USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 68
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To Mr. and Mrs. Hans R. Hansen have been born four children, as fol- low: Edwin, Dagmar, Wilbert and Gladys. All of these children are liv- ing at home with their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Hans R. Hansen are members of the Danish Lutheran church. Mr. Hansen is a Republican.
Hans R. Hansen is not only an enterprising farmer, but he is a good manager and a successful business man, who, with a start which he has already won, is certain to achieve newer and greater things in life. The people of Oakfield township, who are well acquainted with him, all like Hans R. Hansen, and everybody is interested in his success. Aggressive and straightforward in dealings with his fellows, he well merits the confi- dence which he so universally enjoys.
HENRY TORPY.
Another native-born citizen of the great Hawkeye state, of Irish parent- age, is Henry Torpy, the owner of Sun Slope stock farm, of two hundred and sixty acres, in Lincoln township.
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Henry Torpy was born at Stanwood, Iowa, March 17, 1867. His par- ents, Thomas and Mary (Constentine) Torpy, both came from Ireland. The former was a farmer, who followed that occupation in the Emerald isle until he was twenty years old, when he came to America. He located in Pennsyl- vania and worked for a time in the coal mines of that state. Eventually he came to Iowa and farmed in this state for a few years, settling first in Cedar, then later, in Crawford county. In 1874 he purchased a hundred and sixty acres of land in Shelby county, and five years later purchased land in Audubon county. Mr. Torpy first purchased two hundred and forty acres, one-half at sixteen and a half dollars an acre and the other half at twelve dollars an acre. He farmed here until 1901, when he moved to Omaha. His death occurred on February 24, 1905, and his wife died on January 15, 1902. They had ten children, eight of whom are living. Henry is the only one living in Audubon county.
Henry Torpy received his education in Crawford and Audubon coun- ties, and after leaving school farmed with his father until he was of age. He then rented a hundred acres of land and began farming for himself. The first year he rented land and then purchased the farm for twenty-two dollars and a half an acre. It is the same farm upon which he is now living. During the past twenty-five years Mr. Torpy has invested ten thousand dollars in various kinds of improvements, and now has one of the best-kept and most highly profitable farms in Lincoln township. He raises pure-bred Belgian horses, Hereford cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs.
Henry Torpy was married May 15, 1889, to Mary Coates, daughter of William and Mary (Maloney) Coates, the former a native of England and the latter, of Ireland. Two children, Thomas W. and Olive M., have been born to this marriage. Mrs. Torpy was born at Denison, Crawford county, Iowa. William Coates was a farmer in England, where he was married, and after staying there three years they came to America in 1870, and located at Denison, Iowa, where he worked for the railroad company for a few years. He then purchased a farm a few miles from Vail, Iowa, and farmed there until his retirement. He moved to Vail in 1900, and died on April 17, 1906. Mrs. Coates is still living at Vail. They had four children, all of whom are living.
Mr. and Mrs. Torpy are members of the Catholic church. Fraternally, Mr. Torpy is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, while, in poli- tics, he is identified with the Democratic party.
During recent years Henry Torpy has gained an enviable reputation in Audubon county as a breeder of pure-bred Belgian horses, and has built up a large and extensive market for this breed. Mr. Torpy's standing in Lin-
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coln township, however, does not rest entirely upon his reputation as a farmer. He is a good citizen and popular in his neighborhood, since he is a man of genial and agreeable personality. Few men are better known or bet- ter liked in Lincoln township than he.
ELMER C. PORCH.
Elmer C. Porch, a farmer of Audubon township, Audubon county, Iowa, who is the owner of two hundred acres of land in Audubon and Exira townships, was born on September 22, 1863, in Knox county, the son of Joshua and Maria (Smith) Porch, natives of Holmes and Wayne counties, Ohio, respectively. The former was a son of David and Catherine Porch, who were natives of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the latter was the daughter of Isaac and Delilah (Smith) Smith, natives of Wayne county, Ohio. The Porch family is of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, though Joshua Porch became a farmer in Ohio; he came to Iowa in 1874, located in Cass county. After living at Atlantic for several months, in 1875 he pur- chased a farm in Grant township, Cass county, where he lived until 1912, when he retired from active farm life and removed to Anita.
Elmer C. Porch was the only child born to his parents. After receiv- ing a good common school education, he lived at home until his marriage, when he purchased eighty acres of land in section 31, Audubon township, where he is now living. He has since purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in addition to the original tract, forty acres of which is located in section 36 of Exira township and eighty acres in Audubon township. When Mr. Porch first purchased this farm there were no improvements whatever. After building a fourteen-by-twenty-foot shack, he lived in this building for three years, and then added two more rooms, which served until 1910, when he remodeled it, and now has a large seven-room house, with waterworks and other modern conveniences. In 1902 Mr. Porch built a large barn, forty-eight by fifty-four feet in size, and in the meantime has added other outbuildings, such as cribs, granaries, etc. Mr. Porch makes a specialty of thoroughbred Duroc-Jersey hogs.
On June 30, 1886, in Cass county, Iowa, Mr. Porch was married to Mary Parker, who was born in LaSalle county, Illinois, and who is a daugh- ter of John A. and Esther (Garver) Parker, who came west to Cass county in 1880. Mrs. Mary (Parker) Porch died in 1893, leaving two children, Esta, born May 22, 1887, and Clarence Glenn, born July 24, 1894. The former married James Rickle, and they have one daughter, Marie Violet. A third child of Mr. and Mrs. Porch died in infancy.
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On February 26, 1902, in Cass county, Mr. Porch was married to Anna Griffith, who was born January 28, 1872, in Marion county, Iowa, and who is a daughter of Levi and Minerva C. (Adams) Griffith, the former of whom was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of whom is a native of Herkimer county, New York. When seven years of age, Levi H. Griffith removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio with his parents, and eventually came from that state to Marion county, Iowa. The Adams family removed from New York state to Kansas in an early day, and from that state to Marion county, Iowa, where Mrs. Porch's father and mother were married. In 1869 they came to Cass county, Iowa, where they rented land for a time, after which they purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, where they lived the remainder of their lives, Mr. Griffith's death occurring in 1911, while his wife passed away in 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith were the parents of nine children, eight of whom are still living, Mrs. Louisa J. Regan, Mrs. Della C. Winder, Mrs. Sarah Norton, Mrs. Anna M. Porch, Ella, Grant J., Roscoe C. and Isaac. Edwin died in 1901.
By his second marriage, Mr. Porch has had three children, two of whom are living, Mildred L., born October 24, 1904, and Roscoe E., born April 28, 1910, while Carlton B., the eldest child of this second marriage, who was born on December 20, 1902, died on April 27, 1906.
Mr. and Mrs. Porch are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, although Mrs. Porch is a supporter of the Christian Science faith. She is also an enthusiastic member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, in both of which organiza- tions she takes an active interest. Mr. Porch formerly belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but has not been active in this organiza- tion during late years. Politically, he is an adherent of the Democratic party, but has not held any public offices. Mr. and Mrs. Porch are popular mem- bers of society in the community where they live, and Mr. Porch is an hon- ored citizen of Audubon township. His success as a farmer is a result of his unceasing industry and his careful and wise management.
DOC B. ANDERSON.
Doc B. Anderson, a popular farmer of Hamlin township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born, April 22, 1863, in Marion county, Iowa, and is the son of John and Zeruiah (Anderson) Anderson, natives of Ohio, who were
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married in that state and who moved from Ohio to Indiana, and from Indiana to Ray county, Missouri. After living in Missouri for a few years, they moved to Marion county, Iowa, and in 1875 came to Audubon county, where they lived until their deaths. They purchased land in Leroy town- ship, and lived to rear a family of three children, Abe R., B. J. and Doc.
After having received a common school education, Doc Anderson lived at home until twenty years of age, and then rented land, which he cultivated along with eighty acres of land which his father had given to him. Mr. Anderson has added to this original tract until he now owns forty acres in section 25 in Leroy township, three hundred and twenty acres in section 36, Leroy township, and a hundred and forty-eight acres in section I in Hamlin township, making altogether five hundred and eight acres.
In 1897, in the city of Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Anderson was mar- ried to Lillian Brandstatter, who was born on December 10, 1876, in John- son county, Iowa, and who is the daughter of Daniel and Mary (Campbell) Brandstatter. These parents were natives of Johnson county, Iowa, and Montreal, Canada, respectively, the latter having come to Iowa with her parents when a girl fifteen or sixteen years old, and having been married to Daniel Brandstatter in Iowa City on October 10, 1874. In 1883 they came to Audubon county, arriving in Exira on February 20 of that year. The following summer they purchased eighty acres of land, which they improved. This farm was located in section 14, Hamlin township. The father has since lived in several places, and now owns the Exira livery and feed stable. At one time he was a resident of Texas. He and his wife had seven children, six of whom are living, Mrs. Mary J. Snively, Mrs. Anderson, Alice, Philip, Mrs. Nellie Clapp and Mrs. Clara Terry. The wife and mother of these children died on April 17, 1891, and the father later married Mrs. Martha A. (Osterreicher) Campbell. Three children, Isabelle, Edith and Clarence, have been born to this second union.
Mr. and Mrs. Doc Anderson have had five children: Bessie, who was born on April 24, 1898, married Austin Keness on January 1, 1915, and they live in Leroy township; Nellie, born on February 2, 1900; Alice, born on June 8, 1903; Mary, born on November 27, 1907, and Hope, born on April 16, 1913.
Mr. Anderson carries on general farming and stock raising, and is well known over the country, being admired by the host of friends he has made. A Republican in politics, he has never held any offices.
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AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
PETER M. JESSEN.
Specific mention is made in this volume of many of the worthy citizens of Audubon county, citizens who have figured in its growth and develop- ment and whose interests have been identical with its every phase of prog- ress. Each has contributed in his place to the well-being of the com- munity in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is Peter M. Jessen, a successful and well-known farmer of Hamlin township. Peculiar interest attaches to Mr. Jessen's career from the fact that he is one of those men born in a foreign land who has carved out his success in a new and strange country, where, for a time, language, manners and customs were entirely different.
Peter M. Jessen was born on January 6, 1870, in North Schleswig, Germany, the son of Peter A. and Marn (Juhler) Jessen, who also were natives of the same country while it was a province of Denmark. The elder Jessen was a farmer by occupation, but also worked at carpentering and masonry work. Peter A. Jessen and wife were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, Jens C., Peter M., Martin A., Chris A., Marie Stone, Mrs. Christena M. Peterson, Mrs. Ottolena Petersen, Andrew and Nes, all of whom are living in Audubon county, having come from their native land. The family came to the United States at different times, Martin and Jens coming here first in the fall of 1888. In the spring of 1889 Peter M. came to this country and the rest of the family came later, the parents coming last in 1893.
Peter M. Jessen, after arriving in this country, came directly to Marn, Cass county, Iowa, where his two brothers were located. He obtained work on a farm and has followed agriculture ever since. He worked out by the month for three years and then rented a farm in partnership with his brother, Martin, although he had purchased his present farm previous to this. He rented land for three years and then purchased an old house of four small rooms and moved it to his farm. He built some straw sheds and then moved to his own land. He lived in this house for nine years, when he built his present eight-room home. He had erected barns, cribs, hog houses and a windmill before that. The land was new prairie and nearly all of it had to be broken for the first time. This land cost him twenty-two dollars and a half per acre, but is now worth many times that amount.
In December, 1891, Marn Smith, who became the wife of the subject, came to the United States, locating first in Chicago, where her parents already lived. She was born on March 9, 1873, in North Schleswig, Ger-
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many, near where Peter M. Jessen was born, and was a daughter of Hans and Hannah (Brandt) Smith, who also were natives of Schleswig, where Hans Smith was a general laborer. Hans Smith and wife were the parents of four children, Mrs. Elsie M. Paulsen, Mrs. Rosie Petersen, Arthur H., and Marn, the wife of Mr. Jessen. In April, 1892, Marn Smith came to Audubon, where she was married to Mr. Jessen on July 12th of that year.
Peter M. Jessen and wife are the parents of eight children: Marne Hansina, born May 12, 1893, married Peter Hundebl, and they are now living in Allerup Tjarefborg, Denmark, and have one child, Kattie; Walter P., born on May 27, 1895; Hannah, born on November 17, 1897; Thomas P., born on August 31, 1901 ; Marlow H., born on July 4, 1904; Rosie, born on June 6, 1907; Lillie, born on March 27, 1909; Ethel, born on June 16, 1912.
Mr. Jessen does general farming and stock raising. He is a stock- holder in the West Hamlin Creamery Company, and has been on the board of directors for a number of years, being now president of the board.
The Jessen family are earnest and devout members of the Danish Lutheran church, and Mr. Jessen was one of the organizers of the St. John's Lutheran church in Oakfield township. Politically, Mr. Jessen is an adher- ent of the Democratic party, but, with the exception of serving on the board of school directors, he has not held public office, nor has he been especially active in political affairs. Mr. Jessen is one of the well-known citizens of Hamlin township, progressive in his methods and broad-minded in his viewpoint. He is admired and respected by his neighbors and acquaint- ances.
J. B. J. LOHNER.
(Full name, John Björn Johnsen Lohner. )
Comparatively speaking, there are very few native-born Norsemen living in Audubon county, Iowa; but, wherever the Norsemen have settled in the United States, they have proved themselves good citizens from every point of view.
J. B. J. Lohner, a well-known real estate dealer of Exira, Audubon coun- ty, is one of the few members of the Lohner family who settled in America. His brother, Klaus, and sister, Aaste, came to this county later and stayed some years, but returned to Norway in the spring of 1914. Mr. Lohner also
MR. AND MRS. J. B. J. LOHNER
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has two cousins living in this country, namely, John T. Lohner, now of Kirkman, Iowa, and Thomas Lohner, now of Manchester, South Dakota. Those two men were brothers, and were formerly in the mercantile business in Exira at different times.
J. B. J. Lohner has been engaged in the real estate business in Exira since June, 1902, and has made a remarkable success of his business. He had to start in a very small way, as he had but little money with which to pay the expenses connected with the business. Mr. Lohner was born on a farm named Lohner, in Tördal county, near Kragerö City on the southern coast of. Norway. Lohner is a group of farms from which the family takes its last name and is about forty-two English miles inland from Kragerö. Mr. Lohner was born on December 19, 1873. His parents, John Thomasen and Anne Lohner were both natives of Norway and lived there all their lives. John Thomasen Lohner was a farmer, who owned considerable tim- ber and grazing land, and had twenty-eight acres under cultivation. He died in 1895. Mr. Lohner's mother died in 1875. They were the parents of six children, one of whom died in infancy. Those who grew to maturity were, Thomas, Halvor, Klaus, Aaste and John. After the death of his first wife, the father married again and five additional children were born, as follow : Anne, Gunhild, Nils, Olav and Andrea. All of the children are living in Norway at the present time except the subject of this sketch.
Having received a very limited education in the common schools of Norway, consisting of three months each year from the age of seven till fourteen, Mr. Lohner came to America in the month of April, 1893, when nineteen years old. He immediately went to work on the farm for O. P. Tyler, one mile south of Hamlin. He worked on the farm several sum- mers, and went to country schools during the winters; he also went to school five months in the grammar room in the Exira public schools. He then moved to Audubon and worked his way through the Audubon high school, from which he graduated in 1900, at which time he ranked No. 1 in his class, with an average scholarship percentage of ninety-nine. After leaving school, he went to Des Moines and worked at the painter's and paperhanger's trade for two years. After that, he returned to Audubon county and, in June, 1902, located permanently in Exira, where he engaged in the real estate business. He had a hard time to get started, partly because of his inexperi- ence in business ; but mainly because of the lull in the real estate business which followed the boom that was on during 1901 and the first half of 1902. Twice he failed to get a start, and had to return to the painter's and paper-
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hanger's trade in order that he might earn some expense money. Undaunted by failure, he pushed onward, economizing as best he could. Once, he set out to walk nearly forty miles to see a prospective land buyer living in Shelby county ; but the prospective buyer quickly informed Mr. Lohner that he was not in the market for a farm at that time. Mr. Lohner then returned by railroad, having enough cash to pay his expenses one way. This little incident throws a good deal of light upon the patience, perseverance and "wood-sawing" abilities of Mr. Lohner, qualities which are so essentially necessary in the making of success.
Mr. Lohner gained the confidence of those with whom he had business dealings and several men offered to furnish him money with which to buy farms in partnership, Lohner to pay interest on one-half of the actual invest- ment. From then on, Mr. Lohner has been buying and selling farms and has succeeded far beyond his greatest hopes, being now recognized as one of the most successful real estate dealers in Audubon county.
Mr. Lohner is a genuine booster for the upbuilding and betterment of his community and country ; indeed, he is not only a booster, but is an actual builder. He is almost continually putting up buildings and otherwise improv- ing the different farms which he buys and sells. In 1913, he built a large and splendid-looking garage on Washington street north of Exira Park, the equal of which cannot be found in this state in any town of the size of Exira.
Mr. Lohner was married on December 3, 1911, to Ida Larson, whose parents, Marten J. and Laura (Nelson) Larson, are living four miles north of Avoca, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Lohner have one child, John Julius. Mrs. Lohner was born in Shelby county, Iowa, but her parents were natives of Denmark. Her father clerked in a store before he came to America. He located in Shelby county, Iowa, after coming to this country, and subse- quently purchased the farm on which he is still living. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children as follow: Louise, Minnie, Nels (deceased), Ida, Sena, Lawrence, Mary, Edna, Olga, Clarence, Lillie and Harry (deceased).
The Lohner family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Mr. Lohner is not only a member of the blue lodge of the Masonic fraternity, but he is a member of the chapter and commandery at Audubon, and the Shrine at Des Moines. He served as worshipful master of Exodus Lodge No. 342 for the year 1914 and was re-elected to serve in the same capacity for this year (1915). This lodge is located at Exira. He is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and has been secretary of the local chapter
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since 1909. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He was a member of the first board of directors of the Exira Co-operative Company (a farmers' company) and is the present secretary of the same.
Mr. Lohner has been Republican committeeman from Exira township since 1908, and, in this capacity, has able and efficiently served the Republi- can party with which he has been identified ever since his arrival in America. He is known as a wise and judicious political leader and his counsel is much sought by the people of this congressional district.
JAMES A. CAMPBELL.
James A. Campbell, who is one of the largest farmers of Lincoln town- ship, Audubon county, Iowa, and who owns a farm of two hundred and forty acres in that township, was born on May 29, 1857, in Jasper county, Iowa. He is the son of A. D. and Nancy (Tramel) Campbell, the former of whom was a native of Indiana and the latter, a native of Ohio. After being educated in the public schools of Indiana, A. D. Campbell worked as a farm hand until he had reached his majority, and then farmed for himself. Com- ing west in 1852, shortly after his marriage, he settled in Jasper county, Iowa, and there entered three hundred acres of land at a dollar and twenty- five cents an acre. The trip from Indiana to Iowa was made with a horse team. Mr. Campbell remained in Jasper county until his death, in 1899, his wife having died eleven years previously, in 1888. They had six children, two of whom, A. B. and James A., are now living.
James A. Campbell, after having completed his education in the schools of Jasper county, Iowa, worked as a farm hand until twenty-four years old, when he removed to Audubon county and purchased eighty acres of land at ten dollars an acre. Mr. Campbell broke the sod and improved the place in various ways and in the beginning erected a shack, fourteen by twenty feet. Mr. Campbell's means naturally were very limited when he came to Audubon county, and especially because of the low price of farm products. He was compelled to sell his wheat at a price as low as twenty-five cents a bushel. On the two hundred and forty acres where he lives he has invested eighteen thousand dollars in improvements. He feeds some two hundred head of hogs and raises seventy-five acres of corn every year, as well as fifty acres of small grain.
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James A. Campbell was married on February 9, 1882, to Mary Craw- ford, daughter of J. B. and Eliza Crawford. To this marriage two children, Mae and Floyd, have been born. Mae married a Mr. Aikman, and they have two children, Ethel and Gladys. Floyd is unmarried. Mrs. Campbell was born in Jasper county, Iowa, her father having been a native of Virginia and her mother of Ohio. These parents were married in Ohio and, after their marriage, removed to Benton county, Iowa, where they farmed for a short time, and then removed to Jasper county and there farmed the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Campbell was one of six children born to her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Campbell are members of the United Brethren church and Mr. Campbell was township trustee for ten years. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics, he is identified with the Republican party.
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