USA > Iowa > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 5
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G. A. DREESZEN.
G. A. Dreeszen, one of the substantial citizens and a well known business man of Lidderdale, was born in Johnson county, this state, on the 13th of July, 1868, and is a son of C. R. and Margaret K. (Wersch) Dreeszen, both natives of Germany, in which country they were also married. The parents emigrated to the United States in 1868, the father being at that time forty years of age, locating in Johnson county where they remained for several months. From there they went to Muscatine county, whence they moved at the end of four years to Carroll county, settling in Sheridan township. They continued to reside in this county during the remainder of their lives, the father passing away on his homestead in 1900 and being laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery in Sheridan township. The mother survived until 1910 and was also interred in the Lutheran cemetery. Mr. Dreeszen met with success in his agricultural pursuits, leading a very quiet, unostentatious life. His first residence was a one-room frame building, sixteen by twenty-four feet, and there was held both church and school. He was public-spirited and benevolent and contributed toward the building fund of the First Lu- theran church. At the time of his death he owned one hundred and twenty acres of land, which was in a high state of cultivation. To Mr. and Mrs. Dreeszen there were born ten children, as follows: Matilda, who passed away at the age of five years; John, who is residing in the vicinity of Lin- coln, Nebraska; Anna, the wife of W. D. Fisher, of Omaha, Nebraska ; Fred, who is also a resident of Nebraska; Mollie, the wife of Herman Wohlenburg, of Sheridan township; Sophia, who married Jacob J. Best, of Jasper township; Henry, who is living in Calhoun county, Iowa; Caroline, who became the wife of C. Juergens ; G. A., the subject of this sketch; and Herman, of Omaha, Nebraska.
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The boyhood and youth of G. A. Dreeszen were spent on the family homestead in Sheridan township in whose common schools he obtained his education. He began his career as a wage-earner at the age of fifteen years as a farm hand, continuing to follow this occupation until he was twenty- one years of age, then having the necessary money and feeling competent to assume the responsibility he engaged in farming as a renter in Sheridan township. This venture proved so lucrative that in 1892 he was able to buy eighty acres of land which he cultivated until he came to Lidderdale. He then withdrew from active agricultural pursuits and established a hardware and implement business, for which purpose he erected a building. Under his capable management the business developed in a most gratifying man- ner. He enjoyed an excellent patronage and kept a good stock, for a small town, in the selection of which he had used most commendable judgment. He sold his interest in this business in the fall of 1910, but continues to be identified with the same in the capacity of manager. Mr. Dreeszen owns eighty acres of land near Lidderdale and one-half section in Dixon county, Iowa, in addition to his residence in town.
In 1893, Mr. Dreeszen was united in marriage to Miss Anna Jergens, and to them have been born five children, as follows : Harry, Roy, Charles. Edna and Carl. The last named is deceased, having fallen from a wagon which passed over him in 1900.
The family attend the Lutheran church. Mr. Dreeszen votes with the democrats and takes an active and helpful interest in all township and mu- nicipal affairs, serving for ten years as clerk of the school board, while at one time he was mayor of Lidderdale and is now acting in the capacity of school director. Mr. Dreeszen is entirely a self-made man, such success as has come to him having been the well merited reward of his own unaided and intelligently directed endeavors.
MICHAEL MOYLAN.
One of the most extensive land owners and successful agriculturists of Carroll county is Michael Moylan, who is a resident of Union township. He was born in County Mayo, Ireland, on the 18th of July, 1850, and is a son of Thomas and Nora (Connelly) Moylan. The parents were also na- tives of County Mayo, whence they removed to County Galway, where they continued to reside until they came to America in 1876. Upon their arrival in this country they first settled in Dallas Center, where they lived retired, but later they made their home with their children in Greene county. There the father passed away at the age of seventy-six and the mother seven weeks later at the age of seventy-eight. Both were communicants of the Roman Catholic church. The paternal grandparents were Thomas and Lizzie (Hughes) Moylan, both of County Mayo, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Moylan passed away in early womanhood, but he had at- tained middle age before his demise. To them were born four children :
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Thomas, Michael, James and Catherine. The maternal grandparents were Patrick and Mary (Gannan) Connelly, who also spent their entire lives in the Emerald isle. There Mr. Connelly, who was a farmer, passed away in middle life, but his wife had attained the venerable age of ninety years at the time of her demise. They had a large family, among whose members were the following: Julia, Bridget, Nora, Sarah, Ellen, Margaret and Patrick.
Michael Moylan was a very small lad when his parents located in County Galway, where the father engaged in farming until he came to America. There the lad was reared to manhood, acquiring his education in the common schools of the vicinity. Believing that much better opportunities awaited the ambitious youth in the United States than in the land of his nativity he decided to come to America, so in 1872 he took passage for this country. He first located in Boston, where he remained for five years. Deciding that he preferred agricultural pursuits and the country, in 1877 he moved to Iowa, settling in the vicinity of Dallas Center, where he farmed as a renter for four years. In the spring of 1881 he removed to Scranton, Iowa, where he rented two hundred and forty acres of land, which he operated for three years. Success was attending his efforts and in 1883 he had acquired sufficient capital to purchase one hundred and twenty acres on section 14, Union town- ship, Carroll county, which formed the nucleus of his present homestead. In 1884 he removed to his homestead, the cultivation of which proved so lucrative that he has extended the boundaries of his farm until it now in- cludes over eight hundred acres of land. This has been extensively and sub- stantially improved during the period of Mr. Moylan's occupancy, while he has brought the land into a high state of cultivation. In connection with the tilling of his extensive fields he has raised stock on a very large scale, both occupations having netted him most gratifying returns. Mr. Moylan pos- sesses the ability to carry to a successful issue large ventures, having a mind which can grasp and hold many details.
Mr. Moylan established a home for himself by his marriage on the 20th of April, 1876, to Miss Bridget Carroll, who was born in County Monahan, Ireland, in May, 1853. Her parents were Michael and Catharine (Daly) Carroll, also natives of the Emerald isle, where the father, who was a farmer, passed away in middle life. Mrs. Carroll joined her daughter in the United States in 1882, continuing to make her home with Mrs. Moylan in Union township until she passed away in 1896, at the age of eighty years. To Mr. and Mrs. Carroll were born six children: Patrick, Kitty, Mary, Julia, James and Bridget, now Mrs. Moylan, who emigrated to the United States in 1870. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Moylan were Thomas and Mary Carroll, unto whom were born the following children: Michael, Thomas, Julia, Mary, Catharine and Margaret. The maternal grandparents were Thomas and Mary (Condon) Daly, whose family numbered eight, one son and seven daughters: Mary, Alice, Ann, Lizzie, Margaret, Catharine, Brid- get and Patrick.
To Mr. and Mrs. Moylan eight children were born, as follows: Mary, the wife of Lee Brochee, of Guthrie county, who has two children, Paul and
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Pearl ; Thomas, a farmer of Union township, who married Margaret Halli- gan and is now the father of two sons, Floyd and Lloyd ; John, also a farmer of Union township, who married Lizzie Miller and now has two children, Theresa and Leo; William, a farmer of Union township, who married Jen- nie Clennan and has one child, Aaron Veronica ; and Joseph, Francis, Nora and Eva, all of whom are at home with their parents.
The family are all communicants of the Roman Catholic church at Coon Rapids, while Mr. Moylan and three of his sons are members of the Knights of Columbus. His political allegiance he gives to the democratic party, but does not prominently participate in the township campaigns. Mr. Moylan is highly deserving of commendation for the success with which he has met, as it is entirely attributable to the intelligent and capable direction of his affairs. He came to America, as have many of his countrymen, with little or no capital save a willingness to work, laudable ambition and a persistency of purpose which enabled him to convert obstacles into opportunities and at- tain the goal to which he aspired.
WILLIAM LANGENFELD.
Carroll county has been signally favored in the class of men who have occupied her public offices, for they have usually been distinguished by a spirit of devotion to the public good and have displayed capability in the discharge of their various duties. A worthy representative of the office- holders at the present time is William Langenfeld, who by election in the fall of 1908 was made the custodian of the public funds and has since filled the position of county treasurer. His birth occurred in the Rhein province of Germany on the 24th of November, 1855, his parents being Henry and Catharine (Schneider) Langenfeld, who were likewise natives of that coun- try. His paternal grandfather, Henry Langenfeld, was a farmer by occupa- tion and passed away in Germany when more than ninety years of age. The maternal grandfather, John Schneider, also followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career and died in Germany when more than eighty rears old.
Henry Langenfeld, the father of our subject, was a soldier in the Ger- man army during the war of 1848. General agricultural pursuits claimed his attention throughout his entire business career and proved a gratifying source of income to him. In 1869 he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, set- tling near Mendota, La Salle county, Illinois. In 1898 he took up his abode near Muenster, Texas, where his demise occurred in 1908, when he had at- tained the age of eighty-two years. His wife died near the same place in March, 1911, at the age of eighty-two years. Both were communicants of the German Catholic church. Unto them were born five children, two of whom are yet living, as follows: William, of this review ; and Christina, the wife of Henry Henscheid, who resides near Muenster, Texas.
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY
William Langenfeld attended the common schools of his native land until he accompanied his parents on their emigration to America as a youth of thirteen years. In 1874 he came with them to Carroll county, lowa, the family home being established in Roselle township. In 1877 he had become identified with educational interests and taught school during the winter months for ten years, while in the summer seasons he worked at farming. For a period of three years he resided in Arkansas. On returning to Iowa he became station agent for the Northwestern Railroad Company at Hal- bur, holding that position for nine years. On the expiration of that period he came to Carroll and was connected with the German paper here for two and a half years. Subsequently he was employed for a short time as station agent at Lehigh by the Great Western Railway. On the Ist of January, 1904, he became deputy county treasurer, while in the fall of 1908 he was elected county treasurer, having held that office continuously since. His previous experience as deputy well qualified him for the duties that devolve upon him and which he is most capably discharging.
On the 9th of January, 1883. Mr. Langenfeld was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Rohlman, who was born in Germany and in the '70s came to America with her parents, Bernhard and Bernardina ( Huesman) Rohl- man. They came direct to Carroll county, Iowa, settling in Roselle town- ship, where both Mr. and Mrs. Rohlman passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Lan- genfeld have five children, namely: Minnie; Emma, who is the wife of John Martes and resides on a farm near Adair, Iowa; Joseph; Anna; and William.
Mr. Langenfeld gives his political allegiance to the democracy, while in religious faith both he and his wife are Catholics. Their lives have been upright and serviceable, and the firm hold they have on the regard and good will of their community is not only fixed and lasting but well founded on demonstrated merit.
J. A. DOWNS, M. D.
Dr. J. A. Downs, a well known representative of the medical fraternity in Carroll county, has maintained his office at Glidden since May, 1899, and has built up a large practice in surgery. His birth occurred in Mercer county, Illinois, on the 8th of July, 1869, his parents being Isaac and Sa- mantha J. (Knox) Downs, both of whom were natives of Illinois. His paternal grandfather, Joshua Downs, was a native of Maine and became a pioneer agriculturist of Mercer county, Illinois. He died in early man- hood, leaving three children, namely: Isaac; Ellen, who first married a Mr. White and subsequently became the wife of a Mr. Langston; and Parthena, who wedded a Mr. Mumey. The widow of Joshua Downs mar- ried Jefferson Fuller, by whom she had five children, as follows: William, Jefferson, Thomas, Rosana and Mary Ann. George W. Knox, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of Maine and followed farming
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY
throughout his active business career, becoming a pioneer settler of Mercer county, Illinois. He and his wife lived to attain a ripe old age and reared a large family of children, including Samantha J., Ellen, Lydia, George W., Jr., and Joseph Benjamin.
Isaac Downs, the father of Dr. Downs, was a farmer by occupation and served as a soldier of the Civil war from 1862 until 1865. He be- longed to Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was later transferred to the Thirty-third. His demise oc- curred in November, 1889, when he had attained the age of forty-seven years. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and also of the Methodist church, to which his widow likewise belongs. Mrs. Downs, who still survives, makes her home with her daughter at Joy, Illinois. Isaac and Samantha J. (Knox) Downs had two children: J. 'A'., of this review ; and Irena M., the wife of William Robinson, of Joy, Illinois.
J. A. Downs spent the first twenty years of his life in his native county and in the acquirement of an education attended the public schools at Joy, Illinois. He next entered the Iowa Commercial College at Davenport and subsequently became superintendent of its actual business and banking in- terests, serving as vice president of the institution until his father's demise. At that time he left the college to settle his father's business and also took up the duties of tax collector, which office his father had held. Later he was employed for two years as a draftsman by G. A. Hanson, an architect of Davenport. Having detemined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he took up the study of that profession in the State University of Iowa, from which he was graduated in 1897. Locating for practice at Oxford Junction, he there remained for a year and a half or until the town was destroyed by fire. Removing to Des Moines, he continued his studies in the Highland Park College of Pharmacy, which institution conferred upon him the degree of Ph. G. In May, 1900, he opened an office at Glid- den and has here remained to the present time, enjoying a practice that has steadily grown as his skill and ability have become recognized. He did not cease to be a student when he left college but by reading and investi- gation has broadened his knowledge and promoted his efficiency, also keep- ing in touch with the onward march of the profession through the inter- change of ideas in the Carroll County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
On the 21st of December, 1892, Dr. Downs was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Ida Baldwin, a native of Jones county, Iowa, and a daughter of Theoran J. and Eliza A. (Smith) Baldwin, both of whom were born in Ohio. They are now residents of Salina, Kansas. Their children were ten in number, as follows: Marcellus Osceola; Frank J .; Lyman; Fred ; Harvey C. and Charles, both of whom are deceased; Jennie; Gertrude ; 'Alma ; and Mary Ida. Dr. Downs and his wife have three sons : Leslie E., William E. and Lawrence J.
In politics Dr. Downs is a republican, while his religious faith is indi- cated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife also belongs. His fraternal relations are with the Modern Woodmen.
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Genial in disposition, unobtrusive and unassuming, he is patient under ad- verse criticism and in his expressions concerning brother practitioners is friendly and indulgent.
HARRY EDWARD BEACH.
Harry Edward Beach, a well known court reporter of Carroll, enjoys high standing among the followers of his profession in this state, having been chosen president of the Iowa State Court Reporters Association in 1910. His birth occurred in Glidden, Carroll county, Iowa, on the 10th of October, 1872, his parents being Myron W. and Lydia E. (Presnell) Beach, the former a native of Michigan and the latter of Indiana. The paternal grandfather was a native of New York and a cooper by trade. He was twice married, Myron W. Beach being the only child of his first mar- riage. By his second wife he had two sons, namely: Charles, an agricul- turist of Story county, Iowa, who passed away in 1907; and Albert, who follows farming in Story county. The maternal grandfather of our sub- ject died when about forty-five years of age, while his wife was seventy- six years old when called to her final rest. Their children included the following named: Henry and James, who are deceased; Zimri; Jeremiah ; and Lydia E.
Myron W. Beach, the father of Harry E. Beach, worked at the cooper's trade in early manhood. He came to Carroll county in 1865 and located at Glidden, teaching in the country schools and being afterward elected county superintendent of schools here, which position he held for one term. Subsequently he studied law, and during the remainder of his life practiced the profession in this county and district, becoming widely recognized as a prominent and able attorney and enjoying a large clientage in Carroll for many years. He took up his abode in Carroll in 1883 and served as mayor of the town for two terms. His demise occurred on the 5th of No- vember, 1906, when he had attained the age of sixty-two years, and thus the community lost one of its most valued, respected and prosperous citi- zens. At the time of the Civil war he became a member of the First Michigan Sharpshooters but after a few months was discharged because of disability. His widow still makes her home in Carroll, where she has a host of warm friends. She was the mother of four children, as follows : Melville A., a practicing physician of Stratford, Iowa; Harry Edward, of this review; Dr. Arthur E., who has passed away; and Lena A., a lady physician in the State Insane Hospital at Cherokee.
Harry E. Beach, whose name introduces this review, spent the first eleven years of his life in Glidden and in 1883 came with his parents to Car- roll. He attended the public schools of Glidden and Carroll and after leaving the Carroll high school mastered shorthand. Subsequently he took up the study of law in Council Bluffs, being admitted to the bar in 1897. In 1892 he became a court reporter and has worked at that
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profession almost continuously since. For five years, however, he was connected with the Cudahy Packing Company in Omaha. Since returning to Carroll in 1902 he has remained here as a court reporter, finding his knowledge of the law of great assistance to him in the work. In 1910 he served as president of the lowa State Court Reporters Association.
On the 5th of January, 1892, Mr. Beach was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Butler, a native of Hamilton, Illinois, and a daughter of Charles and Belle Butler, who were born in Missouri and Ilinois respectively. Mr. But- ler died at the age of forty years and is still survived by his widow, who is now sixty years old. Unto our subject and his wife have been born four children : Frances E., Myron W., Warren E. and Florence A.
In the local ranks of his party Mr. Beach is an active and leading factor, having served as chairman of the republican county central committee since 1896. He is also a valued member of the Citizens Commercial Club of Car- roll. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Signet Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M .; Copestone Chapter, No. 78, R. A. M., of Carroll, lowa; and Rose Croix Commandery, No. 38, K. T., of Sac City. He is likewise a member of St. Albans Lodge, No. 17, K. P., of Council Bluffs. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presby- terian church, to which his wife also belongs. Mr. Beach is the chairman of the church board of trustees. In all respects they are worthy of com- mendation and enjoy the general esteem of their friends, being truly repre- sentative of the best citizenship of the county.
Since the above sketch was written, upon the recommendation of Con- gressman Frank P. Woods, Mr. Beach was appointed Postmaster at Carroll, by President Taft, and confirmed by the United States Senate, his commis- sion being dated March 1, 1911, for a term of four years, at a salary of two thousand, four hundred dollars per year.
JOHN A. SNYDER.
Among the residents of Carroll county who are now living retired, their present comfortable financial position being the direct result of former ac- tivity and enterprise along agricultural lines, is numbered John A. Snyder. A native of Illinois, he was born near Woodstock, McHenry county, on the 4th of March, 1854, a son of Adam and Barbara ( Kochensperger ) Sny- der, both of whom were born in Germany. His paternal grandparents were both natives of the fatherland, where their entire lives were passed. His maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Kochensperger, were also natives of the old country, where the latter's death occurred. The former came to America and passed away in McHenry county, Illinois, at about the age of sixty-five years. In their family were two sons and three daugh- ters, Michael, Adam, Barbara, Margarette and Magdaliene. Adam Snyder,
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the father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and after arriving in the United States located first in New York, where he followed that occu- pation for a time. Later he removed to Illinois, casting in his lot with the pioneers of McHenry county, and there passed away in 1863, at the age of forty-five years. His wife survived for some time, her death occurring in April, 1906, when eighty-two years of age. Both were faithful members of the German Evangelical church, and led most exemplary lives, being greatly honored and respected by all who knew them. Their family consisted of eight children, of whom six are yet living, namely: Caroline, the wife of Michael Senger, of Woodstock, Illinois; William, residing at Guthrie, Ok- lahoma; John, of this review; Helen, who married L. Kline, of Glidden township; Lydia, the wife of Earle Rich, also of this township; and Henry, making his home at Glidden.
On the home farm in McHenry county, Illinois, John A. Snyder was reared to manhood, and during the winter months attended the district schools in the acquirement of an education. The summer months were devoted to the work of the farm, for he was early assigned the tasks that usually fall to the lot of the country lad, and under the wise direction of his father received thorough practical training along agricultural lines. He re- mained at home until attaining his majority, when he entered business on his own account, wisely choosing as his life work the occupation to which he had been reared. In 1879 he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Glidden township, Carroll county, but did not become a resident of this county, however, until 1884. In that year he took up his abode upon his farm and at once began its further development and im- provement. Later he added to it another tract of twenty-four and a half acres, and this property still remains in his possession although he has since retired from the actual work of the farm. He now leases his place, the rental from which is proving a substantial source of revenue. In 1896 he withdrew from active life and removed to Glidden, where he purchased a good home and where he is now living in honorable retirement, his goodly competence enabling him to enjoy a life of ease and comfort.
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