USA > Iowa > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 33
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Mr. Bankhead is a stanch republican in politics and his fellow towns- men, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to several positions of public trust. He has served as trustee of Lockridge township for eight years, has acted as constable for a similar period and for a number of years served as school director. He is a stockholder in the Fairfield Chau- tauqua Association and is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity. In religious faith he is a Baptist. Brought to this county by his parents when but a year old, he has since remained within its borders. In all the relations of life he has been true to high and honorable principles and has never faltered in a choice between right and wrong but has always endeavored to follow a course that his judgment and his conscience have sanctioned.
WILLIAM LOUDEN.
There is perhaps in all this history no better example of what deter- mination, ability and industry can accomplish than is to be found in the life history of William Louden, now vice president and superintendent of the Louden Machinery Company, of Fairfield. Today he is one of the owners
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of a splendidly developed plant for the manufacture of barn equipments and has become a recognized authority upon this subject, his counsel being sought in national consideration of this question. Jefferson county has every reason to be proud of his record, for it is here that he has overcome the almost insurmountable difficulties and obstacles that have confronted him and worked his way upward until he stands among the most enter- prising and prosperous men of this section of the state. Moreover, he has been a resident of the county for sixty-nine years and at all times has been interested in its progress and has cooperated in its public projects to the extent of his ability.
Mr. Louden was born October 16. 1841. in Cassville, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, a son of Andrew and Jane ( Speer) Louden, both of whom were natives of County Antrim, Ireland, having been born about seven miles north of Belfast. The father's birth occurred May 4. 1811. and the mother's on the 18th of April, 1813. The Louden family origi- nated in Scotland, where the clan became well known and representatives of the name emigrated to Ireland during the time of the religious persecu- tion of the Presbyterians. Members of the Speer family intermarried with the English, so that that strain was also introduced. Andrew Louden and Jane Speer were married on the Emerald isle, January 6, 1840, and in the spring of the following year as passengers on a sailing vessel reached the new world. They made their way to Pennsylvania to join Mrs. Lou- den's brother, Robert Speer, and in the spring of 1842 came to Jefferson county, Iowa, arriving on the Ist of May. The family made the journey by river from Pennsylvania to Burlington and the men walked the entire distance from that city to Fairfield. The father worked the first winter in a mill and the next spring' purchased land in Cedar township, seven miles southeast of Fairfield. He became the owner of about five hun- dred acres and later secured an additional tract of school land. He re- sided thereon throughout the remainder of his days and converted the tract of wild prairie into richly cultivated fields. He was a hard working pioneer farmer and his labor constituted an important element in the early de- velopment of this section of the county. His death occurred February 28. 1884, and his wife passed away February 24, 1878. Their children were nine in number: John, who died in infancy in Ireland; William; Agnes, the deceased wife of John Dill; Mary, who passed away at the age of three years; John Speer, who died on a farm in this county, March 7, IQII ; Andrew, living at Vallejo, California ; James and Thomas, residents of Fairfield ; and Robert B., who is a partner of his brother William in the Louden Machinery Company.
William Louden has been a resident of Jefferson county from the age of six months, or for sixty-nine years. He resided upon the home farm
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until 1870 and since that time has lived in Fairfield. His youthful days were divided between the work of the fields and the attainment of an education in the country schools. He also became a student in Axline's University, at Fairfield, and prior to his marriage engaged in teaching school for three terms. He afterward concentrated his energies upon farm work and as he busied himself with the duties incident to that oc- cupation he began to feel that methods might be improved and brought his mechanical skill and inventive ingenuity to bear upon the questions that continually arose before him. At length he worked out some of his plans for the improvement of barn fixtures and in 1870 and 1871 built his first factory for the manufacture of barn equipment and farm ma- chinery. He has since figured in the business circles of Jefferson county as an inventor and manufacturer and of him it has been written: "His first patent for a hay carrier was dated September 24, 1867, and his last patent for a cattle stanchion was dated April 25, 1911. What a tale of trials and tribulations and final triumph is contained in these eventful forty-four years! When he began his work he was a farmer boy with a rather frail constitution, and the hard work on a pioneer farm caused him to study how it might be made easier as well as more effective. It was a serious undertaking for a green country boy in a pioneer community where there were no manufacturing facilities, and where the thought of the people ran in an entirely different direction. In these old pioneer days brawn and muscle were relied upon to win, and one who tried to find an easier way to do things was not generally considered with favor. He was most frequently looked upon as lazy or trifling, and as trying to shirk his part of the work. Consequently, not one in a hundred who made attemps along this line ever succeeded; nor was it any better in manufacturing. Many manufacturing attempts were made in Fairfield before any proved successful. A number of efforts were made in the early days to make ' standard goods, such as the Manny reaper, the Weir cultivator, the sep- arating threshing machine, and also wagons, plows, furniture, woolen goods, etc., all of which had to be discontinued. Manufacturing facilities, as well as the manufacturing spirit, were then undeveloped, and available capital could be more profitably employed in farming and selling the nat- ural fertility of the soil without any regard to questions of conservation. These were the conditions under which William Louden undertook to es- tablish his business, and he was destined to have no easy time. In those days no one would think of buying anything for the protection or comfort of a cow. The sheltered side of a strawstack was good enough for her, and she was fortunate, indeed, if she could secure this shelter. No money could be made in selling milk or butter because everybody 'kept a cow.' The 'town cows' got much of their living by 'hopping farmers' wagons'
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and filching the feed for the horses, and sometimes the cow paid dearly for her dinner in the beating given her by the enraged farmer. The hay fork and carrier were at first the chief reliance of the business, and even that was exceedingly slim compared with what it became in later years. Barns were few, and were generally built low and full of timbers, so that a hay fork and carrier could not be used to much advantage. Occasionally, a sturdy farmhand would offer to bet that he could pitch more hay than any 'patent hay fork' and sometimes he could, for in many cases all he had to do was to roll the hay down off the load into the mow on the floor below. In time, farmers saw the advantage of the hay carrier, and began to build barns accordingly-thus more than doubling the storage capacity. This, however, had to be waited for, and the prospects ahead did not supply present needs. Notwithstanding all these obstacles and discourage- ments, the business grew and increased until it has finally become world wide."
Between the years 1871 and 1876. Mr. Louden engaged in the general manufacture of farm machinery but the hard times came on and the hour did not seem ripe for an industry of that character, so that he at length failed, finding himself not only penniless but in debt and with a family to support. He procured on credit a span of horses and an old wagon, all worth not exceeding seventy-five dollars, and proceeded to canvass the country and put up hay carriers and other equipments in the barns of his farmer friends. Seven years passed in this way, during which time he made enough to support his family and keep his business going. More than that, he gained knowledge from this experience that has been of in- estimable value to him in his later work. After the seven years' test period had passed he concentrated his energies upon the development of his manufactory and prior to 1889 conducted the business alone with such assistance as was given him by his faithful wife. In that year his brother R. B. Louden was induced to become a member of the company and three years later J. C. Fulton acquired an interest in the business which has been organized and incorporated under the name of the Louden Machin- ery Company, with R. B. Louden president, William Louden, vice presi- dent and superintendent, and Mr. Fulton, as secretary-treasurer. William Louden looks after the development of the goods and all three of the part- ners participate in the general management of the business. The quality of the products has received recognition throughout the country, as is manifest in the fact that the facilities of manufacture have been con- stantly extended and increased until the plant in Fairfield is now a very large one, covering a great amount of ground. It is splendidly equipped with machinery necessary for manufacture in every line and everything in barn equipment is here made, every modern appliance being approved
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by the best authorities for scientific and practical dairy farming. More- over, they have a second factory of almost equal size to supply the trade of Canada and the British empire. The trade through other foreign coun- tries is also rapidly increasing with every promise of continued growth and expansion in the future.
William Louden has come to be a recognized authority throughout the country on the subject of barn equipment and the care of cattle and other stock, and his methods have shown that the value of a milk-producing ani- mal may be greatly enhanced by proper care. In 1908 he was appointed by Governor Cummins to the White House conference for the conservation of natural resources, one of three appointed in Iowa. In 1907 at a meeting of the Manufacturers Association in Iowa at Council Bluffs, he read a paper on the agricultural schools of Iowa. This so extended his reputa- tion that the appointment to the White House conference was made. The factories of the Louden Machinery Company have been for the past two years profitable enterprises and in Fairfield alone employment is fur- nished to one hundred workmen. Mr. Louden has also been largely re- sponsible for the organization and development of the Iowa Malleable Iron Company, which now employs one hundred and twenty-five workmen, and of which he is also president. He is likewise a stockholder in the Hawkeye Pump Company, a director in the Manufacturers Insurance Company, at Waterloo, Iowa, and a director of the Chautauqua Associa- tion at Fairfield.
On the 2d of January, 1868, Mr. Louden was married to Miss Mary Jane Pattison, who was born in Cedar township, January 2, 1849, and has always resided within the borders of this county. Her parents, Alexander and Elizabeth (Craig) Pattison, were natives of Ireland, where they were reared. They were married, however, in New York, and in 1840 came to Jefferson county, Iowa, Mr. Pattison having previously visited the county and entered land from the government in Cedar township. Subsequently their entire lives were passed in this district, the death of Mrs. Pattison occurring on the old home farm, while Mr. Pattison passed away in Fair- field, where he had lived retired for about a year. Mrs. Louden is the only one of their five children who reached adult age, and by her mar- riage she has become the mother of four children: Helen Craig, who died November 7, 1901, at the age of thirty years; Agnes Mary, the wife of A. A. Fry, manager of the St. Paul branch of the Louden Machinery Company, who have a son William Louden Fry; Arthur Clare, who re- sides at home, and is married ; and Robert Bruce, of Fairfield, who is mar- ried and has a son, Robert William. The family residence is one of the beautiful homes of Fairfield, at No. 501 West Washington street, and was built by Mr. Louden in 1896-7.
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The record of Mr. Louden as made in the business world is indeed an enviable one and yet it does not comprise the extent of his activity, for in many public connections his work and worth have been felt. He votes with the democracy and has been an earnest advocate of Bryan but is not a politician in the sense of office seeking. He holds membership with the Knights of Pythias and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a director of the Jefferson County Old Settlers Park Association and a member of the Old Settlers Association. He was appointed in con- nection with A. W. McElroy, editor of the Tribune, and of J. S. McKin- ney a member of the committee, to lay the proposition of building the new court house before the people. They succeeded in the task which they undertook, presenting the matter in such an advantageous way that the campaign in support of the project was successful, although the question had previously been voted down several times. Mr. Louden was largely instrumental in having extended the former short courses in agriculture and has done much to further the interests of agricultural education in the state, knowing how valuable is scientific training for the farmer that he may extend the possibilities that lay before him in the cultivation of the soil and the raising of stock. While his own labors have been crowned with substantial success, his life has also been one of intense usefulness to the community and to the country at large. He has contributed much to the world's work and may well be termed a benefactor by the agricul- tural community, yet he remains today the same genial gentleman, whose simplicity of manner and unfeigned cordiality gained him friendship and high regard wherever he is known.
JOHN O. SAMUELSON.
An excellent farm of two hundred and forty acres with splendid im- provements upon it is the property of John O. Samuelson, whose home is on section 20, Black Hawk township. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished because his advancement is due to his untiring indus- try, sound business judgment and capable management. He was born in Sweden, July 9, 1854, a son of Samuel and Gertrude Sophia (Anderson) Samuelson, who were also natives of Sweden, in which country the mother died when her son John was about fourteen years of age. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1870 he sailed for America, settling first in New Jersey. He afterward made his way westward to Chicago where for thirteen months he worked at any employment that would yield him an honest living and enable him to provide for his family. On the expira-
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tion of that period he came to Jefferson county, Iowa, settling near Salina where he lived for one year, after which he removed to a farm in Black Hawk township. Upon that place he spent the remainder of his life, work- ing diligently and with determination to improve the property until his labor resulted in the development of well cultivated fields which annually returned to him good harvests as the reward for his industry. In 1870 he had been married a second time, having in New York city wedded Miss Charlotta Blomgren, a native of Sweden, who is now living in Packwood, this county. The father of our subject, however, passed away April 28, 1908.
John O. Samuelson crossed the Atlantic a short time before his father made the voyage, remaining at Hagerstown, New Jersey, until the father arrived. With him he came to the middle west and has been a resident of Jefferson county since 1872. His education was all acquired in his na- tive land and after arriving in America his time and energies were all de- voted to the work of assisting his father in the development and improve- ment of the farm. At length he determined to start out in life on his own account and rented land in Jefferson county from C. C. Holton. For twenty years he and his father leased this property and cultivated it to- gether, at the end of which time John O. Samuelson invested his earnings in one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 20, Black Hawk town- ship, on which he now resides. Since that time he has extended the boun- daries of his farm by an additional purchase of eighty acres and today has one of the best improved properties in this section of the county. It is equipped with all modern accessories and in the midst of the farm stands an elegant residence. Near it are substantial and commodious barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and these in turn are surrounded by highly cultivated fields. Six years ago on account of his health Mr. Samuelson had to give up the active work of the farm and now rents his land yet gives personal supervision to the work. He has made his home upon this place for sixteen years.
On the 25th of March, 1885, occurred the marriage of Mr. Samuelson and Miss Hilda Louise Blomgren, a daughter of Carl and Mary (Ander- son) Blomgren, both of whom were natives of Sweden, in which country the father was superintendent of a writing paper manufacturing plant. In the fall of 1885 he and his family came to the United States, settling in Packwood, Jefferson county, Iowa. He was born in 1815 and died at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Samuelson July 18, 1899. His wife was born April 2, 1824, and passed away in Packwood in June, 1911. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Samuelson have been born a son and daughter. The former, Verne S., born February 24, 1886, is a graduate of the Iowa Wesleyan University and College at Mount Pleasant, and is now in the employ of
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the Copeland drug store in Fairfield, Iowa. Edna, residing at home with her parents, is a graduate of the Iowa Wesleyan Academy at Mount Pleasant, and was a student in the Wesleyan University, while at the pres- ent time she is taking a course of music in Parsons College, at Fairfield.
The parents are faithful and devoted members of the Swedish Luth- eran church of Packwood and the daughter holds membership in the Meth- odist Episcopal church there. In politics Mr. Samuelson is a stanch re- publican who believes in holding firmly to the principles and the policy of the party. He is now serving as a trustee of Black Hawk township and is a public-spirited citizen whose interest in the welfare and progress of the community has been manifest in many tangible ways. He has never had occasion to regret that the family came to America in his youthful days. He found a welcome on the free soil of this country and oppor- tunities which the old country might not have afforded him. Here where labor is unhampered by caste or class he has steadily worked his way upward and is today one of the valued and representative citizens of Black Hawk township.
CHARLES M. THOMPSON.
Charles M. Thompson, who remained a resident of Jefferson county from 1850 until his death on the 28th of August, 1897, devoted his atten- tion to farming interests throughout his active business career and won a gratifying measure of prosperity in his undertakings in this connection. His birth occurred in Highland county, Ohio, on the 19th of September, 1833, his parents being Jeremiah and Abigail (Hart) Thompson. Jere- miah Thompson, who was born in Chatham county, North Carolina, in 1800, removed to Ohio with his parents when a youth of thirteen years and there later followed farming. He also took an active interest in political affairs as an advocate of the democracy and was several times elected to positions of public trust and responsibility. In March, 1850, he came to Jefferson county, Iowa, and purchased what was known as the Cameron farm, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of cleared land and eighty acres of timber. He immediately began the task of improv- ing the place and was busily engaged in its operation throughout the re- mainder of his life. He became widely recognized as a substantial and progressive citizen of the community and it was largely because of his efforts that the Birmingham Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was organized. His demise occurred on the 5th of July, 1875,
CHARLES M. THOMPSON
MRS. CHARLES M. THOMPSON
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while his wife was called to her final rest on the 7th of February, 1891, when eighty years of age.
Charles M. Thompson, who was a youth of seventeen when he came with his parents to Iowa, spent the remainder of his life within the borders of Jefferson county. "During the years 1855 and 1856 he leased and operated the Rutledge homestead, the widowed owner of which was the mother of Anne Rutledge, the first love of Abraham Lincoln. Eventually he bought a tract of land in Liberty township, cleared and improved the property and subsequently augmented his holdings by additional purchase until at one time he owned four hundred and eighty-six acres of rich and productive land. General agricultural pursuits claimed his attention throughout his active business career and yielded him a gratifying annual income. He was largely instrumental in the organization of the county fair and for twelve years served as "a member of its board of directors! :
Mr. Thompson was married twice. On the 19th of March; 1854, he wedded Miss Sarah Jane McGuire, by whom he had eleven children, as follows : James Benton ; Silas Madison; Erastus Emery, who passed away in 1869; Ellen ; Minnie; Avery R .; Omar; Cora, whose demise occurred in 1869; Walter; Simon; and Clark. The wife and mother was called to her final rest in 1880 and on the 15th of December, 1886, Mr. Thomp- son was again married, his second union being with" Miss Clara Mealey, a daughter of James and Anna Mealey, who were early settlers of Keokuk county but are now deceased. Mrs. Thompson is a niece of the late well known physician, Dr. Mealey, of Pleasant Plain. After her husband's demise Mrs. Thompson adopted a little girl, Violet M. Kutz, who is now attending the Liberty Ladies' College at Liberty, Missouri.
At the polls Mr. Thompson supported the prohibition party, firmly believing that the liquor traffic should be suppressed in the best interests of the nation. He belonged to the Christian church at Fairfield, of which his widow is also a devoted and consistent member. The latter makes her home in Penn township and has an extensive circle of friends, her many good traits of heart and mind having endeared her to all with whom she has come in contact.
JOHN S. KURTZ.
John S. Kurtz is one of the highly successful farmers and stockmen of Black Hawk township, where he is engaged in the operation of the farm upon which he was born. His birth occurred in April, 1872, his parents being John and Caroline (Weyer) Kurtz, the father a native of Vol. II-20
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Germany and the mother of Mississippi. In his early childhood John Kurtz emigrated to the United States with his parents, who located in Jefferson county. Here he finished his schooling and assisted his father on the farm until he attained his majority when he went to Burlington and took a position on the railroad. He continued to follow this occu- pation in various capacities during the succeeding nine years. Having always been trained to appreciate the value of economy, he was prudent in his habits of living and his expenditures and during that time saved enough to buy a quarter section of land at Keota. When he gave up rail- roading he sold this and invested the returns in a tract of raw land in Jef- ferson county. He most energetically applied himself to clearing and plac- ing under cultivation his newly acquired land with gratifying results. As his means permitted he extended the boundaries of his farm until at one time he owned four hundred acres of land, and continued to devote his activities to the further improvement of his holdings until his death in 1890. The mother passed away in 1887.
Until he was fifteen years of age John S. Kurtz was reared under the parental roof and attended the district schools in the vicinity. Following the death of his mother he made his home with an elder brother, until such time as he was able to make his own way in the world, when he applied himself to the cultivation of a tract of sixty acres of land north of the old home, that had been left to him by his father. Owing to the intelligent and practical direction of his energies his undertaking proved so successful that he was later able to add another forty acres to his hold- ings. When he had operated his farm for about seven years he sold it and bought the old homestead, and here he has ever since resided. This place consists of one hundred and twenty acres of fertile land, all under high cultivation. During the period of his ownership, Mr. Kurtz has ef- fected such improvements as he has been able to afford from his earn- ings, striving to keep abreast with the progressive spirit of modern meth- ods in his vocation. In connection with the tilling of his fields, that are almost entirely devoted to cereals, he makes a specialty of stock-raising. He annually prepares for the market from fifty to sixty hogs and keeps twenty head of cattle and about thirteen horses.
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