USA > Iowa > Howard County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 48
USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 48
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ability and had the goodwill and confidence of all who knew them. Mr. Wilson was a stalwart republican in politics, giving unfaltering support and loyalty to the party, for he believed most firmly in its principles as factors in good government. He was a Knight Templar Mason, having become a member of the order when in Ireland. He was then demitted from his home lodge and transferred his membership to a lodge in this country, and throughout his entire life he was a worthy exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the craft. His life was further actuated by his belief in the Presbyterian church, in which he long held membership. His was a well spent life. He never rented land but always lived upon his own property and his children have followed his example in this respect.
Stewart Wilson, whose name introduces this review, spent his boyhood days in the Empire state to the age of seventeen years, when he accompanied his parents on their removal westward. He was educated in the rural schools of St. Lawrence county, New York, and also attended a select school, which was the best institution of learning in that part of the state at the time. The schoolhouse in which he began his education was a little log building, but he thoroughly mas- tered the branches of learning therein taught and laid the foundation for later intellectual progress. Mr. Wilson was nineteen years of age when in 1865 he left home for the west, taking up his abode in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he pur- chased a farm of fifty acres which he tilled and improved until 1872. He then dis- posed of his property in that state and removed to Iowa, locating in Howard county. He took up his abode in New Oregon township, five miles south of the town of Cresco, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land. Later he added eighty acres more and continued the work of development with excellent results. He brought his fields under a high state of cultivation and annually gathered good crops, for he studied the condition of the soil and the requirement of the crops and was thus able to secure a maximum yield from his planting. His business interests were always wisely, carefully and systematically conducted and he continued the active work of the farm until 1902, when he went to Cresco, establishing his home there on the 3d of April, 1903. He now occupies a fine residence. It is very modern and complete in every particular, is supplied with the latest comforts and conveniences and is attractively furnished.
On the 25th of September, 1872, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wilson, a daughter of John and Katharine (Kent) Wilson. She was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, upon the homestead farm of her father, who was a native of Ohio, while her mother was a native of the state of New York. They were married in the Empire state and later removed to the west, settling in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where Mr. Wilson purchased a tract of land which he continued to develop and improve until the outbreak of the Civil war. His patriotic purpose was then dominant to every other force of his character and he enlisted for active service with the Union army, with which he remained for three years. He served throughout the duration of the war and in July, 1865, he was honorably discharged. He participated in many hotly contested engagements. Mr. Wilson never faltered in the performance of his duty but met each task assigned him bravely, whether called to the firing line or stationed on the lonely picket line. After the war he was somewhat broken in health but continued to follow farming in Wisconsin to the
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time of his demise, which occurred November 3, 1876. His wife survived him for a number of years, passing away April 12, 1893.
To Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Wilson have been born two children. Nellie Alice is the wife of John B. Rostratter, of Minneapolis, who is a native of Howard county, his father having come to lowa in pioneer times, casting in his lot among the early settlers of this county. Here the father passed away, but the mother is still living and now makes her home with her son in Minneapolis. Her brother, John Welch, was the first white child born in Howard county and the place of his birth is a little old stone house just south of Cresco, which is still standing. Both Mr. and Mrs. John B. Rostratter are well known in this county and they have an interesting little family of three children: Eunice K., Florence M., and Hazel. Frank George Wilson, the only son, married Miss Josie Haverley, of Howard county, and is now residing on his father's old home farm of two hundred and forty acres, which he is busily and successfully cultivating. To him and his wife have been born four children: Gilbert F .; John Stewart; Francis, who died in infancy; and Frances J., a little daughter.
Mr. Wilson is a republican in his political views and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He reads broadly and keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress, and although he has now passed the Psalm- ist's allotted span of three score years and ten, in spirit and interests he seems yet in his prime. He and his family are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man of liberal disposition and has contributed in substantial measure to plans and movements for the upbuilding of community and county. He has lived to witness many changes in this section of the state since taking up his abode here and at all times has borne his part in the work of general develop- ment and improvement. He is enjoying excellent health and is a well preserved man. His rest from business cares is well deserved because of the intense activity which preceded it. His business interests were wisely and carefully managed and his efforts brought to him a measure of success which is most gratifying.
PETER N. MILLER.
In the history of Howard county mention should be made of Peter N. Miller, who from pioneer times has been identified with the development of the county and has lived to witness its wonderful growth and progress as the years have passed by. He has always taken his part in advancing the welfare and upbuilding of the community and he is now pleasantly situated on section 6, Afton township .. He has reached the eighty-second milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred in Hanover, Ger- many, April 13, 1837. He is a son of Mathias and Annie Miller, both of whom were natives of that country.
Peter N. Miller spent the first fourteen years of his life in Germany and then came to the United States, since which time he has been a loyal American citizen. He made his way first to Madison, Wisconsin, and was employed in a bakery at eight dollars per month. He worked in that line for a few years and carefully saved his earnings until he was able to make investment in land. His first purchase made him owner of a sixty-acre tract, which he at once began to develop and improve. His home was a little log cabin such as is found in pioneer districts. He continued to cultivate that farm for about twenty-two years and his labors wrought a marked transformation in its
appearance. At the end of that period he sold the farm and came to Howard county, Iowa, purchasing forty acres of the present home place but he has since extended its boundaries until it now comprises eighty acres of rich and productive land. When he took possession of this property the land was still in its primitive condition and there devolved upon him the arduous task of breaking the sod and preparing the fields for cultivation. The house was a very small log cabin and all of the substantial and modern improvements that are found upon the place today are the work of Mr. Miller and indi-
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cate the progressive spirit that has always actuated him in the conduct of his farming interests.
On the 15th of February, 1867, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Louisa Lubbert, a daughter of Christ and Anna Marie Lubbert, farming people of Howard county. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have become the parents of the following children: Albert, John, Eliza, August, Minna and Lina. Four of the children are still upon the home farm. Albert married Sophie Lubbert, of Howard county, and carries on general agricultural pursuits in this section of the state. Eliza is the wife of Charles Miller, a resident farmer of Howard county. Two of the sons are now working the home farm, relieving their father of the care and responsibility incident to its further development and cultivation.
The religious faith of the family is that of the German Lutheran church and Mr. Miller has ever been a loyal adherent of its teachings. His political support has been given to the democratic party since he became a naturalized American citizen. For sixty-eight years he has lived on this side of the Atlantic and is thoroughly imbued with the American spirit. He has worked diligently and persistently as the years have gone by and has contributed to the agricultural development of Howard county, in which he has made his home from pioneer times.
FRANK FOGLE.
Among the representative farmers of Saratoga township, Howard county, is Frank Fogle, who resides on section 31. He claims Bohemia as the land of his birth and he was there born September 13, 1852. His parents were Charlie and Annie (Kodetk) Fo- gle, who were lifelong residents of Bohemia. The father was born in 1814 and the mother in 1821 and they were married in 1838.
In his native land Frank Fogle was reared and educated and on reaching man- hood he was there married to Miss Barbara Stejskal in 1873. They have become the parents of ten children, namely: Frank, who married Mary Zaruby; Anna, the wife of Frank Dvorak; Marie, who married David Dolechek; Andrew, who married Ella Jarvis; Rudolph, who married Myrtle Stephans; Bessie, the wife of Fred Yezek; Lottie, the wife of Roy Meiletz; Hattie, the wife of Joseph Omer; Jerry, at home; and George.
Mr. Fogle remained a resident of his native land until January 16, 1890, when he came alone to the United States with the hope of making for his family a home on this side of the Atlantic. Upon landing in this country he proceeded to Chicago and from there to Mount Ayr, Iowa, where he worked on a farm for a year. The following two years were spent on a farm near Yale, this state, and while there his family joined him. Subsequently he operated a rented farm of forty acres for one year and then rented one hundred and twenty acres, which he operated for two years. He later spent four years on a farm of three hundred and twenty acres near Rippey, in Greene county, Iowa, and for seven years engaged in operating a five hundred åcre farm which he rented. It was in 1908 that he purchased his present farm on section 31, Saratoga township, How- ard county. becoming at that time the owner of one hundred and thirty acres, to which he added an adjoining tract of thirty acres in 1913. He is an enterprising and progres- sive farmer and has met with well deserved success since locating here. His political support is given to the democratic party and for six years he has served as a school director. He is a member of the Equity Shippers of Elma and is held in the highest esteem by all who know him.
J. D. WHITINGER.
A good farm in Afton township, Howard county, situated on section 12, pays tribute to the care and labor bestowed upon it by J. D. Whitinger, who displays progressive methods in the management and development of the land. He was born in Story county, Iowa, January 22, 1884, a son of Daniel and Armeta (Belcher)
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Whitinger. The father was born in Marion county, Indiana, while the mother was a native of Story county, Iowa. The former came to this state in the '70s and soon after his arrival was married to Armeta Belcher. They began their domestic life in Story county and there reared their family.
J. D. Whitinger, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, attended the common schools and was trained in the work of the home farm, early be- coming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. When he arrived at years of maturity he planned to have a home of his own and to this end wedded Miss Clara Mae Shafer, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Newton Shafer, who are still residents of Story county, Iowa, where they have spent their entire lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Whitinger have been born three children, namely: Thelma Mae, Arthur D. and Jacob D., aged respectively eleven, nine and six years.
From Story county Mr. Whitinger came to Howard county and has since been identified with its agricultural interests. He is now the owner of a good farm on section 12, Afton township, and in the further development of his land has made it a valuable and productive farm. There are good buildings upon the place and everything indicates the careful supervision, and progressive methods of the owner, whose life has been one of intense and well directed activity, bringing to him the success which is now his.
Mr. and Mrs. Whitinger are consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, contributing generously to its support and doing everything in their power to upbuild the cause and extend its influence. Mr. Whitinger belongs to the Masonic lodge of Elma and he and his wife are identified with the Order of Eastern Star. In politics he is a republican and is much interested in the vital questions and political problems of the age but does not seek to fill political office. He prefers to devote his time and energies to his business affairs, and the careful direction of his labors has led to the attainment of a substantial measure of success.
W. F. GETSCH.
The name of W. F. Getsch is an honored one in the financial circles of Chickasaw county. He is the president of the Commercial State Savings Bank of Nashua and is regarded as a man of thorough reliability as well as enterprise. He was born in Brad- ford, Chickasaw county, Iowa, on the 9th of June, 1872, and is a son of Ferdinand C. and Lena E. (Hanna) Getsch. The father was born in Prussia, while the mother was a native of Brunswick, Germany. Ferdinand C. Getsch came to the United States about 1858, settling in McGregor, Iowa, where he took up blacksmithing. He formed a part- nership with Joseph Clemens and also engaged in wagon building. He was quite suc- cessful in the conduct of his business interests there and five years later he returned to Germany for his wife, whom he brought to the new world. He remained in McGregor for three or four years longer and then came to Chickasaw county, settling in the old town of Bradford, where he opened a shop and continued in business until the building of the railroad into Nashua in 1877, at which time he removed to Nashua and opened another shop, which he continued to conduct until within ten years of his death. He passed away in October, 1904, while his widow, surviving him for a decade, was called to her final rest on the 14th of October, 1914, They were the parents of ten children, nine of whom are yet living.
W. F. Getsch was educated in the public schools of Nashua, passing through con- secutive grades to his graduation from the high school with the class of 1890. He then went west to Park City, Utah, where he worked in the silver and lead mines for two and a half years. He afterwards returned to Nashua, Iowa, and became identified with the banking business, entering the First National Bank in order to learn bookkeeping. It was his intention to return to the west, having been offered a position in a bank in Utah, but after three months' stay with the First National Bank of Nashua he accepted a permanent position in that institution, of which A. G. Case was the president. On the 1st of January, 1894, he was made bookkeeper of the bank and in November of the same
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year the First National Bank liquidated and Mr. Case opened a private bank under the firm style of A. G. Case & Company, making Mr. Getsch his bookkeeper. On the 1st of June, 1895, the latter was made cashier of the bank and served in that capacity for fifteen years, after which he was elected vice president and remained in that office for two years, when he was chosen president. On the 1st of January, 1915, the institution was reorganized and incorporated as the Commercial State Savings Bank and Mr. Getsch continues as its president. The development of the bank has been attributable in no small measure to his efforts, his comprehensive knowledge of banking and his progressiveness. At the time Mr. Getsch became cashier of the bank the deposits amounted to one hundred thousand dollars. Something of the growth of the business of the institution is indicated in the fact that today the deposits approximate five hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars.
On the 6th of June, 1900, Mr. Getsch was united in marriage to Miss Helen Dexter, of Nashua, who at that time was a teacher in the public schools of Cedar Falls. They have become the parents of a son and a daughter, Gertrude M. and William C.
Politically Mr. Getsch is an earnest republican and has served as a member of the town council but cannot be said to be a politician in the sense of office seeking. In matters of citizenship, however, he has always stood on the side of progress and im- provement. He was a member of the Liberty Loan committee during the Victory Loan drive and had been active in all the former loans. Fraternally he is connected with Bradford Lodge, No. 129, A. F. & A. M .; Almond Chapter, No. 53, R. A. M., of Charles City; Joppa Commandery, No. 55, K. T., of Charles City; El Kahir Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Cedar Rapids; and De Molay Consistory, A. & A. S. R., of Clinton, lowa. Both he and his wife are members of Nashua Chapter, No. 248, O. E. S., and they are also members of the First Congregational church. He is deeply interested in Masonry and is a loyal follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft, exemplifying in his life its beneficent spirit. He is recognized as a man of high personal worth whose splendid traits of character have brought him to the front not only in business but also in the regard of his fellow townsmen. In July, 1918, when the Chickasaw County Bankers' Association was organized, Mr. Getsch was honored by being elected the first president of the association. This is indicative of his high standing in business circles and of the prominent position which he occupies among his fellow townsmen. His worth is widely recognized and his value to the community is acknowledged by all.
HENRY FAUST.
Henry Faust is the proprietor of the Forest View Stock Farm of three hundred and forty-five acres. This is situated on section 13, Stapleton township, Chickasaw county, and is one of the fine farm properties of northern Iowa. Mr. Faust is a native of Palatine, Illinois, born September 11, 1852. His father, Henry Faust, Sr., was a native of Prussia, Germany, while the mother, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Willman. was born in Alsace, France. Each came to the United States in early life and settled in Cook county, Illinois, where they became acquainted and were married. They took up their abode upon a farm which later became the townsite of Palatine when the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad was built through that district. Some of the first trains run over the road killed some of his cattle and Mr. Faust sold his farm and came west to Iowa. It was subsequent to this time that the town of Palatine was founded and had he remained the sale of town lots would have made him financially independent. He removed to Iowa with three prairie schooners drawn by oxen and brought with him forty head of cattle, arriving in Chickasaw county on the 4th of July, 1855. From the government he entered three hundred and twenty acres of raw land upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. This is now the home farm of his son and namesake, the land never having passed out of the posses- sion of the family. The father's first habitation here was constructed of poles covered with wild hay. During the following winter, that of 1855-6, the cold was intense. In fact it is a memorable winter in the history of Iowa and the family suffered many hard-
MR. AND MRS. HENRY FAUST, SR.
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ships and privations. In subsequent years the father prospered and attained notable success. He remained upon the old home farm until his death, which occurred in 1888, when he was in his seventy-seventh year. His wife survived until 1893 and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of her demise.
Henry Faust, whose names introduces this review, was educated in the district schools and at the age of nineteen left the parental roof. He then went to Deerfield, Illinois, where he worked for two years in a wagon shop. About that time his brother, who had been left upon the farm, died and Henry Faust found it necessary to return home and take charge of the place, which he has now operated for the past forty-six years. He has carried on stock farming, raising shorthorn cattle, and has made the Forest View Stock Farm one of the notable places in this section of the country. The farm is today owned by himself and his sister, Margaret, who are the only two living representatives of a family of seven children. Neither has married and they keep house together. For the past five years Mr. Faust has rented his land and is now practically living retired.
Both Mr. Faust and his sister are members of the Lutheran church. In politics he is a republican, always voting with that party, but has never been an aspirant for political preferment. Starting out in life with but limited school advantages, working at the breaking plow for several seasons and always with the laudable ambition to attain something better, he has steadily advanced along the lines of progressive farming and has become one of the substantial citizens of northern Iowa.
CLIFTON M. PARKER.
Clifton M. Parker is the president of the First National Bank of Lawler and has had charge of its financial policy for a number of years, the success of the institution being therefore attributable to his sound judgment and progressive business methods. He was born in Lawler, November 27, 1882, a son of William H. and Ettie (Mason) Parker. He was educated in the Lawler high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1899, and in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. He also attended the Capital City Commercial College at Des Moines and following the completion of his studies he returned to Lawler, where he entered his father's bank in the position of assistant cashier and bookkeeper. The bank was then a private institution operating under the name of William H. Parker & Company or the Bank of Lawler, as it was generally spoken of. This bank was established in 1875 by D. R. Kirby and was one of the three banks then existing in Chickasaw county. In 1887 it was purchased by William H. Parker and conducted by him until his death on the 18th of June, 1912. Two years later the bank was nationalized, becoming the First National Bank of Lawler, at which time it issued a statement concerning the history of the institution, speaking of William H. Parker, who "began business on February 14, 1887, at a time when depositors were few, money available for loaning was scarce and the interest rate was twelve per cent, usually paid in advance. Two years after the date that he began business his books show a total deposit of only four thousand seven hundred and forty- three dollars and sixty-six cents. The main profit for the bank was derived from the exchange account. An exchange charge was made on each check cashed by the bank as well as on the exchange that the bank sold. At this time the bank had a capital of five thousand dollars. The rate of interest paid on time deposits was five per cent. which is the rate that the bank has continued to pay. The panics of 1893 and 1907 were safely weathered and the business has enjoyed a healthy growth. Competition entered the field in 1896. At the death of William H. Parker, when his son, C. M. Parker, assumed control, the bank's capital and surplus was seventeen thousand dollars and its deposits were one hundred and eight thousand dollars. On the last day of its business, August 15, 1914. the capital, surplus and profits were twenty-five thousand dollars and the total deposits were one hundred and fifty-eight thousand dollars. Every obligation of the old bank has been assumed by the new one. It is the belief of the officers of the First National Bank of Lawler that times are good; that the United
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States is, by far, the best country in the world; that Iowa is her best state; that there is no better place than the town of Lawler and the farming country tributary to it. It is our ambition that this bank shall be the best that good management under good laws can provide. We have every faith in the government of the United States and are glad to be under federal surveillance. Our policy will be the most liberal consistent with good banking. We will have nothing to conceal except the private affairs of our customers." The bank is in a very flourishing condition, its business steadily increas- ing, and its policy is such as carefully safeguards the interests of depositors and yet makes for continued growth. It has indeed been an institution of great worth to Lawler.
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