USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 2 > Part 22
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of the Austin Flint Medical Association. He has been president of the county society and is well known in the affairs of all of these organizations. In addition to his professional practice he is local surgeon for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Com- . pany and medical examiner for a number of life insurance com- panies.
On the 29th of December, 1907, in Hampton, Iowa, Dr. Day was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Coryell, a native of Iowa and a daughter of C. H. Coryell, one of the early settlers in Hampton. Dr. and Mrs. Day have three children, Mina E., Don- ovan H. and Clifford C.
Dr. Day was reared in the Episcopal church but he and his wife and family now attend the Methodist Episcopal church of Dumont. Fraternally Dr. Day is a Master Mason and is con- nected with the Allison blue lodge. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. He has been for fifteen years in active prac- tice in Dumont and by his labors and high professional attain- ments has gained an enviable position in the regard of the public and in the ranks of the medical fraternity of Butler county.
CHARLES H. HUNT.
A farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 33, Butler township, pays tribute to Charles H. Hunt, who resided thereon for a number of years before he came to Clarksville, where he is now engaged in the fire insurance business. He was born in But- ler township, August 7, 1866, a son of Heman and Sarah (Hus- band) Hunt. He was the youngest of three sons and has been a lifelong resident of the township in which he still makes his home. The district schools afforded him his educational opportunities, and in his youth his time was divided between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playgrounds and the work of the fields. He early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil, and after he had attained his majority he began farming on his own account. He was thus engaged until 1909, and his quarter section of land was converted into rich and productive fields, while many substantial improvements were added to the farm and stand as monuments to his thrift and industry. For one year in early manhood he also engaged in teaching school and later worked in a bank at Shell Rock for nearly six years, or from
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the 15th of May, 1888, until the 20th of August, 1893. It was subsequent to that date that he purchased his present farm, which he continued to cultivate until he established his home in Clarks- ville, where he is now engaged in the fire insurance business. He has secured a liberal patronage, and the policies which he writes amount to a large figure annually.
On the 2d of December, 1896, Mr. Hunt was married to Miss Margaret M. Leeper, who was born near Heyworth, Illinois, and resided there until her marriage. Mr. Hunt belongs to the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and gives his political support to the republican party, believing that the principles of its platform are most conducive to good government. The fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boy- hood to the present time is an indication that his has been an active, well spent and honorable life.
ROBERT HUNTER.
Robert Hunter, carrying on general farming on section 4, Shell Rock township, his place being well improved according to modern methods of agriculture, was born in New York city, in March, 1850, a son of Samuel and Sarah (McBride) Hunter, both of whom were natives of Ireland. They came to the United States with two sons about 1850 and settled in New York city, where the father's death resulted from sunstroke when Robert Hunter was about two years of age. The mother afterward went to Belmont, Ohio, to live with an uncle and there passed away when her son, Robert, was about eight years of age. The family numbered four children: John S., living in Ohio; Samuel of Philadelphia; Robert; and Sarah, the wife of L. W. Howard of Shell Rock township.
Following the mother's death the family was scattered, Robert Hunter remaining with the uncle until his death and afterward living with the uncle's eldest son until he, Robert, had reached the age of twenty-two years. At that time he removed to Hamilton county, Iowa, but five years later came to Butler county and has since resided on his present farm comprising one hundred and twenty acres on section 4, Shell Rock township. He paid twenty- five dollars per acre for this property, which is today worth one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. He carries on general farming
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and stock-raising, and the fields yield him golden harvests, while his annual income derived from his stock is also a gratifying one.
In 1882 Mr. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Parintha A. Robins, who died in Shell Rock township in 1891. The chil- dren of that marriage were: Naomi, a school teacher of the county; Clifton, a farmer of Shell Rock township; Ethel, who died at the age of two years; Bertha, at home; and Laura, who died at the age of three years. For his second wife Mr. Hunter chose Miss Minerva Oberdorf, whom he wedded in 1896, and they have a daughter, Ruth. Mr. Hunter has long been a resident of this county and has witnessed much of its development and improvement, always taking an active part in measures for the general good. He is also interested in the moral progress of the community and is a consistent member of the Baptist church of Shell Rock.
HENRY WILSON.
Henry Wilson derives a gratifying and substantial income from his farm of two hundred and forty acres on sections 19 and 20, Jefferson township. His property is well improved, his home being situated on section 20, and the land is today worth one hun- dred and fifty dollars per acre, owing to the excellent care he has given it and his practical, systematic and scientific methods of development. Illinois numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in McHenry county, June 1, 1862. He is a son of John M. and Dora (Coster) Wilson, who were natives of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany. They were married about 1860 in McHenry county, Illinois, Mr. Wilson having for seven years resided in this country, while his wife had but recently arrived at the time of her marriage. In 1869 they removed to this county, taking up their abode in Jefferson township. He always made farming his life work and became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land. In addition to tilling the fields he raised considerable stock and milked many cows. For five years he had from five hundred to seven hundred head of cattle, which were herded over the prairie, and he milked as high as forty cows, being assisted in the work by his sons, the boys being thus kept busy. Removing to Dumont, he there established a creamery and a general merchandise business, which he conducted
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for eight years. He was recognized as a man of sterling qualities, and his word was always regarded as good as his bond. He was an enterprising business man, a hard worker, persistent, deter- mined and progressive, and as the years went by he achieved a success that was well merited. His educational opportunities were extremely limited. He could not read nor write, and yet no one could surpass him at figuring in his head and the result was always accurate. He possessed strong native intelligence and throughout his entire life learned continuously in the school of experience. In politics he was a stanch republican, believing firmly in the principles of the party. He was also an active and faithful member of the German Evangelical church, taking a most helpful part in its work and was the builder of the house of worship for that denomination at Dumont. To him and his wife were born six sons: Henry; John and Harvey, who are residents of Jefferson township; Christ, living in Dumont; Charley, also of Dumont; and William, of Dougherty.
Henry Wilson was only about seven years of age when the family came to this county, and here he has since made his home. The public schools afforded him his educational opportunities, and his business training was received under the direction of his father. During the eight years in which the family resided at Dumont he assisted his father in conducting the creamery busi- ness and the store, and for thirteen years altogether he was engaged in the manufacture of butter. With the exception of the period spent in Dumont he has always been a resident of Jefferson town- ship. He has made most of the improvements upon his tract of two hundred and forty acres, which he purchased ten years ago of Samuel Williams, one of the pioneer settlers of the county, who entered the land from the government. Mr. Wilson paid fifty dollars per acre for this property, and it is today worth one hundred and fifty dollars, owing to the improvements which he has placed upon it and the high state of cultivation to which he has developed the fields. He makes live stock the principal fea- ture of his farm, keeps high grades of horses, cattle and hogs and milks from eighteen to twenty-five head of cows, his dairy products finding a ready sale. Mr. Wilson is also a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company of Allison and is secre- tary and treasurer of the Central Jefferson Telephone Company. He is an alert, energetic business man with keen sagacity and sound judgment, and these qualities have been the salient forces in bringing him the success he now enjoys.
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Mr. Wilson is pleasantly situated in his home life. He was married July 26, 1883, to Miss Mary Renning, who was born in McHenry county, Illinois, October 8, 1863, and came to Butler county in 1864 with her parents, Charles and Christina (Linnen- beck) Renning, who were natives of Germany and were married there. Arriving in the new world, they settled in Illinois and thence came to Iowa, where the father died in December, 1907, at the age of seventy-three years, while the mother now makes her home in Jefferson township with her son Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Renning had five children, all of whom are residents of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson also have five children: Frank E., at home; Lottie M., the wife of Tracy Scott, of Clarksville; Fred and For- rest, at home; and Nellie, the wife of Ray Scott, of Jefferson township.
Mr. Wilson has held some school and road offices and has been township trustee. He is an earnest republican in his political views, supporting the principles of the party from the time he attained his majority. He is a Yeoman, and he belongs to the Evangelical church. These associations indicate much of the nature of the principles which govern his life, constituting him a man of sterling worth. He regards the attainment of success as but one feature of life and is ever ready and willing to perform his duties of citizenship and to meet his obligations to his fellow- men.
JOHN HOWE.
During the long years of his residence in Butler county John Howe was closely associated with farming interests until a few years prior to his death, when he removed to Shell Rock, there spending his remaining days. He was in the seventy-eighth year of his age when he passed away, his birth having occurred in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1832. His parents were James and Margaret Howe. The father died when our subject was a small boy and the mother passed away in 1866.
Mr. Howe remained a resident of his native state throughout the period of his boyhood and youth and in 1855, when about twenty-three years of age, removed to Ohio. He did not tarry long in that state, however, but continued on his westward way to Mus- catine, Iowa, from which point he walked to Shell Rock. He
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entered a tract of land in Butler township, this county, and then returned to Ohio, but in 1859 again came to Butler county, where he made permanent settlement. Not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made upon his land when it came into his pos- session. With characteristic energy he began to develop it and the remainder of his active life was devoted to farming. He brought his fields under a high state of cultivation and as the years passed on he gathered good harvests as a reward for his labors. He then retired to Shell Rock, where his remaining days were passed. He was the owner of two hundred and forty acres while actively engaged in farming, but shortly prior to his retirement he sold one hundred and sixty acres and afterward disposed of the remainder. He came to this county a poor man and as the years passed he made steady progress along the path of success.
In February, 1882, Mr. Howe was united in marriage to Miss Harriett Smith, who was born in Indiana, January 6, 1853. She was left an orphan in early age and in 1872 came to this county to live with a sister, Mrs. Mary Ann Williams, who is now deceased. The death of Mr. Howe occurred March 7, 1910, and was the occasion of deep regret to many friends. He held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mrs. Howe still belongs, and he was also a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Shell Rock. In politics he was a republican but did not seek nor desire office, preferring to live a quiet home life.
He lost his father when a small boy and from an early age was dependent upon his own resources, becoming a self-made man in the truest and best sense of the term. While he won success, it was never at the price of another's failure. In all of his busi- ness career he followed constructive methods and his industry and integrity were the salient forces that gained for him his pros- perity.
JACOB KINGERY.
Jacob Kingery, a representative and valued citizen of But- ler county, familiarly known as "Jake" to his many friends, was born in Bennezette township, March 25, 1862. He is a son of William and Mary M. (Etter) Kingery, the former a native of Pennsylvania and a pioneer in Iowa. More extended mention of his career may be found elsewhere in this work.
Vol. 11-15
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Jacob Kingery was reared on the home farm in Coldwater township, acquiring his education in the district schools. He remained with his father until he was twenty-two years of age and then worked out on a neighboring farm as a monthly laborer. He later rented land which he farmed for six years, after which he purchased an eighty acre tract, a portion of the farm upon which he now resides. When this land came into his possession only a portion of the soil was broken and there was an old house upon it. With characteristic energy Mr. Kingery cleared more land, fenced the property into convenient fields, set out a grove of forest and evergreen trees, built a new house and erected a number of other substantial buildings. He afterward added to his holdings an adjoining tract of sixty-five acres on section 8, across from the home farm, and later bought a tract of one hun- dred and sixty acres on section 6 and upon this farm has just built a new house, a corn crib and a number of outbuildings. He has fenced and cross fenced the fields and set out an orchard form- ing a windbreak north and west of the buildings on the home farm. He has also tiled all of his land, greatly increasing its value thereby. In addition to the operation of these farms Mr. Kingery has other important business interests, being a stockholder in the Greene Cooperative Creamery Association and in the Farmers Elevator Company.
On the 30th of March, 1884, in Coldwater township, Mr. Kin- gery married Miss Eva A. Burkholder, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Henry Burkholder, who moved from that state to Butler county, when Mrs. Kingery was still a child. Mr. and Mrs. Kingery became the parents of ten children. Lewis H. is a farmer in Floyd county. He is married and has two children. Frank C. is operating his father's one hundred and sixty acre farm on section 6. He is married and has one son. The other members of this family are: Mary; Gertrude, the wife of Leland Ray, of Butler county; Katie; Anna; Albert; Beulah; Delmar; and one child, Raymond, who died at the age of seven months.
Mr. and Mrs. Kingery are members of the Church of the Brethren of Greene, and Mr. Kingery has been a deacon for many years. He is active in church and Sunday-school work, having served as superintendent of the Sabbath school and also as assist- ant. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is now serving his third term as township trustee, having been first appointed to this office to fill a vacancy. He has also been identified with school affairs for a number of years. His record
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shows conclusively what may be accomplished by perseverance and industry, for he started out in life with comparatively no resources and as a result of his hard work and good management is now the owner of two valuable farms. The spirit of progress actuates him in all that he does, and he keeps continuously abreast of the trend of the times, a fact indicated in his recent purchase of a new 1912 model Oakland touring car. He is known as a man of exemplary character and high principles and holds the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens.
GEORGE A. HAHN.
Various business and public interests have profited by the cooperation, enterprise and sound judgment of George A. Hahn, one of the enterprising farmers of Ripley township, living on section 5. He is a native of this county, his birth having occurred in Jefferson township, March 28, 1866, his parents being Fred and Mary (Yarcho) Hahn, both of whom were natives of Ger- many, the former of Saxony and the latter of Mecklenburg. When young people they crossed the Atlantic and became resi- dents of Harvard, Illinois, where they were married. About 1863 they removed to Butler county, Iowa, settling in Jefferson township, where the wife and mother passed away on the 19th of December, 1885. The father afterward married again and re- moved to Muscatine county, Iowa, where he died January 8, 1900, at the age of seventy-two years. Throughout his entire life he was a farmer, and although he came to the United States empty- handed, he won success as the years went on and became pros- perous. He had six children, all born of the first marriage: Augustus, now living in Allison; Mary, the wife of Louis Yarcho, of Waterloo, Iowa; Charles, who followed farming near Shell Rock and died March 19, 1908; George A .; Ernest, of Jackson township; and Amelia, who died at the age of two years.
George A. Hahn has spent his entire life in this county where he has followed farming and carpentering. He made his home in Jefferson township until he came to his present farm in Rip- ley township in 1900. He began here with one hundred and sixty acres of land but now has two hundred and forty acres, con- stituting an excellent farm, upon which he has placed most of the improvements, doing all the carpenter work himself. The
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farm presents a neat and thrifty appearance and, in fact, con- stitutes one of the attractive features of the landscape. He raises high-grade stock of all kinds and in addition to his farm interests is president of the Fairview Telephone Company and a stock- holder in the Cooperative Creamery Company.
On the 6th of May, 1891, Mr. Hahn was united in marriage to Miss Anna Reisewitz, who was born in Berlin, Germany, March 4, 1873, and in 1883 went to Holland, Grundy county, Iowa, with her parents, Joseph and Paulina (Fritche) Reisewitz. Her father was a truck gardener and died in Cedar Falls in March, 1912, at the age of seventy-five years, and the mother still resides there. The family remained at Holland only a few weeks and then went to Cedar Falls, where Mrs. Hahn lived to the time of her marriage. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hahn, namely: Ray, born March 22, 1892; Fred, born Septem- ber 22, 1894; Rachel, whose birth occurred February 21, 1896; Mary, born October 14, 1900; Clara, born September 6, 1902; George, whose birth occurred June 7, 1905; Lee, born December 19, 1906; and John, born September 26, 1908. Of these all are living, except Fred, who died at the age of six years and George, who died in infancy.
In his political views Mr. Hahn is a republican and served as township trustee for six years. He has also been president of the school board and the cause of education finds in him a stal- wart friend. In fact, he takes an active and helpful interest in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of the community and is a most loyal and progressive citizen. As a native son, he has long witnessed the development and progress of the county, and he has a wide acquaintance in this section of the state, where his friends are many.
JOHN LEEPER.
John Leeper is living retired in Clarksville but for thirty years was busily engaged in the development and cultivation of a farm of four hundred acres, which he owns in Jackson township. He ranked with the leading and representative agriculturists of the community and has made an excellent business record, his his- tory proving conclusively what may be accomplished when one has the will to dare and to do. He was born in McLean county, Illi-
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nois, December 19, 1856, and is a son of Charles and Isabel (Oliver) Leeper, who were natives of Kentucky and Ireland respectively. They went to Illinois with their parents in early childhood and were married in that state. The father died upon the old home- stead in McLean county in October, 1906, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, and the mother is still living there. They had a family of eight children, seven of whom yet survive, William, the sixth in order of birth, having died when about ten years of age. The others are: Thomas, who is living with his mother, at Heyworth, Illinois; John, the second in order of birth; Mary, the wife of J. B. Buck, also of Heyworth; Margaret, the wife of C. H. Hunt, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Charles O., whose home is in Heyworth; A. J., a resident farmer of De Witt county, Illinois; and Elizabeth Jane, who is with her mother.
John Leeper acquired his early education in the public schools of his native county and afterward spent three years as a student in the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, completing the academic course by graduation. In 1881 he became identified with Butler county, where he entered the live-stock business and also engaged actively in farming. This was not his first trip to Iowa, for he had spent the summer of 1877 here before he entered the university, his father owning a half section of land, which John Leeper cared for through that summer. In 1881, however, he started in business independently and gradually worked his way upward. To his original possessions he added until within the boundaries of his farm are comprised four hundred acres. His place is situated on section 35, Jackson township, and he conducted it successfully until the spring of 1911, when, satisfied with his possessions, he put aside further business cares to live retired in Clarksville, giving his attention now merely to the supervision of his invested interests. His success did not come to him without effort; in fact, he has lived the life of a most energetic and persistent business man and it has been through the capable control of his farming and live-stock interests that he has won the prosperity which he now enjoys.
In 1883 Mr. Leeper was united in marriage to Miss Margaret A. Tilford, who was born in Benton county, Iowa, June 13, 1864, and arrived in Butler county in the spring of 1881. Her parents were John and Mahala (Harper) Tilford, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Iowa. The mother died at Vinton, while the father passed away in Clarksville. Mr. and Mrs. Leeper have become the parents of four children. Charles Young, who
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operates the home farm, married Edith Bohner and has one son, Donald. John St. Clair, living in Waterloo, wedded Mabel Smith. Le Roy, also of Waterloo, wedded Maude Walz. Mahala com- pletes the family. J. S. and L. R. are attorneys in Waterloo and were graduated from the liberal arts course at Iowa City and from the law department of the State University. They are now practicing under the firm style of Leeper & Leeper. All of the sons are graduates of the high school at Clarksville and the eldest son, Charles, spent two years in the mechanical engineering depart- ment of the State University.
In his political views Mr. Leeper is a democrat, well informed on the questions and issues of the day. For four years he served as assessor of Jackson township and was twice the democratic nominee for county clerk. He has served as county committee- man and does all in his power to further the interests of the party, in the principles of which he firmly believes. Working his way steadily upward, he has made good use of his time, talent and op- portunities, and his even paced energy has carried him into im- portant relations.
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