USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 27
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The hotel has become a favorite resort with the traveling public. Many automobile parties from Waterloo and other points, come here for the famous chicken dinners, which are served every day of the year. When Mr. Hohl left Greene, one of its newspapers, the Iowa Recorder, made the following com- ment: "John Hohl has gone and there is no one who can fill his place in the community. His motto, 'be cheerful' was his guide at all times, prosperity or adversity alike, and stick to it he would. Those 'marble cake' arms, that 'bald spot', a pinch of 'copen- hagen', the 'elastic step', and the familiar greeting, all gone! John is now a resident of Shell Rock, where he and his good wife will run the hotel and they surely know the hotel business and we know they will please their patrons and make friends. We wish them success in every way."
Mr. Hohl is a big-hearted, generous-spirited man always ready to help the needy and nothing gives him more pleasure than to supply a meal to a hungry man who is without the means to pay for it. He is always ready to contribute to a worthy cause and is a public-spirited and loyal citizen. In politics he has been a stanch democrat since becoming a naturalized American citizen
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in 1896. He had the pleasure of introducing the Hon. W. J. Bryan to an audience six months after becoming an American citizen, in the campaign of that year. Mr. Hohl has entertained at his hotel six of the governors of Iowa. He has contributed liberally to the church and has furthermore shown the spirit of helpfulness and generosity in his adoption of a little lad now known as Richard Hohl. The only children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hohl, twins, died in infancy. Although the early years of his residence brought to him hardships and difficulties, Mr. Hohl never re- gretted his determination to come to America and as the years have gone by has met with a fair measure of success. More than his material gain he has gained the regard, good-will and friend- ship of all with whom he has come in contact.
JOHN B. BURROUGHS.
John B. Burroughs is one of the honored veterans of the Civil war, who has to his credit active participation in many of the hotly contested battles that led to the preservation of the Union. In days of peace his attention has been given to general agricul- tural pursuits, and for forty-six years he has resided upon the farm which is now his home, on section 34, Jackson township. He was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, May 1, 1837, and is a son of Jeremiah and Betsy (Seal) Burroughs, who were also natives of that state, in which they spent their entire lives, the father there following the carpenter's trade. The family num- bered six children: Joseph, who enlisted in a New Jersey regi- ment and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg; Mrs. Jane Rinehart, who died in New Jersey; John B .; Charles, who died in New Jersey ; Samuel, who enlisted from Illinois near the close of the war and died in Tennessee while serving his country; and Robert.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for John B. Burroughs in his boyhood and youth, which were passed in his native state. As he approached manhood, however, he began considering the subject of a life work and of a favorable location and resolved to try his fortune in the middle west. In 1859, therefore, he left New Jersey and made his way to DeKalb county, Illinois, where he was living at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. On the 15th of June, 1861, he
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offered his services to the government and was for three years a member of Company D, Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. For about a month he was in Missouri chasing Price. The regi- ment arrived in Fort Donelson a half hour after his surrender, but participated in the battle of Shiloh and in other engagements. Mr. Burroughs was ever a brave and loyal soldier, faithfully dis- charging every duty that devolved upon him.
With the close of the war he returned to Illinois and worked as a farm hand until his marriage. He then came to Iowa in 1867 and took up his abode upon his present farm. He first pur- chased eighty acres of land and when he had succeeded in making a final payment on the place he purchased another eighty acres. Again, when his indebtedness on that was discharged, he bought other tracts and eventually became the owner of six hundred and eighty acres of rich and arable land. He has a quarter section in Jackson township and two hundred and forty acres across the road in Jefferson township. There were no improvements upon the original tract of eighty acres when it came into his possession, but with characteristic energy he began the development of the farm, erected substantial buildings, planted his crops, divided the place into fields of convenient size by well kept fences and secured the latest improved machinery for planting and harvesting. He has always carried on stock-raising in connection with general farming and both branches of his business have proven profitable.
In Illinois, in 1866, Mr. Burroughs was united in marriage to Miss Susan Buck, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1844 and when a young lady went to Illinois. The children of this mar- riage were ten in number: Elizabeth, the wife of Pierce Thomp- son, of Shell Rock; John, who died at the age of fifteen years; Frank, of Minnesota; May, a resident of California; Robert, whose home is in Jackson township; Alfred, also of the same township; Vivian, the wife of Ray Randall, of Dayton township; Margaret, the wife of John Martin, of Nora Springs; Grace, the wife of Frank Booker, of Rochester, Minnesota; and Lela, at home.
Mr. Burroughs exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party. He has held some school offices, but has never been ambitious for political prefer- ment. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic at Allison and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. His is a creditable life record, and he has been as true and loyal to his country in days of peace as when he followed the old flag
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upon the battlefields of the south. His life on the whole has been quietly passed, but has been characterized by many substantial qualities, including persistency of purpose, laudable ambition and honesty in all business relations.
JOHN COSTER.
Agricultural interests found a worthy representative in John Coster, living on section 22, Jefferson township. He was born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, March 3, 1847, his parents being John and Louise (Grove) Coster, whose destination at the time of their emigration to the new world was McHenry county, Illinois, where they arrived in 1860. The father died in that state, but the mother long survived and passed away in Butler county, Iowa, in 1899, at the home of her son, John, when she had reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years. She had five children, three born of her first marriage and two of the second union. Henry Yarcow lives at Shell Rock. Minnie Yarcow became the wife of John Porman, but both died in this county. Dora mar- ried John Wilson and both are deceased. Fred Coster remained in the fatherland and there passed away. John is the subject of this review.
John Coster was a lad of thirteen years at the time of the emigration to the new world, and after living in Illinois for nine years he came to Butler county in 1869, when a young man of twenty-two. He has since resided in Jefferson township upon the farm which is now his home, with the exception of one year. He was actively engaged in general agricultural pursuits until about ten years ago, when he retired from active life, although he still makes his home on the farm. He is the owner of four hundred acres of valuable land, all in one body, and for about thirty-two years he was extensively engaged in raising cattle and hogs. He made a specialty of Duroc Jersey hogs and won prizes and sweep- stakes at the local fairs. In the early days he operated a thresh- ing machine for fifteen years, and the various branches of his business were so conducted that he gained substantial and well deserved success, being now numbered among the men of affluence in his county. A little village which sprang up in his neighbor- hood was called Coster and a postoffice was established there, but
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it was discontinued when the rural free delivery route was insti- tuted.
On December 22, 1867, Mr. Coster was married to Miss Minnie Stamer, who was born in Schwerin, Germany, in 1844, and came alone to the United States. They became parents of two sons and a daughter: Henry W., living at Shell Rock; John, of Mus- catine, Iowa; and Mary, the wife of Newton Ranmega, of Coster.
The parents are members of the United Evangelical church of Coster, and for twenty-seven years Mr. Coster has been super- intendent of the Sunday school and a most active worker in the church. His political indorsement is given to the republican party, and for eleven consecutive years he filled the office of town- ship trustee. Then a period elapsed in which he was not in office, but at the present time his incumbency in that position covers four years. He is much interested in everything tending to stim- ulate agricultural development and progress among the farmers and stock-raisers and for eight years has been president of the Butler County Fair Association. He is also interested in the Farmers' State Bank of Shell Rock. When he came to Iowa, accompanied by his wife and one child, his possessions consisted of eighty dollars in money, three horses and two cows. He at first rented eighty acres of land, which he cultivated for two years, during which period he carefully saved his earnings and then bought eighty acres of the farm upon which he now resides, pay- ing seventeen dollars per acre. To this he has added as his finan- cial resources have increased until he is now the owner of a valuable property, which is the visible evidence of his life of well directed energy and thrift.
THOMAS A. GOUGH.
More than a century ago Washington said that "agriculture is the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man," and this statement has found verification in all the ages. Upon the successful tilling of the soil depends all other business activity and this country draws her wealth greatly from her agricultural states, chief among which is Iowa-the corn center of America. Among the worthy representatives of farming interests in Butler county is Thomas A. Gough, who is living on section 4, West Point town- ship.
THOMAS A. GOUGH
NEM
EPOX INTINS
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He was born in Jackson township, March 18, 1860, and is a son of William and Susannah (Walsh) Gough. The father, born in England in July, 1817, died in May, 1907. The mother, born in Ireland about 1825, came to the United States when twenty-five years of age, while William Gough arrived in this country at the age of thirty-five. They were married in Illinois and came to Iowa nearly sixty years ago, settling first in Jones county, whence they came to Butler county. They had but one child at that time, the others all being born in this county, where Mr. and Mrs. Gough spent their remaining days, their last years being passed in retire- ment in Bristow, where Mrs. Gough departed this life in 1901, at the age of seventy-six. They had eight children: Caroline Par- melia, the wife of J. W. Kephart, of Dumont, Iowa; William Clark, of Yellow Medicine county, Minnesota; George Walker. living in Clarksville; Joseph Jeremiah, of West Point township; Thomas A .; Elizabeth Jane, the wife of B. H. Corey, of Bristow ; James Edward, who died at the age of three and a half years; and a daughter who died in infancy."
Thomas A. Gough has known no other home than Butler county, his entire life being passed within its borders, and thus for fifty- three years he has been a witness of its growth and development, taking an active part in all that has pertained to its progress. He has carried on farming and stock-raising and has engaged in buy- ing cattle, making shipments to Chicago for the past quarter of a century. In addition to his farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 4, West Point township, he owns one hundred and sixty acres in Yellow Medicine county, Minnesota, and he also has gold mining interests in Colorado. For forty-two years he has lived on the place which is still his home. There were only three houses within sight when he came here, although one could look for miles across the prairie. No roads had been laid out and the work of civilization and development seemed scarcely begun, yet Butler county was. even then becoming fast settled by an enterprising class of citizens, who soon converted her wild prairies into pro- ductive fields. The splendid appearance of Mr. Gough's farm is attributable entirely to his own labors. He fenced his land and erected all of the present buildings upon his place, while his father set out a grove and Thomas Gough planted an orchard of three hundred trees. The grove consists of maple, willow and cotton- woods and adds much to the pleasing appearance of the farm. Mr. Gough has long been numbered among the leading stockmen of the county. feeding about three carloads of cattle each winter. He has
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two silos and an immense cattle shed, sixty by sixty-eight feet, with twenty-four foot center posts. There are also two wings and thus the buildings and equipments upon the place furnish ample shelter for hay and stock. None of the accessories of the model farm are lacking and not the least of the elements which contribute to his success is Mr. Gough's ability to correctly judge of the value of the cattle which he buys, being seldom if ever at error in matters of judgment. He is likewise president of the West Point Mutual Telephone Company and is a most progressive business man, keep- ing abreast of the times in every particular.
On the 17th of November, 1892, Mr. Gough was united in mar- riage to Miss Alma E. Early, who was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, September 15, 1864, a daughter of Thomas Mason and Rhoda (Overturf) Early, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were married in Muscatine in 1863 and now reside in Allison. Mr. and Mrs. Gough had six children but Galen, the first born, died in infancy. The others are Esther, Marion, Everett, Naomi and Glenn.
Politically Mr. Gough is a republican and is now serving as one of the trustees of his township, while for six years he was town- ship clerk. For many years he has been a member of the school board and is still acting in that capacity. He was also assessor of the township for two years and has discharged every official duty with promptness and fidelity. The guiding principles of his life are found in his faith as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, his membership being with the congregation in Bristow, where he is serving as a church trustee.
As a pioneer settler Mr. Gough is familiar with the history of this part of the state and can relate many interesting incidents of the early days. His father was a pioneer Methodist Episcopal preacher and circuit rider, who rode all over the country, preach- ing in isolated communities at a period when the Indians were al- most as numerous as the white settlers in this part of the state. At times the people would become greatly alarmed at the rumor that the Indians were uprising and Thomas A. Gough can dis- tinctly remember the Indians coming to his first home. Wild game and wild animals were numerous in those days, the father fre- quently killing catamounts and wild cats. Deer were very plenti- ful and would eat out of the corn crib upon the Gough farm, while all kinds of feathered game were to be had in abundance. The methods of farm work at that time were very dissimilar to those of the present. Mr. Gough can well remember the old time farm
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machinery and recalls with pleasure the progress that has been made from the days of the log cabin with the puncheon floor to the present period of prosperity, when he, like many other substantial farmers, occupies a modern and attractive home, supplied with all of the conveniences and comforts known at the present day. His long residence here has brought him a wide acquaintance and his sterling characteristics have gained him many friends.
MORRISON A. TAYLOR, M. D.
Laudable ambition has prompted the efforts of Dr. Morrison A. Taylor, a capable, conscientious and successful physician of Clarksville, who holds to high professional standards and has been accorded a liberal patronage. He was born about one and a half miles east of Clarksville, on the 2d of December, 1857, and is a son of James R. and Esther Ann (Cook) Taylor, the former born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1829, and the latter in Foun- tain county, Indiana, in 1830.
The Taylor family was founded by the youngest son of an English earl, who about the close of the sixteenth century re- moved with members of the family to Scotland. Representatives of the family afterward went to the north of Ireland, and two brothers later crossed the Atlantic to Massachusetts in colonial days. They were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The maternal grandfather of Dr. Taylor was Dr. John Koch, who came from the Rheinlands of Gemany. He was an eminent scholar and a distinguished physician. He settled in Pennsylvania, but after- ward removed to Indiana, where he purchased a farm, upon which his remaining days were passed. His religious faith was that of the Universalist church. He changed the name from Koch to Cook. His wife was in her maidenhood a Miss Mounts, and was descended from French Huguenot ancestry. Their daughter Esther Ann Cook has in her possession the deed to the old home- stead here, signed by Franklin Pierce. She became the wife of James R. Taylor. They were both reared in Fountain county, and in 1855 they became residents of Butler county, Iowa, settling on a farm in Butler township, whereon the father spent his re- maining days. He passed away in July, 1905, and his widow now resides in Clarksville. He was the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of good farm land, which he secured from the govern-
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ment and forty acres of timber. When it came into his posses- sion not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon it, but he converted it into rich and productive fields, and it became a valuable property. In early life he had learned the trades of millwright and carpenter and joiner under the di- rection of an uncle in Ohio and Indiana and after coming to this state he built, in connection with Asa Low, the first bridge across Shell Rock river at Clarksville. He erected many houses and barns in the town and surrounding country and also built a mill here. His life was a very busy one and prominently con- nected him with the agricultural and industrial interests of the county. He was a consistent and earnest worker in the Christian church throughout his entire life, being numbered among its most valuable members. His early political allegiance was given to the whig party, and on its dissolution he joined the ranks of the new republican party, with which he was identified through- out his remaining days. He did not care for nor seek office, how- ever, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs, which were extensive and important and made him one of the leading citizens of Butler county. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were the parents of four children: Morrison A .; John M., of Mason City, Iowa, who is married and has a son and daughter; Priscilla, who became the wife of Gordon McDonald and died in Louisiana in September, 1898, leaving six children; and Rosa E., the wife of L. M. Valentine, of Mason City.
Dr. Morrison A. Taylor, whose name introduces this record, began his education in the district schools and had attended high school before he entered the Breckenridge Institute at Decorah, Iowa, in 1880. Following his course there he returned home and taught through the winter. In the fall of 1888 he went to Val- paraiso, Indiana, and entered the Northern Indiana Normal School but was taken ill and returned home before he completed the course. He says he received the greatest inspiration of his life while a student there. He afterward taught special lines at Breckenridge Institute and later became principal of the school at Aplington, this county. He was also a teacher at Geneva, Iowa, and was principal of the Riceville schools and for three years he was principal of the schools at Alexandria, South Da- kota. He regarded all this as an initial step to other professional labor, for it was his desire to become a member of the medical fraternity and with that end in view he entered the State Uni- versity at Iowa in 1894 and was graduated from its medical de-
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partment with the class of 1897. He has since practiced medicine, in which he has displayed notable ability, but he is also an in- ventor and is devoting much of his time to his patents, his mechanical ingenuity finding expression in many improved devices.
In 1898 Dr. Taylor was married to Miss Manie A. Axtell, who was born at Strawberry Point. Iowa, in March, 1876. She is a daughter of Augustus E. and Martha (Bartlett) Axtell. Her father was born in Massachusetts, September 29, 1822, and was a son of Daniel and Jane (Wellman) Axtell, the former born February 22, 1787, and the latter October 26, 1791. Augustus E. Axtell went to Ohio in his childhood days and in that state was married to Martha Bartlett, who was born in Vermont in 1832, and went to Ohio with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Axtell removed to Clayton county, Iowa, in 1857, and the farm which he then purchased remained his home until his death, which occurred in August, 1906. To him and his wife were born five children and by a former marriage he had three children. Dr. and Mrs. Taylor have three daughters: Roba Hellene, born in December, 1899; Hester Miriam, born in South Dakota in 1903; and Barbara Gretchen, in 1906.
Dr. Taylor is a progressive in politics. He holds firmly to the principles in which he believes and does not hesitate to express his honest convictions. He belongs to Butler Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., of which his father was a charter member and the junior deacon. Dr. Taylor likewise has membership in the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias lodge. His life principles have their root in his belief as a mem- ber of the Christian church, in which he has served as deacon, as a member of the official board and as chorister. For thirty years he has been superintendent of the Sunday school and, in fact, is deeply interested in every department of the church work, do- ing all in his power to further its growth and extend its influ- ence.
FRANK BROWN.
Frank Brown, a well known farmer of Beaver township, was born in Blackhawk county, Iowa, March 29, 1877. He is a son of Hiram and Margaretta (Winch) Brown, the former born in Connecticut in 1839 and the latter in Massachusetts in the same
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year. The parents afterward moved to Iowa, settling in Black- hawk county, where the father engaged in farming. He passed away in 1904 and is survived by his wife, who makes her home in Waterloo. In their family were seven children: Eugene, who has passed away ; Henry; Walter and Anna, deceased; Frank, of this review ; Leonard; and Sherberne.
Frank Brown attended district school in Blackhawk county until he was sixteen years of age and afterward worked as a farm laborer until he was twenty-nine. He then spent about three years on his father's farm, after which he moved to Waterloo. He remained there for one year and then in 1909 came to Butler county, where he purchased the farm on section 29, Beaver town- ship, whereon he has since resided. He engages in general farm- ing and also feeds stock, keeping twenty-eight head of cattle, fifty hogs and four horses. In addition to this he operates a dairy and has made this branch of his activities important and profitable.
On the 29th of March, 1905, in Waterloo, Mr. Brown married Miss Olla Fay Sells, a daughter of Nathan G. and Iva (Ingalls) Sells, pioneer settlers in Butler county. Mr. and Mrs. Brown became the parents of seven children: Leslie C .; Bernice I., who has passed away; Eugene W .; Russell H .; Mildred H .; Iva M .; and John G.
Mr. Brown is a member of the Methodist church and a repub- lican in his political beliefs. He is held in high regard in Butler county and has an extensive acquaintance within its borders.
W. H. H. FLEEK.
W. H. H. Fleek has many claims to the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens, for he is not only a veteran of the Civil war but also an early settler in Butler county and a man who has contributed in substantial measure to the agricultural growth and development of his locality. He was born in LaFayette, Indiana, July 4, 1841, and when he was thirteen years of age went with his uncle, E. T. Fleek, to Green county, Wisconsin, and there grew to manhood on the latter's farm. On the 22d of April, 1861, he joined Company C. Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infan- try, and went into camp at Fond du Lac. After drilling for some time the regiment was sent east and joined the army of the Poto-
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