USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 21
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Mr. Howe is a republican in politics and has ably served as a member of the city council for five years. He is identified fraternally with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist church. He is widely recognized as a young man of enterprise, ability and worth and enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaintance throughout the county in which practically his entire life has been spent.
A. P. LUNDVALL.
For over fifteen years A. P. Lundvall has been engaged in the general mer- chandise business in Boxholm, carrying a most complete and up-to-date stock and following business policies which rank him as one of the progressive mer- chants of the county. Mr. Lundvall has secured an extensive and profitable patronage for his business, his customers coming to him from a large adjoin- ing territory. He has succeeded because his business is built upon fair and . honest methods, because he contents himself with a reasonable profit and because he is ever ready to oblige a customer if possible. Mr. Lundvall was born in Sweden on March 9, 1860, and is a son of J. P. and Christina Lundvall, natives of that country. During his active life the father was the superintendent of a large woolen mill in Sweden, which country has always remained his home and where he is still living at the age of ninety-two years, his wife dying in 1907.
A. P. Lundvall was reared and educated in his native land and after com- pleting his studies accepted a position in the office of the woolen mills with which his father was connected. In 1881, at the age of twenty-one, he came to America, locating at first in New Britain, Connecticut, where for three years he worked for the American Hosiery Company. Being impressed by the stories which he had heard of the opportunities that were awaiting an aggressive young man in the middle west, he then made his way to Dayton, Webster county, lowa, where he arrived in the spring of 1884, accepting a position in the general store of Burnquist Brothers. There he contintied as an employe until 1889, in which year he became a partner in the firm, with which he remained as manager until 1895, when his partner died. At that time the business was sold, but Mr. Lundvall again entered mercantile life, allying himself with new partners and founding the firm of Lundvall, Swanson & Johnson. He continued in this establishment until 1899, when he sold his interest and went to Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he worked for the Larson Dry Goods Company for one year.
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He then returned to Dayton and for three months was connected with the firm of C. V. Peterson. In April, 1900, he came to Boxholm, Boone county, where he bought the first town lot and built the first business building, engaging in merchandising. He has ever since been at the head of this business and now carries a most complete stock adequate to the most exacting demands of his customers. His trade is extensive and covers a large territory. The success of the business must be entirely attributed to Mr. Lundvall, who is able, shrewd, honest and thoroughly up-to-date as regards merchandising methods.
In June, 1892, A. P. Lundvall married Miss Emily Erickson, a daughter of Eric and Betsy Erickson, natives of Sweden, who located in Webster county in the early days of its history. There the father cultivated land until his death, his widow now making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Lundvall, who have six children, as follows: June, who is employed in her father's store; and Eve- lyn, Lloyd, Reynold, Mildred and Ralph.
Mr. Lundvall has other important interests, being a stockholder in the Farmers Savings Bank of Boxholm, and the Farmers Elevator Company. He is always interested in the cause of education and at present serves as school director of his district. Politically he is a republican, loyal to his party, and for seven years served as postmaster of Boxholm, resign- ing in favor of John Hocke, who at that time was conducting a harness shop in this city. Fraternally Mr. Lundvall belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and his religious faith is that of the Swedish Lutheran church. By his activities he has largely contributed toward making possible the prosperous conditions that now prevail in Boone county and in particular has been one of the factors in the upbuilding of Boxholm, of which town he is now one of the foremost representatives of commercial interests.
JACOB SCHIERHOLZ.
Jacob Schierholz, a representative agriculturist of Boone county who has resided here for a period of forty-five years, is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land on sections 8 and 6, Yell township. His birth occurred in Germany on the 27th of February, 1851, his parents being Peter and Catherine (Frahm) Schierholz, who were likewise natives of that country. The father, who devoted his attention to farming in Germany throughout his entire business career, there passed away in 1854. while the mother was called to her final rest on the 9th of June, 1894.
Jacob Schierholz spent the first eighteen years of his life in the fatherland and there pursued his education but continued his studies in the United States after the age of twenty. On the 27th of February, 1869, he set sail for the new world and on reaching American shores made his way to Clinton county, lowa, where he worked for others until December of that year. He then came to Boone county and was here employed as a farm hand for seven years, while subsequently he cultivated rented land for one year. In 1872 he purchased forty acres of his present farm in Yell township and began the improvement of the property. As his financial resources increased, owing to his untiring industry and capable man-
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agement, he extended the boundaries of his place by additional purchase until it now embraces one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, eighty acres thereof lying in section 8 and the remaining eighty in section 6. Alert, energetic and industrious, he has met with success in his undertakings, practicing the rotation of crops and cultivating his farm after the most approved methods of modern agriculture.
On the 20th of September, 1880, Mr. Schierholz was united in marriage to Miss Frances McKune, a daughter of Edward and Minerva B. (Hastings) McKune, the former a native of Great Bend, Pennsylvania, and the latter of New York. Edward McKune removed to Illinois at an early day and in August, 1862, enlisted for service in the Civil war from Dixon, that state, joining Company E, Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was killed in October of the same year, in the first battle at Perryville, Kentucky, thus laying down his life on the altar of his country. The demise of his wife occurred in December, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Schierholz are the parents of eleven children, as follows: Emily, who gave her hand in marriage to Charles N. Frost, of Lee Center, Illinois ; Catherine E., the wife of William Kruse: Peter, at home; Jacob E., who is a resident of Beaver, Boone county ; Frances M., the wife of Fred Drew, of Perry, Iowa; Har- riett A., who is the wife of Everett Hull, of Ogden, Iowa; Albert H., also living in Ogden, this state; Lurena E., who is the wife of Mason Pugh, a miner of Yell township; and Mabel, Wilhelm and Loue, all of whom are still under the parental roof.
In his political views Mr. Schierholz is a stanch republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of that party at the polls. His religious faith is that of the United Brethren church. His many excellent traits of character have won him an extensive circle of friends and he is well known and highly esteemed throughout the community in which the greater part of his life has been spent.
JOHN RUNDBERG.
John Rundberg, of Ogden, Iowa, was a typical representative of that sturdy race of northern Europe which has furnished so many valuable citizens to the United States. He was born in Sweden and found in this country opportuni- ties which he turned by his energy and industry into material success. Mr. Rundberg was born August 19, 1834, a son of Andrew Rundberg. The father, also of Swedish birth and a wagonmaker by trade, was likewise engaged in blacksmithing. He stood high in the estimation of his community and served for some time in the responsible position of overseer of the poor, having charge of the poor farm of his district. The parents never came to America, the father dying in his native land in 1846 and the mother surviving him for about thirty years.
John Rundberg had to earn his own livelihood upon the death of his father, at which time he was only twelve years of age. He found employment at the munificent sum of eight cents a day and afterward learned the carpenter's trade and also that of cabinet-maker, completing his apprenticeship when he
JOHN RUNDBERG
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was eighteen years of age, a fact which speaks well for his deep and serious purpose.
Mr. Rundberg continued in the pursuit of his trade until 1868 in his native country, coming in that year to America and locating in New York. In Septem- ber he invented a threshing machine separator, giving thereby evidence of the fertility of his mind and the close attention which he paid to mechanical details, for which he had a particular talent. Later Mr. Rundberg decided upon a removal to the West and went to Stockholm, Wisconsin, where for a short time he continued to pursue his trade. He then came to Boone, Iowa, the year of his arrival being 1869. He followed his trade in a furniture factory in Boone county for one and one-half years, at the end of which time he decided upon a change of residence, selecting Moingona, where he established himself in the furniture business in partnership with Samuel Morgan. They remained in this connection for about nine months and in the fall of 1874 Mr. Rundberg came to Ogden and founded a furniture and undertaking business, of which he was the head until 1904, when the store was destroyed by fire. He rebuilt but retired from the business, his son, however, carrying a stock of furniture and continu- ing the activities of his father. Mr. Rundberg was successful because he had a thorough knowledge of the furniture business and because he possessed good business ability. Fair methods always prevailed in his establishment, and his reputation for the honest treatment of his customers gained for him an exten- sive trade.
Mr. Rundberg was twice married. Ifis first union was, with Miss Johanna Rundberg, a native of Sweden, who passed away December 10, 1877. On Jan- uary 5. 1879, he married Hannah Rustan, a daughter of Gustav and Caro- line Rustan, natives of Sweden. The father was a carpenter by trade but also followed agricultural pursuits. He crossed the Atlantic to America and located in Webster county, Iowa, at an early day. There he was for many years successful as an agriculturist, gaining a competency which permitted him to retire in the later years of his life, when he moved to Des Moines. That city remained his residence until his death, which occurred in September, 1910. His wife had preceded him to the Great Beyond in 1900. To the first union of Mr. Rundberg were born five children: Augusta, the wife of Charles Rosen, a harness dealer of Ogden, Iowa; David; John H .; Emma; and Philip E., who is now conducting the furniture and undertaking business established by his father. To the second marriage also five children were born, Jennie, Charles, Martin, Bessie and Anna H.
Mr. Rundberg gave his political allegiance to the republican party and although he shunned publicity and never sought public office, was always inter- ested in the development and advancement of his city and county. He gave material and moral support to worthy public enterprises and as a successful business man stood in the front ranks with those men who considered no effort too great in order to promote the welfare of their city. In later years Mr. Rundberg did not enjoy the best of health and after an illness of two years he passed away on December 14, 1913, in his eightieth year. He was venerated by all the citizens of Ogden as a pioneer and one of the early business men of the city. He was esteemed not so much for what he had accomplished as for the high qualities of his character. Mrs. Rundberg, who survives him, owns Vol. II-11
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the building in which the furniture and undertaking business is now conducted, and resides in a handsome home which stands in grounds that comprise four acres of land. She is well and favorably known in Ogden, where she has many friends who esteem her highly on account of her womanly qualities of character.
FRANCIS MARION BOLLE.
Francis Marion Bolle, who was born in Douglas township, Boone county, May 18, 1866, has always been a resident of the county. After completing his common-school education he turned his attention to farming and has been quite successful in this occupation. His parents, Louis and Elizabeth (Jenkins ) Bolle, were among the pioneers of Boone county, making the overland trip to Swede Point in 1851. The father became the owner of what now is known as the Samuel Bryant farm and which is adjacent to Madrid and was success- ful as a farmer. He was born in Germany, June 23, 1831, and died in Madrid, February 18, 1909. His wife, a native of Indiana, is residing in that city. In their family were six children, all of whom were born and reared in Douglas township. They are: Josiah, of North Dakota; William, of Perry, Iowa ; Mrs. Mary Jane Eversole of Kansas; Francis Marion of this review; Henry Scott of North Dakota; and Mrs. Hattie Edith Biggs, of Irvington, Kossuth county, Iowa.
Francis Marion Bolle owns a farm comprising one hundred and twenty acres of choice land on sections 27 and 28, Garden township. He has always followed the most up-to-date methods and by his labors has substantially contributed toward the agricultural development of Boone county. His land is planted to the most suitable cereals and by incessant labor and judicious management he has secured a competency. He resides in a pleasant and handsome home which is the hospitable meeting place of the many friends he and his wife have made in Boone county.
On January 29, 1895, Mr. Bolle married Miss Martha Ann Hamman, who was born in Polk county, July 8, 1870. She came to Douglas township with her parents in 1875. Her father, Amos Hamman, was born in Vermilion county, Indiana, March 16, 1839. He enlisted for service with the Union army in the Civil war and after a gallant record was honorably discharged. Subsequently he came to Iowa and located in Polk county, south of Maxwell, where he operated a farm for a number of years. He is now residing in a comfortable home in Madrid. He comes of an old American family and several of his direct ancestors were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. The mother of Mrs. Bolle, Susanna Jane ( Butler) Hamman, was born in Illinois, October 2, 1843, and died in Garden township, July 10, 1911. She bore her husband five children, all of whom are living : Mrs. Martha Ann Bolle, born July 8, 1870; George Franklin, born September 6. 1872, of Madrid; Milo Gideon, born January 29, 1874, of Nebraska; Zoe May, who was born August 15, 1879, and is cashier of the Madrid State Bank ; and John Jacob, whose birth occurred October 4, 1881, and who resides in South Dakota. The three eldest children are natives of Polk county and the two younger were born in Boone county, where all were reared.
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The Hammans are accounted among the most successful and prominent families of their neighborhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Bolle have one daughter, Laura May, born June 15, 1900, who is attending school. They stand high in the esteem of their community and enjoy the respect of all who know them. Mr. Bolle has many friends in Douglas township who have known him from his early youth and are appreciative of his high qualities of character. Mr. Bolle is public-spirited, although he has never actively entered politics. He is a republican and in full accord with the principles of that party. He supports all community enterprises of value and has done more than his share in promoting the general welfare.
ERNEST C. E. CARLSON.
The name of Ernest C. E. Carlson figures prominently in connection with commercial activity in Boone, where he is now conducting business as a partner in the firm of S. A. Nelson & Company. He is a self-made man and his life record should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished when ambition points out the way and when energy and determination lead to the goal of success. He was born in Sweden, March 28, 1864, and is a son of Charles J. and Anna Sophia (Carlson) Carlson, who were also natives of that country. In the year 1885 they crossed the Atlantic to the new world, and the father continued farming in America until called to his final rest on the 22d of April, 1912. His widow survived until the 20th of May, 1913. In their family were two children: Ernest C. E .; and Caroline, now the wife of Charles Olson, of Boone.
Ernest C. E. Carlson pursued his early education in the public and high schools of Sweden. He was a young man of about twenty-one years when the family came to the United States, and after arriving on this side the Atlantic he devoted some time to general agricultural pursuits. In 1889 he accepted a clerkship in the grocery store of A. T. Davis and later purchased the business, which he con- ducted alone until 1890, when he consolidated his interests with those of C. V. Nelson and Alfred Zandell, the business being then conducted under the firm style of Nelson, Zandell, Carlson & Company. Two years later Mr. Carlson dis- posed of his interest to his partners and devoted the succeeding year to the improvement of his education. He then purchased another store, which he con- ducted under the firm name of Carlson & Company until 1894. He then joined forces with Alfred Recksen and S. A. Nelson. In 1897 he was appointed deputy treasurer of the county and served for four years. Within that period Alfred Recksen retired from the company and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of S. A. Nelson & Company, Mr. Carlson remaining as one of the partners. They carry a large and well selected stock of general mer- chandise, and the neat and attractive arrangement of their store and their reason- able prices have secured for them a liberal and well merited patronage, which is increasing year by year.
On the 28th of May, 1890, Mr. Carlson was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Peterson, a native of Sweden, and unto them have been born eight children:
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Harold E., born August 13, 1891 ; Walter A., born February 23, 1893; Dora E., July 24, 1897 ; Gerhard M., February 15, 1900; Eldon L., February 1, 1903 ; Eve- line J., April 4, 1906; and Bernadine I., January 23, 1911. A daughter, Ruth E., passed away June 29, 1906.
In his political views Mr. Carlson is an earnest republican but does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies and efforts along other lines. He is the president of the Swedish Mutual Insurance Company and secretary of the Swedish Old People's Home. He belongs to the Swedish Mis- sion and is an elder of his church. He takes an active and helpful interest in the moral progress of the community and his influence is always on the side of right, reform, truth and justice. In his business career he has gone upon the principle that a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and he has never sacrificed honorable dealing to a desire for gain.
IRA D. JOHNSON.
In the death of Ira D. Johnson on the 20th of September, 1898, Boone mourned the loss of one of her valued and representative citizens, for his life exemplified the many sterling traits of manhood which in every land and clime awaken confidence and regard. He was born in Lawrence county, Missouri, August 12, 1870, and completed a high-school course at Henrietta, Texas. He also attended a business college at Jacksonville, Illinois, and thus qualified for onerous and responsible duties in later life. In the fall of 1890 he came to Boone and entered into partnership with his father, the late W. D. Johnson, in the coal business under the firm name of W. D. Johnson & Company. He devoted practically his entire attention to the coal trade and in that connection a big business was built up. He was also a stockholder in the Security Sav- ings Bank, and his contemporaries and colleagues in business circles knew him to be a thoroughly reliable and enterprising man.
On the 29th of October, 1890, in Illinois, Mr. Johnson was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary E. Johnson, a daughter of James and Martha (Adkins) Johnson, who were natives of Mason county, Illinois. James Johnson was a member of Company MI, Second Illinois Cavalry at the time of the Civil war, enlisting in 1862 and serving for three years. He became a commissioned officer, holding the rank of second lieutenant when mustered out of the service. By occupation he was a farmer, devoting his entire life to general agricultural pur- suits. The cause of temperance found in him a stalwart advocate and earnest worker, and his life was actuated by many high and manly principles. His family numbered nine children, all of whom are yet living. Two of the sons are residents of Boone county-F. H., making his home in the city of Boone, while Edgar resides near Ogden. To Mr. and Mrs. Ira D. Johnson were born three children: William D., who remains at home and is an automobile sales- man; Lucile, who is attending Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, and Ethel Lorraine, who died when a baby.
Politically Mr. Johnson was a republican, although reared in the faith of the democratic party, to which his father gave his support. Fraternally he
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was connected with Boonesboro Lodge, No. 324, K. P., and his widow is a member of the Pythian Sisters. He died at the very early age of twenty-eight years, and the news of his demise was a shock to the entire community. He left behind him many friends, and his heritage to his family was not only a good property, but also that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches. In action he was manly and sincere, in spirit kindly, and one of his more pro- nounced characteristics was his devotion to his family.
HENRY C. SPURRIER.
Henry C. Spurrier is the owner of one of the most highly improved farms in Boone county, comprising two hundred acres on sections 5 and 4, Yell town- ship. His birth occurred in Illinois in September, 1850, his parents being Francis M. and Rebecca (Argo) Spurrier, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. Francis M. Spurrier removed to Illinois with his parents in 1830 and carired on farming in that state until 1856, when he drove across the country to Boone county, Iowa, and here began the cultivation of rented land. In September, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a mem- ber of Company D, Thirty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, continuing with that command until February, 1865, when he was wounded and received his discharge. He returned to this county and carried on general agricultural pur- suits here throughout the remainder of his active business career, while the last years of his life were spent in honorable retirement at Ogden, where he passed away in November, 1912. The period of his residence in Boone county cov- ered fifty-six years and in his demise the community lost one of its esteemed and representative citizens. He had long survived his wife, who died in Illi- nois in February, 1856.
Henry C. Spurrier, who was a little lad of six years when he came to this county with his father, acquired his education in Yell township and remained on the home farm until twenty-six years of age. He then started out as an agriculturist on his own account, purchasing seventy acres of land which he improved and subsequently sold. Later he bought a tract of two hundred acres on sections 5 and 4. Yell township, which has since remained in his pos- session and which he has improved to such an extent that it is now one of the best equipped farms in the entire county, and in its operation he has won a measure of success that has gained him recognition among the substantial and leading agriculturists of his community. In connection with the cultivation of cereals he also keeps thoroughbred stock, feeding a carload of cattle annually. He likewise owns property in Canada.
In August, 1881, Mr. Spurrier was united in marriage to Miss Alice Hainey, her parents being Jackson and Nancy (Russell) Hainey, who were natives of Kentucky and Tennessee respectively. The father removed to Kansas in an early day and successfully carried on farming in that state for many years. His demise occurred in 1900, in the Sunflower state, where his widow still makes her home. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Spurrier have been born six children, as fol- lows: Eva, who is at home; Blanche, the wife of Charles Tonsfeldt, an agricul-
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