USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 60
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About 1879, the family came to Audubon county and purchased land from the Rock Island Railroad Company, paying five dollars an acre for the first eighty-acre tract. This farm was subsequently increased and as new land was added the price per acre increased, sixty-five dollars an acre, having been paid for the last purchase.
Frank Davis lived at home until about twenty-one years old and after leaving school rented land from his father for ten years. He had meager opportunities for an education and had been permitted to attend school but very little. In 1898 he purchased eighty acres of land just north of Exira, paying thirty dollars an acre for it and after owning it for a few years he sold it for seventy-five dollars an acre. In September, 1906, he purchased two hundred acres of land in sections 23 and 24, of Audubon township and paid sixty dollars an acre for this tract. Mr. Davis has built practically all of the buildings now standing on the farm and erected practically all of the fences. Approximately seven thousand dollars has been invested in improve- ments. It is one of the best farms in Audubon township. Since 1906 Mr. Davis has added eighty acres more to the farm and now owns two hundred and eighty acres in all.
When twenty-three years old, on June 11, 1893, Mr. Davis was mar- ried in Audubon county to Jennie Struthers, the daughter of James and Lucy Struthers, the former of whom died when Mrs. Davis was a small girl. After her father's death, she lived with her uncle, Enos Struthers.
One child born to this union died in infancy and after the death of the mother, on October 9, 1894. Mr. Davis was married, secondly, on April 26, 1899, to Eva Kritch, who was born in Pulaski county, Indiana, and who is the daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Nichols) Kritch, natives of Germany and Indiana respectively. Both are now living in Indiana, where they are farm- ers. Of their four children, only two, Henry and Mrs. Davis, are now living. By his second marriage, Mr. Davis has had five children, four of whom are living: Martha, born on September 10, 1900; Bennie, December 8, 1903, died January 25, 1914: Dannie, November 4, 1905 ; William, March 29, 1906; and Edith,' July 20, 1909. All of these children live at home with their par- ents.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis have a delightful family and they are not only intel- ligent farmers but highly esteemed citizens of this community. The Davis family is very popular in Audubon township.
Although Mr. Davis is identified nominally with the Republican party, he is not what may be called a hide-bound partisan, but votes for men and measures rather than for parties and party emblems. He has never held any
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political office. The Davis family are members of the Methodist church at Adair.
Not only has Frank Davis been a successful farmer, but he has taken a most commendable interest in public affairs in Audubon township and, having inherited capacity for leadership from his father, and cultivated it in relation with his neighbors, he is today regarded as one of the leading citizens of the township.
C. J. GRANT.
C. J. Grant, who came to America when a lad of twelve years with his grandparents, and who is now the proud owner of two hundred acres of land in Audubon township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born October, 15, 1856, in Holstein, Germany, the son of Claus and Margaretha (Dalmyer) Grant, also natives of Holstein, where the former was a day laborer. They had four children, John, C. J., Marguerite and Anna.
C. J. Grant attended school in Holstein, Germany, until eleven years old, and in the spring of 1868, at the age of eleven he came to the United States with his grandparents, Jacob and Lena (Warner) Dalmeyer, the subject of this sketch having made his home with his grandparents from the time he was a small child. They landed at New York City, and came direct to Iowa, locating in Jackson county, where they lived for eleven years, until C. J. was twenty-two years old, when he left his grandparents and began life for him- self. Going to Clinton county, Iowa, he worked out as a farm hand for some two years, and then went to Henry county, Illinois, where he worked at farm work for a year From Henry county he came to Audubon county, where shortly afterwards he purchased eighty acres of land and where he now lives in section 2, Audubon township. The land had practically no improve- ments at that time, only a small part of the land having been broken. Mr. Grant built a house, sixteen by twenty-four feet and lived in this for several years. He now, however, has a comfortable home of five rooms. He has a substantial barn, cribs and other buildings in keeping with the surroundings. In the meantime, however, he has added a hundred and twenty acres more to the farm. The last farm already had a splendid group of buildings. Mr. Grant is engaged in general farming and stock raising, and feeds on an aver- age of sixty head of hogs and several head of cattle every year.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Grant has never held office, nor has he ever been a candidate for office. When a lad, living in the city of Cennhysen,
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Holstein, Germany, he was baptised in the Lutheran church and still holds to that faith.
Mr. Grant has never married. He takes a worthy interest in public questions, and is considered a man of a rather wide fund of information. However, he has always been interested in his farm, and having a natural lik- ing for agriculture has made satisfactory progress in his chosen vocation. He well deserves the confidence and esteem bestowed upon him by his neigh- bors and by all of the citizens of Audubon township.
JENS C. ANDERSEN.
The road to success is for most of us long, steep and rocky. There are many little by-paths which seem so much easier to climb, and so much more alluring that it is difficult for all but the most resolute to continue to the end. It requires skill, constant labor, personal sacrifice and steadfastness of purpose for the average person to succeed, and at best, the attainment of prosperity, when accomplished by our own unaided efforts, is not easy. What shall we say, then, of a man who has left his home, his country and his parents to come to a foreign land, and has carved out of this new, untried environ- ment, home, happiness, and that much coveted thing we call success? This has been the achievement of Jens C. Andersen, whose life history we are to consider.
Jens C. Anderson, one of the leading farmers of Leroy township, Audu- bon county, Iowa, was born on July 26, 1855, in Salling, Denmark.
His father, Andrus Andersen, was a blacksmith by trade. He and his wife, who was Dorathea Christensen, spent all of their lives in the country which was the birthplace of their children. They were members of the Lutheran church. Their eldest daughter, Christina, who is now dead, and whose given name was Mattie, married Chris Jensen of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, and the children born of this marriage were Nels, Carl, Olga, Hulga, Maria, Oscar and Alfred. The second child born to Mr. and Mrs. Andersen was Jens C., the subject of this biography. Later came a sister whose name was Elsie, and two brothers, Chris, a farmer living east of this county, and Nels, also a farmer whose home is in Northern Canada.
The childhood of Jens C. Andersen was spent in Denmark, and there it was that he attended school. In the home of a blacksmith where there were five children to be cared for and educated, life became more or less of a
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struggle against conditions, and it is not surprising, therefore, that at the age of twenty-six, the young man, Jens, should decide to seek his fortune in newer fields. It was in 1881 that he severed home ties, bade farewell to his parents and sailed for America. Coming West, he first located at Kimball- ton, Iowa, where, for a brief time, he engaged in farming. He then worked on the North Western and St. Paul railroads, which enabled him to save enough money to buy eighty acres of land in Sharon township. When this purchase was made, the land was wild, but the young man went to work with a will, and cleared and cultivated the entire tract.
Maria Karen Jensen became the wife of this young pioneer on July 6, 1889, and for nine years, they continued to live in this township. Mrs. Andersen, who was born in Logstor, Denmark, August 28, 1863, was the daughter of Hans Peter, and Karen (Madsatter) Jensen who lived and died in that country. The father was a farmer. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Andersen were as follow: Jens, who lives in Denmark; Johann, who came to this county, in which he still lives; Regborg, living in Denmark; Johannah, who married Peter Rasmussen of this county ; Hilga, of Denmark; Dagmar who became the wife of Jens Petersen, merchant and blacksmith of Sharon township.
After moving from Sharon township to Elkhorn, Iowa, Mr. and Mrs. Andersen lived in the latter place until 1890, when they returned to their farm in Sharon township where they lived for six years. In 1906, they moved to their present farm in Leroy township. He at once set to work to remodel the house and barn, and to improve the land. His possessions now consist of two hundred and forty acres of improved land comprising the tract on which he lives, and also a similar number of acres in Sharon township. Eighty-five acres are planted in corn at the home place, the average yield being forty-five bushels to the acre. Besides giving his attention to agriculture, Mr. Andersen raises mixed cattle, draft horses, and Duroc-Jersey hogs.
Another business enterprise in which Mr. Andersen has been interested is the Sharon creamery which he helped to organize, and of which he has been the treasurer for the past seven years.
Eight children have made the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Andersen happy. Carrie, the eldest daughter, died in 1890, at the age of five months. Hans, who is a farmer in Sharon township, married Matilda Steffensen, and their only child is a daughter named Irma. The third child of the family is Carrie, the wife of Peter H. Smith, a farmer of Leroy township. Dagmar lives at home. Olga is deceased. The three youngest children, Samuel, Dorcas and Theodore are living at home with their parents.
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Mr. and Mrs. Andersen have always made their influence felt as church workers, being members of the Danish Lutheran church. Mr. Andersen was for some time president and secretary of the Batavia church at Kimballton, and was president of the Sunday school of the church at Audubon, Iowa. He is now president of the church at Audubon, Iowa. Mrs. Andersen is a leader among women church workers, and has been president of the Ladies' Aid Society for the past seven years.
Their prominence and popularity in the neighborhood in which they live is shown by the fact that on July 6, 1914, when they held their marriage anniversary, having been married twenty-five years, there were between two and three hundred friends and relatives in attendance.
Mr. Andersen's political convictions are expressed by the platform of the Republican party.
The lives of Mr. and Mrs. Andersen have been lives of usefulness and service. While deeply interested in the rearing and education of their chil- dren, who occupy prominent places in the communities in which they live, the parents have found time to engage in social and church activities, and have given of their time and means to the causes which make for better and good citizenship. Willing to begin life in a small way, and to work and trust for results which must inevitably reward industry, these people have become well- known in their county. Few men in Audubon county are more prominent or more admired than Jens C. Andersen.
CHARLEY O. HUNT.
Of the well-known citizens of Exira, Audubon county, Iowa, mention should be made of Charley O. Hunt, who, during his life in Audubon county, has engaged in many lines of business. Born on October 26, 1876, in Exira, Audubon county, Iowa, he is the son of Isaiah and Mary E. (Cloud) Hunt, natives of Milton, Pennsylvania, and Delaware county, Iowa, respectively. During the first two years of the father's residence in Audubon county, he rented land in section 36, of Hamlin township, and then purchased eighty acres of land in section 4, of Greeley township, but never lived on the farm. In the meantime, he purchased forty acres near Exira and a few years later sold the eighty-acre farm. He has followed farming all of his life with the exception of a few years, during which he was engaged in the butcher busi- ness in Exira. Isaiah and Mary E. Hunt have had four children, of whom
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Charley O. is the eldest. The others are George W., Lawrence W. and Mrs. Lillian M. Gilbert.
After completing his education in the common and high schools of Audu- bon county, Mr. Hunt farmed for his father for a time and later for himself. Subsequently, he engaged in the implement business for one year, purchasing the stock of John Peters at Exira and after this he returned to the farm. About this time he was married. After farming for one year, he sold out and moved to Converse county, Wyoming, where he took a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. After living on this homestead for eight months, he relinquished it to his brother, Lawrence, and then began working for the Fremont & Elkhorn railroad in the town of Lusk. After one year, he obtained work at Alliance, Nebraska, with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, working in the round house and machine shop and remaining with this company for two years. Mr. Hunt then came back to his father's farm, his father having been, in the meantime, seriously injured. The next sum- mer he worked for Hansen & Petersen in the implement business at Exira and in 1902 moved to Valley Junction, where he worked as a trainman for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad until March 22, 1905, when he had the misfortune to lose an arm, an accident caused by defective bumpers and occasioned by coupling a train at Menlo, Iowa. About the first of July following, he returned to Exira, where he lived for about one year, conduct- ing a restaurant and lunch counter, returning to his father's farm for the sum- mer. In the spring of 1908, Mr. Hunt opened a billiard and pool room, which he owned up to the fall of 1914 when he sold a half interest to his brother, George, and took a position with H. P. Hansen in the garage as bookkeeper and collector.
Mr. Hunt was first married to Jessamine Andrews, a native of Audubon county. On February 9, 1907, Mr. Hunt was married to Grayce Campbell, a native of Exira, Audubon county, Iowa, and the daughter of Silas A. Camp- bell, who was a native of Wisconsin and his wife a native of Illinois. He was a soldier in the Civil War.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hunt has served as township committeeman of the Democratic party for a number of years and in this capacity has attended state, district and county conventions in the interest of his party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Pythian Sisters, in the latter of which Mrs. Hunt is also a mem- ber. She is also a faithful and devoted member of the Christian church.
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JOHN I. HENSLEY.
The biographies of enterprising men, especially of good men, are instruc- tive as guides and incentives to others. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what it is in the power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in life. Appar- ently insurmountable obstacles have in many instances awakened their dor- mant faculties and served as a stimulant to carry them to ultimate renown. The instances of success in the face of adverse fate would seem almost to justify the conclusion that self-reliance with a half a chance, can accomplish any reasonable object. John I. Hensley, a prominent farmer and stockman of Exira, Iowa, has lived to good purpose and achieved a splendid success, and by a straightforward and commendable course, he has made his way to a respectable position in the world, winning the hearty admiration of the people of his community, and earning the reputation of being an enterprising and progressive man of affairs.
John I. Hensley, farmer and stockman of Exira, Iowa, was born in Polk county, Iowa, March 6, 1862. He is a son of John J. and Martha (Polkjoy) Hensley, the former a native of Ohio, who grew to manhood in the Buckeye state and was there married. After his marriage John J. Hensley removed to Polk county, Iowa, where he and his wife lived for many years. His wife died when her son, John I., was a small child. John J. Hensley was a farmer and stock buyer, and in 1870 moved to Audubon county, Iowa, where he pur- chased a farm, on which he lived until his death in 1892. His farm com- prised two hundred and forty acres of land in this county. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, Roy, William, Morgan, May, Dora, Fanny, Frank, Alonzo, John I., Charles, Inez, all of whom are deceased with the exception of Morgan, Frank, Charles and John I.
John I. Hensley was reared in Exira township, and received his educa- tion in the public schools of Exira, which offered very meager opportunities during his youth. After leaving school he began buying stock, and also operated a butcher shop for three years, after which he removed to the farm, where he rented land for three years. He sold out subsequently and began buying stock again, and he has been engaged in this business for thirty-five years. In the meantime he has purchased seven hundred and fifty acres of land, five hundred of which is located in Audubon county, and two hundred and fifty acres in Cass county, Iowa. Mr. Hensley feeds out about twenty car- loads of logs and cattle each year. He buys from fifteen thousand to twenty
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thousand bushels of corn each year and raises from three thousand to ten thousand bushels on his own land. He buys from three hundred to five hun- dred carloads of cattle and hogs each year.
John I. Hensley was married on March 12, 1884, to Flora Belle Statzell, the daughter of Isaac and Abigail (Griggs) Statzell, and to this union ten children have been born: Gerald, Grace, Luther, Dena, Norman, Roy, May, Pauline, Robert and Benjamin, all of whom are living with the exception of Robert. Grace is the wife of Fred Wilkins. Luther married Muriel Koob, and they have one. child, Naomi. The rest of the children are unmarried and living at home.
John I. Hensley has been a member of the school board for seventeen years, and is still serving in that capacity. At one time he served as council- man of Exira. In politics, he is identified with the Democratic party, but his private and personal affairs are too vast to permit a very active and extensive participation in politics. John I. Hensley is one of the best-known citizens of Audubon county.
JURGEN WAHLERT.
Jurgen Wahlert is a retired farmer of Exira, Iowa, who owns two hun- dred and forty acres of land in Greeley township. Like so many residents of Audubon county, Mr. Wahlert is a native-born German, who was inspired by the opportunities offered to the young man in America and who left his home and native land to cast his fortune with the people of a comparatively new country. Mr. Wahlert is one of those men-and there are many of them living in Audubon county-who has profited by the nominal rise in value of farm real estate within the past twenty years. Mr. Wahlert purchased his land for an inconsiderable sum compared with its present value.
Jurgen Wahlert was born in Holstein, Germany, December 3, 1842. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Storman) Wahlert, both natives of Germany. John Wahlert was a laborer and farm hand. He came to America in 1885, many years after his son, Jurgen, had established a home in this country. He located in Illinois and after remaining there for a short time, came to Audubon county, where he lived retired with his children. He and his wife had nine children, Fred, Jurgen, Tenia, deceased; John, deceased; Jacob, Katherine, Margaret, Edward and August.
Jurgen Wahlert was educated in the schools of his native land and after leaving school, he worked out as a farm hand by the month. At the age of
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twenty-four years, he came to America, arriving in this country, May 28, 1866. Mr. Wahlert first located at Moline, Illinois, where he worked mostly as a laborer in a saw-mill and in the lumber yards of that city. Several years later he purchased a team, rented a farm and farmed near Moline for ten years. In 1881 he came to Audubon county and purchased a farm. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of land which he purchased from the Rock Island Railroad Company for seven dollars an acre. The land is many times as valuable at the present time. Mr. Wahlert broke the sod and built a small house and barn and engaged in general farming. During the period of his active career as a farmer, he fed from fifty to two hundred head of hogs and sold about two carloads of cattle. At one time he owned four hundred acres of land. Mr. Wahlert last purchased one hundred and sixty acres in 1894 for eighteen dollars an acre. In 1912 he sold this same farm for one hun- dred and twenty-five dollars an acre. Mr. Wahlert farmed practically until 1898 when he moved to Exira, and since that date he has lived retired.
Jurgen Wahlert was married on April 16, 1865, in Germany to Lena Dolmeier, the daughter of Jacob Dohmeier. Mr. and Mrs. Wahlert have had nine children, John, Bertha, Fred, August, William, George, Edward, Minnie and Gustave. John married Ida Frost and has five children, Herbert, Myrtle, Ralph, George and Emma. Bertha married Edward Heckwell and has four children, Lena, George, John and Edward. Fred married Maude Highby and has three children by this marriage, Arthur, Lena and Irene. His wife died and he later married Edna West and one child has been born to this mar- riage, Lucille. August married Anna Slater and has four children, Clyde, Floyd, Milo and Nettie. William married Minnie Minnerman and has four children, Harold, Lyman, Ruth and Hazel. George married Mamie Hensley but she died and he later married Minnie Gripp. Two children have been born to this marriage, James Henry and Marion. Edward married Anna Baylor and they have no children. Minnie is single and at home. Gustave married Ina Hensley and has three children, William, Gladys and Robert.
Mrs. Wahlert's parents were natives of Germany, where her father was a farm laborer. He came to America in 1870 and located in Jackson county, Iowa. Here he worked as a farm hand until his death. He and his wife were the parents of two children, who are now living, Mrs. Wahlert and Anna, who is living at Clinton, Iowa.
Jurgen Wahlert is a member of the German Lutheran church. He is a Democrat in politics and has served as school director and as road super- visor. Naturally, he is a well-known citizen of Audubon county and from
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any standpoint is entitled to the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and fellow townsmen, a confidence and esteem which he enjoys to the fullest measure.
JOHN NELSON.
There is perhaps no record in this volume which more clearly demon- strates the force of industry and honesty in the affairs of life than does the life history of John Nelson, a well-known hardware and furniture dealer and also an undertaker in Exira, Iowa. Almost every civilized country on the face of the globe has sent its representatives to the Hawkeye state, and there is no more important or valuable element in the citizenship of Iowa than that which has come from the little kingdom of Denmark. John Nelson was among the native sons of Denmark who crossed the Atlantic to America, and here found excellent opportunities which he has improved, and has become a successful man, and one whose efforts have been of value to the community where he has lived.
John Nelson was born on October 14, 1868, in Denmark, the son of Andrew and Mary (Michelson) Nelson, both natives of Denmark. The former was a farmer and followed that occupation in his native land until his death in 1896. His wife had died twelve years previously in 1884. He served in the Danish-Prussian War. He and his wife were the parents of five children, Nels, John, Meta, Anna and Maren, and all are still living in Denmark except John.
John Nelson received his education in the schools of his native land, and after leaving school he took up the trade of buttermaking, which he followed for twelve years in Denmark. During that time he served eleven months in the Danish army, and after his discharge from the military service, he came to America in 1896, and located at Edwards, Colorado, where he secured a position as a buttermaker in a creamery, remaining there for one year, after which he came to Audubon county, Iowa, and took charge of the creamery at West Hamlin, Iowa, where he remained for five years, and then purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He operated this farm for one year and then engaged in business at Exira, Iowa, with Schrauger & Johnson Furniture Company. Mr. Nelson was with this firm for a year and a half, and then engaged in business for himself, and now carries the largest stock of furniture and hardware in Exira. He started this business in July, 1905, with a complete line of hardware, furniture and farm implements. During
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