USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 20
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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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MR. AND MRS. HENRY C. ROVER
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
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.
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,
THE NEW YORK BLIC LIPSABY
HON. H. C. BROWN
MRS. H. C. BROWN
IFCE
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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.
In his early manhood Mr. Brown had learned the shoemaker's trade and followed this for some time after his return from the army, working at his trade during the winter months and during the summer aiding in the operation of his father's farm. In 1866 he came west to Iowa and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of wild land in Blackhawk county. He broke the soil and after making a number of improvements upon the place sold it and purchased an eighty acre tract near Waterloo. Soon after- ward he returned to New Hampshire but in 1867 came again to Iowa, settling in Butler county, where he has since resided. In 1876 he bought six hundred and eighty acres near the town of Dumont and at the same time rented a tract of three hundred and twenty acres, upon which he made his home while carrying out the improvements upon the land which he owned. For many years thereafter he engaged to some extent in buying and dealing in farming property and recently sold his six hundred and forty acre tract for sixty-four thousand dollars. At the present he owns a farm lying partly within the corporate limits of Dumont and is erecting upon it a modern residence which when completed will be one of the finest of its kind in Butler county. He has resided upon this property for over thirty years and the results of his careful supervision and intelligent management are evident in the appearance of the farm, which is up-to-date in every particular. It is equipped with substantial barns and out-buildings, the fields are fenced and crossfenced and a grove of evergreen and orna- mental trees affords the necessary wind break.
Vol. II-14
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Although Mr. Brown is regarded as one of the leading agricul- turists of Butler county, his interests have extended to many other fields, touching closely the business development of this section of the state. In 1880 he opened a lumberyard in Dumont and is still connected with the conduct of this enterprise, controlling a large and profitable business. He was a promoter of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Butler county and served as presi- dent and as treasurer of this organization. To his initiative spirit and executive ability the First National Bank of Parkersburg owes its existence and to his unusual financial acumen is due a great deal of its present prosperity. He served as its first presi- dent and his ability, enterprise and energy influenced its policy for many years thereafter. In addition to these enterprises Mr. Brown was a promoter of the Cooperative Creamery Association and the Farmers Elevator Company of Dumont and has accom- plished a great deal of important work in the best interests of his town and county.
Since the organization of the republican party Mr. Brown has been one of its most earnest and loval advocates. Previous to its establishment he affiliated with the old line whigs but since the Civil war has been a stanch republican, supporting the principles and candidates of this party with the same energy and singleness of purpose which mark his efforts in whatever direction they are turned. He served as a member of the Nineteenth general assem- bly of Iowa and upon the completion of his term was reelected to that body. His public spirit and political ability carried him for- ward into close connection with important legislative interests, as is evident by the fact that he was chairman of the committee on cities and towns and prominent in the work of eight or ten other committees, his legislative record being varied in service and faultless in honor. A stanch advocate of the cause of temperance, Mr. Brown was fearless in his support of prohibition principles in the house of representatives and by untiring work upon the floor of the house accomplished the passage of a number of temperance measures. He has held various other positions of public trust and responsibility and has been a delegate to numerous state, county and congressional conventions.
On the 16th of September, 1856, in Belknap county. New Hampshire, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Mary F. Bickford, a daughter of Captain Arthur Bickford, one of the prominent men of that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Brown became the parents of three children, one of whom, a daughter, Clara, died
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at the age of seven years. The others are: Anna, the wife of H. B. Akin, former superintendent of schools of Butler county; and George S., of Dumont, of the firm of George S. Brown, Son & Company, dealers in lumber, etc.
Mr. Brown is connected with the blue lodge in Masonry and is a member of the Grand Army post at Bristow. During the forty-six years of his residence here he has been one of the great- est individual forces in the promotion of the general good of the community, a moving spirit in the organization and support of various progressive public projects. The years have brought him success, prominence and a substantial fortune and today, at the age of eighty-three, he seems yet in his prime in spirit and interests, a man of keen intellectual power, unusual business abil- ity and progressive public spirit.
1
PETER H. IBLINGS.
1
1 Among the men of Butler county who have made substantial contributions to the advancement of practical agriculture in the vicinity is numbered Peter H. Iblings, who owns three hundred and twenty acres of fine land on section 26, Monroe township and in its cultivation has followed always the most modern and pro- gressive methods, surrounding himself with an enviable degree of prosperity. He was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, Feb- ruary 14, 1876, and is a son of Ibling Iblings, who was born in Germany in 1842 and who came to America about the year 1856. The father settled in Butler county, Iowa, in 1886 and engaged in farming in this locality until his death which occurred in 1907. His wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Anna Whilhelms, was born in Germany in 1846 and died in Butler county in 1911. They had ten children: John, Christopher, Katie, William, Claus A., Peter H., Henry, Emma, Herman and Anna.
Peter H. Iblings attended district school until he was eight- een years of age and then spent two years in Ames Agricultural College. He afterward worked upon his father's farm until he was twenty-two years of age and then rented land for two years. At the end of that time he bought two hundred and forty acres in Allen township, a tract which he sold at the end of three years, purchasing the farm upon which he now resides. He owns three hundred and twenty acres on section 26, Monroe township and
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harvests every year abundant crops of hay, corn, oats and rye, which he sells in the local market. He has also important stock- raising interests, keeping seventy head of pure-bred, registered, polled Angus cattle, one hundred and fifty hogs and fourteen horses. Mr. Iblings makes it his aim to keep abreast of the modern advancement in the science of agriculture and is a con- stant reader of the best farm journals. In consequence of his practical ideas and unremitting efforts his farm is one of the fin- est in the township and he himself is numbered among the repre- sentative and able agriculturists.
At Clara City, Minnesota, on the 21st of June, 1906, Mr. Ib- lings married Miss Jessie Voss, a daughter of Tonious Voss, a farmer living in Austinville, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Iblings have two children; Herman and James.
Mr. Iblings is a stockholder in the Farmer's Cooperative Ele- vator Company at Charles City, Iowa. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a member of the Baptist church. He has been very successful in the conduct of his farm- ing interests, his success rewarding unremitting industry and practical labor.
GERT DE BOWER.
Many of the sterling traits of the German race find manifesta- tion in Gert De Bower, an enterprising farmer, whose realization of the fact that success is the outcome of industry, determina- tion and perseverance has enabled him to win a place, by the exercise of these qualities, among the substantial farmers of Jef- ferson township. He lives on section 8 and has a well developed farm.
He was born in East Friesia, Germany, August 4, 1864, and is a son of Harry and Isabel (Sucher) De Bower, who in the year 1872 became residents of Dane county, Wisconsin. The father, however, was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death occurring two or three months after his arrival. The family resided there for about two years and then removed to Lodi, Columbia county, Wisconsin, where they made their home until coming to Iowa about a quarter of a century ago. Here the mother passed away in 1891. The family was brought to the United States by two uncles, Gert and Sim De Bower. They
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