USA > Iowa > Clayton County > History of Clayton County, Iowa : from the earliest historical times down to the present : including a genealogical and biographical record of many representative families, prepared from data obtained from original sources of information, Volume I > Part 76
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farmers of that township at the time of his death, which occurred January 4, 1874, and his wife having long survived him, she having been called to the "land of the leal" on the 16th of November, 1904, at a venerable age, and both having been earnest members of the German Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Hartwick became the parents of four children, all of whom are living except the third, Alfred, who was born September 16, 1873, and who died on the 9th of the following February. Matilda is the wife of William A. Meyer, a prosperous farmer of Giard township, and she was born May 16, 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer have four chil- dren-Gilbert N., Clinton John, Ewald A., and Irwin W. Clara, the second child, was born September 27, 1869, and is now the wife of Rev. George Wessel, who is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and who now holds the superintendency of the church in South Dakota, their only child being a daughter, Irene. Theodore Hartwick, who has the active supervision of the home farm, was born September 30, 1875, and is well upholding the prestige of the family name, both as a progressive citizen and as a successful agriculturist and stock-raiser of his native county. He married Miss Matilda E. Datisman, of Dubuque, Iowa, and they became the parents of two children, John and Helen, the latter of whom died at the age of seven years.
Miner F. Harwood is one of the most popular, progressive and influential business men in his native town of Strawberry Point, where he is cashier of the First National Bank and otherwise prominent in business and civic affairs. Here his birth occurred on the 3d of March, 1878, and he is a son of Newton and Helen (Tuller) Harwood, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York and both of whom passed the closing years of their lives in Clayton county. The father came to this county in 1870 and for a long period he was actively engaged in farming enterprise, besides which he gained prominence as a citizen of Strawberry Point, where he served for several terms in the office of city marshal. The subject of this sketch is the younger of the two children, and the firstborn, Julia, died in infancy. Miner F. Harwood received excellent educational advantages in his youth, his earlier discipline having been that of the public schools of his native county. He was thereafter a student for about two years in Upper Iowa University, in which institution he took a com- mercial course, and later he went to the city of Chicago, where he completed a course in the School of Pharmacy of Northwestern University. He was graduated in June, 1899, and also took a course of higher academic study in the school of instruction main- tained under the auspices of the Central Young Men's Christian Association of Chicago. Upon his return to Strawberry Point he here became actively identified with the drug business and at the same time he assumed the general supervision of the old home farm of 170 acres, a property of which he disposed in 1910. In February of the following year he was chosen assistant cashier of the First National Bank, and his executive ability and marked fidel- ity lead to his being advanced to the office of cashier of this repre-
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sentative financial institution, the latter office having been held by him since July 1, 1913. He has been a member of the directorate of the bank since 1911, is serving as township treasurer at the time of this writing, in 1916, besides which he is treasurer also of the Strawberry Point District Fair Association and of the local Farm- ers' Co-operative Association, which operates the creamery at Strawberry Point. He is a leader in progressive movements in his native place, which has done much to further the civic and material advancement of Strawberry Point. Mr. Harwood gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party and is prominently identified with the Knights of Pythias, in which he is chancellor commander of Acme Lodge, No. 130, and he is treasurer of Straw- berry Point Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which fraternity his basic affiliation is with York Lodge, No. 175. On the 28th of November, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Norwood to Miss Harriet Flower, who was born in Fayette county, this state, and they have one daughter, Helene, who was born March 2, 1908.
William Haufle has passed the greater part of his life thus far in Clayton county, where he was born December 4, 1874, and he became dependent upon his own resources when a mere boy. His courage, ambition and energy proved equal to the responsibilities that devolved upon him and resulted in his winning, by personal effort, a substantial measure of success and prosperity. He became one of the progressive and successful exponents of agricultural and live-stock industry in this section of his native state, and after selling his well improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in Fayette county, he returned, in 1913, to Clayton county and purchased twenty-six and one-half acres of valuable land in Cass township, this entire tract being within the corporate limits of the village of Strawberry Point and having been by him im- proved with a fine and thoroughly modern residence, erected in the summer of 1916 and constituting the pleasant home of the family. Mr. Haufle is now the efficient and popular secretary and manager of the Strawberry Point Co-operative Commission Com- pany, which is proving a most important medium for the market- ing of farm products in this section of the county. He is a staunch Republican in politics, has served as a member of the school board, and both he and his wife are communicants of the German Luth- eran church. Mr. Haufle is a son of Florian and Louisa Haufle, both of whom were born in Germany. The father came to America when a young man and he became one of the substantial farmers of Clayton county, his farm having been near Strawberry Point. He died August 4, 1902, his devoted wife having passed away in 1883. Of the six children four are deceased, and of the two sur- viving, William, of this sketch, is the elder, his brother Frederick being now a resident of Snohomish, Washington. The early edu- cational advantages of William Haufle were those of the district schools, and as a lad of fourteen years he began working as a farm hand, his wages having been given to his parents in large part until he had attained to his legal majority. Thereafter he con-
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tinued his services as a farm hand for four years, and the ensuing four years found him engaged in farming on land which he rented. He then purchased eighty acres of land in Fayette county, and with increasing prosperity he added to this a tract of forty acres. He continued as one of the vigorous and successful representatives of farm enterprise in Fayette county until 1913, when, as pre- viously stated, he sold his farm and established his home at Straw- berry Point. On December 16, 1897, Mr. Haufle wedded Miss Elizabeth Allenstein, who was born and reared in this county, and who is a daughter of Christof and Caroline (Griesinger) Allenstein, both natives of Germany. The father was comparatively a young man at the time of his death, which occurred about the year 1880, and of his four children, Mrs. Haufle is the youngest; Mary is the wife of Frederick Griesse, of Rock Rapids, Lyon county ; Minnie is the wife of John Lindtner, of Steen, Rock county, Minnesota; Augusta is the wife of Henry Griesse, of Rock Rapids. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Allenstein became the wife of Michael Weger, and he is survived by their two children- Emma, wife of Theodore Falck, of Fayette county, and Lena, wife of Martin Baumgardner, of Clayton county. For her third hus- band, Mrs. Weger married George Weger, and they own and reside upon a fine farm near Strawberry Point, their two children being William and Sophia. Mr. and Mrs. Haufle have three chil- dren-Clara Caroline Minnie, who was born November 29, 1898; Emma Barbara, who was born August 12, 1902, and an unnamed baby.
John Hauschen was not yet one year old at the time when his parents, in 1857, became pioneer settlers of Clayton county, and here he has maintained his home during the long intervening years, within which he has accounted well for himself as one of the earnest and productive workers. He has been an effective ex- ponent of the agricultural interests of the county, has conducted a prosperous business as a wagonmaker, and is now established in the control of a substantial and prosperous hardware and gro- cery business in the village of Clayton, with a record that redounds to his honor and that has given him inviolable place in the con- fidence and good will of the people of Clayton county. Mr. Hauschen was born in the city of Galena, Illinois, on the 12th of August, 1856, at which time his native place was a mere village, and in the following year his parents removed to Clayton county, Iowa, as previously noted. He is one of the three surviving members of a family of eight children and is a son of John and Mary Hauschen, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Scotland. In 1854, within a short time after their marriage, the parents immigrated to the United States and estab- lished their residence in Illinois, where they remained until their removal to Clayton county. In his native land John Hauschen, Sr., had learned the trade of blacksmith, and he became one of the pioneer exponents of the same in Clayton county, where both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, secure in the high esteem of all who knew them, and where each was of ad-
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vanced age at the time of death. He to whom this sketch is dedicated was reared under the conditions and influences that obtained in the pioneer epoch of the history of Clayton county, and here he acquired his early education in the common schools of the period. Under effective direction he learned in his youth the trade of wagonmaker, at which he became a skilled workman, and in 1881 he established a wagon shop in the village of Clayton, where he continued to conduct a successful business until, in 1888, he turned his attention to the basic industry of agriculture. He rented a farm of 120 acres in Clayton township, and there he con- tinued his operations in diversified agriculture and stock-growing for a period of seven years. He then again opened a wagon shop at Clayton and continued his activities in the work of his trade until 1901, when he established himself in the hardware business, to which he later added a grocery department. This dual enter- prise he has since successfully conducted and he is known as one of the representative business men of the county that has been his home during virtually his entire life thus far. In politics Mr. Hauschen is not constrained by strict partisan lines but maintains an independent attitude and gives his support to the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. His secure place in popular confidence and esteem has been indicated in his service as treasurer of Clayton corporation for a period of fifteen years and by his giving an equal period of service in the office of trea- surer of his school district. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and both he and his wife are earnest communicants of the Lutheran church. In addition to his individual business Mr. Hauschen has the management of the Clayton office of the Standard, the Bell and the Garnarvillo Tele- phone Companies. In the year 1881 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Mary L. Kuenzel, who was born and reared in Clayton county, as a representative of an honored pioneer family, and the four children of this union are Victor, Ernest G., William E. and Christopher.
J. W. D. Havens became a resident of Clayton county in the pioneer days and when he was a lad of about seven years. His career has been varied and interesting and included gallant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war, after the close of which he traveled extensively as a member of a band that gained high reputation for the high-grade musical standard which it represented. Since 1908 he has been associated with his only son in the livery and automobile business at McGregor, and he is one of the well known, genial and popular citizens of Clayton county-a sterling citizen who well merits consideration in this history. Mr. Havens was born in Essex county, New York, on the 6th of December, 1844, and is a son of John and Jane (Stevenson) Havens, the for- mer of whom was born in the State of New York, where the family was founded in an early day, and the latter of whom was born in the Province of Ontario, Canada. John Havens was one of the adventurous argonauts who made their way to California after the discovery of gold in that state, and he gained distinction as one of
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the memorable "Forty-niners," though he did not live long to enjoy this distinction, as he was accidentally shot and killed soon after his return to New York, where he left his young widow with one child, he to whom this sketch is dedicated. In 1851 J. W. D. Ha- vens accompanied his mother on her removal to Clayton county, Iowa, and after maintaining her home here for a number of years his mother removed to Richland county, Nebraska, where she passed the remainder of her life. Mr. Havens was reared to ma- turity in Clayton county, where he availed himself of the advan- tages of the pioneer schools and where in his youth he imbibed deeply of the vigorous spirit of the progressive west. When the Civil war was precipitated on the nation he was not yet seventeen years of age, but his youthful patriotism was not long to be held in bounds, and in 1862 he enlisted as bugler in the Sixth Iowa Cavalry. He saw long and strenuous service, was detailed to scout duty for a considerable period and had many hazardous experiences, his service in the volunteer branch of the United States army hav- ing covered a period of three years, besides which he gave two years of effective service as an Indian scout in the great west. In this latter service he several times received arrow wounds, and on one occasion was wounded by a gun shot in his right leg. After the close of his career as an intrepid and hardy soldier, Mr. Havens returned to Clayton county, but soon afterward he became a mem- ber of an excellent band that traveled throughout the various states of the Union and made an admirable record for effective musical renditions, his service in this connection being that of leader of the orchestra. During all these long years Mr. Havens has con- tinued to look upon Clayton county as his home and here his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. As previ- ously stated, he has been since 1908 engaged in the livery and au- tomobile business at McGregor, with a well equipped establishment and with his only son as his effective coadjutor in the thriving en- terprise. Mr. Havens had previously served eleven years as city policeman of McGregor, and for eighteen years he held the office of constable. He is unswerving in his loyalty to the cause of the Republican party, is an appreciative and valued member of Harvey Dix Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and is identified also with the local organization of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. On the 4th of July, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ha- vens to Miss Eolah M. Hill, who was born in the state of New York, and their only son, Earl M., still remains at the parental home, besides being associated with his father in business, as al- ready noted, and being one of the popular and enterprising young men of his native county.
George W. Hazlett, as one of the representative agriculturists and stock grower of Clayton county, may well take pride in and mark his appreciation of his fine homestead farm, in Giard town- ship, for not only is it one of the model places of the county, but it is also that upon which he was born and reared, his birth having here occurred on the 3d of August, 1875. He is a son of George and Jane (Whitaker) Hazlett, both natives of Ireland, where the
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former was born in County Monaghan and the latter in County Sligo. George Hazlett was reared and educated in his native land and in 1849, as a young man, he immigrated to America, where he felt assurred of broader opportunities for the winning of stable prosperity. Soon after his arrival in the United States he came to Iowa and took up a tract of government land in what is now Giard township, Clayton county, but in the following year he yielded to the lure incidental to the recent discovery of gold in California, to which State he made his way over the plains to the New Eldorado, where he met with measurable success in his quest for the precious metal and where he gained the distinction of being one of the pio- neers in the gold fields. Upon his return to Clayton county he directed himself vigorously and effectively to the reclaiming and improving of his farm, which he brought under a high state of cul- tivation. With increasing prosperity he continued to make judi- cious investment in land, and at the time of his death he was the owner of a valuable estate of two hundred acres of specially well improved land. He was one of the honored pioneers of the county, contributed much to its civic and industrial development and prog- ress and was influential in community affairs. His political alle- giance was given unreservedly to the Republican party and his alert mind caused him to become well fortified in his convictions concerning public affairs. He served efficiently as township trustee and was otherwise prominent in local affairs. This sterling citizen passed to the life eternal in January, 1891, secure in the high regard of all who knew him, and his venerable widow, who with him held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, still remains on the old homestead with her son George W., the immediate subject of this review. Of the children the first-born, Marjorie, the wife of J. W. Radskinner, is deceased; Rachel is the wife of Samuel Barnes, a prosperous farmer in Linton township, Allamakee county ; Susan is the widow of John Feay and maintains her home at Henry, South Dakota ; Mary Jane is deceased; William remains on the old home- stead ; Albert is deceased : Jennie is the wife of John Belk, of Henry, South Dakota; and Cora resides at Monona, one of the most at- tractive villages of her native county. George W. Hazlett, the youngest of the eight children, was reared to manhood on the farm which is still his place of abode and after profiting by the advan- tages of the district schools he completed an effective course in the high school at Monona. He then put his scholastic attainments to practical test by teaching one term in the district school of his home county, and thereafter he pursued for a time higher academic studies in a seminary at Wood Springs. His appreciation of and close allegiance to the basic industry of agriculture have contin- ued during the years that have since intervened and he is known and honored as one of the representative citizens and progressive farmers of this favored section of the Hawkeye State. As a youth he began his independent career as an agriculturist on his father's farm, and in 1898, after the death of his father, he and his brother, Wm. J., purchased the landed estate of two hundred acres, to which they have since added a tract of eighty acres, so that they are the owners
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tinued to reside on their home farm until the close of their lives. In the public schools of Clayton county Albert L. Heddleson con- tinued his studies until he had profited duly by the advantages of the high school, and thereafter he continued to lend his co-operation in the work of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and thereafter he continued virtually independent opera- tions on the same fine farm until he assumed entire control of the property. This splendidly improved homestead comprises one hun- dred and sixty acres, in Sections 27 and 34, Cass township, and in addition thereto Mr. Heddleson owns also forty acres in Delaware county. He is not only an enterprising agriculturist who brings to bear in his operations the most approved methods and appli- ances but he is making a specialty and definite success also in the raising and feeding of the fine Black Angus type of cattle and the Hampshire swine. He is a popular and appreciative member of the lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Strawberry Point, and has filled the various official chairs in the same. He has served as a member of the school board of the district in which he himself gained his early education, and his political allegiance is given to the Democratic party. He is a stockholder in the creamery at Strawberry Point and he and his sisters attend and support the Methodist Episcopal church in that village, from which their home receives service on rural mail route No. 2. Mr. Heddleson has permitted his name to remain on the roll of eligible bachelors in his native county, but has been signally fav- ored in having three sisters associated with him in maintaining the generous hospitality of the home, over the domestic economies of which the sisters preside most graciously, even as do they also over its social activities. Katherine E., Jessie B. and Pearl M. are all high school graduates, and the two younger sisters also com- pleted collegiate courses, Pearl M. having been for some time a representative of the pedagogic profession, as a successful and pop- ular teacher in her home county.
Hans Helgesen .- One of the most gratifying elements of our national life is the part played by men of foreign birth who have chosen America for their permanent home and who have caught the real spirit of our institutions. They have lent themselves with all of the fine force that is in them to patriotic service and to furthering the social and material welfare of the land of their adoption, besides which they have reared their sons to deep appre- ciation of the privileges and opportunities afforded in the great republic of America, thus reinforcing stable and worthy social and industrial conditions. This is especially true of those of Scandi- navian birth or lineage, and from this source the United States has had much to gain and nothing to lose. Clayton county, Iowa, has been fortunate in gaining an appreciable element of such valued Scandinavian citizenship and it is most pleasing to be able to render in this history a due tribute to those of this class who stand representative in loyal citizenship and resourceful ac- tivity in connection with the communal life. He whose name initiates this article is a native son of Clayton county and may well
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take pride in his lineage, which traces back to the staunchest of origin in the fair Norseland. He was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Section 27, Wagner township, this county, and the date of his nativity was August 25, 1876, and it is gratifying to note that he is now the owner of the fine farm which was the place of his birth and in the operations of which he is well up- holding the prestige of a family name that has been prominently identified with the civic and industrial development and progress of this favored section of the Hawkeye State. Mr. Helgesen is a son of Peter and Jane (Glesne) Helgesen, both of whom were born in Norway. Peter Helgesen was a lad of thirteen years at the time when he came to the United States, and he became a youthful pioneer of Clayton county, where he found employment at farm work until he had attained to the age of sixteen years, when he entered claim to the homestead of one hundred and sixty acres now owned and occupied by his son Hans, of this review. He reclaimed the land to cultivation, labored early and late with undaunted purpose and finally won for himself substantial independence and prosperity. He made the best of permanent improvements on his farms, including the erection of the present commodious and at- tractive house and large and well equipped barns and other farm buildings, and here he held sway as one of the substantial farmers and honored citizens of Clayton county until his death, which occurred on the 9th of May, 1906, his widow still remaining with their son Hans on the old homestead that is endeared to her by the hallowed memories and associations of the past. She is a devoted communicant of the Lutheran church, as was also her husband, and the latter was a staunch Republican in his political proclivities. Of the eight children the eldest is Helen, who is the wife of Ole M. Benson, of Wagner township; Nellie is the wife of Embert Embretson, of St. Olaf, this county; Caroline is the wife of Otto Johnson, of St. Olaf; Hans (Ist) died in infancy and Hans (2nd) is the immediate subject of this sketch; Mary remains with her brother and widowed mother on the old homestead; Oscar is now a resident of Dickinson, North Dakota; and Gerhard died in childhood. He whose name initiates this article was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and in the meanwhile profited duly by the advantages afforded in the local schools. He remained with his parents until 1902, when he became identified with the general merchandise business, at St. Olaf. In 1905, about a year prior to the death of his father, he purchased the old home- stead farm, and here he has since continued his progressive and successful activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower, every- thing about his well improved domain bearing evidence of thrift and prosperity. He is loyal in supporting measures and enter- prises tending to advance the general well-being of the community and is unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party, both he and his wife clinging to the religious faith in which they were reared and being zealous communicants of the Lutheran church. On the 14th of October, 1900, Mr. Helgesen wedded Miss Alice Larson, who has been a resident of this county from the time of
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