USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 2 > Part 19
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FRED O. NEWCOMB.
When this county was largely an unsettled and undeveloped district, only a few courageous pioneers having penetrated into Butler county, the Newcomb store, of which Fred O. Newcomb is now proprietor, was founded. That was in the year 1855. The family name has since figured continuously and honorably in con- nection with the material development and business activity of the county. Fred O. Newcomb was born in Shell Rock, April 9, 1858, his parents being Orlando S. and Huldah Caroline (Carter) Newcomb, who were natives of Geauga county, Ohio, the former born May 20, 1830, and the latter April 29, 1832. The ancestry can be traced back to Governor William E. Bradford, first gov-
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ernor of Massachusetts, who came to America on the Mayflower. His daughter married a Newcomb from whom Fred O. Newcomb is descended, and thus he is entitled to membership in the society known as Descendants of the Mayflower. The father traveled over Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, selling notions from a wagon and arrived in Shell Rock on the 4th of July, 1855, when the first cele- bration held in the county was taking place. He enjoyed the hos- pitality of the people and was so well pleased with the indications and prospects of future development that he decided to locate here. He then returned to Ohio and on the 20th of September, 1855, was married. On the 8th of the following month, having returned to Shell Rock, he opened the Newcomb store, carrying a line of general merchandise. He was in business until his death, although he was not active in the management of the store during the latter part of his life. He at first had a small stock in a little room on the east side of the river and lived in a slab shanty. Dur- ing the first winter of his residence here he froze his feet, so poor were the accommodations for heating the house. Difficulties and obstacles did not discourage him, and with persistent energy he worked his way upward, becoming in time a prosperous merchant. His brother-in-law, J. H. Carter became a partner in the business, which he conducted for three years, while O. S. Newcomb was in the army.
He enlisted from Shell Rock in the summer of 1862, becoming a member of Company E, Thirty-second Iowa Volunteer Infan- try, with which he served for three years. For more than thirteen months he was held as a prisoner of war at Tyler, Texas. He was taken prisoner on General Banks' Red River Expedition on the 9th of April, 1864, and was incarcerated at Tyler until the close of the war. He was captured while assisting Fred Carter, his wife's youngest brother, from the field after he had been wounded. The commercial instinct was strong within him. He was a natural born trader and usually won success in all transac- tions. During the war while imprisoned he would sell tobacco to his army comrades, some of whom were unable to pay him until after they returned home following the close of hostilities. After the war was over Mr. Newcomb resumed business as a mer- chant of Shell Rock and was active in the store until 1904. The firm was Newcomb & Carter for some time. In 1884 their store was destroyed by fire, at which time Fred O. Newcomb became a partner in the reestablishment of the business, the store being opened where it is now. The business, however, has had a con-
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tinuous existence since 1855 and is today the oldest mercantile enterprise of the county.
While at the front as a prisoner of war Orlando Newcomb was converted and joined the Christian church. He was after- ward an active Christian man, and as there was no church of his denomination in his neighborhood he united with and was an earnest worker in the Methodist Episcopal church. He wore the grand army button and greatly enjoyed meeting with his former comrades-the boys in blue. He died in Shell Rock, March 2, 1904. His wife was a great union league worker during the war and afterward became very active in the Woman's Christian Tem- perance Union, remaining president at Shell Rock for twenty years, or from the organization of the local union until her death, August 10, 1913. All this indicates how closely the Newcombs have been associated with the moral development, the substantial upbuilding and the progress of town and county.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Orlando Newcomb were born three chil- dren: Fred O .; Minnie, the wife of T. S. Kenyon of Peoria, Illi- nois; and Mabel E., the wife of Frank T. Bement of Spokane. Washington, who is engaged in the wholesale lumber business.
Fred O. Newcomb attended the Cornell College at Mount Ver- non, Iowa, and afterward entered the State University at Iowa City in 1878. He pursued a four years' course and was graduated in 1882 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He remained there as business manager of the Iowa City Republican, a daily and weekly paper, in connection with which a bindery and publishing busi- ness was conducted. In 1884 when his father's store was de- stroyed by fire, he returned home and entered actively into the management of the business, with which he has since been con- nected. In the great fire of 1889 the store burned again but Mr. Newcomb rebuilt it on the same ground. He has here a two-story brick structure twenty-four by one hundred and twenty feet with a tin roof. He carries a large and selected line of goods and con- ducts an extensive and profitable business. He is thoroughly familiar with every detail of the trade, and his progressive meth- ods, earnest desire to please his patrons and his fair dealing have constituted the basis of the success which has attended him since he became one of the owners of the establishment. He is likewise the owner of a farm in this county and another in Minnesota and is a stockholder in the Creamery Company of Shell Rock.
On the 9th of July, 1884, Mr. Newcomb was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary F. Kimball, who was born in Iowa City, and
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is a daughter of Dr. George E. Kimball, of that place. Mrs. New- comb was a school mate of her husband and a graduate of the uni- versity in the class of 1879. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb have been born three children: Gertrude, the wife of Dr. J. R. Thomp- son of Waterloo, Iowa; Francis H., who is associated with his father in business; and Martha, now a student in the State Normal school.
The elder daughter was graduated from the State University on the 25th anniversary of her father's graduation. She has three children. The son, Francis, married Miss Ona Emig of Santa Clara, California, and they have one child. It was in Janu- ary, 1913, that Francis became his father's partner in business, the store being thus continued to the third generation.
In his political views Mr. Newcomb has ever been an earnest republican and was continuously called to office as alderman and mayor until, tiring of the work, he refused to again become a can- didate. For twenty years he was a member of the school board but resigned that position when made a member of the board of regents of the Iowa State University by appointment of the state legislature, in which capacity he served until the board of regents was abolished in 1911. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias. His rec- ord adds new laurels to those connected with the name. His father came to Iowa as a pioneer settler, and the work which he instituted has been carried on by the son amid changing surround- ings and conditions. In all, Mr. Newcomb has manifested a spirit of enterprise that has been unfaltering and his progressiveness has been of untold value to the community as well as to himself.
CLAUS A. IBLINGS.
Since 1895 Claus A. Iblings has been closely connected with agricultural interests of Butler county and is today the proprietor of one of the finest farms in Monroe township. In addition to this he deals in real estate on an extensive scale and has acquired important interests along this line, standing among the men of marked ability and substantial worth in the community. He was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, February 20, 1871, and is a son of Ibling and Anna (Whilhelms) Iblings, natives of Germany, the former born in 1842 and the latter in 1846. The father came
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to America about 1856, settling in Illinois, where he engaged in farming. In 1886 he moved to Butler county and followed agri- cultural pursuits here until his death in 1907. His wife has also passed away, her death having occurred in 1911. In their family were ten children: John, Christ, Katie, William, Claus A., Peter H., Henry, Emma, Herman and Anna.
Claus A. Iblings acquired his education in the district schools of Stephenson county and in public school in Parkersburg, Iowa. After he laid aside his books he worked for two years as a farm laborer and then spent a similar period of time operating rented land. In 1895 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Mon- roe township and to this has since added one hundred and twenty acres, these two properties constituting his present holdings. He raises fine grades of hay, corn and oats and has important stock- raising interests, keeping thirty head of cattle and nine horses. He is also a large dealer in real estate and a stockholder in the First National Bank of Parkersburg and has been very success- ful in the conduct of his business interests.
On the 5th of March, 1894, Mr. Iblings married Miss Matie Slight, a daughter of Martin and Geeske (Junchens) Slight, the former a well known farmer in the vicinity of Parkersburg. Mr. and Mrs. Iblings have become the parents of six children, Earl, Grace, Martha, Annetta, Mathilda and Carl. Mr. Iblings is a member of the Baptist church and is a republican in his political views. He has gained an enviable reputation as a practical farmer and a progressive and farsighted business man.
WALTER G. AUSTIN.
Walter G. Austin, manager of the Austin estate and president of the Austinville Savings Bank, was born in Washington town- ship, this county, on the 20th of December, 1872. He is a son of Henry and Sarah M. (Smith) Austin, the former born in England in 1844 and the latter in New Jersey in 1840. The father came to America when he was two years and a half old and settled with his parents in Michigan, but he grew to manhood in Grant county, Wisconsin. He afterward moved to Washington township, Butler county, Iowa, and remained one of the prominent and representa- tive farmers of that locality until his death, which occurred in 1911, he having survived his wife six years. They were the par-
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MR. AND MRS. HENRY AUSTIN
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ents of three children: Walter G., of this review; Alice E .; and Clarence W.
Walter G. Austin acquired his education in the district schools of Washington township and in the Waterloo Business College, which he attended for three years. After he laid aside his books he settled in Austinville, where in 1893 he took charge of his father's grain, coal, lumber and live-stock business. For the past three years he has been manager of the Austin estate, which is large and important, calling for the services of a man of unusual business ability and executive power. Mr. Austin is also presi- dent of the Austinville Savings Bank and a powerful factor in financial circles.
On the 12th of May, 1897, Mr. Austin married Miss Cora F. Dahn, a daughter of Fred E. and Minnie (Filk) Dahn. Mr. and Mrs. Austin have three children, Marguerite, Donald and Beryl. Mr. Austin is a member of the Presbyterian church and a repub- lican in his political beliefs. He is one of the prominent business men and highly respected citizens of Austinville and of Washing- ton township, and he enjoys the esteem and good-will of all who are brought in contact with him.
HARM VAN HAUEN.
Harm Van Hauen, one of the substantial and representative farmers of Albion township, was born in Germany, November 12, 1855. He is a son of Henry and Hattie (Johnson) Van Hauen, also natives of the fatherland, the former born April 4, 1824, and the latter August 5, 1824. The parents came to Iowa in 1878, and the father engaged in farming in this state until his death, March 8, 1908. He had survived his wife since April 4, 1904. Seven children were born to their union, Fannie, Henry, Harm, Okke, John, and two children who died in infancy.
Harm Van Hauen attended school in Germany until he was thirteen and one-half years of age and then accompanied his parents to America, completing his education at Florence Sta- tion, Illinois. At the age of sixteen he began working on his father's farm and so continued until 1878, when he moved to Butler county, renting a tract of eighty acres. He later pur- chased eighty acres of land, to which he added forty acres, paying for this last piece of property eighteen dollars and seventy- Val B-18
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five cents per acre. He disposed of this in 1893 and in the same year bought one hundred and eighty acres on sections 31 and 32, Albion township. He has since made his home upon this prop- erty, whereon he engages in general farming, dairying and stock- raising, keeping forty head of cattle, seventy-five hogs and twelve horses.
On the 13th of March, 1879, at Parkersburg, Mr. Van Hauen married Miss Mary Boomgaarden, a daughter of Okke Boom- gaarden, and they have become the parents of eleven children. Hattie married Ben Adolph, a farmer in Marion township, and they have four children, Tillie, Hermann, Marie and one as yet unnamed. Okke became the wife of Trina De Groote, a farmer in Albion township. Lizzie married Henry De Groote, Jr., a farmer in Albion township, and they have four children, Henry, Harm, Anna and one who died in infancy. Fannie became the wife of George Wildefur, a farmer residing in Mason City, and they have two children, Benjamin and Harm. Amelia married Claus Klaasen, a farmer in Lyon county. The other members of the family are Henry, Harm, Jr., Ella, John, Marie, and a child, who died in infancy.
Mr. Van Hauen is a deacon in the German Reformed church and a republican in his political beliefs. For fourteen years he has been president and a director of the school board and is now trustee of Albion township, discharging his duties in a creditable and farsighted manner. He holds a high place among the repre- sentative citizens in his locality and his worth is widely acknowl- edged.
JOHN ROTTINK.
It is not as easy task to sever home ties and go thousands of miles away from those among whom one's life has been passed. It requires courage to cast in one's lot in a community which has no connection with the old home, but this John Rottink did and he feels that he has had no occason to regret the step. He was born in Holland, October 4, 1850, and is a son of Gerrit and Jo- hannah (Buttega) Rottink, of whose family of nine children he is the second. He was the first of three brothers to come to Iowa, and the other two are still residents of this county and are men- tioned elsewhere in this volume. All three had worked in a wear-
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ing factory in Enschede before crossing the Atlantic. John Rot- tink was employed in the factory from the time that he was seven and a half years of age until he reached the age of twenty- four years when he came to the United States. He left home, however, on attaining his majority and the first year thereafter the only money which was not expended for actual necessities was eight cents which he paid for apples. He saved money with which to come to the United States, it requiring five years to accumu- late enough to meet the expenses of the trip. In 1874 he crossed the Atlantic and made his way direct to Butler county, Iowa, where he worked for three and a half years on a farm for Louis Hoffe. During the first four months he received fifteen dollars per month and through the winter was paid but ten dollars per month. The succeeding year he was paid eighteen dollars per month for a part of the time and twenty dollars for the remainder, and during the last year he was paid twenty-five dollars per month acting as overseer of the farm. He afterward worked for a year for Joe Linn, after which he rented a farm for two years. He next bought eighty acres and to this he added as he could until he is now the owner of four valuable farms, aggregating eight hun- dred acres. He operates only the home farm himself, comprising one hundred and twenty acres on section 6, Jefferson township. All of the farms have been well improved by him and in connec- tion with tilling the soil, he has engaged in masonry, carpenter work and painting.
He now has a good home situated on a hill commanding a fine view over an area of twelve miles of prairie country. In addition to his Iowa property he at one time had two hundred and seventy acres in Texas which he sold, and he now has one hundred and sixty acres in Missouri, together with one hundred and seventy acres on section 4, Ripley township, and two hundred and eighty acre on sections 20, 21 and 28, Jefferson township. He carries on general farming and stock-raising and both branches of his busi- ness have proven profitable.
When twenty-nine years of age Mr. Rottink was married. in Cedar Falls, Blackhawk county, to Carolina Negel, who was born in Butler county, November 16, 1861, a daughter of John H. Negel, who was from the same town in Holland as her husband .. He now resides in Shell Rock and is almost a centenarian. He settled in Illinois when but seventeen years of age and later be- came a pioneer of Butler county, where he purchased land for two dollars and a quarter per acre. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rottink
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have been born seven children: Hendrick, who died in infancy; Horace E., living in western Canada; Etta, the wife of William Dailey, of Shell Rock; Amy, the wife of Meno Van Sam, of Ben- nett township; Levi, at home; Fenie, wife of John Clear, living . near Parkersburg; and Helen, at home. All of the children were born in Jefferson township. The parents are members of the Evangelical church, and Mr. Rottink has always been a republican since he became a naturalized American citizen. His life record should serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished when one is willing to work and one's labors are directed by intelligence. Energy and perseverance have brought him to his present enviable position as one of the prosperous farmers of the county.
HOULIHAN BROTHERS.
Beaver township finds progressive and worthy representatives of its agricultural interests in John and Thomas Houlihan, comprising the firm of Houlihan Brothers, farmers and stock- raisers on section 35. They are members of one of the best known pioneer families of this locality, their father, Maurice Houlihan, having been one of the first settlers in this part of Iowa. He was born in Ireland in 1823 and when he was twenty years of age emigrated to America, landing in New Orleans. He there worked as a laborer and afterward on railroad construction, mak- ing his way from New Orleans to Dubuque, Iowa. From Dubuque he moved to Cedar Falls. He became the first section boss on the Illinois Central Railroad in New Hartford. At a very early date he moved into Butler county and took up land in this locality when pioneer conditions prevailed everywhere and when Indians were camped on the river bank two hundred feet from the home of the subjects of this review. Maurice Houlihan cultivated and im- proved eighty acres of land on section 35, Beaver township, and remained a resident of this locality until his death in 1888. His wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Bridget Moore, was born in Ireland in 1821 and died in 1886. In this family were four children, Anastasia, John, Thomas and Maurice. All are single with the exception of the last mentioned, who has been three times married. He now makes his home in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin.
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John and Thomas Houlihan and their sister Anastasia were educated in the public schools of Butler county and the brothers have been engaged in farming since the beginning of their active career. They and their sister own two hundred and thirty-five acres of land lying on sections 34 and 35, Beaver township, and upon this fine property they reside. They raise hay and grain and keep sixty head of cattle, two hundred hogs and eight horses. The Houlihan Brothers have been very successful in the conduct of their interests, steadily carrying forward the work of developing their holdings along progressive and practical lines, and they have now one of the finest and most modern farms in this locality. They are stockholders in the New Hartford Creamery Company and own the site and buildings of the New Hartford Farmers Savings Bank, one dwelling in New Hartford, four lots and one business building. They are resourceful and farsighted business men, careful in the management of their extensive interests and able to carry forward to successful completion whatever they un- dertake. They are members of the Roman Catholic church and give their political allegiance to the democratic party. In busi- ness circles they have attained an enviable reputation, and their personal characteristics have gained them the esteem and confi- dence of many friends.
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B. F. HAMILTON.
B. F. Hamilton, living on section 8, Butler township, has fol- lowed farming throughout his entire life and for twelve years has lived at his present place of residence, where he carries on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He was born in Franklin county, Iowa, March 26, 1878, and is a son of William and Martha (Quiggle) Hamilton. The father, a native of Ire- land, was born August 20, 1834, and after arriving at years of maturity he was married November 17, 1856, to Miss Mary Dave, by whom he had five children: Mrs. Mary Etta Hance, of South Dakota; Margaret Elizabeth, deceased; John W., living in Minne- sota; George, also a resident of that state; and James Atlas, of Franklin county, Iowa. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Hamilton was again married, his second union being with Miss Martha Quiggle, who was born in this country in 1844, but was of German and Scotch descent. They were married in DeWitt county, Iowa,
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the father having come to this state when sixteen years of age, while the mother accompanied her parents to Iowa in her early girlhood. Following their marriage they removed from De Witt to Franklin county and thence came to Butler county, where the father died June 5, 1896, when in his sixty-second year. The mother survives and is now living in Elgin, Illinois. The children of this marriage were: Ada Maria, now deceased; William H., a resident of Colorado; Mary Etta, who has also passed away; B. F .; and Oliver Lyle, deceased.
From the age of eight years B. F. Hamilton has lived in But- ler county and has a wide acquaintance among its citizens. He has always followed farming, save for a period of a few months, in which he engaged in the marble business at Charles City. For twelve years he has remained upon his present farm, comprising one hundred acres on sections 5 and 8, Butler township, his resi- dence standing on section 8. The place has been well improved by Mr. Hamilton, who carries on general farming and stock- raising. His modern and progressive methods are followed by excellent results.
On the 1st of March, 1899, Mr. Hamilton married Miss Flora Gabby, who was born in Butler township in 1880, a daughter of Beveridge T. and Ellen (Henney) Gabby, the former deceased and the latter a resident of Clarksville. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have two children; Lyle and Grace. Mr. Hamilton is a Mason in full sympathy with the principles of the society. In politics he is a republican, stalwart in support of the party principles. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of township trus- tee and was then elected to the position which he is now filling. For the past eight years he has been president of the township school board, and the cause of education finds in him a warm and stalwart friend, who does all in his power to further the inter- ests of the schools.
HERMAN ROTTINK.
Herman Rottink, busily engaged with agricultural pursuits, has owned and operated his present farm on sections 26 and 27, Butler township since 1899. It is situated on the Shell Rock river from which it derives its name of Riverview Farm. It is unsur- passed in beauty, equipment and progressiveness by any farm of
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HERMAN ROTTINK
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