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 93
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Henry L. Waldo is one of the prominent merchants and influ- ential citizens of Edgewood, where he has a well equipped estab- lishment of modern appointments and facilities and where he con- trois a substantial trade in the handling of heavy and shelf hard- ware, stoves, ranges and various lines of supplies demanded in the erection of buildings and in equipping them with heating plants. He was born in Delaware county, this state, on the 17th of Septem- ber, 1867, and is a son of Lucius H. and Martha E. (Mery) Waldo, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Ohio. The father was for a number of years engaged in farming, but he
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which he removed to McGregor, arriving at this point in 1857. He entered the painting and decorating business in connection with his brother, and later entered the furniture business, which they conducted up to the time of his death. November 20th, 1906, Peter Walter was the organizer and teacher of the famous Walter Family Band, which attained worldwide reputation. The especial fea- ture was that Mr. Walter taught each of his children and had no outside assistance in bringing the band to its highest efficiency. They toured the country, especially the Mississippi valley, and were everywhere accorded a splendid reception. It is worthy of note that this was the first family band to appear before the American public and their repertoire was large and varied. In 1855 occurred the marriage of Peter Walter and Mary Rice also a descendant of a pioneer German family residing in Sandusky, Ohio, and they were blessed with seven children, Odilda, Matilda, John A., Emma, Anna, William and Hannah. John A. had his preliminary education in the public school of McGregor and entered high school and after graduation there he commenced the study of dentistry under Dr. A. O. Kent in McGregor, with whom he remained three years. On completion of his course he opened a dental office in McGregor, where he has been practicing his profession for the past 36 years. It is worthy of note in these days of western colleges that when Mr. Walter studied his profession that there were no dental colleges west of Ohio and the young dentists of the Middle West studied under the practicing dentists of the days. On November 18th, 1885, occurred the marriage of Dr. Walter and Odilda Bergman, one of the well-known Bergman family of McGregor, special men- tion of whom is made in another part of this volume. Six children have been born to them: Marguerite, Marie, Frederick, Odilda, Helen and William. John A. Walter has been prominently identi- fied with the civic progress of McGregor and served the city as mayor from 1897 to 1911, inclusive, and was president of the League of Iowa Municipalities in 1903. He is a member of the Democratic party and was alternate to the Democratic convention at St. Louis in 1904, which nominated Judge Alton B. Parker for president. Dr. Walter is a member of Bezer Lodge, No. 135, A. F. and A. M., Du- buque Lodge, No. 297, of B. P. O. Elks; Itasca Lodge, No. 111, McGregor Encampment, and Canton McGregor, No. 8, I. O. O. F. and also a member of M. W. A., W. O. W., M. B. A., B. A. Y., and the Continentals.
John G. Walters purchased, shortly after the death of his hon- ored father, the fine old homestead farm on which he now resides and which he maintains at the best modern standard of agricultural productiveness and as headquarters for the raising of the best types of Durham cattle, registered Poland China swine, and excellent draft horses. To the original homestead, which comprised one hundred and fifty-five acres, he added by the purchase of an adjacent tract of one hundred and twenty acres, and he is thus favored in being the owner of one of the specially well improved landed estates of Mal- lory township, the while his civic loyalty and progressiveness are reinforced by the definite appreciation which is his for his native
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Point, and the gracious prosperity that is his stands in evidence of the success which he achieved as an exponent of agricultural in- dustry and as a progressive merchant. He is a son of Conrad and Ann (Barrett) Wareham, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ireland. Conrad Wareham was born in the year 1819 and was sixteen years of age at the time of becoming a resident of Clayton county, in 1835. He enlisted as a soldier of the Union when the Mexican war was threatened, and he was stationed with his command at Fort Atchison, Iowa, at the time of his marriage. He died December 28, 1863. His widow was summoned to the life eternal on the 13th of December, 1875, and of their children the first two, Phoebe and Frances are deceased; George resides at Elkader; Julia is deceased; Lyman C., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Emeline is the wife of Philip Hickey and they reside in the state of Colorado; Virginia. is deceased; Kate is the wife of William Hyde, of Oldham, South Dakota, and Conrad is deceased. By his first marriage the father had one son, John, and the latter is now deceased. Lyman C. Wareham continued his activities as a farmer and stock-raiser until he was thirty-four years of age, and thereafter he gave his attention to mercantile pursuits for many years-up to the time of his retirement from active business. He is the owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty-seven acres in Boardman township, this county, and a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Putnam township, Fayette county, besides his attractive residence property at Strawberry Point. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and he is affili- ated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. In 1876 Mr. Wareham wedded Miss Melissa Wood. They became the parents of six children: Conrad is engaged in the drug business in Tama county ; Mollie is deceased; William is individually mentioned on other pages of this publication; Hannah is the widow of Ernest Frederick and resides in South Dakota; John is engaged in the drug business at Reinbeck, Grundy county, and the sixth child died in infancy. On the 23d of December, 1914, Mr. Wareham contracted a second marriage, by his union with Miss Emma Gratke, who was born and reared in Delaware county, this state, a daughter of the late Samuel Gratke. Mrs. Wareham presides most graciously over the pleasant home and has made the same a center of generous hos- pitality and good cheer.
William Wareham, the popular proprietor of a well equipped billiard and pool hall and bowling alley in the village of Strawberry Point, has been a resident of Clayton county from the time of his birth, which here occurred on the 25th of January, 1882, and he is a son of Lyman and Melissa (Wood) Wareham, who likewise were born and reared in this county, where the respective families settled in the early pioneer period of the county's history. The subject of this sketch was fourth in order of birth in a family of six children and the eldest is Conrad, who is now a resident of Dysart, Tama county ; Mollie died young and the next child was a son who died in infancy ; Hannah resides at Timber Lake, South Dakota, and John F. is now a resident of Reinbeck, Grundy county, Iowa. William
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the prosperous farmers of Giard township; Edward E. resides at West Union, Fayette county, and James is deceased. Charles W. Washburn was about five years old at the time of the family re- moval to Clayton county, and was reared to manhood on the home- stead farm which he now owns, his educational advantages having been those afforded in the public schools of the locality and period, and his association with the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing having continued to the present time. Since he pur- chased the old homestead farm he has added materially to the im- provements on the same and had made it one of the fine farms of this section of the county, his attention being successfully given to diversified agriculture and to the raising of good grades of live stock. He is a progressive man of affairs and a public-spirited citizen who shows local interest in all things relative to the com- munal welfare. He has had no ambition for public office and has held no preferment of this order save that of school director. He is found aligned as a staunch and loyal advocate of the cause of the Republican party. On the 23d of January, 1878, Mr. Washburn wedded Miss Anne Schriver, daughter of Charles and Laura (Wood) Schriver, of McGregor, this county. The parents of Mrs. Washburn were born and reared in the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized, and they came in an early day to Clayton county, where they passed the residue of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Washburn became the parents of six children, the first- born, Elmer, having died in childhood; Herbert L. resides at Sa- vannah, Illinois, is married and has one son, John Arthur; Alta is the wife of Charles Chamberlain, of Oelwein, Fayette county, Iowa; and Floyd, Verne and Pearl remain at the parental home.
George P. Washburn, who is now living retired in the village of Giard, is a popular representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Clayton county, within whose borders he has maintained his home since his early youth, and in connection with the all im- portant industry of agriculture he gained marked success and pres- tige, as one of the essentially representative farmers of this favored section of the state. Thus gracious prosperity attends him now that he has retired, to enjoy the well earned rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. Mr. Washburn was born at Pittsburg, Coos county, New Hampshire, on the 28th of March, 1851, and is a son of James and Betsey (Wright) Washburn, the former of whom was born at Compton, Province of Ontario, Canada, and the latter of whom was born at Bradford, Vermont. James Washburn made the old Granite state the stage of his activities as a farmer until 1858, when he came with his family to Iowa and became one of the early settlers in West Union, Fayette county, where he re- mained until 1866, when he removed to Clayton county and here purchased a farm in Mendon township. While in Fayette county he was engaged in the contracting business for a time, likewise conducted a boot and shoe store at West Union, besides further showing his enterprising spirit by becoming a manufacturer of wagons. In 1862 he established his home on a farm one-half mile west of West Union, where he remained until his removal to Clay-
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ton county, in February, 1866. In addition to developing and im- proving his farm in Mendon township he conducted for two years a hotel. He was one of the sterling and honored citizens of the county, gained prosperity through his earnest and well ordered activities and continued to reside on the old homestead farm until his death, June 28, 1898, at the age of eighty-four years, five months and nine days. His devoted wife did not long survive him and was summoned to eternal rest on the 2d of July, 1901, at the venerable age of eighty-six years. Mr. Washburn was a man of strong and upright character and was not lacking in the elements of leadership in connection with community affairs. He was a stalwart Repub- lican and was called upon to serve in various local offices in Mendon township, including that of justice of the peace. Of the children, the firstborn was Anna, who died in 1916 as Mrs. Chas. Woodard of West Union; Phoebe is the wife of Andy S. Barnes, of Oberlin, Ohio; Malla A. and Etta are deceased; Hiram P. is a resident of Seattle, Washington; George P., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Chas. W., is a resident of Mendon township and is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; Edward E. maintains his home at West Union, Fayette county, and James, who died in infancy. George P. Washburn was about seven years old at the time of the family removal from historic New England to Iowa, and he was afforded the advantages of the schools of West Union, Fayette county, as well as those of Mendon township after the removal of the family to Clayton county. He continued to assist in the operations of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and thereafter was employed for a time as a farm hand. He next rented his father's farm for a period of one year, at the ex- piration of which he removed to Howard county and purchased a farm, to the cultivation of which he devoted his attention four years. After selling this property he passed a year in the state of Montana, and he then returned to Clayton county and purchased a farm in Giard township-the place now occupied by Benjamin S. Witter, who likewise is represented in this publication. On this farm Mr. Washburn made excellent improvements and there he continued his successful operations along the lines of diversified agriculture and stock-growing until 1911, when he sold the property to its present owner and removed to the village of Giard, where he has since lived virtually retired. He has shown himself a resource- ful and energetic member of the world's great army of productive workers and has so ordered his life as to command the unequivocal respect and good will of his fellow men. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, his wife holds membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church. October 16, 1877, marked the cele- bration of the marriage of Mr. Washburn to Miss Ella L. Davis, daughter of John L. and Jane (MacLenahan) Davis, of Mendon township, and their devoted companionship continued nearly thirty years, the gracious ties being severed when Mrs. Washburn was summoned to the life eternal on the 1st of December, 1906. Of their children the eldest is Anna B., who is the wife of Dr. Benjamin F. Whitmore, of West Union, Fayette county ; Sidney remains at the
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parental home, and Irene G. is the wife of Morton H. Clarke, of McGregor, this county. On the 15th of September, 1908, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Washburn to Miss Mary Torkelson, who was born and reared in Fayette county, a daughter of Helge and Margaret (Anthenson) Torkelson, well known residents of Clermont, that county. Mr. and Mrs. Washburn have one daughter, Ella L., who was born March 1, 1911.
William George Weisbeck was born in Dubuque. Iowa, Oc- tober 16, 1853, and was the son of George and Catherine Weisbeck, both natives of France, who came to America, settling in Rome, New York, in 1839, going thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, then to Dubuque, where Mr. Weisbeck opened a furniture factory. He con- tinued in this business until 1859, when he sold it, to move to Spring Valley, Minnesota, where he bought a saw-mill and began again in the manufacturing of furniture, engaging in this work until his death, September, 1893. The mother died in Dubuque. She bore her husband eight children, six of whom are living. Our subject, William Weisbeck, remained at his father's home until he reached the age of eighteen years, when he began making his own way in the world by opening a furniture store in Spring Valley, Minnesota, for the sale of the products of his father's fac- tory. Continuing in this line of work until 1880, he sought a larger field for his abilities in the lumber business, entering the employ of a La Crosse, Wisconsin, lumber company, and by his energy, intelligence and unfailing industry, made himself well nigh indis- pensable to his employers for a period of twenty-eight years. In 1909 he accepted the position of superintendent of the Menser Lumber Company of Dubuque, Iowa, in their Monona yards, which business he is still managing with credit and profit to himself and his employers. He took for his wife Catherine Cecilia Flynn, a native of New York state, but no children have been born to their union. Political conditions are of so broad a nature that they have led him to join the Independent party, and as one of its members he has served on the city council. He belongs to the fraternal or- ganizations of Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Columbus, and is a member of the Catholic church.
Frederick L. Wellman was born in the state of New York, Jan- uary 5, 1839, and is the son of Alva S. and Abigail (Sherman) Wellman ; the father being a descendant of the early families of Connecticut and the mother of the best New York stock. Frederick L. obtained his preliminary education in the Cattaraugus county New York, public schools and later attended the seminary at Ar- cade, New York. He commenced his business life by being appren- ticed to the cabinetmakers' trade in which he spent two years, and on the death of his employer, decided, on hearing of the oppor- tunities of the great West, to try his own fortunes beyond the Mississippi. He went first to Monona, via Prairie du Chien, which was then the western terminus of the railroad. At Monona he engaged in farm work for a period of two years and then rented a farm of one hundred acres, which he conducted for nearly twenty years. During this time he acquired forty acres of the rich prairie
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land of Northwest Clayton county, which tract was later platted into town lots and is now a part of the thriving city of Monona. In 1863, occurred the wedding of Frederick L. Wellman and Alice Redding, a daughter of Lewis and Nancy Redding, formerly of Indiana but among the pioneer settlers of Clayton county. To this union one son, Lewis A., was born. Mrs. Wellman passed to the other life in September, 1873. Mr. Wellman proved himself not only a good farmer but an enterprising and far-seeing business man and to his agricultural activities he added other business ventures. For some years he operated a threshing outfit and he also built and operated the first grist mill in Monona township; a mill which is still in operation. He has been one of the greatest factors in the upbuilding of the city of Monona and has done very much to make it the beautiful residence city and the active business center which it is today. It was Mr. Wellman who established the pumping station which supplies Monona with water and which is still owned by the Wellman family. He installed the gas plant of Monona and in 1914 instituted the electric light system which supplies the city with light. He was the builder of the opera house and has erected at least eleven other buildings which now grace the city, and his life work is intimately connected with the progress and prosperity of Monona from its earliest days. Now, hale and hearty in his seventy-seventh year, he is enjoying in retirement the fruits of years of well directed toil and energy surrounded by his grandchildren and gladdened by the universal esteem in which he is held by all who know him. His intelligence and capacity and his genuine interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his community have long been recognized by his fellow citizens and they have desired to utilize his abilities in the direction of their communal affairs. With this in view he was for twenty years elected a member of the board of education of Monona and for as many years served as one of the township trustees and was for two years elected mayor of Monona. Mr. Wellman took a prominent part in the councils of the Republican party and his intelligent party service was rewarded by his appointment as postmaster of Monona, in which capacity he served for eleven years. In all these varied and important positions he served with absolute integrity, with great executive ability and with a mind single to the faithful performance of his duties. Not only in the conduct of public affairs but in his daily life he has endeared himself to all by his kindliness and his neighborly sympathy and helpfulness. He still takes an active interest in all that pertains to the welfare of Mo- nona and there are few residents of this city who have lived a more active and useful life. In many of the business enterprises above noted Mr. Wellman was capably assisted by his son, Lewis A., a short sketch of whose life is added herewith. Lewis A. Wellman was born at Monona, Iowa, December 11, 1864. He attended the public schools of Monona and had the honor of being one of the first to graduate from the Monona high school. The many business enterprises in which his father was engaged offered wide opportunity for the son and he soon became a partner with
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his father and the firm name being F. L. Wellman & Son. For many years father and son worked together in the conduct of these successful concerns. F. L. Wellman gradually withdrew from the active management, and, in 1914, upon the incorporation of the Monona Light & Power Co., Lewis Wellman, in turn, dele- gated to his sons the labor of conducting the affairs of this com- pany and the other large family interests. Lewis A. Wellman was married February 12, 1884, to Lena (Hagen) Wellman, and to them four children were born, as follows: F. Glenn, aged thirty years, who after graduating from the Iowa State College at Ames, is con- ducting a farm of one hundred and twenty acres near Monona ac- cording to the most modern and progressive agricultural methods ; W. Hagen, twenty-eight years of age, is secretary and treasurer of the Monona Light & Power Co .; Leslie H., aged twenty-six, is president of the above company, and H. Walter, aged twenty-three, is a graduate of Carlton College and is now fitting himself for the profession of dentistry at the State University of Minnesota. Mrs. Wellman is the daughter of Gilbert and Agnetta Hagen, natives of Norway, who came to America in the early '50s and settled in Allamakee county, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Herman Werger has gained for himself distinctive prosperity and influence as a representative of agricultural and livestock in- dustry in his native county and the concrete evidences of his ability and progressiveness are shown in his ownership of one of the valu- able landed estates of Farmersburg township, where he has made the best of improvements upon his fine farm, comprising a fraction less than one hundred and forty acres and eligibly situated in section 23. In addition to this homestead farm he owns also a tract of thirty acres of timber land in Clayton township, and he is a stock- holder and director of the Farmersburg Savings Bank. His ad- vancement has been won through his own energy and well ordered activities and he is now one of the substantial farmers and popular and influential citizens of his native county. Herman Werger was born in Farmersburg township, this county, on the 12th of October, 1863, and is a son of William and Doris (Best) Werger, who were born and reared in Germany and who came to America in 1849. In that year William Werger became a pioneer of Clayton county, and after being employed for some time at farm work he purchased a farm of his own, this old homestead having continued the place of residence of him and his wife until the close of their lives and both having been earnest communicants of the Lutheran church. Of their eight children four are now living. Herman Werger was reared under the conditions that obtained in the pioneer period of Clayton county history, gained his youthful education in the public schools of the day, and thereafter continued to remain at the paren- tal home and to assist his father in the work and management of the farm until he had attained to the age of thirty-four years. This represented an important stage in his career, for it was at this time that he married the young woman who was to prove his devoted and cherished companion and helpmeet and the gracious mother of
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his children. After his marriage he purchased his present home- stead farm, upon which he has since made many excellent improve- ments of a permanent order, including the erection of good build- ings, and thrift and progressiveness has marked his activities as one of the successful exponents of agricultural and livestock in- dustry in Clayton county, where he and his wife have a circle of friends that is limited only by that of their acquaintances. Mr. Werger is a Republican in politics and is now serving as a school director of his district. His postoffice address is McGregor, and in that village he and his wife are active communicants of the Lutheran church. In the year 1897 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Werger to Miss Julia Marting, who was born and reared in this county, and who is a daughter of Garrett and Mary (May- huff) Marting, who were honored pioneer citizens of Clayton county at the time of their death and both of whom were natives of Ger- many. Mr. and Mrs. Werger have two sons : Ernest C. and Carl H.
Fred Werges is consistently to be given special recognition as one of the prominent and influential representatives of agricultural and livestock industry in his native county, where he is the owner of one of the fine farms of Farmersburg township, with high stand- ing as a progressive man of affairs and as an upright and loyal citizen well worthy of the esteem that is uniformly accorded to him. Mr. Werges was born in Clayton township, this county, on the 10th of February, 1858, and, as this date implies, he is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Clayton county. He is one of the eight surviving children of Casper A. and Lutzia W. (Bruns) Wer- ges, both natives of Germany, whence they came to America in the 40's, their marriage having been solemnized in Clayton county. Casper Werges was born in the Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, and after coming to the United States he maintained his home at Cincinnati, Ohio, until 1845, when he came to Iowa and purchased a tract of land in Clayton county. He thus became one of the very early settlers of Clayton township, where he reclaimed as from the wilderness a productive farm and where he long continued his successful activities as an agriculturist and stock-raiser. He was one of the substantial and honored pioneer citizens of the county at the time of his death, which occurred in 1903, and his venerable widow still resides on the old homestead, she having celebrated, in 1916, her seventy-sixth birthday anniversary. Her husband was eighty-six years of age when he passed forward to the life eternal, and his character was the positive expression of a strong and stead- fast nature. Fred Werges grew to maturity under the conditions and influences of the pioneer farm and gained his early education in the district schools of Clayton township. He remained at the parental home until he had attained to the age of twenty-four years, when he married Miss Margaret Powell, who was born and reared on the fine homestead farm which is now their place of abode, and who is a daughter of James W. and Katherine (Dripps) Powell, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mr. Powell and his devoted wife were likewise numbered among the early settlers of Clayton county, and both passed the clos-
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