USA > Iowa > Dickinson County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 7
USA > Iowa > Emmet County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 7
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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. Murray believes in the basic principles of the republican party but where no national issue is at stake votes independently. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and is well known in local Masonic circles, belonging to the commandery, shrine and consistory. His wife and children are communicants of the Catholic church. The success which he has achieved through his own efforts is proof of his ability and enterprise and the high esteem in which he is universally held testifies to his worth as a man.
ROBERT IRVIN CRATTY.
One of the most prominent and influential citizens of Armstrong Grove township, Emmet county, is Robert Irvin Cratty, the proprietor of The Maples, located on section 11. He was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1853, and is a son of William C. and Martha (Hirsch) Cratty, who were also natives of the old Keystone state. The father followed farming in Pennsylvania until 1863, when he removed with his family to Illinois and continued to engage in the same occupation in that state until his death in 1875. The mother had passed away in 1865.
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Robert Irvin Cratty began his education in the schools of Pennsyl- vania and later pursued his studies in the schools of Illinois. On leaving the latter state in 1877 he came to Iowa, where he engaged in teaching school for twenty-one years. He was principal of the schools of Esther- ville from 1879 to 1882. Prior to this, in 1878, he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 11, Armstrong Grove township, and began its improvement. He now has a very valuable tract on which are good and substantial buildings and the land is under excel- lent cultivation.
Mr. Cratty was married April 19, 1878, to Miss Lovina E. Canon, who died on the 22nd of December, 1896, leaving four children, namely : Mabel E .; Edna R .; Alta M .; and Ralph W. On March 4, 1910, Mr. Cratty was united in marriage to Mrs. Mollie E. Webster, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are active and consistent members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Cratty holds the office of Elder. In politics he is a republican and at present is serving as township clerk, which position he has filled for many years. He has also been township trustee and, in fact, has held either one or the other of the two offices for twenty years. He was also treasurer of the school board for twenty years and is a stockholder of the First National Bank of Armstrong. Botany has become his hobby and he has made a large collection of Iowa and Minnesota plants, having a herbarium of six thousand species. He has also written much on the flora of Iowa and has devoted much of his leisure time to that study. He is one of the leading citizens of his community and is a man who commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he is brought in contact in both business and social life.
DANIEL M. CLUMP.
Daniel M. Clump, who follows farming on section 22, Superior town- ship, Dickinson county, and also devotes considerable attention to stock raising, was born in Lake county, Illinois, on June 15, 1860, his parents being Frederick J. and Elmira (Mitchell) Clump, the father a native of Buffalo, New York, and the mother of Stephenson county, Illinois. They were married in Freeport, Illinois, and continued to reside in that state until 1884, when they came to Dickinson county, Iowa, and located on a farm on section 34, Richland township. They lived there until 1901, when Mr. Clump retired and located on a small farm of fifty-six acres within the town limits of Superior, where he has since resided.
Daniel M. Clump passed the days of his minority in Illinois and is indebted to its public schools for the education he acquired during that time. It was in 1881 that he came to Iowa and took charge of his fathers' farm on section 34, Richland township, Dickinson county. At that time the land was all wild prairie and he erected the buildings and set out trees thereon. He has practically witnessed the entire development of this
MR. AND MRS. DANIEL M. CLUMP
D. LIBIA
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region and is thoroughly familiar with pioneer conditions. The trip from Illinois to Iowa was a hard one as the country was then snow- bound, and he arrived in Spencer on the first freight train that had reached that place for three months. It had required a whole week to make the journey. On reaching Spencer he was only able to buy one loaf of bread and as his trunk did not arrive on the same train he made the trip to Spirit Lake in a pair of wooden shoes. An uncle had previously come to Dickinson county and he had built a shack upon the father's farm which he stocked with provisions, but on the arrival of our subject he found that the neighbors had grown hungry and had taken all the meat left there. For some time he was obliged to live on graham mush and graham bread. So severe had been the winter that on the fourteenth day of April, 1881, he was able to cross Okoboji Lake on the ice with a load of oats. Mr. Clump continued to reside upon the old home farm until 1893 when he removed to Des Moines, where he was identified with the real estate business for four years.
While at that place he was married on November 25, 1895, to Miss Josephine Apple of Racine county, Wisconsin. In 1897 they removed to Estherville, Emmet county, and for the following two years Mr. Clump conducted a meat market at that place. At the end of that time he moved his market to Jackson county, Iowa, where he and his father purchased a section of timber land and for several years he cut cord wood and also engaged in the cattle business. In 1903 he returned to Estherville, where the following two years were passed, and since that time he has remained upon his present farm of two hundred and forty-three acres in Superior township, Dickinson county. As an agriculturist he has met with ex- cellent success and for several years past hase devoted considerable at- tention to the feeding of cattle for market, which branch of his business he has also found profitable.
Mr. and Mrs. Clump have two daughters of their own and also an adopted son, namely: Irene A., Ruth I. and Arthur Dale. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in both Emmet and Dickinson counties. In politics Mr. Clump is independent, preferring to support men and measures that he believes best calculated to promote the general interests of the community. He is one of the representative citizens of Dickinson county and his course in life has ever won for him the respect and esteem of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
J. M. HARRIS.
J. M. Harris, one of the leading citizens and prosperous farmers of Dickinson county, owns and operates a valuable tract of land on section 10, Lloyd township. He is one of Iowa's native sons, his birth occurring in Tama county on the 22nd of August, 1869. His parents
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are William and Elizabeth (Whiteside) Harris, natives of Perthshire, Scotland and County Sligo, Ireland, respectively. Both were reared on the other side of the Atlantic but in early life came to the United States and located in Clinton county, Iowa, where they were married. In the spring of 1869 they removed to Tama county, where they made their home for forty-two years, but for the past six years they have made their home with our subject in Dickinson county.
J. M. Harris began his education in the public schools of this state and later pursued a course in the business department of Highland Park College at Des Moines. When about twenty years of age he took charge of the home farm and for some time engaged in its operation. In 1900 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm in Lloyd township, Dickinson county, and a year and a half later bought an adjoin- ing quarter section, so that his farm now consists of three hundred and twenty acres of some of the finest land in Dickinson county. He has erected thereon good, substantial buildings and has made his place one of the most valuable tracts in the locality. Besides this farm he is the owner of one entire section of land in Ransom county, North Dakota, which is one of the richest agricultural sections of that state. He is a very progressive and up-to-date man and keeps everything about his place in good condition so that he derives the best possible results from his labors. For ten years he rented his Dickinson county land to tenants, but since 1911 has had charge of the place himself. He is paying spe- cial attention to the raising of Aberdeen Angus cattle and finds that branch of the business very profitable.
Mr. Harris is an earnest and consistent member of the Presby- terian church and is an ardent republican in politics, but has never had time or inclination for public office, preferring to devote his undivided attention to his extensive business interests. He is one of the best known farmers in his community and is a business man of recognized ability whose success has come to him through his well directed efforts.
PETER W. PETERSEN.
For several years Peter W. Petersen has been prominently identi- fied with the business interests of Ringsted where he is now conducting one of the best garages in the state. He handles the Oakland, Stude- baker and Maxwell cars and also deals in farm implements. A native of Iowa he was born in Clinton, December 11, 1878, and is a son of Martin and Anna (Petersen) Petersen, who were born in Denmark but came to America in early life and located in Manistee, Michigan. There the father engaged in the furniture business for a short time and later was similarly employed in Chicago, Illinois. From the latter place he removed to Clinton, Iowa, where he worked in a saw mill for eight years and then came to Emmet county, buying land on section 1, Denmark
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township, to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted his energies for many years. He then retired from active labor and removed to Ringsted, where he passed away in September, 1911. His wife sur- vived him about two years, dying in August, 1913.
Reared upon his father's farm in Emmet county, Peter W. Peter- sen acquired his early education in the country schools but later attended college at Elkhorn, Iowa. He remained with his parents until twenty- one years of age and gave his father the benefit of his services in the operation of the home farm. In 1900 he embarked in the hardware and implement business in Ringsted, and continued along that line until November, 1916, when he sold out and purchased a well equipped garage. As previously stated he now handles the Oakland, Studebaker and Max- well cars and is doing an excellent business as a dealer in automobiles. He also handles all kinds of farm implements and has built up a trade of extensive proportions.
On the 19th of October, 1905, Mr. Petersen married Miss Mary C. Linnett, by whom he has two children, Stella, born October 3, 1906, and Alice, born January 11, 1908. Mr. Petersen affiliates with the repub- lican party and has been called upon to serve on the town council for nine years, while at the present time he is a school director. He belongs to the Lutheran church and is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Danish Brotherhood. He is one of the repre- sentative business men of Emmet county, is wide-awake, energetic and progressive, and usually carries forward to successful conclusion what- ever he undertakes.
HENRY CRONK.
A fine farm of one hundred acres of excellent land in Armstrong Grove township, Emmet county, is evidence of the industry and thrift of Henry Cronk, who died February 7, 1917. He was a progressive and successful farmer and stock raiser. He was born in Canada in September, 1840, a son of David and Nancy (Clark) Cronk, also natives of that country. The father engaged in farming there until his death in 1866 and nine years later the mother also passed away.
Henry Cronk remained at home until he became of age and obtained his education in the public schools of the Dominion. After beginning his independent career he farmed there for a time and also engaged in threshing during the summer seasons but in 1866 he came to Emmet county, Iowa, and bought a relinquishment on a claim of three hundred acres on section 13, Armstrong Grove township. He at one time owned three hundred and twenty acres but disposed of all save one hundred acres, which he continued to operate until his death. He raised grain but paid particular attention to the breeding of fine stock. He was the first man to bring a thoroughbred animal into Emmet county and for
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some time engaged extensively in raising shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. Success attended his well directed labors and a substantial competence was his.
Mr. Cronk was married in February, 1867, to Miss Bessie Hors- well, an account of whose parents appears in the sketch of Richard Horswell elsewhere in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Cronk were born twelve children, namely: Byron, Amy, Charley. George, Richard, Olive, Earl, Bessie, Irwin and Jennie, all of whom survive; and Addie and Ross, both of whom died in infancy.
Mr. Cronk was a stanch republican in politics but never was an aspirant for official honors. He belonged to the Free Methodist church and in all his dealings conformed his conduct tò high ethical standards.
LESLIE E. FRANCIS.
A prominent member of the bar in northwestern Iowa is Leslie E. Francis, of Spirit Lake, who was born upon a farm near that place April 4, 1871, his parents being John and Eliza Francis, the former a native of England, while the latter was born in New England. Removing to the west, John Francis secured as a homestead claim the farm upon which occurred the birth of his son Leslie, obtaining that property in 1860. The following year he enlisted for service in the Civil war and remained with the army until 1865. Because of the Indian massacre which occurred on the 29th of August, 1862, near Spirit Lake, the mother left the Iowa farm, her husband being absent at the front, in order that she and her family might escape trouble and perhaps death.
Leslie E. Francis was a pupil in the country schools of his native county and afterward attended the high school at Spirit Lake, subsequent to which time he entered the law department of the State University of Iowa. He was reared as a farm boy with the usual experience of the lad who finds it necessary to begin work in the fields at an early day. Later he was employed as a day laborer in Spirit Lake, wheeling brick and mortar for a year while the courthouse was in process of construc- tion. In this way he earned the money that enabled him to purchase his law course and on the 16th of June, 1893, was admitted to the bar. He has practiced continuously in Spirit Lake since that time and has won a more than local reputation as a lawyer of marked ability. He tries cases in many parts of Iowa and has also been called into Minnesota and North and South Dakota. As the years have gone on he has invested heavily in lands, owning and selling at least thirty thousand acres in Canada, twenty- six thousand in Colorado, twenty-five thousand in Florida and probably ten thousand acres in Iowa and he now owns about thirty thousand acres in various states. He seems to possess almost intuitive judgment concern- ing the value of property and his investments have been made most judi- ciously, bringing to him well-deserved success.
LESLIE E. FRANCIS
LIDIARY A. TOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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On the 23d of June, 1896, at Spirit Lake, Iowa, Mr. Francis was married to Miss May E. Owen, a daughter of H. C. Owen, who was an old settler and soldier of this part of the state. To this marriage have been born two children, Miriam and Merwyn, aged respectively eighteen and sixteen years.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church and along fraternal lines Mr. Francis is well known as a Mason. He has ever been deeply and actively interested in vital political questions and from his boyhood has been frequently heard as a speaker in behalf of the republican party, of which he has always been a stalwart champion. On the 1st of January, 1894, he became deputy county attorney and so served until January 1, 1895, when he was made county attorney, occupying that position for three terms of two years each. He retired from the office on the 1st of January, 1901, as he had entered it-with the confidence and goodwill of all concerned. On the 1st of January, 1909, he became a mem- ber of the state senate, representing the forty-seventh senatorial district, and by reelection was continued in the office until January 1, 1917. He has given most earnest consideration to all vital problems coming up for settlement and his opinions, based upon sound reasoning and a thorough knowledge of conditions, have made him largely a leader of public thought and action in his district and to a considerable extent in the state. He has ever been a student of the signs of the times and has kept abreast with the best thinking men of the age. He is a diligent student not alone of the law but of all literature, having a law library of about five thousand volumes and a private library, covering general literary, historical and scientific subjects, of nearly the same number of volumes.
HERMAN ORANSKY.
Herman Oransky, a dry goods merchant of Estherville, belongs to that class of progressive, energetic and farsighted business men who in promoting individual success contribute also to the public welfare, for the advancement of a city or district does not depend so largely upon the machinery of government, or even upon the men who fill the public offices, as it does upon those who are active in controlling its trade relations. Mr. Oransky was born in Poland in 1876, a son of the Rev. J. H. and Charnow Oransky, who were natives of that country, the father being a minister of the Jewish faith. In their family were ten children, all of whom were brought to America by the parents, the family home being established in Des Moines. All are yet living. One of the sons, Louis Oransky, came to Estherville in 1890 and established a dry goods busi- ness in the corner room of the Masonic building. A few years later he removed to the Opera House block.
Herman Oransky received special training for a commercial career through a course of study in the Capital City Commercial College of
.
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Des Moines, of which he is a graduate. He also completed three years' study in the East high school of Des Moines and his initial practical experience along business lines was obtained in a clothing store of the capital city. Coming to Estherville, he entered the employ of his brother and in 1900 succeeded to the business, the store being then conducted in the Groves building, which had been erected by his brother. He remained at that location for eight years and then sold out, building with his brother a modern business block, into which he removed his stock of dry goods, ladies' ready-to-wear and millinery. He occupies the entire building, which is situated on Sixth street, and he is today at the head of the oldest dry goods establishment of Estherville. He has always concen- trated his efforts along this line and his progressiveness, diligence and determination have constituted the salient features in his growing pros- perity.
In 1906 Mr. Oransky was married to Miss Lillian May Freedman, a daughter of S. S. and Carrie (Frank) Freedman, of Corsicana, Texas. The father has passed away and his remains were interred at Corsi- cana, where the mother still makes her home. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Oransky are two children: Merrill Bernard, born in 1907; and Cornelia, born in 1908.
Politically, Mr. Oransky is a republican and keeps well informed on the salient issues before the people. He is well known in fraternal circles, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America. He became a charter member of the Commercial Club of Estherville, of which he has been one of the directors and the president, and in this connection he has put forth every possible effort to advance the interests of the city, extend its trade relations and uphold its civic standards. His has been a well- spent, active and useful life, fruitful of good results, and Estherville numbers him among its valued and representative citizens.
FRED STERNBORG.
A representative of general farming interests in Ellsworth town- ship, Emmet county, is Fred Sternborg, who is living on section 9, where he has an excellent tract of land of two hundred and thirty acres. A native of Germany, he was born November 19, 1863, of the marriage of Albert and Christina Sternborg, who were also natives of that country, where the father followed the occupation of farming in order to provide for his family, which numbered seven children. When the son Fred was seventeen years of age the family came to the United States, the father settling in Grundy county, Iowa, where for seven years he engaged in the cultivation of rented land. There he passed away and his remains
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were interred in the cemetery at Grundy Center. He had lost his wife ere he brought his children to the new world.
Fred Sternborg pursued his education in the schools of Germany and, as previously stated, accompanied his father to the United States, after which he worked on the home farm until he had attained his major- ity. Anxious to engage in business for himself, he then rented land in Grundy county, where he continued to engage in farming for nine years. In 1901 he removed to Emmet county, settling upon the place where he now resides. The money which he had saved from his earnings was invested in his present farm, comprising a fraction more than two hun- dred and thirty acres of rich and productive land, situated on section 9, Ellsworth township. Hard work has been his rule of life and his unfal- tering industry and perseverance have constituted the basis of his success, for he started out in the business world empty handed.
In 1887 Mr. Sternborg was united in marriage to Miss Eka Stern- borg, who is his cousin. They have become the parents of seven children : Richard, who is married and resides upon his father's farm in Ellsworth township; and Albert, Fred, Katherine, Edna, Pearl and Ellen, all at home.
Mr. Sternborg belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at Huntington and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. For thirty-seven years he has been a resident of northwestern Iowa and for sixteen years has lived in Emmet county, where he has become known as a representative citizen and thoroughly reliable business man.
CHRISTOPHER LARSON.
Christopher Larson, engaged in general merchandising at Walling- ford, has also been prominent in connection with the public life of the different communities in which he has lived and in a word is a enter- prising and progressive citizen of Emmet county. He was born in High Lake township, August 23, 1870, and is a son of Peter and Anna (Aaby) Larson, who were natives of Norway. On coming to America they made their way westward to Iowa and cast in their lot with the pioneer set- tlers of Emmet county, taking an active and helpful part in promoting its progress and improvement. They had a family of eleven children : Halvor, who is now married and resides in Wallingford; Anna, who is the widow of I. B. Peterson, of Williams, Minnesota; Tom, a widower living at Whittemore, Iowa; Belle, the widow of A. B. Peterson and a resident of Lake Mills, Iowa; Christopher; Bertha, the wife of Ole Lee, a resident of Oakley, Minnesota; Oliver, who is engaged in farm- ing in Twelve Mile Lake township; Andrew, who follows farming at Coteau, North Dakota; Thea, the wife of L. Nelson, of Coteau, North Dakota; Lena, the wife of L. Carter, a farmer of West Bend, Iowa; and Emma, the wife of O. T. Akre, of Mankato, Minnesota.
Christopher Larson attended the common schools and worked with
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his father upon the home farm until he reached the age of sixteen years. He was afterward variously employed for about six years and when a young man of twenty-two established the second store in Wallingford, securing a stock of general merchandise. He successfully conducted that business for fifteen years and then sold out, after which he removed to Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, where he owned a general store for four years. He next went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was connected with general merchandising for two years, and on the 1st of May, 1915, he returned to Wallingford, where he purchased the hotel building, the postoffice and three residences. In 1916 he erected a new general store building and now handles a complete line of groceries, shoes, dry goods and men's furnishings. He has won a liberal patronage and his suc- cess is the merited reward of earnest, persistent labor intelligently directed.
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