USA > Iowa > Dickinson County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 4
USA > Iowa > Emmet County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 4
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
Mr. and Mrs. Nichols hold membership in the Episcopal church and fraternally he is a prominent Mason, belonging to North Star Lodge, No. 447, A. F. & A. M .; Jeptha Chapter, No. 128, R. A. M .; Esdraelon Com- mandery, No. 52, K. T .; and North Star Chapter, O. E. S. He likewise belongs to the Elks lodge, No. 528, of Estherville, and from 1894 until 1896 inclusive he was secretary of North Star Lodge and in 1892 was commander of Esdraelon Commandery. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is a man of wide interests and marked public spirit and his influence has been a potent factor on the side of progress, development and improvement in Emmet county for many years.
L. T. PETERSEN.
For several years L. T. Petersen was actively identified with the agricultural interests of Emmet county but is now located at Graettinger, where he is engaged in business as a stock dealer. He was born in Germany in 1876 and there spent the first sixteen years of his life, most of that time being devoted to his education. It was in 1892 that he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and on reaching this country proceeded at once to Iowa, where for four years he worked as a farm hand. At the end of that time he was able to commence farming on his own account and for some years operated rented land. In 1906 he purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Emmet county, whereon he resided for ten years, devoting his attention to its cultivation and improvement during that time. He then rented his farm and removed to Graettinger and has since engaged in buying and shipping stock of all kinds. In this venture he has steadily prospered and has been able to add to his property, now owning one hundred and sixty acres of land near Graettinger and an eighty-acre tract in Florida which cost him fifty dollars per acre. He is a very enterprising, energetic and industrious business man and to these
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characteristics may be attributed his success, for on coming to the new world he was without capital and has since been dependent entirely upon his own resources.
JAMES B. KNIPE, M. D.
Dr. James B. Knipe, who is successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Armstrong, was born in Butler county, Iowa, February 15, 1881, his parents being Jacob M. and Anna (Bolton) Knipe, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. During their child- hood they were brought to Iowa, however, and on reaching mature years were married in this state. They now reside in Butler county. To them were born four children but the Doctor is the only one now living.
Reared to manhood in Butler county, Iowa, Dr. Knipe obtained his early education in the common schools and later attended Cornell College for one year. For two years he was a student at Drake University in Des Moines and then entered the medical department of the State Uni- versity of Illinois, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1904. In August of that year he located in Armstrong and as time passed he gradually built up a good practice which he is now enjoying. He keeps well informed on the latest discoveries made in the science of medicine and surgery and today ranks among the leading physicians of Emmet county.
On the 1st of June, 1908, Dr. Knipe married Miss Grace Stuart, a native of Grundy county, Iowa, and a daughter of William and Jennie Stuart. The Doctor and his wife have two children, Alice Edith and William Jacob. They own a nice residence in Armstrong and are earnest and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church at that place. In politics the Doctor is a republican and is now serving as a member of the town council. For three years he was also a member of the school board and he never withholds his support from any enterprise that he believes will benefit the moral, educational or material welfare of his community. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 533, A. F. & A. M., in which he has filled all of the chairs, and also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America.
AUGUST KREIS.
August Kreis resides on a farm of section 12, in Twelve Mile Lake township, owning the southeast quarter of that section, which is a valuable and productive tract of land. The family home was maintained in Twelve Mile Lake township at the time of his birth, which occurred on the 15th of May, 1870. His parents were natives of Germany and were among the earliest settlers of Emmet county. There the father homesteaded, for at
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that period much of the land had not yet been taken up but remained in the possession of the government just as it came from the hand of nature. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon the tract which Mr. Kreis secured and with the characteristic energy he began to improve and develop the property. Thereon he reared his family of five children, of whom two are living, the daughter being Carrie, now the wife of Sam Molster, of Story City, Iowa. The parents have both passed away.
August Kreis attended the district schools in the winter months until seventeen years of age and through the summer seasons assisted more and more largely in the work of the farm as his years and strength increased. He continued his work upon the old homestead until he had attained his majority, after which he was employed at farm labor in various places. He now owns the southeast quarter of section 12, Twelve Mile Lake township, and in addition has two hundred and seventy-six acres of land in Aurora county, South Dakota.
Mr. Kreis maintains an independent course, politically, casting his ballot for the candidates whom he regards as best fitted for office with- out regard to their party affiliation. He has a wide acquaintance in the county in which his entire life has been spent and it is a well-known fact that his success is due to hard labor, so that he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, overcoming many obstacles and difficulties in the attainment of his present prosperity.
J. D. GEISSINGER, M. D.
Dr. J. D. Geissinger, one of the well-known physicians and surgeons of Spirit Lake, is a native son of Iowa, his birth occurring in Poweshiek county, February 2, 1880. His father, J. W. Geissinger, was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood, and having acquired a good practical education engaged in teaching in that state for some time. In Huntingdon county he married Miss Mary Boden, who was born in Ireland but was reared in the Keystone state. About 1878 he removed to Iowa and settled in Poweshiek county, but in 1884 came to Dickinson county, purchasing a farm in Westfort township, where he engaged in farming. Upon this place he reared his family and remained for some years, but finally sold out and removed to Spencer. A few years later, however, he returned to Dickinson county and located in Milford. He has been honored by numerous official positions and is one of the highly esteemed citizens of his community. His wife is an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Milford.
Dr. Geissinger was only four years of age when the family became residents of Dickinson county, and in its common schools he acquired his early education. Later he attended the Milford high school and was also a student at Highland Park College for three years. Having decided to
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take up the medical profession he subsequently entered the Northwestern University and was graduated in 1907 with the degree of M. D. The following eighteen months were spent in the Cook County Hospital at Chicago, where he supplemented his theoretical knowledge by active prac- tice and on his return home was associated with Dr. Q. C. Fuller at Mil- ford for a short time. Since then he has been a resident of Spirit Lake, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice, being recognized as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the city. He has taken sev- eral post-graduate courses and keeps in touch with the advancement made along the line of his profession by his membership in the Dickinson County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the Ameri- can Medical Association.
On the 31st of August, 1910, at Milford, Iowa, Dr. Geissinger was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Anderson, who was reared and educated in Dickinson county, and is a daughter of John G. Anderson, now living at Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Doctor and his wife have two children, James D. and Rosemary Ellen.
Dr. Geissinger is a Royal Arch Mason belonging to both the lodge and chapter in Spirit Lake, and is now serving as senior warden in the former. Both he and his wife are connected with the Eastern Star and they are people of prominence in the community where they reside.
SAMUEL L. PILLSBURY.
One of the most prominent and influential citizens of Dickinson county is Samuel L. Pillsbury of Spirit Lake, who for many years filled important official positions and has borne an active part in the develop- ment and upbuilding of this region. He was born in Kane county, Illi- nois, March 16, 1836, and is a son of Rev. S. Pillsbury, whose birth occurred in Johnsburg, New York, on the 12th of July, 1802. For some time the Pilsbury family resided in Vermont and from that state removed to Monroe county, New York, where Rev. Pillsbury completed his education. There he engaged in teaching school for some years but in 1835 entered the ministry and after his removal to Illinois was ordained a deacon by the Rock River Conference in 1840. He preached at various places in the middle west but finally located in Winnebago county, Illi- nois, where he had charge of a church until superannuated. In 1863 he became a resident of Dickinson county, Iowa, locating at what is known as Pillsbury's Point, on Lake Okoboji. His first residence was the Gard- ner cabin. On the 9th of June, 1829, in Monroe county, New York, Rev. Pillsbury was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Ann Latta, also a native of that state, and to them were born four sons and two daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity, and two sons and one daughter are still living. On coming to Dickinson county Rev. Pillsbury became promi- nently identified with its public affairs and for some years served as
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SAMUEL L. PILLSBURY
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county judge. After that office was abolished he served as county auditor for one year and spent his last days in retirement at Okoboji. He passed away on the 29th of October, 1888, at Milford, Iowa.
Samuel L. Pillsbury passed the days of his boyhood and youth in Illinois, and his early education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by a course at Mount Morris Seminary. In 1860 he and his brother, Albert W., made a trip to Pike's Peak, where they engaged in mining for about three years, and at the end of that time Samuel L. returned to Illinois, while his brother went west. In 1863 the former, with his brother Wilbur, came to Dickinson county, Iowa, and took up their residence in the Gardner cabin at Pillsbury's Point, where Samuel L. entered a homestead and made some improvements thereon. In 1868 he was elected auditor of Dickinson county, being well fitted for that office as he had previously served as deputy under his father. Later he was reëlected at each succeeding election until he had served for twelve consecutive years. On his retirement from office he accepted the position of cashier in the B. B. Van Steenburg & Company Bank and served in that capacity for eleven years. On the organization of the First National Bank of Spirit Lake he was made cashier of that concern and held the position for three years. At the end of that time he was again elected county auditor and for six years continued in that office, making eighteen years in all as auditor of Dickinson county-a most remarkable record, probably without a parallel in Iowa. He has also served as a member of the city council of Spirit Lake for several terms and as a member of the school board for nineteen years. He was appointed administrator for the B. B. Van Steenburg estate which he has settled and adjusted satis- factorily.
At Okoboji, September 28, 1870, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Pillsbury and Miss Frances I. Phippin, who was born near Watertown, Jefferson county, New York, and was there reared and educated. She came to Dickinson county, Iowa, in 1861, and later became one of the pioneer teachers here. Her father was Samuel E. Phippin. Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury began their domestic life in Okoboji but in 1873 removed to Spirit Lake which has since been their home. Their children are: Florence E., the wife of E. E. Bickal, of Spirit Lake, by whom she has two children, S. L. and Frances E .; Latta B., who served for six years as deputy auditor of Dickinson county but is now a resident of Redmond, Washington ; Leon E., a business man of Spencer, Iowa; and Leo Vinton, who died at the age of three years.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Pillsbury has always affiliated with the republican party and is a recognized leader in its local ranks. He has served as treasurer of the blue lodge of the Masonic order at Spirit Lake for more than thirty years, and both he and his wife are also mem- bers of the Eastern Star Chapter, of which she was matron for twelve years. She belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and they are people of prominence in the community where they have so long made their home. They have spent several winters, however, on the Pacific slope,
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both at Seattle and in California, and have also spent some time in Flor- ida. For over half a century Mr. Pillsbury has been a resident of Dick- inson county and there is probably no man within its borders who has borne a more active part in its public affairs. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree, and he commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he has been brought in contact either in public or private life.
ALBERT MYHRE.
For thirty-eight years Albert Myhre has been a resident of Emmet county, which covers the entire period of his life, for he is a native son of the county, his birth having here occurred on the 20th of January, 1879. He is now engaged in general merchandising at Huntington under the firm style of Albert Myhre & Company and is numbered among the representative business men of his district. His parents were I. O. and Anna Myhre, both of whom were natives of Norway. Coming to Iowa in pioneer times, the father settled in High Lake township, Emmet county, in 1865 and there homesteaded, securing a tract of land which was just as it came from the hand of nature, not a furrow having been turned nor an improvement made upon the place. He at once began its development and his labors wrought a marked transformation in the appearance of the farm. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all business interests and, responding to the country's call for troops, joined the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry, with which he served for three years. During that period he participated in a number of important engagements and on. one occasion was wounded in the left side. He was promoted to the rank of corporal and in later years he maintained pleasant relations with his old army comrades as a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his loyalty in citizenship, called him to fill several township offices. He died in the year 1905 and was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery, in High Lake township, Emmet county. His
widow survives and is now living in Estherville. In their family were eleven children, eight of whom are yet living, six being residents of Emmet county. The surviving members of the household are: Dorothy, now the wife of Thomas Storhow, of Estherville township; Oliver, who is married and makes his home in Twelve Mile Lake township; Oscar, who is married and resides in Wallingford; Martin, who is married and is located at Graettinger, Palo Alto county, Iowa; Caroline, of Esther- ville; Albert; Anna, the wife of J. Anderson, of High Lake township; and Elmer, who is married and makes his home at Swea City, Iowa.
After acquiring a district school education Albert Myhre attended the Decorah Institute and was graduated from the business department. He continued to work for his father until he attained his majority and then went to Huntington, where he entered the employ of C. L. Jeglum
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& Company, proprietors of a general store, with whom he remained for five years. He later spent two years in the general store of A. O. Myhre & Son, of Estherville, and in 1908 he became a partner in the firm of Albert Myhre & Company and has since been manager of the business. Theirs is a general store in which they carry a large line of clothing, shoes, groceries and dry goods, for which they find a ready sale, as their reliable business methods commend them to the confidence and support of the public.
On the 4th of July, 1904, Mr. Myhre was united in marriage to Miss Minnie H. Harvego, a daughter of H. and Amelia Harvego. The mother has now passed away and was laid to rest in the Harvego ceme- tery in Ellsworth township, while the father now makes his home in Morrison county, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Myhre have one child, John H., who was born May 27, 1914.
The parents are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics Mr. Myhre is a stalwart republican, serving at the present time as postmaster of Huntington. He is well known as a repre- sentative and progressive business man of his town and his well-directed labors in the management of his business are bringing to him deserved and gratifying success.
ALBERT C. NIELSEN.
Albert C. Nielsen, who has met with gratifying success as a farmer in Denmark township, Emmet county, was born in Clinton, Iowa, March 9, 1881, a son of Niels and Nicolena (Matheson) Nielsen, natives of Den- mark. In 1882 the family left Iowa and took up their residence in Den- mark township, Emmet county. This region was just being opened up to white settlement and in fact the Nielsens were the third family to locate in that township. The father purchased the south half of the north- east quarter of section 13 and for about a quarter of a century, or until 1905, he concentrated his energies upon the cultivation of that tract. Upon retiring from active life he removed to Ringsted, where he and his wife still reside. All of their three children are living, namely: Carrie, now Mrs. F. C. Petersen, of Ringsted; Albert C .; and George K., also a resident of Ringsted.
Albert C. Nielsen attended the district schools until he was seventeen years old and subsequently worked for his father until the latter retired. He now owns the homestead and keeps everything about the place in excellent condition so that it is one of the model farms of the township. He raises both grain and stock and derives a gratifying income from his well-directed labors.
On the 18th of December, 1907, Mr. Nielsen was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna M. (Simonsen) Duhn. Her parents, Simon K. and Mar- garet Simonsen, brought their family from Denmark to the United States
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when their daughter Anna was but eight months old. The family home was established at Graettinger, Palo Alto county, Iowa, and there the mother passed away and is buried. The father survives. Mrs. Nielsen was first married to Lars Duhn, who died July 7, 1906. By her second union she has three children, Ervin, Melvin and Harold.
Mr. Nielsen takes the interest of a good citizen in public affairs. although not an office seeker and in the exercise of his right of franchise supports the man rather than the party. He is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America of Ringsted, the Denmarks Minde Society of Ring- sted and St. John's Danish Lutheran church. He was trained to hard work and the success which is his is the direct result of his industry.
ANDREW LARSEN.
The financial interests of Emmet county have a worthy representa- tive in Andrew Larsen, who is now serving as president of the Farmers Savings Bank of Ringsted. Like many of the leading citizens of Iowa he is of foreign birth, born in Denmark, November 3, 1855, and his parents, Lars and Anna Sophia Andersen, were also natives of that country. There the father engaged in business as a merchant throughout his active life and passed away there in October, 1914, at the advanced age of ninety years. The mother is still living at the age of eighty-seven.
In the land of his nativity Andrew Larsen grew to manhood, ac- quiring his education in the common schools and working for his father until fifteen years of age, when he began learning the cabinetmaker's trade, which he followed in Denmark until 1878. During the following two years he served in the Danish army and in 1880 came to the United States, locating at Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he worked at his trade in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad for ten years.
In 1890 Mr. Larsen came to Emmet county and settled in Denmark township on land which he had purchased in 1882. For some years he devoted his time and energies to agricultural pursuits with good results .but in March, 1916, he retired from farming and removed to Ringsted. For three years he had been interested in general merchandising at Em- metsburg, but on the organization of the Farmers Savings Bank at Ringsted in 1915 he became its president and has since served in that capacity. He is a stockholder in the Bankers Trust Company & Savings Bank of Minneapolis, in the Bankers Trust Company of Des Moines, and in the Iowa National Fire Insurance Company, of Des Moines, all of which are million dollar concerns, and is also a stockholder of the Ring- sted State Bank and the Farmers Elevator Company, of which he was one of the organizers, serving as vice president of the same for some years. He was formerly secretary of the Ringsted Creamery Company. He has improved three different farms in Emmet county, but at present only
ANDREW LARSEN
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owns one of these-a tract of one hundred and twenty acres on section 22, Denmark township, one of the best improved farms in that locality. On the 11th of May, 1914, most of the buildings upon the place were de- stroyed by cyclone. Mr. Larsen has been very successful in his farming operations and raised high grade stock on his land, feeding about one carload for market annually.
In November, 1882, Mr. Larsen married Miss Hansine Miller, who died leaving two children : Anna Eleanor, now the wife of Lars P. Lar- sen, a farmer of Emmet county ; and Agnes Matonea, wife of Bernhard Nelsen, of Chicago. For his second wife Mr. Larsen married Miss Caro- lina Petersen, who died in 1891, and by that union there was one child, Hans Henry Grant Larsen, at home. In December, 1893, Mr. Larsen was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Petersen.
Mr. Larsen supports the men and measures of the democratic party and he has served as township clerk and president of the school board for many years. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran church and is also connected with the Denmarks Minde, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Loyal Order of Moose and Danish Brotherhood of America. It is as a business man, however, that he is best known and he today occupies an enviable position in business circles. He is a banker of sound judg- ment and keen insight into financial affairs and the success that has come to him is the just reward of earnest and persistent labor guided by a mind alert and far sighted.
JOSEPH A. HARING.
Joseph A. Haring, wide-awake, alert and energetic, is prominently connected with the business interests of Wallingford, where he is also filling the office of mayor, and in this connection is giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He was born in Pennsyl- vania in 1872 and is a son of William and Magdalena Haring, who were also natives of the Keystone. state. The father was a railway engineer for a long period and during the last few years of his life devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. Both he and his wife have now passed away and their remains were interred at Clinton, Iowa. They had a family of eight children: George, now deceased; William, who is mar- ried and makes his home in Reading, Pennsylvania; Mary, the wife of J. S. Jones, of Lyons, Iowa; Lizzie, the wife of Charles Aue, of this state; Kate, the wife of J. F. Bockstaller, of Clinton, Iowa; John G., who is married and resides in Clinton; Joseph A .; and Robert, who is married and also makes his home in Clinton.
Joseph A. Haring was a little lad of but six years when he accompanied his parents to Clinton, Iowa, where the father was first employed as a railroad engineer, while later he turned his attention to the growing of fruit. There Joseph A. Haring entered the public schools, which he
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