USA > Iowa > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Iowa; Volume II > Part 49
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MARX HENRY SCHULTZ.
The farming and stock-raising interests of Washington township find a worthy representative in Marx Henry Schultz, who owns and operates a tract of three hundred and eighty-five acres on section 25, Washington township. He was born in that township, near his present farm, January 1, 1873. His father, Henry Frederick Schultz, is a native of Schleswig, Germany, and emi- grated to the United States in 1864. For a short time he lived in Davenport, Iowa, where he worked at his trade of a cigarmaker, and then went to Sabula, where he was employed in a packing house until 1869, when he married and began farming. At first he operated a tract of one hundred and sixty acres which his father, Marx Henry Schultz, had secured from the government, but later, in 1873, he purchased the property. The intervening years to 1901 were devoted to agricultural pursuits, in which he gained a notable success, as is evidenced by the fact that at one time he owned ten hundred and twenty-seven acres of land in Washington township, being the largest real estate holder in his section of the county. In 1901 he decided to put aside the heavier of life's cares and removed to Sabula, where he now resides. Since retiring he has sold to his son Marx Henry and to a son-in-law Herman Krabbenhoft all of the
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property he had acquired and bought fifty acres more in this township and half a section in Texas, which he still owns. In his political views Mr. Schultz has always been a stanch democrat and in the past was active in local affairs, having held the office of township trustee for twelve years and that of assessor for four years previous to his retirement. He has always been a loyal friend of education, serving on the school board continually during the period of his rseidence in Washington township, and since he has lived in Sabula he has been trustee for three years and is now president of the school board. He has attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry and is helpfully interested in the work of the Congregational church, of which he is a member.
In Washington township, in 1869, Mr. Schultz was married to Miss Chris- tina Reiverts, and they have become the parents of seven children, as follows: William, who is engaged in farming near Burr Oak, Kansas; Marx H., the subject of this sketch; Dora, the wife of Herman Krabbenhoft; Minnie, the wife of Fred Orr, a farmer of this county; Emma, who married Charles Rey- nard and lives in Shannon, Mississippi; August, a farmer of Wessington Springs, South Dakota; and Elma, who is at home.
In the district schools of Washington township Marx Henry Schultz ob- tained a fair education, while at the same time he became acquainted with the duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He lived with his parents until 1897, when he rented the home place for a year, thereafter buying three hundred and eighty-five acres of it, including his present residence. He has since farmed this property, giving his attention principally to stock raising. He feeds from eighty to a hundred head of cattle annually and had been keep- ing the Angus breed but in 1909 changed to Herefords, of which he is a fancier. He raises about a carload and a half of hogs yearly, mostly Duroc Jerseys, and keeps about ten horses, raising two colts per year. In addition to his large landholdings in this township he has a quarter section in northeastern Texas, his property being the visible evidence of his industry, perseverance and good management.
On the 12th of October, 1897, at Preston, Iowa, Mr. Schultz wedded Miss Elizabeth Ploen, a daughter of Henry and Johanna Ploen, of Miles, Iowa. Three children have been born to the couple, namely: Violet Amanda, aged eleven years; Raymond Henry, aged nine; and Avelda Christina, who is eight years of age.
When national issues are involved Mr. Schultz votes the republican ticket, but in local affairs he thinks more of the man who seeks office than of the principles of the party to which he belongs; using his ballot and influence in behalf of the best interests of the community. While not an office seeker, he has ren- dered the township efficient service during the two years, from 1906 to 1908, he was trustee, and during the past seven years has been treasurer of the school board, a position he still holds. He enjoys pleasant fraternal relations with Miles Lodge, No. 572, I. O. O. F .; Green Island Camp, No. 7399, M. W. A .; and Green Island Bluff Lodge, M. B. A .; and attends the Congregational church, these connections indicating the scope and character of his interests. His has been the life of the energetic agriculturist who diligently tills the soil, utilizing such scientific and progressive methods as will bring the best results
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in the production of crops and the raising of stock, and by reason of his thrift and perseverance he enjoys a large measure of success. He also has the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, for he has gained his good fortune through honorable means and not through the misfortunes of others.
GERARD A. GAGE.
Among the native sons of Jackson county to whom success has come as the legitimate and logical result of diligence, perseverance and well directed labor, is numbered Gerard A. Gage, whose birth occurred within the borders of. this county on the 13th of April, 1856. His father, James Davis Gage, who was born in Canada, July 16, 1833, engaged in farming in that country during the period of his early manhood and until his marriage in 1855. He is a represen- tative of an old American family of the state of New York, whence representa- tives of the name removed to Canada. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Nancy McCollum, was a native of the Dominion, her people being among the earliest settlers of that country. The great-grandparents of James D. Gage in the paternal line came from Ireland, while the great-grandparents in the maternal line came from Nova Scotia. Both removed to Canada West and settled near Hamilton.
James Davis Gage continued his residence in his native country until 1855, when he removed to Iowa, taking up his abode near Sabula. There he engaged in farming for many years but about 1883 removed to the town and entered busi- ness circles there as a dealer in wagons, buggies and harness, but for the past thirty years he has been engaged in the real estate and loan business, making many investments in property and placing many loans. His sound business judgment has always been a strong factor in the success which has attended his operations. At the present time he is living practically retired, leaving the active management of his store to the charge of his son, J. P. Gage. At the out- break of the Civil war he was captain of the militia company but took no active part in the conflict between the north and the south. Ere leaving Canada he was married on the 24th of February, 1855, to Miss Cornelia M. Bates, a native of that country, as were her parents, Philo D. and Rachel Bates. Mr. and Mrs. Gage became parents of seven children: Gerard A., of this review; Josephine R., the wife of A. J. Copp, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jennie E., the wife of - Charles D. Dodge; Elizabeth F., the wife of E. D. Cowen; Mamie E., the wife of Charles Wright, a resident of Savanna, Illinois; James P., who is engaged with his father in business; and Phebe L., the wife of Fred Griffin, of Chicago, Illinois. The parents are still residents of Sabula and are among the oldest and most highly esteemed citizens of the village.
Gerard A. Gage acquired his early education in the common schools near his home and amid the busy activities of rural life learned many lessons con- cerning the value of energy and industry, which proved an excellent foundation upon which to base his future successful career. Later, in the years 1879 and 1880, he pursued a course of study in the International Business College of
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Davenport, Iowa, and in 1881 entered the business world on his own account. Going to South Dakota, he there took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, where he continued to reside for three years, in the meantime directing his energies to the operation of that farm. At the expiration of that period he removed to the then small town of Bridgewater and there opened up a real es- tate office, being engaged in that line until 1887, when he organized a state bank at that place, in the conduct of which he continued until 1900, serving as presi- dent of the institution. The following year he returned to Iowa, taking up his abode in Sabula, where he now resides and where he expects to make his home during the remainder of his life. He has disposed of all his banking in- terests but is still active in the real estate business, his interest in that direction covering land in South Dakota, Kansas and Colorado, his property holdings amounting to more than five thousand acres. About half of this is under culti- vation and all has been obtained through his good business ability and excellent management. He started out in life with one thousand dollars which was given him by his father and today he ranks among the substantial and successful busi- ness men of Sabula and is one of the extensive landowners of Jackson county.
It was on the 23d of October, 1884, that Mr. Gage was united in marriage to Miss Jennie A. Bard, who was born in Jackson county on the' Ist of July, 1864, and is a daughter of John O. Bard. The latter, who was born in Pennsyl- vania, March 12, 1829, came to Sabula when a young man of twenty years, and a year later he was married but his wife died early in life and later he re- turned to the Keystone state, where he was again married, choosing for his second wife Miss Mary J. Breckenridge. Subsequently he again came to Sabula and here for several years conducted a general store, at the same time engaging in general agricultural pursuits. He was active in community affairs and served for two terms as sheriff of Jackson county. Unto his second marriage were born four children, namely : James E., of South Dakota; John O., also residing in that state; Mrs. Belle Smith, making her home in South Dakota; and Mrs. Gerard A. Gage. The latter by her marriage with the subject of this review be- came the mother of the following children: James O., born in South Dakota on the 23d of December, 1885; Milton G., whose birth also occurred in South Dakota on the 13th of June, 1894; Dorothea E., born in that state March 6, 1898; Josephine B., also a native of South Dakota, born July 3, 1900; and Gerard A., Jr., born in Sabula on the Ist of December, 1902.
In his religious belief Mr. Gage holds faith with the Methodist church, the teachings of which form the guiding influence of his life, while fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order. His political views are in accord with the prin- ciples of the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he has no desire for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. Having spent the greater part of his life within the borders of Jackson county, he is well known to his fellow citizens as a man of upright character and honorable purpose, whose success in the business world has been honestly won and who has in every relation of life ever measured up to a high standard of manhood.
James O. Gage, the eldest son of Gerard 'A'. Gage, graduated from the Clin- ton Business College, Clinton, Iowa, on the 4th of April, 1906, and after work-
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ing for one year in the J. Hilsinger Bank of Sabula took up his business career in South Dakota, where he has since resided. He is identified with banking interests in Ree Heights, that state, as cashier of a stock company bank and also owns a block of stock in the company. He was married in 1909 to Miss Minnie Wulf of Sabula, and although but a young man in years, has already manifested excellent business traits which augur well for a successful future, and is a worthy son of an honored and respected father.
ANTON TILL.
Anton Till was for many years identified with the agricultural interests of Jackson county but for the past eight years he has lived retired in a comfortable home in Bellevue. He was born in Luxemburg, Germany, January 10, 1844, a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Reymichael) Till, who emigrated from Germany to Jack- son county in 1857. The father purchased a farm in Jackson township and made his home on it for ten years but subsequently sold that farm and purchased another tract, which he continued to cultivate until his demise. In his family were four children, namely : John, a resident of Bellevue; Anton, of this review ; Katherine, the wife of Nick Schrom, of Shelby county, Iowa; and Mary, the wife of John Kurt, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The father died in 1879 at the age of sixty-six years, and the mother, surviving for a long period, departed this life in 1897 at the age of seventy-five years.
Anton Till was a youth of thirteen years when he accompanied the family on their emigration to the new world, and he likewise accompanied them on their various removals in Jackson county, assisting his father in the cultivation of the fields and thus gaining intimate and practical knowledge of the best methods of farming, so that when he started out on his own account he was prepared to carry on a successful business. His first purchase of land was two hundred acres in Jackson township and he later bought another tract of eighty acres adjoining the first tract, then one hundred and twenty in Bellevue township and later one hun- dred and sixty acres in the same township. He thus carried on farming on an extensive scale until about eight years ago, when he put aside business cares and removed to Bellevue, where he occupies a comfortable house, built of stone and lo- cated on Fourth street. He disposed of two hundred and ninety-five acres of his land to a son and sold the remainder to others, so that he now has a competency that supplies him with all the necessities and many of the comforts of life.
Mr. Till was married in 1871 to Miss Katherine Homan, who was born in Tete Des Morts township, Jackson county, June 17, 1855, a daughter of Louis and Susie (Gunner) Homan, both natives of Luxemburg, Germany. Upon their emi- gration to the new world in 1850 they made their way direct to Jackson county and settled on a farm in Tete Des Morts township but about three years later they removed to the southern part of the county and settled on a farm on the Ma- quoketa river. The father, however, spent his last years in Bellevue, where he died October 30, 1901, when he had reached the extreme old age of ninety years. The mother, who was born January 10, 1819, is still hale and hearty at that age
MR. AND MRS. ANTON TILL
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and lives alone in Bellevue. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Homan were born six children : Michael, who died in Germany ere the family emigrated to America ; Peter, a resi- dent of Remsen, Iowa; Mrs. Mary Portz, deceased; Katherine, now Mrs. Till; and Nicholas and John, twins, both deceased, the former passing away at the age of five years and the latter when but eighteen months old.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Till have been born thirteen children but three of the num- ber died in infancy, while those surviving are: Peter, who follows farming in Bellevue township; John, a resident of Jackson township; Lizzie, the wife of Frank Kurt, their home being near Cascade in Jackson county. ; Mary, the wife of Michael Kilburg, of Washington township, this county; Joseph, who makes his home in Richland township; Anna, at home; Susie, the wife of George Zimmer, of Dubuque ; and Nick, Louis and Maggie, all still under the parental roof.
Mr. Till is a democrat in his political views and affiliations and he is a com- municant of the Catholic church. Throughout his business career of continued and far reaching usefulness his duties were performed with the greatest care and business interests were so managed as to win him the confidence of the public and the prosperity which should always attend honorable efforts, and now in the evening of their days he and his estimable wife are enjoying in retirement the ac- cumulations of profitable, successful and honorable lives.
GEORGE E. BARTHOLOMEW.
George E. Bartholomew, a son of A. L. Bartholomew, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume, was born in Lyons, Clinton county, Iowa, Octo- ber 1, 1864, and is of fine old English stock, being a descendant of William Bar- tholomew, who came from England to America in the early part of the seven- teenth century. When an infant his parents removed to Jackson county and set- tled at what was known as Buckeye in Van Buren township, the father engaging in the marble business. About the time he reached school age, the family re- moved to Preston, which was in the earliest stage of development and the father built the first residence in the town, it being necessary to bring the lumber used in its construction from Bellevue.
Mr. Bartholomew received his early education there and later studied teleg- raphy, serving as operator at Preston for about two years. When quite young he was offered the responsible position of train dispatcher and was transferred to Marion and in course of time to Perry. In 1898 he returned to his home town, which had experienced a flourishing growth, and was made vice president of the Preston Bank, afterward known as the First National Bank, and cashier of the German Savings Bank. His father has always been one of Preston's most promi- nent men and is president of both of these banking institutions, having organized the former. In 1906 the subject of this sketch was elected mayor and is now serving his second term. In this he is following in the footsteps of his father, who was formerly at the head of Preston's civic affairs.
Mr. Bartholomew laid the foundation of a happy home life by his marriage to Miss Agnes Start, of Central City, Nebraska, and one child, a daughter, Helen,
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has been born to them. He is the eldest of his family, a younger brother, Eugene A., having died November 7, 1909. Mr. Bartholomew is a loyal supporter of the republican party and a public-spirited citizen, whose efforts are ever directed to- ward the attainment of the greatest good for the greatest number. He is a worthy. son of a father whose capability has been generally recognized.
L. H. WINK, JR.
That the life history of L. H. Wink, Jr., is a record of success is due to the persistent effort and intelligently directed industry which he has displayed through the period of his connection with agricultural interests. His birth occurred on the farm in Fairfield township upon which he now resides, on the 19th of March, 1872, his parents being L. H. and Eureka Wink, both natives of Mecklenburg, Germany. They were reared and married in the fatherland, and came to America about fifty years ago, locating in Jackson county, Iowa, where their remaining days were spent. The father passed away in 1907, having for four years survived his wife, who was called to her final rest in 1903. Their family consisted of five children, as follows: Emma, the wife of Henry Mon- sterman, of Nebraska; Anna, the wife of Hans Bluck, residing in Clinton county Iowa; Elizabeth, who wedded A. Miller and makes her home in Nebraska; Eureka, the wife of Daniel Marber, of Bellevue, Iowa; and L. H., Jr., of this review.
No event of special importance came to vary the routine of life for L. H. Wink during the period of his boyhood and youth, which was spent under the parental roof. He attended the common schools near his home in the acquirement of an education, while during the summer months he assisted in the work of the home farm, early becoming familiar with the various tasks which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He remained at home until attaining his majority, when, desiring to enter the business world on his own account, he wisely chose as his life work the occupation to which he was reared. He first rented the home- stead, which he operated in that capacity for some time, and later purchased it, being now the owner of two hundred and two acres of valuable land on section 35, Fairfield township. On that place he carries on general farming and is also interested to considerable extent in the stock business, making a specialty of rais- ing and feeding hogs. This branch of his business has proven most successful, the excellence of his products commanding ready sales upon the market and high prices. His farming interests have been so wisely and carefully conducted that he has won a substantial measure of success.
It was in June, 1891, that Mr. Wink was united in marriage to Miss Mary Oatmeyer, who was born in this county, a daughter of Henry and Sophia Oat- meyer, natives of Germany, who now make their home in Preston, Iowa. Unto this union have been born seven children, Sophia, Elma, Ena, Anna, Leona, Fred and Mabel.
The religious belief of the parents is indicated by their membership in the Lutheran church, in the work of which they take an active part. Interested as all
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American citizens should be in the political situation of the country, Mr. Wink keeps thoroughly informed concerning the questions and issues of the day and gives stalwart support to the principles of the democratic party. He does not seek nor desire office, however, but prefers to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs which, capably conducted, are proving a source of gratifying prosperity. Having passed his entire life in his present home, he is well known throughout the community in which he resides. and the fact that many of his warmest friends are those who have known him from boyhood, is an indication of the fact that the salient elements of his character are such as inspire respect, confidence and good will in his fellowmen.
LOUIS KUNKEL.
Among the enterprising and progressive farmers of Iowa township who through their well directed efforts and wise management are meeting with credit- able success, is numbered Louis Kunkel, whose birth occurred in Illinois on the 6th of September, 1857. His parents were Frank and Susan Kunkel, natives of Germany, the former coming to America in the early '50s. He first located in Illinois where he resided for a time, and later came to Jackson county, Iowa, con- ducting a tavern near Sabula for a number of years. Subsequently he removed to Iowa township and there his remaining days were spent.
No event of special importance came to vary the routine of life for Louis Kunkel during the period of his boyhood and youth, which were spent under the parental roof, while in the district schools near his home he acquired a good education. He continued to give his father the benefit of his aid until the latter's death, after which he remained with his mother, assisting her in her business affairs for some time. In 1884, desiring to enter business on his own account, he rented a farm in Iowa township, which he operated for two years, and then moved to Washington town- ship, there purchasing a farm upon which he resided for a similar period. At the expiration of that time he returned to Iowa township and successively rented several farms, in the operation of which he was busily engaged until 1899, when he purchased his present place of one hundred and sixty acres located in the same township, upon which he has continued to reside to the present time. He carries on general farming and also devotes considerable time to stock-raising, making a specialty of raising hogs, both branches of his business being sources of grati- fying annual revenue. Progressive and up-to-date in his business methods, he has, through his close application and wise management of his affairs, won a gratifying measure of success so that he ranks today among the substantial and representative farmers of Iowa township.
On the 3d of March, 1884, Mr. Kunkel was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Fuhlendorf, a native of Jackson county and a daughter of Henry Fuhlendorf, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, and came to America in the '50s. Unto this union has been born one son, Gustav, who still resides at home with his parents. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, Mr. Kunkel has given stalwart support to the principles of the republican party. The honors
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and emoluments of office, however, have no attraction for him, preferring to con- centrate his entire energies upon his business affairs, which carefully conducted, are proving a source of gratifying remuneration. By constant exertion, associated with good judgment, he has gained a measure of success which ranks him among the enterprising and substantial representatives of agriculture in Iowa township, and his salient characteristics are such as have inspired the respect, trust and good will of his fellowmen.
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