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 87
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founded in America in the colonial era of our national history. He is the owner of a well improved farm of eighty acres, in Mallory township, and the same was the place of his birth, even as it is a part of the original homestead that was obtained by his honored father from the government in the early pioneer days. On this old homestead Ernest M. Penhollow was born on the 21st of April, 1863, and he is a son of Richard and Mercy (Bates) Penhollow, the former of whom was born at New London, Connecticut, and the latter in Chautauqua county, New York. Richard Penhollow was reared and educated in his native state and as a young man, in the period prior to 1850, he came to Clayton county, lowa, and became one of the pioneer settlers of Mallory township, where he obtained a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of wild land and where he developed the fine farm of which that owned by his son Ernest M. is an integral part. Richard Penhollow and his wife passed the remainder of their lives in this county, honored pioneer citizens who had the fullest measure of popular esteem and who contributed their quota to the civic and material development and progress of the county. Both were consistent members of the United Brethren church and in politics Mr. Penhollow gave unfal- tering support to the principles and policies of the Republican party. Of the children, the first two were George W. and Emily, both of whom died young; Helen is the wife of Jesse Holtman, of Lima, this state; Malvina is deceased; Roswell B. resides at Nor- folk, Nebraska; Henry is deceased; Ansel maintains his home at Millville, this county ; Jason H. is deceased ; William H. is a resident of Arlington, Fayette county ; Miranda and Edward L. are deceased ; Dora is the wife of Frederick Chittenden, of Fayette; and the sub- ject of this review is the youngest of the number. Ernest M. Pen- hollow has from his boyhood been associated with the work of the farm of which he is now the owner, and his early educational ad- vantages were those afforded in the public schools of his native township. At the age of twenty-six years he purchased eighty acres of the old home farm, and upon the same he has erected sub- stantial buildings of modern type, besides making other permanent improvements of excellent order. In connection with judicious ag- riculture of diversified character, he is a successful grower of graded Durham cattle and Poland-China swine, and he is known as one of the progressive farmers and loyal and public-spirited citizens of this section of his native county. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he is serving in 1916 as township trustee, and in the village of Osterdock he is affiliated with the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the camp of the Modern Woodmen of America. In March, 1890, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Penhollow to Miss Sophrona McSperrin, who likewise was born and reared in Clayton county, a daughter of William and Heneretta (Walters) MrSperrin, of Elk township. Mr. and Mrs. Penhollow have but one child, Harry, who remains at the parental home.
Lee Perkins has been numbered among the vigorous and rep- resentative business men of the village of Volga since the autumn
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record, so that it is not necessary to repeat the information in the article here presented. Andrew Petsche is one of the four surviv- ing children of Andrew and Marie (Gerschech) Petsche, and all of the children now reside in Iowa. The father passed his entire life in Austria and the widowed mother was a resident of Clayton county at the time of her death, both having been earnest communicants of the Catholic church. Andrew Petsche, Jr., the immediate sub- ject of this review, gained his rudimentary education in the schools of his native land, and upon coming to the United States he joined his older brother, John, who was then a resident of Dubuque. In that city Andrew was enabled to avail himself of the advantages of the public schools, and after his brother John had become the owner of a farm in Clayton county Andrew became an assistant in the work thereof. He was thus engaged for four years, and for nearly five years thereafter he was employed on other farms in this county. He then rented a farm, and after three years of ener- getic and successful work thereon he was enabled to purchase his present well improved farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Jef- ferson township, where he is giving special attention to the breed- ing and raising of Hereford and Durham cattle and the best breeds of both red and black swine. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church at Guttenberg. On the 4th of February, 1913, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Petsche to Miss Cecelia Foll- man, and they have a winsome little daughter, Margaret Christina, who was born January 28, 1914. Mrs. Petsche was born at Gut- tenberg, this county, on the 6th of March, 1885, and there received her education in the public schools. Her parents still maintain their home at Guttenberg, where the father is living retired, after years of successful activity as a representative farmer of his native county. Mrs. Petsche is a daughter of Jacob and Marie Follman, both of whom were born in Germany, where they were married and where their first four children were born, and they had eleven born to them in this county. Thus it will be seen that they became the parents of fifteen children, five sons and ten daughters.
John Petsche is a sturdy son of Austria who came to the United States as a youth of about fifteen years and who has so effectively exerted his powers and energies as to achieve success that is worthy of the name. He is now numbered among the progressive and representative farmers of Clayton county, where he has a well im- proved farm of two hundred acres, eligibly situated in Jefferson township, his activities being directed consistently along the lines of well diversified agriculture and the raising of excellent grades of live stock, including horses, cattle and swine, his specialty being the raising of the Hereford breed of cattle. Mr. Petsche was born in Tschernembl, Austria, on the 1st of October, 1858, and is a son of Andrew and Marie (Gerschech) Petsche, both of whom were born and reared in that same district of Austria, where the father passed his entire life. The loved mother finally joined her children in Iowa, in 1885, and she passed the closing years of her life in the home of her son Andrew. Mary also lives with her brother An-
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death having occurred December 29, 1904. This honored pioneer couple became the parents of thirteen children, concerning whom the following brief data may consistently be entered in this review : Adelphia is the wife of Frank J. Sargent, of Kinder, Louisiana, and at the same place resides also Charles J., the second of the children ; Daniel O. maintains his home at Wood Center, Clayton county ; Elizabeth is the wife of Moses Hockett, of Fremont, Iowa; William is deceased ; Sylvester is a resident of Manchester, Delaware county ; Richard L., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Laura is the wife of Charles Ryans, of Strawberry Point, this county ; Edith is the wife of Otis Bigelow, of Strawberry Point; Sadie is the wife of Eugene Bergins, and they reside in the state of Iowa; Gertrude is the wife of William Jones, of Volga City, Clayton county; Jessie is the wife of Thomas Kilfoil, of Elkader, this county ; and Guy resides at Edgewood, one of the progressive vil- lages of Clayton county. Richard L. Phelps acquired his early education in the public schools of Fayette and Clayton counties, and at the age of nineteen years he left the parental home and found employment in a flour mill at Strawberry Point. He devoted about four years to this vocation, and within this period was employed in other mills. He then went to Decatur, Illinois, where he was asso- ciated with a prominent dairy enterprise for a period of three years. His next change was made when he returned to Clayton county and assumed charge of the old homestead farm of his parents, and since the same came into his possession he has added fourteen acres to its area, so that he now has a valuable farm of one hundred and eighty acres, situated in Lodomillo township, not far distant from Edgewood, which is his postoffice address. With characteristic energy and discrimination he is giving his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of good grades of live stock, and he is one of the representative farmers of Lodomillo township, of which he has served as trustee, his political convictions being indicated by the stalwart support which he gives to the cause of the Repub- lican party. Mr. Phelps is a member of the board of directors of the Farmers' Creamery Company at Edgewood and was formerly president of the local Farmers' Telephone Company. He is affili- ated with the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. In November, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Phelps to Miss Lillian E. Stone, who was born in Delaware county, this state, and their two children are Wesley and Shirley.
Seymour H. Phillips is not only to be designated as one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Clayton county but also as one of the substantial landholders and loyal and broad. guaged citizens of the county, where he owns and resides upon a splendidly improved homestead upon which his parents established their abode in a pioneer log house more than forty years ago. Sey- mour H. Phillips was born in Winnebago county, Illinois, on the 5th of September, 1855, and is a son of Israel and Callie (Goodell) Phillips, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized and where they con-
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home for several years after his marriage. From the old Keystone state he finally removed to Illinois, and thence he came to Clayton county, Iowa, in 1860. He was a brickmaker by trade, but after establishing his home in Clayton county he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and became one of the substantial farmers and honored and influential citizens of the county. He was about seventy-two years of age at the time of his death and his wife passed away when about sixty-nine years of age, the subject of this review being the eldest of their five children; Alice is the wife of Charles E, Lovett, of Volga, this county ; William J. is a mer- chant and the publisher of a trade journal in the city of Des Moines; Charles S. is a resident of Westerville, Franklin county, Ohio; and Mary, who was the second child, is deceased. Frederick T. Pilking- ton was about two years old at the time of the family removal to Clayton county, and that as a boy and youth he profited fully by the advantages afforded in the public schools of the county is clearly indicated by the fact that when but sixteen years of age he proved himself eligible for pedagogic honors and became a suc- cessful and popular teacher in the district schools. He so directed his own studies as to advance himself splendidly along academic lines and he continued his services as a teacher during a period of about ten years. Thereafter he was engaged for a time in the mercantile business at Lima, Fayette county, and after leaving that village he became associated with his brother-in-law, Charles E. Lovett, in the general merchandise business at Littleport, Clay- ton county. After the partnership was dissolved by the withdrawal of Mr. Lovett the enterprise was successfully continued by Mr. Pilkington who carried on the business in an individual way for a period of about eighteen years. He then removed to Edgewood, his present home, where he became associated with L. B. Blanchard in the real estate and insurance business. Later he purchased a stock of furniture and engaged in the general furniture business, this enterprise being now under the direct management of his only son. Mr. Pilkington gives close attention to his executive duties as a director and the vice-president of the State Bank of Edge- wood, and he is known as a substantial, progressive and liberal citizen of the county that has represented his home during the major part of his life thus far. His political faith is indicated by the staunch support which he accords to the Democratic party, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Royal Neighbors. On the 15th of March, 1881, was recorded the mar- riage of Mr. Pilkington to Miss Caroline Woodall, who was born in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and who was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Clayton county, Iowa. She is a daughter of William G. and Rachel (White) Woodall, who are now venerable in years and who maintain their home at Edgewood, Mrs. Pilkington being their only surviving child. Mr. Woodall was born in the state of New York and his wife was born at Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Pilkington have four children : Grace is the wife of Edward Boehm, of Delaware county, this state;
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copal church. Their pleasant home is a center of gracious hospital- ity and they delight there to extend welcome to their large circle of friends. Of their eight children all are living except the last, Lester, who died at the age of two years. James R., the eldest of the number, is now one of the successful young farmers of Clayton county ; Ina A. is the wife of Henry Schultz, of this county; Ernest E. is engaged in farming in the state of South Dakota; Roy R. has the practical supervision of the old homestead farm of his father ; and Ralph C., George F. and Gerald are the younger members of the ideal home circle.
William Pixler has clearly demonstrated his energy and pro- gressiveness in connection with the agricultural and live-stock in- dustries in his native county and is the owner of one of the well- improved farms of Mendon township, where he is successfully prosecuting his operation in diversified agriculture and the raising of fine horses, cattle and hogs. He has not faltered in loyalty to his native county and is contributing his quota to its civic and in- dustrial prosperity ; the while he has secure place in popular con- fidence and good will. In the township of Mendon, Clayton county, Iowa, William Pixler was born on the 24th of June, 1867, and he is a son of Amos and Sarah Ann (Markle) Pixler, the former of whom was born in the State of Indiana and the latter in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Coming to Clayton county in the pioneer period of its history, Amos Pixler purchased a tract of un- improved land in Mendon township, and there he continued his activities as an enterprising farmer for the entire course of a long and successful career. He and his wife still maintain their home in Mendon township, where he is now living virtually retired, in the merited enjoyment of the rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor and honored as one of the sterling pioneer citi- zens of the county, his political allegiance having always been given to the Republican party. Of the children Melinda, the first-born, died in childhood; George resides on his farm south of McGregor, this county ; Marietta is deceased; William, of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Eliza is the wife of David Shaw, a farmer of Clayton township; and Nathan is a successful representative of agricultural enterprise in Mendon township. William Pixler did not neglect to make good use of the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native county and in the meanwhile he gained equally valuable discipline and experience in connection with the work of his father's farm. In beginning his activities as an inde- pendent agriculturist he rented a farm in his home township, and later purchased a place of eighty acres, this farm continuing to be his place of residence until he acquired his present homestead of eighty acres, Mendon township, where he has since continued his zealous and effective activities as an up-to-date agriculturist and stock-grower. He has found no reason to deviate from a course of strict allegiance to the Republican party, but he has had no desire to enter the arena of practical politics or to become a seeker of public office of any description. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, as a member of the camp at
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"'We hold these truths to be self-evident ; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien- able rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'
"I will take the first two words of the Declaration of Independ- ence for his middle name. His name shall be Alpine Whenin Price."
Avalo Jersey Price was born on the Glen Fruin farm on Janu- ary 12th, 1844. He enlisted as a private in Company H of the Twelfth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. Henry J. Playtor was captain of the company, which was composed principally of young men of Dubuque and Delaware counties. He was in the battle at the taking of Fort Henry and assisted as guard in taking some of the confederates to the army prison in Ohio. Among them was the son of George W. Jones, who for many years was United States senator from Iowa, and a son of Mr. Lewis of the United States Land office at Dubuque, and others who went from Dubuque and joined the confederate army. He was at the battle of Fort Don- elson, which was taken, but he was wounded and went home on a furlough, but returned in time to be in the battle of Shiloh, when the Twelfth, Eighth and Fourteenth Iowa regiments fought all day and until sunset, when they surrendered and were taken to Andersonville, where he and his brother Valmah remained about eight months, when paroled. He then came home and assisted in raising the Eighth Iowa Cavalry and received the appointment of major, which position he held until about the close of the war, when, owing to the severe wound received at Shiloh and the hard- ships of the cavalry service, he resigned and went to the Rocky Mountains and to New Mexico, where he became ill and started for his home in Iowa. On April 8th, 1871, he arrived at St. Vincent hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he died on April 11th, 1871.
Eliphalet Price was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Janu- ary 31st, 1811, and died at Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Decem- ber 10th, 1880. A sketch of his life work and writings are fully set forth in this book by his talented and affectionate friend, Judge Samuel Murdock. Mary Lowe Cottle, the wife of Eliphalet Price, was born at St. Charles, Missouri, on April 30th, 1814, and died at her home in Jefferson township, Clayton county, Iowa, November 19th, 1865. She was the mother of two girls and six boys, all living at the time of her death, except her son Valmah.
Eliphalet Inthe Price was born on the "Glen Fruin" farm December 16th, 1851. It was several months after his birth before it was decided what his name should be. The mother of Judge Price resided in New York City and had for many years insisted that one of the boys should be named after her husband, whose name was Eliphalet Price, a life long minister, promulgating the Presbyterian doctrine and abolition, and who had baptized many hundreds of his followers in the Hudson river and along the ocean beach of New Jersey regardless of color, complexion or nationality. It was on a Sunday morning, when Judge Price took down from
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many other services rendered the town and county, and all that he received was twenty-two and 50/100 dollars ($22.50). He is a stockholder in the First National Bank, has been director for thirty- two years, vice-president for eighteen years, and has been presi- dent since January 12th, 1904, twelve years. Realto Exzeque Price was married to Miss Sarah Filetta Stewart, in Elkader, Iowa, on October 16th, 1866. To them were born three sons, Valmah Tupelo Price, born at Elkader, Clayton county, Iowa, October 11th, 1867; James R. Price, born at Elkader, Clayton county, Iowa, February 17th, 1872, and died at the same place on May 22nd, 1877; Stewart Realto Price, born at Elkader, Clayton county, Iowa, October 22nd, 1879. Valmah Tupelo Price, son of Realto Exzeque and Sarah Filetta Stewart, was married to Miss Nelly Peery, a daughter of Judge Stephen and Mrs. Emma Peery, May 31st, 1894, at San Diego, Cal. To them were born three children, Filetta Winifred Price, born at San Diego, Cal., June 11, 1895, and died at Elkader, Iowa, March 21, 1890; Herbert Peery Price was born at Elkader, Iowa, July 17th, 1901; Valmah Tupelo Price, Jr., was born at Elkader, Iowa, July 2nd, 1910. All the rest of the Price family were born in the old log cabin on the farm named "Glen Fruin," being the east half of Section 14 in Jefferson township, Clayton county, Iowa, except Alpine.
Trevereous Glorian Price was born on the "Glen Fruin" farm on June 27th, 1846. In 1863 he enlisted as a private in Company A, 4th Regiment Iowa Infantry Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. After being mustered out he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1868. He received an appointment as Rail- road Postal Clerk on the road between Dubuque, Iowa, and St. Paul, Minn., which he held for about four years, when he was elected and appointed postmaster at Elkader, which position he held four years, and then moved to Burlington, Kit Carson county, Colo., where he was elected Clerk of Kit Carson county, and held the office four years. He was elected a member of the legislature of Colorado from Kit Carson county, and served one term, and is now serving his second term as Mayor of the town of Burlington, Colo- rado. He has been a resident of Burlington for twenty-nine years. He was married to Mary Hawn who died in Elkader, Clayton county, Iowa, on August 18th, 1879, leaving one son, named Avalo Price, who resides in Denver, Colo. Miss Illyria Ann Price was born on the "Glen Fruin" farm July 7th, 1848, and kept house for. her father in Colorado Springs until her death on June 3rd, 1873. Miss Mary Ellen Price was born on the "Glen Fruin" farm on March 16th, 1850. Ellen was an invalid all her life and died on March 14th, 1914.
Valmah Valentine Price was born on the "Glen Fruin" farm September 15th, 1842. He enlisted as a private in Company H, of the Twelfth Regiment Iowa Infantry Volunteers, and under the command of Captain Henry J. Playtor was ordered to Kentucky, and on arrival there went into battle and captured Fort Henry and a number of prisoners, and then into battle at Fort Donelson, which was captured and many confederates taken. He was in the
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receives service on rural mail route No. 1 from the village of Volga. On the 15th of September, 1908, Mr. Probert wedded Miss Minnie Steckleberg, and they have one son, William John, who was born July 30, 1911.
Gustav Pufahl was a lad of about thirteen years when he accom- panied his parents on their immigration from Germany to the United States, in 1871, and in that year the family home was established at Guttenberg, Clayton county. That he has proved himself a man of energy and ability and that he has availed himself con- sistently of the advantages afforded in this section of the Hawkeye state needs no further voucher than the statement that he is the owner of one of the large and well-improved landed estates of the county and has secure prestige as a representative agriculturist and stock-grower whose success has been the direct result of his own well-ordered endeavors. Mr. Pufahl was born in the northeastern part of Prussia, on the 6th of September, 1858, and is a son of Gottlieb and Wilhelmina (Kobs) Pufahl, who there continued to maintain their home until 1871 when they came to America and established their residence at Guttenberg, Clayton county, where the family arrived on the 2d of July of that year. Here the father was employed for a time in a saw mill and later he purchased a tract of ten acres of land, upon which he made good improvements, this little homestead continuing to be the place of residence of both himself and his wife during the remainder of their lives. Both were earnest communicants of the Lutheran church and in politics he gave his allegiance to the Republican party. Of the children the subject of this sketch is the eldest; Bertha is the wife of Frederick .Williams; of Steamboat Springs, Colo .; Julius is deceased; Herman resides at Bolivar, Mo .; Emil, Otto and Emma are deceased; and Mrs. Hulda Burke maintains her home in Colorado. Gustav Pufahl gained his early education in his native land and continued his studies in the public schools after the family home had been estab- lished in Clayton county. As a youth he was for a time employed in a printing office in Guttenberg, this county, later he assisted in the operation of a saw mill and thereafter he was engaged in farm work until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years, when he rented a farm and initiated his independent activities as an agri- culturist. Under these conditions he continued his activities with characteristic energy for the ensuing six years, at the expiration of which he purchased, in 1889, a tract of two hundred and thirty acres of land in Monona township. To this he has since added an adjoining eighty acres, and he has developed the property into one of the model farms of Clayton county, the excellent buildings on the homestead having been erected by him. He gives his atten- tion to diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade live stock, including short-horn cattle and Poland-China swine. Indomitable energy and excellent judgment have marked his activi- ties and he has achieved substantial and worthy success. He is a stockholder and director of the Luana Savings Bank, is a Republi- can, has served as school director, and both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church. On the 6th of December,
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