USA > Iowa > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 14
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On the 29th of November, 1900, Mr. Sayre was married to Miss Lennie Grace Forrest, who was born in Illinois on the 25th of May, 1880. She came to Webster City with her parents, Cyrus E. and
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Ella (Watson) Forrest in 1896, and there she was reared to woman- hood, completing her education in the public schools of that city. She is the second child in order of birth in a family of five, as follows : Bert, who is deceased; John, who resides in California; Benjamin, who makes his home in Mora, Minnesota; and a sister, who is de- ceased. The mother has also passed away, and the father has since married again and to him and his second wife have been born the fol- lowing children: Lola, Esther, Clyde and Alvin. Mr. Forrest now makes his home in Anoka, Minnesota.
Mr. and Mrs. Sayre have three children: James Elmer, whose birth occurred at Gypsum April 23, 1903; Melvin Edward, who was born at Highview, this county, on the 20th of February, 1905; and Lucy Opal, who is a native of Blairsburg, her birth having here oc- curred on February 22, 1911. The boys are both students in the pub- lic school.
The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, in which the parents hold membership. Mr. Sayre is a charter member of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America, and he also belongs to the Order of Railway Telegraphers. His indorsement in political matters is accorded the republican party, and while residing at High- view he was appointed postmaster, holding this office for four years. Mr. Sayre is an honest, practical man, a trustworthy employe and a worthy citizen, who adequately meets his responsibilities and fulfills his duties from day to day to the best of his ability, his principles and mode of life exercising an influence which helps to sustain and ele- vate the standards of the community.
DENNIS MURPHY.
In the history of the agricultural development of Hamilton county, mention should be made of Dennis Murphy, who has resided here for twenty-eight years and is numbered among the county's representa- tive citizens and most capable business men. He was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in May, 1847, and is a son of John and Anna (Jennings) Murphy, who were also natives of County Monaghan. The family emigrated to the United States in 1849, and in June of that year located on a farm in Lee county, Illinois. The father was a stone mason, and in connection with the cultivation of his fields, also followed his trade, and through his perseverance and unremitting dili-
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gence ultimately became one of the substantial agriculturists of the county. He came to America practically empty-handed but he pos- sessed the energy and determination of spirit that form the most es- sential factor in the acquirement of success, and through his own en- deavors attained a position that commanded the respect of his com- munity. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Murphy : Michael, who is engaged in the cement business at Dixon, Illinois; Dennis, the subject of this review; John, deceased; and Bridget, who died in in- fancy. The two eldest were born in Ireland, and those last named in Lee county, Illinois. Both parents spent their later years in Lee county, where the father passed away in 1897.
Dennis Murphy was only a child of two years when he accom- panied his parents on their removal to this country. He received a common-school education, and while still in his early boyhood began assisting his father with the farm work. He remained in Illinois un- til 1884, when he came to Hamilton county, which has ever since been his place of residence. Mr. Murphy possesses a wonderful ca- pacity for work, which, together with his foresight and business sa- gacity, has been the secret of his unusual success. His homestead, containing six hundred acres, is located in Williams township, and is one of the best improved and most highly cultivated farms in the county. In addition to it he owns three hundred and sixty acres of land in Rose Grove township, having upon it two sets of improve- ments, and another tract of one hundred and seventy-six acres, ninety- three of which are in Hardin county and the remainder in Williams township, this county, fully improved. Mr. Murphy's home place is thoroughly modern and is equipped with everything deemed essential to the agriculturist and stockman of the present day. In connection with the cultivation of his fields he makes a specialty of raising stock, and has a fine herd of graded Aberdeen Angus cattle and sonie regis- tered Percheron horses. He owns two stallions, Ipocuit, No. 79449, and Black Diamond II, No. 72941, and he formerly owned two full- blooded Percheron mares, Mona and Nina. He now has in his pos- session Flossy, No. 33125, and a young colt that is eligible to regis- tration.
In November, 1869, Mr. Murphy was married to Miss Catharine Fitzpatrick, who was born in Lee county, Ilinois, in August, 1851, and is a daughter of Richard and Annie (O'Hare) Fitzpatrick. The parents were both natives of Ireland but in early life they emigrated to the United States and for many years resided in Lee county, where the father passed away. The mother was residing in Dixon, Illinois.
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at the time of her death. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick numbered twelve: Margaret, the deceased wife of James Duffy ; Mrs. Murphy; Julia, who married Thomas McVey, and resides in Bureau county, Illinois ; Ella, the wife of Edward Reilly, of Dixon, Illinois ; John, who died at the age of sixteen years; Carrie, who re- sides in Omaha, Nebraska; Sadie, who is a resident of Chicago, Illi- nois; Thomas, who resides in Indiana; and four who have passed away.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy are also the parents of twelve children : John, who is living in Williams township; Mary, the wife of Edward McCoy, of Rose Grove township; Dennis, of Williams township; Thomas, who lives in Hardin county; Edward and Philip, both of whom are deceased; Michael, who died at the age of eleven years ; James, who is a resident of Rose Grove township; and Charlie, Frank, Leo and George, who are living at home.
The family are all communicants of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Murphy is a stanch democrat in his political views and has for many years been a member of the school board, while he served as township trustee for nine years. He is public-spirited in matters of citizenship and takes an active and helpful interest in everything that will tend to promote the welfare of the community generally, and can be depended upon to give his support and cooperation to every progressive movement. His career should prove an incentive to am- bitious young men, as it clearly manifests what it is possible to achieve through the intelligent concentration of energy when directed toward a definite purpose. Mr. Murphy is a man of high principles and incorruptible integrity, and in the attainment of his ends has not found it necessary to sacrifice or betray his friends, his transactions being conducted in the most honorable and upright manner.
WILLIAM HUGH OMSTEAD.
Diligence and determination are features in the life record of William Hugh Omstead, who has attained a creditable posi- tion in business circles of Webster City as the treasurer of the Tuscolo Supply & Contracting Company. His advancement in the business world has been gradual, resulting from his develop- ing powers and his recognition and improvement of opportu- nities. He was born in Woolstock, Iowa, June 27, 1885, and is a
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son of J. N. and Mary Belle (Tatham) Omstead, both of whom were representatives of pioneer families of this section of the state. The son in the acquirement of his education attended suc- cessively the schools of Woolstock, Webster City, the Ellsworth College at Iowa Falls and the Iowa Business College at Des Moines, being graduated from the last named with the class of 1905. His thorough training qualified him for a responsible posi- tion and he secured employment as a clerk in the State Bank of Woolstock, where he remained for two years. He afterward occupied a clerical position in the Iowa National Bank at Des Moines for a year and in 1908 he came again to Webster City, where he spent two and a half years in the employ of W. J. Zit- terell. At the end of that time he became associated with the Tuscolo Supply & Contracting Company as treasurer and is still in that connection. The business of the firm is constantly grow- ing and they have a liberal patronage which makes theirs one of the important business concerns of the city.
On the 10th of August, 1908, Mr. Omstead was joined in wedlock to Miss Clara Louise Hunter, the wedding ceremony being performed at Hartley, Iowa. She is a daughter of John and Louise Hunter of Cranbrook, Ontario, the former a building contractor of that place. Mr. Omstead belongs to Webster City Camp, No. 416, M. W. A .; to Elmo Lodge, No. 62, I. O. O. F .; and to Superior Lodge of Rebekahs, No. 378. He is ever loyal to the teachings of these different organizations and he holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Omstead is yet a young man, but the principles which he follows and the ability and energy which he has displayed argue well for a suc- cessful future in which he will become even more firmly estab- lished as a valued, representative and prosperous business man of Hamilton county.
STONE CHARLSON.
For more than forty years Stone Charlson has been identified with the agricultural interests of Scott township, where he owns three hundred and sixty acres of well improved and highly cultivated land. He is one of the pioneers who came to Hamilton county practically empty-handed and through the intelligent concentration of his effort
STONE CHARLSON AND FAMILY
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and unceasing energy has become numbered among the substantial agriculturists and efficient business men of his community. He was born in Norway in 1836 and is a son of Charles and Bertha Charl- son, who were natives of the same country and there passed the greater period of their lives. They subsequently emigrated to the United States, and their latter years were spent in Scott township, where they both passed away. They also had one daughter, Mrs. Catharine Knutson, who is residing in Scott township.
The first eighteen years in the life of Stone Charlson were passed in his native land, where he received his education. In 1854, he emigrated to the United States, taking up his abode in Grundy county, Illinois, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. Sixteen years later, in 1870, he came to Hamilton county, Iowa, which at that time was but sparsely settled, and purchased eighty acres of land in Scott township. He applied himself diligently to the cultivation of his soil, and as soon as his circumstances warranted, increased his holdings by the purchase of an adjoining tract. As the years passed he continued to extend the boundaries of his farm until he now holds title to three hundred and sixty acres of land, all of which is well improved and in a high state of cultivation. One of the most at- tractive features of his farm is a beautiful grove of pine trees, which he planted during the early period of his residence and carefully tended and today it is one of the finest groves in Hamilton county.
In 1870, Mr. Charlson was united in marriage to Miss Julia An- fenson, a native of Norway, the event being celebrated in Scott township, which he visited on several occasions before permanently locating here. Mrs. Charlson came to the United States in early life with her parents, George and Betsey Anfenson, who passed their latter years in Scott township. The family also numbered two sons and one daughter: Anfen, who is a resident of Scott township; Oren, a veteran of the Union army, now residing at the Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown; and Alice, deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Charlson have been born thirteen children, in the following order: George and Lewis, residents of Scott township; Bert, who lives in Roland, Iowa; Gustave, of Scott township; Eric, who is living on the home farm; Charlie and Austin, also at home; Mrs. Turene Kalvig, a resident of Scott township; Mrs. Bertha Williams, of Ellsworth township; Selma, who is at home; Henry Thomas, deceased; Charles, deceased; and Henry Thomas (2), also deceased.
The family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Scott township, and in politics Mr. Charlson is a stanch republican. Vol. II-10
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Practically the entire period of the domestic life of Mr. and Mrs. Charlson has been passed in the immediate vicinity of their present home, where they located during the first year of their marriage. Their early experiences were very similar to those of the other pio- neers of Hamilton county. They endured innumerable hardships and privations, but they possess the tenacity of purpose and determination which never recognizes defeat and ultimately achieved success. Their latter years are being spent on the farm, which stands as a monu- ment to their long years of thrift and industry, in a residence pro- vided with every modern convenience and bearing little resemblance to the crudely constructed house they first erected here.
FOSTER FURNITURE COMPANY.
The Foster Furniture Company conducts one of the oldest furni- ture and undertaking enterprises in Webster City, Iowa. The firm is composed of Arch. and William A. Foster, who are entirely re- sponsible for the present flourishing condition of the concern and who have directed its growth along progressive lines of expansion until their partnership has become a significant force in the business develop- ment of the city. The senior member of the firm is Arch. Foster, whose birth occurred in Fayette county, Iowa, February 15, 1882. His par- ents were John Allen and Jessie ( McNaught) Foster, both natives of Scotland. The father left his native country for the United States in 1852 and settled in Pennsylvania with his parents when he was twelve years of age. In this state he was reared and educated, and subse- quently married in 1865. In the following year he and his wife re- moved to Iowa, settling in Fayette county, and in this section they are now residing. The father is in the seventy-first year of his age and the mother has already passed her sixty-sixth birthday, being still active and energetic in the performance of her many duties. John Allen Foster has been a prominent agriculturist all during his life with the exception of his four years' service in the Federal army during the Civil war. From 1861 to 1865 he was a member of the Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and was present at many of the principal engagements of the rebellion. He was wounded in serv- ice but did not allow it to permanently interrupt his military career, and was mustered out with his honorable discharge at the close of the war. To Mr. Foster and his wife were born ten children: Allen,
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now residing in Fayette county, Iowa; John, whose home is in Clay- ton county, this state; Bessie, who became the wife of O. E. Finuf and who died March 9, 1902; Thomas, residing in Clayton county ; Lizzie, who died in infancy; Belle, who married O. E. Finuf of Bu- chanan county, Iowa; Robert, who passed away at the age of twelve years; Arch. and William A., whose business enterprise forms the subject of the present review ; and Jesse W., now a practicing physi- cian at Lake Preston, South Dakota.
Arch. Foster was educated in the public schools of Arlington, Fayette county, Iowa, and as a boy was active in the work of his father's farm. He remained at home until 1900 and then spent a year in the lumber business in Elkader, Clinton county, Iowa. In 1901 he went to Independence, Iowa, and worked as a clerk in a furni- ture store in that city for six years. In 1908 he came to Webster City with the intention of establishing himself in business here. He bought out the furniture concern of J. W. Allington and in partner- ship with T. S. Curtis started in active life for himself, establishing the business under the firm name of Foster & Curtis. In 1909 his brother, William A. Foster, bought out the stock belonging to Mr. Curtis and the firm was reorganized. It has since operated under the present title of the Foster Furniture Company. The firm carries a complete line of modern house furnishings and conducts also an under- taking department, in which the services of Arch. Foster have been very valuable.
On August 29, 1907, Mr. Foster was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Frances Rodney, a daughter of Mathew Rodney, who was for many years a prominent agriculturist in Buchanan county, Iowa, but who had retired from active life some years previous to his death, November 12, 1902. The mother is still living in Webster City. Mr. Foster and his family reside in a pleasant home at No. 817 First street. In his political affiliations he is a consistent republican and has been county coroner of Hamilton county since January 1, 19II. His fraternal affiliations include his connection with Acacia Lodge, No. 176, F. & A. M., and with Webster City Lodge, No. 302, B. P. O. E. He is also prominent in Webster City Camp, No. 416, M. W. A. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and his exemplary life has gained him many friends in Webster City.
The business enterprise with which he is connected is located at Nos. 633-635 Second street, and is one of the oldest and most pros- perous mercantile concerns in the city. He is actively aided in its operation by his brother and partner, William A. Foster, whose birth
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occurred in Fayette county, February 15, 1884. William Foster's childhood was spent in the same surroundings as that of his brother. He was educated in the schools of Arlington and worked upon his father's farm until 1904. In that year he entered commercial life as an employe of a local grocery house and for five years kept up his con- nection with this occupation. When he came to Webster City he bought out the interest of T. S. Curtis in his brother's enterprise and became a member of the firm known as the Foster Furniture Company.
On August 18, 1909, Mr. Foster was united in marriage to Miss Fern Deming, a daughter of George Deming, a retired farmer of Fayette county, now a resident of Arlington. Mr. and Mrs. Foster reside at No. 6331/2 Second street and are well known in social cir- cles of Webster City. Mr. Foster has always been a distinct aid in the conduct of the prosperous enterprise with which he is connected. The Foster Furniture Company owes its success to the harmonious relationship existing between the partners in the concern, who are in agreement on all vital questions of business ethics and morality. They have no complex standard of commercial honor, believing in the efficacy of simple honesty and good-will.
CHARLES ARTHUR SANDERS.
Charles Arthur Sanders, purchasing agent in Williams for the S. P. Wadley Company, dealers in dairy goods, was born in West Jer- sey, Stark county, Illinois, on the 14th of June, 1874, and is a son of Frederick Edwin and Rebecca Ellen (Dancer) Sanders. The father is also a native of West Jersey, and was born in the same house as our subject, his birth occurring on February 16, 1850, while the mother was born in Elmwood, Illinois, on the 10th of May, 1853. They passed the early years of their domestic life in Stark county, coming from there to Hardin county, Iowa, and locating on a farm in the vicinity of the present site of Owasa in the spring of 1881. There the father engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years, but he has now withdrawn from the work of the fields and is a solicitor for the "Iowa Homestead," he and the mother residing in Iowa Falls. They are the parents of the following children: Frank Edwin, who was born on the 18th of March, 1872, and is engaged in farming near Owasa; Charles Arthur, our subject; Cora, who was born Novem- ber 14, 1876, the wife of Edwin Fromm, of Iowa Falls; Sylvester
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Marvin, who was born on the 14th of May, 1878, and is a rural mail carrier at Iowa Falls; Bertram Vincent, who was born October 29, 1879, and died in 1881; Frederick Edwin, Jr., who was born on the 2d of August, 1881, farming in Black Hawk county, this state; Grant Leslie, who was born on April 14, 1885, a member of the senior class in Ellsworth College, where he has been a student for seven years and who also attended the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, for a year, and upon his graduation will engage in school work; Jacob Glenn, who was born on the 29th of November, 1887, printer on the Iowa Falls Sentinel; Ernest, who was born on March 17, 1889, a graduate of the commercial department of the Ellsworth College, of which institution he was a student for three years, now private secretary to the manager of the Columbia River Lumber Com- pany, of Golden, British Columbia; Luverne, who was born on the 19th of April, 1891, and graduated from the Iowa Falls high school with the class of 1911, and is now engaged in teaching in the vicinity of Burdette, this state; Ina May, who was born on the 17th of March, 1893, a member of the Iowa Falls high-school class of 1911, also teaching near Burdette; and Vera B., who was born on Christmas day, 1894, and will graduate from the Iowa Falls high school in 1913. The first five named were born in Illinois and the remainder in Iowa. The paternal grandfather, Sylvester Sanders, was one of the pio- neers of Stark county, Illinois.
The education of Charles Arthur Sanders was begun in his native state and completed in the schools of Hardin county. Reared on a farm in common with the majority of country lads he early became familiar with the work and duties of the agriculturist. He remained at home and assisted his father with the work of the fields and care of the crops until he had attained his majority, when he engaged in farming for himself. At the expiration of two years he withdrew from this occupation, and purchased a grocery store at Owassa. About the same time he was appointed postmaster, but a year later his wife was appointed to take his place and he took a rural delivery route. He held this position for seven years and six weeks, and then resigned, and disposing of his store became associated with Walter Schofield in the purchase of a grocery business at Iowa Falls. Nine months later he likewise withdrew from this enterprise and became the local representative of S. P. Wadley Company, and has ever since been in their employ. He purchases butter, eggs, poultry and cream for this company, and some conception of the amount of business they do in Williams can be formed from their April, 1912, record,
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which shows that they paid the farmers of this vicinity in that one month eleven hundred dollars for cream and eggs alone.
At Owasa on the 12th of January, 1899, Mr. Sanders was married to Miss Bertha Luella Manley, who was born in Milledgeville, Carroll county, Illinois, January 9, 1879. She is a daughter of George Hor- ace and Eliza Jane (Finfrock) Manley; the former a native of Penn- sylvania, having been born in the vicinity of Harrisburg, that state, on November 24, 1830, while the mother's birth occurred in Ohio on January 26, 1840. They came to Hardin county in 1881, and settled on a farm near Owassa, in which place the father established a black- smith shop which he operated in connection with the cultivation of his fields. Both parents passed the remainder of their lives in Owassa, the mother's death occurring on the 29th of September, 1902, and that of the father on the 11th of October, 1906. The maternal grand- father served through the entire period of the Civil war and is buried in Berlin cemetery near Owassa. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Manley : Clara, who was born on January 1, 1859, the wife of Dr. O. H. Barthel, of Pocahontas, Iowa; Jennie, who was born on December 25, 1860, and died in January, 1861 ; Willis, who was born on the 16th of September, 1862, a resident of Waterloo, Iowa; Ada N., who was born on the 4th of December, 1864, the wife of Prentiss Ransom, of Owassa; George H., who was born September 30, 1869, residing in Ellis township, Hardin county; Martin Henry, who was born on the 30th of January, 1874, of Santa Rosa, California; Mrs. Sanders ; and Maude Mae, who was born on April 7, 1883, a resident of San Francisco, California. All are natives of Illinois with the ex- ception of the last named, who was born in Iowa. They received good educational advantages, Mrs. Barthel, Mrs. Ransom and the son Willis having graduated from the high school at Milledgeville, and Mrs. Barthel was also a student of the college at Mansfield, Ohio. Miss Maude M. Manley upon completing the public-school course spent two years at Ellsworth College, after which she taught for two years and was connected with the Iowa State Industrial School at Eldora, Iowa, for a year. She subsequently graduated from the busi- ness college at Santa Rosa, California, and is now employed in San Francisco, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have one son, George Arthur, who was born in Jackson township, Hardin county, Iowa, on the 9th of September, 1899, and is now a student in the Williams public school.
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