USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. I > Part 56
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tions and expectations entertained by his adherents. Given to the pros- ecution of active measures in political affairs and possessing the earnest purpose of placing their party beyond the pale of possible diminution of power the republican leaders in Pottawattamie county are ever advancing, carrying everything before them in their onward march. Certainly one of the most potent elements in the success of the movement in this regard is the labor of Mr. Baird, who throughout his life has been a loyal citizen, imbued with patriotism and fearless in defense of his honest convictions.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Baird have been born four children, Lynn De Wane, Earl R., Etta M. and John H. Mr. Baird is very prominent and popular in fraternal circles, being connected with various organizations, including the Royal Arcanum, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of the Macca- bees and the Tribe of Ben Hur. He also belongs to the Methodist Episco- pal church and is a member of the official board of the Broadway church. His life is actuated by high and honorable principles, and his public serv- ice is along those lines which he believes will best advance the welfare of the community.
F. LEE JOHNSON.
F. Lee Johnson, who is familiarly called Lee by his numerous friends, is actively engaged in general farming, his home farm being on sections 12 and 13, Norwalk township, and embracing one hundred and sixty acres of arable land. This is a valuable property owing to the care and labor which he has bestowed upon it. His entire life has been passed in Iowa, he being a native son of Council Bluffs, there born on the 7th of April, 1863. His father, F. T. C. Johnson, is mentioned on another page of this work. The old home farm was his playground in youth and also his training school for life's practical duties. He acquired a knowledge of the common English branches of learning in the public schools, supplemented by a business course at Rochester, New York. He remained with his father until after he had attained his majority and assisted him in tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He helped break the sod in many a field, and his labors contributed in substantial measure in making the old home farm what it is today.
Having arrived at years of maturity, Mr. Johnson selected as a com- panion and helpmate for life's journey, Miss Lena Snyder, and they were married in Victor, Ontario county, New York, August 23, 1894 ._ Mrs. Johnson was born and reared in that locality, being a daughter of Martin Snyder, a farmer of New York, whose entire life has been spent upon the farm where he still resides, at the age of sixty-six years. Mr. Johnson brought his bride to Iowa and they began their domestic life in Norwalk township, where they still live. Here he has built a comfortable dwelling, a good hay shed and barn and has set out an orchard. He tills the soil in the production of cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also raises
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and feeds stoek, fattening from two to three carloads of cattle and a large number of hogs annually. He now has a fine herd of shorthorn eattle, with a pure blooded registered male at the head of his herd. He also has high grade cows and heifers and his stoek raising and feeding business con- stitutes an important source of income to liim.
Mr. and Mrs. Jolinson have, a family of three sons and one daughter, Ina Mae, Oliver Warren, Ira Martin and Charles Lee. The family are much esteemed in the community where they reside and enjoy the warm friendship of those with whom they have been brought in contaet. Mr. John- son is a staneh demoerat and is now serving for the third year as assessor but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs. His life has been quietly passed in the pursuits of the farm and the fact that many of his stanehest friends are numbered among those who have known him from his boyhood, indicates that his has been an honorable career.
H. VERNER BATTEY.
H. Verner Battey, the well known and efficient elerk of the distriet court of Pottawattamie county, Iowa, was born in Bureau county, Illinois, in 1862. His father was a well known farmer in that vieinity and Mr. Battey was reared to agricultural pursuits. His parents removed to Vernon county, Missouri, in 1869, and settled thero on a farm. They later took up their home in Shelby county, lowa, at the time when their son, H. Verner, was fifteen, so that he received his education in the distriet schools of these various counties.
During his summer vacations Mr. Battey gave his father whatever assistance he could in the fields and after leaving sehool he devoted his en- tire time to agriculture until he had attained his majority. He then felt it was time for him to leave the parental roof and he took up his abode in Portsmouth, Shelby county, removing two years later to Walnut, Potta- wattamie county, Iowa, where he bought a weekly republiean paper and began his career as an editor. As a lad he had always had a ready mind for public speaking and his boyish compositions showed an unusual talent. He felt that the press must maintain a high ideal because it is of necessity the leader of great movements and the strongest educational foree of today. This principle has prevailed in all the work that Verner Battey has done as a newspaper man. He carried on this paper for ten years in a most pleas- ing way and so built up the patronage of the Walnut Bureau that it was a leader in the community. His language was always elear, simple and graee- ful and he led his readers along through an argumentative path deeked with literary allusions gained from his wide reading. He was offered so good a price for the paper on which he had spent so much time that he felt it was to his advantage to sell. In consequence he removed to Harlan, Iowa, where he bought the Harlan American, a weekly paper, which he put upon the
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same high basis that the Walnut Bureau had enjoyed. He was editor two years when he saw his opportunity of buying the Avoca Ilerald at Avoca, Iowa. He consequently sold out at Harlan and continued for three years at Avoca.
Mr. Battey's political affiliations and work had brought him into prom- inence and his talent had been recognized, so that he was appointed deputy clerk of the district court in November, 1899-a position in which he served until January, 1905, when he assumed the office of clerk of the district court of Pottawattamie county, to which he had been chosen at the preceding election and to which he was re-elected in the following year. He has always taken an active interest in political measures and in movements which have made for the improvement of the towns in which he has lived. For two terms he served as mayor of Walnut, Iowa, and for two years as town recorder. Education has always found in him a warm friend and he was an active and efficient secretary of the school board of Walnut for seven years. The republican party has honored him many times by mak- ing him a delegate to the county conventions and to the ninth district congressional convention, as well as several state conventions.
In 1884, at Portsmouth, Shelby county, Iowa, Mr. Battey was married to Lena Betterman, a daughter of Carl II. Betterman, deceased. This union has been blessed with six children: Carl V., George Earl, Perey B., Lena, Bessie and Herbert. The family are all members of the Episcopal church at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and are active in its support.
Mr. Battey is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, and belongs to the follow- ing Masonic orders: Mount Nebo lodge, No. 297, A. F. & A. M., of Avoca, Iowa; Rabboni chapter, No. 85, R. A. M., of Avoca; Joppa council, No. 15, of Council Bluffs ; Ivanhoe commandery, No. 17, K. T., of Council Bluffs; and Harmony chapter of the Eastern Star of the same city. He is past master of his lodge and past high priest of his chapter. His efficiency in his present position as clerk of the district court has been recognized by his election in 1907 to the presidency of the Association of Clerks of the Dis- triet Courts of Iowa. His life has always been honorable and useful, act- uated by unselfish motives, prompted by patriotism and guided by truth and justice. He may rest assured that the people of this county are not unmindful of his labors and his devotion to their interests.
JOHN H. ANDERSEN.
John H. Andersen is one of the large landowners of York township, deriving his income from valuable farming property comprising seven hun- dred and sixty-five acres. His home is on seetion 32, where he has lived continuously for twenty-two years or since 1885. He had settled in Mills county in 1883 and has continuously made his home in Iowa since that time. He was born in Holstein, Germany, January 16, 1854, and was reared
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in his native land, acquiring a public-school education there. His knowl- edge of English, however, has all been acquired since coming to the-new world. He is a brother of William P. Andersen, who is mentioned else- where in this work. In Germany he was reared to the occupation of farm- ing and followed that pursuit in the fatherland until his emigration to America. Thinking to enjoy better business opportunities in the new world, he bade adieu to home and friends and sailed for the United States with his family.
Mr. Andersen was married in Germany to Miss Katherine Miller, and in 1883 they crossed the Atlantic, making their way at once to Mills county, Iowa. There Mr. Andersen rented a tract of land for two years and on the expiration of that period he removed to Pottawattamie county, where he made his first investment in property, purchasing eighty acres of land. This constituted the nucleus of his present extensive possessions. With charac- teristic energy he began the development and improvement of that tract and as his labors resulted in the production of crops which found a ready sale on the market, he added to his original holdings another eighty-acre tract. His next purchase brought him one hundred and twenty acres in York township, followed by one hundred and sixty acres in Harrison town- ship. At different times the purchases have been made until he now has seven hundred and sixty-five acres of valuable land, of which three hundred and twenty acres lie in Gray county, Texas, and four hundred and forty- five aeres in this part of Iowa. He has placed his capital in the safest of all investments-real estate-and as the years have passed has brought his lands under a high state of cultivation, thus greatly enhancing their value. Upon the home farm he has erected a good residence, twe barns and out- buildings, and in fact has made the farm what it is today. He also put out an orchard and shade trees, broke the prairie, fenced the fields and carried forward the werk of improvement along the line of progressive agriculture until his farming interests are unsurpassed by those of any resident of the community. He raises shorthorn cattle, feeding from two to three car- loads per year and also raises and feeds about two carloads of Duroc Jersey hogs. While he has broad fields devoted to grain production his stock- raising interests are so extensive that he feeds all of his grain.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Andersen have been born five children, three sons and two daughters: William, a real-estate agent in Des Moines; Mary, the wife of Hugo Stuhr, a farmer of Minden, by whom she has three children, Lydia Daisy, Arno and Hugo; Hannah, the wife of Ernest Burmeister, a farmer of Washington township, by whom she has one son, Harry ; and John and Herman, who are upon the home farm and assist their father in its operation.
Mr. Andersen has served as school director for several years and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend, who has done effective service in its behalf. He has never sought or desired political office, however, and is independent in his voting. His religious faith is indicated by his mem- bership in the Lutheran church of Washington township. He started out in life empty-handed and has made all that he possesses, working diligently
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and persistently to achieve success. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in America, for here he has found good busi- ness opportunities and through their utilization has steadily advanced toward the plane of affluence.
FRANK BLANK.
Among the younger business men of Council Bluffs who have gained a creditable name and place for themselves in financial circles is numbered Frank Blank, cashier of the E. E. Hart private bank. He is one of the native sons of the city, having been born here in 1880. At the usual age he entered the public schools and passed through successive grades until he was gradu- ated from the high school in the class of 1898. Immediately afterward he entered the employ of E. E. Hart in the latter's private bank, being first employed in the capacity of stenographer and later becoming bookkeeper, while in 1903 he was made cashier. Ilis connection with this institution now covers ten years-a fact which is indicative of his ability and fidelity. He has gained a thorough and systematic knowledge of the banking busi- ness and his work is carried on along most systematic and progressive lines. He is likewise secretary of the Iowa Lumber & Box Company, and is recog- nized as a forceful factor in commercial eireles.
Mr. Blank votes with the republican party and is more or less active in its ranks. He is well known in fraternal circles as a member of the Elks lodge and also of the Modern Woodmen camp and his religious faith is in- dicated by his membership in the First Congregational church. Having always lived in this city he has had a wide acquaintance from his early school days to the present time and many of his friends are those who have known him from his boyhood days.
JAMES W. MITCHELL.
James W. Mitchell, in whom Pottawattamie county finds a capable and trustworthy official as manifest in his discharge of the duties of the position of treasurer, to which he was elected in 1903, for a two years' term, has been a resident of Council Bluffs since 1892. He was born in Bellevue, Nebraska. on the 5th of April. 1859, and is a son of Francis L. and Elizabeth (Rob- erts) Mitchell, the former a native of New York and the latter of Kentucky. In 1855 the father removed to Nebraska and the Roberts family were also pioneers of that state.
James W. Mitchell was reared to manhood in Bellevue, Nebraska, the public schools affording him his educational privileges. After putting aside his text-books he spent three or four years in clerking in a store there, and in the spring of 1880 removed to Omaha, Nebraska, where he continued to
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clerk for two years. On the expiration of that period he went to Leadville, Colorado, where he was employed as a salesman for two years and subse- quently he removed to Rawlins, Wyoming, where he had charge of a post trading store for one year. He afterward went to Pratt county, Kansas, and opened a drug store at Iuka, carrying on the business for a year, after which he was appointed deputy sheriff of Pratt county, Kansas, and served for two years. He also filled the position of deputy clerk of the district court for a similar period and in all the offices he has filled, whether in Council Bluffs or elsewhere, he has made a most creditable reeord by reason of his fidelity and trustworthiness. In 1889 he returned to Omaha, where he accepted a clerkship in a store, filling the position until 1892, when he removed to Council Bluffs and entered the employ of Stewart Brothers, wholesale groe- ers, as city salesman, continuing with that house as a most efficient and trusted employe for twelve years.
In the meantime Mr. Mitchell was recognized as one whose efforts in public life were effective and far-reaching. Deeply interested in political questions his position as such is never an equivocal one. In fact he is rec- ognized as one of the leaders of the republican party and has been sent as a delegate to various county conventions. In 1906 he was elected treasurer of Pottawattamie county, Iowa, for two years and is now the incumbent in the office.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Mitchell was married in 1883, in Buena Vista, Colorado, to Miss Delia S. Sheldon, a daughter of John N. Sheldon, of Omaha, and they have one daughter, Georgie. His fraternal rela- tions embrace membership with the United Commercial Travelers, No. 146, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Tribe of Ben Hur, the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
G. A. MILLER.
G. A. Miller, who for twenty-two years has been a resident of Potta- wattamie county, now owns and cultivates one hundred and sixy acres of land on section 16, James township. He was born in LaSalle county, Illi- nois, August 5, 1859, his parents being Nicholas and Kate Miller, the former born in Germany and the latter in Boston, Massachusetts. The father came with his parents to the United States in 1840, the family home being estab- lished in the state of New York, where he remained until he attained his ma- jority. He ther made his way westward to LaSalle county, Illinois, where he resided until 1875, when he established his home in Livingston county, Illinois, near Dwight. Both he and his wife are now deceased. They became the parents of ten children, of whom eight yet survive: Magdaline, the wife of H. C. Brandes, of James township, Pottawattamie county; Carrie, of Chi- cago, Illinois; G. A., of this review; Katie, of Pottawattamie county; Emma, the wife of Frank Wilkinson, of Chicago; Louise and Rose, also of Chicago;
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and Hattie, who is living in the same city. Those deceased were Nicholas and Sophia.
In the common schools G. A. Miller obtained his education while spend- ing his boyhood days under the parental roof. He remained a resident of Illinois until 1885, when he came to Iowa, settling in James township, Potta- wattamie county, where he rented a farm for three years. He then pur- chased eighty acres of land and has since extended its boundaries by the purchase of an additional tract of eighty acres, so that he now owns one hundred and sixty acres on section 16, James township. He has brought his fields under a state of rich fertility, and he uses the latest improved machinery to carry on the work of the farm. Everything about the place indicates his careful supervision and practical methods, and his labors have brought to him a desirable measure of success.
In 1884 Mr. Miller was married to Miss Carrie Deffenbaugh, who was born in Beaver county. Pennsylvania, and was one of six children. Her parents were of German descent. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born eight children : Maud, Harry, Roy, Alta, Ada, Howard, Merle and Glenn. The parents attend and support the Evangelical church in James township, and Mr. Miller gives his political allegiance to the democracy. For three years he has served as township trustee, his election being proof of his fidelity and trustworthiness in office. Mrs. Miller was reared in Illinois, among pleasant surroundings, and developed a genial disposition and sunny nature which contribute much to the happiness of their home and make a visit at the Miller household a thing of delight to the many friends of the family. In his business career Mr. Miller is determined and energetic, and at all times thoroughly reliable. In this way he has won the success that he is now enjoying.
WILLIAM CLARK, SR.
William Clark. Sr., for many years closely associated with important agricultural and stock-raising interests in Pottawattamie county and now living in Oakland, from which town he superintends his investments, was born in Pennsylvania, March 1,. 1837. His father, Charles Clark, was also a native of the Keystone state and was of Irish lineage. He was a farmer by occupation and continued to live in Pennsylvania until 1850, when he re- moved with his family to Illinois, locating in Mercer county, where he pur- chased land and engaged in its operation until the spring of 1860. He then went to Kansas by teams, but this being the year of the great drought every- thing was burned up, and after living in their covered wagons throughout the summer the family came to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, in the fall. Here the father purchased eighty acres of land from the original settler and moved into a log cabin of one room built by the Mormons, making that his home for a few years. This house was the only improvement upon the place, but as time passed he broke the land. erected buildings and continued
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM CLARK, SR.
THE NEW YORI PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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the cultivation of his land throughout the remainder of his active life. For a few years before his death, however, he lived retired at the home of our subject, where he died on the 12th of September, 1884, at the age of eighty- four years. He possessed good business ability and keen discrimination and prospered in his undertakings. For long years he was connected with the Presbyterian church but at a later date became a member of the Baptist church and at all times was interested in Christian and charitable work. His political views accorded with the principles of the republican party. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah McCreary, was born in Penn- sylvania and died February 26, 1905, at the age of ninety-two years. She, too, was a member of the Presbyterian church.
In their family were twelve children, all of whom reached mature years, namely: Elizabeth, now deceased; Margaret E., the wife of Andrew Laugh- lin, a farmer of Nebraska; Uriah, a retired farmer and a veteran of the Civil war, living at Woodbine, Iowa; William, of this review; Samuel, who died on the 13th of July, 1907; Mrs. Martha White, of Oakland; John Calvin, who served as a soldier of the Union army and has now passed away; Kath- erine, who is the widow of William IFuff and lives in Nebraska; James, Har- riet, Frank and Mary, all now deceased.
William Clark, Sr., was reared on the old homestead farm and early became familiar with the tasks of plowing, planting and harvesting. IIe at- tended the country schools as opportunity offered and throughout his entire life has been connected with agricultural interests. In 1860 he came to Iowa, settling about two and a half miles south of Oakland in Pottawat- tamie county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, giving in exchange for this tract one horse, two cows, two yearling steers, one hog and a wagon box. Only fifteen acres of the land had been broken and upon the place he erected a log cabin of one room, sixteen by eighteen feet. The year after his arrival here he returned to Illinois and was married, bringing his bride to her new home in a covered wagon and driving a cow the entire distance. Money was very scarce in those days and for six months she was unable to write home as she could not buy a stamp for the letter. Game was very plentiful and Indians often visited the locality on their hunting trips. Mr. Clark had to do his trading in Council Bluffs, which was then the nearest market, and he has sold dressed hogs for two dollars and a quarter per hundred and wheat for twenty-five cents a bushel. He used oxen in breaking his land. In 1873 he removed from his first farm to one in Valley township, where he remained until 1901, and then took up his abode in Oakland, where he is now occupying an attractive modern resi- dence that constitutes one of the best homes of the town. He has been very successful in his business affairs, is the owner of four hundred acres of valu- able land in Valley township and twelve and a half acres where he now resides. He has raised cattle for the market and in all his business ventures has manifested an aptitude for successful management that has made hint one of the substantial residents of his adopted county.
On the 1st of October, 1861, Mr. Clark was married to Miss Martha Humbert, who was born in Indiana. November 16, 1842. They became the
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parents of eight children, of whom four are living: Sarah, the wife of George Huff, a plumber of Oakland; Carrie, the wife of Pardin White, a farmer of Valley township; William, living on the old homestead; and Ruby, the wife of Robert Anderson, a farmer of Center township. Those deceased are Fred, Emanuel, Mattie and Lula.
The parents are members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Clark has served as an officer. He has been a life-long republican and has held a number of township offices, to which he has been called by his fellow townsmen who recognize his worth and ability. He has made his home in this county for forty-seven years and has therefore largely witnessed its growth and development, noting the changes that have occurred and aiding in the work that has been done to transform the district from a wild prairie region into fertile farms.
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