USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 36
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ELMER CROUTHAMEL.
Elmer Crouthamel, who owns and successfully operates a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Dodge township, has spent his entire life in Boone county, with the exception of one year devoted to farming in Plymouth county, this state. He was born on the 27th of June, 1872, on the old family homestead on section 32. Dodge township, and is a son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Yost) Crouthamel, both of whom were natives of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the father born in Bedminster township in 1833 and the mother in Hilltown township. The parents were married in 1857 and to them were born three sons and one daughter : Isaiah and Remantus, both residents of Boone; Elmer, of this review ; and Elmina, the wife of Polas Hoeke, a farmer of Palo Alto county, Iowa. Dur- ing his boyhood the father learned the stonemason's trade, which he followed continuously until coming to this county in 1866, when he turned his attention to farming. He has lived here continuously since, with the exception of one year spent in Illinois. He survives his wife, who died on the 4th of April, 1914.
Upon the home farm Elmer Crouthamel early became familiar with all the labors which fall to the lot of the agriculturist and pursued his studies in the schools of the neighborhood. Since old enough to be of any assistance in the operation of the farm he has engaged in agricultural pursuits and is today the owner of an excellent and well improved farm of three hundred and twenty acres. He was married on the 6th of August, 1900, to Miss Stazy Lestine, a daughter of John and Josie (Warak) Lestine, farming people of Dodge township. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Crouthamel, namely: Lee, now thirteen
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years of age; Walter, eleven; Mae, five; and Harry, two. These are all living, while Howard, twin brother of Harry, died in infancy.
Mr. Crouthamel is a member of the Yeomen lodge of Boone and by his ballot supports the men and measures of the democratic party, taking a very active and commendable interest in public affairs. For two terms he has served as school director, and he never withholds his support from any enterprise which he believes will advance the welfare of his community.
WILLIAM HARVEY FOSTER.
William Harvey Foster, deceased, was a soldier of the Civil war and a respected citizen of Boone. For many years he was a trustworthy engineer on the Northwestern Railway, having practically spent all his life in connection with railway service. He was born in Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, July 17, 1836, and was a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Foster. Jonathan Foster. who was born in Maryland, was a well-to-do farmer, also dealing extensively in stock. He moved his family to Ohio and later to Indiana, where they settled on a farm north of Millersburg, and there he spent the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy-five years in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. The mother died before the family removed to Indiana, in Ohio, and the father subsequently married a widow, Mrs. Johnson, whose maiden name was Self. The second Mrs. Foster died in Indiana. Sherman, a stepson of Jonathan Foster, served four years in the Civil war and died in the soldiers' home in Indiana. By his first marriage the father had the following children : Sarah, who married John Matthews and died in Indiana, near Leesburg; William Harvey, of this review ; Martha, the widow of John Harriman; Phoebe, who became Mrs. Fisher Fry and died in Ligonier, Indiana; Thompson, who died at the age of twenty-four ; and Willis, who married and died in Indiana.
William Harvey Foster was educated in the country schools and subsequently followed farming. In February, 1865, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifty- second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, joining Company D, of which Captain Smith was at the head, as a private. He served until the close of the war. On Novem- ber 2, 1865, he married Miss Matilda Jane Tomlinson, and they came to Boone in January, 1866. This community then had but six houses, and the Northwestern Railway was completed west only as far as Woodbine. Mr. Foster bought a farm close by and lived thereon for one year. He then entered the shops of the North- western Railway as engine cleaner and subsequently became fireman and engineer. He had the run between Boone and Moingona and also ran a pusher engine which helped the trains over the hills. He died on October 18, 1897, and was buried in Linwood cemetery.
He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and one of the founders and lifelong friends of the Young Men's Christian Association. Fra- ternally he belonged to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political adherence was given to the republican party.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Foster were born the following children. Ida, who is Mrs. Herbert Cronk, of Chicago, was born in Boone county and educated in the city of Boone. She taught school there and subsequently celebrated her wedding in that city. Later she removed to Clinton, Iowa, where her husband was a passenger conductor on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, having the run between Clinton and Chicago. She now conducts Foster's Restaurant at No. 221 South Wabash avenue, Chicago, and is manager of the Woman's Athletic Club, which has its building at No. 606 South Michigan avenue in Chicago. She is prominently engaged in uplift work and interested in all vital social questions. She has no children. Melvin, who was a fireman with the Northwestern Railway, died at the age of twenty-two. Lulu married Charles Pendarvis of Boone. Edith married Benjamin B. Wiley, who is extensively mentioned in another part of this work. Harvey Norman died in infancy. Olive resides in Watertown, Illinois. Mrs. Foster, the mother of these children, was born on a farm in Noble county, Indiana, May 13, 1844. She attended the country schools and was reared among strangers, as her mother had died when she was quite young. Her father, Andrew Tom- linson, was a native of Maryland, and her mother before her marriage was Miss Julia Danner, also a native of the Old Line state. The father was a carpenter and he subsequently followed that trade in Indiana, whither the family had removed. He later went to Missouri, where he died at the age of seventy-five, his wife having passed away in Indiana when seventy years of age. In their family were the following children : William, of Topeka, Indiana ; Silas, who was drowned in the Mississippi river when on his way from New Orleans on a trans- port which was sunk during the war; Henry, who lost his life in the battle of Baton Rouge on the day when he was twenty years old ; and Mrs. Foster.
Mr. Foster's memory is still with his many friends in Boone, all of whom regarded him affectionately because of the genuine qualities of his character. He was a kindly, courteous gentleman of the old school who readily made friends and who eagerly participated in all matters pertaining to the public welfare, and he was ever ready in peace and war to make sacrifices in order to render service to his country or raise humanity to a higher plane.
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FRED WAHL GOETZMAN.
One of the well-to-do farmers of Dodge township is Fred Wahl Goetzman, living in section 35, where he owns and cultivates eighty acres of good land. Boone county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred here on the 5th of September, 1866. His parents were Henry and Harriet (Lamb) Goetzman. The father came with his parents from Germany to Ohio in 1853, and the family made their way at once to Iowa, establishing their home in Des Moines township, Boone county, where Henry Goetzman, after attaining his majority, made arrangements for having a home of his own through his marriage to Miss Harriet Lamb, a native of Ohio. He secured a farm, on which they began their domestic life, and for many years he was closely associated with agricultural interests, devoting his attention to the work of the farm until 1904, when death ended his labors. His widow survives and is now living in Boone.
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Fred W. Goetzman acquired a common school education, and his youthful experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of the farm lad. He worked in the fields through the summer months and when he started out in life on his own account he continued in the same pursuit. He is today the owner of a good farm of eighty acres situated on section 35, Dodge township. The soil is arable and has been brought by him to a high state of cultivation. In addition to pro- ducing the crops best adapted to climatic conditions he makes a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and thus adds materially to his income. A glance at his place shows that he is a progressive, practical farmer and that he keeps up with the times is indicated by the fact that he is the owner of an automobile.
On the 20th of September, 1893, Mr. Goetzman was married to Miss Luella Merkel, a daughter of Conrad and Margaret Merkel, who came from Ohio to lowa and cast in their lot with the settlers of Des Moines township, where the father followed farming throughout his remaining days. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Goetzman have been born two children, Frederick Earl and Harriet Margaret. Mr. Goetzman gives his political support to the democratic party and has served for two terms as school director. He is not a member of any church but attempts to follow the Golden Rule and his friends attest the fact that he is the possessor of many sterling traits of character.
ISIDOR WEIGEL.
Isidor Weigel, deceased, was for a number of years one of the most prosper- ous farmers and highly esteemed citizens of Harrison township, his home being on section 27. He was born in Schlesien, Germany, November 25, 1843, and there passed the days of his boyhood and youth, coming alone to the United States in 1869. Locating first in Illinois, he was there employed as a laborer for three years and at the end of that time purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Livingston county, that state, to the cultivation and improvement of which he devoted his energies for some time.
In 1872 Mr. Weigel married Miss Theresa Mueller, who died in 1881, and of the six children born to them two are also deceased. The others are: Theresa, the wife of Fred Reinsch, a farmer of Harrison township; Max, who married Callie Knight and follows farming in Harrison township; Helena, the wife of Joseph McCoy, also a farmer of Harrison township; and Alfred, who is engaged in farming in Story county, Iowa. Mr. Weigel was again married November 8, 1881, his second union being with Christina Elsner, a daughter of Frank Elsner. The children born of this union were: Isidor, who was drowned in 1885, at the age of two and a half years ; Rudolph, who is homesteading in Alberta, Canada ; Christina, the wife of William Smith, who is an engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad, residing in Council Bluffs, Iowa; Philomina. Ernest, Rheinhart and Isidor, all at home ; and Adelaide, who is attending school in Cedar Rapids.
It was in 1883 that Mr. Weigel brought his family to Boone county, Iowa, and located on the farm now owned by his widow. This place comprises four hundred and eighty acres on section 27, Harrison township, and is in a high state of cultivation and well improved with excellent buildings. Mr. Weigel was a
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most progressive farmer, and, being also an able business man, he met with remarkable success in his undertakings. Eighty acres of the home farm Fred Reinsch now rents and Alfred Weigel rents fifty-eight and a half acres and owns one hundred acres in Story county. Mr. Weigel was independent in politics, voting for the man he deemed best qualified for office regardless of party ties. He held membership in the Catholic church, to which his family also belong, and they stand high in the community where they reside.
E. S. THORNGREN.
E. S. Thorngren is one of the most active and substantial men of Boxholm, Boone county, conducting not only a large and profitable lumber business, but also holding title to extensive farm property and being connected with banking interests. Moreover, Mr. Thorngren has always participated in movements for the upbuilding and betterment of the county and is today connected with a num- ber of public and semi-public institutions which contribute greatly toward the advancement of the county. He was born in Grant township, Boone county, March 24, 1882, and is a son of J. O. and Josephine (Chingren) Thorngren, natives of Sweden. The father came to America with his parents and subse- quently engaged in farming in Grant township, where he followed this occupa- tion for many years. Upon his removal to Pilot Mound he turned his attention to the lumber, live-stock and grain business, continuing so for about twenty years with ever increasing success. At the end of that time he removed to Minneapolis but subsequently returned to one of his farms near Boone, where he lived until his death, which occurred on March 29, 1912. His widow is now living in Boxholm.
E. S. Thorngren was reared and educated in Grant township and Pilot Mound, completing his lessons by attending Humboldt College and the Simpson Business College at Indianola. In 1903 he came to Boxholm and engaged in the lumber business and has ever since continued therein. He also handles building material and his business transactions are important and extend over a considerable territory. Moreover, Mr. Thorngren actively manages a two hundred and thir- teen acre farm in Grant township, from which he derives a gratifying income. He is also a stockholder and director in the Farmers State Bank of Boxholm and the proprietor of the Willow Grove Stock Farm. He was instrumental in organizing the Farmers Elevator Company of Boxholm and is a stockholder therein. Besides all of these interests he owns two farms, one of eighty acres and another of one hundred and sixty acres in Oklahoma. Mr. Thorngren is a typical representative of the successful young American business man and has attained to prosperity because of his far-sightedness, his determination, his industry, his honesty and his close application. He has made use of opportun- ities as they presented themselves and it may be even said of him that he created opportunities where there were none before. While building his own fortune he has been an important factor in the growth and development of his section of the state, to the advancement of which he has made valuable contributions.
E. S. THORNGREN
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On June 10, 1904, Mr. Thorngren married Miss Lillian Carlson, a daughter of J. P. and Jennie (Loving) Carlson, natives of Sweden, who settled in Boone county in 1883. The father turned his attention to farming in Pilot Mound township and there he is still operating a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Thorngren were the parents of three children: Francis M., aged eight; J. Loran, who is six years of age; and Ruth C., who died April 20, 1914, at the age of three and one- half years.
Mr Thorngren has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of the com- munity, warmly championing the cause of education. He is president of the Boxholm school board and in that connection has been instrumental in greatly improving the educational system prevailing in his city. He also serves as president of the Commercial Association of Boxholm, allying himself with those men who are ever willing to make sacrifices in order to promote industrial and commercial growth. He is secretary of the Grant Township Mutual Telephone Company and has been for some time the republican committeeman for Grant township and a member of the town council. In 1912 Mr. Thorngren was the republican nominee for representative from the fifty-third district but was de- feated by J. B. McHose, of Boone, by less than one hundred votes. He has always been loyal to the republican party, upholding its principles and candi- dates. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, and he gives material and moral support to its growth. Mr. Thorngren is a public-spirited citizen, a successful business man and a leader in all movements for moral and intellectual advancement. He reflects honor and credit upon the community and stands high in the estimation of all who know him.
FREDERICK GEORGE WESTRIP.
Frederick George Westrip is the oldest yardmaster in years of continuous service in connection with the Northwestern Railway system. He has for thir teen years occupied his present position and has been connected with various departments of the company's service for forty years. He acted as yardmaster at Council Bluffs for twelve years and investigation into his history shows him to be one of the most faithful and reliable men in the company's employ. He enjoys to the fullest extent the confidence of those under whom he serves and his record might well serve as an example to others. He was born November 24, 1858, in the pineries about one hundred and fifty miles north of Detroit, Michigan, a son of George Frederick and Hannah (Cook) Westrip, both of whom were natives of England, born near London. The mother was a daughter of Henry Cook and for many years was a resident of Iowa, where she ultimately passed away. The marriage of the parents was celebrated in England, and one child was born to them ere they crossed the Atlantic to the new world and settled in Michigan, where the father followed farming, having eighty acres of land. Following the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted for service in a Michigan regiment and lost his life in the blowing up of a transport on the Mississippi river. His widow afterward became the wife of John Baker. By
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her first marriage she had three children: John, of Council Bluffs; Frederick George, of this review; and William, also of Council Bluffs.
Following the removal of the family to this state Frederick George Westrip became a student in the schools of Council Bluffs, but was entirely thrown upon his own resources and since his youthful days has depended altogether upon his labors for his success and his opportunities. He could only attend school at intervals and his educational advantages were therefore limited. He went to live with an uncle, Henry Cook, with whom he remained for three years and then started out in life on his own account. No matter what success he has achieved, it is attributable entirely to his own efforts, and his example shows what may be accomplished when determination and energy point out the way.
On the 16th of April. 1878, Mr. Westrip was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Kalert, who was born in Burlington, Iowa, and attended the public schools. She is a daughter of Andrew and Selina (Pattison) Kalert and a granddaughter of Robert Pattison, who named the city of Burlington.
Mr. Westrip's railroad career began when he was fourteen years of age. He acted as a brakeman and switchman in Council Bluffs and at Dunlap, Iowa, and afterward became connected with yard work at Council Bluffs. He rose to the position of conductor on a freight train running between Council Bluffs and Dunlap and subsequently was promoted to the position of locomotive fire- man. A year later he was made yardmaster and has since continued to act in that capacity, spending twelve years as yardmaster at Council Bluffs and then coming to Boone in the same capacity for the Northwestern Railroad Company. He has here remained for thirteen years, and his work has given the utmost satisfaction to those interested. He is the oldest yardmaster on the Northwestern system, is most faithful and reliable and thoroughly understands every feature of the work intrusted to him.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Westrip were born six children: Gertrude, who died in infancy ; George, who has also passed away; Mabel, a trained nurse making her home with her parents; William, of Chicago; Gladys and Frederick, both at home. Mr. Westrip holds membership with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and with the Maccabees and his political allegiance is given to the republican party, but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him, as he has always preferred to concentrate his energies upon the duties which have devolved upon him in business. His record is indeed commendable, and all who know aught of his service speak of him in terms of high regard.
WALTER JAMES OLIVER.
Walter James Oliver owns and occupies an attractive home at No. 307 West Fourth street, where he has resided for the past seven years. He is now living retired, enjoying a well earned rest, the fruits of his former toil supplying him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. He first came to Iowa in 1876 and has since lived in this state, save for a period of five years.
Mr. Oliver was born in Sussex, England, in 1851 and in 1854 was brought to America by his grandparents, having been left an orphan in his infancy by
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the death of his parents, Thomas and Rachel ( Butcher) Oliver. His grandfather, Joel Oliver, was a brick maker in England and after coming to the new world followed the same pursuit in Griggsville, Pike county, Illinois, where he was closely identified with industrial activity for many years. He died there at the very advanced age of ninety-six years, and his wife survived to the age of ninety- eight. It will thus be seen that Walter James Oliver comes from a family noted for longevity. He is an only child and was reared by his grandparents. Passing through consecutive grades in the public schools, he eventually reached the high school and afterward attended the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois. From early youth he was more or less familiar with the trade of brick making, in which his grandfather engaged, and eventually he became foreman in a brick- making plant. continuing in that line of business until he came to Iowa in 1876. In that year he settled upon a farm in Taylor county, where he carried on gen- eral agricultural pursuits for twenty-two years. In 1898, however, he removed to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he purchased land and followed farming and stock-breeding near Guilford for five years. On the expiration of that period he came to Boone, where he has now lived for the past decade. Here he is engaged in the raising of fancy chickens and rabbits and thus his time is occupied, for indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and he could not content himself without some interests and activities. He also gives supervision to three farms in Dodge township, Boone county, and also to a farm property in Greene county.
Mr. Oliver was married in Pana, Christan county, Illinois, to Miss Mary A. Powell, a native of Sussex, England, who died in Iowa in 1893, leaving three sons and two daughters, all of whom are yet living, are married and are connected with agricultural interests. One daughter is now in Taylor county, near Len- nox and the three sons are in Nodaway county, Missouri. For his second wife Mr. Oliver chose Mrs. Charlotte Swigert, nec Bibler, and their marriage was celebrated in Boone. Mrs. Oliver was born in Crawford county, Ohio, in Octo- ber, 1852, and was one of a family of nine children. Two of her brothers are now residents of Hamilton county, Iowa. Her parents, David and Rachel (Eich- elberger ) Bibler. were natives of Ohio and spent four years in Illinois, near Peoria. They afterward went to Hamilton county, Iowa, in 1858, settling near Webster City, where they made their home until late in life. The father always followed farming and was quite successful, capably managing his business affairs so that substantial results were achieved. He died in Don Palos, California, at the age of seventy-nine years, his birth having occurred in 1818, and his wife, afterward returning to Ohio, passed away in that state in 1900, also at the age of seventy-nine. They were Methodists in religious faith and were earnest Chris- tian people.
Their daughter Charlotte was married in 1880 to Anderson Swigert, who was born in Ohio and came to Boone county in 1858. He resided in Dodge township, where he engaged in blacksmithing, and he also was a cattle buyer at Ridgeport. He first married Miss Mary Magdalene Winklepleck, also of Ohio, in which state the wedding was celebrated, and she passed away in Ridgeport, leaving five children, of whom four are yet living. The death of Anderson Swigert occurred in 1896 when he had reached the age of seventy-three years. By his marriage to. Charlotte Bibler there were born five children, of whom four yet survive, the
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eldest daughter being now a resident of Kenosha, Wisconsin, while three of the family are in Boone county. Mrs. Oliver gave to each of her children a farm, and all are now successful. Mrs. Oliver has eight grandchildren, while Mr. Oliver has twelve grandchildren.
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