USA > Iowa > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Iowa; Volume II > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
After receiving his discharge Mr. Young paid a brief visit to his Iowa home and then returned south to Nashville, where he was employed by the government in construction work. He was present at the battle of Nashville with General Thomas, working on breastworks. In the spring of 1865 he went to Huntsville, Alabama, and was employed by the government in the car shops there until the close of the war.
Mr. Young returned home in 1867 and, like many of the soldier boys, soon sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey that he might establish a home of his own. He was married on the 27th of January of that year to Miss Christina Hassig, and to them were born two sons and two daughters, all yet living: George, Minnie, Joseph and Mrs. M. W. Moulton, all of Bellevue. Mr. and Mrs. Young began their domestic life in Huntsville, Alabama, but in the fall of 1867 returned to Bellevue, where the family home has since been main- tained. In 1876 Mr. Young joined Theo Stampfer in the hardware business, under the firm style of Stampfer & Young, and after the death of the senior partner continued the business alone. At the time of his own demise he was the oldest hardware merchant in this city. He had always carried a large and well selected line of goods and a spirit of enterprise and determination actuated him in all that he undertook and won for him a substantial measure of success, while the
49
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
name of Young came to be regarded as a synonym for business integrity in Bellevue.
While his business made large demands upon his time and attention, Mr. Young also found opportunity for cooperating in projects for Bellevue's up- building and advancement, and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth, fre- quently called him to public office. He was at one time a member of the city council, was president of the board of education for a number of years and in the discharge of every public duty was found prompt, reliable and efficient. At the time of his death he was a member of the Jackson County Soldiers Relief Com- mission and at all times was interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of the old soldiers. He wore the little bronze G. A. R. button and was always glad of the opportunity which he had had of serving his adopted land in her hour of need. He was the oldest Mason in Bellevue, having joined the order soon after the close of the war, and was regarded as a most exemplary representative of the craft. He also belonged to the Harugari lodge, which flourished in Bellevue for a number of years. He passed away on the 30th of March, 1909, in the seventy- first year of his age, and the funeral services were conducted by the Masonic lodge. He had met with a fair degree of prosperity in his life but more than the comfortable competence which he left to his family was the priceless heritage of an untarnished record and an example that is well worthy of emulation. He was devoted to his family, faithful in friendship, honorable in business and loyal in citizenship, and what higher encomium could be pronounced upon any man ?
JOSEPH ALBERT YOUNG.
Joseph Albert Young, well known as his father's successor in business and a leading representative of commercial interests in Bellevue, his native city, was born November 8, 1871. In the pursuit of his education he was graduated from the Bellevue high school with the class of 1889, and then entered his father's store, being admitted to a partnership. He has since been connected with the enter- prise and is now associated with his brother, George, in its conduct. The busi- ness, however, is still continued under the father's name. This is one of the old and well appointed mercantile enterprises of the city and the firm enjoys a liberal and growing patronage. In addition to their hardware business the brothers have organized the Young Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of the Young combination strainer and cutoff, a device for assuring pure water in cisterns. This is the invention of Joe A. Young, who has conducted the business since 1901, and the output of the plant is today known all over the United States, being handled by over one hundred leading hardware jobbers. This device throws off any debris that may come from the roof and regulates the supply of water to and from the cistern. In the factory a large number of workmen are employed and the plant is especially equipped for the manufacture, handling and sale of the product. The brothers have also established the Young Electric & Sign Manu- facturing Company, manufacturers of electric and other signs, on which they use their brilliant lens style of construction. The special features of this business
50
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
will be covered by patents, for they are all the invention of the firm. Their busi- ness in these various lines is growing in substantial and gratifying measure, and the trade which the brothers enjoy is now a profitable one.
On the 22d of April, 1908, Joseph A. Young was married to Miss Grace Emily Mattes, a daughter of Senator Joseph Mattes, of Odebolt, Sac county, Iowa.
GEORGE YOUNG, JR.
George Young. senior partner of the firm, operating under the name of J. G. Young and associated with Joseph A. Young in various business enterprises, has spent his entire life in Bellevue, where he was born February 22, 1868. He con- tinued his education until he had completed all but the last year's work in the high school. He afterward spent three years in Dubuque, learning the trades of a jeweler and watchmaker, and in these lines of business has since been engaged. He became associated with his brother, Joseph A. Young, in the ownership and conduct of the hardware business which the father had established. They also conduct a plumbing department and in one part of their store carry a large line of jewelry and have a jewelry and watch repair department in this connection. Both brothers possess excellent mechanical ability and George Young has dis- played much inventive genius, resulting in the production of various valuable devices.
On the 25th of October, 1909, George Young was married to Miss Amelia Reiling, a daughter of A. E. Reiling, a pioneer flour manufacturer of Bellevue. The Young families are prominent socially here and the brothers are members of Bellevue Lodge, No. 51, A. F. & A. M., and George Young has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and is a member of De Molay Consis- tory, No. I, of Clinton. They are both members of the Commercial Club and take active and helpful interest in promoting the commercial and industrial growth of the city. In politics they are stalwart republicans and are public-spirited men, giving active aid to many projects for the general good. George Young was a member of the park commission and Joe Young was one of the promoters of park improvement and in beautifying the city. Both were active in securing the com- mon and raised the funds for the Riverside Park. Whatever tends to benefit Bellevue has their endorsement, and while working toward the ideal, they use practical means for its accomplishment.
JAMES OSCAR RISTINE, M. D.
Dr. James Oscar Ristine, a physician and surgeon of Maquoketa, whose conscientious performance of every professional duty and strict conformity to a high standard of professional ethics have brought him the unqualified regard of the medical fraternity as well as the general public, was born in Crawfordsville, Montgomery county, Indiana, July 1, 1865, his parents being
51
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
Jacob G. and Frances A. (Gray) Ristine, natives of Ohio and of Montgomery county, Indiana, respectively. In his boyhood days the father accompanied his parents to Marion, Linn county, Iowa, at which time the state was still under territorial government. On reaching early manhood he went to Indi- ana where he was married and later enlisted for service in the Union army, with which he continued throughout the entire period of the Civil war, doing duty with Company G, Seventy-second regiment, Indiana Volunteer In- fantry. He took part in many hotly contested engagements and was wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain. At the close of the war he located in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he resided until 1879, when he came west to Iowa, settling in Jones county. He purchased a farm in Rome township, on which he resided until the later '8os, when he removed to Tama county, where he has since made his home. At the present time he is located in Buckingham and is living retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former labor.
Dr. Ristine spent his youthful days in his parents' home, and his early education was afforded by the public schools. He afterward attended the State University at Iowa City, and there won the professional degree on the completion of the medical course. In the meantime, at the age of eighteen years, he had engaged in teaching in Tama county and for ten or twelve years was closely and successfully identified with educational work. He im- parted readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired, and under his guidance the school of which he had control made steady progress. While principal of the Chelsea schools he gave his attention during those hours which are usually termed leisure to the reading of medicine under the direction of Dr. C. P. Coulsen, and in the fall of 1893, in order further to qualify for active practice, he entered the medical department of the State University and was graduated with the class of 1896.
Immediately afterward Dr. Ristine located at Iron Hill, Jackson county, where he took up the active work of the profession, and during the nine years which he there passed he succeeded in building up a large and lucrative prac- tice and gained a reputation which constituted an introduction to Maquo- keta's public, when he removed to the latter city. He has here resided since 1905, and in the four years which have come and gone he has built up an enviable practice. He is skilled in surgery as well as in knowledge of reme- dial agencies and since his graduation has carried on an independent line of study and research which has greatly broadened his knowledge and promoted his efficiency. He is a member of the Jackson County Medical Society and the Iowa State Medical Society, as well as of the American Medical Asso- ciation.
On the 16th of July, 1892, Dr. Ristine was united in marriage to Miss Lulu May Burton, of Chelsea, Iowa, and unto this union have been born three children, Myrle, Frances, and Leonard.
Dr. Ristine gives his political support to the democratic party and is serv- ing for the third term as coroner of Jackson county. Otherwise he has never sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties, which are of ever increasing extent and importance.
52
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
His fraternal relations are with Helion lodge, No. 36, A. F. & A, M .; Bath Kol Chapter, No. 94, R. A. M .; Tancred Commandery, No. 40, K. T .; and Peerless Lodge, K. P. A social, genial nature and kindly disposition have won him many friends aside from his professional connection, and he is classed with the esteemed and worthy citizen of Maquoketa.
MRS. EVELINE (WALSTON) PROSSER.
Mrs. Eveline (Walston) Prosser, who is well known and highly esteemed throughout the community in which she resides, owns and manages an excellent farm of eighty acres on section 19, Monmouth township. Her birth occurred in Ross county, Ohio, about twenty miles from Columbus, on the 16th of August, 1838, her parents being Leven and Julia A. (Miller) Walston. The father, a native of Vermont, was still but a boy when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio prior to the war of 1812. When a young man of eighteen he enlisted for service in that conflict, fighting val- iantly for his country in its second war with England. He owned a fine farm in the Buckeye state and there devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits until 1848, when he sold his land and made his way across the country to Iowa with a team of horses and a wagon, the journey consuming sixty days. He located on the present site of Oxford station, entering one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land and also a quarter sec- tion of timber land from the government. There he energetically and suc- cessfully carried on his farming interests until the time of his death, his well directed labors eventually bringing him a gratifying measure of pros- perity. This part of the state was still largely wild and undeveloped at the time of his arrival, and during one entire winter a band of eighty Indians were encamped in the vicinity of his home. He became a prominent and leading citizen of his community and his labors were an important factor in the work of early development and upbuilding. He furnished the land for the cemetery and laid it out and also did much to promote educational and moral advancement, being a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His political allegiance was unfalteringly given to the men and measures of the republican party.
Eveline Walston was reared to womanhood amid the scenes and environ- ment of pioneer life and obtained a good practical education in the common schools. On account of the dangers incident to life in an unsettled region Mr. Walston taught his daughters the use of firearms and our subject early became quite a proficient "shot," accompanying her father on his hunting expeditions. She has killed a number of prairie chickens and, although now well advanced in years, still retains her skill with the rifle. She remained under the parental roof until 1864, when she gave her hand in marriage to Carlos B. Prosser, whose birth occurred in Warren county, New York, in 1841. During the period of hostilities between the north and the south Mr. Prosser loyally defended the interests of the union as a member of Company
53
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
F, Forty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three months, participating in the engagements at Vicksburg and Memphis and also in other battles. Throughout his business career he was actively en- gaged in general agricultural pursuits and at the time of his death owned eighty acres of valuable land on section 19, Monmouth township, which is now in possession of his widow and to the management of which she devotes her attention. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Prosser were born three children, namely : Julia, the wife of Milton Ahrens, who is a prosperous stockman, banker and leading citizen of Sidney, Nebraska ; Elmer E., an agriculturist of Anamosa ; and Amy M., the wife of Lonnie Watters, who follows farming in Jones county, Iowa.
Mr. Prosser was a stanch supporter of the republican party, believing its principles most conducive to good government. He belonged to the G. A. R. post and was widely recognized as a substantial and respected citizen of his community. His demise occurred in July, 1906, and on the fourth day of that month his remains were interred in the Oxford cemetery, which had been laid out by his father-in-law.
Although Mrs. Prosser has not the right of franchise she is deeply inter- ested in politics, always keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and advocates republican principles. Reared on a farm, she early became accustomed to riding and driving horses and is a lover of a good horse, always keeping on hand one or two specimens of the noble steed. She has lived in this part of the state for more than six decades and has witnessed a most wonderful transformation as pioneer conditions have given way be- fore the onward march of civilization. She is a gentle, kindly woman, charit- able in her estimate of every one and her many excellent traits of heart and mind have won for her the esteem and admiration of a host of warm friends.
WILLIAM LANGE.
William Lange, the owner of a farm of sixty-one acres in South Fork town- ship, is devoting his attention to its further cultivation and improvement with grati- fying results. He was born near Princeton, Iowa, on the 19th of May, 1879, his parents being James and Anna C. (Beck) Lange, both of whom are natives of Denmark. They came to this country in young manhood and womanhood and located in Davenport, Iowa, where they were married. The father was after- ward employed in the coal mines of Illinois but in the 'Sos he came to Jackson county, Iowa, and now resides on his farm of eighty acres in South Fork town- ship. He is widely recognized as a substantial and respected citizen of his com- munity and as one who owes his success entirely to his own labor and diligence.
William Lange pursued his education in the common schools and early be- came familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist through the assistance which he rendered his father in the cultivation of the home farm. After attaining his majority he still remained with his father and was associated with him in the conduct of his agricultural interests until 1908,
54
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
when he purchased his present farm of sixty-one acres in South Fork township. He has brought the fields into a state of rich fertility and annually harvests good crops from which he derives a gratifying income.
On the 27th of October, 1908, Mr. Lange was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude L. Edwards, a daughter of Henry Edwards, who is an agriculturist of South Fork township. They now have a child, Christina B.
In his political views Mr. Lange is a stanch republican, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Reformed church. He likewise be- longs to Maquoketa Lodge, No. 462, M. B. A. Mr. and Mrs. Lange are a highly esteemed young couple of the community and well merit the regard and friend- ship which is uniformly accorded them.
HARVEY REID.
Harvey Reid, merchant, author and political leader, whose labors have been a telling force in promoting Jackson county's progress and development, was born in Argyle, Washington county, New York, March 30, 1842, and in 1844 the family removed to Racine, Wisconsin. He attended the common schools and afterward spent a short time in the Wisconsin University, but his course there was inter- rupted by his enlistment in the Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in 1862. He served with the Army of the Cumberland; participating in the Atlantic campaign with all of its hotly contested battles and later in the celebrated march under Sherman to the sea: He was taken prisoner in the skirmish at Brentwood, Tennessee, in March, 1863, and was confined in Libby prison. He went through all of the hardships of rigorous campaigns but never faltered in the performance of á military duty up to the time he was mustered out.
After the war Mr. Reid was given charge of the office of a pork-packing company at Sabula, Iowa, where he remained until 1885. He has been frequently called to public office, serving as county treasurer of Jackson county until 1890, when he turned his attention to merchandising in Maquoketa and has thus been identified with the business interests of the city to the present. His activities, however, have touched many lines. He has been adjutant of the Jackson County Veteran Association continuously since 1888 and was for sixteen years a member of the school board. He was a candidate of the minority party in his county for representative in 1907. His attitude concerning public duties and citizenship is indicated in his own expression : "You owe something to your community. It is your place to give it your best." Good citizenship is his watchword and loyalty to every progressive public movement has been characteristic of Mr. Reid from the earliest days. Said one who knows him well: "A born student, he has out- stripped many whose educational advantages have been all that colleges could give." It is characteristic of him that he is usually to be found where the most intelligent men of the community are gathered. He has won more than local fame as a writer and is the author of the following volumes : A Sketch of Enoch Long, an Illinois pioneer; In the Shadow of the Gallows, a true story of an Iowa pio- neer ; Souvenir of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Helion Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Ma -.
HARVEY REID
1
57
HISTORY OF. JACKSON COUNTY
quoketa ; What Made Maquoketa : the Pioneer Colonies of the City and Vicinity ; Outline Geological History of Jackson County ; Life of Thomas Cox and Early Military History of Iowa (in press). He has also written over one hundred bio- graphical sketches of Civil war veterans now deceased.
In 1867 Mr. Reid was married to Miss Lunette Allen, who was born in Michi- gan and is a daughter of the late Hon. Morris S. Allen. They have three chil- dren : Mrs. Ella M. Pearson, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Mrs. Addie L. Butterworth, of Maquoketa; and Mary Auzella, of Lincoln, Nebraska. Mr. Reid belongs to Helion Lodge, No. 36, A. F. & A. M .; Bath Kol Chapter, No. 94, R. A. M .; Jack- son Lodge, No. 33, I. O. O. F .; and the Grand Army Post. He is preeminently · a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence.
J. S. TRACY.
J. S. Tracy needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, for he is a leading grocer of Maquoketa with a business that is indicative of his commercial enterprise and integrity and of the high regard entertained for him by his many patrons. He was born in Brenton township, this county, March 21, 1854, of the marriage of Henry F. and Mary (Snodgrass) Tracy, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The father came with his parents to this county in his boyhood days, the family arriving about 1846, when the work of progress and development here had scarcely been begun. In fact the district was largely an unbroken wilderness, and the family had to clear a space from the brush in order to build thereon a log cabin. At night the deer would come and browse off the brush and also feed on the timber which was cut during the day. The family home was in Brenton township, where the grandparents of our sub- ject continued to reside until called to their final rest. It was upon the old home- stead farm that Henry F. Tracy was reared, and, continuing to make it his home through the years of manhood, he there spent almost his entire life, closing his eyes in death in the same house in which his father and mother had passed away. It was in 1893, at the age of sixty-five years, that he was called to the home be- yond. He had prospered through the period of his manhood and as the result of his diligence and perseverance had become the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land. His wife's parents had died in Ohio, and Mrs. Tracy came as a young woman to Iowa in company with her brothers Henry and Washing- ton, but subsequently her brothers Joseph and Hugh joined them in this state. Mrs. Tracy is still living and now makes her home in Onslow, Iowa, with her youngest daughter.
J. S. Tracy as a farm boy became familiar with all the duties and labors inci- dent to the cultivation and development of the fields. He worked through the summer months and in the winter seasons attended the district schools, while for one term he was a pupil in the Maquoketa high school. At twenty years of age he began teaching and for six years was identified with educational work, dis- playing pronounced ability in imparting practical instruction.
58
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
Mr. Tracy laid the foundation for a happy home life in his marriage in 1876 to Miss Mary C. Morehead, of Farmers Creek township, Jackson county. They began their domestic life on a tract of land of fifty acres, given him by his father on his marriage, and there he managed and cultivated his farm while also engaged in teaching. In 1880, however, he sold his Jackson county property and went west to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where he purchased a quarter section of land. After two years, however, he disposed of that farm and returned to this county, making investment in one hundred and fifty acres of land in Farmer Creek township, then known as the Elijah Green farm. The succeeding two years were devoted to its cultivation, on the expiration of which period he rented his place and turned his attention to merchandising at Iron Hills, where he was prominently associated with commercial pursuits for eighteen years. He con- ducted a well equipped store and enjoyed a large patronage, which made his un- dertaking a very profitable one. In the meantime he had added forty acres to his farm, making it a tract of one hundred and ninety acres. In 1903 he disposed of his business and farm land and came to Maquoketa, where for five years he was extensively engaged in the stock business. In February, 1909, he entered mer- cantile circles by purchasing the grocery store of D. H. Anderson. As proprietor of this establishment he has already built up a good trade, for he carries a large and well selected line of goods, is reasonable in his prices and fair in his treat- ment. For the past ten years he has been quite extensively interested in farm lands in the Dakotas, in Missouri and Michigan and still has large holdings in Aurora county, South Dakota, and Montmorency county, Michigan. He like- wise owns a small farm in Brandon township, Jackson county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.