USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 30
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Doctor Franklin is a member of the Audubon County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, in all of which organizations he takes a deep interest. Fraternally, the doctor is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Doctor Franklin is one of the rising young physicians of Audubon county, and his career forcibly illustrates what can be accomplished by the worthy sons of foreign countries who come to our land, and by persistent energy and determination win merited success.
CHRIS OLSEN.
This country takes great pride in the citizens of other lands who have come to these shores and who, with rare energy, industry and management have built up profitable and popular businesses in the various communities. The career of Chris Olsen, a well-known general merchant of Audubon, this county, is worthy of being heralded to the native-born sons of this land. The story of his life is more like a romance than a statement of real fact, since he has been able since coming to America, at the age of sixteen, to build up one of the most prosperous and flourishing enterprises in Audubon county. Mr. Olsen's success is not a matter of accident. He has given his labor ungrudgingly and deserves the large success which he has attained.
Chris Olsen, a well-known merchant of Audubon, Iowa, was born in
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Denmark on October 31, 1872, the son of Peter P. and Anna (Christensen) Olsen, farmers in their native land. His father, who served in the Danish- Prussian War of 1864, died unexpectedly in 1895. The mother, who has had ten children, six of whom are still living, is still living in her native land. Chris Olsen is the only member of this family living in this country. He was educated in his native land and after leaving school clerked in a store for two and one-half years. Coming to America in 1888, he located at Harlan, in Shelby county, Iowa, and for two years worked out as a farm hand, attending school in the winter. Coming to Audubon county at the end of that period he worked as a farm hand in Cameron township for a short period and then went to Audubon, where he clerked in the general mercantile store of E. Bilhars & Sons for some years. About 1895 Mr. Olsen started in business in a small way for himself. He established a general mercantile store on a small scale, and has increased his stock from time to time as his patronage has grown, until he now has one of the best stores and perhaps as good a stock of general merchandise as is to be found anywhere in Audubon county. Mr. Olsen handles a complete line and today his trade is larger and more profitable than ever before.
In 1902 Chris Olsen was married to Marie Mathisen, daughter of Peter and Sophia Mathisen, and to this happy marriage have been born four chil- dren, Peter P., Anna Marie, George and Carl, all of whom are living at home.
Mr. Olsen affiliates with the Danish Lutheran church and is foremost in every worthy movement in this county. In his toil and struggle for success he has not overlooked the larger and greater purposes of life, but has given the attention of a loving father to his children and has always been and is regarded as a good citizen, keen and alert.
JACOB KUHN.
There is nothing which stimulates a man to deeds of worth and a life of uprightness and rectitude more than the recollection of the strength of character and examples of right living which have been shown by his forbears. In this respect Mr. Kuhn is fortunate beyond the majority of men in being descended from forbears who were men of strength and influence in their community, men who performed well their duties, whether in the peaceful pursuits of ordinary life or in positions of public trust. In the business affairs of Audubon, Iowa, Jacob Kuhn, a well-known retired miller, has always occupied a position of importance among those who have conserved and promoted the commercial and industrial prosperity of this community.
JACOB KUHN
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Jacob Kuhn was born on August 31, 1844, on a farm near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Archy and Mary (King) Kuhn. Archy Kuhn, who was born and died in Pennsylvania, was the son of Archibald Kuhn. The family dates back to the seventeenth century when a Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn were among a shipload of emigrants captured by the British and taken into Port Derry, Ireland. A son, Adam, was born in Derry. Later this ves- sel proceeded to New Amsterdam, but the Kuhns did not go. Adam became a traveling merchant in Europe. He was the great-great-grandfather of Jacob Kuhn, the subject of this sketch. Eventually he came to New Amsterdam, now New York, and married a Scottish woman named Eve. They went to New Jersey, where three children were born, Mansfield, Michael and Nicholas, the latter of whom was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The family eventually moved to the Wyoming county settlement in Penn- sylvania. At the close of the Revolutionary War, Michael Kuhn settled in Patten township, Allegheny county. Adam Kuhn later went down the Ohio river to Fishing creek and settled below Wheeling, where Eve, his wife, was killed by the Indians. Adam Kuhn remarried and lived to be a very old man. His son Michael, the great-grandfather of Jacob Kuhn, married Catherine McClarty, a daughter of Archibald McClarty, a native of Scot- land, who settled on the Susquehanna river in the Wyoming settlement. Michael Kuhn and his family had several thrilling experiences and he fought in the Indian wars. He died in 1800, at the age of seventy-three years. Nicholas Kuhn had no children. Mansfield Kuhn settled in Kentucky. Michael Kuhn was born on April 5. 1747, and died on January 30, 1820. His wife. Catherine McClarty. was born March 3. 1743, and died July 12, 1823. They had eight children, Eva, Archibald, Adam, Samuel, John, Mary, David and Nancy. Archibald Kuhn, the grandfather of Jacob, was born on August 28, 1771, and died on December 13, 1831. He was married on May 16, 1799, to Martha Stotler, who was born on February 7, 1781, and who died on June 17, 1818. They were the parents of Michael, Jacob, Nancy, Archy, David, Catherine, John M. and William H. H. Archibald Kuhn was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, 1816-1820. His son, Archy Kuhn, the father of Jacob, was born on September 2, 1805, and died on De- cember II, 1889. He married Mary (Craig) King, who was born on August 18, 1812. and who died on March 28, 1904. Their children were as follow : Mrs. Nancy D. McCready, who was born on October 22, 1837; William, May 28, 1839, died on January 15, 1863, a soldier in the Civil War, serving in the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer
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Infantry, was mortally wounded at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, having been shot through the right lung; Mrs. Martha S. Stotler, March 6, 1841, died on March 28, 1897; Robert, December 12, 1842, died on Septem- ber 28, 1843; Jacob, the subject of this sketch, was born on August 31, 1844. Jacob Kuhn was a soldier in the Civil War, a member of the Third Penn- sylvania Heavy Artillery, Light Battery H, One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was a prominent member of the Twentieth Iowa General Assembly in 1884. The sixth child of Archy and Mary (Craig) Kuhn was James King Kuhn, born on February 18, 1846, and died November 17, 1879. The other children were: Mrs. Eliza Ann Dildine, March 3, 1848; Mrs. Susan Alter, June 24, 1850; Mrs. Mary L. Spraul, June 2, 1852, and David B., June 20, 1855.
Jacob Kuhn was educated in the common schools of his native county in Pennsylvania. On February 13, 1864, he enlisted in Light Battery H, commonly called Rank's Battery, and connected with the Third Pennsyl- vania Heavy Artillery and the One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He served one and one-half years and was discharged at Philadelphia on July 25, 1865. One section of Battery H was engaged in the battle of Gettysburg. While in the reserve artillery he took part in the battle of Monocacy, near Frederick City, Maryland. After the war Mr. Kuhn learned iron making in Pittsburgh and worked there until 1868. In March of that year he came West and located in Grove City, Cass county, Iowa, where, for the first year, he followed carpentry work. He was then married shortly, after which he moved to Anita, Cass county, where he resided for fifteen years, being engaged in carpentering during that time, with the exception of six years, during which time he was engaged in the milling business. In 1884, Mr. Kuhn located at Manning, in Car- roll county, this state, and there engaged in the milling business for six years. He then lived in Des Moines eight years, and was there engaged in the milling business. In 1898 he came to this county, locating at Audu- bon, and there engaged in the milling business for sixteen years, or until October, 1913, when he sold out to his partner, A. S. Culver, having been engaged in the milling business for nearly thirty-six years, during which period he became very wealthy. Mr. Kuhn is the owner of a large ranch and town property near Billings, Yellow Stone county, Montana, and for twenty-five years has been a stockholder and director in the First National Bank at Manning.
On May 26, 1870, Jacob Kuhn was married to Minnie C. Taylor, who was born on September 20, 1851, the daughter of William and Martha Tay-
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lor, natives of Pennsylvania and early settlers in Cass county, Iowa. To this happy union the following children have been born: Mrs. Eva M. Rey- nolds, born on July 5, 1871, died on August 31, 1893; Mrs. Ada M. Wever, June 16, 1881, who, on October 24, 1906, married George B. Wever, who was born on December 27, 1880, to which union three children have been born, George Kuhn, December 1, 1907; Alice L., August 18, 1910, and Ethel Mary, March 1, 1913; and Ethel L., September 13, 1884, married on June II, 1914, Dr. Charles Burnside, who was born and reared in Audubon county, and who practises medicine at Los Angeles, to which union one child has been born, Harriett Elizabeth, born on October 13, 1914.
In politics Jacob Kuhn is an ardent Republican. In 1883 he was elected a member of the Iowa Legislature and served in the twentieth General As- sembly. Fraternally, Mr. Kuhn is a member of Allison Post, Grand Army of the Republic. All of the members of the family attend the Presbyterian church.
THOMAS E. MASON.
Thomas E. Mason, who, by his own unaided efforts, has gradually worked his way up from a modest beginning to a position of influence in the community where he lives, is a well-known photographer of Audubon, this county. His life has been one of unceasing industry and perseverance, and the systematic and honorable methods he has followed have won for him the unbounded confidence of his fellow citizens in Audubon county, whose inter- ests he has ever had at heart. As a photographer, Mr. Mason is one of the best in the county. He understands the techinique of his profession, and in his dealings with the public has been especially fair and square. Although Mr. Mason has been in Audubon but a few years, yet within that time the merit of his work has had a telling effect upon his business.
Thomas E. Mason was born in Jones county, Iowa, on December 29, 1868, a son of William J. and Clemma (Finch) Mason, natives of Ohio, who came west when both were young and settled in Jones county, Iowa. They were married in Jones county, and lived there for three years, at the end of which time they moved to Cherokee county, Iowa, where they are still residing. William J. Mason is a well-known farmer of Cherokee county, having been a farmer all his life. He and his wife are the parents of five children : Thomas E., the immediate subject of this brief review ; Jesse O., of Jefferson, Iowa ; May, the wife of B. F. Mason, of Meridian, Iowa ; Hattie,
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the wife of Harry Phelan, of Cherokee, Iowa, and Bessie, who is the wife of Elmer Phelan, of Aurelia, Iowa.
Thomas E. Mason received his education in the common schools of Cherokee county, Iowa. After leaving school he took up farming and was engaged in that occupation for two years in Cherokee county. Subsequently he was engaged in the clothing business in Webster county, Iowa, for one year and then followed various pursuits for the next five years. At the end of that time he engaged in the business of commercial photography, and con- tinued in that business at Jefferson, Iowa, until 1911, when he came to Audubon county and opened a photograph gallery in Audubon.
On March 7, 1894, Thomas E. Mason was married to Julia Swanson, the daughter of Swen Munson. Her parents were both natives of Sweden, but they never came to America, she having come alone to the United States, following, at the age of sixteen, three sisters who had come to this country, one of these sisters now being deceased. Mr. Mason and wife are the parents of three children, Earl, Blanche and Lester, all of whom are living at home.
Mr. Mason is a Republican in politics, but has not taken an active part in political matters. He and his wife are earnest and loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they, take an active part and to which they are liberal contributors. During his residence in Audubon, Mr. Mason has built up a large circle of friends, who are ardent admirers of him and his work, and he is regarded as one of the most popular and public-spirited citi- zens of Audubon.
ARTHUR FARQUHAR.
This utilitarian age has been especially prolific of men of action, men of high resolves and noble purposes, who give character and stability to the communities honored by their citizenship, and whose influence and leadership are easily discernible in the various enterprises that have added so greatly to the reputation which Audubon county enjoys among her sister counties of this great commonwealth. Conspicuous among this class of men in Audubon county is Arthur Farquhar, former county superintendent of schools of Audubon county. and at present a well-known business man of Audubon, who is engaged in the life insurance business.
Arthur Farquhar was born on March 27, 1868. in Knox county, Ohio, a son of F. P. and Lucena L. (Bagly) Farquhar, both natives of Ohio. Lucena L. Bagly came to Iowa in 1837 with her parents, who located at West
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Liberty, her father homesteading the land where the town of West Lib- now stands. Mr. Farquhar's father came to Iowa and settled at West Lib- erty, where he met and married Lucena Bagly. After living in Iowa for some years they returned to Ohio, where they lived until 1873, in which year they returned to West Liberty, where they remained until they came to Audubon county in 1886, and here they spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Ada, deceased; Ella, who is living in Audubon; Horace, who lives at Lincoln, Nebraska; George, who lives at Villisca, Iowa; Fred, who is a resident of Winterset, Iowa; May, living at Audubon ; Arthur, the immediate subject of this review, and Mary, deceased. Three of these children were born in this state and four after the family's return to Ohio, and the youngest was born after the return to Iowa. F. P. Farquhar was born and raised a member of the Quaker church.
Arthur Farquhar received his early education in the common schools of Muscatine county, this state. He same with his parents to Audubon county in 1886 and taught school here for ten years. In 1899 he was elected county superintendent of schools and served in that capacity for seven years, or until 1907. After retiring from the office of county superintendent, Mr. Farquhar opened a life insurance agency, and is still a general agent in nine counties for the Register Life Insurance Company, of Davenport, Iowa. During the time he was engaged in teaching school, Mr. Farquhar occupied his summers in farming, and in 1891 bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Melville township, which he still owns.
On January 17, 1892, Arthur Farquhar was married to Nellie Leach, the daughter of James and Mary (Dean) Leach, natives of England, who came to this country and located in South Dakota, where they spent the rest of their lives. Mrs. Farquhar came to Audubon county in 1881, and made her home with her sister, Mrs. James Hunt, until the time of her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Farquhar two children have been born, Aubrey L., deceased, and Wynona L., who is living at home with her parents.
For many years, Arthur Farquhar has been prominent in the councils of the Republican party, and for the past eight years has served as chairman of the Republican central committee of Audubon county. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and belongs to the chapter and the com- mandery at Audubon. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Farquhar attend the services of the Presbyterian church, although neither is a member of any church.
Arthur Farquhar, by virtue of his long service as county superintendent of schools and by virtue of his present business as well as his activity as chair-
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man of the central committee of the Republican party of Audubon county, is well known in this section of the state. He is an enterprising and progressive citizen and entitled to rank among the leading men of his county.
EVANS MARQUESEN.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs who makes the real history of a community. His influence as a potential factor in the body politic is difficult to estimate. The example such men furnish of patient pur- pose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. There is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting even in a casual way to their achievements in advancing the interests of their fellow men and in giving strength and solidity to the institutions which make so much for the prosperity of the community. Such a man is Evans Mar- quesen, a well-known merchant of Audubon, this county. As such it is proper that a review of his career be accorded a place among these biographi- cal sketches of many other representative citizens, of the city and county where he has lived for so many years.
Evans Marquesen was born on September 3, 1884, in Audubon, Iowa, the son of Hans and Laura ( Peterson) Marquesen, the former of whom was born in Denmark on November 12, 1855, the son of Jens Marquesen, born on November 12, 1830. Jens Marquesen came to America in 1862 and located in Washington Island, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming. He came to Audubon county in 1876 and located in Sharon township, where he lived for years, but now resides in Elkhorn. Jens Marquesen and wife had three children, Hans, Mrs. Julia Gray, of St. Louis, and Laura, the wife of Jacob Esbeck, of Elkhorn. Hans Marquesen was employed in Glea- son's store in Audubon for one year and then engaged in the lumber business for nine years, subsequently moving to Kimballton, where he engaged in the general mercantile business for twelve years. After a short time spent in Exira he then moved to a farm east of Exira, in Audubon township, and lived there for five years, after which, for four years, he engaged in the general mercantile business in Exira. In 1908 he removed to Elkhorn and engaged in the general mercantile business. To Hans and Laura (Peterson) Marquesen were born three sons and eight daughters, namely: Evans, the subject of this sketch; Edmond, a merchant at Avoca; Storm, who lives with his father; Pearl, who also is at home; Olga, who married Thomas Olsen,.
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and lives on a farm in Hamlin township; Myrtle, who married James Heinick, of Hamlin township; Gudrun, who married Harry Larson, near Elkhorn, and Hansie, Frances, Katherine and Gladys, who are at home.
Evans Marquesen was educated in the Audubon public schools and at Exira. He engaged with his father in the general mercantile business and was with him for four years. After his marriage, in 1906, he moved to a farm near Brayton, owned by his father-in-law, and for five years operated this farm. In 1914 Mr. Marquesen moved to Audubon, where he engaged in the mercantile business, in partnership with M. J. Frabicuis, and on the first of October, that year, purchased the entire business and now has the largest storeroom in the city, eighty-four by sixty feet and containing two floors, lighted by the company's own gas plant. Mr. Marquesen carries a general stock of merchandise and the stock is arranged under the departmental plan. Mr. Marquesen employs nine assistants, six women and three men, and carries a thirty-five thousand-dollar stock.
On January 1, 1906, Evans Marquesen was married to Christine Nelson, daughter of L. P. Nelson, of Oakfield township. L. P. Nelson is a native of Denmark, who came to America in 1869, and lived in Minnesota until 1877, in which year he came to Audubon county. Not long ago Mr. Nelson dis- tributed ten farms among his ten children, this distribution being made at a Thanksgiving Day family reunion at his farm home near Lorah. The ten children made their own selection of the farms, at the suggestion of their father, each one selecting the place which he or she thought more nearly met with his or her ideal of a farm. The distribution was happily made. The ten children had planned an elaborate surprise for their father, which took the form of a reception to his daughter, Mrs. Harry Traum, and husband, but recently married. Mr. Nelson, upon coming to this country, first settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He came to Iowa by the first passenger train that came over the Rock Island railroad from Des Moines to Atlantic. Mr. Nelson settled eight miles north of Atlantic, where the surrounding country was all open prairie, with but one or two houses between his home and Atlantic, and by enduring all the discomforts of the early pioneer, by unceasing indus- try and by the highest integrity and the exercise of shrewd business judg- ment, accumulated one of the largest estates in this part of the state. Mr. Nelson's children are as follow: Gilbert P. Nelson, of Exira; John C. and Edward M. Nelson, of Brayton; A. A. Nelson and Mrs. Harry Traum, living north of Atlantic; J. A. Nelson, south of Atlantic; Mrs. Evans Mar- quesen ; and the Misses Rose and Martha Nelson, all of Audubon, and L. A. Nelson, Jr., of Atlantic.
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To Evans and Christine (Nelson) Marpuesen four children have been born, namely : LaRue, born on November 15, 1907; LaVonne, November 4, 1910; Thelma, June 22, 1912, and Dale, September 13, 1913.
Although a comparatively young man, Mr. Marquesen has made a splen- did start in life. He has attended strictly to his own business and has never found time for activity in politics, although he is identified with the Demo- cratic party. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and are earnestly interested in all good works hereabout, being held in the highest esteem by all who know them.
ALFRED BROOKS, M. D.
The life of the physician and public-spirited man of affairs, whose name appears above, affords a striking example of well-defined purpose. Dr. Alfred Brooks is also possessed of a purpose to make his ability serve not only his own ends, but the ends of his fellow men as well. He has built up for himself a distinct position in the medical profession, a vocation which requires for its basis sound mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order.
Alfred L. Brooks was born on June 6, 1858, at Vinton, Iowa, the son of Lorenzo and Jane (Peace) Brooks, natives of New York state. Lorenzo Brooks was born in 1821 and died in 1901. He was a farmer by vocation, who came to Iowa in 1854 and settled in Benton county, where he spent the remainder of his life. His wife was born in 1823 and died in 1903. They had five children, two of whom are living, Dr. Alfred L., the subject of this sketch, and C. B., who lives in Iowa City.
Dr. Alfred L. Broooks is self-made and self-educated and deserves a great deal of credit for his achievements in the world. He received his ele- mentary education in the common schools and subsequently, attended the Blairstown Academy. After this he taught school and worked on the farm during vacations, later taking up the study of medicine, and was graduated from Rush Medical College, at Chicago, with the class of 1883. Upon re- ceiving his diploma, Doctor Brooks commenced to practice his profession at Gray, in Audubon county, and was there for five years, at the end of which time, in 1888, he moved to Audubon and has there built up an excellent practice. Doctor Brooks is a member of the Audubon County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Associa-
ALFRED L. BROOKS, M. D.
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tion, and is active in all of these bodies. He is also a member of the Inter- national Association of Railway Surgeons, having been appointed some years ago as surgeon for the Northwestern Railroad.
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