residence in Clarence and has since lived upon the same lot although he now occupies a large two story dwelling, which he erected and which is one of the best homes in Clarence. It is built in modern style of architecture, is sup- plied with all modern conveniences and equipments and is one of the most at- tractive homes of the town.
Mr. Hecht was married in Cedar county, June 8, 1865, to Miss Margaret E. Bossert, a native of Pennsylvania, who was born in Hollidaysburg and is a daughter of Benjamin Bossert, who removed from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1850. Mr. Bossert, who was one of the early settlers of Cedar county, was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1813. On the 7th of May, 1839, he was married at Hollidaysburg, to Miss Eleanor Marshall Jones, and in 1850 they removed to Iowa, arriving at Muscatine in June of that year, making the entire journey from Pittsburg by water. They lived in Tipton for nine years and afterward took up their residence on the bare prairie, about four miles northeast of Tipton, where they made their home for twenty-three years. \At that time the town of Clarence had not yet been laid out, and there were but few houses between their place and where the town of Tipton now: stands, and they were witnesses of the growth of all the farming interests of the entire northern part of Cedar county from the earliest period in the history of this district until the time of their demise, Mr. Bossert passing away at his home in Clarence, July 22, 1882. Mr. Bossert, who was born at Milford, Perry county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of April, 1811, survived her husband until the 12th of March, 1903, when she passed away at Clarence at the very old age of ninety- two years. Mr. and Mrs. Hecht have three living children and have lost one, Murton P., who died in his second year. Those who still survive are: Winifred E., the wife of J. T. Moffit, a prominent lawyer of Tipton ; Eleanor Louise, at home; and Charles B., a business man of Seattle, Washington.
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