USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 57
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also the second prize for single ear at the state corn show at Ames, and the fifth prize for bushel at the same show.
Albert W. Weston was born in Melville township. this county, on June I. 1887. a son of Walter W. and Isophene ( Benson) Weston, the former of whom was born in Wisconsin on April 11, 1853. and the latter in Illinois in July. 1855. Walter W. Weston came from Wisconsin to Audubon county in 1877. and was married here shortly after arriving from his native state. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Weston moved on the old Benson farm, where they lived for a number of years. During the early eighties they started in to build up the farm, which at that time was little more than raw prairie land, and remained there until 1911, when they retired and moved to Audubon. To Walter W. and Isophene (Benson) Weston eight children were born, namely : Mrs. Edith Willard, of Lansing. Iowa : Mrs. May Finch, of Goshen. Utah; Mrs. Minnie Edwards, of Lake City, California : Albert, with whom this narrative deals: Frank, of Melville township: Mrs. Nina Patefield. of Edgar, Wisconsin ; Louis, a farmer of this township; Margaret, living at home, and Charles, deceased.
Albert W. Weston was educated in the public schools of Melville town- ship, and also took a course at the State Agricultural College at Madison, Wisconsin. At the latter institution he received a thorough scientific train- ing for his chosen vocation, and since leaving college has applied himself diligently to the problems of the farm and to their solution. Mr. Weston has always lived on the home farm. He took sole charge of it upon his father's retirement in the spring of 1911. and since that time has operated it quite successfully. Mr. Weston is an extensive breeder of Clydesdale horses. and has exhibited several horses at the Iowa state fair, winning the state championship on mares. In 1914 he won three second premiums and two third premiums on four animals. He keeps fifteen head of purebred Clydes- dale horses at the present time. Mr. Weston also makes a specialty of Short- horn cattle, and has a number of purebreds. He always has from sixty to one hundred head of cattle, and is one of the extensive cattle feeders of the county. Likewise. Mr. Weston specializes in purebred Poland China hogs, having now about on hundred head on the farm, keeping practically this num- ber all the time. all of these hogs being either registered or eligible to registry.
On April 5. 1911. Albert W. Weston was married to Arvilla Bates, who was born in Story county, Iowa, on February 21. 1885. a daughter of Syl- vester F. and Betty ( Harrison) Bates, natives of Michigan and Iowa, respect- ively, who are now residing in Cambridge. Story county, Iowa. To Albert
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W. and Arvilla ( Bates) Weston two children have been born, Helen Pauline, born on November 4, 1912, and Albert, August 24, 1914.
Mr. Weston is a Republican, but with the exception of having served on the election board, has never held office. Mr. and Mrs. Weston are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Weston is not a member of any lodge, his business and his large farming interests having been too various and exacting to permit him to spend any time in lodge work. He and Mrs. Weston are held in high regard throughout that part of the county and enjoy the fullest esteem of all their neighbors.
IVER NELSEN.
A resident of the United States since he was twenty-eight years old, or since 1880, Iver Nelsen, a general farmer and stock raiser of Douglas township, this county, has saved a part of his earnings from year to year until he now owns one hundred and sixty acres of fine land in Douglas township. Born in Denmark on December 10, 1852, Mr. Nelsen is the son of Nels Peter- sen and Cecile Jensen, both natives of Denmark, where the former owned a small farm. They were the parents of three children, Mary Christiana, Christiana Maria and Iver. Both of the daughters are now deceased and Mr. Nelsen is the only member of the family living.
Iver Nelsen received his education in the Danish public schools, but was compelled to quit school at the age of fourteen after which he worked on the farm until twenty-eight years old, when he came to this country. After landing at New York City, he came west to Wisconsin, where he stopped for five or six weeks, after which he came to Iowa. He worked on a farm for two years and then rented a farm near Elkhorn, where he lived for eleven years. In 1894 he came to Audubon county and rented land in Douglas township, where he lived for four years. Having, in the meantime, saved a considerable amount of money from his earnings, he purchased eighty acres of land for twenty-eight dollars and fifty cents an acre. After owning this land for four years, he sold it for forty-five dollars an acre and bought one hundred and twenty acres in sections 16 and 17, for which he paid fifty-five dollars an acre. In 1910 Mr. Nelsen purchased an additional forty acres, for which he paid ninety dollars. These various prices indicate the rise in value of farm land in this section of the state. In addition to Mr. Nelsen's original investment in his land, he has also invested five thousand dollars in improve-
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ments of various kinds. He feeds all of his grain to cattle and hogs, and sells a carload of cattle each year and a large number of hogs.
In 1883 Iver. Nelson was married to Christiana Cramer, who was born in Denmark, the daughter of Chris Cramer, and to this union four children have been born, Chris, Christiana, William and Nels. Chris married Cecilia Han- sen and lives at Ringstead, Iowa. Christiana married Jens C. Sloth and lives in Viola township, this county. William and Nels are unmarried and live at home.
The Nelsen family all belong to the Danish Lutheran church and are influential in the local congregation of that church. Mr. Nelsen is a good citizen of this great state, loyal to its institutions and enthusiastic on account of the opportunities offered to young men of other lands who have come to our shores and who have prospered here. He is well informed, intelligent, cordial in all of the relations of life, and is very popular with all the people of Douglas township, among whom he is well known, he and his family being held in the highest esteem.
HENRY RABE.
Self assertion is believed by many people to be absolutely necessary to success in life, and there are good reasons for entertaining such belief. The modest man very rarely gets what is due him. The selfish, aggressive man elbows his way to the front and takes all that is in sight, until it sometimes seems that modesty is a sin and self-denial a wrong. There are, however, exceptions to all rules, and it is a matter greatly to be regretted that the excep- tions are not more numerous. One notable exception is Henry Rabe, whose life history is here presented. Mr. Rabe possesses just sufficient modesty to be a gentleman at all times, yet sufficient persistency to win in the business world. As a result of these well and happily-blended qualities Henry Rabe has won a host of friends in Audubon county, and is well known as an enter- prising farmer of Hamilton township.
Henry Rabe was born in Hanover, Germany, on September 18, 1851, the son of Henry and Katrina (Supthut) Rabe, natives of that country. Henry Rabe was a farmer and also did painting and engraving. He and his wife were the parents of two children, Henry, the subject of this sketch, and Sophia, the latter of whom married Herr Ploghoft and lives in Bremen, Germany.
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Until he was fourteen years of age, Henry Rabe attended school and then worked on his father's farm until twenty years old. After that he served in the German army until twenty-four years old, at the conclusion of which he resumed work on his father's farm, where he continued to live until he was twenty-nine years old. In March, 1881, Henry Rabe left the old country and came to the United States, landing at New York City, proceed- ing thence to Crawford county, this state, where he took up farm work, "by the month," and thus engaged for three years. In 1884 he came to Audubon county and rented a farm in Melville township, remaining there for about eight years, at the end of which time he purchased about forty acres of land in Leroy township. In the fall of 1899 he sold that farm and purchased eighty acres in sections II and 14 in Hamlin township, which farm he sold in the fall of 1906 and purchased eighty acres in section 14 of the same town- ship, where he now lives. In 1914 Mr. Rabe bought one hundred and sixty acres in section 13 of Hamlin township. His home farm was fully improved when he bought it, but he has since built a large barn and made other sub- stantial improvements.
On September 16, 1889, Henry Rabe was married to Minna Kassen- haschen, who was born in Oldenburg, Germany, on March 28, 1857, the daughter of Gerard and Sophia (Busing) Kassenhaschen, natives of the same place. Gerard Kassenhaschen was a farmer and he and his wife were the parents of seven children, four of whom are still living, two of them living in the United States. Of these children, Henry was a farmer and a resident of Audubon county. Lena married Fred Buchholtz and lives in New York City, and Sophia married Henry Buchholtz and lives in Bremen, Germany.
To Henry and Minna (Kassenhaschen) Rabe five children have been born, four of whom are living, namely: Harry, born on March 21, 1891; Fred, January 24, 1893; John, June 11, 1895; William, August 27, 1897, was accidentally drowned on June 28, 1914, and Lena, June 15, 1899.
Henry Rabe is engaged quite successfully in general farming and stock raising. When he came to Audubon county in 1881 hogs were two dollars and forty cents the hundred weight; corn was fourteen and fifteen cents the bushel and land could be bought in Iowa for nine dollars and fifty cents an acre.
Mr. Rabe is a Democrat, but has held no public offices of prominence and has never been especially interested in politics. The family are members of the Lutheran church and active in the affairs of that church, to the support of which Mr. Rabe is a liberal contributor.
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JOHN MOORE.
To write the personal record of men who have raised themselves from humble circumstances to positions of responsibility and trust in a community is no ordinary pleasure. Self-made men, men who have achieved success by reason of their personal qualities and who have left the impression of their individuality on the business growth of their township, affect for good such institutions as are embraced in the sphere of their usefulness, and unwittingly, perhaps, build monuments more enduring than marble obelisk or granite shaft. To this class belongs John Moore, a well-known farmer of Hamlin township, this county.
John Moore was born in Queens county, Ireland, on November 5, 1859. the son of John and Ann (Fitzpatrick) Moore. both natives of the same county. as were their parents. John Moore's father, John Moore, Sr., was the son of John Moore, whose wife was a Dempsey. John Moore, the sub- ject of this sketch, was descended on his maternal side from James Fitz- patrick, who married a Brophy. Mr. Moore's mother's uncle, Dan Fitz- patrick, was one of the earliest settlers in Cedar county, lowa. In June, 1861, John and Anna (Fitzpatrick) Moore came to the United States, their son, John, being then but two years old. They landed at New York, where they lived a short time, and then moved to Philadelphia, where the father went to work as a carpenter for the United States government. He worked in the arsenal at Frankfort, near Philadelphia, where he was employed until the close of the Civil War. In November, 1865, the family came west to Iowa City, where the father helped to build a wing on the State University build- ing, hanging all the doors and all the windows in the building. In March, 1883, the family came to Audubon county, where they located on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in section 24 of Hamlin township, which the father had purchased in the fall of 1882, giving fifteen dollars an acre for it, and there the father and mother spent the rest of their lives, his death occur- ring on March 25, 1905, and hers on August 11, 1909. They were the par- ents of six children, five daughters and one son, that lived to maturity. Of these children Mary married Gerald Dempsey. Kate, now deceased, taught school in Audubon county for about six years. Bridget died in Johnson county. Iowa. Elizabeth, who married Michael Dwyer, also is now deceased. She also was for some years a school teacher in Audubon county. Marguerite married Richard Barry, to which union nine children were born. Their son, John Barry, rents Mr. Moore's farm and operates it quite successfully, mak-
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ing his home with Mr. Moore. John Moore and his parents and all the Moore family are members of the Catholic church. None of the family has been active in politics and none of them has held public office.
In 1912 John Moore showed a registered Belgian mare at the state fair at Des Moines and took second premium. He has also taken four first prizes at the local county fairs, and took the sweepstakes at the fair in 1912. Two of his mares are imported Belgians. The raising of thoroughbred horses has proved a very lucrative vocation in this section of the state and no man has made a greater success of the business than John Moore, of Hamlin town- ship. Mr. Moore is highly respected in his community and is well known throughout the county generally, all who know him holding him in the highest esteem.
HENRICK PETER PAULSEN.
Again are we interested in the courage and ambition which were pro- nounced enough to attract a youth of twenty-two from the fields of his native home across the ocean to the rich, productive soil of Iowa. And he became one of those sturdy pioneers whose lives, by their examples of industry and thrift, have become an inspiration not only to their own children, but to the neighborhood as well. The land-owning instinct seemed to show itself very early in the career of this young man, for he had not been in this country very long until he had acquired a title to what was the beginning of his fortune. Henrick Peter Paulsen, a retired farmer of Audubon, Iowa, is a native of Svendborg. on the island of Funen, Denmark. His parents were Peter and Carrie Paulsen, the father born in Holstein, and the mother in Svendorg. The former was a manufacturer of brick, owning his own brick yard. He died in Svendborg in 1884, his wife surviving until 1911. Peter and Carrie Paulsen were active in the membership of the Lutheran church and their three children, Jens, now a painter in San Francisco, California; Henrick Peter, the subject of this sketch, and Anders, a farmer in Denmark, were reared in that faith.
More fortunate than some of his neighbors, Henrick Paulsen was able to attend both the common schools and the high school of Denmark, subse- quently working for his father until he set sail for America. Upon arriving here he first settled at West Point, New York, where he lived for six months, at the end of which time he came West, locating in Jackson township, Shelby county, Iowa, where he purchased eighty acres of land, eighteen of which
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he improved. Selling this, he bought land in Sharon township, where he prospered, gradually buying more land until his holdings now amount to two hundred and sixty-nine acres of valuable land, upon which he has placed between seven and eight thousand dollars' worth of improvements. In 1914 Mr. Paulsen retired from the farm and took up his residence in Audubon, where he is now living.
Mr. Paulsen, who is considered one of the best farmers of this county, has given much attention to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle, having shipped a great many. He has also dealt largely in hogs and draft horses, as well as having been a breeder of Percheron horses, in which he has been interested for several years. He is the owner of a very fine stallion, "Keif," born in June, 1909.
On March 1, 1890, Henrick P. Paulsen was united in marriage to Sena Hansen, of Denmark, daughter of Hans and Mary Hansen, who were the parents of the following children: Carl, who lives in Denmark; Johanna, also a resident of her native country; Carrie, who died in Shelby county, Iowa, and Sena, who married Mr. Paulsen.
To Henrick P. and Sena (Hansen) Paulsen four children have been born, namely: Carrie, who lives at home; Peter, who has become a good farmer like his father, married Alma Jensen, and lives on the old homestead in Sharon township; Maggie and Henry, who live with their parents in Audubon.
While Mr. Paulsen has lived a busy, industrious life, he has not mingled much in civic nor political affairs, and has never sought office. In spite of this fact, however, he has been a school director in Sharon township. In national elections, he votes the Democratic ticket, but in local elections he chooses rather to vote for the man of his preference, regardless of party. Both he and his wife attend the Lutheran church, where their influence for good is strongly felt, and they have many friends in this county.
The success attained by this family is rather remarkable when one con- siders that it is the result of their own unaided efforts. No legacy of wealth nor land was his when Henrick Peter Paulsen, strong in the hope of youth, and enthusiastic with the courage of inexperience, left home and parents to see what the New World had in store for him. His wealth was then only potential, but he believed it possible for it to become actual, and the after years have proved that he was right. He has shown that he was a good manager, and it is but proper that he should be accorded a place among the prosperous and prominent men of this county.
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THOMAS JAMES ESSINGTON.
The late Thomas James Essington, who at the time of his death owned four hundred and forty acres of land in Exira and Oakfield townships and one hundred and sixty acres in Nebraska, has had a varied career. Born in Maine and educated there, after leaving school he became a sailor and worked before the mast for three years, at the end of which time went to Cali- fornia and engaged in mining. From California he went to Idaho and there he worked for three years, coming to Audubon county, Iowa, in 1867, where he worked as a farm hand until he purchased forty acres of land and began farming for himself.
Thomas James Essington was born on December 20, 1839, in Maine. His parents were William and Mary (Murch) Essington, the former a native of England and the latter of Maine. William Essington had come from England to New Brunswick when he was a boy. He was educated in that country and there grew to manhood. He also had gone to sea and sailed before the mast for a few years before locating permanently in the state of Maine, where he worked in a saw-mall until he was quite an old man. Event- ually, he located on a small farm of fifty acres and remained there the remainder of his life. William and Mary Essington were the parents of nine children, namely: Thomas James, William, John G., Stephen, George W., Georgiana, Madaline, Jane and Frankie. Frankie and Thomas James are the only members of this family who are now living.
Mr. Essington received his education in Maine and after serving a few years as a sailor and working in the mines of the western states, he began his career as a farmer by purchasing forty acres of land. He increased his holdings from time to time until at the time of his death, he owned six hun- dred acres of land in Iowa and Nebraska. He was accustomed to raise one hundred and sixty acres of corn on his farm and seventy-five acres of small grains. He fed about one hundred head of hogs each year and from two to three carloads were sold from his place.
Thomas James Essington was married on October 20, 1867, to Mary Alley, the daughter of Samuel and Emeline Alley, and to this union there were born seven children, namely: Charles, Roscoe, William, Agnes, Grace, Emeline and Mayme. Charles married Ida Davis and has two children, Hayden and Mary Elizabeth. Roscoe married Fannie Rich and has one child, Madeline. William married Anna Stendor and has two children, Frank and Evelyn. Agnes married Elem Bills and they have seven children,
-
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Wilber. Merrit. Madalyn, Margaret, Emeline, Addie and Milroy. Grace became the wife of Isaac Smith and they are the parents of seven children, Gussie, Roscoe, Henry, Chris, Bessie, Dolly and Wilma. Emeline is the wife of Thomas McGovern and has three children, Bernice, Thomas J. and Ernestine.
Thomas James Essington was long identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was a past grand in this lodge. He was a Republican in politics and served as school treasurer for thirty-nine years. He was a mem- ber of the board of supervisors at one time and also had served as school director. Few men living in Audubon county surpassed Mr. Essington in real nobility of character. He was a man who was devoted primarily to the interests of his home and family but he took a worthy interest in public affairs. To say that he is missed not only by the surviving members of a devoted family but by the community as well is to state a very small part of the truth. Thomas James Essington was a worthy citizen of the great Hawkeye state, with which he cast his fortunes and where he lived so many years.
WILLIAM P. McLERAN.
To those accustomed to the roar of the city streets, it sometimes seems that lives spent in the country must lack something of the variety and change which makes life interesting. But they forget that for what she takes away. Nature gives generous compensation. They forget the marvelous changeable- ness of nature, the hourly shifting of scene in cloud and earth that becomes a glorious panorama to eyes that can see. The man whose daily bread is dependent upon the cultivation of the soil, must inevitably imbibe into his own life and being some of the beauty and strength of his surroundings, but some are able to do this in greater degree than others. For this and other reasons, the man whose name forms the caption of this sketch rises above the average, and is therefore entitled to proper mention in the present volume.
William P. McLeran was born on Jonuary 20, 1867, in Bureau county, Illinois, the son of William and Betsy ( Blanchard) McLeran. both natives of Caledonia county, Vermont, the former born on October 14, 1824, and the latter on December 5. 1829. After their marriage, which took place on March 19. 1853. they migrated to Bureau county, Illinois, and settled four miles south of Neponset. No splendid mansion was theirs. They built a modest little home on a choice spot of their prairie farm, and began farming,
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living there for twenty-five years, at the end of which time they came to Audubon county, where they purchased land in section 30, Leroy township, one and one-half miles west of Audubon. That was in March, 1880, and in the following year they built their new home, and improved the land, residing there until 1895. in which year they retired from the farm and moved to Audubon, which has since been the family home. Mrs. McLeran died there on October 28, 1909.
The elder McLeran has always been considered a good farmer. When a young man, however, he varied his occupation by doing railroad work in Pennsylvania and Vermont for about six years. Although an enthusiastic Democrat. he has never sought public office, preferring to do his daily work in his chosen calling. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, as was his wife, and their children were reared in that faith. These children were eight in number. namely : Abbie, the widow of E. D. Van Court, of Omaha, Nebraska, whose children are Blanche and William T., the latter living in Omaha, Nebraska; Simeon, who died in 1906, was a farmer living at Louisville. Nebraska. for twenty-five years, during part of which time he was engaged in the real estate and pottery business : Helen, the wife of F. A. Chiddester, of Aurora, Nebraska, and the mother of two children, Bessie and Elsie : Elsie, who died at the age of twenty-nine ; William P., the subject of this sketch : George R., in the life insurance business in Chicago, married Ola Ogden, and has one son, Donald ; Herbert, a farmer living on part of the old home place in Leroy township, married Clara Evans, and has two children, Lewis and Elsie, and Charles, of Audubon, who married Bertha Musson and has two children, Thomas and Helen.
William M. McLeran was educated in the schools of the county and cooperated with his father in their agricultural pursuits until the former retired from active work. On November 3, 1892, William P. McLeran was married to Rosetta Schwartz, of Green county, Pennsylvania, and to this union six children have been born, Florence E., Blanche M., William and Warren (twins). George and Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. McLeran are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, in the faith of which their children have been reared. and are held in high esteem by all who know them.
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