USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 76
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was only sixteen years of age. He served throughout the Mexican War and fought in many battles during the period from 1846 to 1848. During the Civil War he enlisted in Company E, Twenty-second Regiment, Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, and served until his discharge at Savannah, Georgia, as lieutenant-colonel, July 25, 1865. He was elected first lieutenant on Sep- temper 9, 1862, and was promoted to captain on January 30, 1863. He was promoted to major on June 9, 1863, and to lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty- second regiment, May 6, 1864.
Lieut .- Col. Ephraim G. White removed to Audubon county, Iowa, November, 1883. He lived on a farm in section 6, Greeley township, where he owned one hundred and sixty acres of land. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He married Nancy J. R. Robinson, who was born on June 7, 1841, in Maryland and who died on September 17, 1893. Before this, however, he had been married to Naomi Kemp, who bore him six children as follow : Eugene, who lives at Oskaloosa, Iowa; Frank, of Wichita, Kansas; Mrs. Florence Robinson, of Ft. Morgan, Colorado; Mil- ton and Byron. of Ottumwa, and Seattle, Washington; Homer, of Oska- loosa. By the marriage to Nancy J. Robinson, who died on September 7, 1893, nine children were born, as follow: James, the subject of this sketch; Herbert, who lives at Ft. Collins, Colorado; Mrs. Mattie Clark, of Greeley township; Charles H., an attorney of Audubon; Samuel, a farmer of Gree- ley township; John, who lives at Spirit Lake, Iowa, where he is a farmer ; Alpha, who lives at Ft. Collins, Colorado; Mrs. Esther Rabel, of Mont- gomery, Iowa, and Thomas, of Danbury, Iowa.
James G. White began life for himself just after having passed his majority. He began farming and has always lived in Greeley township on a farm. He has resided on the Garnett farm for twenty-two years.
James G. White was married on February 2, 1892, to Carrie Garnett, the daughter of R. H. and Nettie Garnett, natives of Illinois who came to Audubon county in 1881, and who are now living retired at Hamlin. Mrs. White was born on October 2, 1872. By this marriage six children have been born, as follow: Harry Robert, born on October 24, 1892; Walter, January 7, 1894; Ruth, December 7, 1899; Ralph, February 20, 1904; Helen, August 16, 1908; and Wayne, July 24, 1914. All of these children are living at home.
In politics Mr. White is an ardent Republican, and has served as trustee of Greeley township. His capable administration was one which was satis- factory to the people of his township. Mr. and Mrs. White and family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Old Hamlin. Mr. White
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is a member of the board of trustees. Fie is also a member of the board of stewards, and has served for many years. Mr. White is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
AMBROSE F. AIKMAN.
Among the successful self-made men of the present generation of farm- ers in Audubon county, Iowa, whose efforts and influence have contributed to the material upbuilding of the community, Ambrose F. Aikman occupies a conspicuous place. Being ambitious from the first, but surrounded with none too favorable environment, his early youth was not especially prom- ising. Resolutely facing the future, however, he has gradually surmounted the difficulties in his way and in due course of time has risen to a prominent position in the commercial, agricultural and financial circles of his com- munity. Besides all this he has won the confidence and esteem of those with whom he has come into contact, either in a business or social way, and for years he has stood as one of the representative farmers of this section of Audubon county. Mr. Aikman realized early in life that there is a purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth and no respect not founded on accomplishment. His life and labors have been worthy because they have contributed to a proper understanding of life and its problems. The strongest characters in our national history have come from the ranks of self-made men to whom adversity acts as an impetus for unfaltering effort, and from this class has come Ambrose F. Aikman, a retired farmer of Gray, Iowa.
Ambrose F. Aikman was born on September 3, 1850, in Whiteside county, Illinois, on a farm. The Morrison court house now occupies the site upon which he was born. He is the son of Robert D. and Sarah Ann (Finch) Aikman. the former of whom was born in 1810, and who died in 1894, and the latter, born in 1820, and who died in 1904. Robert D. Aik- man was a native of Columbia county, Pennsylvania, and his wife a native of Toronto, Canada. Robert D. Aikman was the son of James Alexander Aikman, who came from Scotland and who settled in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, before the Revolutionary War. He first settled on Cabin run, but was driven away by the Indians. He took part in the Revolution- ary War. Robert D. was a pioneer in Whiteside, Illinois. He came from Pennsylvania to Lyons, Iowa, at a very early day, crossing the Mississippi
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river on a horse ferry. He located in Iowa and lived awhile here. He owned a great deal of land and very much town property and became extremely wealthy. The town of Morrison is built on the site of his farm. At the time of his death he owned land in both Iowa and Illinois. Robert D. and Sarah Ann (Finch) Aikman had eight children, namely: James and Almeda are deceased; Ambrose F., is the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Antoinette Forsbeck lives in Audubon county: Josephine, Irene and Helen are deceased: Frank lives south of Gray, in Lincoln township.
Ambrose F. Aikman came to Audubon county in 1873, and invested in one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 26, Lincoln township. He then went back to Illinois, but in 1879 returned to Audubon county and set- tled here permanently. For some time he had rented the land and had it partly improved. Mr. Aikman was married in Rock Island, Illinois, and brought his wife to Audubon county in 1882. They prospered and added one hundred and twenty acres to their holdings, making two hundred and eighty acres. The land is well improved and has excellent buildings. Mr. Aikman moved to Gray in the spring of 1913. He bought a fine home and a city block containing two sets of buildings. Mr. Aikman's one-hundred- and-twenty-acre farm is now occupied by his son.
Ambrose F. Aikman was married on February 22, 1882, to Mary Amelia Hunt, born on February 22, 1861, in England. She was a native of Yorkshire, and the daughter of George and Anna (Marston) Hunt. In 1865 she came to Whiteside county, Illinois. Her father was a brick manu- facturer and owned the brick works at Morrison, Illinois. He was born in 1829, and died in 1905. His wife, Mrs. Anna (Marston) Hunt, was born in 1829, and died in 1904. George and Anna (Marston) Hunt were the parents of nine children, as follow : John lives at Morrison, Illinois; Mrs. Sarah Winsby lives at De Kalb, Illinois; William died at Morrison, Illinois; Elizabeth is deceased; Helen lives at De Kalb, Illinois; Mrs. Ambrose F. Aikman is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Thomas is deceased; Arthur lives at Morrison, Illinois; and Mrs. Etta Fox lives at De Kalb, Illinois.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose F. Aikman two children have been born: George married Mary May Campbell and lives in Lincoln township; Helen Irene is a teacher in Lincoln township, and is a graduate of the Gray high school.
Mr. Aikman operated a merchandise store in Gray, in 1890 to 1891. His father built the third house in Lyons, Iowa.
Ambrose F. Aikman is a Republican. He has held various township
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offices, not because he wanted to hold office, but because he considered it his duty to serve when called upon. He and his wife and family are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Aikman is identified with the Yeomen of America.
JAMES GOODWILL.
The biographies of successful men are instructive as guides and incen- tives to those whose careers are in the process of being formed. The ex- amples they furnish of patient purpose and consecutive endeavor strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. The gentleman whose life story here is briefly set forth, is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and who has achieved a marked degree of suc- cess in the special sphere to which his talents and energies have been devoted James Goodwill is a well-known farmer of Audubon county, Iowa.
James Goodwill was born on September 19, 1862, in Jasper county, Iowa, and is the son of E. E. and Sylvia (Brown) Goodwill, natives of Ohio and Indiana, respectively. E. E. Goodwill was a pioneer settler in Jasper county, having come to that county about 1847. He reared his fam- ily in Jasper and Cass counties and in 1869 they moved to Cass county. E. E. Goodwill enlisted in the Union army and was held in reserve. He came to Audubon county in 1878 and settled in Douglas township. He bought a prairie farm of eighty acres. He moved to a farm in Viola town- ship, in 1897, and there died in 1900. E. E. Goodwill and wife had eleven children, as follow: Jasper, who lives in Council Bluffs; Wilbur, of Bis- mark, North Dakota; Mary, the widow of James Kelley, of Oakville, and who is now living in Bismark, North Dakota; Amanda, the wife of Macklin Smith, of Kansas; Benjamin, of near Guthrie, Oklahoma; Geneva was the wife of a Mr. Twilliger, now deceased, he having died as a result of burns received in a prairie fire in North Dakota; James lives in Audubon county ; George, who lives near Spencer, in Clay county; Charles, of Omaha; one child died in infancy ; and Elizabeth, deceased, who married a Mr. Ayers, and lived in North Dakota.
James Goodwill was educated in the Cass county common schools and when sixteen years old he began working out and continued until he was twenty-eight years. He was married in 1880, and began farming for himself on section I, in Melville township. He was here one year and then moved to the George Campbell farm in Greeley township, where he remained four
.
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years. Subsequently, he lived on the William Robinson farm in Greeley township for one year and then moved to section 35, in Melville township, where he remained fifteen years. In March, 1911, Mr. Goodwill bought ten acres in Audubon. Mrs. Goodwill owns eighty acres in section 29, in Melville township.
James Goodwill was married on February 19, 1891, to Margaret Ann (Campbell) Messersmith, daughter of George and Ann (Campbell) Messer- smith, early settlers in Audubon county, Iowa. No children have been born to this union.
George Campbell was a native of Ireland, born on March 5, 1837. He died on December 12, 1910. He came to Lincoln, Illinois, October 9, 1855, and to Iowa, March 3, 1886, settling in Melville township, Audubon county. He was married on May 19, 1859, to Anne Savage, a native of Ireland, born on May 12, 1840. She died on September 24, 1908. They had a large family of children, as follow: George Alexander, born on March 5, 1860, lives in Melville township; Margaret Ann Goodwill, October 26, 1861; Mrs. Mary Eliza Shallow, November 15, 1863, and lives in Audubon; William James, November 5, 1865, lives in Melville township; Catherine, Septem- ber 15, 1876, died August 8, 1877; John, October 20, 1869, lives in Melville township; Robert, October 5, 1871, died on September 12, 1889, at the age of eighteen; Mrs. Ella Egan, January 19, 1873, died on August 28, 1896, and left two children, Mrs. Anna Colville, of Morristown, South Dakota, and Bartholomew Egan, of Home, North Dakota; Thomas, February 4, 1875, lives in Melville township; Henry and Sarah, twins, December 17, 1876, the latter dying August 17, 1877; Henry is a merchant at Stuart, Iowa.
Mr. Campbell was one of the large landowners of Audubon county and owned nearly eight hundred acres. He gave each of his children eighty acres. For many years he was road supervisor and school director. He moved to Audubon seven years before his death. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal and Catholic church, respectively. After having lived in Illinois for a short time he invested his savings in one hundred and sixty acres of land in Melville township. Mary Ann Mes- sersmith and two brothers came to Iowa in 1884. She kept house for her two brothers. George Campbell purchased land as he was able and prospered. Mrs. Campbell died very suddenly, and Mr. Campbell was ill only three days before his death.
James Goodwill has always been identified with the Democratic party,
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but has never been especially active. He has, however, served as a member of the school board of Melville township. He is not a member of any church nor of any lodge.
JAMES BLAKE.
The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments but rather to leave upon the records the verdict regarding his character established by the opinion of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of James Blake, a retired farmer of Audubon, Iowa, wholesome enconiums and extravagant praise are avoided. Mr. Blake has led a true, useful and honorable life, a life characterized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well-defined purpose. He is a well-known citizen of Audubon and has been prominent in the agricultural affairs of this county for nearly thirty-five years and, although he has acquired a competence for his declining years, he is a man of modest and unassuming manners.
James Blake was born on May 24, 1850, in England. He was born on a farm and is the son of James, Sr., and Jane ( Bridge) Blake, the former of whom was born in 1805, and who died in 1889, and the latter died in 1896. James Blake, Sr., was a farmer in England and never came to America. His sons, James, Jr., the subject of this sketch, and Richard, were the only members of the family who came to this country. Richard immi- grated to America in 1869, and he now lives in Guthrie Center. James Blake, Jr., came to America in 1870 and for some time traveled over the United States, working at various occupations. He lived for a time in Ohio, for a time in Georgia, and came to Iowa in 1875, where he worked in a brick plant in Stuart. He also farmed while living in Stuart, and during the winter time engaged in mining coal. Mr. Blake came to Audu- bon county, in the spring of 1877, and located in Melville township. He worked by the month, receiving from twenty to twenty-five dollars each month for his services. This period of his life lasted two years, and sub- sequently he became foreman on a large ranch.
In 1880 James Blake was married and he then rented part of the large Musson or Brown ranch and here he was situated for two years. In 1882 he moved to the Stuart farm and lived there until 1884, at the end of which time lie bought one hundred and sixty acres in Greeley township. This
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land was wholly unimproved at the time and Mr. Blake purchased it for twelve and one-half dollars an acre. In 1885 he moved to the farm and for the next two years was engaged in putting the land into a good state of cultivation, fencing and draining it and erecting the necessary buildings for successful farming. In 1887 Mr. Blake moved to Dakota and lived there for two years. He rented land for one year after his sojourn in Dakota, in Guthrie county, Iowa. The first year after Mr. Blake's marriage he assisted in the construction of the railroad to Guthrie Center and during the winter he worked on the railroad from Carroll to Manning. It was during the winter of 1881 and 1882 that he was situated on the Musson ranch. Returning from Guthrie county, Iowa, Mr. Blake moved to his own farm, and in the spring of 1909 moved to Audubon. Mr. Blake owns two hundred and forty acres in Greeley township, and has three hundred and twenty acres in South Dakota.
James Blake was married on January 1, 1880, to Rebecca Lois Kin- kennon, a native of Madison county, Iowa. Four of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Blake are still living, namely: Minnie married James Nelson, now living in Alberta, Canada; Phoebe Jane, who is the wife of Philip Burkhart, of Guthrie county; Thomas H., who lives in Dick- inson county ; and James, who is at home. Myrta and two infants are deceased.
In politics, Mr. Blake is an ardent Republican, but he has never held office nor has he ever cared to hold office. While he is not a member of any church, the family are liberal supporters and interested in the welfare and progress of all religious denominations.
FRED H. HORNING.
A student interested in the history of Audubon county, Iowa, does not have to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that Fred H. Horning, a retired farmer of Audubon, Iowa, has long been one of its most active and leading citizens, especially in agricultural and stock raising affairs. His labors have been a potent force in making this a rich agricultural region, and during several decades Mr. Horning has carried on general farming, gradually improving his valuable place until a few years ago when he moved to Audubon, since which time he has lived retired. While he has prospered in a material way, he has also found time
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and opportunity to assist in the civic development of the county of his residence.
Fred H. Horning, a well-known retired farmer of Audubon, Iowa, was born on January 5, 1852, in Germany. His birthplace was Mecklen- burg-Schwerin, and he is a son of John and Lena (Wendt) Horning, the former of whom died in 1865, in his native land. Fred Horning was the youngest of six children, the others being as follow: John, who died in New York state; William, living in New York; Joseph, also a resident of the state of New York; Mrs. Sophia Stade, the widow of Anton Stade, is living in New York; Mrs. Dora Krueger, living in Nebraska, is the over- seer in the tailor shop of the Carnegie Industrial School.
Fred Horning came to America when nineteen years of age. He arrived in this country in the fall of 1871, and located on a farm in New York state, where he was a laborer for six years. He then removed to Polk county, Iowa, where he rented land for five years. In the spring of 1882 he purchased eighty acres of land in Cameron township, Audubon county, for which he paid twenty dollars an acre, and resided on this farm for twenty years. At the end of this period he moved to a farm one and one-half miles southwest of the first farm on which he lived after coming to the county. This farm consisted of one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. and Mrs. Horning lived on this place for seven years, at the end of which time they moved to Audubon, where Mr. Horning owns two lots and a good home. He is the owner also of two hundred and forty acres of good farming land in Cameron township, which is divided into two farms.
Fred Horning was married on February 23, 1874, to Sophia Kahler, who was born in 1854, in Germany, and who came with her brother to this country in 1862, first locating in New York state. Mr. and Mrs. Horning are the parents of ten children: Frank, living in this county; William of Cameron township; Paul, a farmer of Cameron township; Charles, also a farmer of Cameron township; Albert, a farmer; Arthur, a student in the high school at Audubon; Augusta, the wife of Henry Schroeder, a farmer of Cameron township; Hetty, the wife of John Crow, a former of this township, and they live on Mr. Horning's farm; Emma, the wife of Lou Hillyer, of Sioux City, Iowa; and Gretchen, of Sioux City.
In politics, Mr. Horning is a Democrat, and has served in the capacity of school director and road supervisor, and has filled both these offices with credit to himself and the people who appointed him. Mr. and Mrs. Horn- ing and family are all members of the Lutheran church, and contribute lib- erally of their means to the support of this denomination.
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AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
GEORGE WAHLERT, JR.
The value to a community of having the right man in the office of township trustee never was better demonstrated in Greeley township, this county, than during the present incumbency, George Wahlert, Jr., the pres- ent efficient and enterprising trustee having demonstrated his peculiar fit- ness for the important position which he holds, and it is but proper that a work designed to set out for the consideration of future generations some- thing of the lives of those who constitute the leading citizenry of Audubon county in this generation should carry a fitting review of the interesting career of Trustee Wahlert.
George Wahlert, Jr., was born in Henry county, Illinois, October 23, 1878, the son of Jergen and Lena (Dommeier) Wahlert, further details of whose lives will be found set out at length in the interesting biographical sketch relating to Jergen Wahlert, presented elsewhere in this volume. George Wahlert came to this county at the tender age of three years, his parents having moved here from Illinois in the year 1881, and he was reared on the parental farm and attended the district schools of Greeley township until he was seventeen years of age, living at home until he was nineteen, at which time he commenced "working out" on neighboring farms, continuing this form of activity for three years, at the end of which time he bought a half interest in a farm with William Hensley, this part- nership continuing for three years. Mr. Wahlert then bought eighty acres of unimproved land from Mr. Hensley in section 16, of Greeley township, and has ever since made his residence there. In addition to improving this original eighty acres, Mr. Wahlert has added thereto by the purchase of an additional eighty on the east and one hundred and twenty acres in section 20, of the same township, all of which he has improved and brought to a high state of cultivation. He has given considerable attention to the breed- ing of pure-bred stock and has a full-blooded registered Percheron stallion, one of the best animals of that breed in Audubon county. He also feeds quite a few cattle and is noted for the excellent quality of his stock, all of which is kept up to the best standard.
On February II, 1903, George Wahlert was united in marriage to Mamie Hensley, daughter of William Hensley, who died on June 7, 1906. On January 20, 1909, Mr. Wahlert married, secondly, Minnie Gripp, of Moline, Illinois, who was born on May 8, 1887, in Moline, the daughter of James H. and Anna (Dohrn) Gripp, both of whom were natives of Hol-
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stein, Germany, who came to this country with their parents when chil- dren. The Gripps came to Audubon county in 1892, but returned to Moline in 1904 and are still living there. To Mr. and Mrs. Wahlert four children. have been born, but two of whom are living, James H., born on January 28, 1912, and Marion Arnold, July 4, 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Wahlert are not members of any church, though they are attendants on and supporters of the Methodist church. Mr. Wahlert is a Democrat and is keenly interested in the county's politics. He is a leader in his township, which he is now serving very acceptably as town- ship trustee. He and his wife are hospitable and genial folk and are deserv- edly popular among their hosts of friends.
JESSE A. HUMISTON.
The following is a biography of a plain, honest man of affairs, who, by correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of the patrons of the railroad which he serves, has made his influence felt in Audubon and won for himself a position of confidence in the business circles of this . city. Jesse A. Humiston, the agent of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- way, at Audubon, Iowa, commands the entire confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen and is much admired by the people of this county.
Jesse A. Humiston was born on August 12, 1868, at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, the son of Alonzo B. and Orcelia (Brown) Humiston, the for- mer of whom was born in 1838, and who died in 1908, and the latter, born in 1841, and who died in 1893. Mrs. Orcelia ( Brown) Humiston was of German and Scotch ancestry. Alonzo B. Humiston was born in America, and was a son of German parents who settled in Wisconsin. In 1841 Alonzo Humiston settled in Tama county, Iowa, and conducted a general merchandise store in Tama. After his wife's death he disposed of his business and for a number of years lived in Colorado with a daughter. Alonzo Humiston and wife were the parents of three children: Mrs. Julia Spencer, of Clinton, Iowa: Mrs. Nellie C. Hobden, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Jesse A., the immediate subject of this review
Jesse A. Humiston was educated in the schools of Tama, Iowa, and early in life began learning telegraphy, completing his instruction in this line at Bellevue, Iowa, when about fifteen years of age. He was first em- ployed for one year at Bellevue by the Chicago & Milwaukee Railway Com-
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