USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 2 > Part 20
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Butler township and the owner has every reason to be proud of the record which he has made as an agriculturist, having worked his way upward from a humble position to one of affluence. He was born in the Netherlands on the 1st of January, 1849, and is a son of Gerrit and Hannah (Buttega) Rottink, who spent their entire lives in their native land, the father acting as gardener for wealthy families.
Herman Rottink was the youngest of a family of nine chil- dren, two of whom came to the United States. He arrived in the year 1883, hoping to find better opportunities in the new world than he could secure in his native land. While in Holland he had served for four years, from 1869 until 1873, in the army. He worked in a cotton factory in Holland and understands the manu- facture of all kinds of cotton cloth. He did not see any chance of rapid progress along business lines, however, and attracted by the more favorable opportunities of the new world, he came to the United States, accompanied by his wife and two children, arriving in Butler county in 1883. He had incurred an indebtedness of one hundred and one dollars in order to come to the new world and during the first year he worked out as a farm hand, but the second year he rented the land. He practiced rigid economy and care- fully saving his earnings at length secured a sum sufficient to enable him to purchase his present farm in 1899. It comprises two hundred and forty-eight acres on sections 26 and 27, Butler township, and when he took possession the buildings upon it were an old house, which was a combination of brick and frame, an old barn and an old corn crib. He now has a large three story modern residence of eight rooms, a big barn eighty by forty feet with hip roof and sheds and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock.
He carries on general farming and stock-raising and has every reason to be proud of the fact that he has made the Riverview Farm the finest in Butler township. He has also become a stock- holder in the Farmers State Bank of Shell Rock and in the Shell Rock Creamery.
In 1873 Mr. Rottink was married to Miss Swenna Schmidt, who was born in Hanover, November 28, 1848. The children of this marriage are seven in number: Greit, at home; Hannah, the wife of K. Pitcher, living on a neighboring farm; Emma, the wife of Ernest Graham of Clarksville; Herman, twin brother to Emma, now assisting in the work of the home farm; Cora, the wife of Hollie Pulis of Butler township; Sarah, at home; and Mary, the
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wife of Al Kimball of Clear Lake, Iowa. The five younger chil- dren were born in this county.
Mr. and Mrs. Rottink hold membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church and they have become widely and favorably known during the thirty years of their residence in this county. Mr. Rottink may truly be called a self-made man and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Starting out in life empty- handed he has worked his way steadily upward and determina- tion, energy, frugality and industry have been the crowning points in his career.
HIRAM E. FRENCH.
Hiram E. French carries on general farming on section 8, Butler township and is the owner of a well improved place con- stituting the northeast quarter. The changes he has made have converted this into a valuable farm from which he annually gathers good crops as the reward of his industry, perseverance and sound judgment. A native of Grant county, Wisconsin, he was born May 30, 1858, and is the son of George and Persis (Scott) French. The father's birth occurred in Montreal, Can- ada, in 1818, and the mother was born in Chautauqua county, New York, February 17, 1834. With her parents she removed westward to Freeport, Illinois, and thence went to Wisconsin. George French also lived for a time in Freeport, before remor- ing to Wisconsin, but it was in the latter state that they were married, the wedding being celebrated in Grant county, Decem- ber 6, 1854. Sixteen years later, or in 1870, they came to Butler county, Iowa, and their remaining days were spent here upon the farm. The father died February 15, 1897, having for about fourteen years survived his wife, who passed away April 2, 1883. They were active members of the United Brethren church and throughout their earnest Christian lives displayed many ster- ling traits of heart and mind. They had five children: Mrs. Em- ma Crawford, who died in Oregon; Hiram E .; Emery, who also passed away in Oregon; Delbert, who died in Clarksville; and one son, who died in infancy.
Hiram E. French was a lad of twelve summers at the time the family removed to Iowa, and here he has since lived, being actively identified throughout his entire life with general agri-
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cultural pursuits. He is today the owner of one hundred and sixty acres, constituting the northeast quarter of section 8, But- ler township. Upon the place is a fine old home, which was built by his father-in-law, who was a carpenter and owned the eighty acre tract on which the house is located. There are good sheds and barns for the shelter of grain and stock, all of which were built by Mr. French, and the farm presents a neat and thrifty appearance, indicating his careful supervision and practical, pro- gressive methods.
On the 27th of April, 1881, Mr. French was married to Miss Jessie Shadbolt, who was born in Clarksville, May 31, 1863, and has spent her entire life in this county. She is a daughter of Jerome and Louise (Main) Shadbolt, who were natives of New York and were married in Wisconsin. They were early settlers of Butler county, and the father died in this county, but the mother is now living in Clarksville. Mr. and Mrs. French have become the parents of three children: Clem E., who was born August 2, 1883, and died February 12, 1884; Loraine J., the wife of Ervin Klingman, who resides on a farm near her father's; and Earl H., who was born June 22, 1898, and died May 18, 1901. The daughter was born March 20, 1886. The parents are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. French gives his political support to the republican party. He has never sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, and the care with which he has managed his farming interests, combined with his industry and persever- ance, have brought him substantial and well merited success.
JOHN REWERTS.
John Rewerts, carrying on general farming and stock-raising upon a fine property of one hundred and twenty acres on section 10, Madison township, was born in Iowa, October 9, 1875, and is a son of Johan Rewerts, a native of Germany. The father came to America when he was a young man and settled immediately in Grundy county, Iowa, where he married Miss Tetta Boedeker. He afterward purchased a tract of wild land in Madison township, Butler county, and opened up a new farm, gradually adding to his holdings until he owned one hundred and thirty-seven acres in his homestead as well as three other fine properties in the
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vicinity. He is today one of the valued and respected residents of Madison township and has reached the advanced age of seventy- six years.
John Rewerts was brought to Butler county in 1879 and reared upon his father's farm in Madison township, acquiring his educa- tion in the district schools. When he was twenty-three years of age he rented land in Madison township and at the end of three years rented another tract from his father which he afterward purchased and whereon he still resides. He has made excellent improvements upon it, fencing the fields, setting out fruit, shade and ornamental trees and adding to the buildings and equipment. He raises a good grade of Durham cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs and work horses, and his extensive interests are managed always in a capable and progressive way. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company and also in the Butler County Telephone Company.
On the 7th of January, 1903, Mr. Rewerts was united in mar- riage to Miss Jabena Ruter, a native of Madison township, and they became the parents of two children, but one, an infant son, died in 1912. The other is a daughter, Tetta Tena.
The parents are members of the German Reformed church of Dumont. Mr. Rewerts gives his political allegiance to the repub- lican party and served as a member of the school board for a num- ber of years. He is a progressive, practical and successful farmer, and he holds the esteem and confidence of all who are in any way associated with him.
HENRY C. ROVER.
Among the prosperous and progressive agriculturists of But- 'ler county is numbered Henry C. Rover, who since 1886 has been closely connected with agricultural interests of Coldwater town- ship, where he owns two hundred acres of land. He was born in Bremer county, this state, April 30, 1859, and is a son of Henry and Louise (Gurgens) Rover, of whom more extended mention is made elsewhere in this work.
Henry C. Rover was reared upon his father's farm in Bremer county, remaining at home until he reached maturity. When he began his independent career he worked for three or four years as a farm laborer, and then, in 1886, moved to Butler county,
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locating on land in Coldwater township which he purchased from his father. He began with one hundred and eighteen acres and this he broke, fenced and improved. Later he added to his hold- ings and his property now aggregates two hundred acres, well equipped and well managed in every particular. Mr. Rover has erected upon it a comfortable farm house, has fenced and cross fenced his fields with woven wire and has put out a grove of forest and evergreen trees. He has erected a barn, granary and cribs, has installed a wind pump and has made other important improve- ments, neglecting nothing which would add to the appearance or value of the property. In addition to general farming he engages extensively in stock-raising, keeping good grades of cattle, horses, sheep and hogs. He also operates a model dairy, owning a number of milch cows. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Elevator & Grain Company and is a man of recognized business ability and discrimination.
In Bremer county, on the 12th of March, 1886, Mr. Rover mar- ried Miss Emma Kaiser, also a native of that locality, and a daugh- ter of Henry and Emily (Gromoe) Kaiser. The father died in 1906, and the mother now resides in Waverly, Iowa. Mr. Kaiser was a veteran of the Civil war, enlisting in the Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantry and he served throughout the entire period to the close of the war. He was wounded and did valiant service for the union. Mr. and Mrs. Rover have become the parents of seven children: William H., who resides in Waverly; Minnie, the wife of Chris Hencken, a farmer of Butler county ; Henry F .; Emil J .; John W .; Lillian; and Elmer, who died at the age of eighteen months.
Mr. Rover is a member of the Lutheran church and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He has, however, never sought nor desired public office, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his business affairs, which are capably con- . ducted and are bringing him a gratifying measure of success.
OKKE VAN HAUEN.
Germany has furnished to Butler county many of its repre- sentative citizens, and among this class may be numbered Okke Van Hauen, who is the owner of two hundred six and a half acres of fine farming land on section 28, Albion township. As above
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mentioned, he was born in the fatherland on the 24th of September, 1858, a son of Henry and Hattie (Johnson) Van Hauen, who were likewise natives of that country, the former born April 4, 1824, and the latter on the 5th of August, 1824. The father followed farming as a life work. He remained in his native land until 1870, when, believing that he might better provide for his family in the new world, he emigrated to America, locating first in Free- port, Illinois. After eight years spent there, however, he came to Butler county and here spent his remaining years, passing away March 8, 1908, when he had almost reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. His wife preceded him in death, passing away April 4, 1904. They became the parents of seven children, Fannie, Henry, Harm, Okke, John, and two who died in infancy.
Okke Van Hauen, the subject of this review, was reared in Germany to the age of eleven years, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to this country. His education, which was begun in Germany, was continued for five years in the school at Florence Station, Illinois. After putting aside his text-books, he was employed at farm labor until 1882, when, having in the meantime acquired a sum sufficient to begin business on his own account, he rented a tract of land, cultivating the same during the next decade. He met with success in this venture, for he has ever been diligent and economical, and at the end of ten years he found himself in possession of a sum sufficient to enable him to purchase land, becoming the owner of two hundred six and a half acres, located on section 28, Albion township. He carries on his work according to the most modern methods, keeps his land in condition, and therefore annually harvests excellent crops as a reward for his labor. He keeps on hand forty head of cattle, mak- ing a specialty of raising beef cattle, has eleven horses, and raises one hundred head of hogs for the market each year.
It was on the 4th of April, 1882, that Mr. Van Hauen estab- lished a home of his own by his marriage in Parkersburg, Iowa, . to Miss Aleida Leister, a daughter of John and Johanna (Well- man) Leister. The father was proprietor of a hotel in Germany and also conducted a meat market. He came with his family to Iowa in 1880 and has since made his home in this state. Mr. and Mrs. Van Hauen have become the parents of eight children. as follows: Henry, who is a merchant of Parkersburg, and wedded Miss May Sensenbach, by whom he has one daughter, Beulah; John, who is in business in partnership with his brother Henry, and who wedded Miss Minnie Peterson, by whom he has one
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child, Gale; Hattie, who is the wife of Chris Schalzberg, a farmer of Jackson township, by whom she has three children, John, Aleida and Otis; Jennie, who is the wife of Henry Boike, a farmer of Beaver township; May; Heman; August; and Alice.
A republican in politics, Mr. Van Hauen has been called upon to serve in many public offices, the duties of which he has always discharged faithfully and well. For ten years he served as presi- dent of the school board, while at the present time he is serving as treasurer of the same. For six years he likewise served as road superintendent, while for one term he filled the office of assessor. He belongs to the German Baptist church, of which he is a trustee. He is devoted to his home and his family and takes keen delight in his church work. He is loyal to his adopted country and in his dealings with his fellowmen is honest and straightforward in a marked degree, so that all who know him have for him the highest esteem.
JAMES H. AMICK.
James H. Amick of Shell Rock, is the owner of valuable prop- erty interests in the town and also of two excellent farms in the county. His possessions are the visible evidence of his life of thrift and industry, and it has been through determined purpose and unfaltering labor that his possessions have accrued. Mr. Amick is a native of Summerville, Nicholas county, West Virginia. He was born March 21, 1852, a son of Gideon and Emily (Stuart) Amick, the former a native of Monroe county, West Virginia, and the latter of Greenbrier county, of the same state. The paternal grandfather, John Amick, was a native of North Carolina and was of German descent. He was a powder manufacturer and also engaged in teaching school. Emigrating to West Virginia, he married Martha Hage, who was a native of Germany. They had nine sons and three daughters, the family including Gideon Amick, who wedded Emily Stuart. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Amick were born ten children: Rebecca, who became the wife of Daniel Wahl and is now deceased; Minerva, who became the wife of Bert Hibbs and has also passed away; William, living in San Francisco, California; Ira S., a resident of Shell Rock township; James H .; Isabella, who is the widow of Lovett Sherwood and resides at Shell Rock; Mary Elizabeth, who died in Linn county, Iowa, in
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1867; John Henry, living near Seattle, Washington; Perry, who died in 1861; and Emily, who died in infancy, soon after the mother's death. The mother died in October, 1861, when her son, James, was but nine years of age. She was of Scotch lineage and her last days were spent in Waterloo, Iowa. It was in 1852 that the family removed from West Virginia to Elkhart, Indiana, where they remained until the fall of 1855 and then came to Iowa, settling in Linn county. There they resided until March, 1861, when they became residents of Waterloo. The mother died soon afterward but the family continued to reside there until August, 1867, when they came to Shell Rock, where the father passed away six years later, or in 1873. He was a stone cutter, following that trade throughout his entire life.
Since 1867 James H. Amick has resided in Shell Rock with the exception of two years spent in California. He worked at the stone cutter's trade, which he learned under the direction of his father, but after following that pursuit for three years he turned his attention to farming and was actively connected with the tilling of the soil until 1895, since which time he has made his home in the town. He is still the owner of two farms in Shell Rock township, one comprising two hundred acres and the other eighty-eight acres. This is valuable property and returns to him a gratifying annual income. In addition he owns the opera house which was built in 1888 by a stock company, of which Mr. Amick was one. Gradually he acquired the interests of the other stock- holders and is now sole proprietor. His attention is given mere- ly to the supervision of his business investments, which are now large and bring to him a gratifying return.
Mr. Amick has been married twice. On the 14th of April, 1874, he wedded Ella Hitchcock, who died August 18, 1877, leav- ing one child, Mabel, who is now the wife of Harvey Metzger, a farmer living near Shell Rock. On the 14th of June, 1883, Mr. Amick wedded Addie Bowen, and they have five children: Blanche, the wife of Forest Shipman of Bremer county; Mamie. the wife of Launie Bisplinghoff, of Shell Rock; Arnold, Law- rence and Mildred, all at home.
Mr. Amick's political position has never been an equivocal one. He has always supported the democratic party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, his first vote being cast for Samuel J. Tilden for president. He has served on the city council for six years and has been a member of the board of education for the past fifteen years. He is a strong temperance
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man and is one of the oldest members of the Odd Fellows at Shell Rock, having joined on the 5th of January, 1878. His in- fluence is always on the side of right, progress, reform and im- provement, and his sterling worth is recognized by all with whom he has come in contact so that the circle of his friends has been a constantly growing one.
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GEORGE O. TOLL.
Important agricultural and business interests claim the atten- tion and profit by the cooperation and sound judgment of George O. Toll. He accomplishes what he undertakes by reason of enter- prising methods, determined effort and unfaltering industry. He has a wide acquaintance in this county, in which his entire life has been passed, his birth having occurred in Jefferson township, March 19, 1876, his parents being Frederick and Jane (Borchers) Toll, now residents of Shell Rock. Their family numbered eight children, of whom George was the fifth in order of birth. He was reared as the other members of the family, upon the home farm, and at the usual age entered the district schools, in which he ac- quainted himself with the common branches of learning, thus laying the foundation for his later success. When not busy with his text-books his time was largely given to farm work, and the practical experience which he received under the direction of his father constituted the foundation upon which he has builded his advancement and his prosperity. He now cultivates one hundred and eighty acres of his father's land, and the neat and thrifty ap- pearance of the place, which is situated on section 16, Jefferson township, indicates his progressive methods and enterprising spirit. He makes his efforts count for the utmost, and his well managed business affairs have classed him with the substantial farmers of the community. His progressiveness is further indi- cated in the active interest which he has taken in business affairs having much to do with the common welfare. He is now presi- dent of the Jefferson Telephone Company, a farmers' cooperative company, is a stockholder in the Farmers' Cooperative Elevator Company of Allison and is secretary and treasurer of the South- eastern Threshing Company, a company with twelve stockholders.
On the 30th of December, 1901, Mr. Toll was united in mar- riage to Miss Mabel Winona Hewitt, who was born in Charles
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Mix county, South Dakota, August 9, 1880, and has the distinc- tion of being the first white girl born in the county (the name Winona, in the Sioux language, means first girl). She was a maiden of ten or twelve summers when her parents, William and Jennie (Kirk) Hewitt, came to Iowa. Her father was a native of Honington, England, born December 21, 1846, and the mother's birth occurred in Ohio, September 8, 1852. They were married in South Dakota, seven years after his arrival in the United States, the wedding being celebrated on Christmas day of 1878. Throughout his life Mr. Hewitt carried on farming and removed to Butler county, where he continued to engage in general agri- cultural pursuits until his life's labors were ended in death on the 1st of January, 1902. His widow survives him and yet makes her home in this county. They were the parents of three children: Mrs. Toll; Myrtle Margaret, now the wife of William A. Toll, of Jefferson township; and Grant Ross, living in the same town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. George O. Toll have two children: Winona Jennie, who was born June 15, 1904; and Rosamond Margaret, born April 5, 1906. While the family home is on section 16, Jef- ferson township, Mr. Toll owns an eighty-acre tract of land on section 1, Fremont township. His political indorsement is given to the republican party and for the past three years he has filled the office of assessor of his township, while at the present writ- ing he is secretary of the township school board. He was reared in the German Lutheran church but since his marriage has at- tended and supports the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member. They are both held in high esteem socially, and their own home is a hospitable one, whose good cheer is greatly enjoyed by their many friends.
HON. H. C. BROWN. -
In 1866, one year after the close of the Civil war, in which he had rendered the Union valuable and faithful service, Hon. H. C. Brown came to Iowa and in the following year settled in Butler county, where his citizenship has since been regarded as one of the greatest single forces in community upbuilding. For over thirty years he has resided on his present farm near Dumont but he has not by any means confined his attention to its cultivation,
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although he has made it a valuable and productive property. He has established a number of business enterprises and has besides done notable work in the field of public service, where his con- scientiousness, enterprise and sound political judgment have brought him into prominence. Mr. Brown was born in Belknap county, New Hampshire, January 1, 1831, and grew to manhood on a farm there, his educational advantages being confined to those offered by the common schools. After his marriage, which occurred in 1856, he engaged in farming on rented land in New Hampshire for some years and was meeting with a gratifying measure of success when in the panic of 1857 he lost all of his fortune. In August, 1864, he enlisted in the First Heavy Artillery and was sent to Washington, where he did guard duty during the Civil war, rising from the rank of private to that of orderly ser- geant. He received his honorable discharge at the close of the war and was mustered out of service in July, 1865.
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