USA > Iowa > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 3
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The boyhood and youth of William Hanlen were passed on the old homestead in Cedar county, his education being obtained in the district schools of Linn Grove township. In 1879, he came to Hamil- ton county and established a general mercantile store at Williams, which he conducted with increasing success until 1895. In the latter year he disposed of his store and engaged in the real-estate and in- surance business, with which he is still identified.
On the 27th of January. 1877, Mr. Hanlen was married to Miss Eva Curyea, who was born in Henry county, Illinois, June 12, 1859, and is a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Irwin) Curyea. The par- ents, who were natives of Virginia, came to Henry county during the pioneer days. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Curyea numbered eight, those besides the wife of our subject being: Margaret, Bell, John, Thomas, Nettie, Louis and Addie, all of whom are living with the exception of Nettie, who died in Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Hanlen are the parents of the following children : Mabel, who was born June 4, 1878, the wife of T. D. Rutledge, of Blairsburg, Iowa: Clea, a resident, of San Francisco, California, whose birth occurred in December, 1880; Addie, who was born Feb- ruary 2, 1882, a resident of Williams; Maude, who was born Novem- ber 27, 1884, the wife of F. A. Gillette, of Des Moines, Iowa; Bessie, who was born January 4. 1886; Frank, whose natal day was Septem- ber 8, 1890: Earl born May 27. 1894: Clella, born September 30, 1896; and Janice, born October 31, 1899. All are residing in Wil- liams, where they were born with the exception of the eldest daugh- ter, whose birth occurred in Tama county. Mr. Hanlen owns his residence, which is one of the social centers of the town, its hospital- ity being extended to a large circle of acquaintances.
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Mr. Hanlen gives his political support to the republican party and during the period of his residence in Williams has served as a mem- ber of the council and also as justice of the peace, having discharged his duties in both connections in a highly creditable manner.
RUBE McFERREN.
Rube McFerren needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, for he has been a lifelong resident of Hamilton county save for a brief period of two years. Determining to devote his life to the practice of law, he has made continuous progress in his profes- sion through close application, thorough preparation and devotion to his clients' interests. He was born January 31, 1868, about a mile north of Webster City, representing one of the old families of the county. His father, W. D. McFerren, came from Ohio to Iowa in 1855, settling in Hamilton county, where he secured a tract of land and began farming. For many years he successfully carried on gen- eral agricultural pursuits but is now living retired in Webster City at the age of eighty-three years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emma A. Bennett, passed away July 4, 1902, when sixty- seven years of age.
Rube McFerren was educated in the public schools of Webster City, in the State Normal School at Cedar Falls and in the Iowa State University at Iowa City. In this liberal training he laid the broad foundation upon which he has builded his professional knowl- edge. He began reading law in the office of Wesley Martin of Web- ster City and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of Iowa in 1890, at which time he entered upon the active work of the pro- fession. In 1895 he went to Lamar, Missouri, where he engaged in the real-estate business for two years and then returned to Webster City, where he entered into partnership with J. W. Lee for the prac- tice of his profession. A year later this connection was dissolved and Mr. McFerren has since been alone. He has remained a close and discriminating student of the principles of jurisprudence and in his work before the courts has displayed a comprehensive understanding of legal principles, readily seeing their relation to the points in liti- gation. For about two years, from 1907 until 1909, he served as city attorney.
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
On the 4th of November, 1893, Mr. McFerren married Miss Min- nie Woolsey, of Webster City, who died August 30, 1896. In April, 1903, he was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Klockman, her father being Christ Klockman, an agriculturist of Hamilton county. By his second wife Mr. McFerren has four children, as follows : Donald, whose birth occurred in. December, 1904; Robert, born in May, 1907; Maynard, born in September, 1908; and June, born April 3, 1912.
In his fraternal relations Mr. McFerren is well known, being a member of Acacia Lodge, No. 176, F. & A. M .; Elmo Lodge, No. 62, I. O. O. F .; Webster City Lodge, No. 302, B. P. O. E .; and Forest Camp, No. 103, of the Woodmen of the World. / Always living in this district save for the brief period spent in Missouri, Mr. McFer- ren has become widely known and has a circle of friends who speak of him in terms of high regard. He has always been interested in matters of progressive citizenship and his public spirit has been mani- fest in many tangible ways.
W. F. HUNTER.
W. F. Hunter, secretary and treasurer of the Freeman- Tribune Publishing Company, was born in Eldorah, Iowa, June 9. 1863, a son of J. D. and , Sarah A. (Gates) Hunter, both of whom were natives of Ohio. His paternal grandfather was a newspaper man in Angola, Steuben county, Indiana, and was a very prominent advocate of the abolition cause, utilizing his paper as a factor in advocating his belief. He was a candidate for congress in Indiana on the abolition ticket, and he gave direct evidence of his opposition to slavery by making his home a sta- tion on the famous underground railroad, whereby many a slave was assisted on his way to freedom in the north. After some years' residence in Indiana he returned to Ohio. His son. J. D. Hunter, became a resident of Iowa in 1857, at which time he settled in Eldorah and purchased the Eldorah Ledger. In 1866 he came to Webster City and purchased the Hamilton Freeman. He was, thereafter, identified with newspaper interests here until his death and in 1900 he consolidated the Freeman with the Tribune, which has since been published under the name of the Freeman-Tribune. He kept in touch with progressive journal-
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
ism in his search for news and made his paper both the mirror and the molder of public opinion. He passed away in 1907 at the age of seventy-three years and is still survived by his widow, who makes her home in Webster City.
W. F. Hunter, whose name introduces this record, was edu- cated in the public schools to the age of fifteen years, when he began learning more difficult lessons in the school of experience. He entered his father's newspaper office, gradually acquainting himself with the business in principle and detail, and in 1900 took full charge. He has since continued at the head of the paper and is now the secretary and treasurer of the company. This is one of the old newspapers of Hamilton county, having been established in 1857, and has ever maintained a foremost position as a leading journal in this part of Iowa. In addition to his publishing business, Mr. Hunter is a director of the Web- ster City Savings Bank and is the owner of the Brenneck block. His real-estate holdings likewise include about six hundred acres of valuable land in Iowa, which contribute much to his success.
In 1887 Mr. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Aletta Young, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. D. Young. Her death occurred in 1891 and in 1900 Mr. Hunter was again married, his second union being with Miss Minnie Pettinger, the daughter of Nicholas Pettinger, a farmer of this county. They now have two children, Ruth, born in 1904; and Gayle in 1907. The family reside at No. 1219 Des Moines street, and the parents are widely and favorably known in this city, where the name of Hunter has long been an honored and respected one.
D. L. HUNTER.
D. L. Hunter, the vice president and manager of the Free- man-Tribune Publishing Company of Webster City, was born at West Unity, Ohio, May 27, 1854. In his boyhood, however, he came with his parents to Iowa and continued his education in the high school here. He made his initial step in business as a clerk in a clothing store and later entered his father's news- paper office. In 1872 he was appointed assistant postmaster, which position he continued to fill for sixteen years. Since 1892 he has devoted his time continuously to newspaper publica-
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
tion and is now vice president and manager of the Freeman- Tribune Company, owners of one of the oldest newspapers in this part of the state. He is careful and systematic in the man- agement of the business affairs of the company and, like his brother, holds to high standards in giving to the public that which is most interesting concerning local affairs and matters of state and national importance.
In 1875 Mr. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Lunetta Burden, a daughter of G. W. Burden, at that time proprietor of the Willson Hotel in Webster City. They have become parents of three children: Litta, who is the wife of Richard Closson and resides at Sholes, Nebraska; Margery Belle, the wife of T. M. Smiley, of Washington, D. C., by whom she has one son; and John D., who was born in 1896 and is still with his parents. The family residence is at No. 626 First street, Webster City.
Mr. Hunter is a member of the Modern Woodmen Camp. the Legion of Honor and the Webster City Commercial League. He is a progressive and public-spirited man, interested in all that pertains to the general welfare and his ideas concerning progress and improvement are of a practical character.
REV. CHRISTEN H. HJORTHOLM.
Rev. Christen H. Hjortholm, pastor of West Trinity Norwegian Lutheran church of Ellsworth, was born in Denmark on the 30th of April, 1865, and is a son of Hans J. Hanson and Dorothy Chris- tensen. The parents were born, reared and married in Denmark, whence they emigrated to the United States in 1866, locating in Co- lumbia county, Wisconsin. The father, who was a farmer, there en- gaged in agricultural pursuits until 1882, when he removed with his family to Brown county, South Dakota, where he filed on a homestead. He engaged in the improvement and cultivation of his farm until his death, which occurred on May 25, 1901, at the age of sixty-six years. He was survived by the mother, who passed away on the 19th of December, 1905, in her sixty-third year. They were the parents of thirteen children, our subject being the second in order of birth.
Mr. Hjortholm was in his infancy when his parents emigrated to the United States, and a youth of seventeen years when he ac-
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
companied them on their removal to South Dakota. In the acquire- ment of his education he attended the public schools and later be- came a student in The St. Olaf Academy and College. Having de- cided to adopt the ministry for his life vocation, after graduating from the latter institution he matriculated in the Lutheran Theo- logical Seminary of the United Norwegian Lutheran church of America, then located in Minneapolis but now in St. Paul. He was ordained in 1896, and soon thereafter he went to Monona county, Iowa, where his first .pastorate was located. He remained there for four years, and at the expiration of that time accepted a call from Zion Norwegian Lutheran church in Duluth, Minnesota. In 1904, he resigned this charge to become pastor of West Trinity, the duties of which he is still discharging. He has a large parish, and during the period of his pastorate has greatly endeared himself to the mem- bers of his congregation by the efficient and capable manner in which he has directed its interests.
In 1889, Mr. Hjortholm was married to Miss Caroline Loben- stein, a daughter of John and Anna Lobenstein, natives of Norway, who came to America in 1851. They were married in Wisconsin, and soon thereafter removed to Minnesota, where the father passed away in 1862. He was long survived by the mother, whose death occurred in 1902. Mrs. Hjortholm, who is the second in order of birth in a family of three, was born on the 14th of December, 1859. A son and a daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hjortholm. The former, Herman, was graduated from St. Olaf's Academy of Northfield, Minnesota, with the class of 1911 and is now teaching in Hamilton county, and Anna, their daughter, is a student in the pub- lic school.
His political support Mr. Hjortholm accords to the republican party. He is a man of high standards of citizenship and progress- ive ideas, whose energies are largely expended in promoting the general welfare of the community.
GEORGE C. TUCKER.
George C. Tucker, president of the Journal Publishing Company and thus closely identified with newspaper publication in Webster City and also equally well known in his support of and cooperation with many public movements which have for their object the wel-
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
fare and benefit of the city, was born October 27, 1879, in Homer, Hamilton county, Iowa. A year later the family moved to Stratford and in 1887 came to Webster City. His grandfather, Dr. Tucker, was a pioneer physician from Wisconsin, who at a very early period in the settlement and development of Hamilton county took up his abode near Randall. His son, George F. Tucker, now a successful practicing attorney of Webster City, married Emma Faus and among their children is the subject of this review.
Having graduated from the public schools of Webster City, George C. Tucker entered the Iowa State University and was nineteen years of age when he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed through the season of 1898-9. He afterward filled the position of clerk in the Webster City postoffice for about one year and in 1901 entered upon active connection with newspaper interests in the pub- lication of the Freeman Tribune. He was solicitor for that paper for one winter and was then transferred to the reportorial staff, with which he was connected until November 1, 1906. At that date, in connection with C. H. Haeger he purchased the Webster City Journal and organized the Journal Publishing Company, of which he became the president and editor with C. H. Haeger as the secre- tary and treasurer. The paper pursues a progressive policy, keep- ing in touch with modern journalism in its presentation of the news and vital questions of the day. The Journal is attractive in its makeup and because of its large circulation is an excellent advertising me- dium.
On the 17th of September, 1902, Mr. Tucker was united in mar- riage to Miss Grace Stuart, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Stu- art, of Webster City, belonging to one of the old pioneer families of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have one son, Courtney Stuart, born August 20, 1905. The family residence is a hospitable one and its good cheer is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Tucker is prominent in the Elks lodge, No. 302, and is now serving for the third term as secretary, having been first elected in 1910. He likewise belongs to Elmo Lodge, No. 62, I. O. O. F., of Webster City and to Webster City Camp, No. 416, M. W. A. He is in hearty sympathy with the principles of those organizations and is equally loyal in the advocacy of the republican party. Everything which tends to promote the welfare and upbuilding of Webster City is of deep interest to him and in personal effort as well as through the press he has done much for his home community. For five years he was a member of the board of directors of the Webster City
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
Chautauqua Association and in 1911 and 1912 served as president. Through this agency many speakers and attractive entertainments have been brought to Webster City, much being of educational value. Mr. Tucker likewise has served several years as a director of the Webster City Commercial League, and is thus active in the efforts to advance the business interests here.
PETER J. BRANDRUP.
Peter J. Brandrup is the treasurer and manager of the North- western Felt Shoe Manufacturing Company and has thus reached a prominent position in the business circles of Webster City. He has gradually worked his way upward since starting out in the business world on his own account, his energy and enterprise overcoming various obstacles. He has never regarded any posi- tion as final but rather as the starting point for still other achieve- ments and while advancing his individual interests, he has at the same time promoted public prosperity. He was born in Germany in 1871, a son of Claus and Marie (Nelson) Brandrup. The parents came from the fatherland to the United States in 1872 and settled in Webster City, where the father engaged in con- tracting in stone and bridge work until about 1877. He was then made sexton of the Webster City cemetery and still fills that position, although now seventy-two years of age. His wife is also living and is about sixty-three years of age.
Brought to Iowa in his infancy, Peter J. Brandrup has prac- tically spent his entire life in Webster City. He attended the public schools and in 1886, when a youth of fifteen years, went to Story City, Iowa, where he occupied the position of assistant postmaster until 1888. Realizing the necessity and value of a business education, he then entered the Gem City Business Col- lege at Quincy, Illinois, and was graduated therefrom in 1889. Thus well trained for the responsibilities of a commercial career, he returned to Webster City and secured the position of book- keeper in the grocery store of H. A. Eames. About a year later he became connected with Ellingson, Mathre & Company, whole- sale dealers in butter, eggs and poultry. A year was spent with that firm as bookkeeper and in 1891 he went to Kamrar, where he became a partner in the firm of Bohning & Brandrup, gen-
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
eral merchants. The following year, however, he disposed of his interest to his partner and returned to his old home. Here he again entered the employ of Ellingson, Mathre & Company, taking charge of their office. He remained with the firm for four years and then went upon the road, selling groceries for the Webster City Wholesale Grocery Company, which he represented until they discontinued business in 1897. He then became a traveling representative of the Fort Dodge Wholesale Grocery Company, with whom he continued until elected to the office of county treasurer in 1903. He entered upon the duties of that position on the Ist of January, 1904, and was custodian of the public funds through four years, making a creditable record in the office. He was financially interested in the Northwestern Felt Shoe Company before his retirement from the position of county treasurer and after his term had expired he became ac- tively connected with the company as treasurer and manager. He has since bent his energies to organization, constructive effort and executive control and his sound business judgment and unfalter- ing application have constituted valuable elements in the success of the business. He was also one of the organizers of the Web- ster City Gas Company and from its inception served as a di- rector and treasurer until October, 1910. He was also one of the organizers of the Security Title & Loan Company and is still a director and its treasurer. He is furthermore connected with financial interests as a director of the Webster City Savings Bank. Alert and enterprising, possessing what for want of a better term has been called commercial sense, he has assisted in the develop- ment of many of the different manufactories and industrial enter- prises of Hamilton county and has labored for the welfare of the business interests at large as a director of the Webster City Com- mercial League since its organization in 1909. He was also its first president and succeeded in placing the association upon a good working basis, its organized efforts being productive of most desirable results.
In November, 1901. Mr. Brandrup was married to Miss Ida Baldwin, a daughter of William Baldwin, of Chariton, Iowa. who follows the occupation of carpentering. Our subject and his wife have two children, namely : Richard R., who was born on the Ioth of January, 1903; and Carol Frances, whose natal day was March 16, 1907. The family residence is at No. 908 First street and its hospitality is greatly enjoyed by their many friends.
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Brandrup hold membership in the Universalist church and he also a prominent Mason, belonging to Acacia Lodge, No. 176, F. & A. M .; Hope Chapter, No. 88, R. A. M .; and Triune Commandery, No. 41, K. T., of which he is a past eminent commander. He is likewise a charter member of Za- Ga-Zig Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Des Moines, having pre- vious to its organization been made a Shriner in El Kahir Tem- ple of Cedar Rapids. Both he and his wife are identified with Sharon Chapter, No. 148, O. E. S., and he belongs likewise to the Elks lodge, No. 302; and Webster City Camp, No. 416, M. W. A., of which he has been banker for the past ten years and is still holding that office. He was also a member of the Knights of Pythias for a number of years or until it was disbanded about fifteen years ago. He is well known and popular in these dif- ferent organizations and is ever most loyal to their teachings and purposes. At the same time he is ever mindful of business duties and responsibilities and of his obligations of citizenship. His carefully systematized efforts leave him time for all these different activities and for those social pleasures which constitute a well adjusted balance to the more serious affairs of life.
FLORINGTON D. YOUNG.
Florington D. Young has figured conspicuously and honorably in trade circles in Webster City .. He was for a long period connected with the lumber business and as the years passed his energy and capably directed efforts brought him success, permitting him at length to retire from active business connections. At the age of seventy- six, therefore, he is spending his time quietly in Webster City yet keeps in touch with the general interests of the day and is thoroughly informed concerning the problems which are of vital significance to the individual and the community. He was born in Eden, Hancock county, Maine, October 1, 1836, the son of Elvin and Mary (Hop- kins) Young. The father was a farmer and lumberman of the Pine Tree state, in which he spent his entire life, having been born and reared on Mount Desert island, now Bar Harbor. He died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years and his wife had also reached that age when she was called to her final rest. The latter was a descendant of the Hopkins family whose American progenitor came to the new world on the Mayflower.
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY
Florington D. Young was educated at home save for six months spent as a pupil in the country schools of Maine. When he had at- tained his majority, in 1857, he began to learn the trade of house carpentering, serving his apprenticeship with a salary of twelve dol- lars per month. When the term of his indenture was over he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained for two years, work- ing for a dollar or a dollar and a half per day until the fall of 1860, when he returned home. While in Boston he cast his first presidential vote, supporting Abraham Lincoln.
Following his return home Florington D. Young worked for his father in the lumber woods during the winter months and in the spring of 1861 went to Magdalen island for a boat load of her- ring. He then engaged in the fishing business, fishing for Porgies & Menhaden until September, 1862, when he put aside all business and personal considerations in order to actively engage in support of the Union cause. He enlisted for the war as a member of the Twenty- sixth Maine Volunteers and served for a year. On his return home he worked at the carpenter's trade, remaining in the Pine Tree state until the spring of 1874, when his uncle, Kendall Young, induced him to come to Webster City and erected a residence for him. F. D. Young arrived here on the 4th of June, 1874. In the fall of the fol- lowing year he established a lumberyard under his own name and so continued until 1884. when he was joined by J. W. Young under the firm style of F. D. & J. W. Young. This connection was main- tained uninterruptedly for eleven years, or until 1895, when the sen- ior member sold his interest to his partner. In 1901 F. D. Young went to the south, spending a year in Louisiana and seven years in Texas, where he engaged in the cultivation of rice. He then disposed of his interests in that state and returned to Webster City, where he has since made his home. When his uncle, Kendall Young, died, he was made a trustee of the Kendall Young library under the pro- visions of the will, was chosen chairman of its board of trustees and still holds that position.
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