USA > Iowa > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Iowa; Volume II > Part 55
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Matt Pinnell was reared in the usual manner of farm lads. He assisted his father in the work of the fields from the time he was old enough to handle a plow, while in the winter months he gave his time to the acquirement of an education. He supplemented his training in the public schools by a course in the Northern Illinois Normal School and Business College at Dixon, Illinois. After complet- ing his education he engaged in teaching during the winter term, while in the summer. seasons he worked on a farm. He remained under the parental roof until he had reached the age of twenty-six years, at which time, in 1891, he was married to Miss Katherine Wagner, who was likewise born in Bellevue town-
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ship, February 14, 1868. She is a daughter of John H. and Anna (Dosberg) Wagner, who were natives of the fatherland. The former is now deceased and the latter makes her home in Bellevue.
Following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Pinnell located in Bellevue, where Mr. Pinnell opened a hotel, which he conducted until the Ist of April, 1907, since which time he has leased the building. He has long been identified with public affairs, being but twenty-four years of age when he was elected township asses- sor. He served one term, or two years, prior to his removal to Bellevue. In the fall of 1908 he was elected on the democratic ticket to the office of county super- visor and that he is qualified to fill the office to the satisfaction of all and with credit to himself has been demonstrated to the people of Jackson county in the past year. In addition to his duties in this connection, Mr. Pinnell is also pres- ident of the Bellevue Piano Factory, having acted in that capacity since the Ist of January, 1909. He was also one of the organizers of the Commercial Club, of which he is now a director.
Other public duties claim a portion of his time and attention, for in 1907 he was elected a member of the city council and one year was chairman of the dem- ocratic county committee, while for six years previously he served on that com- mittee. On all public questions where the best interests of the community are involved he takes a firm stand on the right side and is numbered among the public- spirited citizens of this section of the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Pinnell have three sons, Arnold, Clarence and Alton J. and they also lost four children in infancy. The family are well known in social circles and enjoy the warm regard and esteem of all with whom they come in contact.
NICHOLAS KASS.
Nicholas Kass, whose home is on section 22, Washington township, where he owns two hundred and thirty acres of land, devotes his time and energies to tilling the soil and to raising stock, his life being a useful as well as a busy one in that his efforts are directed along carefully defined lines of labor. Although he came to this county two and more decades after the pioneers, he had to clear his land of the timber with which it was covered at the time he purchased it and in the first years did his plowing with oxen. His experiences, in consequence, have been those of a man who has witnessed and participated in the steady develop- ment of the agricultural sections of this state.
He was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, November 18, 1840, and is a son of John and Madeline (Miller) Kass. The father was a stone-mason by occupation and died about thirty years ago, while his wife survived him about two years and passed away when about twenty-eight years of age. Both remained residents of the old country throughout their lives.
Reared to manhood in the land of his birth, Nicholas Kass received a good education in the public schools near his home, remaining there until he was twenty-seven years of age. In the meantime, however, he had heard many stories of the success to be attained in the new world, where a man was not hampered
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by social distinctions, and in 1867 sailed for America. After landing upon our shores he came direct to Iowa, locating first in Dubuque county, where he worked as a farm hand for two years. At the end of that time he came to Washington township, Jackson county, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres on section 22. He cleared his land, built thereon a house and engaged in farming, winning from his labors a gratifying measure of success. As he was able he added to his landholdings from time to time until his home place embraces two hundred and thirty acres. One hundred and seventy acres are well cultivated, Mr. Kass raising corn, oats and hay, the average yield being fifty-five bushels of corn to an acre. He also keeps about forty head of cattle, forty-five hogs and seven horses and has found his stock interests a profitable adjunct to his farming. His place is well supplied with buildings for the shelter of grain and stock, one large barn having been built about eighteen years ago, and the neat appearance of the place is indicative of the progressive spirit and capable management of the owner. In the fall of 1901 he built the house in which he is now living, a modern and large dwelling. He made a trip to Germany in the summer of 1909, spending six months in the fatherland.
At Spring Brook, this county, Mr. Kass was united in marriage to Miss Eliza- beth Wolz, January 18, 1872. Mrs. Kass is a native of Luxemburg and had been a resident of this country for only a year when she was married. Nine children were born to them, those living being: Barbara, now the wife of Nick Stiles; Mary, Angeline and August, who are at home; Elizabeth, the wife of John Lag- gert; and Nicholas and John, who are also at home. John and Mary died in childhood.
The family are communicants of the Catholic church of Spring Brook, and Mr. Kass is a democrat in his political sympathies. He is well known in his township where he has passed the last forty years and more, and those who have come in contact with him either in business dealings or socially speak highly of his fine character and integrity of act and purpose.
WILLIAM K. BURKERT.
William K. Burkert, warden of the Jackson County Home and Insane Asy- lum, which position he has filled continuously since 1906, has made a most credit- able record in this capacity and indeed throughout his entire life has so lived and labored as to win the respect, confidence and good will of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. He was born in Bernville, Berks county, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1852, a son of Enoch and Elmira (Kershner) Burkert. The father, also a native of Bernville, was a tanner by trade and is still living at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, but the mother died about five years ago.
In the common schools William K. Burkert pursued his education and early qualified for life's practical and responsible duties by learning the shoemaker's trade in his native town. He followed that occupation for five or six years and
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in his early manhood, as in his later life, he was a diligent man, persistent and energetic in business.
On attaining his majority Mr. Burkert was united in marriage to Miss ยท Katie Sausser and unto them was born a son, who was killed by falling from a high building in Newark, New Jersey, after he had attained his majority. Mrs. Katie Burkert passed away in 1877 and the following year Mr. Burkert left his old home in Pennsylvania and came to the middle west, settling at Andrew, Jackson county, Iowa. On the 4th of July, 18So, he was married a second time, Miss Mary A. Earles becoming his wife. Unto this marriage six children have been born, of whom five are yet living.
After arriving in Jackson county Mr. Burkert engaged in farming for a time in the vicinity of Andrew and later took up his abode in the town, being ap- pointed postmaster and also turning his attention to general merchandising. He purchased a stock of goods and conducted the business successfully for six years. He then again took up farming, making his home upon a tract of land a half mile east of Andrew. After selling that property he purchased the Farnsworth farm about two and a half miles east of Andrew and continued its careful cul- tivation and improvement until he was appointed warden of the Jackson County Home and Insane Asylum in 1906. He has since been reappointed annually and is filling the position at the present time with his wife as matron. His steward- ship has been very commendable and acceptable, and he is very popular with the appointing power as well as with the unfortunate inmates, for whom he cares in a spirit of broad humanity, doing all in his power to render their condition in life pleasant and comfortable.
In his political views Mr. Burkert is a republican, usually voting for the men and measures of the party, yet is not bitterly aggressive and will at times support a candidate of opposite political views at local elections. Fraternally he is connected with Peerless Lodge, No. 60, K. P., and with Ben De Meer Temple, No. 12, D. O. K. K. He also holds membership with the Modern Wood- men of America and is true in spirit and action to the beneficent principles of these organizations. In all of his business affairs, commercial and agricultural, he has been found strictly reliable and trustworthy and in fact his integrity in every relation of life stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. His friends speak of him in terms of high praise and the fact that his stanchest friends are those who have known him for many years is an indication that his life has been well spent.
ANTONE TEBBEN.
Antone Tebben is cultivating a farm of one hundred and ninety-one acres in Perry township and is an agriculturist whose well directed energy and keen fore- sight are bringing to him a creditable measure of prosperity. He was born in Richland township, Jackson county, Iowa, on the 3d of January, 1867, his parents being Tebo and Mary (Nemar) Tebben, the former a native of Germany and the latter of St. Louis, Missouri. In the year 1859 the father crossed the Atlantic
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to the United States and located in Jackson county, Iowa, where he made his home until called to his final rest on the 3d of January, 1897. The mother still survives, however, and is now a resident of Bellevue, Iowa, where she has an extensive cir- cle of friends. They reared a family of five children, as follows: Antone, of this review ; Simon, living. in Bellevue; John, who is deceased; Mary, the wife of Henry Feye, of Bellevue; and Maggie, who is the wife of H. Ricker and likewise resides in Bellevue, Iowa.
In his youthful days Antone Tebben enjoyed such educational advantages as the common schools afforded and on attaining his majority he rented his father's farm, being actively engaged in its cultivation for three years. On the expiration of that period he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Perry town- ship and subsequently extended its boundaries by an additional purchase of sev- enty-one acres, so that the property now embraces one hundred and ninety-one acres of rich and productive land. In addition to cultivating the various cereals best adapted to soil and climate he makes a specialty of raising and feeding stock, both branches of his business returning to him a gratifying annual income.
In February, 1893, Mr. Tebben was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Klock- gater, who is a native of Germany and was but three years of age when she accompanied her parents on their emigration to the United States. Her father is deceased but her mother yet survives. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tebben have been born two children, Luella M. and Vernon S.
Mr. Tebben exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- ures of the republican party and at the present time is capably discharging the duties devolving upon him in the office of township trustee. Both he and his wife are devoted members of the Lutheran church and take an active and helpful in- terest in its work. Mr. Tebben is widely and favorably known in the county where his entire life has been spent and it is with pleasure that we present the record of his career to our readers.
JOHN STOLDER.
It is almost a quarter of a century since John Stolder passed away, but among those who knew him his memory is still cherished and his name is an honored one in Jackson county, for it is enrolled on the roster of those citizens who gave their lives in support of the Union during the trying days of the Civil war and of those pioneers whose courage and perseverance made possible the great develop- ment of this section of the state.
Mr. Stolder was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1828, and was a son of John Stolder, a native of Germany, who fought under Napoleon Bonaparte. The father emigrated to the United States, settling in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Iowa in 1849. The following year he bought a farm in Washington township, Jackson county, and the remainder of his life was occupied with agricultural pursuits, his death occurring in that town- ship about 1870, when he was ninety-six years of age. He married Margaret
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Eckles, who was born in Pennsylvania and survived him about ten years, being seventy-two years of age when, in 1880, she was called to her final rest.
John Stolder of this review received his education in the district schools of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and remained in the east until he reached the age of twenty-one years, when he came to Iowa with his parents. The experiences of the early settlers as they broke their land and prepared it for cultivation were his, and his labors contributed in no small degree to bringing about the great de- velopment in which the citizens of this county today take such pride. He re- mained under the parental roof until 1853, when he married and assumed the man- agement of his father's farm, a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Wash- ington township, which he cultivated until July, 1862. He then enlisted in Com- pany K, Thirty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until 1865, when he was honorably discharged. In the meantime, however, he contracted a fever, which ultimately resulted in his death.
When there was no longer any need for his services, Mr. Stolder returned to his home in Washington township, Jackson county, Iowa. He was unable to participate in the farm work, however, because of ill health-the result of the hardships endured upon the field of battle. He was a good business man and capable manager, and under his direction his farm was the source of a comfortable income. After his death his widow continued to make her home upon the place, although others operated it as renters, and now her two granddaughters, Mrs. Lizzie Dody and Miss Sophia Stolder, daughters of her son, Charles A. Stolder, now deceased, live with her and conduct the business of the farm.
On the 19th of May, 1853, Mr. Stolder was married to Phoebe E. Tompkins, a daughter of Amos Tompkins, and they had eight children, only one of whom is now living, Margaret J., who is the wife of William Stevenson. Mrs. Stolder had two children by a former marriage, one of whom survives, William Spicer, of Clinton, Iowa.
In his political affiliations Mr. Stolder was a democrat, while his religious faith was manifest in his membership in the Methodist church. His life was ever in harmony with its teachings, exemplifying the sterling principles of upright man- hood, and in his death, which occurred December 2, 1886, the county lost one of its respected citizens and his family a considerate and loving husband and father. He met the hardships of early days courageously and without thought of self went to the support of the Union when the country needed his aid, and his example of faithfulness to duty is inspiring to others and worthy of emulation.
WILLIAM K. HURST.
William K. Hurst, for a third of a century active in the management of one of the most important industries of Jackson county and one of the most ex- tensive manufacturing enterprises of the country, was born in Hull, England, November 22, 1848. His father, Abraham Hurst, married Eliza Kendall in Hull in the year 1842. They both came from good old yeomanry stock of the kind that made Napoleon lay down his arms at Waterloo. William Hurst and
WILLIAM K. HURST
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his brothers, Alfred and Abram, came to this country in 1852 with their mother, the father having preceded them. They crossed the Atlantic on a sailing ves- sel that was thirteen weeks in making the voyage from Hull to New Orleans, during which time they encountered many hard storms, and had only seven weeks provisions. At last when the vessel was towed into the harbor at New Orleans it had but one stub mast left. By steamboat the family proceeded up the river to Davenport, Iowa, which was then a small village, the Indians outnumbering the white settlers at that time in and around the town. Antoine Le Claire was their chief advisor and his words always carried weight with them. Six weeks after the arrival of the family the father died of Asiatic cholera, which was then prevalent in this country.
William K. Hurst spent his boyhood in Davenport, where he acquired an ordinary education in the common schools. At the age of fourteen years he shipped on the steamer Bill Henderson, then plying between Davenport and Dubuque and carrying mail, express and passengers. He became very proficient in steamboating and advanced rapidly until at the age of seventeen years he was receiving one hundred dollars per month. During the war, while employed on the steamer Kate Kerney at St. Louis, the government took possession of the boat and conscripted the whole crew for service in the transportation of re- enforcements from Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, to Nashville, Tennessee. The fleet consisted of eighteen large steamboats, and those were stirring days, con- tinually filled with excitment. After the battle of Nashville, William Hurst was transferred to the Convoy No. 2, with headquarters at Columbus, Ken- tucky, Captain Buck commanding. Columbus was then garrisoned by negro soldiers and was a port of entry, all boats having to stop and report there or be fired upon by a sixteen foot cannon. The convoy was used as a dispatch boat in the war zone and was constantly in danger of being fired upon by guerrillas. After remaining in the government service for two hundred days William Hurst jumped the steamer at Cairo, Illinois. He was at New Orleans when Lee and Johnson surrendered and when the famous rebel ram, C. F. Webb, ran the gaunt- let, breaking the heavy chains stretched across the river there, cutting through all the Union gunboats and finally running into the Bayou where it was deserted before being blown up by the rebels.
Two years after the close of the war William Hurst left the river and, re- turning to Davenport, took up the painter's trade, which he followed for seven years. His health then failing, he went back on the river, engaged in rafting for a year, after which he came to Maquoketa, where his brother Alfred had established lime works on a small scale. In connection with four others, Mr. Hurst established the Davenport & Maquoketa Furniture Factory, located at the Davenport & Northwestern Railway depot, now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. 'After two years of partial success the factory was destroyed by fire. at high noon, and as there was no insurance on stock, buildings or machinery it was a total loss. Mr. Hurst's personal losses amounted to thirty-two hundred dollars and the labor of two years' time was thus gone for naught. However, creditors were paid in full and all business interests satisfactorily discharged. He then secured a position as engineer in the woolen mills of Whitfield & Son of Maquoketa and when the firm removed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a year later,
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requested Mr. Hurst to go with them at an advanced salary. However, his brother Alfred, thinking that his lime business would support both of them, engaged William Hurst to superintend the plant, and he has now been in charge of the business for thirty-three years. At the outset the plant consisted of a single pot kiln and today there are six of the largest improved draw kilns, while the property of the company has been increased from thirty to three thousand acres, and formerly where it took one cent to meet expenses it today requires one hundred dollars. This is one of the most successful lime plants in existence and the business is most extensive. Its success is attributable in large measure to the capable management and undaunted enterprise and energy of William Hurst, whose life record constitutes an important chapter in the industrial his- tory of the county.
In October, 1876, Mr. Hurst was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Keil, and unto them were born four children: Fred, now thirty-one years of age, who is a merchant and postmaster at Hurstville and a most enterprising business man; Gertrude Emma, twenty-nine years of age, who is now the wife of .C. C. Woods, a farmer of South Fork township; Ella Rozena, twenty-three years of age, now the wife of Henry Allen of Chicago, who is an engineer on one of the suburban trains of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company ; and Edna Hazell, seventeen years of age, who is attending the high school in Maquoketa.
Mr. Hurst now makes his home in Hurstville, where he is enjoying a life of peace, happiness and plenty, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, in whom he takes great delight. He is a genial and companionable gentleman, with a hand and purse ever ready to relieve the distressed or help a friend in need. He belongs to Peerless Lodge, No. 60, K. P., and also Ben De Meer Lodge, D. O. K. K. Such in brief is the outline of the life history of William K. Hurst, but the specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpet- ual record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout Jackson county Mr. Hurst is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect and his life has been so active, so honorable in its purposes and so far reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of the state.
F. E. GLADE.
F. E. Glade, a public-spirited citizen of Bellevue, where he owns and oc- cupies a fine home on State street, is extensively engaged in the stock business and has considerable property both in this and other states. He was born in Richland township, Jackson county, February 17, 1865, and is a son of John H. and Wilhelmina (Etting) Glade. The father is also a resident of Bellevue, living retired after a long life of usefulness and courageous struggle against hardships and misfortune. He was born in Hanover, Germany, March 5, 1839, his parents being Fred and Dora Glade. The former died when his son
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John was only eight and a half years of age, leaving his widow to provide for their ten children. He was a farmer in the old country and also engaged in teaming. After his demise Mrs. Glade decided to come to America, where a half brother had located. Accordingly the family embarked on a sailing vessel, which reached New Orleans after nine weeks spent upon the ocean. There they took ship up the Mississippi, but owing to the ice in the river they were com- pelled to spend the winter in St. Louis, where the mother took sick and died. The children, left to get along by themselves as best they could, came to Jack- son county in the spring of 1849. They were Diedrich, who was killed by light- ning in Nebraska about ten years ago; Fred, who passed away in Tete des Morts township about forty years ago; John, of Stillwater, Minnesota; Harmon, who was killed by a kick from a mule while he was residing in Nebraska; Henry, who is a miller of Grand Island, Nebraska; John Henry, who is the father of F. E. Glade; Rebecca, the widow of John Felderman, who belonged to the oldest family of Bellevue; Margaret Osmer, deceased; Mary, the wife of Gotlef Schoupp, both of whom have passed away; and Mrs. Dora Draver, deceased. Two other children had died in Germany.
John H. Glade came to Jackson county with his brothers and sisters in 1849 and has lived within ten miles of Bellevue ever since. Soon after their arrival one sister married and he went to live with his brother-in-law, with whom he remained for nine years and three months. At the age of seventeen he went to work for another brother-in-law, J. G. Schoupp, receiving first eight, then ten and finally fifteen dollars per month wages. Mr. Schoupp conducted a flour- mill at Tete des Morts, and Mr. Glade had to haul the flour with a four horse team to and from Dubuque and Galena, Illinois. He worked in that manner for about four years and then with his two brothers, Harmon and Henry, went to Minnesota, where they bought three hundred and twenty acres near Stillwater. Later Mr. Glade sold his share, receiving one thousand dollars for land that is now worth two hundred dollars an acre, and returned to Jackson township. His brother, Harmon, however, had enlisted in the army and served for three years and three months in the Indian wars. When about twenty-four years of age Mr. Glade engaged in farming for himself, leasing twenty-two acres of land about twelve miles from St. Paul, Minnesota, for which he paid three dol- lars and a half an acre rent. Thereon he raised one hundred bushels of wheat, two hundred and twenty-five bushels of oats and over one hundred bushels of corn, receiving for his crops, seventy, sixty-five and fifty cents a bushel respec- tively. He remained in Minnesota only six months, however, and at the end of that period returned to Jackson county, Iowa, taking up his residence upon a farm of two hundred acres in Richland township, for which he paid ten dol- lars an acre. It remained his home for the next twenty-eight years, or until he decided to retire and removed to Bellevue. In that time, as he was able, he in- vested extensively in land, until he owned a total of five hundred and ninety- six acres, divided into four farms as follows: one of two hundred acres, the second of one hundred and sixty acres, a third of one hundred and fifty-six acres and a fourth of eighty acres. In 1890, when he came to Bellevue, he built
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