USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 84
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Val Leanord was born on September 14, 1843, at Buffalo, New York. He is the son of Simon and Elizabeth Leanord, natives of Germany. Simon Leanord was a stone mason by trade and died in Buffalo, and his wife died in Wisconsin.
Val Leanord enlisted in Company G. Twenty-first Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, in 1861, and during the Civil War served altogether two years and two months. He was engaged in many of the important battles and several minor skirmishes. Among the most important engagements in which he participated were the battles of Antietam, the second battle of Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Fredericksburg. He was shot in the left leg at the second battle of Bull Run, but soon recovered. His brother, John Leanord, was killed at Ft. Wagner. Another brother, Jacob Leanord, was shot through the left shoulder, another ball passed through his body and he died later from the effects of the wounds. He received this injury at the battle of Bull Run. Another brother, Peter, also served in the Union army.
At the end of the war, Val Leanord went to Wisconsin and resided in that state from 1868 until 1888, during which time he was a farmer. He then spent three years in Marshall, Minnesota, and in 1891 came to Audubon county, Iowa. He lived on a farm in Douglass township for ten years and then purchased a farm three and one-half miles east of Audubon. This farm consists of eighty acres and is situated in Leroy township, and Mr. Leanord still owns it. He moved to Audubon in 1906, and since that time has lived retired in this city.
Val Leanord was married on December 23, 1869, to Rachel Ray, who was born in 1849 at Cadiz, Ohio, and who is the daughter of Samuel and Mary Ann (Norfolk) Ray, who moved to Wisconsin in 1852. To Mr. and Mrs. Leanord seven children have been born, namely: Clinton, who lives in Audubon; Ada, the wife of Louis Yackey, of Davenport, Iowa; Mary, the wife of Arthur Dinger, of Davenport; Caroline, who is at home; Frank, who lives in Guthrie county, Iowa; Vallie, of Mason City; and Roy, who married Ludie Frumm, of Brayton, and who is a druggist at Neven.
In politics, Mr. Leanord is an active Republican and has been identified with this party practically all of his life, but he has never held office, pre- ferring to devote his time to his own personal interests rather than to the interests of a political party.
Mr. and Mrs. Leanord are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Leanord is a member of Allison Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
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CHARLES W. JENKINS.
The grandparents of Charles W. Jenkins were the first people to bring with them their family for permanent residence in Audubon county. Mr. Jenkins' grandfather drove overland to Audubon county in a very early day from Kentucky. The Jenkins family, therefore, has been associated with the growth and progress of Audubon county from the very earliest times.
The father of Charles W. Jenkins was Benjamin F. Jenkins, who mar- ried Josephine Gilbert. Benjamin F. Jenkins was a native of Kentucky. He was brought to Audubon county, Iowa, when he was nine years old by his parents. He received his education in Audubon county and after leaving school, farmed for some time. He entered land from the government, pay- ing one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, and at the time of his death, December 25, 1873, he had six hundred and thirty-six acres. Mrs. Benjamin F. Jenkins died the following year, June 25, 1874. At this time Charles W. was not yet a year old. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Jenkins were the parents of six children, namely : Olive married Kees Hallock; Hayden is unmarried and lives in Idaho; Margaret married Charles Sykes, of Oakfield township; Mary married Ernest Cotton; Pearl, and Charles W., the subject of this sketch.
Charles W. Jenkins, who is an extensive farmer in Exira township, and who owns a farm of two hundred and fifty-six acres, was born in Oakfield township, Audubon county, January 2, 1873. He received his education in the schools of the county and after leaving school, he took up farming. He began on the old homestead and farmed there for three years, after which he was engaged in buying and selling stock in Brayton for a period of four years. At the end of this time he went to Oklahoma and was there mar- ried. He engaged in farming and stock raising in Oklahoma, having leased a ranch of three thousand acres. After remaining in Oklahoma for seven years, he came back to Audubon county and for five years lived on the old home place and farmed there. He then went to Canada and took up farm- ing in that country for two years. In 1912 Mr. Jenkins purchased the farm on which he now lives. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising. He raises about one hundred and fifty acres of corn each year and about eighty acres of small grain. He raises seventy-five acres of hay and pur- chases about twenty-five hundred bushels of corn each year, which he feeds to about two hundred and fifty head of hogs.
Charles W. Jenkins was married on July 16, 1902, to Eva Walker, the daughter of William Walker. To this union four children have been born:
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Keith, Laura, Elouise and Charles. Mrs. Jenkins was born on the farm where she now lives. Her parents were early settlers in Audubon county. Her father was one of the largest landowners in this section of the state, having owned seventeen hundred acres in Audubon county. Mr. and Mrs. Walker had nine children: John, who lives in Cass county; Schuyler, who lives at Anita ; Laura, who lives in Canada; Lulu, who resides in Des Moines ; Olive, who lives in Exira: Eva, who is the wife of Mr. Jenkins; Jay, who also resides in Canada; and two who died when small.
Mr. Jenkins owns three hundred acres of land in Canada. He is now serving as a school director in Exira township. Politically, he is a Republican.
SAMUEL McGAFFIN.
Samuel McGaffin is a farmer of Exira township and owns three hun- dred acres of fine land here. It is a splendid farm and comprises some of the most fertile land to be found anywhere in the township. Mr. McGaffin began his active career as a farmer in Cass county, Iowa, having taken up that vocation after leaving school. For several years, he was associated with his father, who is now deceased, in operating the farm in Cass county. Mr. McGaffin has always done general farming. He makes a specialty of raising hogs and cattle, especially hogs. Practically all of his grain is fed to live stock.
Samuel McGaffin was born in LaSalle county, Illinois, January 25, 1863. He is the son of Alexander and Mary Jane McGaffin, both of whom were natives of Ireland. They were married in their native country and after their marriage came to America. Arriving in this country, they set- tled in LaSalle county, Illinois, where Samuel McGaffin's father, Alexander McGaffin, was an extensive farmer. He lived in LaSalle county, Illinois, until 1872, when he moved to Cass county and purchased a farin of two hundred acres. He increased this farm from time to time until at one time he owned three hundred and forty acres. He was engaged in general farm- ing and stock raising. Mrs. Mary Jane McGaffin died when Samuel was a small child. His father, however, survived until October, 1909, when he passed away. They had four children, Andrew, Sarah, Mary and Samuel.
Samuel McGaffin resided in Cass county, Iowa, during the early years of his life and after leaving school, he made a splendid success of farming in company with his father. After his marriage, however, Mr. McGaffin
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,began farming for himself. He now owns three hundred acres of land in Exira township. He raises about sixty acres of corn and about sixty acres of small grain. Mr. McGaffin feeds about one hundred head of hogs each .year.
Samuel McGaffin was married on February 1, 1885, to Ida M. Strahl, the daughter of Colbert and Druzella Strahl. To this union have been born two children, Eugenia and Anna Belle. Eugenia married Lester Bowen and has three children, Olive, Earl and Merrill. Anna Belle married Rodney Marten and they have two children, Lenora and Ida Belle. Mrs. McGaffin is a native of Colorado. Her parents, however, were natives of Ohio.
For twelve years Samuel McGaffin served as township trustee. He was elected year after year and continued to fill the office with exceptional credit. Mr. McGaffin also served as director of the school board for fifteen years and worthily discharged the duties of that office. He has always been interested in educational affairs. Mr. McGaffin is a member of the blue lodge of the Masonic fraternity, at Exira. In politics he is associated with the Democratic party and is more or less active in the councils of the party.
RATFORD F. CHILDS, M. D.
The forces which influence a life of ceaseless activity and large protes- sional success are not apparent on the surface and it is difficult to explain or analyze them satisfactorily-the innate knowledge belongs to the individual and he alone can explain why it is that his life has moved along certain well- defined lines and in all probability can give some reason for his success. Suc- cess professionally is usually attributed to pronounced ability and energy, coupled with intellectual attainments of a high degree. The biographer can- not do more than note the manifestation of the underlying forces in the individual. In view of this fact, the life of the able physician whose name appears above affords an example of well-defined purpose, with the ability to make that purpose subserve not only his own ends but the good of his fellow men as well. He has attained prestige in a calling which requires for its basis sound mentality and intelligent discipline of a higher order, supplemented by rigid professional training and mastery of technical knowledge, without which one cannot hope to rise above mediocrity in administering to human ills. In his chosen field of endeavor Dr. Ratford F. Childs is achieving success and has won excellent standing among the professional medical men of his com- munity.
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AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
Ratford F. Childs was born on July 27, 1874, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, son of Frank L. and Margaret (Dewey) Childs, natives of Vermont and England, respectively. The history of the Childs family begins with the earliest New England days. Labon Childs, grandfather of Doctor Childs, was an early pioneer settler in Cook county, Illinois, and owned forty acres of land now included in the heart of the great city of Chicago. He sold this land for a song and came on westward to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and settled on a pioneer farm about eighteen miles from Council Bluffs. Ratford F. Childs was born on a farm near Council Bluffs and while he was still a youth, his father removed to Council Bluffs and engaged in the real estate business. Frank L. Childs has retired from active pursuits for some years and has attained the age of seventy-three years, having been born in 1842. His wife, whom he espoused in Iowa, is seventy years of age. When a child she crossed the ocean with her parents, en route to America.
Ratford F. Childs was educated in the public and high schools of Council Bluffs and studied medicine in the University of Nebraska. He was gradu- ated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1897. He began practice in Audubon, May 18, 1897, and has been eminently successful as a practi- tioner, whose skill in the art of healing is recognized by a large clientele.
Ratford F. Childs was married in October, 1902, to Myrtle Frick, daughter of Edward Frick, of Audubon. To this union have been born two children, Edward, aged eight years; Ollwene, aged ten years.
Doctor Childs is a member of the Audubon County, the Iowa State and the American Medical societies. The Doctor is a member of the Epis- copal church. He is fraternally allied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of the Maccabees.
GEORGE J. ENGEL.
Among the successful farmers of Audubon county, Iowa, who are of German birth and who are now living retired in Exira, is George J. Engel, whose farm, however, is located in Guthrie county, lowa. Mr. Engel owns a splendid body of land consisting of one hundred and thirty-three acres. He was actively engaged in farming until 1908, when he removed to Exira. where he has since lived retired.
George J. Engel was born in Baden, Germany, September II, 1847.
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He is a son of John G. and Anna Mary (Kale) Engel, both native-born Germans. The former was a farmer and in his native land was a teamster, also. He came to America in 1856, and located in Linn county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm of two hundred acres. He operated this farm until his death in 1870. Before coming to America he served the regulation time in the German army.
John G. and Anna Mary (Kale) Engel were the parents of eleven chil- dren, of whom the following are now living: Anna Mary, Kate, Christina, Mary, Sarah, Joseph, Henry and George J.
George J. Engel received a part of his education in the schools of his native land, finishing his school training in America after coming here with his parents. After leaving school he worked out by the day on farms until he was twenty-two years of age, at which time he was married. Mr. Engle received a farm of forty acres from his father's estate and began farming for himself. Gradually he increased this farm until he had eighty acres, and operated this place until he was thirty years old and then moved to Guthrie county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm of ninety acres. He gradually increased his land holdings in that county until he had one hun- dred and thirty-three acres, on which he carried on a general system of farming and stock raising. During the time of his active life as a farmer, he was accustomed to feed about sixty head of hogs each year, and always kept about thirty head of cattle on his farm. In 1908 he retired from active farm life, and moved to Exira, where he is now living retired.
George J. Engel was married on December 18, 1871, about a year after his father's death, to Anna Mary Dutler, the daughter of David and Kather- ine (Schneider) Dutler. No children were born to this marriage. Mrs. Engle was born in Germany. Her parents were also natives of Germany and came to America in 1864, locating in Linn county, Iowa, where her father worked as a laborer until he had saved sufficient money with which to purchase a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Guthrie county in 1879, and there the family lived until 1907. He is now living retired with his daughter, Mrs. Anna Schaarting. Mrs. Engel's mother died on December 12, 1907. David Dutler and wife were the parents of fifteen children, eleven of whom are now living: Elizabeth, Dora, Kate, Maggie, Mrs. Anna Mary Engel, Anna, David, Samuel, Chris, John and Henry.
Mr. Engel's father died in November, 1870, and his mother in March, 1871.
Although Mr. Engel and wife are not members of any church, they are regular attendants of church, and are more or less active in religious affairs.
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Mr. Engel is an independent voter, and for many years has not been identi- fied permanently with any political party. He has been a good citizen, and is a man who is highly respected by his neighbors and fellow townsmen.
ROBERT ANDREW JACOBSEN, M. D.
The man who devotes his talent and energy to the noble work of admin- istering to the ills and alleviating the sufferings of humanity, pursues a call- ing which in dignity and importance and beneficial results is second to no other. If he is true to his profession and earnest in his efforts to enlarge his sphere of usefulness, he is indeed a benefactor to all of his kind, for to him more than any other man are entrusted the safety, the comforts and, in many instances, the lives of his patients. Among this class of professional men is Dr. Robert Andrew Jacobsen, who for several years has had no superior among the physicians of Audubon county, Iowa. During this time, he has not only gained a wide reputation in his chosen profession but he has also established a reputation for uprightness of character in all of the rela- tions of life. He early realized that to those who attain permanent success in the medical profession, there must be given not only technical ability but also a broad human sympathy. Dr. Jacobsen has dignified and honored his profession by noble services and in this profession he has attained unquali- fied success. Today he enjoys a large and flourishing practice.
Robert A. Jacobsen was born on August 6, 1879, at Des Moines, Iowa. He is the son of Andrew J. and Sophia (Knudson) Jacobsen, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Denmark. Andrew J. Jacobsen came to America when he was seventeen years old. He came alone and subs- quently located at Davenport, Iowa. He remained there only a short time and then moved to Des Moines and assisted in building the Rock Island railroad into Des Moines. He engaged in the grocery business after that and for some years was exceedingly successful in this business. After a time he moved to Lakeview, Iowa, and purchased a farm and farmed for a number of years. He is now retired.
Andrew J. and Sophia Jacobsen had five children, namely: Thomas; Marie, who married D. M. Hutchinson; Carrie, who married L. Armstrong; Dr. Robert A., the subject of this sketch; and Fred, who is deceased.
Robert A. Jacobsen attended the common school at Des Moines, Iowa. After finishing the course in the common school, he attended high school at
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Lincoln, Nebraska, and then became a student at the Iowa State University, at Iowa City. He studied medicine at the university for four years and was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1904. He then came to Exira, Iowa, where he has remained since that time. Doctor Jacobson is a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, the State Homeo- pathic Society, and is prominent in the councils of his profession in the state of Iowa.
Dr. Robert A. Jacobsen was married, June 16, 1904, to Adeline Brown, the daughter of Fred J. Brown. Three children have been born to Doctor Jacobsen and wife: Marvin B. and two who died in infancy. Mrs. Jacobsen was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where her parents still live.
Mrs. Jacobsen is a member of the Presbyterian church. Doctor Jacobsen is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He served as treasurer of the school board of Exira for two terms and in politics is an ardent Republican. Doctor Jacobsen enjoys a large practice in this part of Audubon county, a practice to which he is justly entitled because of his high professional merits and his upright, honorable career.
WELBERG WOLF.
Welberg Wolf is another of those enterprising, progressive German farmers and citizens of Audubon county, who during the active period of his life was able to acquire a substantial competence and who has lately retired from the active duties of farm life. Mr. Wolf owns the old home place, comprising one hundred and fifty acres, north of West Exira, and one hundred and twenty acres south of Exira. This land is highly productive, and Mr. Wolf has a comfortable competence.
Welberg Wolf was born in Schleswig, Germany, March 7, 1872. His parents, Peter and Margaret (Peterson) Wolf, both were born in Schleswig, Germany. The former was a farmer in Germany and purchased cattle while he was not actively engaged in farming. He came to America in 1883 and located in Audubon county. He purchased a farm north of West Exira, and farmed there until 1902, when he retired and moved to Exira. Peter Wolf first purchased ninety-one acres, and this was subsequently increased to one hundred and fifty acres, which his son, Welberg, now owns. He was engaged in general farming.
Welberg Wolf was one of eight children born to his parents. Welberg
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is the youngest. The others were Jens, Chris, Matilda, Christina, Mar- garet, Mary and Lena.
After attending school in Schleswig, Germany, Welberg Wolf contin- ued his education in this country. After leaving school he farmed with his father until twenty-eight years old. He then rented a farm for a couple of years. He purchased the old home place of one hundred and fifty acres and farmed until 1910, and then purchased one hundred and twenty acres south of Exira. He farmed this until he came to Exira, and retired in March, 1914.
Welberg Wolf was married on June II, 1902, to Lena Lansitzen, a daughter of Clarence and Anna Lansitzen. Two children have been born to this marriage, Leonard, and one who died in infancy. Mrs. Wolf was born in Schleswig as were also her parents. She came to America with her parents in 1882. They located in Shelby county, Iowa, and there bought a farm. They remained in Shelby county until 1899, and then moved to Audu- bon county, and located in Sharon township. They remained in Sharon township until their death. He died in 1903, and his wife in 1913. Mrs. Wolf's parents had six children. In the order of their birth they were as follow: Ness, Peter, Mary, Anna, Lena and Claudie.
Mr. Wolf has served as a member of the school board, but with the exception of that office he has not been active in politics. He is an inde- pendent voter.
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