USA > Iowa > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 22
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In 1901, Mr. Thoreson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Olson, a daughter of Nels Olson of Randall, this county. She is the fifth in order of birth in a family of nine children, and was born on the 30th of January, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Thoreson have become the parents of five children : Hazel R., Leo C., Lurine, Curtis L. and Mamie.
The family attend the services of the United Norwegian Lutheran church, in which the parents hold membership. Mr. Thoreson ac- cords his political support to the republican party and has served for five years as school director. He is held in high regard by his fellow townsmen, as he belongs to the progressive type of citizen and takes a personal interest in forwarding the development of the community.
ROBERT PELZ.
Robert Pelz has contributed to the agricultural resources of Lib- erty township one hundred sixty-four and one-half acres of land in- telligently operated and improved, and to the quality of citizenship in his section a life spent usefully and honorably in the pursuit of worthy ambitions. He was born in Germany on the 30th of April, 1865, and is a son of Ernest and Mary (Pelz) Pelz, both natives of the fatherland. His mother is now residing in Washington. Illi-
MR. AND MRS. ROBERT PELZ
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nois, but his father lived and died in his native country. Mr. Pelz has one half sister, Mrs. L. E. Grove, who makes her home in Wood- ford, Illinois.
Robert Pelz came to America in 1874, and his active career has been entirely devoted to agricultural pursuits. His first location was made in Tazewell county, Illinois, where he remained until he was twenty-three years of age and engaged in farming. He removed to Livingston county and spent four years in that section following the same line of occupation, coming thence to Stanhope, Hamilton county, where he rented a tract of land and began its cultivation. He was extremely successful in the development of his farm. When his first lease expired he was able to purchase one hundred sixty-four and one-half acres on section two, Liberty township, and on this he is now residing and has won such a gratifying measure of success in his work that he is numbered among the substantial and represen- tative farmers of his locality.
On the 24th of July, 1888, Mr. Pelz married Miss Lena Reeser, a native of Tazewell county, Illinois, born July 23, 1869. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Rinkleberger) Reeser, the former a native of France and the latter of Germany. Her father died in Woodford county, Illinois, in 1891, at the age of ninety-one years. He had long survived his wife who died in Illinois in 1886, at the age of fifty-three. To their union were born eight children: Jo- seph, who is now deceased; Christ, who is in business in Peoria, Illi- nois; John, who is farming near Eureka, Illinois; Benjamin, who makes his home in Kansas; Mrs. Fannie Springer, who has passed away; Mrs. Anna Householder, of Fairbury, Illinois; Mrs. Lizzie Albright, a resident of Lombardville, Illinois; and Mrs. Pelz. Mr. and Mrs. Pelz became the parents of nine children: Benjamin R., born August 19, 1889, in Cullom, Illinois, who is now residing in Blairsburg township, Hamilton county; John E., born May 14, 1891, in Cullom, who is now assisting his father in the work of the home farm; Mrs. Mary Hamitt, whose birth occurred February 5, 1894, in Cullom, and who is now residing in Blairsburg township; Esther, born August 7, 1896, in Stanhope, Iowa, who is now residing with her parents on the home farm; Sadie F., born in Liberty township, September 25, 1899; William McKinley, born September 14, 1901 ; Clara E., born November 10, 1905; Fred, whose birth occurred on the 29th of October, 1906; and Robert Irvin, born June 21, 191I.
In his political affiliations Mr. Pelz is a republican and takes an intelligent interest in everything connected with the welfare of his Vol. II-15
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section. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, hold- ing membership in Williams, Iowa, but is not otherwise active in fraternal circles. He is a member of the Congregational church of Blairsburg, and is widely known as a man of high and exemplary character. He and his family are numbered among the most highly respected citizens of the community in which they reside, and their home is a center of hospitality for their many warm friends. Mr. Pelz is a successful man in the truest sense of the word-a man of unusually broad-minded and intelligent views, of broad tolerance and wide experience; not mercenary, not grasping, believing in some- thing greater in importance than material wealth. In the course of a life spent simply and unostentatiously, he has been a factor for good in almost every phase of community development, and has given his energies to lasting, useful and worthy things.
CHARLES MARTIN TILGHMAN.
Charles Martin Tilghman, who was formerly identified with the agricultural development of Hamilton county, but is now living re- tired in Williams, is an honored member of the rapidly thinning ranks of the Civil war veterans and belongs to a family distinguished for its loyalty and patriotism. He is a native of Michigan, his birth hav- ing occurred in Oakland county, that state, on the IIth of March, 1836, and the third in order of birth and the oldest surviving member in a family of thirteen. The father, James M. Tilghman, was born in Westmoreland county, Maryland, July 14, 1807, but in his early manhood he located in Michigan where he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in Bay City, that state, on the 20th of March, 1890. The mother, whose maiden name was Ann Chapman, was born in Pennsylvania on the 26th of November 1819, and passed away on the old homestead in Oakland county, Michigan, on December 24, 1886. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Tilghman were all born in Oakland county. In order of birth those beside our subject are as follows: James Henry, who was born in Avon, Michigan, on the 2d of May, 1833, and died in Colorado, November 3, 1887; Sarah, who was born July 11, 1834, and died April 10, 1835: Mary Ann, who was born January 24, 1838, and died at Haworth, Illinois, November 5. 1911, the deceased wife of Leander Rutledge; Martha Elizabeth, the wife of Alexander Pittenger, who was born May 7, 1840, and died
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at Orion, Michigan, in 1905; William Henry H., a resident of Flint, Michigan, whose natal day was the 5th of February, 1842; Vernelia, the deceased wife of Martin Hummer, born on the 16th of Septem- ber, 1844, and died in Orion, Michigan, in 1909; Ellen, who was born on April 1, 1846, and died on the 20th of January 1865; Worth, who was born on the 2d of February, 1848, and died August 31, 1854; Devillo, who was born February 10, 1850, and died August 26, 1854; Juliet, who was born May 1, 1852, and died the same day; Frank Earlington, who was born on the 29th of September, 1854, and is now residing at Hagerstown, Indiana; and Rush Elmore, who was born January 7, 1857, and died on the 4th of May, 1874. The parents were among the early pioneer settlers of Michigan, where for many years the father engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a public- spirited man, notable for his loyalty not only to the community but to the state and nation, and although he had attained the age of sixty years when the Civil war opened, he enlisted as a private and went to the front with the Seventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry.
The boyhood and youth of Charles Martin Tilghman were passed on the old family homestead in Michigan, in the common schools of which state he received his education. Being one of the elder mem- bers of a large family in moderate circumstances, he early began to assist his father with the work of the fields and care of the stock, and long before he had attained his majority was a useful member of so- ciety and a skilled agriculturist. At the age of twenty-one years he purchased a farm in McLean county, Illinois, thus laying the foun- dation for an independent career. He resided in that county for thirty-five years, devoting his energies to general agricultural pur- suits in which he met with a fair measure of success. When the call came for seventy-five thousand volunteers after Fort Sumter was fired upon, Mr. Tilghman enlisted for seventy days. In 1862 he re- enlisted in Company B, Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served for three years. His division commander was General Her- ron, of Dubuque, Iowa, but at the siege of Vicksburg he was under the command of General John A. Logan. He participated in many of the notable battles of the war, and was wounded in the arm and in the leg at Prairie Grove, Arkansas. When mustered out he returned to Illinois and resumed farming. In 1892, Mr. Tilghman disposed of his interests in that state and on March I, of that year, together with his wife and family he started for Hamilton county, Iowa, and the day following arrived in Williams, where he has ever since resided. Here he purchased a farm of three hundred and five acres, one hun-
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dred and sixty of which is located in Wright county and the remain- der in Williams township, Hamilton county, and for eleven years thereafter devoted himself to its further improvement and cultiva- tion. It is well improved and highly cultivated and is numbered among the valuable farming properties of this section of the county. In 1903, Mr. Tilghman retired from active work and removed to town where he owns a pleasant residence, and he and his wife are spending the latter years of their life in well earned ease, enjoying a competence that supplies them with every need and many luxuries.
On the 27th of February, 1868, Mr. Tilghman was married to Miss Mary Kinsey, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, on March 1, 1846, and there passed the first seven years of her life. She is a daughter of Thomas and Esther (Gwyn) Kinsey, natives of Pennsylvania, the father's birth having occurred on August 8, 1809, and that of the mother on December 17, 1807. They subsequently located in Wayne county, Indiana, where they resided until 1853, when they removed to McLean county, Illinois, and there they both passed away, the father on February 13, 1884, and the mother on the 18th of January, 1886. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey, those besides Mrs. Tilghman, who is the youngest of the fam- ily, being as follows: Henry, who was born June 19, 1831, and died on the 4th of June, 1882; Joseph, who was born on January 29, 1833, and died in August, 1910; Martha, the wife of James Washburn, born August 17, 1835, and died in 1900; William, whose natal day was the 3Ist of August, 1837, now residing at Le Roy, Illinois, where he celebrated his golden wedding on March 5, 1912; Alfred, who was born on the 19th of March, 1839, and died December 5, 1840; and Emeline, who was born on June 18, 1843, and died August 10, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Tilghman have had eight children: Thomas Martin, who was born February 25, 1869, and is now residing at Canby, Min -. nesota; Anna, who was born in Ford county, Illinois, January 4, 1873, the wife of Charles Stipp; Joseph F., who was born March 20, 1875; Emma May, who was born February 14, 1877, and died April 16, 1906; Dora Belle, who was born June 18, 1879, the wife of John Ranger, of Rose Grove township; Mary, whose natal day was the 20th of June, 1882, living at home with her parents; Maude Pearl, who was born August 5, 1886, the wife of Ray T. Johnson, of Wil- liams; and Harry K., who was born August 3, 1889, and is living in Rose Grove township. Mr. and Mrs. Tilghman also have living with them a granddaughter, Letha Fern Tilghman, who has been with them since she was eighteen months old. She was born on the 30th
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of November, 1896, and is a daughter of their eldest son, Thomas Martin. All of their children were born in McLean county, Illinois, with the exception of the eldest daughter.
The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Tilghman is manifested through their connection with the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he united on the 23d of February, 1858, and he has held all of the offices it is possible for a layman to fill. His fraternal relations are confined to his membership in Alamo Lodge, No. 547, A. F. & A. M. He is one of the oldest if not the oldest Mason in the county, having been affiliated with this order for forty-eight years. Mr. Tilghman cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and he has ever since given his support to the men and measures of the republican party. While residing on the farm he was elected trustee of Williams township, and served in this capacity for six years. He was formerly a stockholder of the State Bank of Williams, and served as a director of this in- stitution for nine years, but is no longer actively identified with busi- ness enterprises of any nature. He is a most estimable man, and is held in high regard in the community, where young and old accord him the respect and veneration earned by an honorable, well spent life. Three years ago, in 1909, Mr. Tilghman visited the old homestead and the scenes of his childhood in Michigan, and while there attended an old settlers picnic, and had the distinction of being the oldest native of Oakland county present on that occasion.
WILLIAM GERBER.
William Gerber, who is at present mayor of Williams, Iowa, was born in Bavaria, Germany, on the 19th of February, 1855. He is a son of Jacob Gerber, who was born and reared in Germany to the age of eighteen years, when he emigrated to the United States. He subsequently returned to the fatherland and there he was married to Miss Barbara Ziegler, the mother of our subject. After the death of his wife, Jacob Gerber decided to return to the United States, feel- ing assured that his children would find here better opportunities and greater advantages than were afforded in the old country, so in 1868 he took passage for America accompanied by all members of his family with the exception of his eldest daughter, who has al- Mr. and Mrs. Gerber: Jacob, who died in infancy; Margaret, the ways made her home in Germany. They first located in Peoria, Illi-
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
nois, but after a sojourn there of about two months continued their journey westward to Hamilton county. Soon after his arrival here, Mr. Gerber bought a farm south of Webster City, which was the family home for many years. The following children were born to wife of Jacob Becker, who is living on the old family homestead in Bavaria; Caroline, who married Ernest Schroeder, of Blairsburg, Iowa: Daniel, who is living in South Dakota; Charles, of Webster City ; Louis N., who for three terms served as county superintendent of Hamilton county, but is now residing in Mount Vernon, Iowa; William, the subject of this review; Kate, the wife of Samuel Mc- Coombs, of Webster City: Anna, who died at the age of four years; and Mary, whose death occurred when she was nine. The father passed the remainder of his life in this county, his death occurring in Webster City, in 1904.
William Gerber was a lad of thirteen years when he accompanied his father to America. He was reared on the home farm in this county and completed his education in the district schools, after which he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He subsequently en- gaged in farming on his own account, following this vocation until 1890, when he removed to Williams and went into the drug and jewelry business with his brother Louis N., under the firm name of Gerber Brothers. They were associated in the conduct of this en- terprise for some time, and after withdrawing from it, Mr .. Gerber purchased the pool room and bowling alley he now operates, in connection with which he also handles a stock of tobacco and cigars.
In March, 1878, Mr. Gerber was married to Miss Amelia A. Bruseau, who was born at Hook's Point, Hamilton county, Iowa, March 30, 1861, and is a daughter of William and Adeline (Lavalla) Bruseau, who passed the latter years of their lives in this county. Mrs. Gerber is the eldest of the seven children born to her parents, the other members of the family being as follows: Riley, who is a resident of Fremont, Nebraska; Albert, who lives in Memphis, Ten- nessee; Stella, the wife of Albert Hartman, of Alberta, Canada: George, of Memphis, Tennessee; Minnie, now Mrs. DeFrance, of Webster City: and Harry, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. They were all born and reared in Hamilton county. Mr. and Mrs. Gerber have had three children, all of whom are at home: Harvey H., who was born December 29, 1878; Ada J., whose birth occurred on the Ioth of March, 1880; and Jessie M., whose natal day was October 15, 1892. After graduating from the Williams high school, they en- gaged in teaching and the two daughters are still following that
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profession, Miss Ada having the seventh and eighth grades of the Williams school, and Miss Jessie having a district school in the vicin- ity of her home. The two elder children were born near Webster City, but the youngest is a native of Williams.
Mrs. Gerber and the two daughters belong to the Presbyterian church, and fraternally Mr. Gerber is affiliated with Alamo Lodge, No. 547, A. F. & A. M .; Silver Link Lodge, No. 458, I. O. O. F .; Williams Camp, No. 1844, M. W. A .; and he is correspondent of Yeomen Lodge, No. 618, of Williams. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party in national elections but he casts an independent ballot for county and municipal officers, giving his sup- port to those candidates he deems most likely to serve the highest in- terests of the people, regardless of party affiliation. He served for seventeen years as councilman, and he has also discharged the duties of justice of the peace and been a member of the school board. At present he serves as mayor of Williams and discharges his duties of this, the highest office in the gift of the city, in a most commendable manner. The greater part of Mr. Gerber's life has been passed in Hamilton county, of the early history of which he possesses a wide and authentic knowledge, being regarded as one of the best informed men in Williams on this particular topic.
LEWIS WESTRE.
Lewis Westre engages in general farming and stock-raising in Lyon township, this county, where his mother owns eighty acres of land located on section 29 .. He is the seventh in order of birth of the eight children born of the marriage of Oliver and Bertha (Ole- son) Westre, his natal day being the 13th of August, 1883. The parents were born, reared and married in Norway, whence they emi- grated to America about 1874, coming direct to Mahaska county, Iowa. There they purchased eighty acres of land, which the father cultivated until 1882, when he sold his farm and coming to Hamilton county invested the proceeds in a quarter of section 29, a portion of which is now owned by our subject's mother. Mr. Westre here con- tinued his agricultural pursuits until his death in June, 1903, at the age of sixty-three years. The mother, who is now sixty-seven, con- tinues to reside on her homestead.
The entire life of Lewis Westre has been passed on the farm,
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where he now resides. In the acquirement of an education he at- tended the district schools until he had mastered the common branches, and then devoted his entire attention to the work of the farm, remain- ing at home until he was married. His principal crops are corn and oats and in connection with general farming he engages in raising stock. The land is all fenced and tiled and under high cultivation, and annually produces abundant harvests. The improvements on the place were made during the lifetime of his father, and as they were substantially* constructed originally and have been kept in repair, are in good condition.
On the 6th of March, 1912, Mr. Westre was married to Miss Amy Johnston, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Stevenson) Johnston, natives of Ireland. They came to America in early life and were married in Connecticut, but in 1891 they came to Iowa, locating in Wright county. There the mother passed away in 1904, at the age of forty-five years. The father, who is now sixty, resides in Wright county, where he follows the carpenter's trade. He takes an active interest in all local affairs, particularly of a political nature, and for eight years held the office of marshal at Dows. Mrs. Westre, who was born on the 12th of April, 1887, is the eldest of three children born to her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Westre attend the Norwegian Lutheran church, and in politics he is a republican. He is one of the energetic, ambitious and capable young men of his community, and is directing his under- takings with a foresight and intelligence which give assurance of con- stantly increasing success.
E. E. ASHPOLE.
E. E. Ashpole, a substantial and enterprising farmer living on section 4, Blairsburg township, Hamilton county, Iowa, is one of the prosperous and successful native sons of the state and is giving the most forceful and active years of his life to promoting agricultural development in the section where he was born. He has been dur- ing his entire career not only a loyal and enterprising citizen but a cooperative factor in the development and upbuilding of his com- munity and his present prosperity is only a part of the broader suc- cess which has come to him as an individual force in progress. Mr. Ashpole was born near the present limits of Webster City, Iowa, on
MR. AND MRS. E. E. ASHPOLE
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October 7, 1866. His parents were Frederick and Lucy Elizabeth (Lee) Ashpole, both natives of Huntingdonshire, England. They came to America at an early day and settled in Clinton county, Iowa. They made the trip overland to Hamilton county in an emigrant wagon and settled on a farm in Cass township. The father broke the soil and developed his holdings from a raw stretch of prairie land into an improved property. The family suffered all the hard- ships and trials incident to pioneer life when there were practically no roads through the township and when the facilities for operating the farm were meager and ineffectual. The elder Mr. Ashpole re- mained upon his original holdings for eleven years and at the end of that time was considered one of the substantial and enterprising agriculturists in Hamilton county. He died in Blairsburg township, in 1903, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife died while on a visit in Clarion, Wright county, Iowa, on December 25, 1910, when she was eighty-five years old. To their union were born twelve chil- dren, six sons and six daughters, but only six are now living as fol- lows: Cyrus, of Thompson, Iowa; Stillman, of Clarion, this state; Mrs. Mary Carpenter, a resident of Thompson; E. E., of this re- view; Mrs. Stella Hock, of Knox, North Dakota; and Albert, of Bagley, Iowa. The three eldest children were born in Clinton county, Iowa.
E. E. Ashpole has spent his entire life in Iowa and from his ear- liest childhood has been identified with the agricultural development of this state. He was educated in the public schools and aided his father in the work of his farm, gaining when he was still very young a personal experience in the details of planting and harvest- ing the crops. His farm today comprises eighty acres of the choicest land in Blairsburg township and is a model for every agricultural enterprise in this state. It is equipped with the latest devices in farming machinery, Mr. Ashpole taking a great interest in all those inventions which during the past ten years have changed agricultural conditions in the middle west. His fields, practically and intelli- gently operated, yield annually abundant harvests. His barns, gran- aries and other outbuildings are clean and sanitary and of modern construction and his farm is an exemplification of what can be ac- complished by intelligently directed effort combined with progres- sive methods.
Mr. Ashpole has been twice married, his first union being with Miss Minnie King, to which union was born one son, Glenn. On October 7, 1908, Mr. Ashpole was again wedded, his second union
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being with Miss Magdalena Eckstein, who was born in Webster City, Iowa, in 1876 and who is a daughter of John and Clarinda (Olm- stead) Eckstein. Mrs. Ashpole is one of thirteen children born to her parents, as follows: John L., residing in Wisconsin; Mrs. Eliza- beth Monroe, of Webster City; Eddie and Clara, both deceased; Mrs. Ashpole; W. J., of Algona, Iowa; N. C., also residing in Webster City; Mrs. Edith Ashpole, of Wright county; Mrs. Edna Butler, of Rutland, Iowa; Frank, of Chicago, Illinois ; Ella, who has also passed away; Fred, residing in Perry, Iowa; and Clark, a twin brother of Fred, whose home is in Kellogg, Idaho. To Mr. and Mrs. Ashpole has been born one daughter, Helen Maurine, whose birth occurred on the 22d of July, 1909.
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