USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 56
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Robert Livingston was a lad of nine years at the time the family emigrated to the new world and the experiences of the voyage across the Atlantic were of deep interest to his young mind and are still vivid in his recollection. When the family became settled in their new home the son was sent to school during the winter seasons, while in the periods of vacation he assisted in the work on
ROBERT LIVINGSTON
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the home farm and thus year by year his knowledge of agriculture was increased. so that when he attained his majority he was qualified to engage in farming on his own account. He purchased eighty acres in Scotch Grove township and with his newly acquired possessions as an incentive to hard labor, he began work in earnest. This was merely a start for him, for his ambitious spirit led him on to greater success and he is today the owner of two hundred and forty acres, lo- cated on section 32, Scotch Grove township. He has made many improvements on the place in the way of good buildings and his fields respond in bounteous harvests to the care and labor he bestows upon them. In addition to his land Mr. Livingston also owns stock in the Lovell State Bank, of which he was one of the organizers.
In 1874 Mr. Livingston was married to Miss Celia A. Cline, of Anamosa, Iowa, and to this union were born seven children, but the youngest, Robert C., is deceased, as is also the mother, whose death occurred April 3, 1890. The sons and daughters, who with the father were left to mourn her loss, are: Lillian A., the wife of A. W. McDonald, cashier of the Farmers State Bank at Hop- kinton, Iowa; John W., a farmer of Scotch Grove township; Nellie, at home; Charles C., also at home; Minnie B., who is engaged in teaching in the school near her home; and Florence L., a stenographer in the law office of J. W. Doxsee, of Monticello.
A republican in his political affiliations, Mr. Livingston has served as trustee of Scotch Grove township at various times for nine years and is the present incumbent in the office. He has also been a, school director for many years. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as a trustee. Inheriting the sterling characteristics of a long line of sturdy Scotch ancestry and endowed by nature with a good constitution, he early developed all the attributes which make the successful man. He has ever taken a lively interest in public affairs, lending his aid and influence in the cause of every good movement and heartily promoting the progress and advance- ment of his community.
HENRY D. MILLER.
Reared to the life of a farmer and an agriculturist of prominence himself, Henry D. Miller has not confined his interests to the soil, however, but has become one of Morley's more important business men and one of the well known stockmen of Jones county. He lives upon a farm in Rome township. His birth occurred January 7, 1867. His father, L. K. Miller, belongs to the older generation of men who came to this state when it was first opened for settlement, and is now living in retirement in Rome township. A more extended mention is made of him, however, in another part of this volume. With the blood of pioneers flowing in his veins, the achievements of the early settlers to stimulate him to equal their success, Mr. Miller has more than proved his right to his heritage.
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In the district schools of this county Henry D. Miller received his first training in the elementary branches of English education. He then passed on to the high school, returning, after lessons were completed to the work on the farm. For several years he merely assisted his father, and then, when he became of age, the latter took him into partnership in the management of the old homestead. This was a section of land which his paternal grandfather had entered in 1844, and eighty acres of which have since come into his possession. For about sixteen years, however, he operated it in conjunction with his father and at the same time engaged in the breeding and raising of fine shorthorn cattle. In 1901 he embarked in mercantile business at Morley, Iowa, and also opened a store in Martelle, where in addition to a general line of merchandise he handles hardware and farm implements of all kinds. Some years ago he was fore- most in promoting the organization of the First National bank in Olin and has since been one of its directors, but with all his business interests he has continued in his agricultural pursuits. The old homestead is still his home, though he has increased his landholdings from time to time until he now owns three hundred and thirty acres on sections 7 and 8, Rome township, and the stock business is still his specialty, for he enjoys the reputation of having perhaps one of the best herds of shorthorn cattle in the county, if not in the state of Iowa.
On the 15th of March, 1891, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Myrtle Farn- ham, who was born in Rome township, June 19, 1868, and is a daughter of H. P. and Mary C. (Ristine) Farnham. The father was a native of Hanover, Massachusetts, while the mother was born in Ohio, but shortly after their union the couple came to Iowa, which was then in the first stages of its develop- ment. Here they have spent their years and are still residing in this county. In their family were six children, and Mrs. Miller has become the mother of two: one who died in infancy ; and Florence, who was born July 21, 1899.
A democrat in his political affiliations, Mr. Miller is yet no politician nor office seeker, for his private responsibilities have claimed all of his time. He has, however, been able to attend the meetings of the local lodge of the Modern Wood- men of America and of the Masons. He is a most devoted adherent of the latter organization, having attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. Mr. Miller belongs in the ranks of those men who have used their every opportunity to its fullest and obtained from each a success that has advanced them far upon the road of life. The excellent condition of his farm bespeaks the character of his husbandry and the prosperity that has followed his business . operations is an indication of his acumen in the world of affairs.
L. M. CARPENTER.
Having for more than thirty years been one of the prominent business men of the village of Olin, L. M. Carpenter has retired from active life but he still retains his residence in the town. His is one of the handsome homes here, its spacious grounds and attractive exterior being indicative in a slight degree of
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the success which its owner has won through the exercise of his pronounced ability in the world of barter and exchange.
A native son of Rome township, L. M. Carpenter was born March 13, 1856, his parents being D. R. and Christiana Carpenter. Both were natives of the state of Ohio, but came to Jones county, Iowa, in 1854, where Mr. Carpenter entered land. A few years later, however, he embarked in mercantile business in Olin, where he conducted a profitable general store until 1882, when he retired. He also identified himself with the interests of his fellow citizens, taking a prominent part in public affairs, and was a stanch advocate of the principles of the republican party. A long life of usefulness was granted to him and before he died he enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing his son following in his footsteps along the road of progress in the world's affairs, for he lived until 1901, being seventy-six years of age when his course was run. His wife, on the other hand, had died in 1862. Both were laid to rest in the cemetery at Olin. Four children had been born to them, namely: A. E., who is now in Ottawa, Kansas; Sarah, deceased ; L. M., the subject of this sketch ; and Lillie, who is also deceased.
L. M. Carpenter literally grew up in the mercantile business, for he always assisted his father from his childhood's days. He attended the public schools of his locality, whence he derived a fair training in the rudimentary branches of education. At the age of sixteen he was entrusted by his father to go to Chicago to buy all the stock, and at one time, during that early period, purchased ten thousand dollars' worth of goods, a large amount for so young a boy. At the age of twenty, his father took him into partnership in his operations. The success which had marked the senior man's undertakings but increased during the years when father and son shared the toils and returns of the business, yet in 1887 Mr. Carpenter deemed it the best thing to sell his interests to Lamb Brothers of the firm of Lamb, Carpenter & Lamb, of which he was a member. Thereupon he engaged in the hardware and grain business, in which he continued until 1895, when he sold out to G. W. Huber. He has since been living retired. Like his father Mr. Carpenter has been very successful in all of his undertakings and has secured a handsome income, from which he is now deriving the benefit. In addition to the residence he occupies in Olin, which is one of the finest of the town, he owns several business buildings and has three hundred and sixty-six acres of land in Fairview township, and the fact that he is the vice president of the First National Bank at Olin is another indication of his financial stability.
At the age of twenty Mr. Carpenter wedded Miss Nevada Lamb, also a native of Rome township, where her birth occurred in May, 1858. She is a daughter of Jacob and Mary J. (Easterly) Lamb, who were born in Ohio, where they were reared and married, but came to Iowa in the early '50s. Jacob Lamb did not long survive the change of home, for he died in 1863, but his wife lived until 1904, when she passed away, at the age of seventy-one years. Eight children were born to the couple. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have had two daughters : one who died in infancy ; and Lillie May, who was born in 1878 and died in 1895. She had profited by many educational advantages and was a young woman of high culture, while an attractive and gracious personality endeared her to a host of friends and acquaintances in Olin. When death called her she was laid to rest in the cemetery at Olin.
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Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Carpenter is trustee, and both are otherwise identified with its work. Politically Mr. Carpenter is a stanch republican and is deeply interested in public matters playing no insignificant part in the local councils of his party and in local affairs. Fraternally he affiliates with the Masons, as a member of lodge No. 200, and with the Modern Woodmen.
WILLIAM N. DEARBORN.
William N. Dearborn, of Stone City, the measure of whose success is found in the extensive business relations which he now enjoys, stands today as one of the leading contractors of his section of the state. His operations in this field have covered a wide range and, forceful and resourceful, he is classed with those business men whose interests constitute a source of general prosperity as well as individual success. Born in Anamosa, Jones county, Iowa, on the 30th of May, 1861, Mr. Dearborn is a son of Henry and Martha H. Dearborn, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The latter, who in her maidenhood was Martha H. Frankland, was born and reared in Manchester, England, and was brought to the United States when a maiden of twelve years.
William N. Dearborn was educated in the public schools of Anamosa but did not graduate. Ambitious to engage in business on his own account, at the age of nineteen years he began learning the stone cutter's trade in his father's quarry and was thus employed until he attained his majority, when he was admitted to a partnership by his father, his brother, H. F. Dearborn, being also a member of the firm. They successfully engaged in quarrying and selling stone and are still in business. In 1903 under the firm name of H. Dearborn's Sons, Mr. Dear- born became associated with M. S. Jackson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in a general contracting business. This firm now maintains offices in Cedar Rapids and Water- loo, Iowa, and are among the foremost building and paving contractors of this part of the state. They have recently completed a large paving contract at Cedar Rapids and also sewer contracts at that place and at Waterloo, Iowa, Batavia, East Moline and Rock Falls, Illinois and Kirksville, Missouri. They now have contracts for work of this character at Waterloo, Prophetstown and Maquoketa. Their business has reached very extensive proportions and is now a very profitable undertaking, necessitating the employment of a large force of workmen in the execution of their contracts. Mr. Dearborn is also the vice president of the Anamosa National Bank, is president of the Jones County Telephone Company, and is associated with the firm of H. Dearborn's Sons and with H. Dearborn & Company of Stone City, and with the Johnson Gas Light Company of Cedar Rapids.
On the Ist of January, 1896, was celebrated the marriage of William N. Dearborn to Miss Ora Belle Thompson, at Maquoketa, Iowa. His political allegiance is given to the republican party which finds in him a strong supporter but not an office seeker. He is well known in Masonic circles, belonging to
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Anamosa Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of which he was master for two years; Mount Sinai Chapter, R. A. M., Mount Olivet Commandery, K. T., of which he was eminent commander for three years, and El Kahir Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Cedar Rapids, of which he was potentate in 1901-02. He has also attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, belonging to the consistory at Cedar Rapids. He is likewise a member of the Elks lodge of Cedar Rapids, the An- cient Order of United Workmen and the Order of the Eastern Star. These, however, are but minor interests in the life of Mr. Dearborn, who has directed his energies and efforts along the lines where mature experience and discretion have led the way. His interests have constantly broadened until the extent of his business connections makes him one of the most prominent contractors of Iowa.
WILLIAM H. CRAIN.
William H. Crain, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Olin, was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, September 29, 1850, and is a son of Joseph and Catherine (Ramage) Crain. The parents were both natives of New Jersey and came from families who had long been identified with the affairs of that state and of the nation. His maternal grandfather served in the war of 1812. After Joseph Crain married and the birth of his first child, he moved to Pennsylvania, where he lived continuously until his death, save for the three years in which he served in the Union army during the Civil war. After the outbreak of hostilities he enlisted in 1861 in Company E, Fifty-second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He served three years, the period of his en- listment and was then honorably discharged. Mr. Crain returned to his Penn- sylvania home and devoted himself to the carpenter's trade until his death, which occurred in September, 1880. His wife had passed away two years previ- ously. Seven children were born of this union ; Emma, who is deceased; William H., the subject of this review; Thomas D., who lives in this county; Mary, de- ceased ; Eugene, who lives in Pennsylvania; Mathilda, the wife of J. M. Shields, of this county; and Fred, who is residing in Denison, Texas.
William H. Crain attended the common schools, but at the age of thirteen he began to make his own way in the world. He hired out as a farm hand until 1875, when he came to Jones county, Iowa. Here he began work at the carpen- ter's trade and three years later engaged in agricultural pursuits, first renting a farm for three years and then buying one. It consisted of only eighty acres, but as he won success from his labors he was able to add forty acres to it. There he lived until 1888, when he came to Olin. On the Ist of January, 1889, he bought the furniture store where he is now located and which he has since con- ducted. He has also done an undertaking business and from both has obtained a gratifying income. While those who come in contact with him recognize his success, this may best be indicated for persons at a distance by an enumeration of his landholdings. These include sixty-two acres in Hale township, thirteen lots in the village of Olin and two hundred and forty acres in Laclede county, Missouri. Another patent evidence of his substantial position is his occupancy
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of the president's chair of the Citizens Savings Bank, for he has guided the financial policy of this institution since 1902.
In 1890 Mr. Crain was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Sealls, who was born in Iowa. Her parents, Edmund and Margaret M. (Truax) Sealls, were natives of Indiana, but came to Iowa shortly after their marriage. Her father passed away July 12, 1907, but her mother is still living in this county at the advanced age of seventy-five years. Mrs. Crain was one of a family of eight children and by her marriage has become the mother of three daughters: Alma Jessie, who is a graduate of the Olin high school, and is now a student in Drake University, Des Moines ; and Majorie and Genevieve, who are at home.
Mr. Crain has always given his support to the republican party and has taken some part in local affairs, although he could never be called an office seeker, for he was township trustees for three years and is now serving his fifteenth year as councilman. In religious matters he attends and supports the Christian church, to which his wife belongs. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, being a member of lodge No. 200, A. F. & A. M., and also with the Knights of Pythias, belonging to lodge No. 245. In these organizations his strong character and integrity have been recognized and for three years he was honored with the responsibile position of treasurer of the former lodge.
HERMANN OTTEN DANNEMANN.
Hermann Otten Dannemann, one of the substantial German farmers and dairy- men of Wayne township, was born in Wiese der Meer am wichmund, Oestfries- land, Germany, March 28, 1861, and is a son of Otten John and Trienchs Marie (Behrends) Dannemann. The mother has passed away, but Mr. Dannemann, who was a farmer during his active life, is still living in the land of his birth, although he has attained to the advanced age of ninety. Five children were born to him and his wife. They are: Gerd. Trienchs, Hermann, Marie and Etta, all of whom save Hermann, the subject of this sketch, are living in Germany.
Hermann Otten Dannemann was reared upon the home farm on which he lived until he was twenty years of age, when he decided to come to the United States. In 1881 he reached Illinois, where he secured employment on a farm by the month and the next year he rented land on which he worked. He after- ward went to Nebraska, where he toiled as a laborer and then came to Jones county. For two years he worked for others by the month and then farmed with his father-in-law, for an equal period in Wayne township. By that time he had saved up enough money to enable him to purchase part of his present farm in this township. He invested first in two hundred and fifteen acres, to which he added from time to time, as opportunity presented itself, until now he owns four hundred acres on sections 27, 28, 34, and 35. It is all in one tract, however. Since Mr. Dannemann has obtained possession of the land he has greatly improved it, having erected large, substantial buildings, of fine construc- tion and modern in every respect, exhibiting in many ways the progressive ideas
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of their owner. In addition to the general farming Mr. Dannemann has engaged extensively in the raising and feeding of stock and in the dairy business. He milks from thirty to forty cows daily and disposes of his cream to the Co-opera- tive Creamery Company of Amber, of which he was a director for two years.
In Jones county, October 14, 1886, Mr. Dannemann married Miss Frances Bodeker. She was born in Hepols, Oestfriesland, Germany, November 8, 1861, but was only four years old when her parents brought her to Iowa. Nine chil- dren have been born of this union : John Otto, Katie Marie, Anna Catherine, Otto Johnson, Maggie Marie, Trienchs Marie, Etta Elizabeth, Emma Mathilda and Gerd Otten. The second child died in infancy, but the others are all living at home. The family are members of the Wayne township German Lutheran church, and take part in all of its social and religious life. Politically Mr. Danne- mann is a democrat, that having been the party whose platform appealed most strongly to him when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. For the last four years he has been one of the trustees of the township, which has benefited in no small degree through his direction of its affairs, for he is a man of principle, who has learned the secret of success in so far as his own private affairs are concerned and has not been chary in giving of his time and energy for promoting the welfare of those who belong to the little community in which he lives. He is also particularly interested in the village of Amber for he owns a house within its borders, a fact which is but another indication of his ability to seize a good opportunity when it presents itself, for property is now on the rise and Mr. Dannemann may think in the near future that he is justified in retiring from active life.
W. H. KLINE.
W. H. Kline is one of the type of men who have won the success they now enjoy in this world entirely through their own efforts. He has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits and for more than thirty-five years has cultivated a farm of the one hundred and eighty acres he owns in sections 25 and 26, Greenfield township. He was born in Pennsylvania, November 19, 1851, and was fifteen years of age when his parents removed to Missouri. They later went to Illi- nois, where W. H. Kline remained for about seven years, coming to Jones county in 1872. His father, J. F. Kline, has also become a resident of this state and is living in Prairieburg, Linn county, at the advanced age of eighty-three. The mother died when her son, their only child, was but six months old. The father again married and has by this union the following children: Mrs. Sarah Knapp, residing in Prairieburg; C. W., who lives in Dakota; J. M., of Weldon, Iowa; Amanda, the wife of Henry Kohl, of Greenfield township; H. P., of Marion, Iowa; Mrs. Beebe, also of Marion, Iowa; Ella, who lives with her father in Prairieburg ; and Mrs. Callie Knapp, whose home is in Martelle.
Having but just attained to man's estate when he came here, Mr. Kline was determined to succeed in his farming operations, and secured his tract of land. On this he has labored, cultivating the fields as best he could, keeping abreast
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of the advancement made in agricultural methods, and never sparing hard toil when such was necessary. He also possessed a realization of the need of thrift and the capacity to manage his affairs economically, so that little of his efforts or substance has been wasted. . His life has not been without its struggles, but they were met valiantly and he now is in the enjoyment of many comforts.
Mr. Kline was married January 1, 1874, to Miss Mary Kohl. She is a daugh- ter of Amos and Maria (Grimm) Kohl and one of a family of eleven children, the others being: Henry; William; John, deceased; Mrs. Hempy; Ida, deceased; Lewis; Mrs. Emma Stearns; Mrs. Tena Melton; Charles; and Mrs. Minnie Fink. Except Mrs. Melton, who lives in Cedar county, those surviving are resi- dents of Greenfield township. Mr. and Mrs. Kline have had nine children : Mrs. Ida Andre, of Mechanicsville, who is the mother of a daughter, Lela, aged seven, and a son Melvin, aged three; Mrs. Anna Longerbeam who lives in Cedar county and has a daughter, Leola, aged seven; C. H., who lives in Hale town- ship, southeast of Olin, and has two children, Mildred, aged five, and Valma, aged three; Elmer, who lives in Dakota; W. M., of Rome township; C. D., of Jackson township; Clayton and Cletus, twins, the latter deceased, the other living at home; and Clarence, who also lives at home.
The tenets of the Evangelical church have appealed strongly to the different members of the family and to it they have given their religious allegiance. The republican party is the one to which Mr. Kline looks for guidance in political matters, and while he has not sought nor held any office for twenty years he has served most efficiently as a member of the school board of his township. Edu- cational matters have always interested him and he has frequently acted upon the various committees appointed by his fellow directors.
PETER H. SCHMALFELDT.
Despite his seventy-eight years, Peter H. Schmalfeldt is still actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Wyoming township, where he is known as a man who has won success from his vocation. He was born in Holstein, Germany, where his parents, Tin and Christina Schmalfeldt, lived and died. Indeed, he himself did not leave his fatherland until his education was completed, until he had married and had started to make his own way in the world. It was in 1866 that he undertook the journey across the ocean to the United States. After arriving here he came to Iowa, finding employment as a farm hand in Clinton county. For four years he worked for others, in the meantime saving enough money to enable him to rent a tract of land, which remained his home for fourteen years, when he bought the farm on which he lives today. It embraces three hundred and ten acres, is well improved, and through careful cultivation is capable of maintaining general farming which Mr. Schmalfeldt pursues upon it. His at- tention is mainly given, however, to the raising and feeding of cattle and hogs which he ships in large numbers to the important markets. He is successful beyond the ordinary, for he has practiced those invaluable lessons of industry and frugality which seem almost to be the birthright of the sons of Germany.
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