USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. I > Part 48
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Mr. Stilwell is an enthusiastic member of the Elks. His political alle- giance is given to the republican party where questions of state and national importance are involved but at local elections he casts an independent ballot, regardless of party ties He possesses considerable property in Council Bluffs, from which he derives a good income, in addition to the Meadow Brook farm, and he is now most comfortably situated in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
CHRIST V. ROCK.
An excellent . farm property of two hundred and forty acres, situated in Pleasant township, three miles west and two miles south of Avoca, pays tribute to the care and supervision of its owner, Christ V. Rock. Standing in the midst of well cultivated fields is a beautiful residence, while near by is a mammoth barn, with all other buildings necessary for the sheltering of grain and stock. The farm is in fact one of the best improved properties of the locality, lacking in none of the accessories of a model farm of the twentieth century. Today Mr. Rock is classed with the prosperous residents of his community but when
MR. AND MRS. CHRIST V. ROCK.
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he arrived in Iowa he was possessed of a capital of only twenty dollars. All that he now owns has come as the direct result of his labor and perseverance. In connection with general farming he follows stock-raising, making a spe- cialty of registered polled Durham cattle.
Mr. Rock was born in the province of Waldeck, Germany, January 5, 1858, a son of Frederick Rock. His parents' home was his shelter during the days of his boyhood and youth, while the common schools of Germany afforded him his educational privileges. The reports which reached him concerning America proved so attractive to him that in 1876, when eighteen years of age, he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the United States. Journeying into the interior, his destination being Iowa, he spent two months in Clinton county and afterward came to Pottawattamie county, where he be- gan work as a farm hand, continuing in the employ of others for nine years. During this period he carefully saved his earnings with the intention of some day becoming the owner of a farm.
In the fall of 1881 Mr. Rock returned to Germany and in the following spring brought his father to the United States. HIe then located in Scott county, Iowa, and for three years longer was employed at farm labor, when he began farming on his own account on rented land in Scott county. In 1889 he once more arrived in Pottawattamie county and here his earnings took tangible form in a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he purchased on section 23, Pleasant township, where he now lives. The land being now his own, he resumed agricultural pursuits in earnest and has carefully conducted his business affairs up to the present time. In 1898 lie erected a barn of very extensive proportions, the following year purchased an adjoining eighty acres, whereby the boundaries of his farm were extended until it now comprises two hundred and forty acres. Further evidence of his prosperity was given in 1903, when he erected a handsome residence, while at different times he has built substantial fences, sheds, cribs and added all of the conveniences of a model farm of the twentieth century. What a contrast to his financial con- dition when he first came to Iowa! lle had twenty dollars and was a stranger in a strange land, unfamiliar with the customs and habits and the speech of the people. He has since become possessed of a comfortable com- petence through the wise use he has made of his opportunities and his careful investment. The secret of his success lies entirely in his perseverance and his diligence, and his record should serve to encourage others to follow a similar course and reach the same desirable results.
In 1885 Mr. Rock was married to Miss Caroline Rock, a native of Scott county, Iowa. Her father also bore the name of Christ Rock and came to this state from Germany, being among the early settlers of Scott county, where he located in 1856. Our subject and his wife became the parents of six children but Caroline, the third, is now deceased. The others, Bertha, Ida, Alfred, Ar- thur and Rosa, are all at home.
Mr. Rock is a democrat with somewhat liberal views and while supporting the party on national questions he often casts an independent local ballot. He is a member of the board of trustees, having served for six years in the office, while for ten or eleven years he has been a member of the school board,
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putting forth effective effort in behalf of the cause of education through the employment of competent teachers and the adoption of new and liberal ideas concerning education. He belong- to Avoca lodge, No. 220, J. O. O. F., and to Avoca Gesang verein. His church relationship is with the Lutherans and he is classed with the prominent and leading German farmers of Pottawattamie county. Never neglectful of any business interest, he has never allowed the accumulation of wealth to make him sordid but on the contrary is a man of generous spirit and progressive views. desirous that others shall accomplish a success similar to that which he has won in his business life here.
PILILIP E. HETRICK.
Philip E. Hetrick, living on section 35. York township. has been a resident of Pottawattamie county since 1877 and for nine years has resided upon his present farm. A native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurred in Huntingdon county. April 2. 1862, and his parents. Peter and Elizabeth (Aumen) Hetrick, were also natives of the Keystone state. They were the parents of seven children, three daughters and four sons, of whom five were born in Pennsylvania and were brought by their parents to Iowa in 1866, the family home being established in Scott county. The father, a farmer by occupation, continued to engage in the tilling of the soil in Scott county for eight years, after which he removed to Poweshiek county. Two and a half years later he came to Pottawattamie county. having previously invested in one hundred and sixty acres of land here. Upon this tract he located, making the farm his home for a long period. it being his place of residence throughout his remaining days. His death occurred September 15, 1895, when he had passed the age of sixty years, and his wife died July 10, 1890. They were much esteemed in the community where they lived, being people of the highest respectability.
Philip E. Hetrick was only four years old when brought by his parents to Towa and was a lad of eleven years at the time of the removal of the family to Pottawattamie county. Here he was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He attended the common schools for the acquirement of an education and remained with his parents up to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated on the 1st of January, 1888, the lady of his choice being Miss AAlma J. Johnson, a native of Sweden.
The young couple began their domestic life upon a rented farm, where they lived for two years, at the end of which time Mr. Hetrick felt justified in purchasing seventy-three acres, having acquired sufficient capital by eco- nomical expenditure and unwearied industry in the previous years. He resided upon that place for five years and greatly improved it. after which he sold the farm to good advantage and for two years more cultivated rented land. In 1898 he bought his present place of one hundred and sixty acres on seetion 35. York township, and has since built here a good barn, granary
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and hog house. He has also fenced the place and has thus divided it into fields of convenient size. His farming work is carried on in accordance with the most advanced methods of progressive agriculture, and through the careful tilling of the soil and the rotation of crops he annually gathers good harvests. Upon his place he has good graded stock, including short horn and Durham cattle and Chester White hogs, annually feeding two carloads of cattle and one carload of hogy, the sale of which brings to him a very desirable income.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Hetrick has been blessed with three chil- dren-Charles 1., Mabel and Sophia, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. The family attend various churches and Mr. Iletrick is a member of the Modern Woodmen camp at Oakland. In national affairs he is a republican, while locally he is independent, little regarding party ties where no issues are involved. In matters of citizenship, however, he is progressive and withholds his support from no measure or movement that is deemed of public benefit. He has witnessed the development of the county for thirty years and has been a participant in many movements which have proved directly helpful. In his private business affairs he has displayed keen discernment and unabat- ing diligence and each year has added to his income, so that he is now one of the substantial agriculturists of York township.
JOIN W. WARNER.
John W. Warner, living in Valley township, is a native of Parke county, Indiana, born October 1, 1850, his parents being Alpheus and Catherine (Huxford) Warner. Their children were four in number but only two are living, the brother of our subject being Charles Warner, also of Valley township. The father was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, March 4, 1819, and removed to Indiana with his parents in 1832, a settlement being made in Parke county, where he was reared. He then engaged in farming, there spending his remaining days, his death occurring in 1879. In politics he was a democrat. His wife, who was born in Ohio in 1827, died in 1856, and the father afterward married Mrs. Alvira Dicken, née Shirk. By this marriage there were five children, of whom one is living-Frank L., of Crawfordsville, Indiana.
John W. Warner was reared at home, acquiring his education in the common schools, and upon his removal westward to Iowa he located at Knox- ville, Marion county, where he was employed as a farm hand for a year. In October, 1875, he went to Nebraska and upon his return from that state stopped in Pottawattamie county and purchased eighty acres of land in Valley township, on which he now resides. Later he returned to Marion county, but remained there only a few months. and in the spring of 1876 he set- tled on his Pottawattamie county farm. Success was with him and he prospered. In 1882 he bought a two-thirds interest in an eighty acre farm near him but later sold that, and in 1899 he purchased eighty acres adjoin-
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ing. In 1900 he bought an additional forty acres and in 1902 he bought another eighty acres, making his present farm one of two hundred and eighty acres lying on sections 15 and 22, Valley township. He has been quite extensively engaged in raising cattle and has a number of thoroughbred polled Angus cattle on his farm. He also makes a specialty of Duroc Jersey hogs, and in his stock-raising interests, as well as in general farming, has been very successful, becoming one of the prosperous residents of his community.
In March, 1877, Mr. Warner was married to Miss Mary V. Griffith, of Valley township, Pottawattamie county, and daughter of Mahlon Griffith, who came to Iowa from Licking county, Ohio, in 1851 or 1852, arriving in Pottawattamie county in 1854. Mrs. Warner was born and reared in Valley township, and at her death, on the 7th of December, 1905, was the oldest citizen of the county in point of years of residence here. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warner were born twelve children, of whom Minnie L. and Bessie M. are both deceased. The ten still surviving are Ella M .; Florence E., the wife of Henry Olsen, of Valley township; George R., who is a graduate of the Wood- bine Normal school and for several years has been teaching; Inez V. and Iva L., twins; Charles E., Fred E., Blanche, Elvira E. and Lawrence E., all yet at home. With the exception of the second daughter all are yet under the parental roof.
Mr. Warner votes with the democracy and has served for three terms as township assessor and for one term as township trustee. He has repeatedly been a delegate to the county and state conventions, and for years has been one of the strong factors in democratic ranks in Pottawattamie county and this section of the state. For twenty-seven years he has been a valued mem- ber of Valley lodge No. 439, I. O. O. F., of Hancock, and he also belongs to the Farmers eamp, No. 204, of the encampment. Pleasantly located, his success in life is attributed to his close application and well directed energy, and he is today accounted one of the foremost representatives of agricultural interests in Valley township.
JOIIN DEA.
John Dea, who is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on sec- tion 16. Pleasant township, was born in Ireland on the 20th of June, 1836, a son of Michael and Mary (Rhyne) Dea, who were also natives of Ireland. The father followed farming in his native land, and in 1857 emigrated to the United States, first making a location in New York. After remaining there for one winter he removed to Portage lake, near Lake Superior, which became the permanent home of the family, both he and his wife passing away there. They had seven children but the subject of this review is the only one now living.
John Dea acquired his education in his native country and remained under the parental roof until he had attained the age of eighteen years. He then made the voyage across the briny deep to the United States, and for three
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years was employed in the copper mines at Portage lake, near Lake Superior. On the expiration of that period he determined to go to Australia but when he reached New York he met his parents, who had just emigrated from Ireland. He therefore remained with them at New York and in the spring, in com- pany with his father and mother, he returned to the Lake Superior country, where he again began work in the copper mines, being thus engaged until the spring of 1866. In that year he came to Iowa and opened a restaurant at Davenport, which he conducted successfully for two and a half years. On the expiration of that period he took up his abode at Walnut, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where he secured employment as a section foreman with the Rock Island Railroad. In the spring of 1870 the railroad sent him to Shelby, where he was employed as foreman until the fall of 1880. Mr. Dea then purchased a farm of one hundred and nineteen acres on section 16, Pleasant township, Pottawattamie county, took up his abode thereon and began improving and tilling the land, which he has brought under a high state of cultivation by his untiring labor and modern methods of farming. He erected a nice house and barn and all other necessary outbuildings and in its neat and thrifty appearance the farm indicates the supervision of a practical and progressive owner.
On the 15th of January, 1862, Mr. Dea was united in marriage to Miss Mary Barrons, who was born in Ireland in 1837. She was one of a family of four children and her parents both passed away in Ireland-their native land. Mr. and Mrs. Dea became the parents of eleven children, as follows: Edward, who has departed this life; Adelia, the widow of John Gross, who makes her home in Nebraska; Michael, living in Tacoma, Washington; John, deceased; Martin and Nora, both at home; Catharine, who is living at home and has taught school for twelve years; Mary, who has also been engaged in teaching school for twelve years and is now in a convent at Milwaukee; Margaret, who has followed the same pursuit for eight years; Jolin, at home; and William, who is also employed as a teacher.
Mr. Dea gives his political support to the democratic party and has served as township trustee for several years and also as school director for a number of years. Both he and his wife are members of the Catholic church at Avoca, Iowa, and are well and favorably known throughout the entire community. The hope that led him to leave his native land and seek a home in America has been more than realized, for here he has found the opportunities he sought and through their utilization has gained the prosperity which is today his.
ROBERT OFFICER.
The Officer family was well known in Council Bluffs in pioneer days, and its representatives are found here today, members of the family having ever been valued citizens of the community since Robert Officer arrived in 1868. For a long period he was numbered among the wealthy and retired citizens. His birth occurred in Chester county, Pennsylvania, on the 5th
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of February, 1795, and during his childhood he accompanied his parents on their removal to the village of Washington, Pennsylvania, where he was educated in the common schools. He was still a resident of that place at the time of his marriage to Miss Margaret Scott, who was born in Washing- ton county. Pennsylvania, May 10, 1797, her parents having been pioneer farming people of that community, where they spent their entire lives.
After his marriage Mr. Officer was engaged in the dry-goods business in the village of Washington for a number of years, conducting an establish- ment which proved to him a good source of income. He was then made sheriff of Washington county and held that office for a few years. Follow- ing his retirement he invested his money in farm lands in Washington county and turned his attention to the sheep-raising business, which he carried on in the cast until 1852. In that year he disposed of his prop- erty and other interests in Pennsylvania, and came to the middle west, set- tling first in Jacksonville, Illinois, purchasing farm lands near that city. He made his home in the city but gave his supervision to the further develop- ment and improvement of his farm property for a year. On the expiration of that period he removed to Springfield, Illinois, and again invested in farm land lying in Sangamon county. He lived practically retired in the capital city but gave his supervision to his farming interests until 1868, when he sold his property in Illinois and came to Council Bluffs, as his son Thomas was then living here. He continued to make his home in Council Bluffs until his demise. Here he invested in city property and managed his interests but practically lived retired until his death, which occurred October 3, 1873, in the house where his daughter. Mr -. Blaine, and his granddaughter, Mrs. Wirt, are now living. His wife survived him for only about seven years, passing away on the 12th of December. 1880. They were a most worthy and highly esteemed couple and enjoyed in large measure the friendship and good will of those with whom they came in contact. Mr. Officer was a man of upright principles and manly conduct. who held membership in the Presbyterian church and took great interest in the church work. He served as elder in his church in Washington, Pennsylvania, and after coming to the west did all in his power to promote the growth and extend the influence of his church in this part of the country.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Officer were born cleven children, of whom three are yet living. Rebecca A .. the eldest daughter, born August 5, 1826, in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania. is now the widow of Neil G. Blaine, who was a brother of James G. Blaine, the distinguished statesman and republican leader of men. Mrs. Blaine now resides in Council Bluffs with her daughter, Mrs. William O. Wirt, at No. 716 Willow avenue. In early life Mr. Blaine was a farmer in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and at an early period in the development of the middle west he became a resident of Springfield. Illi- nois, and engaged in farming near that city. There he lived until called to his final rest. his death occurring, however, when he was a comparatively young man. There were two children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Blaine: Mrs. William O. Wirt. of Council Bluffs; and William G., who died at the age of nine years. Sarah E. Officer is the widow of W. II. M. Pusey and resides with
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her daughter, Mrs. Penny, on the old Penny farm near Council Bluffs. Robert P. married Margaret Hughey and they also reside in Council Bluffs with Mr. and Mrs. Wirt at No. 716 Willow avenue. Mr. Officer being engaged in the real-estate business here. Eight of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Officer have departed this life. Thomas, who was a banker of Council Bluffs and a promi- nent business man, died September 12, 1890, leaving a widow and two chil- dren, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The others were: Mrs. Martha J. Newell; John Scott; William II .; David, who died at the age of nineteen years; and three who died in infancy.
Mrs. Wirt, the granddaughter of Robert Officer, is the wife of William O. Wirt, who is connected with the Union Pacific Land Company, at Omaha, Nebraska, but they reside in Council Bluffs and take care of her mother, Mrs. Blaine, who has now passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey. Mr. and Mrs. Wirt have two interesting children, Edward B. and Eleanor B. The family home is at No. 716 Willow avenue, which property is owned by Mrs. Blaine, who also has other real-estate interests here, Mr. Officer having left his family in very comfortable financial circumstances.
WILLIAM NIEMANN.
Almost forty years have come and gone since William Niemann took up his abode in Pottawattamie county, and with its history, its development and its upbuilding he is largely familiar, having witnessed its growth, since it was a tract of almost unbroken prairie, through successive stages of improve- ments until it is now one of the prosperous and populous counties of this great state. As the years have passed he has lived a life of activity that has resulted in making him a successful farmer and stock-raiser, owning and cultivating one hundred acres of land on section 7, Norwalk township.
Mr. Niemann was born in Hanover, Germany, July 14, 1852, his parents being John and Lena Niemann. They were born, reared and married in Ger- many and four of their children were born there. In 1866 William Niemann emigrated to the United States, settling first in Wisconsin, whence in 1868 he came to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here he worked in a brickyard for some time, after which he was employed in the agricultural implement shops. After liv- ing here for two years he was joined by his father, who bought land in Nor- walk township and spent his last days here. William Niemann broke the sod and started the farm for his father, continning its cultivation for four or five years. He then purchased eighty acres of raw prairie where he now resides, turned the first furrows on the place, fenced the land, and developed the farm; which year after year has brought forth rich crops as the result of his labors and energy. He afterward bought twenty acres adjoining the original tract and has erected a comfortable dwelling and also good outbuildings. He has likewise planted fruit and made the farm what it is today-a valuable prop- erty. Later he bought another farm but eventually sold that place.
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Mr. Niemann has been married twice. In 1878, in Norwalk township, he wedded Dora Grundel, a native of Germany, who died in 1887, leaving two children: John, who is connected with railroad service in Denver, Colorado, as assistant station agent : and Dora, the wife of Louis Grobe, a farmer of this county. In 1888 Mr. Niemann was again married, his second nnion being with Miss Sophia Schuerle, also a native of Germany. They have three dangh- ters-Sophia, Lena and Mary.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church at Underwood and in politics Mr. Niemann is a republican. He has long resided in the county and whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to his own labors and clergy. He has made good use of his opportunities and has prospered year after year, being now one of the substantial agriculturists of his community.
FRANK B. HAHN.
Frank B. Hahn, deceased, was engaged in the retail liquor business in Council Bluffs for nearly twenty years and was well known in political as well as business circles. During the period of his residence in the city, dating from 1886, he was regarded as one of the leaders in democratic circles. His birth occurred near Louisville, Kentucky, January 9, 1865, his parents being Bernard and Racine (Chadwick) Hahn, both of whom were natives of Penn- sylvania. After their marriage the father removed with his family to Ken- tucky, where he lived for a few years and then became a resident of Morri- son, Illinois. He was there engaged in railroad work as a conductor on the New Albany Railroad, serving in that capacity, when in 1866 he met deatlı by accident at Morrison, Illinois. The mother afterward came to Iowa and lived with her son Frank until she, too, passed away at Missouri Valley, this state. Only one of their children survives, a daughter, who resides in Nevada.
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