USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 43
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
Patrick McMahon was born on September 5, 1849, in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of John and Bridget (Needham) McMahon, both natives of Tipperary. When Patrick was a very small boy, his father died of glanders, a disease which he contracted from a horse, as the elder McMahon was a farmer, and a well-known dealer in horses. Then it was, in 1855, that the little family sought their relative in America, emigrating to Rock county,
456
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
Wisconsin, where they found the uncle, a hotel keeper in Janesville, and there they made their home, the mother passing away in 1889. Patrick was the third child of this family, the others being Maria, now Mrs .. Michael O'Brien of Rock county, Wisconsin : Michael. who, previous to his death in Carroll, Iowa, was a railroad man and farmer, and John, who lives in the state of Washington.
The subject of this brief biography has demonstrated by his subsequent success in life that the little Irish boy, who arrived in America apparently equipped only with health and hope, in reality had resources which were to be a great asset in the struggle which was before him. He possessed deter- mination and the capacity for hard work. And it is these qualities which enabled him to reach the prominence in his community which justifies the appearance of his name in the present volume.
Until his sixteenth year, Patrick McMahon attended school in Janes- ville, Wisconsin. Then he became a fireman on the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, with headquarters at Rockford, Illinois, following this occupation for a year and six months, at the end of which time he was transferred to a passenger train running between Madison, Wisconsin and Harvard Junc- tion. Later promoted to the position of engineer, he then ran on a freight train between Baraboo, Wisconsin, and Harvard Junction for several years. Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were the extremes between which he ran a passenger train until the year 1892, when, for some reason, he left the road, and moved to Audubon, this county. For the next eighteen years, he took care of a school building in that town. Then, it seems, his interests began to turn toward his land. In 1877 he had bought one hundred and sixty acres in Douglas township, this county, paying ten hundred and forty dollars for the tract, which was a splendid piece of property. Twenty- seven years later he sold the same land and bought two hundred and forty acres near Lukin's Grove, three and one-half miles east of Audubon, the sale price being one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre.
On April 15, 1880, Patrick McMahon was united in marriage to Mary Desmond, who was born in McHenry county, Illinois, a daughter of Cor- nelius and Honnorah (McEniry) Desmond. natives of Cork, Ireland, who came to America and became pioneers of McHenry county, Illinois. Cor- nelius Desmond was a farmer, and passed the remainder of his life in that county. The mother of Mrs. McMahon lived with her until 1907, when she died at the age of ninety-three years. To Patrick and Mary (Desmond) McMahon but one son was born, John, who now is in the real estate business at 5501 South Ashland avenue, Chicago, Illinois. John McMahon was born
457
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 31, 1883. He is a graduate of the Audu- bon schools, and of St. Ambrose College at Davenport, Iowa, as well as of Armour Institute, Chicago. In the latter school he took a course in civil engineering. The home of Mr. and Mrs. McMahon, a splendid building erected on three acres of ground in the east corporation of Audubon, was purchased in 1892. Valuable improvements have been added, including attractive shade trees and a fine orchard. .
Busy with his agricultural, and in early life, with other enterprises, Mr. McMahon's tastes and ambitions have not led him into political fields, but he has always voted the Democratic ticket. He and his wife are among the prominent members of the Catholic church in the town in which they live. Both appear young for their years and are interesting acquaintances and excellent company, for they have a goodly supply of Irish wit. For several years, Mr. McMahon has not been engaged actively in business. He is fond of his home, and of the quiet mode of life which he has chosen, and is a good neighbor ; a friend worthy of friendship.
The little lad who came from Ireland, leaving his father in the church- yard there, has become a successful American citizen, and when success came. he remained loyal and kind to the mother, who, with faith in God and in herself, brought her small family to a country where the conditions seemed less difficult to overcome, and where industry was more certain .of reward.
THOMAS WILLIAMSON.
Iowa has been particularly fortunate in two respects. She has many sons whose sturdy qualities enable them to develop her rich natural resources in time of peace, and it has been found that in time of war, these same sons can turn their hand to the sword as effectively as to the plow. With a citizen- ship of this kind, there need be no fears concerning the commonwealth, because its prosperity has for its basis both moral courage and the essen- tials of industrial success : assuming that a state's productivity depends ulti- mately upon its soil. In the life of the person in whom the reader's present interest centers, are found both of the above phases of the common life. That is, he has been a hard-working, prosperous farmer, and also a brave, self-sacrificing soldier, either of which attainments are such as to merit the highest commendation.
Thomas Williamson, now a well-known retired farmer of Audubon,
458
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
this county, was born on December 6, 1839, in Bond county, Greenville, Illinois, the son of William and Laura (Brown) Williamson, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Virginia, who were numbered among the pioneers of Bond county, Illinois, later moving to Logan, this state. In his early years William Williamson was what is now called an "old time Whig," but afterwards became a Republican. Both he and his good wife, who shared nobly the hardships of their early struggles, were possessed of such qualities as merited the esteem of the neighborhood in which they lived and they had many warm friends. This respected couple spent their last days in Logan. Their children were ten in number. The first-born, Benja- min, and the second born. Mary Ellen, are both dead. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was the third child born in this household. The next son, Chapman, is also dead. Louisa is living in Logan county, and Nancy, in Livingston county, Illinois. The next three children, Lucy, Jesse and Willie are dead.' Frances lives in Arizona. Of five sons belonging to this interest- ing family, three served in the war. These were the subject of this sketch, and his brothers Chapman and Jesse, Chapman being a member of the First Artillery of Missouri for a period of three years. Thomas Williamson enlisted on August 22, 1862, in Company A, One Hundred and Eighth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at Peoria, Illinois, and was sent with his company to Memphis, Tennessee. He still carries the bullet with which he was shot in the shoulder while in service at Paris, Kentucky. He was also wounded in the windpipe, and was taken to the hospital at Paris where he was obliged to remain for two weeks. After his release, he was returned to his regiment and served until the fall of 1864.
Thomas Williamson, like so many other lads of those early days, desired, but could not obtain an education. It is difficult, perhaps, for the present generation to realize the heartaches of the youth of preceding generations to whom an education was but a dream, so accustomed have the youth of today become to good free schools. So, young Williamson had to be con- tent with what the old log school house of Illinois could give him, walking three and four miles to obtain even this much. Until enlisting in the army, he lived at home and a year after his return from the army was married, on September 5, 1865, to Mrs. Margaret May, widow of Henry May, of Ohio, who was a Union soldier during the Civil War, serving in Company C, Sixty- ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and who lost his life at the siege of Vicksburg. Mrs. Williamson was born in Preble county, Ohio, daughter of John W. and Nancy Ann ( Beatly) Davidson, the latter of whom
459
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
spent all her life in Preble county. John W. Davidson died in Audubon, in the year 1905. He and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Williams is the only survivor, the others having been Mary, Richard. James, Nancy and Peleg. By her first marriage, Mrs. Williamson became the mother of two daughters, May Adeline and Henrietta, both of whom have passed away. After their marriage, Thomas Williamson and his wife lived on a farm in Logan county, where Mr. Williamson took charge of machinery, including thrashing machines, for many years. In September, 1885, they decided to change their place of residence, and moved their house- hold goods to Audubon county, securing eighty acres of land in Leroy town- ship, three miles northeast of Audubon. Having put extensive improve- ments on their property, they remained there until 1905, when they again moved, this time to West Audubon, selling the farm to one of their sons. They then built a fine home on two splendidly located lots in Audubon and Mr. Williamson managed the electric-light plant for a number of years fol- lowing, giving absolute satisfaction to the citizens of that city.
To Thomas and Margaret (Davidson) Williamson five children have been born, namely : William, a farmer of Madison county, Iowa, who mar- ried Ulah Phillips and has seven children. Arthur, Howard, George, Garland, Esther, Florence and Lester; George Harvey, a farmer and stock raiser of Leroy township, this county, who married Effie P. Fry and has five children, Orville, Ezma, Margaret» Lowell and Leverne; Reuben, who is deceased ; Josie, who married Charles Trumell, living near Spencer, Iowa, and has six children, Eddie, Floyd, Albert, Harold, Raymond and Donald, and Martha Jane, the last born, who died while a small child.
One of the conspicuous figures at the reunions of the Grand Army of the Republic is Thomas Williamson, who has never ceased to have a real interest in all that concerns his country. He is fond of relating his war experiences, and though advanced in years, this part of his life seems as vivid and as real as his present activities. It is not improper to close this brief sketch by paying tribute to the wife of Mr. Williamson, a woman of character and attainment, and of such personality as to bring to their home many friends by whom they are both held in high esteem. In all of his efforts, this good woman has ably done her part toward helping her husband to attain success, always making her personal happiness subservient to the happiness of her family, for only thus could she find contentment. She is a member of the Presbyterian church and for years has been warmly con- cerned in the various beneficences of that church.
460
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
PETER RUBEL.
The gentleman whose name here greets the eyes of the reader, one of the best-known and most prosperous farmers of Greeley township, this county, is another of that considerable number of Germans, who, as young men, came to this country to seek better opportunities than they could hope to obtain in the Fatherland. Energetic, thrifty and enterprising, he has suc- ceeded largely and is one of the substantial men of the county.
Peter Rubel was born in Bavaria, Germany, November 18, 1844, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Unger) Rubel, farming people who spent their whole lives in their native land. At the age of twenty-one, Peter Rubel came to America, landing in New York on February 8, 1866. He remained in New York state until the fall of that year, at which time he proceeded west, stopping in Ogle county, Illinois, where he married and where he lived for about eight years, at the end of which time he moved on farther west, locating, in 1872, in Mahaska county, Iowa, where he remained until the year 1883, in which year he came to Audubon county, renting eighty acres of land in Douglas township. For seven years he rented land in that and Sharon township and then bought one hundred and twenty acres in Douglas township, on which he lived for eleven years, at the end of which time he sold the farm and then for one year lived near the town of Gray, after which he bought two hundred and forty acres of land in section 8 of Greeley township, where he since has made his home. Prospering there, he presently added eighty acres to his first purchase, making in all a farm of three hun- dred and twenty acres, which he has greatly improved and upon which he has erected a fine set of farm buildings, giving him one of the best and most highly-improved farms in Greeley township, upon which he carries on gen- eral farming and stock raising with a large measure of success.
In September. 1872, Peter Rubel was united in marriage with Mary H. Ehrenhart, who was born in Germany, a daughter of George Ehrenhart, to which union six children were born: Maggie, who married Albert G. Beech and has six children, Pearl, Earl, Lester, Ethel, Ralph and Harold; Emma, who married David Snyder; Otto, who married Sophia Burr and has four children. Harold, Clarence, Russel and Marion; Addie, unmarried, lives in the city of Omaha; Dora, deceased, and Tilda, who also is unmarried and lives in Omaha. The mother of these children died on May 10, 1889, and Mr. Rubel married, secondly, September 22, 1891, Amelia Sabel, who was born in Germany, the daughter of John and Henrietta (Willnitz) Sabel, and to this latter union eleven children have been born, Charles, Mary, Albert,
461
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
William, Walter, Earl, Louis, Minnie, Lee, Lester and Glenn, all of whom are living at home save Charles and Albert.
Mr. and Mrs. Rubel are members of the Lutheran church and have reared their children in the faith of this church. He is independent in his political views and gives close attention to the political affairs of the county. He is deeply interested in the educational affairs of his home township and has been school director for four years.
SAMUEL G. WEAVER.
Samuel G. Weaver is widely known as one of the early citizens of Audu- bon county, Iowa, who, for nearly fifty years, has been a valued factor in the development of the state of Iowa and. prominently identified with the vari- ous interests of the community. His well-directed energies in the practical affairs of life, the capable management of his own business interests, and his sound judgment, have demonstrated what may be accomplished by a man who works with one end in view. Mr. Weaver often has persevered in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and he has proven that he is the possessor of those innate qualities which do not fail to bring success.
Samuel G. Weaver was born on January 22, 1856, in Lena, Stevenson county, Illinois, and is a son of Abraham and Margaret (Grossman) Weaver, natives of Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and Center county, Pennsylvania. They were very early settlers in Stevenson county, Illinois, driving through from Pennsylvania in covered wagons. The father was a blacksmith in Pennsylvania, but took up farming in Illinois until after the Civil War and then moved to Lena, where he engaged in the lumber business for several years. Later, he gave up his business and engaged in the general mercan- tile affairs which he followed until he died at the ripe old age of eighty-nine years.
Samuel G. Weaver received his education in the schools of Lena, but being different from the most of boys, he did not care to while away his moments in his father's store, as he spent most of his vacations on the farm. Mr. Weaver lived at home until the spring of 1876, and in March of that year, he came west to Audubon county, Iowa, where his father had given him eighty acres of land. Mr. Weaver got as far as Des Moines on his way, and the mud and clay got so bad that he was compelled to ship his horses and wagon the rest of the way. He had been to the county in 1874, when he
462
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
helped some neighbors drive cattle through from Illinois. The land on which he located was the Frank Harrington homestead, which was one of the very first farms settled in Audubon county, and was located three miles north of Exira. In November, Mr. Weaver went back to Illinois, and was married, after which he returned to Audubon county, and lived in Greeley township ever since, with the exception of two years, during which he lived in Exira township.
Samuel G. Weaver was married on November 7, 1876, in Lena, Steven- son county, Illinois, to Mattie Johnson, who was born near Argyle, Wiscon- sin, and who was a daughter of Robert and Caroline (Peterman) Johnson, both natives of England, and who were the parents of five children. The mother of these children died when they were all quite young, and the chil- dren were then scattered, Mrs. Weaver having been bound out to a family by the name of Rockwell, living near Lena, Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are the parents of four children: Lillie, born on February 10, 1878, married Lewis Bryan, and they live in Pomona, Cali- fornia, and have three children, Wyman, Rodger and Paul; Sidney R., born on March 5, 1881, lives at home : Anna, born on July 23, 1883, and Maud, born on September 1, 1887, the last named living at home with their parents.
Mr. Weaver is engaged in general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of raising thoroughbred registered Poland-China hogs, and also specializing in Plymouth Rock chickens, in which line he has been more than ordinarily successful. Mr. Weaver has added to his original land holdings until he is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of good land. His son also owns one hundred and sixty acres. His home is modern and is equipped with a furnace, gas lights, waterworks and all present-day conven- iences. His farm buildings are all of the best type, and most of the incidental work on the farm is done by the latest improved machinery. Mr. Weaver milks an average of fifteen cows the year round, and has met with gratifying success in his dairying operations. Mr. Weaver has considerable property in southern California, where he spends most of the winters.
Samuel G. Weaver is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is independent in politics, although he had been a Republican earlier in life. He has served as township trustee, but has never been an office seeker, and has never particularly cared about holding office. The Weaver family are members of the Evangelical Association church, and take an active part in the work of this church, and are loyal and liberal contribu- tors to its support.
Samuel G. Weaver is one of the most prominent men in Greeley town-
463
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
ship, Audubon county. He is a man who is admired for his many worthy qualities. He is interested in public improvements and has been a foremost leader in developing a wholesome community spirit in Greeley township, where he has made his home for so many years.
HANS C. FREDERICKSEN.
Among the strong and influential citizens of Audubon county, Iowa, a record of whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, Hans C. Fredericksen, of Hamlin township, occupies a prominent place. For many years he has exerted a beneficial influence in the locality where he resides. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, tire- less energy, honesty of purpose and everyday common sense, which have enabled him not only to advance his own interests but also largely contribute to the moral and material advancement of the community.
Hans C. Fredericksen was born on April 6, 1857, in Denmark. He is the son of Frederick and Hanne Fredericksen, both natives of Denmark, where they were farmers. They had seven children, of whom Hans C. was the third, the father dying when Hans C. was five years old, after which the mother was married again. Hans C. lived at home until eighten years of age, at which time he started to earn his own living, working on neighbor- ing farms.
In the spring of 1884, Hans C. Fredericksen came to the United States, landing at New York city. He came directly from New York city to Clin- ton, Iowa, where he had relatives. He worked in a saw-mill there for one year and then took up farm work which he followed for five years. Subse- quently, he rented land for fourteen years and in the spring of 1903 came farther west to Audubon county, where he purchased his present farm of three hundred and sixty acres in section 14 of Hamlin township. The land was fairly well improved for such a large farm, and Mr. Fredericksen has built a large eleven-roomed house with furnace, gas lights and waterworks throughout. He has also built a large barn, one hundred and sixteen by one hundred and eighteen feet, which is one of the largest in Audubon county. Mr. Fredericksen has good cattle sheds, hogs houses, etc., and altogether one of the most improved and best-equipped farms in this section of the state of Iowa. Since coming to this state, Mr. Fredericksen has made his industry count for increasing profit each year. His farm is conducted as a business
464
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
proposition and he keeps a careful account of profits and losses and is, therefore, able to adjust his profit and the products of his farm in accordance with what he is able to make out of each department.
On July 22, 1890, Mr. Fredericksen was married in Clinton, Iowa, to Amelia Hansen, who was born in Denmark and came to the United States in the same year which she and her husband were married. Mr. and Mrs. Fredericksen have six children, Ellen, Frederick, Metha, Freda, Marie and Esther. All of these children are living at home. The mother of these children died on July 22, 191I.
Hans C. Fredericksen does general farming and stock raising. He feeds a great many cattle and hogs and is, in fact, one of the largest feeders in Audubon county.
Mr. Fredericksen is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Democrat, but has never held office nor has he ever cared to do so. The duties required in overseeing his large interests and the various opera- tions upon his farm, have prevented him from taking an active part in political affairs ; moreover, he is more keenly interested in the welfare of his family and his home. The Fredericksen family are all active members and loyal supporters of the Danish Lutheran church.
HON. WILLIAM RAYMOND GREEN.
In the largest and best sense of the term the Hon. William Raymond Green, M. C., is distinctively one of the notable men of his day and genera- tion, and as such his life record is entitled to a conspicuous place in the annals of his county and state. As a citizen he has been publie spirited and enter- prising. As a friend and neighbor he has combined the qualities of head and heart that have won confidence and commanded respect. As judge of a dis- trict court he discharged his duties with signal ability. conscientious care and in such a manner as to win the universal respect and confidence of all who had business in his court. The Hon. William Raymond has been more than successful in his legal career, having a splendid record at the bar and a long tenure on the bench in the fifteenth judicial district. He was a master of his profession, a leader among men distinguished for the high order of their legal talent, his eminent attainments making him an authority on all matters involving a sound knowledge of jurisprudence. He achieved success as a lawyer at an age when most young men are just entering upon their forma-
465
AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
tive period. So successful was he as a judge and jurist that in 1911 the people of the ninth congressional district conferred additional honor upon him, electing him representative in the lower house of the national Congress.
William Raymond Green was born in Colchester, Connecticut in 1856, the son of Timothy F. and Maria (Raymond) Green, of old New England stock. James Green, the great-grandfather of the Hon. William Raymond Green served in the Revolutionary army as a captain of a company in the First Connecticut Horse. Mr. Green's parents moved from Connecticut to Illi- nois when their now distinguished son was a lad and the latter passed his boyhood in the little town of Malden, Bureau county, Illinois, and was gradu- ated from the high school at Princeton, county seat of that county, when he was eighteen years of age. From the high school he went to Oberlin Col- lege, at Oberlin. Ohio, working his way through that institution by manual labor and by teaching school in the winters, and was graduated from the classical course of Oberlin College in 1879. Thus armed with a diploma he was engaged as principal of the schools at Neponset, Illinois, where he remained two years. During his vacations he had studied law and the fol- lowing year completed his law course in the office of McCoy, Pratt & McCoy at Chicago. In 1881 he was admitted to the bar at Ottawa, Illinois, and in that same year commenced the practice of law at Dow City, Iowa, where he remained for two and one-half years, moving thence to Council Bluffs, where he remained until 1885, in which year he came to this county, locating at Audubon, where he formed a co-partnership with John A. Nash and B. S. Phelps under the firm name of Nash, Phelps & Green. The firm carried on a law, loan and abstract business, and Mr. Green took charge of the legal department of the business. This partnership continued until 1895, the year in which Mr. Green was elected judge of the fifteenth judicial district of Iowa, to which position he was re-elected four times. In 1911 Judge Green resigned his position on the bench, having been elected in that year represen- tative in Congress for the ninth congressional district of Iowa. To this position he has been re-elected for the third term. Judge Green has made an enviable record as a member of Congress and has been a power in shaping legislation at Washington, being generally recognized as one of the leading members of the Iowa delegation in the national Congress.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.