USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 16
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Mr. Skillen is an early resident of Butler county, having made his home here since 1872. He was born in Genesee county, New York, December 12, 1862. When he was seven years of age he came west with his parents, settling in Buchanan county, Iowa, whence he moved to Butler county. His childhood was passed upon his father's farm in this vicinity and from an early age he assisted in its operation. After reaching maturity he rented land of his own, which he developed and improved for five years, after which, in 1890, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Coldwater township, a portion of the property upon which he now makes his home. At intervals he has added to his holdings and the farm now contains three hundred and fifty acres all in a high state of cultivation. Upon it he has erected a modern resi- dence, two substantial barns, two hog houses and a cement silo with a capacity of about two hundred tons, and he has set out an orchard of fine fruits and a grove of forest pines and evergreens, neglecting nothing which will add to the beauty of value of the place. For the past twenty-nine years Mr. Skillen has been a well known breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs and has held two auction sales on his farm in recent years, his animals always commanding high prices. He is interested also in raising pure-blooded registered shorthorn cattle and has now a herd of sixty head. His stock-raising inter- ests are extensive and important, and he is known as one of the most successful breeders and dealers in this part of the state. Mrs. Skillen is well known as a poultry fancier, keeping some fine Barred Plymouth Rock chickens, bronze turkeys, Pekin ducks and
ROBERT M. SKILLEN
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Toulouse geese and has made exhibits of these at a number of poultry shows. Mr. Skillen has also entered animals at a number of county fairs and has received a number of premiums on Duroc Jersey hogs. He was one of the promoters of the Farmers Cooper- ative Elevator of Greene and of the Greene Cooperative Creamery Association and has an enviable reputation in business circles.
In Greene, on the 18th of March, 1888, Mr. Skillen was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Hesalroad, who was born and reared in Coldwater township, a daughter of William Hesalroad, an early settler, who emigrated from Germany to this country. Mr. and Mrs. Skillen are the parents of four children: Laura Belle, the wife of Hugo Holzschuh, of Floyd county; Ida Grace; Clarence Wilbur, who is aiding in the operation of the home farm; and Clyde Robert.
Mr. Skillen is a stanch republican, believing firmly in the prin- ciples and policies of the party, but he has never sought public office, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his business affairs, in which he has already been so successful that he is today numbered among the leading representatives of stock-raising inter- ests in Butler county.
0. FRED CHASE.
O. Fred Chase, one of the able and progressive business men of Beaver township, prominently connected with important mer- cantile interests as manager for the Townsend & Merrill Lumber & Coal Company, of New Hartford, was born in Franklin county, New York, October 18, 1873. He is a son of Oscar F. and Georgess (Bennett) Chase, the former a native of Bangor, New York, born in 1837, and the latter born in New York state in 1846. The father has been for many years proprietor of a sawmill and lumberyard and still makes his home in his native state. He and his wife be- came the parents of nine children, Metta, Robert, Charles, O. Fred, Merton, Miller, Alice, Gordon and Jean.
O. Fred Chase acquired his education in the public schools of Franklin county, attending until he was seventeen years of age. He then worked for a short time in his father's sawmill, after which he bought a half interest in a clothing store, which continued in operation for three years thereafter. On the 1st of February, 1902, he moved to Iowa and worked in the sawmills, on the rail- Vol. II-11
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road and at the carpenter's trade until 1910, when he was made manager of the Townsend & Merrill Lumber & Coal Company, of New Hartford. This position he has since held and has proved well fitted for its responsible duties, possessing sound business judgment, keen discrimination and excellent administrative abil- ity. Mr. Chase is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in North Dakota.
Mr. Chase attends the Baptist church and is connected frater- nally with the Masonic lodge. He is a democrat in his political beliefs and while a resident of New York served for one term as assessor of Franklin county. His attention is now, however, con- centrated upon his business affairs, in which he has made steady progress, being numbered today among the leading and representa- tive citizens of New Hartford.
RICHARD C. BODE.
Among the prominent and able citizens of Austinville is num- bered Richard C. Bode, who in 1913 retired from active life after many years' close connection with mercantile interests as pro- prietor of a large general store. He was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, November 25, 1871, and is a son of Rev. Cornelius and Hilkea (Ammermann) Bode, natives of Germany, both of whom were born in 1843. The father came to America when he was seven years of age and grew to manhood in Illinois. In 1891 he moved to Iowa and has since been a resident of the state. He and his wife became the parents of seven children: John; Rich- ard C .; Henry; Mamie; William; Anna; and Lillie, who died at the age of thirteen years.
Richard C. Bode acquired his education in the public schools of Michigan and Harrison, South Dakota. When he was twenty years of age he began working as a farm laborer and after one year rented a farm in Wright county, Iowa. He afterward formed a partnership with his brother John, buying two hundred acres of fine land. They rented this property and Mr. Bode of this review came to Austinville in 1892, where he built the first mercantile store in the town, engaging in business in partnership with George Peters. At the end of one year he purchased Mr. Peters' interest and admitted his brother John into partnership. They conducted the enterprise under the name of Bode Brothers until 1905, when
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Richard C. Bode bought his brother's interest, continuing in busi- ness alone. He secured a large and representative patronage, for he carried a large and well selected stock of goods and constantly adhered to high and honorable business standards. In 1913 he disposed of his interests in the concern and since that time has lived in practical retirement, although he engages to some extent in dealing in real estate. He controls valuable property interests, owning two fine farms in Hancock county and a residence in Austinville. He is a stockholder, director and vice president of the Austinville Savings Bank and half owner of the Austinville Creamery, and his ability is recognized and respected in business circles.
At Clara City, Minnesota, May 25, 1904, Mr. Bode was united in marriage to Miss Lena Voss, a daughter of Thomas and Fannie (Greenfield) Voss, who lived in Minnesota but in 1908 came to Austinville where the father, a retired farmer, died in 1912. The mother is still living there. Mr. and Mrs. Bode are the parents of four children: Hazel, Francis M., Cornelius R. and Thomas L.
Mr. Bode is a member of the Christian Reformed church, in which he is deacon, treasurer and Sunday-school teacher. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and was for four years postmaster of Austinville and for seven years treasurer of the school board of Washington township. He is one of the rep- resentative citizens of the community, for his interests have extended to many fields, lying always, however, along lines of progress and advancement.
AREND DREYER.
Arend Dreyer, proprietor of an up-to-date drug store in Aplington and a native son of the city, was born December 22, 1886, his parents being Harm and Etta (Arends) Dreyer. The father was born in Germany in 1848 and after settling in Aplington engaged in the general merchandise business, in which he is still active. He and his wife became the parents of eleven children: Hattie, deceased; Albert; Henry; John; Harm; Arend, of this review ; Fannie; Jennie; William; Hattie; and Claus.
Arend Dreyer attended public school in Aplington until he was fourteen years of age and then became a clerk in a drug store, holding this position from 1901 until 1907. He then went to Are-
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dale, this state, where he spent three years as proprietor of a drug store. At the end of that time he returned to Aplington and pur- chased the drug store which he still conducts. He has stock valued at forty-five hundred dollars including a fine line of drugs, stationery, paints, oils and wall paper. He has a very attractive establishment, up-to-date in every particular, and he controls an important and growing patronage.
In Aplington, March 13, 1907, Mr. Dreyer married Miss Anna Wiesley, a daughter of Louis and Rosina Wiesley, the former a minister of the gospel, who died in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Dreyer have become the parents of four children, Etta R., Louis, Kenneth and Robert. Mr. Dreyer is a member of the Baptist church and a progressive republican in his political beliefs. He never seeks public office, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his busi- ness affairs, in which he is meeting with gratifying and well deserved success.
BENJAMIN F. KINGERY.
Benjamin F. Kingery, a representative of a well known pio- neer family of Iowa and one of the progressive and successful native sons of the state, was born in Bennezette township, May 30, 1858. His father, William Kingery, was born in Pennsylvania in 1826 and resided in that state for a number of years. As a young man he went to Indiana, locating in Carroll county, where he married Miss Mary M. Etter, a native of Ohio. After farming in Carroll county, Indiana, for a number of years Mr. Kingery moved to Iowa, settling in Bennezette township, Butler county, in 1856, among the earliest pioneers. He purchased a tract of raw land and opened up a farm, which, however, he later sold, buying another property of two hundred acres near Greene. After developing and improving this for a number of years he retired from active life, moving into Greene, where his death occurred in 1898. His wife survives him and makes her home with her son Amos. On the occasion of her eighty-first birthday, on the 29th of June, 1913, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchil- dren and a few of her oldest friends gathered at the residence of Benjamin F. Kingery and a dinner was served in the grove in cele- bration of the event.
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Benjamin F. Kingery was reared upon the home farm and from his early childhood assisted with the work of its improve- ment and development. He married when he was twenty years of age and located on an eighty acre tract, the property of his wife. Upon this he built a small house, put out a grove of forest and evergreen trees and an orchard and fenced his fields. He afterward replaced the first dwelling by a modern residence and built other barns and outbuildings, making the place one of the best equipped in the county. From time to time he added to the farm and it now comprises two hundred and eighty acres. He is also the owner of a tract of timber land. He engages in general farming and stock-raising and has met with gratifying and well deserved success. He was one of the promoters of the Greene Cooperative Creamery Company and is a stockholder in the Farm- ers Elevator Company.
Mr. Kingery has been twice married. On May 30, 1878, he wedded Miss Mary J. Hart, who was born and reared in Butler county. They became the parents of three children: Lloyd S., who died in childhood; Andrew Leroy, who passed away October 13, 1907; and William M., who was reared upon the home farm and educated in the public schools. He married, on the 27th of November, 1907, Miss Edna C. Loomer, a daughter of Frank D. Loomer, of Clarksville. Benjamin F. Kingery lost his first wife in April, 1907, and in November, 1908, he was again married, his second union being with Miss Grace Schriever, a native of Hol- land, who came to Iowa when she was a young woman.
Mr. Kingery gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is now in the twelfth consecutive year of his service as township trustee. He has also been prominently identified with school affairs and is a progressive, public-spirited and loyal citi- zen, whose record is a credit to a name that has long been an hon- ored one in this community.
CHARLES E. AVERY.
Charles E. Avery carries on general farming on section 35, Butler township, where he has an excellent tract of land of three hundred and twenty-seven and a half acres. The modern improve- ments upon the place are the work of his hands, and the trees are of his planting. He was born in Boone county, Illinois, October 29,
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1855, and is a son of Gilbert L. and Sallie A. (Sponable) Avery. The father was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary, 1827, and the mother's birth occurred in Ohio in 1834. When eighteen years of age Gilbert L. Avery accompanied his parents to Illinois. In 1859 when our subject was four years old the family removed to McHenry county, Illinois, where the mother died when her son Charles was thirteen years old. The father afterward lived for many years in that county and now makes his home with a daughter in Los Angeles, California. He still owns about five hundred acres in two farms in McHenry county and is very active for a man of his age. He began going to California merely for the winter months, but now makes his per- manent home there. In politics he is a republican, and for two terms he served as county supervisor. His religious faith is indi- cated by his membership in the Baptist church. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Avery were five children: Elizabeth M., the wife of V. D. Glass, of Los Angeles, California; Charles E .; Sarah, who became the wife of William Miller and died leaving one child; Marion E., the wife of Frank Carpenter, of Omaha, Nebraska; and George F., of Santa Ana, California.
Charles E. Avery remained in Illinois with his father until the fall of 1880, when he came to Butler county and has since resided upon the farm which has now for a third of a century been his home. It comprises three hundred and twenty-seven and a half acres of rich land on section 35, Butler township-land that responds readily to the care and cultivation of the owner, who follows modern and progressive methods in the development of his place. He uses the latest improved machinery and annually gathers good crops. The farm is pleasantly and conveniently located two and one-half miles north of Shell Rock, and all of its equipments have been secured by Mr. Avery, its trees set out and its buildings erected by him.
In 1880 occurred the marriage of Mr. Avery to Miss Carrie May Poyer, who was born in McHenry county, Illinois, December 28, 1858, and there resided until her marriage. She is a daughter of D. W. and Lydia Poyer, the former now deceased, while the latter resides in Belvidere, Illinois, with her youngest daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Avery have a family of eight children: Guy L., who was born August 2, 1881; George, who was born April 9, 1884, and is living in Marengo, Illinois; Marian, who was born October 28, 1885, and is the wife of the Rev. W. H. Hoge, of Rochester, New York, who was a student in the Baptist Theological seminary;
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Dee, who was born February 5, 1888, and is at home; Clark, who was born July 17, 1891, and is a resident farmer of Butler town- ship; Ernest, born March 19, 1893; Earl, born January 8, 1896; and Glenn, born July 2, 1900. The Avery family is well known in this county, where Mr. and Mrs. Avery have made their home since 1880, and their many substantial traits of character have gained them the warm regard and friendship of many with whom they have been brought in contact.
JAMES H. CARPENTER.
Since 1905 James H. Carpenter has owned and operated a fine farm of eighty acres on section 7, Beaver township, and on this property engages in general farming, dairying and stock-raising with gratifying success. He has been a resident of Butler county since 1880 but was born in New York state, July 8, 1850. His par- ents, Henry and Maria (Cookingham) Carpenter, were also na- tives of the Empire state, the former born in 1812 and the latter in 1827. The father came to Iowa in 1879 and engaged in farm- ing in this state until his death, which occurred in 1884. His wife survived him many years, dying in 1910. Nine children were born to their union, Melissa, Sarah J., James H., Antoinette, Augusta, Margaret, George, Ada B. and Arabella.
James H. Carpenter was educated in the public schools of New York state, attending until he was thirteen years of age. In 1875 he moved to Bremer county, Iowa, and there engaged in farm- ing for five years. At the end of that time he moved to Butler county and in 1884 took up his residence in Parkersburg, where for thirteen years he engaged in contracting and building, meet- ing with gratifying and well deserved success. He continued ac- tive at this occupation until 1905, in which year he moved to Beaver township, buying eighty acres of land on section 7. Here he raises hay and oats which he feeds to his stock, keeping on an average thirty head of cattle, thirty hogs and five horses. He also operates a dairy, and his wife has three or four hundred chickens, which she sells in the local market.
In Fond du Lac county, Wisconsn, February 3, 1870, Mr. Car- penter married Miss Emma F. Carpenter, a daughter of Daniel and Eliza (Mason) Carpenter, the former a well known farmer of that locality who died in 1907, at the age of seventy-five. His wife
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has also passed away, dying in 1901, when she was sixty-nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter became the parents of six chil- dren. Daniel H., who was born in 1875, is a carpenter and farmer in Beaver township. He married Miss Alma Ganoung. The next child, who was born in 1877, died in infancy. Lucelie M., born in 1878, married Stewart Bennett, a carpenter of Parkersburg, and they have one son, Harold E. James H., born in 1880, is now de- ceased. Arvilla was born in 1882. Minnie E., who was born in 1889, married Dennie L. McDowell, a farmer in Jefferson town- ship.
Mr. Carpenter is a republican in his political beliefs. He was school director for district No. 9 for several years and accom- plished a great deal of effective work in the cause of education. His attention is, however, largely given to the conduct of his farm which, under his able management, has become one of the valuable properties in this vicinity.
JUDGE J. R. FLETCHER.
Nature endowed Judge J. R. Fletcher with strong mentality and his developing powers made him a leader of public thought and action in Butler county for many years. He reached the ripe old age of seventy-eight years and through the entire span of his life commanded the respect, confidence, good-will and honor of his fellow townsmen. He was born in Bedford Springs, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1835 and died in Clarksville, Iowa, July 19, 1913, when in his seventy-eighth year. He was the second of the eight children born to William and Elizabeth S. (Rippey) Fletcher, the former a native of Bedford county and the latter of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. They spent their entire lives in the Keystone state, and the father followed merchandising.
Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Judge Fletcher so that he had ample opportunity to develop the talents with which nature endowed him. Following his graduation from a private school he attended college in Pittsburgh and later entered upon the study of law under the direction of his uncle, John Blodgett, being admitted to the bar when yet in his 'teens. Thinking the West would constitute a better professional field for a young man, he made his way to Iowa and engaged in practice in Rock Island, Illinois, and in Davenport and Le Claire, Iowa. He
JUDGE J. R. FLETCHER
THE NEW V. DALLE LIBRAR
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also became a land agent and bought land in Butler county on his own account, making investments until he owned one thousand acres three miles west of Clarksville. At that time Clarksville was the county seat of Butler county, and taking up his abode in the town, he engaged in the practice of law for several years but did not find the profession altogether congenial and decided to develop his farm. He built a fine residence thereon and resided there for a short time, engaged in raising high-grade stock, but eventually he gave up the stock business and rented his farm. Much of his life, however, was given to the management of agri- cultural interests, and he derived therefrom a substantial annual return.
Mr. Fletcher also figured prominently in public life. He was one of the first county judges of Butler county and was defeated for congress in the republican convention by only one vote. He secured a position in the Department of the Interior at Washing- ton, where he remained for about three years and then returned to Butler county, erecting a commodious and attractive residence in Clarksville, from which point he superintended his farming inter- ests, making his law practice a side issue from that time forward.
In 1867 Judge Fletcher was married to Miss Fannie Water- man, who was born in Allegany county, New York, and in early childhood went to Moline, Illinois, with her parents, by way of New Orleans and the Mississippi river. She was graduated from the public schools of Moline and from the Illinois State Normal school. She began teaching when but twelve years of age, having classes in the Moline schools, and when but fourteen she was given a country school. She continued actively in the work of teaching to the time of her marriage and was one of the teachers in Le Claire, Iowa, when she formed the acquaintance of Judge Fletcher. They had no children of their own, but they reared several little girls, all of whom on reaching womanhood became school teachers. The Fletcher home is ever noted for its hospi- tality and good cheer and is a favorite resort for many friends.
Judge Fletcher was a lifelong republican, save that in 1896 he supported Bryan. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and in his life embodied its teachings concerning mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. One of the local papers said of him, "He was a great student and a constant reader, a deep and conscientious thinker and a fluent talker. His ready command of the English language remained his best asset and it was a pleasure to converse with him. His friends respected him for his amiable disposition,
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his gentle refinement of manner and his intense love of nature. In the affairs of the community in which he resided he was always ready to do what he could that right might triumph."
He leaves behind him an untarnished name and the memory of his life is cherished by all who knew him. His sterling qualities made him honored and respected wherever known and most of all where he was best known.
FRED H. TOLL.
The attractiveness of this county as a place of residence is indicated in the fact that so many of her native sons have remained within her borders after attaining man's estate, feeling that nowhere else could better opportunities be secured or better advan- tages enjoyed. Among her farming people who have always lived in the county is Fred H. Toll, who was born in Jefferson township, December 25, 1870, a son of Frederick and Jane (Borchers) Toll, both of whom were natives of Germany, the former having been born near Berlin, May 13, 1839, while the latter was born in Han- over on the 3d of September, 1844. She was but nine years of age when brought by her parents to America, the family home being established in Illinois, while Frederick Toll came just before he had reached the age when he would be called upon for military service in Germany. He was a youth of about nineteen when he arrived in Illinois, and it was on the 4th of July, 1867, in Waverly, Iowa, that he married Jane Borchers. They began their domestic life upon a farm in Jefferson township, Butler county, and there lived for many years. About 1902 Mr. Toll retired from active business cares and removed to Shell Rock. He had been very successful in his business life, for he started out empty-handed and at the time of his retirement was the owner of six hundred acres, while at the present writing, in 1913, his landed possessions aggregate six hundred and sixty acres. He is one of the exten- sive and prosperous landowners of the county, and his life record should serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished when honesty, industry and ability lead the way. To him and his wife were born eight children : Florence, the deceased wife of Ed C. Trager; Fred H .; Charles A., William and George O., all of whom reside in Jefferson township; Irving P., whose home is in Albion township; Carrie,
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