USA > Iowa > Howard County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 40
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ELLERT R. THOMPSON.
Ellert R. Thompson is engaged in the abstract and loan business in Cresco. He was born in Stod, near Stenkjar, Norway, on the 9th of August, 1854, a son of Rasmus and Johanna Gjerstad, who were likewise natives of that locality, where they were reared and married, after which the father devoted his attention to farm- ing in order to provide for the support of his family. Both he and his wife died in the land of the midnight sun.
Ellert R. Thompson spent his boyhood in Norway to the age of eighteen years and in the spring of 1872, attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard concerning America and its opportunities he sailed for the United States. He at once made his way to Iowa, taking up his abode at Lansing, and later he went to Winneshiek county, where he stopped with Peter L. Winnes, on whose farm he was employed for two years, during summer season and he worked for his board and the opportunity of attending school in the winter. He was afterward employed at Decorah, Iowa, and also attended the Breckenridge school there and the Slack Business College, for he was most anxious to obtain a good education, recognizing how valuable it is as a factor in life's success. In 1876 he came to Cresco and was employed as bookkeeper in the general store of Thompson & Johnson. He was afterward with John Stradley in the abstract and real estate business for three years and thus received the initial training which qualified him for his present business. Later he was appointed to the position of deputy auditor and served in that office for two years. The succeeding two years were passed in the position
ER Thompson
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of bookkeeper in the Kimball & Farnsworth bank and later he was elected to the position of county auditor, in which capacity he acceptably served for five years. In 1892 he turned his attention to the abstract and real estate business in Cresco and has since been active in that field of labor. He has secured a good clientage and has a business that in volume and importance places him among the leading representatives of this line of activity in the state, being an active member of the Iowa Abstracters Association. In 1897 the old National Bank of Decoralı, Iowa, failed and Mr. Thompson with H. C. Hjerleid reorganized the bank, purchased the building and made it the National Bank of Decorah, of which he became a director. He is a man of good business ability, of sound judgment, of unfaltering energy and of keen sagacity and therefore what he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion.
In 1881 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Julia Solberg, a daughter of Ulrick Solberg. She was born in Winneshiek county, on the Nels Larsen farm, while her parents were natives of Norway but became pioneer residents of Winne- shiek county. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born five children: Jennie, now the wife of Dr. L. A. Dahl, of Menomonie, Wisconsin; Gertie, the wife of Harry Grindy, of Mitchell, South Dakota; Edward P, living in Cresco; Clarice; and Thelma.
For an extended period Mr. Thompson has been an active factor in republican circles in Howard county. He served as chairman of the republican central com- mittee in 1893-4 and during that period every republican on the ticket was elected. He has filled the office of city recorder, has been a member of the city council, has for nine years served on the school board and during part of that time has been its president. His activities have been pronounced along various lines for the benefit and upbuilding of the county in which he lives and he is regarded as one of the representative and valued citizens, honored by all who know him and most of all where he is best known. His religious faith is that of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
MRS. J. C. ENOS.
Mrs. J. C. Enos, who is well known in Howard county, makes her home on section 28, Saratoga township, where she is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Mrs. Enos is a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Smith' Sherwood, who were among the early residents of Minnesota and came to Iowa about forty-six years ago. Both have now passed away, the father having died on the 14th of February, 1884, while the death of Mrs. Sherwood occurred July 7, 1894.
Their daughter, Mrs. Enos, spent her girlhood days under the parental roof and obtained her education in the public schools of Minnesota. On the 19th of October, 1872, she gave her hand in marriage in Brownsville, Minnesota, to J. C. Enos, and in 1893 they took up their abode upon a farm in Saratoga township, Howard county, which Mrs. Enos still owns and occupies.
Mr. Enos was born January 8, 1851, in the state of Vermont, and was a son of Joseph and Olive Enos, whose family numbered five children, of whom he was the fourth in order of birth. In early life he became a resident of the middle west and for a considerable period lived in Minnesota. Following his marriage he and his wife began their domestic life in that state and there remained until 1875, when they removed to Lawler, Chickasaw county, Iowa, where they resided for eighteen years. In 1893 they became residents of Howard county, establishing their home in Saratoga township, and through the intervening period Mr. Enos gave his attention to the development and improvement of the property, transforming it into one of the good farms of the community. He was a very diligent man and prospered in his undertakings as the result of his close application and carefully directed energies. To Mr. and Mrs. Enos were born three children, Henry, George W. and Mrs. Dora Merrill.
The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 10th of October,
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1918, Mr. Enos passed away on the homestead farm. His demise was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he had become very favorably known throughout the section of the state in which he lived, his sterling traits of character being recognized by all who knew him. In politics he was an earnest republican and was called upon to fill a number of local offices, serving as township trustee for several years and also a director on the school board for several years. He attended the Congregational church, which Mrs. Enos also attends, and he was a very liberal contributor to the church and to various projects for the public good. His was indeed a well spent life and he left to his family not only a comfortable competence but also the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. Mrs. Enos occupies the old homestead and her circle of friends in this community is almost coextensive with the circle of her acquaintance.
J. J. SWENUMSON.
J. J. Swenumson is proprietor of The Old Homestead farm, situated on section 34, Utica township, Chickasaw county. He has lived in this section of the state from pioneer times and has therefore witnessed the entire growth and development of this region and has borne his full share in the work of general progress and im- provement. A native of Norway, he was born November 7, 1846, a son of John Swenumson, who came to the United States with his wife and five children in the spring of 1848. He first took up his abode in Racine county, Wisconsin, where the family lived for six years, and in 1854 a removal was made to Chickasaw county, Iowa, where the father secured a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, constituting the farm upon which J. J. Swenumson now resides. The journey from Wisconsin to Iowa was made with ox team and prairie schooner and the family lived in the wagon while the log cabin was being built upon the homestead claim. Mr. Swenumson continued to occupy the log cabin for a number of years but as he prospered in his undertakings erected a more modern and pretentious residence, which remained his home to the time of his demise. He passed away some time in the '90s. There are only two representatives of the father's family who are still living, J. J. of this review and his brother, Ole Swenumson.
J. J Swenumson, while born in the land of the midnight sun, was less than two years of age when the family came to the new world and was a lad of only eight years at the time of the arrival of the family in Iowa. Accordingly his education was largely acquired in the district schools of Chickasaw county and when he had reached early manhood he took charge of and operated the home farm. He was the youngest of the children and his father was growing old, being incapacitated for hard work by reason of his advanced years. The burden of the farm therefore devolved upon Mr. Swenumson of this review, who, remaining at home, continuel to look after his parents to the time of their death. During these years he came into possession of a part of the old homestead and bought other lands from time to time as his financial resources increased until his holdings comprised five hundred and five acres. However two farms of one hundred and five acres and one hundred and twenty acres respectively have been cut off from his property for two of his sons, so that his present possessions include two hundred and eighty acres. His work has been attended with a high measure of prosperity, coming to him as the direct reward of his persistency of purpose, his honorable dealings and his indefatigable energy. In addition to his farm property Mr. Swenumson is a stockholder in the Saude Cooperative Creamery Company.
In 1875 Mr. Swenumson was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Johnson, a daughter of John Johnson, who came to Chickasaw county from Wisconsin with the Swenumson family in 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Swenumson have become parents of nine children, four sons and five daughters, as follows: Alfred O., who passed away at the age of eight years; Carl, who is a resident of Rochester, Minnesota; Oscar, who follows farming in Utica township; Thomas, at home; Anna, who is the widow
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of Andrew Anderson and lives at home; Johanna, the wife of J. G. Johnson, a resi- dent of Minnesota; Etta, who is the wife of Lewis Qually and lives in North Dakota; Thurenia, the wife of Thomas Johnson, of Jacksonville township, Chickasaw county; and Esther, at home.
In politics Mr. Swenumson is a republican and has filled the office of road supervisor, while for a number of years he has been a member of the school board. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church and he is interested in many progressive measures which have had to do with the upbuilding and develop- ment of this section of the state. For almost two-thirds of a century he has lived in Chickasaw county and has therefore seen the greater part of its growth and development. In fact there were but very few settlers in the county when the family home was established within its borders and they shared in all of the hard- ships and privations incident to the settlement of the frontier. Mr. Swenumson's memory now forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present and his reminiscences of the early days are most interesting.
HENRY J. NOVAK.
Henry J. Novak, who follows farming on section 6, New Oregon township, Howard county, was born in Winneshiek county, Iowa, March 19, 1888, a son of Thomas and Veronica (Phillip) Novak, who came to the United States in childhood days with their respective parents, the two families crossing the Atlantic on the same vessel. This was about 1855. The Novak family settled in New Oregon town- ship, Howard county, while the mother's people took up their abode in Winneshiek county, Iowa. Following their marriage the father and mother of Henry J. Novak made three or four removals between Howard and Winneshiek counties but are now living in Cresco, where Thomas Novak has put aside business cares, enjoying the fruits of his former toil in a well earned rest.
Henry J. Novak was educated in the schools of Spillville and in 1910, when twenty-two years of age, purchased his present home farm and began its cultiva- tion. He kept bachelor's hall for one year and in 1911 he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Hovorka, a daughter of Albert Hovorka, of New Oregon township, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Novak have become the parents of two children, Leonard H. and Virgil G. The home of the family is an excellent farm property comprising a fractional quarter section. It is well im- proved and constitutes one of the valuable farms of Howard county, for Mr. Novak has brought his land under a high state of cultivation and has added all of the equipments and accessories of the model farm of the twentieth century. His methods are at once practical and progressive, and the neat and thrifty appearance of his place indicates his careful supervision and enterprise. In politics he is a democrat and he and his wife are members of the Catholic church. Both are highly esteemed in the community where they reside and where they have a large circle of warm friends.
FRED W. TUCKER.
Fred W Tucker, a farmer residing in Bassett, was born in Chickasaw town- ship, Chickasaw county, about a mile and a half from his present home, on the 14th of May, 1874, his parents being Joseph K. and Elizabeth ( Warren) Tucker. The father arrived in Chickasaw county when a lad of but nine years in company with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Tucker, who established their home here in 1854. William Tucker had visited the county the previous year in order to find a suitable location for a home and several months later he brought his family from Wisconsin to Iowa, taking up his abode in Chickasaw township. For several
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years he conducted a grist and sawmill and, prospering in his undertakings, he made judicious investments in land, becoming the owner of several farms. In later life he held a position in the pension department at Washington, D. C., for a number of years. Joseph K. Tucker, father of Fred W. Tucker of this review, attained his majority in Chickasaw county and was here married. He then located on a farm in Chickasaw township and was actively engaged in general agricultural pursuits until about 1904, when he removed to Bassett, where he lived retired until the fall of 1916. He then established his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but in 1919 returned to Bassett, where he now resides. Almost his entire life has been passed in Chickasaw county and his many sterling traits of character are recognized by all among whom he has lived.
Fred W. Tucker was educated in the town schools of Bassett and when a youth of seventeen years he became a wage earner, working out by the month as a farm hand. When he reached adult age he began farming on land of his own, which came to him as an inheritance from his grandmother. On the 16th of August, 1899, he was united in marriage to Miss Irene Sutherland, of Chickasaw township, a daughter of H. A. Sutherland, now a resident of Charles City, Iowa. Mrs. Tucker is a lady of many accomplishments and for some years prior to her marriage was successfully engaged in educational work. Mr. Tucker brought his bride to his home in Bassett and is now the owner of an excellent farm comprising two hundred acres adjoining the town, eighty acres of which lies within the corporate limits. He devotes his attention to general agricultural pursuits and has brought his fields under a very high state of cultivation and development, so that he annually harvests rich crops for which he finds a ready sale on the market. He was also one of the founders of the State Bank of Bassett in 1910 and was elected a member of its board of directors, in which capacity he has since served.
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have become the parents of three children, but Clifford K., their first-born, is now deceased. The others are: Neva, who is a junior in the high school; and Alice, who is also in school.
In his political views Mr. Tucker is a republican and for a number of years served as township trustee. He has also been town clerk, member of the town council, assessor and mayor. In fact he has filled every office save that of town marshal and has made a most excellent record by the prompt and faithful manner in which he has discharged his duties. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and has many friends both within and outside of that organization. He has demonstrated his worth in business circles and in public office as well and Bassett presents him as one of her representative citizens.
HON. H. L. SPAULDING.
Hon. H. L. Spaulding, a leading attorney of the Howard county bar living at Elma, was born on the 17th of February, 1863, a son of John F. and Augusta A. (Rowell) Spaulding, both of whom were natives of the New England states and both representatives of old families of that section of the country. In both lines the family was represented in the Revolutionary war and also in the French and Indian war In 1870 John F. Spaulding came to the west with his family, making his way to Charles City, Iowa, where he lived retired to the time of his death, which occurred in January, 1909, when he had reached the age of eighty years. His wife died in April, 1911, also at the age of eighty.
H. L. Spaulding was educated in the graded and high schools of Charles City and subsequently entered the Iowa State University, from which institution he received his collegiate degree in 1887. In 1888 he won his law degree and in 1890 the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him. Following the com- pletion of his education he established his home in Elma and entered upon the practice of law. In the intervening period of thirty years he has been connected with some of the important litigation heard in the courts of the district. He is
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also the president of the First State Savings Bank at Elma, having thus served since its reorganization and incorporation as a state bank. For the past few years he has likewise been extensively interested in farming and is a holder of farm lands in Howard county. In this connection he is in partnership with D. J. O'Donnell and together they own over two thousand acres of valuable land in Howard county.
Mr. Spaulding was married in 1896 to Miss Lena K. Wilcox, of Elma, a daughter of E. L. Wilcox, formerly a grain buyer of Howard county. They have two adopted sons, Edwin L. and Robert F.
Mr. Spaulding is a member of Maple Leaf Lodge, No. 528, A. F. & A. M., of Elma, also of Adelphia Chapter, R. A. M., and Eudora Commandery, No. 53, K. T. He has likewise crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of El Kahir Temple of Cedar Rapids and he and his wife are members of Oakdale Chapter of the Eastern Star. In politics he has always been a stalwart republican and represented his district in the thirtieth and thirty-first general assemblies, proving a capable member of the state legislature by his strong and influential endorsement of many measures for the general good.
P. M. HEROLD.
P. M. Herold, one of the substantial and influential citizens of Cresco, where he has lived retired for the past decade, was long and actively identified with agricultural pursuits in Howard county and owns altogether five hundred and sixty acres of valuable land within its borders. His birth occurred in Erie county, New York, on the 12th of December, 1850, his parents being Michael and Margaret (Kellner) Herold, both of whom were natives of Prussia and were there reared and married. The father, who was in straitened financial circumstances, decided to attempt to better his condition on this side of the Atlantic and emigrated to the United States about 1846, leaving his family in Prussia until he could earn enough money to pay their passage to America. He sent first for his two older children, while later his wife and the two younger children of the family joined him in the new world. Michael Herold had followed cabinet making in his native country but after coming to the United States could find no work along that line and therefore turned his attention to carpentering. In 1853 he removed westward to Iowa and became one of the earliest pioneers of Winneshiek county, where he took up one hundred and twenty acres of government land, also securing a forty- acre timber tract near Protivin, in Howard county. The remainder of his life was devoted to general farming in Winneshiek county with excellent success and he there passed away in 1885, at the age of seventy-five years, the community thus losing one of its most respected and honored pioneer settlers. His wife died about eight vears later, when she had attained the age of seventy-eight.
P. M. Herold, who was not yet three years old when the family home was established in Winneshiek county, Iowa, had but little opportunity to attend school in his youth but acquired a good practical education through reading and self-study. He was married when a young man of twenty-six and the same year began farming independently in Winneshiek county, at the same time undertaking the development of a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land which his father had purchased for him in Howard county and for which he later reimbursed him. In 1877 Mr. Herold took up his abode on the Howard county property on section 34, New Oregon township, where he resided continuously and successfully carried on his farming operations until 1909. As the years passed and prosperity rewarded his careful economy and untiring industry, he extended the boundaries of his home farm by additional purchase until it embraced four hundred acres. He also acquired another tract of one hundred and fifty acres on sections 3 and 4, New Oregon town- ship, and he likewise owns the ten-acre tract comprising his present home place in Cresco. where he has lived practically retired for the past ten years but still
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does a little farming in order to keep busy, indolence and idleness being utterly foreign to his nature.
In 1876 Mr. Herold was united in marriage to Miss Regina Steinmetz, a native of Winneshiek county, Iowa, and a daughter of Joseph and Sophia Steinmetz, the former being born in France, while the latter's birth occurred in Wurtemberg, Germany Mr. and Mrs. Herold became the parents of fourteen children, thirteen of whom are still living. The record of the family is as follows: Philip J., who is employed in the mill at Spillville, Iowa; Frank J., operating his father's farm of one hundred and fifty acres; Albert D., employed in an elevator at Cresco; Carl E., who cultivates the old home farm of four hundred acres in New Oregon township; Henry L., an agriculturist residing in Vernon Springs township; Andrew P., a merchant of Cresco; John L., at home; William L., who makes his home at Calmar, Iowa; Sophia M., who is the widow of Joseph Meyer and resides in Cresco; Clara R. and Mary A., at home; Louisa, who is deceased; and Anna B. and Agnes P., who are also yet under the parental roof. The wife and mother passed away on the 9th of August, 1917, her demise being the occasion of deep regret to all who knew her.
Politically Mr. Herold is independent, supporting men and measures rather than party. He ably served as a member of the board of township trustees for nine years and was also a member of the school board for many years, the cause of education ever finding in him a stalwart champion. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Columbus, while his religious faith is that of the Catholic church, in which he has reared his family. Practically his entire life has been spent in this part of the state and he is widely and favorably known as a citizen of worth and high standing. He has witnessed the growth and development which has characterized this region through the past two-thirds of a century, his memory forming a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present.
AUGUST LAUCK.
August Lauck enjoys the reputation of being one of the most progressive farmers of Howard county. He has thoroughly acquainted himself with the science of farming as well as with every practical phase of the work and he occupies a position of leadership in connection with the adoption of new ideas or plans that will further agricultural development. Moreover, he is a most . public-spirited citizen and occupies a foremost place in his support of measures tending to the welfare and upbuilding of the community at large. He lives on section 27, Howard township, and is numbered among the native sons of Iowa, his birth having oc- curred in Bremer county, September 8, 1866. His parents, John and Mary (Lamprecht) Lauck, were natives of Germany, where they were reared and mar- ried, but immediately afterward came to the United States, crossing the Atlantic in 1864 or 1865. They spent a short time in Cook county, Illinois, and then re- moved to Bremer county, Iowa, where they resided for six or seven years. Later Mr. Lauck purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Fayette county, upon which he spent his remaining days to the time of his retirement from active business, when he removed to Oelwein, where his death occurred on the 8th of August, 1914. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1882.
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