USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 51
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December, 1880, and as soon as possible engaged in the manufacture of building brick, manufacturing practically all of the brick used in the building of Audubon. He also manufactured the first tile in Audubon county, and brought the first tile machinery to this county. He was actively engaged in the manufacture of brick until 1901.
On November 3, 1870, Charles L. Tramp was married to Augusta Damaska, a native of Germany, born in 1847, who came to America in 1855 with her parents. She died on November 4, 1883, leaving seven children, namely : William and Harry, who live at Creston, Iowa; Lillie, the wife of Charles Poulson, of Seattle, Washington; Charles, a commercial traveler, who lives at Creston, Iowa; Louis E. and Benjamin F., who live at Audu- bon, and Virgil, who lives at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On September 11, 1909, Charles L. Tramp married, secondly, Mrs. Jennie (Howard) Wilson, widow of Milo C. Wilson, of Nebraska, who was born in Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1850, the daughter of William and Adeline (Bennett) Howard, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. William Howard died in Wisconsin and his widow thereafter lived with a daughter in Nebraska, where her last days were spent.
CHRISTIAN MARCUSEN.
In the respect that is accorded to men who have fought their own way to success through unfavorable environment we find an unconscious recogni- tion of the intrinsic worth of character which can not only endure so rough a test, but gain new strength through discipline. Christian Marcusen, the gentleman to whom the biographer now calls the reader's attention, was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends; but in spite of this, by perseverance, industry and wise economy he has attained a comfortable station in life and has made his influence for good felt in Hamlin township, this county, where he resides and where he has long made his home. Because of the honorable career he has had in this county, Mr. Marcusen is eminently entitled to representation in this volume.
Christian Marcusen was born on March 12, 1868, in Sjaelland, Den- mark, the son of Christian and Margretha (Jensen) Marcusen, the former of whom was born in the same place and the latter at Roskilde. Christian Marcusen, Sr., was a laborer in his native country and he and his wife were the parents of five children, all sons. The two eldest of these sons, Jens and
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Hans, came to the United States in 1880 and located in this county. They saved their money and in 1882 sent back to the native country the funds with which their father and mother and the other sons paid their passage to this country, Christian Marcusen, Jr., being then fourteen years of age. He had received a fairly good education in Denmark and attended school some time after his arrival in this country, but not a great deal. He commenced "working out" at farm labor as soon as he arrived in this county, and was thus engaged until he was twenty-three years old, at which time he pur- chased sixty acres of land from his brother in Sharon township, one mile east of Kimballton, his father having bought forty acres alongside this farm, Christian lived with his parents and tended both farms. The father died in 1895, after which Christian purchased the interest of the other heirs in the home farm of forty acres, his mother making her home with him and keeping house for him until her death, in February, 1899. Christian Marcusen was on a visit in Denmark at the time of her death. The senior Christian Mar- cusen and three of his brothers served in the war between Denmark and Germany in 1846, the former being severely wounded during one of the battles. In 1864 two of the brothers were compelled to enlist the second time.
In 1901 Christian Marcusen sold his farm in Sharon township and pur- chased one hundred and sixty-three acres of land in section 18 of Hamlin township, moving to this farm in the following spring. In 1913 he built a large ten-room house, modern in every respect; equipped with a furnace, bath, hot and cold water, piped for gas and wired for electric light. Mr. Marcusen has also built several new out-buildings and remodeled others until now he has one of the best-improved farms in that section of the county.
On December 21, 1899, Christian Marcusen was married to Christine M. Byriel, of Audubon, who was born on September 11, 1881, in Schleswig, Germany, the daughter of Mathias and Marie ( Mortesen) Byriel, also natives of Schleswig, so far as is known, who came to America in 1884, Christine Byriel being then but three years of age. Her father died when she was only five years old and her mother when she was twelve, after which she was com- pelled to make her own living. To Christian and Christine (Byriel) Mar- cusen five children have been born, two sons and three daughters, namely : Arthur C., born on January 15, 1902; Orla M., November 2, 1903; Mar- gretha M., November 24, 1905; Lydia S., March 23, 1908, and Hilda M., January 30, 1910.
Mr. Marcusen is engaged in general farming and stock raising, feeding annually about one hundred head of hogs and milking about fifteen head of
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COWS. He is also interested in other enterprises and is a stockholder in the Elkhorn Telephone Company and the Sharon Creamery Company. Mr. Marcusen is a Democrat, but does not class himself as a politician and has never held office. His chief interests are confined to his family, his home and his farm. He is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, and he and his fam- ily are members of the Danish Lutheran church, active in the good works thereof and held in the highest esteem throughout that entire neighborhood.
GEORGE N. HIGLEY.
The biographies of successful men are instructive as guides and incen- tives to those whose careers are yet to be achieved. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and consecutive endeavor, strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. George N. Higley, a well-known farmer of Viola township, Audubon county, Iowa, whose life story is here briefly set forth, is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and reached a definite degree of success in a special sphere to which his talents and energies have been devoted.
George N. Higley was born in Ogle county, Illinois, July 2, 1858. He is the son of Abram and Sarah Ann (LaShell) Higley, the former of whom was a native of Vermont and the latter of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandparents of George N. Higley were natives of London, England. Mrs. Higley, the mother of George N., came from Pennsylvania to Illinois with her parents and here she was married to Abram Higley. Abram Higley and wife remained in Illinois until they retired and then moved to California, where Mr. Higley died. He and his wife were the parents of five children : Lutitia M., George N., Edward Birt, Edwin Miles and Effie Viola, deceased.
George N. Higley was educated in the common schools of Illinois and after completing his education, began farming in that state, which he con- tinued for four years. He came to Iowa in 1885 and located in Viola town- ship, where he first purchased eighty acres of land for twenty-three dollars and seventy-five cents an acre. He then added eighty acres and during all of this time has been engaged in mixed farming and stock breeding and feeding.
George N. Higley was married on November 10, 1880, to Ada Jean- nette Shaffer, who was born on April 22, 1862, and is the daughter of Will- iam Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Berger) Shaffer, the former of whom was
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a native of New York and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. They were married in Illinois, having come to that state early in life with their parents, who were farmers. William Henry and Mary Elizabeth Shaffer were the parents of ten children : Horace P., Mrs. Higley, Eliza Jane, Ann, Harry, deceased; Evelyn A., Cora Belle, William Walter, deceased; Ira V. and one who died in infancy.
To Mr. and Mrs. George N. Higley have been born four children : Stanley Boyd, born on July 21, 1885, and was accidentally killed on June 4, 1915; Cora Blanche, born March 11, 1891, who married William Olson, of Viola township; Bertha May, born June 12, 1894, and Bonita Elizabeth, born June 14, 1899.
Mr. Higley served as township trustee and assessor. He has served as school treasurer for twenty-two years. Religiously, he and his family are members of the Evangelical church. He served as a trustee of the church for some time and also as superintendent of the Sunday school for a number of years. Mr. Higley is a Republican and has been more or less active in the councils of his party. In this part of Audubon county, he has done his share as an influential factor in the Republican victories of the past. Mr. Higley is an enterprising and progressive citizen, a good farmer and a neigh- bor who is well liked by everybody.
ANDERS JENSEN.
Of the many worthy citizens of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, who have been able to establish comfortable homes in their adopted country, is Anders Jensen, a native of Denmark, born on June 7, 1866, and who is the son of Jens and Karen Jensen. He is the owner of a splendid farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Sharon township.
Jens and Karen Jensen, both natives of Denmark, came to America in 1874 with their family and after living in Chicago, for a month, moved to Wisconsin, where the former worked in the shipyards for a year. They then settled near New Denmark close to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he farmed and followed the carpenter's trade. Here he cleared thirty acres of timber land and lived for ten years, when the family came to Audubon county and located in Sharon township. In Sharon township Jens Jensen purchased eighty acres of land and farmed there until 1908 when he retired, and is now living in Kimballton. He has followed the carpenter's trade and farming after reaching the age of fifty years. Before coming to America, he served
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in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864 and had a splendid record of military service in this war. He and his wife have been the parents of nine children as follow : Hans, Chris, Anders, Thorvald, Walter, Mary, Carrie, Kate, and Dagmar, deceased.
Anders Jensen, the subject of this sketch, was a lad of eight years when the family came to America and most of his education was received in the schools of Wisconsin. After his education was completed, he worked at the carpenter's trade which he followed until fourteen years ago. He purchased a farm in 1895 and rented it out until 1901. In this latter year he began farming for himself and has invested possibly five thousand dollars in various kinds of improvements on the farm. He now has a well-kept and highly productive farm in Sharon township. He raises forty acres of corn which averages about fifty bushels an acre, twenty acres of small grain and seventy head of hogs each year.
In 1899 Mr. Jensen was married to Anna Simeson, the daughter of Erick and Karen Simeson. To this marriage eight children have been born : Elvena, Dagmar, Astrid, Gunda, Edna, Erma, Herluf and Eleanora Christena.
Mr. and Mrs. Jensen are active in the Danish Lutheran church of which both are members and Mr. Jensen, who is a Democrat in politics, has also served as a school director in Sharon township. A successful farmer of this community, Anders Jensen is also one of the foremost citizens of the town- ship and one of the citizens who are most highly respected and most favorably known. He is a worthy citizen of this great county, having prospered in this great democratic country, and is patriotic and loyal to his adopted country.
MARTIN P. MARDESEN.
The United States is the most cosmopolitan nation of the earth. Her citizens are drawn from every country and every clime and a residence of a few years in this country so imbues her adopted citizens with the American spirit that they become Americans indeed. No nation has furnished better or more substantial citizens for this country than the little kingdom of Den- mark. From this splendid country have come thousands who have won honored places in the communities in which they settled. Among the many families who have come to this country from Denmark and settled in the state of Iowa there is none more loyal to their adopted country than the Mardesen family of Hamlin township, this county. Martin P. Mardesen,
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the present head of this family in Hamlin township, is one of the best-known farmers and business men in Audubon county.
Martin P. Mardesen was born on January 31, 1846, in Schleswig, near Apenrada, Denmark, the son of Soren and Anna Mardesen, who were also born in Schleswig, the former near Apenrada, and the latter farther north. Soren Mardesen was a farmer and his father, Martin Mardesen, was a black- smith. Soren Mardesen and wife were the parents of two children, Martin P. Mardesen having a sister, Anna Marguerite, two years younger than him- self.
Martin P. Mardesen received a good common-school education, attend- ing the school in the winter and working out in the summer. He came to America when twenty-one years old, landing at Quebec, Canada. He did not stop there long but came west to Davenport, Iowa, near which city he obtained work by the month on a farm. He stayed there four years and in 1871 moved to Cass county, Iowa, locating at Atlantic, at the same time purchasing forty acres of land in the southern part of Audubon county. As soon as he got a house built on this farm, he moved there. This was several years before the Atlantic-Audubon branch of the Rock Island railroad was built and Oakfield was the postoffice at that time. Atlantic was the nearest large town. Mr. Mardesen owned this forty acres for only three years, at the end of which time he sold it and purchased two hundred and seventy-six acres of land near Elkhorn, on which he lived for twenty-eight years and then sold it, purchasing, in 1901, three hundred and thirteen acres in section 27, of Hamlin township, this county. Mr. Mardesen moved to this farm in 1902, and has since made his home there.
In 1869 Martin P. Mardesen was married to Nancy J. McDowell, who was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of John and Mary McDowell, of Scotch-Irish descent of very old families in the United States. To this union have been born seven children, Anna, John S., Thomas, Mary, Edward, Frank and Amanda. Anna married Mike Larsen and has six children, Martin, Mary, Charles, William, Henry and Helen. John S. married Sena Nelsen, of Danish parentage, but born in this country, and they have four children, Alfred, Esther, Arnold and Leona. Thomas married Grace Wells and has five children, George, Thelma, Eloween, Maxine and Harvey. Mary married Rasmus Nissen, of Elkhorn, and has eight children, Clarence, Flor- ence, Rena, Frankie, Harvey, Melvin, Annabelle and Mildred. Edward married Sena Esbeck and has four children, Merlin, Leo, Vernon and Evelyn. Frank married Anna Petersen and has six children, Edna Alice, Imo, Esther, Erma, Lillian and Milo. Amanda married Chris Larsen, a
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druggist at Elkhorn, and has five children, Herman, Merlin, Emert, Sidney and Curtis. The mother of these children died on November 16, 1901, and on April 12, 1904, Mr. Mardesen married, secondly, Mrs. Anna (Jensen) Steffensen, widow of Doctor Steffensen, of Elkhorn, who died on January 27, 1913.
Mr. Mardesen is a stockholder and was one of the organizers of the First National Bank at Exira, of which he was a director for three years. He also is a stockholder in the Elkhorn-Kimballton Lumber Company at Elkhorn and in the Elkhorn-Marne Telephone Company. He owns property in Exira and spends a great deal of his time there. Mr. Mardesen is identi- fied with the Republican party and has served as school director and town- ship trustee, besides filling other minor offices with credit to himself and satisfaction to the community. Mr. Mardesen and his family are members of the Danish Lutheran church, and are held in high regard throughout the community in which they are so well known.
EUGENE POTTER.
Eugene Potter, a general farmer and stock raiser of Douglas township, this county, who owns eighty acres of land in that township, was born on June 2, 1851, in New York, the son of James and Delia Potter, both natives of the Empire state. James Potter owned a farm of one hundred acres in New York state and was there engaged in farming until his death. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom seven are still living, Laura, Dwane, Eugene, Fayette, Beavel, Alice and Eliza, all of whom, except Eugene and a brother at Coon Rapids, Iowa, live in the state of New York.
Eugene Potter's educational advantages were limited, as he was com- pelled to quit school at the age of fourteen and to engage in work on his father's farm, where he remained until reaching his majority, when he began working by the day in a saw-mill. After engaging in this occupation for seven years, he went to Illinois, where he engaged in farm work for one year, at the end of which time he came to Iowa, locating in Shelby county, and there worked for two years on various farms. After his marriage, in 1884, he rented a farm in Shelby county, on which he lived for three years and then purchased eighty acres in Douglas township, this county, for which he paid twenty-three dollars an acre. The farm, which is located in section 15. has been improved with an investment of approximately three thousand
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dollars. Although Mr. Potter feeds some grain, the most of it he sells direct to the elevators in his neighborhood. He sells a few cattle and a few hogs each year.
In 1884 Eugene Potter was married to Katie Johnson, the daughter of David Johnson, of Shelby county, and to this union four children have been born, Grace, Lester, Ralph and one who died in infancy. Lester married Neola Reynolds and lives south of Coon Rapids, this state. He and his wife have one child. Ralph is farming the home place and Grace also lives at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter attend the Evangelical church. Mr. Potter is a Republican, but has taken little active interest in political matters. He is devoted to the interests of his home and his family and has lived to rear a family of children to useful lives. Mr. Potter has been a just man and has never exacted in friendship or business more than he was willing to grant to his neighbors. By his early toil, he has gained for himself a comfortable home, which, when his productive years have passed, he will be able to enjoy in calm security.
GEORGE A. CAMPBELL.
The biographies of successful men are instructive as guides and incen- tives to those whose careers are yet to be achieved. The examples they fur- nish of patient purpose and consecutive endeavor strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. George A. Campbell, a well-known farmer of Melville township and the proprietor of five hundred and sixty acres of land, all located in that township, is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and who has achieved a definite degree of success in the special sphere to which his talents and energies have been devoted.
George A. Campbell was born on March 5, 1860, in Lincoln, Illinois, the son of George Campbell and the brother of Thomas Campbell, a biograph- ical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume. George A. Camp- bell and his brother, James, came to Iowa in 1884 and settled on a large tract of land which they had purchased in 1882. A sister kept house for the brothers until her marriage. George A. Campbell bought his first tract of two hundred acres in 1889, at twenty-two dollars and fifty cents an acre, and at that time there were very few improvements on the land. Mr. Campbell has built several barns on the farm and in 1908 he remodeled his house, making it thoroughly modern. Mr. Campbell has added to the original
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home tract until it now comprises three hundred and twenty acres. He has besides this two other farms, on which there are three sets of buildings. He feeds practically all the time, from ninety to one hundred head of cattle and from seventy to one hundred head of hogs.
In 1884 George A. Campbell was married to Sophia Messersmith, a native of Indiana, and to this union have been born nine children, seven of whom are living, namely: Edward, who married Amy Murray and is at home; May, the wife of Fred McCoy, of Melville township; John, Mary, Ella, Frank and Ephraim, all at home. The two deceased children were George and Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are members of the Catholic church and their children have been reared in that faith. Mr. Campbell is a Democrat and served on the school board for twelve years, in which capacity he discharged the duties of his office to the satisfaction of the people of Mel- ville township.
ROBERT H. GARNETT.
Among the men of sterling worth and strength of character in this county who have made an impression on the life of the locality in which they lived, none has achieved a larger meed of popular respect and regard than Robert H. Garnett. Mr. Garnett has lived in Audubon county for many years and this has given the people an opportunity to know every phase of his character. That he has been true to life in its every phase is manifest from the high confidence and regard in which he is held by the people of this county. Mr. Garnett is now living retired, having, by his early labors, acquired a substantial competence for his declining years.
Robert H. Garnett was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, about six- teen miles north of the city of Rock Island, on November 16, 1847, the son of William and Sarah (Brown) Garnett, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of whom was born at Westchester, near Philadelphia, and the latter near a town that was then called Bloody Run. The Garnetts are of English descent. William Garnett's father having been the first of the family to cross the Atlantic for America. Robert H. Garnett received his education in the pub- lic schools and lived at home until he was twenty-one years old. In 1881 he came to Iowa and located in Greeley township, this county, where he pur- chased two hundred acres of railroad land in section 5. Later he sold forty acres of that farm and purchased eighty acres more, adjoining his farm on the northwest. In 1896 Mr. Garnett moved to Audubon, but after two years moved back to the farm where he lived until 1905, in which year he retired
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and moved to Hamlin, where he now lives and where he owns one of the pleasantest homes in the town.
On August 23, 1871, in Rock Island county, Illinois, Robert H. Garnett was married to Jeanette I. Clark, who was born in Greensburg, Pennsyl- vania, on October 12, 1853. the daughter of George W. and Mary A. (Hor- ton) Clark, natives of Baltimore, Maryland, and Tarentum, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, respectively. The Clarks were of Scottish descent, Mrs. Garnett's great-grandparents having emigrated from Scotland to this country. George W. Clark was a carriage-maker in his earlier days, but later in life took up farming. To Robert H. and Jeanette I. (Clark) Gar- nett two children have been born, Carrie E., born on September 2, 1872, who married James White, and has six children, Harry, Walter, Ruth, Ralph, Helen and Wayne, and Charles R., November 30. 1878, who married Jessie Gerard and has two children, George R. and Franklin M. Both of Mr. Garnett's children live on his farms.
Mr. Garnett is a Democrat and served as township clerk in Illinois before coming to Iowa. He also has served two terms as township trustee of Greeley township, in this county, and for seven years was postmaster at Hamlin, filling all these offices with credit to himself and with satisfaction to the public. No better testimonial of the esteem in which he is held by the people of this county can be offered than his successive elections or appoint- ments to important offices. Mr. and Mrs. Garnett and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are enthusiastic and faithful sup- porters of this denomination. They are earnest in all good works and enjoy the highest esteem of the entire neighborhood.
ARTHUR KITSON.
Representing one of the oldest and best-known families of Viola town- ship, Audubon county, Iowa, and himself a man of enterprise and sterling worth, Arthur Kitson is well entitled to notice among the substantial citizens of Viola township. Although Mr. Kitson is now living retired, it is with much satisfaction that the opportunity is availed of to place the story of his life before the readers of this important historical work.
Arthur Kitson is a native of England. He was born on October 24, 1850, at 34 Albert Square, Kennington, South London, England. He is the son of Wils and Hannah (Rhodes) Kitson. Wils Kitson was a government official and received a salary of one thousand pounds (five thousand dollars)
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