USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 28
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mac, later taking part in General Banks' retreat. Mr. Fleek was taken prisoner and sent to Bell Island, where he was held for three months and then paroled. He rejoined his command at Antietam and participated afterward in the battle of Gettys- burg. His regiment was sent to New York city at the time of the draft riots there and was later transferred to Tennessee, where it took part in the battles of Lookout Mountain and Mis- sionary Ridge. Upon the close of his first term Mr. Fleek reen- listed and after a thirty-day furlough rejoined his regiment at Fayetteville. He took part in the Atlanta campaign, during which there was a fight or a skirmish every day for over a month, and after the fall of Atlanta he joined Sherman on his march to the sea. Before leaving the city he was detailed orderly and served in that capacity until the close of the war, his regiment taking part in the grand review at Washington. Afterward Mr. Fleek returned home on a veteran's furlough, receiving his hon- orable discharge at Madison, Wisconsin, in 1865.
With a creditable military record Mr Fleek returned to Green county and located on a one hundred acre farm which he operated and developed for some years, after which he sold the property and moved to Iowa, settling in Butler county in 1877. He pur- chased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 21, Dayton township, and has since carried on the work of improving and developing this property, which he has made one of the finest and most productive in the township. Mr. Fleek engages in gen- eral farming and stock-raising, keeping a high grade of horses, cattle and hogs.
While home on a furlough, on the 22d of February, 1864, at Brodhead, Wisconsin, Mr. Fleek was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Woodling, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Francis Woodling, a pioneer in Green county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Fleek passed away in California, April 15, 1906, leaving four children: J. G. and Marion, of Los Angeles, California; Ruth, the wife of Alvin Codd, also of Los Angeles; and Gertrude, a resident of California. Mr. and Mrs. Fleek lost one son and three daughters. Ty grew to maturity and married George Free- man. Her death occurred in 1897. Bertha passed away in Highland, California. Ord C. met death by accident in High- land. Belle married William Brown and resided for a number of years in Waterloo, where her death occurred.
Mr. Fleek cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and has supported every republican nominee for president since that
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time. Fraternally he is a Master Mason and a member of the Grand Army post of Greene. He is interested in the betterment of the community where he has so long resided and has borne an important part in promoting general progress. He is a man of many sterling traits of character, capable in business, progressive in citizenship and at all times trustworthy and reliable.
FRANK BEACH.
Frank Beach, living retired in Dumont after many years of close connection with agricultural interests of Franklin and But- ler counties, was born in Peoria county, Illinois, December 26, 1842. He was reared upon a farm in that locality and acquired his education in the district schools. In 1862 he enlisted in Com- pany K, Eighty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was sent with his regiment to Louisville, Kentucky, later taking part in the campaign after General Bragg. He was honorably discharged on account of disability and returned to Illinois, where after recovering his health he engaged in farming for two years. In 1866 he sold his land in Peoria county and moved to Iowa, making the journey with teams and coming directly to Butler county, where he located on an eighty acre tract of wild land, which he had previously purchased. Soon afterward, however, he went to Franklin county, where he rented land, operating this for one year and at the same time breaking the soil upon his property in Madison township and building upon it a comfortable home. Afterward he took up his residence upon this place and while carrying forward the work of its development engaged in break- ing land for his neighbors, receiving as a compensation for this service the first two crops grown upon the farm. Mr. Beach after- ward sold his land in Madison township and bought two hundred and forty acres in Franklin county which he broke, cleared and improved, from time to time adding to his holdings until he accumulated four hundred acres of valuable land, which he still owns. He engaged in general farming and stock-raising upon this property until 1908, when he rented the tract and moved into Dumont, where he has since lived retired. He has valuable prop- erty interests here, owning a number of residence lots upon which he has erected two dwellings.
FRANK BEACH
UN3
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On the 29th of December, 1864, Mr. Beach was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah Elsey, a native of Essex, England, and a daughter of Robert Elsey, who emigrated to America and located at Rome, New York, where he passed away. His wife survived him and later moved to Elgin, Illinois, where Mrs. Beach was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Beach became the parents of four children: Lydia, who died at the age of fourteen months; Lillian, the wife of William Brandenberg, a merchant of Kesley ; Frank W., who lives at home, and Emily C., the deceased wife of Fred Foote, by whom she had two children.
Mr. Beach has given his political allegiance to the republican party since he cast his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He has been very active in public affairs and has been honored by his fellow citizens by election to various positions of public trust and responsibility, his official record being characterized by the accomplishment of a great deal of important work. He was for four years assessor of Madison township and while a resident of Franklin county was identified with the work of the school board for a quarter of a century. He served for two years as justice of the peace in Franklin county and for three years in Dumont. He has been a delegate to numerous county conventions both in Butler and Franklin counties. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Dumont, and Mr. Beach is a charter member of the Dumont lodge of the Knights of Pythias and belongs to the Grand Army post at Ackley. He has been well known in this part of Iowa for many years, and his integrity and ability have gained him the respect and confidence of all who have had business or personal relations with him. He is an own cousin of General McPherson of military fame and moreover, he, himself, is entitled to a place in this volume as a veteran of the Civil war, to whom the country owes a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid.
PHILIP LOOMER.
"The weary wheels of life at length stood still" for Philip Loomer on the 3d of January, 1914. He had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years, thirty-five years of which time had been spent in Butler county, and during much of that period he was actively engaged in the development and improve- Vol. IT-19
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ment of a farm of two hundred and seventy acres, but about fifteen years ago retired to Clarksville. He was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, October 6, 1826, a son of Benjamin and Eunice (Jess) Loomer, both of whom were natives of Nova Scotia, the latter of French Huguenot descent. The Loomer family comes of English ancestry, and representatives of the name after living for some time in New England removed to Nova Scotia just prior to the Revolutionary war. In 1841 Benjamin Loomer removed with his family to Wisconsin. They sailed from Nova Scotia to Boston, reaching their destination only after twenty-one days because of strong head winds. From that point they proceeded by rail to Norwich, Connecticut, thence by steamboat to New York, up the Hudson to Albany, through the Erie canal to Buf- falo, by steamboat to Milwaukee and thence to Walworth county, Wisconsin, where they located on government land. It was a wild and undeveloped tract, not a furrow having been turned or an improvement made. The father was not long permitted to enjoy this new home, his death there occurring in 1847. In 1878 the mother went to Florida with her two sons-in-law, and after- ward removed to Oswego, Kansas, where she died in 1879.
Philip Loomer was the only survivor in a family of three sons and two daughters. He was a youth of fifteen at the time of the removal to Wisconsin and later began farming there on his own account, after purchasing a quarter section of land in Columbia county at one dollar per acre. He carried on farming in that district until 1878 and then sold out, removing to Butler county, Iowa. Here he purchased a farm four miles east of Clarksville, comprising two hundred and seventy acres of arable land. Fifteen years ago he retired, taking up his abode in Clarks- ville.
Mr. Loomer was twice married. On the 24th of March, 1851, he married Mary Ann Cass, who died October 17, 1863. They were the parents of four children, two of whom died ere the mother's death. Albert, born October 27, 1852, is a resident of Minnesota. He has six sons, all of whom are married, and a daughter, who remains at home. Ella Jane, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Loomer, died at the age of eight years. Fred died at the age of forty years, leaving a widow and four children. Charles, the youngest of the family, was but two years of age at the time of his demise. On the 13th of March, 1864, Mr. Loomer married Lucretia Smith Cass, a sister of his first wife. She was born in New Hampshire, June 10, 1838, and was but
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twelve years of age when she went to Wisconsin with her parents. The children of this marriage are as follows: Eugene, who died at the age of two years; Arthur, living in Armstrong, Iowa; Flo- rence, the wife of George Cruthers of Waverly, Iowa; Lillian, the wife of Homer Smith of Brightwood, D. C .; Mary, the wife of N. O. Edwards, of Butler township; Lester, living on his father's farm; Jennie, the wife of Arthur Moore, of Butler town- ship; and Addie Eugenie, the wife of W. C. Shepard, of Allison. Mr. Loomer had twenty-six grandchildren and seventeen great- grandchildren. There are four granddaughters and six grand- sons who are married.
Mr. Loomer was entitled to wear the Grand Army button and was a member of the James Butler post, at Clarksville. He enlisted in December, 1864, as a member of Company I, Forty- fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of hostilities. That honorable principles were salient features in his life is indicated in the earnest support which he always gave the temperance cause and the interests of religion. He voted with the prohibition party and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his was an earnest Christian life. He occupied a large, fine home in Clarksville, attractively located and surrounded with magnificent shade trees. Here he passed the evening of his days in quiet contentment and enjoyed the honor and respect of his fellow townsmen, because of his well spent life, which was indeed an example worthy of emulation.
FRED WILLIAM SCHNEE.
Among the able and prosperous farmers of Coldwater town- ship and among Butler county's most progressive and successful native sons is numbered Fred William Schnee, who owns and operates a fine property of eighty acres on section 21. He was born in this township, December 6, 1876, and is a son of Otto and Wilhelmina (Becker) Schnee, natives of Germany. The father came to America when he was a young man and settled imme- diately in Bremer county, this state, where he purchased land and operated a farm for some time. He moved to Butler county in 1865 and bought the farm in Coldwater township which is now owned by his son. Here he made his home until his death, which occurred in 1879. His wife survived him many years, passing.
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away in 1911. In their family were eight children, five sons and three daughters.
Fred W. Schnee was reared upon his father's farm and acquired his education in the district schools. From his early childhood he assisted with the operation of the homestead and became in time an able and practical agriculturist. Upon the death of his mother he bought the interests of the other heirs and succeeded to the homestead, which he has since operated. To the buildings already upon the property he has added a modern resi- dence, a barn and a crib, and he has made other improvements, having set out an orchard and a grove of forest and evergreen trees which protect the west and north sides of his house. Mr. Schnee raises high-grade cattle and hogs and Norman horses and his stock-raising and general farming interests are extensive and important. He is a stockholder in the Greene Cooperative Cream- ery Association and in the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Com- pany, and his ability is recognized and respected in business circles.
In Coldwater township, on the 22d of April, 1908, Mr. Schnee was united in marriage to Miss Ida Tinnemann, who was born, reared and educated in Butler county and who formerly engaged in teaching. Mr. and Mrs. Schnee have become the parents of a daughter, Martha Marie. Mrs. Schnee is a member of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Schnee is connected fraternally with the Knights of Pythias. He gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, but has never held office, preferring to concen- trate his attention upon his business affairs, which are capably conducted and have brought him a gratifying measure of success.
ANDREW J. MCELHANEY.
Agricultural pursuits have found a worthy representative in Andrew J. McElhaney, who resides on section 30, Butler town- ship. Busily employed in the development of his farm, he has little time for outside interests, and the success, which is reward- ing his labors, is the direct result of his industry and enterprise. He was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1840, a son of George and Ann (Bolen) McElhaney. The father was also a native of the same county, born September 6, 1818, while the mother's birth occurred in Bedford county, Pennsylvania,
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October 15, 1813. She was the daughter of George Bolen, a sol- dier in the Revolutionary war, who served at Valley Forge and went through all the hardships of that memorable winter. He, too, was a native of the Keystone state, as was the paternal grand- father of our subject, who came of Scotch parentage. Mr. and Mrs. George McElhaney remained in Pennsylvania until the fall of 1852, when they removed to DeKalb county, Illinois, and there resided until 1857. In that year they settled in Bremer county, Iowa, and in 1858 came to Butler county, locating on a farm near Butler Center. Subsequently they went to Nebraska, where Mr. McElhaney died about fifteen years ago. His widow now makes her home with her daughter in Waverly, Iowa, and she was one hundred years of age on the 15th of October, 1913. While in the east George McElhaney was a boatman on the canal but after removing to the west followed farming. To him and his wife were born eight children: Andrew J .; Mrs. Mary Ann McGregor, of Butler county; Mrs. Sarah Sewell, of Waverly, Iowa; Wash- ington, who is living in South Dakota; Martha, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska; John; Jane, whose home is in Illinois; and James, of Wheatland, Wyoming. He served for three years in the Civil war, enlisting at Clarksville as a member of Company I, Third Iowa Infantry.
A similar spirit of patriotism prompted Andrew J. McElha- ney to go to the defense of his country during the dark hour in its history. He enlisted on the 24th of May, 1861, as a member of Company B, Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until June 27, 1865, being mustered out at Springfield, Illinois. He was captured at Moon Station, Georgia, and held as a prisoner of war for seven months, being incarcerated at Andersonville. It was not until the 29th of April, 1865, follow- ing the surrender of General Lee, that he was released. He participated in many of the most hotly contested engagements, including the battles of Shiloh, Fort Donelson, Corinth, Bighatchie and the siege of Vicksburg, beside many others of less importance. The first year of his military experience was spent in Missouri, following Price. Later he was with the army of the west under Generals Grant and Sherman. He went through all of the experi- ences incident to army life, never wavered in the face of danger and by reason of his courage and loyalty, returned home with a most creditable military record.
When the war was over, Mr. McElhaney began farming in DeKalb county, Illinois, where he remained for three years and
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then came to Butler county. He has resided upon his present place for more than thirty-six years, having sixty-three acres on sections 19 and 30, devoted to general farming and stock-raising. His business affairs are capably conducted, and the neat and thrifty appearance of his place indicates his careful supervision and progressive methods.
In September, 1865, almost immediately after his return from the army, Mr. McElhaney was married to Miss Elida Scholl- maker, who was born in Boone county, Illinois, June 13, 1846, and is a daughter of Nicholas and Priscilla (Strawn) Scholl- maker. Her father was a native of New York, and her mother of Canada, and both died in Clarksville. Mr. and Mrs. McElha- ney have six children : Fred Albert, now living in Bremer county ; Mrs. Julia Surfess, who died, leaving one child; George, of Nebraska; May, the wife of Bert Sturdevant, of South Dakota; Myrtle, the wife of Ed Roberts, living on a farm adjoining her father's; and John, who operates the old home farm.
In politics Mr. McElhaney has always been a stalwart repub- lican, exercising his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the party, yet he has never sought nor held office. His religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Chris- tian church. This has been the guiding spirit of his life and has made him one of the respected citizens of Butler county, his integrity of character being acknowledged by all.
W. H. HICKLE.
W. H. Hickle, one of the substantial residents of Clarksville, has resided in the town for the past twelve years, prior to which time he was actively engaged in farming. He also bought and shipped stock for several years, and his carefully managed busi- ness affairs brought him a gratifying measure of success, that now enables him to live retired. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, December 10, 1842, a son of John and Hester Ann (Van Gundy) Hickle. Their family numbered seven children, of whom six are now living. Two of their sons, Jacob H. and John Alfred, enlisted from this county for active service in the Civil war, the former being a member of the Thirty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry and the latter of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry.
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W. H. Hickle, the second in order of birth, was brought to this county by his parents from McLean county, Illinois, the fam- ily home having previously been in the vicinity of Bloomington, Illinois, for about eight or ten years. They arrived in Butler county on the 10th of May, 1856, and cast their lot with its pioneer settlers. Much of the land was still unclaimed and uncultivated, and the work of progress and improvement seemed scarcely begun. In June the prairies were starred with a million wild flowers and in December were covered with one dazzling and unbroken sheet of snow. One could ride for miles without coming to a fence to impede his progress, but as the years passed on the work of devel- opment was carried forward by a resolute, energetic band of pioneer settlers and Butler county has been brought to its present state of progress and improvement.
W. H. Hickle was fourteen years of age at the time of the removal to this county and was here reared to share with the family in the arduous duties of frontier life. After attaining his majority he began farming on his own account, remaining at home until the time of his marriage, after which he farmed in Jackson township until he put aside business cares. He had one hundred and twenty acres in the home place and at different times owned other tracts of land. In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he also engaged in buying and shipping stock for several years and his business affairs were so capably and successfully managed that he now finds it possible to live retired without further recourse to labor, in order to pro- vide himself and family with the necessities and comforts of life.
In 1867 Mr. Hickle was married to Mrs. Lydia Wilcox Hen- derson, a widow, who was born in New York, and at an early day became a resident of Dubuque county, Iowa. She died in But- ler county, May 2, 1905, at the of fifty-six years. There were three children of that marriage: Frank, who died in infancy ; May, who died at the age of two years; and Stella, the wife of George Atkinson, of Washington Springs, South Dakota, by whom she has two children, Lucile and Mary Ranelda.
In political views Mr. Hickle has always been an earnest re- publican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, and he cast his first presidential vote for President Lincoln at his second election. Mr. Hickle has been called upon to fill a num- ber of township offices including that of clerk and trustee, and he has also served in a number of school offices, the cause of edu- cation finding in him a stalwart champion. His religious faith is
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that of the Baptist church, and his life has been guided by its teachings. He is regarded as one of the substantial and respected citizens of Clarksville and well deserves mention among the rep- resentative men of this county, in which he has now lived for fifty-seven years, his memory forming a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present, while in the work of general development he has always borne his part.
REV. CONRAD WELTNER.
Rev. Conrad Weltner has for the past thirty years been pastor of the Lutheran St. John congregation of Vilmar and is also at the head of a new church which he has recently completed at Allison. He was born at Melsungen, Hesse-Cassel, Germany, on the 12th of April, 1862, and was baptized on the 30th of the same month. His parents, Martin and Margaretha (Riemann) Weltner, were married on the 19th of December, 1858, and became the parents of four children, namely : William, who acts as pastor of a church at Lizard, Iowa; Conrad, of this review: Carl: and Helen.
After his confirmation Conrad Weltner entered the Latin school of Pastor Kloeffler in his native city and a year later be- came a student in the Mission Institute of Metropolitan Vilmar at Melsungen. In June, 1880, he emigrated to the United States with four other students and entered the Theological Seminary of the Lutheran Towa Synod at Mendota, Illinois. being there placed under the care of the well known Drs. Siegmund and Gott- fried Fritschel. In July, 1881, he became an assistant of the Rev. George Landgrebe at Toeterville, Mitchell county, Iowa. On the 6th of November of the same year he received his first call from the Lutheran congregation at Myrtle, Minnesota, and on the 14th of December, 1883, he accepted a call from the Lutheran St. John congregation of Vilmar, Butler county, Iowa, where he has re- mained as pastor throughout the intervening thirty years. He has ever labored with consecrated zeal and his efforts have been a potent element in the moral development of the community. The new church at Allison which was recently completed by him also receives his services as pastor.
On the 8th of September, 1886, Rev. Weltner was united in marriage to Miss Dorothea Lehmann, a daughter of Fred and Auguste (Schwitzke) Lehmann, of Watertown, Wisconsin. They
REV. CONRAD WELTNER
THIS NEW
WI ONS
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
have six children, as follows: Lillie, who was born on the 23d of January, 1890, and baptized on the 2d of February ; Carl, born Sep- tember 27, 1891, who was baptized on the 11th of October ; William, who was born December 17, 1892, and baptized December 30th; Kurt, who was born on the 19th of October, 1894, and baptized November 4th; Paul, born January 15, 1898, who was baptized on the 6th of February ; and Emma, whose birth occurred Decem- ber 5, 1900, and who was baptized on January 1st of the following year.
WILLIAM FOLKERS.
William Folkers is busily engaged in general farming on the old family homestead on section 14, West Point township, to which place his parents removed when he was but two weeks old. He was born in Freeport, Illinois, March 11, 1876, a son of Wil- liam and Halka (Jensen) Folkers, who were natives of Hanover, Germany, the former born October 12, 1833, and the latter Jan- uary 18, 1838. They were married in 1864 and in 1867 became residents of Freeport, Illinois, where they resided for nine years. On the expiration of that period they removed westward to But- ler county and for thirty-seven years have remained upon the farm which is now their home. The father has devoted his entire life to general agricultural pursuits. He arrived in the United . States empty-handed, but he believed this to be the land of opportunity and resolved to win success, if it could be secured through indefatigable industry and honorable methods. As time passed on he kept adding to his possessions until he became the owner of six hundred and eighty acres in West Point township, but he has since disposed of all of this to his children, except the home place, comprising a quarter of section 14. He carried on general farming and stock-raising for many years but during the past fifteen years has lived retired, leaving the active work of the fields to others. He is a member of the German Lutheran church of Vilmar, to which his wife and children also belong, and earnest Christian principles have actuated him in all of his life record. His political support has ever been given to the democratic party. To Mr. and Mrs. Folkers have been born eight children: Folkert, who is living in West Point township; Bertha, the wife of F. G. Brennecke of Sumner; Frank, a veterinarian, practicing his pro-
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