USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. I > Part 44
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Dr. Gasson was married July 18, 1904, to Miss Bertha Beard, who had been a missionary of the Methodist church in China for two years.
REV. HENRY DE LONG.
Rev. Henry De Long, whose life in the service of the Methodist min- istry has been of far-reaching influence and great benefit to his fellowmen, was born September 7, 1834, in Old Brighton, Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, his parents being Ralph and Amanda De Long, the father a foreman in a woolen factory. They joined the Mormons in 1843 and went west to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1844, and in 1845 both died, leaving five orphaned children, including our subject. In 1846 he accompanied the Mormon peo- plo on their emigration to Council Bluffs. The educational privileges which he received were extremely limited. He attended school held in a log house three miles east of Council Bluffs, spending three months there in the winter of 1850. This completed his school training, but in the school of experience he has learned many of the valuable lessons of life.
Between the ages of six and sixteen years Mr. De Long knew nothing but hard work, and, ambitious to improve his knowledge, at the age of six- teen he entered school, where he pursued his studies for three montlis, leaving the expense of the course to his own labor. During that time he learned to read and write. He afterward was employed at the Ocean Wave saloon, a famous gambling resort of those days, where he says he spent three years in learning to become a gambler. His life work, however, has been along vastly different lines, for in 1858 he was converted and has since de- voted his life to the service of the Master. In 1860 he was licensed to preach by the Methodist Episcopal church, and in 1870 joined the conference at Boone, Iowa, Bishop Ames presiding. He was appointed to the Council Bluffs circuit, comprising the west half of Pottawattamie and parts of Mills and Harrison counties. Preaching every night in the week and three times
REV. HENRY DE LONG.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENDX AND TILDIN FOUNDATIONS.
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on Sunday, digging wells in the day time to earn his bread and butter, Rev. De Long led a life of intense activity. In 1875 he was located at his own request and has since been engaged in missionary work in Council Bluffs, eight years of which time he was under commission of the American Sunday- school union, making his reports to that organization. He is now probation officer of the juvenile court.
In 1864 Rev. De Long enlisted as a soldier in the Third Iowa Battery and was stationed at Little Rock, Arkansas. While there he washed shirts for his comrades, saved some two hundred dollars, and in 1866 he secured the old Ocean Wave lot at the corner of Broadway and First streets for a Methodist church site. The purchase price was two hundred and fifty dollars, of which Mr. De Long paid two hundred dollars and indorsed the preacher's paper for the remaining fifty dollars. He says that nothing he has ever done has given him so much pleasure as this-the transferral of the property once used to lower and degrade men to an organization which has done much for the betterment of the city in its moral development.
Few residents of Council Bluffs have a wider acquaintance than Rev. De Long. He has been in hearty touch with every minister of the various denominations here for the past half century and has assisted in many of their meetings. Since his conversion he lias never wavered in his loyalty to the church which he joined and his entire life has been characterized by a singleness of purpose -- an attempt to live, that others seeing his good works might glorify his Father. Coming to Council Bluffs with the Mormons as an orphan boy at the age of twelve years, with no restraining influence or parental love and guidance, he was lured from the path of righteousness, but words of wisdom later sank deep into his heart and since his conversion he has regarded no personal sacrifice too great in his endeavor to make the world better. It was not long after his conversion that he determined to preach the gospel, and on telling a brother of the church of his intention, re- ceived the reply: "You do not know enough to be a preacher of the gospel." Rev. De Long answered: "It is true that there are a great many people who know more than I do, but it is also true that there are a lot of people that do not know as much and I shall ask the Lord for sanctified common sense and pick my crowd," and for fifty years he has lived among the neglected children of Council Bluffs and has seen many of the worst characters become useful Christian men and women and good citizens.
To those at all familiar with the history of Council Bluffs and its moral development, the work of Henry De Long is known. About sixteen years ago, associated with other Christian workers, he held the first gospel meeting of the Union Christian Mission in a store building on Broadway. For two years and six months meetings were held there every night. All the time they studied the needs for Christian work, seeking out the lowly, the heart- broken, the desperate, going indeed into the highways and hedges to seek out and save those who were lost. Out of this work of the Christian Mission grew the Girls Industrial School, and when it was found that they could not do justice to both departments they gave up the mission and concentrated their energies upon the neglected girls both in their own homes and at the
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gospel rooms. A record of the work done during seven years with the Union Christian Mission showed over twelve thousand visits made to families, while thirteen thousand people received clothing from the mission. More than twenty-five hundred gospel meetings were held and six hundred and forty people publicly professed faith in Christ, these converts representing every class of society. The Girls Industrial School has been an asylum for the unfortunate thousands of hungry people who have there been fed. At all times while ministering to the body they have attempted to minister to the soul and to bring into the lives of the benighted a light of Christian forgive- ness and love.
On the 25th of September, 1862, in Council Bluffs, Rev. Henry De Long was married to Sophronia E. Whitcomb, and unto them were born seven sons and three daughters, but of this family only three are now living, Mrs. Anna McElrath, Harvey A. and Henry De Long. In politics Mr. De Long has always been a republican and fraternally is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and with the Order of Eagles. His life work has been given to the cause of the church in its efforts to bring Christ as a moving force into the lives of those with whom he has come in contact and thousands there are who bless him for his kindliness, his assistance, his sympathy, his words of good cheer and of good counsel.
JAMES HUNTER.
James Hunter has spent the greater part of his life in Pottawattamie county but his present place of residence is far separated from his birth place, which was in Scotland. He was born March 24, 1864. his parents being Lawrence and Elizabeth (MeEwen) Hunter, who were likewise natives of Scot- land. They emigrated to the new world in 1874 and. making their way to Iowa, settled near Neola, where the father engaged in farming. He continued a resident of that locality until called to his final rest, his death occurring in January. 1906.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for James Hunter in his boyhood days save his emigration to America, which occurred when he was ten years of age. He was largely reared in this county, pursuing his education in Neola and Council Bluffs. Having arrived at adult age, he entered the Bank of Neola, and for several years served as bookkeeper and assistant cashier. In 1892 he became one of the organizers of the Ger- man American Bank, a private banking institution, of which Charles R. Han- nan was chosen president and James Hunter cashier. This bank commenced business on the 1st of June. 1892, and in a comparatively short time became recognized as one of the safe, substantial financial institutions of the county. In connection with T. G. Turner, Mr. Hunter also organized a bank at Bentley in 1906, with Mr. Turner as president and Mr. Hunter as vice president. In Minden he erceted a good bank building and also a pleasant residence. Mr. Hunter is also secretary of Group No. 5 of the lowa Bankers Association, and
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has always taken a keen interest in the work of the association. Throughout his business carcer he has been associated with financial interests and has most intimate knowledge of the banking business in all its departments. His labors have been attended with a measure of success that is the result of capable management, keen business discernment and strict adherence to a fixed purpose. The invariable law of destiny accords to tireless energy, indus- try and ability a successful career and the truth of this assertion is abundantly .verified in the life of James Hunter, who by determined purpose and laudable endeavor has worked his way steadily upward to success.
On the 24th of July, 1899, Mr. Hunter was married to Miss Jennie E. Alver, who was born in England but was educated in the Council Bluffs high school and for six years was a teacher in the public schools at Neola. In the family are four children, Helen, Jean, Leta and Harold.
Politically Mr. Hunter is a republican and though not a politician in the sense of office seeking has ever kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He has been identified with the schools as a member of the board of education at Minden for twelve consecutive years and he and his wife are active and faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and with the Woodmen of the World. He has resided in this county from his youth to the present time and is well known in Neola, Council Bluffs and throughout this part of the state, being closely associated with two banking enterprises. He is recognized as a man of good business capacity and a successful financier. What he has aecom- plished represents the result of the fit utilization of the innate talent which is his and the directing of his efforts in those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way. There is in him a weight of character, a native sagacity, far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that commands the respect of all.
CLAUS KUHR.
Among the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to Pottawattamie county is numbered Claus Kuhr, a resident of Lincoln township. ITis birth occurred in the fatherland, February 20, 1844, his parents being Henry and Wiebke Kuhr, who were natives of Germany, where they spent their entire lives. Their family numbered seven children, of whom four are yet living: Henry, still a resident of Germany; Claus; Frank of Germany; and Hans, who is living in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Claus Kuhr spent the first twenty-two years of his life in the land of his nativity, where he acquired a fair public-school education. The favorable reports which reached him concerning America and its opportunities led him to seek a home in the new world, and crossing the Atlantic to the United States, he located first at Davenport, Iowa, in 1866. In the vicinity of that city he worked as a farm hand for three years and then removed to Benton county, Iowa, where he was employed for four years, working on a farin by
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the month. In 1873 he arrived in Pottawattamie county, and with the capital he had acquired through his industry and economy he bought a farm in Shelby county, just across the county line, which he at once began to cultivate and improve, living thereon until 1888. He then took up his abode in Pot- tawattamie county, where he purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land, to which he afterward added one hundred and sixty acres, so that he is now the owner of a large and valuable farm property of four hundred and forty acres, all in Lincoln township. The soil is rich and productive and his labors have resulted in bringing forth good crops. Everything about his place is kept in excellent condition, the fences and buildings being in a good state of repair, and in addition to this property he owns a fine residence in the village of Walnut. In his farming operations he has made a specialty of raising and feeding stock and this branch of his business has contributed in substantial measure to his income.
On the 20th of February, 1880, Mr. Kuhr was married to Miss Lizzie Aulerich, who was born in Germany and in her girlhood days was brought to America by her parents, both of whom died in Pottawattamie county. Mrs. Kuhr was one of a family of four children and by her marriage has become the mother of cight children, of whom seven are yet living, namely: Henry, at home ; Emma, the wife of Earnest Kahl of Lincoln township; Fred, Anna, Bernard, Otto and Emiel, all yet under the parental roof.
The parents are members of the German Lutheran church and are greatly esteemed in the community where they reside, having made many friends during the years of their residence here. In his political views Mr. Kuhr has been a democrat sinec becoming a naturalized American citizen. For ten years he has served as school director and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. His business career has been characterized by progress in successive stages. He has utilized his opportunities to the best advantage. and cach forward step has brought him a broader outlook. Though he started out in life with very limited capital he is now the possessor of valuable farming and other realty interests, which are the visible evidence of his thrift and energy intelligently applied.
LUCIUS G. CONSIGNY.
Lucius G. Consigny, a worthy successor of an honored father in the con- duct of the milling interests of Avoca, was born near De Soto, Missouri, on the 2d of August, 1869. In 1872 his parents removed to Avoca, where he was reared and his education, begun in the public schools and continued through successive grades until he had completed the high-school course, was further supplemented by study in Simpson College at Indianola. In 1887, when the Avoca Roller Mill Company was organized, he became a stockholder therein and from that time on has given his attention to the milling business. For seven years he was commercial salesman for the company, on the expiration of which period his services were required in the office. He joined his father
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in the purchase of the greater part of the stock in the business and upon his father's death succeeded to the presidency of the Centennial Mill Company. This company now owns a specially equipped plant for the manufacture of flour and the excellence of its product insures a ready sale on the market. Connected with milling interests throughout his entire business experience, Mr. Consigny is well qualified to control an extensive plant of this character and to so shape its course that successful results are reached.
On the 6th of October, 1897, L. G. Consigny was married to Miss Mabel Simon, a daughter of Charles A. and Cassie (Gray) Simon, of Nebraska City, Nebraska. They have two children, Eugenia and Margaret. The family is prominent socially and the hospitality of the Consigny home is one of its most attractive features.
In politics Mr. Consigny is a stalwart republican and in the fall of 1903 he was nominated and elected to the office of county treasurer of Pottawattamie county, serving three years, to which position in the discharge of his duties he brought the same spirit of dispatch, systematic methods and unfaltering de- termination which has characterized his business career and made him so suc- cessful as a representative of industrial interests here. Those qualities, too, made him a valued official, and he won high encomiums as the custodian of public funds. He has also been a member of the town council of Avoca. Fra- ternally he is connected with Council Bluffs lodge, No. 531. B. P. O. E., and also with the Knights of Pythias lodge. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought, not only regarding business but all those affairs which touch the general interests of society and at all times he stands for justice, truth and advancement.
HANS PETERS.
Hans Peters is the owner of an excellent farm in Layton township. He was born in Holstein, Germany, on the 10th of November, 1851, his parents being Frederick and Lottie Peters. The father came to America with his family in 1868, first settling at Davenport, Iowa. He made his home there until 1873, when he and his wife removed to Avoca, Iowa, where they spent their remaining days. In their family were eight children, of whom four are yet living, namely: Fred, a farmer of Shelby county, Iowa; Johann, of Avoca; Albert, also of Shelby county ; and Hans.
In his native country Hans Peters spent the first sixteen years of his life and then accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world. He was reared to the occupation of farming, which he has always followed, and he worked by the month as a farm hand for ten years in his youth and early manhood. In 1875 he purchased a farm of eighty acres in Knox township, which he rented for two years, later taking up his abode upon the place. Sub- sequently he extended the boundaries of the farm by additional purchases un- til he now owns two hundred and forty acres lying partly in Knox and partly in Layton township. He has two hundred and forty acres in Lincoln town-
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ship, on which his son Antone resides. He likewise has four hundred and eighty acres in southeastern Kansas and his farm property is the visible evi- denee of his life of thrift and enterprise. He has improved his home place by erecting all the necessary outbuildings and also putting up a nice residence and the farm is now one of the attractive and valuable properties of the com- munity. Mr. Peters makes a specialty of the raising and feeding of cattle and hogs and also carries on general farming, annually gathering good crops.
In 1877 occurred the marriage of Hans Peters and Miss Lena Goettch, a daughter of Peter and Salki Goetteh, who came to America in 1876, settling at Avoca, whence they afterward removed to a farm. Mrs. Peters was one of a family of five children and by her marriage became the mother of eleven children. of whom eight are yet living: Mate, the wife of J. J. Maassen, of Valley township, Pottawattamie county, Iowa; Emil and Antone, both at home; Amanda, the wife of Henry Stamp, of Layton township, Pottawattamie county : Emma, Minnie, Anna and Ferdinand. all at home; and Henry, Dora and Bertha. who have passed away.
The parents are members of the German Lutheran church and in politics Mr. Peters is a democrat, who keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and is a stalwart supporter of the party principles. Ile has served as school director for several years and also as road supervisor. Whatever success he has enjoyed i- attributable entirely to his own efforts, for he started out in life empty-handed and has worked his way upward by reason of his unfaltering diligence, close application and strong purpose.
HERMAN GROTE. SR.
Herman Grote. Sr., who is now living retired in Council Bluffs, at the venerable age of eighty-two years, deriving his income from his invested inter- ests, was born in Kohlstadt, Germany, November 21, 1825, a son of Fred and Sophia Grote. His father, born in 1808, spent his entire life in that country and died in 1853. He was married in Kahlstadt, and his wife, long surviving him, came to the new world, her death occurring in Pottawattamie county, lowa, in 1880, when she was eighty years of age.
Herman Grote, Sr., acquired his education in the schools of his native country and in the spring of 1856 arrived in this eity. He had previously learned the brick-maker's trade in his native country, but wages were small and business opportunities were few. Favorable reports reached him con- cerning the business conditions of the new world, and hoping to benefit thereby, he erossod the Atlantic and made his way to lowa. For ten years after his arrival he lived upon a farm in Hardin township, and when that decade had passed, took up his abode in Council Bluffs, where he engaged in the manu- facture of brick for fifteen years. During the Civil war he was drafted in 1864 but hired a substitute.
Ere leaving his native country, Mr. Grote was married to Miss Wilhelmena Dreiver, a native of Germany. The wedding was celebrated on the 31st of
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December. 1854, and for more than a half century they traveled life's journey together but at length were separated by the hand of death on the 20th of December, 1906, when Mrs. Grote was called to her final rest. She was a member of the Evangelical Association, which is also the religious faith of Mr. Grote.
Unto this worthy couple were born the following named: Wilhelmena, born September 7, 1856, died July 3, 1857. Herman, born February 4, 1858, on the home farm in Hardin township, was married to Miss Maggie Tjardes, and they have five children. Mary. born June 20, 1859, became the wife of Matthew Bartel, on the 4th of December, 1879, and they now reside at No. 901 East Broadway, Mr. Martel being engaged in the grocery business in this city. Anna, born February 20, 1861, is the wife of Charles Prefke, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, and they have seven children. Clara, born November 12, 1862; is the wife of O. Yunkerman, who is engaged in the wholesale feed and seed business in Council Bluffs. He is also a member of the city council from the first ward. Louisa, born November 21, 1864, died in childhood. Rosa, born March 6, 1867, married Lou Kost, of Council Bluffs, who is a blacksmith and wagonmaker of the firm of Kost & Reynolds. They have three children. Adolph, born November 12, 1868, married Emma Floyd, by whom he has four children, and is engaged in the wholesale feed and seed business as a member of the firm of Yunkerman & Company. Minnie, born October 3, 1873, is acting as her father's housekeeper. William C., born June 13, 1875, married Clara Backemulhe, has one child and is a member of the firm of Yunkerman & Company, wholesale feed and seed dealers.
Mr. Grote owns two fine farms in Hardin township, Pottawattamie county, besides several other properties, which bring him a good income, and in addi- tion has a comfortable home at No. 903 Broadway. He is now living in retirement, enjoying a well earned rest, for his life through a long period was one of intense activity, and his energy and perseverance constituted the basis of the success which now enables him to live in well earned ease. He belongs to the Evangelical Association, as do his daughters, Mrs. Bartel, Mrs. Kost and Miss Minnie Grote, and his son, W. C. Grote. The father has now passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey, and a review of his life shows that his has been an honorable record, characterized by diligence and integrity in business and by faithfulness to every trust reposed in him in other relations of life.
JUDGE SAMUEL B. SNYDER.
Samuel B. Snyder, judge of the superior court of Council Bluffs, was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1854. His boyhood and youth were there passed and his primary education was acquired in the public schools of his native county. Hle afterward attended Grove City College in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, where he pursued an elective course. He left the col- lege in 1878 to enter upon the study of law in Butler, Pennsylvania, and after thorough preliminary reading was admitted to the bar in 1880 and at once
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entered upon active practice. He soon gave proof of his ability in the line of his chosen profession and in 1882 was elected district attorney for a term of three years.
Mr. Snyder continued a resident of Pennsylvania until 1887, when he came to Council Bluffs and opened a law office. Here he soon won recogni- tion in a liberal clientage, and in 1902 he was elected city attorney, which po- sition he filled by re-election for two terms, or four years. In 1906 he was chosen by popular ballot to the office of judge of the superior court for a term of four years. He has always been a student and deep thinker and in his wide general information is found one of the strong elements of his power to operate as lawyer and jurist. His broad knowledge enables him to understand life in its various phases, the motive springs of human conduct and the complexity of business interests, and this, combined with a compre- hensive familiarity with statutory law and with precedent. makes him one of the ablest judges who ever sat on the superior court bench.
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