USA > Iowa > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 26
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On the 6th of June, 1907, Mr. Bratnober was married to Miss Ruby A. Lane, who was born at Seward, Illinois, on the 20th of November, 1881. She is a daughter of Fred A. and Martha (Haugh- ton) Lane, the father a native of Winnebago, Illinois, his birth oc- curring August 8, 1853, while the mother was born in Pecatonica, Illinois, on the 8th of October, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Lane came to Iowa in 1882, locating at Odebolt, Sac county, where they resided for four years. At the expiration of that period, they settled on a farm near Early, that county, and there the father engaged in agri- cultural pursuits until March, 1900. The mother is deceased, having passed away at Trenton, Nebraska, on December 10, 1899, but the father is still living and now makes his home at Storm Lake, this state. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lane: Ellen, whose birth occurred on January 16, 1879, the wife of Walter Meade, of Steele, North Dakota; Mrs. Bratnober; William, whose birth oc- curred on the 3d of May, 1885, a resident of Marathon, Iowa; The- resa May, who was born on the 26th of March, 1888, now Mrs. Hartman, of Marathon, this state; and Walter, who was born on April 3, 1894, residing with his father at Storm Lake. All are na- tives of Sac county, this state, with the exception of the two first named. Mrs. Bratnober was only a babe of three months when her parents removed to Iowa, where she was educated and reared to womanhood. After graduating from the high school at Early, she began teaching and for four years thereafter was employed in the district schools of Sac county, at the expiration of which time she ob-
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tained a position in the intermediate department of the Williams schools, which she retained for three years. Mr. and Mrs. Bratnober have a daughter, Marian Alberta, who was born in Williams, June 5, 1908.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Bratnober are members of the Presby- terian church. Fraternally he is affiliated with Alamo Lodge, No. 547, A. F. & A. M., in which he has held nearly all of the chairs, his last office being that of secretary. In his political views Mr. Bratnober is a republican. He owns his residence, which is modern and well furnished. He is one of the substantial, as well as enterprising and public-spirited citizens of the community, and wherever known highly esteemed for his many fine qualities of heart and mind.
SIMON SOGARD.
Simon Sogard, one of the well known residents of Ellsworth, was born in Norway on the 24th of August, 1858, and is a son of T. A. and Maren (Hoye) Sogard. The parents passed the early years of their life in the old country, where the father engaged in farming. In 1867 they emigrated to the United States with their family, locat- ing in Racine county, Wisconsin, which was their place of residence for three years thereafter. At the expiration of that time, in 1870, they came to Iowa, settling in Winnebago county. There the father bought eighty acres of land located a mile east of Forest City, where he continued in agricultural pursuits until his death in August, 1882. He was survived by the mother, who is now seventy-nine years of age and makes her home in Ellsworth.
Simon Sogard was a child of nine years when he accompanied his parents to the United States. Two years prior to that he had begun his education in his native land, continuing his studies in the schools of Wisconsin and Winnebago county, Iowa, until he was qualified to engage in teaching. He followed this profession for seven or eight years, withdrawing from it in 1884, in order to assume the duties of clerk of the district court, in which capacity he served for two terms. At the expiration of his period of office he removed to his wife's farm in Lincoln township, this county, and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. When the State Bank of Ellsworth was or- ganized three years later, he accepted the position of cashier and came to town to live. He remained with the bank for three years, but
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owing to the state of his health he deemed it advisable to spend some time in the open air, so he resigned his position and returned to the farm. Having recuperated, he accepted, a few months later, the po- sition of assistant cashier in the First National Bank of Webster City, where he also remained for three years, subsequently returning to Ellsworth, which has ever since been his home.
On the 17th of March, 1887, Mr. Sogard married Miss Annie L. Larson, a daughter of Henry and Susan (Questad) Larson, also na- tives of Norway, who emigrated to America in early life and located in Lee county, Illinois. They remained there until 1874, and then came to Hamilton county, taking up their residence in Lincoln town- ship, where the father bought one hundred and six acres of land. He subsequently increased his holdings by the purchase of another eighty acres, devoting his energies to the cultivation of his farm until he passed away. The mother is also deceased. Mrs. Sogard was born in Lee county, Illinois, in 1868, and there passed the first six years of her life. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Sogard is as follows : Henry, who died in Webster City in 1899, at the age of eleven years; Mabel A., who is teaching school south of Ellsworth; Silas A .; Selma L .; Clara A .; and Harold T.
The family affiliate with the Lutheran church, in which faith the parents were reared. Mr. Sogard is republican in his political views and was chairman of the county central committee during the Mc- Kinley campaign.
GEORGE B. SEGAR.
George B. Segar engages in general farming and stock-raising on section 17, Cass township, where he rents one hundred and sixty- four acres of land. He was born in Hamilton county on the 7th of January, 1856, and is a son of Benjamin B. and Catherine (Berg- dorf) Segar, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of the state of New York. They were married in Illinois whence they removed to Iowa in 1854, locating in this county where the father bought government land which he cultivated for many years. Both parents are now deceased, the father having passed away in 1892, and the mother in 1905, and are buried in the cemetery at Cass Center, The family of Mr. and Mrs. Segar numbered seven, our subject being the second in order of birth.
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George B. Segar was reared at home and educated in the district schools. At the age of twenty-one he married and began farming for himself as a renter, following this plan for ten years. In 1887 he bought one hundred and sixty acres which he cultivated for four years, but at the expiration of that time he sold his place and has ever since been leasing land.
In 1877, Mr. Segar was married to Miss Olive Nicholson, a daughter of Nelson and Polly Nicholson, who were born, reared and married in Pennsylvania, whence they came to Iowa in 1856. For eleven years thereafter the father farmed in Winneshiek county, but in 1867 he came to Hamilton county, and here he and the mother passed the remainder of their lives. They are buried in Graceland cemetery at Webster City. Mrs. Segar was born on the 18th of January, 1854 and is the third in order of birth in a family of six children. Mr. and Mrs. Segar have three sons and three daughters. In order of birth they are as follows: Helen, the wife of Earl Un- derwood of this county, by whom she has had two children one of whom is deceased; Emma, who married Wesley Crandall of this county; Ida, who became the wife of Boyd Mellinger, also of this county, by whom she has had one child; Arthur, who is married and living in Wright county; Ralph, a resident of Kamrar, who is mar- ried and has one child; and Ray, who is living at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Segar are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, while in politics he is a republican. Having passed his entire life in this county, Mr. Segar enjoys a wide and favorable acquaintance among its citizens, where he is known to be a man of sterling worth and integrity.
JOHN S. SLOAN.
There is not a citizen in Williams who has made a more creditable record during the period of his residence in the community than John S. Sloan, who in the space of ten years has acquired a good residence property, farm property amounting to six hundred and forty acres and a comfortable competence, all the result of his own effort. He was born in Bloomington, McLean county, Illinois, on the 26th of December, 1859, and is a son of John and Catharine (Kearney) Sloan, natives of Ireland, the father's birth having occurred in 1822,
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and that of the mother in 1834. The father, who was an agricul- turist, passed away in Illinois in September, 1909. He had long survived the mother, who died in McLean county in 1869. They were the parents of the following children: John S., our subject ; Richard, who was born on the 3d of March, 1861, and died on June 22, 1894; Kate who was born in 1861, and died in December, 1907, formerly the wife of John E. Holland; and Sarah, who died in infancy.
The early advantages of John S. Sloan in acquiring an education were limited, but he was trained in habits of thrift and industry and these home lessons have proven of inestimable value to him and formed the basis of his success. While a small lad he began to as- sist his father with the work of the farm, his duties being increased as his strength and sense of responsibility developed with the passing years, and thus, long before he had attained his majority, was he thoroughly familiar with the practical methods of agriculture and fully competent to operate a farm. In February, 1902, he removed to Hamilton county, and purchased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Rose Grove township. Diligent and enterprising, as well as progressive in his methods he has witnessed every year a marked improvement in his farm, which is now one of the most valuable properties in the community, and to which he has recently added a three hundred and twenty acre purchase, making his holdings six hundred and forty acres. For two years he resided in Blairs- burg township, where he owned four hundred and fifty-six acres of land, which he sold in 1911 at an appreciable advance over his purchase price. He is now living in Williams, where he owns one of the best residences in the town, which is provided with all mod- ern appointments and handsomely furnished.
On the 21st of January, 1891, Mr. Sloan was united in marriage to Miss Nora C. Lynch, who was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on the 21st of February, 1865 and is a daughter of Michael and Mar- garet (Gleason) Lynch natives of Ireland. The father passed away in Ottawa, Illinois, at the age of forty years, but the mother is living and now makes her home in Williams with Mrs. Sloan. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lynch: Michael, who was born on the 16th of March, 1862, and died on January 24, 1889; Mrs. Sloan; James, who was born September 10, 1867 and died at the age of two years, ten months and four days; and Catharine who was born on August 5, 1870, the wife of T. P. Donahue, of Fort Dodge, Iowa.
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The two first named were born in Bloomington and the latter two in Ottawa, Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Sloan have had six children: Catharine Theresa, who was born on the IIth of November, 1891, and died October 4, 1892; John Joseph, whose natal day was the 13th of December, 1892, residing with his parents in Williams; Richard Francis who was born on the 21st of May, 1895, and died August 14, of the same year; a son, who died in infancy; William Bernard, who is a student in St. Joseph's College at Dubuque, Iowa; and Margaret Cecelia, who was born on the 23d of March, 1900, and is attending the public school of Williams.
The family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and fraternally Mr. Sloan is identified with the local camp of the Mod- ern Woodmen of America. He is a democrat in his political views. He is highly deserving of commendation, as his achievements are · the result of unceasing diligence, perseverance and the determination of effort that refuses to recognize defeat. His record should be an inspiration to every ambitious, enterprising young man, as it is substantial proof that success is the result of unremitting effort, per- sistently and intelligently applied rather than favorable circumstances.
ISAAC DAY.
Isaac Day is among the enterprising and well known agricultur- ists of Hamilton county, where he is sucessfully engaged in the cul- tivation of eighty acres of land located in Williams township. He was born in Marion county, Indiana, October 2, 1863, and is a son of John and Mary (Stoner) Day, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They celebrated their marriage in their native state. The father removed with his family in 1870 to Marshall county, Iowa, and established his home in Eden township, where he remained for two years and then purchased a farm located four miles northeast of Collins in Story county, Iowa, where he was engaged in farming for seven years, after which time he moved to Clear Creek township, Jasper county, Iowa. He died in 1906 at the age of seventy years. The mother died many years previously in Indiana. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Mrs. Hadassa Kuhns, deceased ; James W., who is a resident of Spokane Falls, Washington; Frank, who has passed away; Mrs. Ollie Thompson who makes her home
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near Spokane Falls, Washington; Isaac, of this review; and Mrs. Effie Baker, living at Mingo, Iowa. All the above named were na- tives of Indiana.
Isaac Day was reared at home and received his early education in the public schools. As a young man he was engaged in work on his father's farm and some time after attaining his majority he purchased eighty acres of land located in Williams township, where he established his home and has since been successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and also makes a specialty of rais- ing full-blooded Plymouth Rock chickens.
Mr. Day was united in marriage, in 1891, to Miss Alice Hale, who was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where her birth oc- curred May 6, 1862. She is a daughter of Anthony and Jane (Crouch) Hale, the former a native of England and the latter of New York. Her father's family now resides in Blairsburg, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Day six children have been born, namely: Mrs. Vera Seger, who is a native of Collins township, Story county, Iowa, and who is a resident of Blairsburg township; Clarence, who was born in Collins township and resides with his father on the home farm; Elsie, who was born in State Center, Iowa, and is yet under the parental roof; Earl, a native of Williams township, Hamilton county who is also at home; and Irene and Arlyne, likewise natives of Williams township.
Mr. Day is affiliated with the republican party and is a man who by a well directed life has made a most commendable success of his chosen vocation as a farmer. He is well and favorably known through- out his part of the state as a man of unquestioned integrity and is numbered among the esteemed and useful citizens of the community in which he lives.
B. E. SEGAR.
B. E. Segar was born June 10, 1858, in the log house that stood on a farm northeast of Webster City. He passed away February 20, 1912, at his home on the farm on which he located in 1888 and which is one of the finest farm properties of Hamilton county. On the 24th of October, 1880, he was united in marriage by the Rev. Moore to Miss Marion Miller, a daughter of William and Jessie Miller of Web-
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ster City, Iowa, and they became the parents of two daughters, Alma and Henrietta.
Mrs. Segar was born in Canada, October 28, 1860, and in her girl- hood days was taken by her parents to Porter county, Indiana, while in 1876, at the age of sixteen years, she came to Webster City, Iowa, with her parents. The journey was made with two teams and covered wagons and their first night in the county was spent in Cass township, at the home of A. G. Nail. The same year Marion Miller returned east and remained for two years, after which she again came to Iowa, and has since made her home in this state. Her brothers are Peter and Edward Miller, of Webster City. Her sisters are: Mrs. Cyrus Ashpole, of Thompson, Iowa; Mrs. William Montgomery, of Canada ; . and Mrs. Henry Sizemore, of Clarion, Iowa.
Alma' Segar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. E. Segar, was born July 24, 1881, near Webster City, and was married November 25, 1903, by the Rev. Prewitt to Wallace W. Clark, who was born in Jackson, Calhoun county, Michigan, October 17, 1878. They made their home in Webster City until March 1, 1910, when they removed to Marshall, Lyon county, Minnesota. They have six children: Zelma Gladys, born November 20, 1904; Bernice Marie, December 21, 1905; George Robert, July I, 1907; Mabel Frances, October 16, 1908; Hazel Anna, April 25, 1910; and Edmund Wallace, July 11, 1911. The first four were born in Webster City and the other two in Minnesota.
Henrietta Segar was born near Webster City, June 16, 1883, and was married March 1, 1905, by I. W. Hyatt, J. P., to John R. Ziegler, who was born in Freiburg, Auglaize county, Ohio, December 26, 1880. They reside in Webster City and have three daughters: Marion Josephine, born April 15, 1906; Margie Irene, November 21, 1907; and Mildred Adelle, October 23, 1909.
LEVI COTTINGTON. .
Levi Cottington resides at No. 719 Bank street, Webster City, Iowa, and is well known in this county as a man who has spent his life in the improvement and cultivation of the soil. He is also a prominent veteran of the Civil war and his loyalty and patriotism are still active forces in his life. He has now retired, having passed the seventy-second milestone on life's journey. He was born in Sussex, England in 1840 and came to the United States in 1841 with his par-
Levi Cottingtón Ochra a tottington
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ents, Jesse and Rebecca (Forward) Cottington. They landed in New York and settled immediately in Oneida county, that state, where they remained for ten years. In 1851 they removed to Sauk county, Wisconsin, where the father farmed with much success during the remainder of his life.
Levi Cottington attended the public schools of Wisconsin and pur- sued the usual course of study until he laid aside his books. In 1864 he enlisted in Company F. Third Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, and served with honor until the end of the war. When he was mustered out he returned immediately to Wisconsin, where he farmed for two years. His experience in agriculture at this time gave a definite bent to his ambitions for the future. He determined to make farming his life work and in order to be successful in this branch of activity he gave his entire time and attention to a systematic study of its details. Much of his success he owes to his scientific and efficient knowledge and to the practical nature of his work, which was always productive of good results. Although his farming in Wisconsin was successful and his harvests abundant, he, nevertheless, abandoned that state in 1867 to come to Hamilton county. Here he bought two hundred and ten acres in what is now Webster township. The land was unde- veloped and the encroaching prairie was only partially broken. There was a crude log cabin upon his place but this Mr. Cottington de- stroyed and built a modern dwelling, conveniently furnished. He is responsible for all the improvements which make his farm today one of the model properties of the locality. He built fences in order to divide his fields into convenient portions for the cultivation of grain, tilled the land and was successful in agriculture until 1900, when he removed to Webster City and rented the farm to his son, Levi B. Cot- tington, who now resides upon the place and is carrying it on along the scientific lines instituted by his father.
In 1867 Mr. Cottington was united in marriage to Miss Achsa A. Brown, a daughter of S. J. and Jennett Brown, of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Cottington became the parents of six children: Elinor C., who married Leonard Hill, a farmer living near Stanhope, Iowa, by whom she has two sons; Sidney J., a farmer of Webster town- ship, who married Rena Kent, and has five children; J. R., a farmer of Curlew, Iowa, who married Charlotte Ankstrom, and had three sons, one of whom was drowned August 18, 1912; Omro, who mar- ried Miss Ethel Neese, by whom he has one son and who is now resid- ing in Curlew, Iowa, where he follows the occupation of farming; Faith, who is the wife of Robert R. Downes, a farmer of Freemont
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township, by whom she has one son; and Levi B., now engaged in agricultural pursuits in Webster township, who married Ethel Parry and is the father of four children. Mr. Cottington's descendants, in- cluding his children and grandchildren, now number twenty-four.
Mr. Cottington loves to remember the days of the Civil war, and his loyalty and patriotism is as active now as it was in those troublous times. He keeps up his connection with the various organizations of veterans and is, well known as an enthusiastic old soldier. He belongs to Winfield Scott Post, No. 66, G. A. R., and has held nearly every office in that organization. Since 1892 he has belonged to the Soldiers' Relief Committee of Hamilton county and has given his time and energies without pay to furthering the comforts and improving the living conditions of the poorer class of veterans. He is justly proud of his work in this connection and his activities connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and other military organizations form a dominating influence in his life.
Mr. Cottington is a man who has made his influence felt in pub- lic affairs. For over thirty years he was prominently connected with educational circles of Webster township and held the office of school director during that time. He was supervisor of Hamilton county from 1883 to 1885 and when he became a resident of Webster City served that municipality for one term as a member of the city council. His public life has been distinguished by an intelligent grasp of munic- ipal conditions, a thorough honesty and consistent work toward bet- ter and improved standards. He is a genial and kindly man and now in the seventy-third year of his age can look back upon the early events of the pioneer agricultural development with which he was as- sociated. He can remember the gradual evolution of his farm from raw prairie land into a flourishing and productive property. He has now retired from the labor of life with the peaceful consciousness that his share of the duties and activities of the world are well accomplished.
JOHNSON BROTHERS.
F. A. and Sanford Johnson are joint partners in the firm of Johnson Brothers engaged in the drug business, in Stratford, Iowa. They are the sons of Gustav and Anna C. (Larson) Johnson, both of whom were natives of Sweden and emigrated to America in 1859,
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settling first in Orion, Illinois, where the family remained for one year. They then removed to Boone county, Iowa, where the father purchased two hundred and forty-seven acres of land, upon which he established his home and continued to live until his death, which occurred in 1895 when he was fifty-nine years of age. The mother later took up her residence in Dayton and there died in 1907 at the age of sixty-two.
They were the parents of seven children, of whom F. A. of this review was second in order of birth. He was born in Orion, Illinois, and received his education in the public schools. He came to Strat- ford in the fall of 1899 and established the drug business in which he is now engaged. In 1908 he admitted to a partnership, his brother Sanford, since which time the business has been conducted under the name of Johnson Brothers. F. A. Johnson was graduated from the Drake Highland School of Pharmacy, May 1, 1894. Sanford pursued a course in the same school and obtained his license as a registered druggist December 1, 1908. F. A. Johnson owns the building in which Johnson Brothers carry on their drug business, also eighty acres of farm land in Iowa and his residence in Stratford, and is a stockholder in the State Bank of Stratford.
F. A. Johnson was united in marriage in 1898 to Miss Minnie Lush, of Superior, Iowa, and they became the parents of one son, Gerald, who resides with his father. The mother died in April, 1902, and the father was married again in 1894 his second union being with Miss Louisa Erickson, of Hamilton county. They are the par- ents of two children, Cecil and Beulah.
F. A. Johnson is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Rebekahs. He is affiliated with the repub- lican party and has been a member of the school board for several years. He and his family hold membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church.
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