USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 46
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prominent characteristics are his sound business judgment and fc .. his
altruistic attitude toward all public questions, his loyal warm hearte and the quiet modesty with which he has pursued his way.
Charles Walter Tabor was born June 4, 1848, in Rollin, Michigan. son of Stephen W. and Caroline Cecelia Tabor, both of Bradford, Vermont. The family is able to trace its American ancestry back to Philip Tabor, who first set foot in Massachusetts in 1635. Another ancestor commanded an American privateer during the war of the Revolution. The subject of this sketch seems to have received from his long line of Yankee ancestors all that sound busi- ness sense for which the race is noted, together with that sweet kindliness which seemed to be the peculiar portion of his mother. Mr. Tabor's parents moved to the west in 1837, settling at Rollin, Michigan, where two children, Helen Josephine, now Mrs. W. H. Littell, of Independence, Iowa, and Charle W. were born. In 1849 they removed to Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, wher year later the youngest son, Frank H., was born. The father was a wag .. maker by trade but was possessed of the political instinct and served for many years as deputy United States revenue collector for Sauk county. He was also engaged in retail business with L. V. Tabor.
The boys, Charles and Frank, grew up together in the fairly primitive Wis- consin home, fond of all the sports of boyhood, eager students, and anxious to begin the work of life. At the age of sixteen Charles W. Tabor taught a school of sixty-one pupils in a log schoolhouse in Wisconsin. In 1869 he received an appointment as a clerk in the treasury department at Washington, D. C. He not only did his work in the department but like many another young man he availed himself of the educational advantages of the city. For a time he at- tended Howard University, which after the war was open to colored people, and it was there, perhaps, that he gained that loyalty to the oppressed from which he has never faltered. He attended the Columbia Law School and grad- uated from that institution. At the same time his brother Frank completed the University course and the law course at Michigan University at Ann Arbor. Out of a class of eighty-four graduating from the Columbia Law School with Mr. Tabor, but one other, John Corwin, had the energy and initiative to leave the shelter of departmental service and permanently engage in the practice of law. In 1871 Mr. Tabor resigned from the treasury department and went to Madison, Wisconsin, working as an assistant in the law office of Carpenter & Chase. In the spring of 1873 he went to Chicago, hoping to get into some es- tablished law firm in that city. He worked for some months as abstractor and clerk with Handy, Simmons & Company. On July 26, 1873, he was united in marriage with Abigail H. Wilkinson, and their life time of devotion became a model to all who knew them.
The history of the two brothers is at this period indissolubly linked. They were more than brothers to each other-they were friends and boon companions and it would be a difficult matter to decide which one loved and admired the other the more. Dissatisfied with a subordinate position, the brothers planned to go into business for themselves. Frank had completed the four years course at Ann Arbor in three years and graduated from the law school at the end of the
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
fou. He now turned his attention to looking up a location and in the meas to the earning of a livelihood. He made his first trip to Iowa as a canva for Appleton's Encyclopedia, and in pursuing his work he kept an eye open opportunity. He reported to his brother that there were two favorable locations in Iowa, one at Independence and the other at Denison. They were entire strangers to this city, but in October, 1873, Charles Tabor came to Deni- son, found it to be a promising and thriving community and decided to remain. Frank came in November and together they purchased the law practice of J. D. Miracle and rented a little room over the Chicago store, the building now oc- cupied by C. C. Kemming, and on December 3, 1873, they flung their sign of "Tabor & Tabor" to the pleasure of the wintry blasts. From the very first the firm was successful. The community recognized their ability and their traightforwardness. Frank Tabor was a genius, an eloquent orator, a bril- "it logician and a splendid student of the law. Charles was an energetic, wide-
vake, strictly honest business man. Their past friendships gave them connec- tion with investors in other states and these connections were augmented by the scrupulous promptness and reliability with which they conducted the affairs of others. In this way they were able to furnish the capital which was so greatly needed in the upbuilding of the new town and county. Their first lawsuit was over some trivial affair, the trial being held at the residence of a justice in the vicinity of Charter Oak. The attorneys in the case, besides Tabor & Tabor, were Wright & Nicholson, C. C. Donald, M. H. Wygant, and J. P. Conner.
Frank Tabor was married in 1874 to Miss Florence Bowen. The brothers lived on opposite corners, their business was flourishing, they had attained a high place in the esteem of the community, and life opened before them as brightly as before any two young men whom we have ever known. In the early days the black diphtheria was a terrible scourge. Antitoxin had not been dis- covered and there seemed to be no way to prevent the ravages of the disease. A large percentage of the deaths in the early history of this county came through diphtheria. In the winter of 1878 Denison was visited by the worst epidemic of this dread disease that it has ever known. People were panic stricken. It was almost impossible to secure any aid for the afflicted ones. There was no need of a quarantine for people kept from the stricken homes in mortal terror. It was at such a time as this that Ida, the daughter of their neighbor, Mr. Nicholson, was stricken with the disease. Fully realizing the danger, they still felt that it was their supreme duty to offer aid, and in doing so they laid down their lives. In a few days after caring for the dying girl Mr. Tabor was taken with the disease, and but a few more days elapsed before the wife was also stricken. A heroic fight was made for their lives, the best medical assistance in all the west was called to their bedsides, but the struggle was in vain. Mrs. Tabor died December 31, 1878; Frank H. Tabor died January 22, 1879.
The death of this brother, who was as his right hand, was the first great grief of Charles Tabor's life. It was a grief from which he never recovered but which hallowed all his after years, as he remained true and had ever in his mind the high ideals for which his brother lived. Following his brother's death Mr. Tabor had no heart for the practice of law and in 1880 he sold this part
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of his business to the firm of Garrison & Roberts, retaining for himself the loan business, which had grown to large proportions and which increased rapidly with each succeeding year. During these years Mr. Tabor became largely inter- ested in real estate, owning at one time more than ten thousand acres in Craw- ford and Monona counties. His business made him known to every resident of the county and his kindliness, his generosity and his fairness made him a friend to every one. At the time of the sale of his law business, however, he intended to remove to Atchison, Kansas, to enter business with E. W. Sargeant, but there came a revival in the real-estate business after the famous Jay Cook failure, and he decided to remain, associating with him in business for a time, John B. Poitivin. Mr. Tabor was the first attorney to occupy offices in the McHenry Bank Building, and these offices he retained for thirty-six years, until November 1, 1910. In the early 'gos, finding that business cares took a larger percentage of his time than he cared to give, Mr. Tabor disposed of nearly all of his real-estate holdings. These lands had been purchased at from three to seven dollars per acre and, although the great rise in real-estate values of later years had not come, they gave Mr. Tabor a handsome profit. After disposing of these properties Mr. Tabor devoted himself entirely to the loan business and to other investments. He is a director of the Crawford County State Bank, of the German Bank of Schleswig, and of the Crawford County Telephone Company.
The death of his beloved wife on May 14, 1902, made another great change in the course of his life. He devoted himself less and less to business and more to the working out of charitable designs. Many years ago, through T. J. Garri- son, his attention was first called to the Christian Home at Council Bluffs. He made a businesslike investigation of its methods and management and soon became its most enthusiastic supporter. His benevolences to this institution amount to many thousands of dollars and he is still its most liberal single bene- factor. The last few years have been spent largely in travel to various portions of the United States. On February 16, 1908, Mr. Tabor suffered still another great grief in the death of his beloved mother, Mrs. C. C. Tabor. The winter of 1909 was spent in Florida and an overland journey was commenced which continued through Georgia and Alabama into the mountains of Tennessee, where Mr. Tabor suffered from an acute attack of blood poisoning and was ob- liged to hasten to the home of his cousin, Robert Moreland, of Adrian, Michi- gan, where for several weeks his life was in great jeopardy. To the joy of his many friends he recovered from this illness and later was able to return to his home. In the fall of 1910 Mr. Tabor disposed of his loan business to the Crawford County State Bank, and he has now retired from all active business save in the management of his personal estate.
At present Mr. Tabor, with his cousin, Miss Ames, and a party of Ameri- can friends, are making an extensive tour which has already included the Medi- terranean ports, the Holy Land and Egypt. Nearly all the important cities of Europe will be visited before their return. Before he left Denison for a Cali- fornia visit which preceded the longer trip, the business men of Denison ten- dlered Mr. Tabor an elaborate banquet, at which time was fully evidenced the
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love and high esteem in which he is held. No man in the history of our county has been kinder and truer and more generous. No man has a warmer place in the hearts of the people. It will indeed be a glad day for Denison when Mr. Tabor returns, and this will be especially the case should he decide to live with us the remainder of his years.
JOHN G. HAMANN.
It is ever a source of encouragement to learn of the lives of those who have started out empty-handed but by means of energy and perseverance have ac- quired a fair degree of success. Such is the life record of John G. Hamann, who as a young man came to America practically penniless but rich in the pos- session of those qualities which enable an ambitious man to conquer conditions.
He was born in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on the 28th of July, 1859, his parents being C. and Margaret (Redus) Hamann, who spent their entire lives in their native land, where the father engaged in farming. Seven children were born to them: Sophia, Johanna, Louise, Henry, John G., August and Wilhelmina. They are all living in Germany with the exception of John G. Hamann, who is the fifth in order of birth, and August, who is now a resident of Washington township, his brother having sent him a ticket and passage money.
In the common schools of the fatherland John G. Hamann obtained his education, and after laying aside his school books he was apprenticed to a shoe- maker. After completing his term of service he followed his trade in Ham- burg for a time, finally becoming so skilled that he was able to make a pair of shoes in eight hours. Having become possessed of that intense dissatisfaction which must ever affect an ambitious youth, who recognizes limitations which he feels must ultimately smother his aspiration, he became a soldier but after ten weeks he took passage for America, believing that here he could find the opportunities for which he longed. He arrived in the United States in 1881, first locating in Henry county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming for four years. At the end of that period he removed to Crawford county, Iowa, rent- ing a farm in Goodrich township, which he cultivated for several years, and then went to Washington township. He resided in the latter place until 1892, when he settled on section 16, Nishnabotny township, where he has ever since con- tinued to live. Here Mr. Hamann has acquired six hundred acres of land, upon which he has placed three sets of improvements, putting them all up himself, and has set out shade and fruit trees. He engages in general farming and stock- raising but makes a specialty of feeding stock for the market, being the heaviest feeder in his township. His ventures have all netted him substantial returns and in addition to his agricultural property he also owns two lots in Manilla.
In 1885 Mr. Hamann established a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Dora Smith, who passed away three months afterward. He married a second time. his choice being Miss Anna Suhr, a native of Germany, and they have become the parents of seven children: Henry, Albert, Alvina, Edward, Annie,
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Dewey and Flora, all of whom are at home with the exception of the second son, Albert, who is living on one of his father's farms.
The family all affiliate with the Lutheran church, while fraternally Mr. Hamann is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also a member of the Germania Associa- tion, which was organized through his suggestion and of which he has been the president almost continuously since it was founded. Since his naturaliza- tion Mr. Hamann has taken an active and helpful interest in all local affairs, and although he is a republican in principle he always casts his ballot at township and county elections for the men and measures he considers best adapted for the general interest. He has been road superintendent for ten years and has but recently been elected township trustee for the third term, while he is also president of the school board. Mr. Hamann has ever manifested the determina- tion and diligence which has enabled him to successfully complete whatsoever he has undertaken. There have been difficulties and obstacles in his path to be sure but he has resolutely overcome them and today he is recognized as one of the substantial agriculturists of the county.
ISAIAH A. MAINS.
Isaiah A. Mains, postmaster of Charter Oak, a position which he has filled with marked ability for six years past, is a native of Perry county, Ohio. He was born June 18, 1853, and is a son of Thomas F. and Sarah ( Hazelton) Mains, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state. The father served in the Union army at the time of the Civil war, enlisting in June, 1861, in the Ninth Ohio Infantry. At the expiration of his period of enlistment he reen- tered the service and continued until the close of the war. He was reared a farmer and followed that occupation after returning from the army, attaining a creditable position in his chosen calling. The mother of our subject died in 1861. There were four children in their family : Isaiah A., of this review; John H., who is a business man of Stewart, Nebraska; Jane, who married James B. Wilson, of Ohio, and died at the age of forty-five; and Mary, who is the wife of C. C. Hardy, of Charter Oak. The father was married a second time in 1867, the lady of his choice being Catharine Richter, of Ohio, who is now de- ceased. To this union one child, Florence, was born. She is now living at New Lexington, Ohio. Mr. Mains lived to an advanced age, passing away January 14, 1908.
Isaiah A. Mains was educated in the public schools of Ohio and continued in his native state until twenty-two years of age. He then married and came to Iowa and rented land for two years in Clark county. In 1877 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Charter Oak township, Crawford county, which he cultivated until 1881, when he removed to Charter Oak and engaged for several years in the real-estate business, also giving his children advantages of education in the public schools. In 1905 he was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as postmaster of Charter Oak and was reappointed to the
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position in 1910 by President Taft. His administration in the office has been satisfactory not only to the people but to the officers at Washington.
On March 3, 1875, Mr. Mains was married to Miss Katherine Adams, who was born in Ohio, February 10, 1852, and is a daughter of William and Amelia (Taylor) Adams, the father being a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Ohio. Mr. Adams died in 1883 and his wife passed away several years later. Of eight children in their family five are now living, namely: John F., of Craig, Nebraska ; Katherine, now Mrs. Isaiah A. Mains; Mrs. J. H. Mains, of Stewart, Nebraska; William, of Omaha, Nebraska; and Frances, now Mrs. A. D. Fow- ler, of New Lexington, Ohio. Four children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Mains: William T., who was born January 23, 1876, and is a grad- uate of the high school and now living in Charter Oak; Harry H., who is con- nected with C. F. Adams & Company, of Chicago, Illinois; Charles A., now assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Charter Oak; and Grace A., at home, who was graduated at the high school and spent two years at Morning- side College, studying music.
Mr. Mains and his wife are estimable members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he gives his support to the republican party and fraternally is connected with Lodge No. 543, A. F. & A. M., and Lodge No. 329, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Modern Woodmen of America, all of Char- ter Oak. The son of a valiant soldier who voluntarily offered his services to his country in her hour of danger, Mr. Mains inherited characteristics of fear- lessness, energy and perseverance which have materially assisted him in his life work, to that today he is one of the acknowledged leaders in Crawford county. He is a thorough business man, a popular and efficient public official and a use- ful citizen, whose spirit of helpfulness is one of the leading factors in his success.
FRED ERICKSON.
The subject of this review is actively identified with the agricultural inter- ests of Crawford county, and although comparatively a young man he has gained a reputation as one of the highly efficient farmers of Stockholm township. Here he has spent his entire life and it is doubtful whether any other man in his part of the county has a more intimate acquaintance with its resources or with the possibilities of its agricultural development.
A native of Crawford county, Mr. Erickson comes of one of its well known families. He was born on the home farm in Stockholm township, August I, 1873, a son of John A. and Julia Erickson, record of whom appears elsewhere in this work. He received his preliminary education in the public schools and later possessed advantages of college training, thus becoming well prepared for the responsibilities that were before him. He remained at home assisting his father until after reaching manhood and then rented the home place of three hundred acres, of which he has ever since had charge. He engages in general farming but makes a specialty of raising and feeding stock, keeping none but good grades and shipping the same to the market in excellent condition. As he
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gives elose attention to his business the results have been highly satisfactory and the well kept appearance of the place gives evidence of intelligent supervision. He has made a careful study of the best methods of farming and stock-raising and is regarded by his neighbors as an authority on any questions pertaining to agricultural life.
Mr. Erickson politically is identified with the republican party, but he is not an aspirant for honors or emoluments of office as his interests are centered upon lis farm. He still enjoys the freedom of bachelorhood. He is known as a man of the strictest integrity, whose word is as binding to him as his bond and who is willing at all times to assist in any movement which gives evidence of pro- moting the permanent welfare of the people of this section.
C. CHRISTENSON.
C. Christenson, a former agriculturist of Crawford county but more recently of Ida county, who is now living retired in Kiron, was born in Sweden on the 15th of October, 1841, and is a son of K. and Christina ( Benson) Christenson. The parents spent their entire lives in their native land, where seven of their nine children continue to reside. Our subject and one daughter, Johanna, who married Olaf Bjorkman, of Stockholm township, this county, being the only members of the family to emigrate to the United States.
C. Christenson spent the first twenty-three years of his life in the old country, remaining a member of his mother's household until he had acquired his education. In 1865, however, he resolved to become a citizen of the United States, feeling convinced that better opportunities awaited him here than he could ever hope to have at home, so he took passage and sailed for America. He first located in Allamakee county, Iowa, where he continued to reside for two years and then went to Wisconsin to work in the pineries and the sawmills. After spending two years in the lumber country he returned to Iowa, this time settling in Denison, where he was employed for one year. At the end of that period he bought two yoke of oxen and engaged in breaking prairie for several years, during which time he saved the necessary capital to buy an eighty acre tract of land where he engaged in farming. He cultivated this for two years and then sold and purchased another eighty elsewhere in this county, to which he was later able to add forty more. He lived there for some time and in addi- tion to his general farming and stock-raising made a specialty of buying and shipping stock. He finally sold his homestead and removed to Ida county, Iowa, where he bought a hundred and sixty acre tract. He met with a mod- erate degree of success in his various ventures and later was able to add to his holdings another eighty acres. He continued to reside on this place until 1909, at which time he sold his farm and retired to Kiron, having acquired a com- petence which enables him to live in ease and comfort. He was always a thrifty, hard-working man and after the self-denial and privation of his early years is able to enjoy the peace of mind and physical ease his ample means
MR. AND MRS. C. CHRISTENSON
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provide him. He owns his residence in Kiron, which is one of the best in town, being provided with modern appointments and conveniences.
It was on the Ist of November, 1871, that Mr. Christenson was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Anderson, a daughter of Andrew and Christina Anderson, and on the 10th of May, 1896, she passed away. Seven children were born to them, as follows: Edward, living in Woodbury county, Iowa; Leonard, who is a resident of Ida Grove; May, who married Frank Ward, of Emporia, Kansas; Mayme, the wife of Joe Hammerstron, of Ida county; Virgil, who is living in Minneapolis; Alice, who is keeping house for her father; and Arthur George, with his sister in Ida county.
The faith of the family is that of the Baptist denomination, with which they are affiliated by membership. Ever since becoming a citizen of the United States Mr. Christenson has given his political support to the republican party. He has ever been a public-spirited man and takes an active interest in all municipal affairs and has held several of the minor township offices, the duties of which he executed in a manner which won the general approval of his constituency.
JOHN B. DORFLER.
On the role of honored citizens of Crawford county who have nobly per- formed their life work and have passed to the world beyond is John B. Dorfler. He was for many years a resident of Soldier township and was the owner of one of its most valuable farms. He was born in Germany, November 9, 1835, a son of Adam and Barbara Dorfler, both of whom were natives of Germany. The parents came to America in 1845 and spent two years at St. Louis, later set- tling on a farm in Muscatine county, Iowa, where they continued until their death. There were eight children in their family, namely: Adam, who died in Germany ; John B., of this review; Elizabeth, the widow of Christ Will, of Mus- catine; Margaret, now the wife of John Heubner, of Muscatine; George, who gave up his life for the cause of the Union at the time of the Civil war; Kate, who married Peter Hirshmann and both are now deceased; Katrina, the wife of George Hunt, of Muscatine; and Anna, who married George Shafer and both are deceased.
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