USA > Iowa > Howard County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 53
USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
Mr. Deal was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Houser, of Monroe, Wisconsin. She is a member of the German Lutheran church and in social circles they occupy an enviable position. Fraternally Mr. Deal is connected with Launcelot Lodge, No. 183, K. P .; with Phoenix Lodge, No. 556, I. O. O. F .; the Modern Brotherhood of America; and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also connected with the New Hampton fire department and in matters of public concern is deeply interested, giving his active aid and cooperation to all well defined plans and measures for the general good. There have been no unusual or spectacular phases in his life record. He has always re- mained a resident of New Hampton, acquiring his education in the public schools, choosing this as the theater of his business career and by persistent and untiring effort steadily working his way upward. His course has at all times been above criticism, and that his has been a well spent life is indicated in the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood days to the present time.
PETER B. FICHTEL.
Modern business enterprise finds a worthy representative in Peter B. Fichtel, the manager of the Farmers Lumber Company of Alta Vista. He started upon life's journey in Germany, July 16, 1859, a son of Peter and Sophia (Schwab) Fichtel, both of whom remained residents of Germany throughout their entire lives.
In his native country Peter B. Fichtel was reared and educated, but the opportuni-
421
CHICKASAW AND HOWARD COUNTIES
ties of the new world attracted him and in 1882, when twenty-three years of age, he severed home ties and sailed for the United States. He did not tarry upon the Atlantic coast but made his way into the interior of the country and settled at West Union, Iowa. Here he was married in 1889 to Miss Elizabeth Fritz, a daughter of George and Elizabeth Fritz, who were also natives of Germany but became residents of Iowa in early life. The father passed away in Alta Vista, and the mother's death occurred in Fayette county, this state. In the '90s Mr. Fichtel was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in Alta Vista, leaving one son, Clifford Archie. Mr. Fichtel after- ward married again. his second union being with Miss Mary Pohel, a daughter of Henry Pohel, who also came from Germany and established his home in Iowa. To the second marriage of Mr. Fichtel has been born a son Harry Henry.
The business career of Mr. Fichtel has been one of steady progress. After coming to Iowa he remained at West Union for three or four years and then removed to Alta Vista, where he engaged in the lumber business, at first entering the employ of Henry Kiene while later he worked for the Standard Lumber Company of Dubuque in the Alta Vista yards. He next became connected with the Central Lumber Company of Dubuque as its representative at Alta Vista and in 1909 the business was taken over by the Farmers Cooperative Lumber Company of Alta Vista, of which Mr. Fichtel is now the manager. He is thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the business, and his en- terprise and industry have been salient factors in the success attained by the com- pany. He is also one of the stockholders in the Farmers Cooperative Lumber Company and in all business affairs manifests sound judgment and unfaltering diligence.
Mr. Fichtel and his family are members of the German Lutheran church at Alta Vista and their aid and influence are given to every plan and project for the public good. He is a republican in politics and has served on the school board of Alta Vista for a number of years. When matters of public concern are at stake his aid and influ- ence are always given on the side of general progress and improvement and he has gained recognition as one of the substantial citizens and leading business men of his adopted town.
JOHN S. OWENS.
John S. Owens, a farmer living on section 23, Dresden township, Chickasaw county, was born near Springfield, Illinois, June 18, 1852, a son of George and Minerva Jane (Staley) Owens. The father was a native of Tennessee, while the mother was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, where she formed the acquaintance of Mr. Owens, who sought her hand in marriage, the wedding being celebrated in 1847. Mr. Owens afterward worked as a farm hand for a year and then removed with his wife to Macoupin county, Illinois, settling near Scottville, where he pur- chased eighty acres of land for a dollar and a quarter per acre, the place being at that time a tract of raw prairie. About 1855 he bought two hundred acres addi- tional of prairie land and eighty acres of timber land situated two and a half miles north of his first purchase. Some of the timber land was bought for twelve and a half cents per acre. Mr. Owens remained upon the farm which he there developed until his son John was seventeen years of age, at which time he bought one hundred and eighty acres adjoining his two hundred acre tract on the south and settled upon that place. He retained all of his land, putting all of the buildings and improve- ments upon his farm, and ere his death, which occurred in Macoupin county, Illinois, March 5, 1876, he had accumulated six hundred and twenty-six acres of valuable land. He farmed the entire place with the assistance of his children and some hired help. He had freed the entire place from indebtedness and was regarded as one of the most prominent, influential and successful farmers of his part of the state. His life record is indeed worthy of consideration and of emulation. What- ever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion, recognizing the fact that when one avenue of opportunity seemed closed he could carve out other
-
422
CHICKASAW AND HOWARD COUNTIES
paths whereby he might reach the desired goal. In all of his business life he fol- lowed constructive methods, his path never being strewn with other men's failures.
It was amid an admirable home environment that Mr. Owens of this review was reared. He enjoyed the educational opportunities afforded by the common schools and was thoroughly trained in farm work by his father, his youthful ex- periences well qualifying him for duties and responsibilities that have come to him in later life. On the 26th of October, 1876, when twenty-five years of age, he was married to Miss Ida A. Fletcher, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Fletcher. Her father passed away in Macoupin county, Illinois, on the farm where he was born and which is still in possession of the family. Mrs. Fletcher is still living and now makes her home in Palmyra, Illinois. Although she has attained the age of eighty-one years she is remarkably well preserved and is able to care for all of the work of her own household.
To the time of his marriage Mr. Owens had assisted his father upon the home place, and he then rented a farm, which he cultivated for a few years, taking over the development of one hundred and sixty acres of land. He afterward purchased eighty acres of land near his father-in-law's place in Macoupin county and con- ducted that farm for thirteen years, at the end of which time he sold the property and purchased one hundred and sixty acres adjoining his former farm on the north. This he developed and improved for a decade, when he again sold out and at that time removed to Daviess county, Missouri. For eight years he cultivated rented land in that state and then came to Iowa, since which time he has made his home in Chickasaw county. He has lived upon various farms and at present is cultivating one hundred and twenty-one acres on section 23, Dresden township, which he owns. He makes a business of breeding registered Poland China hogs and also registered shorthorn cattle, having on hand stock for sale all of the time. His farm is pleasantly situated a mile south and a mile west of Frederickburg and he is conducting a profitable business.
Mr. and Mrs. Owens have become the parents of four children: Mrs. Della Scott; G. W., Mrs. Osie T. Faulkner and Mrs. Elizabeth Troy. In politics Mr. Owens is a democrat but he has never been an office seeker. He belongs to the Farmers Equity Association and fraternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen Camp at Lawler. He is loyal to the teach- ings and purposes of these organizations and has many friends in the membership of the lodges.
NORMAN L. FRITCHER.
Norman L. Fritcher, a wide-awake an energetic farmer of Chickasaw township, Chickasaw county, residing on section 20, was born two miles south of Ionia, in the township where he still resides, on the 25th of November, 1871. His parents were L. E. and Helen (Smith) Fritcher, the former a native of the state of New York, while the latter was born in Wisconsin. They became acquainted in Iowa, however, and were married in Chickasaw township, subsequent to which time the father devoted his attention and energies to general agricultural pursuits in that township, where he lived for a number of years. He afterward worked in the creamery at Ionia for a period of eighteen years and then, severing his business connections in Chickasaw county, took up his abode in Hubbard county, Minnesota, where he now resides. His first wife passed away and he afterward married again, his second wife living, however, for but a year. Later he married a third time and with this wife now makes his home in Hubbard county, Minnesota. He is yet remembered by many friends in Chickasaw county, who ever esteemed him as a progressive business man and reliable citizen.
Norman L. Fritcher 'obtained a district school education of a somewhat limited character, for he left home when but twelve years of age, at the time of his mother's death, and went to live with his maternal grandparents. He continued with them
423
CHICKASAW AND HOWARD COUNTIES
for fourteen years and upon attaining his majority he began farming on his own account on a tract of rented land. He cultivated that place but made his home with his grandparents until he reached the age of twenty-six years, when he com- pleted his arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage.
It was on the 9th of December, 1897, that Norman L. Fritcher wedded Edith F. Read, a daughter of Smith and Sarah Read. Her mother is still living at Nashua, Iowa, but the father passed away in Chickasaw township in 1919. They were natives of England, where they remained until after their marriage and then sought the opportunities of the new world. They established their home in Bremer county, Iowa, and it was there that Mrs. Fritcher was born. By her marriage she has become the mother of a son, Dale Le Roy, who is twenty years of age and assists his father upon the home farm.
Three years after his marriage Mr. Fritcher bought his present farm, although at that time he acquired but twenty acres of the place. He has since extended its boundaries until he now has eighty acres and has converted this into a rich and productive tract, from which he annually gathers good harvests. He is a man of notable thrift and industry and in addition to the cultivation of his fields he does carpentering and mason work. He is likewise a member of the Farmers' Equity Company of Nashua.
In community affairs Mr. Fritcher is much interested and his aid is a valuable asset in the promotion of public progress along various lines. He is now serving as one of the trustees of Chickasaw township and for many years he has been one of the school directors, doing everything in his power to promote educational advance- ment in his community. He and his family are leading members of the Baptist church of Chickasaw and their genuine personal worth has made them most highly esteemed citizens of the district in which they make their home.
JOHN H. ERNWINE.
John H. Ernwine, deceased, was born, reared and always lived upon the farm on section 20, Bradford township, Chickasaw county, on which his death occurred. His natal day was September 7, 1857, his parents being Michael and Anna (Lyman) Ernwine, who came to this county about 1850. The father had served as a soldier of the Mexican war and after his discharge at the close of hostilities with Mexico he reenlisted in the regular army and served for five years on the frontier. In recognition of his military aid he received a land warrant from the government and applied this on the purchase of one hundred and sixty acres of land on the old military road in Bradford township. This is the present site of the Ernwine home. On this land Mr. Ernwine built a log cabin and made a home for himself and family. Pioneer conditions everywhere existed and residence in this section of the state was then fraught with various hardships and privations. He marketed his grain and stock in McGregor, selling dressed hogs for two dollars and a half per hundred after hauling them eighty miles to market by ox team. Prices were very low and times hard but he persevered and in the course of years his labors brought him substantial returns. He lived and died in the old pioneer cabin and was one of the well known early settlers of his section of the state.
Following the death of his father John H. Ernwine succeeded to the ownership of the home place and continued to live thereon until he was called to his final rest. At one time he owned three hundred and eighteen acres of rich and valuable land, of which two hundred and twenty-eight acres still remain in possession of the family. The farm is probably the oldest one in the township which has never passed out of the possession of one family.
In 1896 Mr. Ernwine was married to Miss Mina Cagley, a daughter of George W. Cagley and a granddaughter of Levi Cagley, one of the most prominent of the pioneer settlers of Chickasaw county, of whom extended mention is made else- where in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Ernwine were born three children: Amy L.,
424
CHICKASAW AND HOWARD COUNTIES
Forrest M. and Charles H., all at home with their mother. Mrs. Ernwine and her daughter are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are highly esteemed wherever known. They enjoy the hospitality of the best homes in the neighborhood and their friends are many.
In politics Mr. Ernwine was a republican but never an office seeker, yet he ever took a helpful interest in public affairs and especially in educational matters. For many years he was a member of the school board and exerted his official prerogatives in support of advanced standards in the schools at all times. He belonged to the Knights of Pythias lodge and also to the Modern Woodmen camp and he was ac- counted one of the foremost citizens of Bradford township, where he passed away February 25, 1914, being laid to rest in Greenwood cemetery. All who knew him attested the sterling worth of his character, his loyalty to principles, his fidelity in citizenship and his devotion to the welfare of his home and family.
HON. PRESLEY L. KEPPLE.
Hon. Presley L. Kepple is a member of the Iowa state legislature and not only is leaving the impress of his individuality and ability upon the records of the general assembly but is also contributing to the material development of Chickasaw county as one of the leading business men of Ionia. He was born in this county on the 11th of July, 1857, a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Byers) Kepple, who were natives of the Keystone state, where they were reared and married. They resided in Pennsyl- vania until after the birth of two sons and in the fall of 1855 or 1856 came to Iowa, establishing their home in Washington township, Chickasaw county, where the father took up a claim of government land. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made on the property and with characteristic energy he began its development by building the little log cabin in which Presley L. Kepple was born. The family experienced many of the hardships and privations which are conditions of frontier settlement. About 1865 the father removed to Chickasaw township, where he became owner of two hundred acres of land, and later he lived for a number of years in the old town of Chickasaw, where he engaged in merchandis- ing. He removed from there to Nashua and the last fifteen years of his life were passed in Ionia, during which time he was retired from active business, enjoying a rest which he had truly earned. He passed away in 1893, at the age of eighty- three years, and his wife died in 1894, at the age of seventy-eight years.
Presley L. Kepple has been a lifelong resident of Chickasaw county, acquainted with its development and progress through a period of sixty-two years. He was educated in the district schools and on attaining his majority began farming on his own account, devoting seven years to general agricultural pursuits. He then left the farm and in company with his brothers, John W. and Fred Kepple, en- gaged in merchandising at Ionia. After a considerable period the firm sold the business and for two years or more Presley L. Kepple was engaged in the real estate business. He afterward returned to mercantile pursuits, conducting a store independently, and was prominently associated with the commercial interests of the town until about 1912, when he was succeeded by his son, G. D. Kepple, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. Not only did Mr. Kepple make for himself a place of prominence in commercial circles but also was actively iden- tified with public interests. For twelve years he filled the position of postmaster of Ionia and occupied the office of justice of the peace, that of constable, member of the town council and member of the board of education for a number of years. His fellow townsmen at all times have recognized his capability and his loyalty and fidelity to public duty and thus have again and again called upon him for of- ficial service. He has ever been an earnest republican in politics and upon his party ticket was elected to represent his district in the Iowa state legislature in 1914. Commendation of his first term's service came to him in re-election and he has now been a member of the general assembly in the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh
HON. PRESLEY L. KEPPLE
Vol. II-27
427
CHICKASAW AND HOWARD COUNTIES
and thirty-eighth sessions. He has the notable distinction of having been the only republican ever elected from Chickasaw county to the state legislature for three successive terms in the history of this county. His course has been marked by absolute fidelity to duty and devotion to the interests of his constituents.
On the 12th of December, 1883, Mr, Kepple was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Rumbaugh, of Charles City, Iowa, by whom he had six children, five of whom survive; Madge L., who is the wife of Dr. W. L. Hanson, of Greene, Iowa; Carl D., a ranchman residing in Montana; Trula F., who is a stenographer em- ployed in the state dairy and food department at Des Moines; Glenn D., who has succeeded his father in the conduct of the mercantile establishment at Ionia; and Gladys W., who is a public school teacher and lives at home. Excellent educational privileges have been accorded by Mr. and Mrs. Kepple to their family, for they have ever recognized the value of thorough intellectual training.
Mr. Kepple is a member of Bradford Lodge, No. 129, A. F. & A. M., of Nashua, and is a worthy follower of the teachings of the craft. His life has ever been guided by high and honorable principles and over his official record there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He has done important work as a member of the state legislature and was chairman of the state dairy and food committee in the thirty-eighth general assembly. In his political career he has ever placed the general welfare before partisanship and the upbuilding of the state before personal aggrandizement. The record of no man in public office in Chickasaw county has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct or stainless in reputation than that of Hon. Presley L. Kepple.
LOUIS A. LARSON.
Louis A. Larson is widely known as a leading merchant of Lawler, where he has been continuously and successfully engaged in business for almost a third of a century, while the period of his residence in the town covers thirty-seven years. He was born in Norway on the 13th of April, 1848, his parents being Baker and Josephine (Peterson) Larson, who emigrated to the United States in 1853 or 1854. They established their home in Crawford county, Wisconsin, where the father entered a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres and later purchased an adjoining tract of eighty acres. The cultivation and improvement of that property claimed his attention throughout the remainder of his active business career and both he and his wife continued to reside thereon until called to their final rest. The place is still in possession of the family, being now owned by one of the sons of Baker Larson.
Louis A. Larson, who was but five or six years of age when brought by his parents to the new world, was reared to manhood on the home farm in Crawford county, Wisconsin, and acquired his education in the district schools. On attaining his majority he went to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and entered the employ of the general mercantile firm of L. Case & Company, with which he remained for thirteen years, gaining knowledge and experience that proved the basis of his later business success. After severing his connection with the house in 1882 he came to Lawler, Iowa, as manager of the elevator of Bassett, Huntting & Company, spending five years in the service of that concern as a grain buyer. In 1887, feeling that his capital and experience justified the step, he embarked in the mercantile business at Lawler on his own account and through the intervening period of thirty- two years has continuously conducted his establishment with a steadily growing and gratifying patronage. He carries an extensive and well selected line of general merchandise, enjoys a justly merited reputation for thorough reliability and fair dealing and has long been numbered among the foremost business men of the town.
In 1874 Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Bridget A. O'Malley, of Allamakee county, Iowa, by whom he has seven children, as follows: Nora E., who is now the wife of T. H. Goheen, a practicing attorney of Calmar, Iowa; Jose-
428
CHICKASAW AND HOWARD COUNTIES
phine, who gave her hand in marriage to Frank Connolly, a well known lawyer of New Hampton, Iowa; Gertrude, the wife of A. M. Russell, of New Hampton, Iowa; Ada, who is the wife of D. V. Murphy, a jeweler of Lawler, Iowa; Charles E., who is engaged in clerking in his father's store; Louis E., who holds the position of office man for the Buick Motor Company at Flint, Michigan; and· Zetha, who is also em- ployed as a clerk in her father's store.
In his political views Mr. Larson is a democrat and on that ticket was elected to the office of mayor of Lawler, in which capacity he served for six years, giving to the city a most progressive and businesslike administration characterized by various needed reforms and improvements. He likewise served for several years as secretary of the school board of Lawler and the cause of education has ever found in him a stanch champion. For a brief period he also acted as sec- retary of the Lawler Creamery Association. In religious faith he and his family are Catholics. Though he has now passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, he is still an active and forceful figure in business circles and his life has ever been such as to merit the warm esteem which is uniformly accorded him.
J. W. PECINOVSKY.
J. W. Pecinovsky is one of the most enterprising citizens of New Oregon township, Howard county, his home being on section 35, where he owns a good farm of forty acres. He does not confine his attention, however, to his farming operations, for he is in- terested in several other enterprises, and in his business affairs is meeting with most excellent success. He is one of Howard county's native sons, his birth occurring July 29, 1870. His parents were Anton and Annie Pecinovsky, who came to the United States from Bohemia with their respective parents and later became acquainted and were married in Winneshiek county, Iowa. Subsequently they removed to Howard county and were numbered among the pioneers of this region. The father died in Mon. tana in 1918 but the mother is still living and now makes her home in that state.
Reared upon his father's farm in New Oregon township, J. W. Pecinovsky was edu- cated in the district schools of the neighborhood and assisted his father in the work of the farm until twenty-eight years of age. He then rented the place for two years and in 1901 was united in marriage to Miss Mary Pecinovsky, a daughter of F. J. and Katie (Hrabe) Pecinovsky. To our subject and his wife have been born six children, namely: George, Ida, Anna, Mae, Clara and Ernest, all at home.
In 1909 Mr. Pecinovsky purchased his present farm, consisting of forty acres on section 35, New Oregon township, and has since successfully engaged in its operation. He is the owner of a threshing machine and a corn shredder, which he operates during the busy season, and he also owns a cement mixer, doing all kinds of mason work. He is a mechanic of more than ordinary ability and often does both carpentering and blacksmithing. He is industrious, enterprising and progressive and is meeting with well merited success in all that he undertakes. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the republican party and for seven years served as school director in New Oregon township.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.