USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63
R. Frost was reared to farm life in his native country and in 1874, when a young man of twenty-three years, came to the United States, arriving in Avoca on the 19th of April of that year. He was attracted to this country by its broader business opportunities, for here competition is greater but advance- ment is more quickly secured and earnest persistent labor always finds its just reward unhampered by caste or class. For a year he worked on the Rock Island Railroad and then turned his attention to farming upon rented land, which he continued to cultivate until 1880. He then purchased eighty acres of land in Shelby county six miles northwest of Avoca. He had just married and was living on a rented farm. It was his intention to remove to his new home but the death of his wife soon afterward changed his plans and in 1882 he took up his abode in Avoca, where he secured a situation in the new cream- ery-a recently organized enterprise of the town. After a brief period had passed he secured an interest in the business and later became sole owner of the plant, giving his time and attention to its management and conduct until 1900, when he disposed of the business and took a trip to his native country, accompanied by his family. After spending a summer in Denmark he re- turned to Avoca and has practically lived retired from that time to the present. Here he has been quite extensively engaged in feeding cattle and in breeding Duroc Jersey hogs. He owns two hundred acres of land upon which he re- sides, adjoining the town limits, and seven hundred acres of land in North Dakota near Steele, Kidder county. This land was purchased at a low figure . in 1902 and has more than quadrupled in value since that time, while at the present writing it is rented to good advantage and brings in a desirable income.
That Mr. Frost is a man of excellent business capacity and understanding is indicated by the fact that whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion, while his co-operation has been sought in the conduct of a number of leading business enterprises of the town. In 1902, at the or- ganization of the Citizens Savings Bank of Avoca, he became a heavy stock- holder and was made vice president of the institution, serving in this capacity
715
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
up to the time of the death of the president, J. W. Davis, in 1905. Mr. Frost was then elected to the presidency and has since remained in this position. His life history is another notable instance of the foreigner of ability coming to this country, where he readily adapts himself to altered environments and dif- ferent conditions and, readily mastering the situation, works his way steadily upward. He arrived in the United States in 1874 a poor man, unable to speak the English language. Today he is among the leading and wealthy residents of western Iowa and one of the well known authorities on questions of finance in this section of the state. He is thoroughly American in spirit and interests, having the strongest attachment for his adopted country, while in his home locality he puts forth every effort for public improvement and progress.
Mr. Frost has been married twice. He first wedded Miss Anna Olsen, a native of Iowa, whose father came to this country from Denmark in an early day. One child was born of this marriage but the mother and child died soon after the birth of the latter. For his second wife Mr. Frost chose Miss Alice Aukerstjerne, a native of Denmark, whom he wedded in 1883. They have three children: Anna, Olga and Laubert. Realizing the value and import- ance of education, Mr. Frost has given his children excellent advantages in this direction. The daughters are now attending the Forest Park University at St. Louis, Missouri, and the son is a student in the Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa.
In his political views Mr. Frost is an earnest republican and has served for four terms on the town council of Avcea. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is popular socially. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of his county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of Iowa and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its wonderful development.
PATRICK GUNNOUDE.
Patrick Gunnoude, of the firm of Gunnoude & Zurnmehlen, wholesalers and retailers of cigars and tobacco in Council Bluffs, is a native of Queens county, Ireland, where he was born September 27, 1853. When but thirteen years of age he came to this country with his father, Michael Gunnoude, and settled in Albany, New York, where they lived for five years, removing in 1871 to Council Bluffs, Iowa. He received his education in the public schools of Albany and of Council Bluffs. Shortly after coming to this city he secured employment on the railroad and was so efficient in this work that he was made an inspector. In 1881 with a small capital acquired he went into the grocery business, which he conducted for twenty years, increasing his trade each year and controlling an ever growing business. In all his dealings with his patrons he was a model business man for he always conducted his affairs with a strong
716
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
hand and clear judgment. In 1902 he organized the firm of which he is still a member.
Mr. Gunnoude was married in Council Bluffs in 1872 to Mary M. Keller, a daughter of John F. Keller, of Stanton, Virginia. Their union has been blessed with an only son, Richard S. Mr. Gunnoude is a member of the Elks, the Maccabees, Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Columbus and is popular in each of these organizations. He is a democrat in his political opinions but has never sought or desired the honors of office, preferring to de- vote his time and energy to his business and to the enjoyment of his home and family. He is a well known director in the State Savings Bank. As a boy Mr. Gunnoude learned to do what he did well. His father was a careful agriculturist and methodical in all that he did, so that Mr. Gunnoude early acquired this habit. In business circles he is always depended upon to carry to successful conclusion anything which he undertakes. Strong, forceful and self-reliant, he is singularly unassuming in manner, kind-hearted and gen- erous.
F. T. C. JOHNSON.
The home farm of F. T. C. Johnson is on section 13, Norwalk township, although in earlier years he was well known as a representative of industrial interests in Council Bluffs, having for fifteen years carried on business there as a contractor and builder. He settled in the city when it was a small town upon the western frontier, serving largely as a trading post for those who were journeying to the Pacific coast. He arrived in the year 1855 and was closely associated with the improvement of the little town in following his trade of carpentering. Since 1870 he has been a representative of agricultural life in Pottawattamie county and now derives a good annual income from his ex- cellent farm in Norwalk township.
Mr. Johnson was born in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, June 16, 1834, and was a son of Francis Johnson, also a native of that state. He was of English ancestry, the family having been founded in Virginia as early as 1700. The grandfather, John Johnson, served as a valiant soldier of the Revo- lutionary war. Francis Johnson was reared in the Old Dominion and was married there to Miss Mary Jane Hall, a daughter of Dabney Hall, a soldier of the war of 1812. Francis Johnson was a civil engineer of Augusta county, Virginia, and there reared his family, spending his last years, however, at old Fort Defiance. One of his sons, Julian A. Johnson, now. of Boulder, Colorado, served for four years with Stewart's Black Horse Cavalry (or the First Vir- ginia Cavalry) in the Civil war. He was in the first battle of Bull Run and witnessed the surrender of General Lee, continuing at the front throughout the period of hostilities.
F. T. C. Johnson as boy and youth remained at his father's home in Vir- ginia and acquired a fair common-school education. After putting aside his text-books he served a four years' apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter and
717
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
joiner and worked on the university buildings at Charlottesville, Virginia. On leaving the south he came direct to Iowa, reaching Pottawattamie county.in 1855. For some time he was employed at his trade in Council Bluffs by Wil- liam H. Fulson but later bought out the business and began contracting and building on his own account. In this field of labor he prospered, a liberal patronage being extended him, so that he found it necessary to employ a large force of skilled workmen in executing his contracts. After fifteen years' identi- fication with the early development and substantial upbuilding of Council Bluffs he bought three hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie land, which he broke and fenced, developing a good farm as he placed his fields under a high state of cultivation. He now owns two hundred acres of the original traet. He also bought thirty-six aeres of the town site of Bentley adjoining the farm and has this property. In connection with the tilling of the soil he feeds hogs, cat- tle and horses, making a specialty of the raising of Englishshire horses, short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs. He fattens and ships about two hundred liogs annually and at times as many as four or five earloads of cattle in a year. His stoek-raising interests have thus become extensive and a gratifying profit results from the business, which under his guidance is so controlled that it is one of the leading enterprises of this character in Norwalk township.
Mr. Johnson was married in Council Bluffs in 1857 to Miss Caroline Bab- bitt, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but was reared in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Colonel Babbitt, who was the register during administrations of Pierce and Buchanan at the land office in Council Bluffs. In 1896 Mr. John- son was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who was laid to rest in Neola cemetery. By that marriage there were three sons and two daughters who reached maturity : L. B., who is now engaged in business in Neola; F. L., who lives upon a farm adjoining his father's property; Julian A., now in the west ; Mary Ellen, the wife of John M. Phillips, of Norwalk township; and Daisy Belle, who is acting as her father's housekeeper. One son, Alexander W., died in infancy.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Johnson has always supported the demo- cratic party, advocating the principles set forth by Jefferson. He cast his first vote for Buchanan in 1856 and his last for Bryan. In Council Bluffs he served as city alderman two or three terms and has also been road supervisor, town- ship trustee, township clerk and township secretary of the school board since 1870. He organized the first fire company at Council Bluffs and served as the first chief engineer. He became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has served through all of the chairs of the lodge at Council Bluffs and is a past grand.
Few men have as intimate knowledge concerning the history of the county as Mr. Johnson, not only because of his long residence here but also owing to his close connection with its business interests. He built the first courthouse of Pottawattamie county, taking the contract in 1868, and he also worked on the first capitol of Nebraska at Omaha, the building now used as the city high school. His memory compasses the time when much of the land around Council Bluffs and in Pottawattamie county was wild, unbroken prairie, giving little evidence of future development. Many of the now thriving towns and
718
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
villages of the county had not yet sprung into existence and the most far- sighted did not dream how quickly the transformation would be wrought, the growth seeming almost magical when one thinks that a half century ago there were very few houses scattered over the countryside and the county was con- sidered to be on the very outposts of civilization.
JOHN H. PERRY.
John H. Perry, deceased, was a self-made man whose well directed efforts, in an active business life gained for him a goodly property, so that he was en- abled to leave his family in comfortable circumstances. Moreover, as a citizen - he stood for all that is beneficial to the community, being greatly interested in its intellectual and moral as well as its material development. His life record began in Belmont, Ohio, on the 4th of June, 1836, and at sixteen years of age he accompanied his parents on their removal from the Buckeye state to Bureau county, Illinois, the family home being established three miles east of Prince- ton. Both the father and mother, Jesse and Malinda (Smith) Perry, were also natives of Ohio. In their family were six children and, like the others of the household, John H. Perry performed such service upon the farm as his age and strength permitted, continuing to assist in its development up to the time of his marriage. On the 10th of January, 1861, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Arminda Hoge, who was born in Belmont county, Ohio, May 17, 1839, and was a maiden of seventeen years when she removed to Illinois with her parents, Nimrod and Sarah Ann (Palmer) Hoge, who were natives of the Buckeye state and were of Quaker faith.
. At the time of his marriage John H. Perry purchased eighty acres of land near his father's home. He was only able to pay one hundred dollars down upon the place and thus had to assume considerable indebtedness but with reso- lute spirit he took up the work and soon discharged his financial obligations. There was a very poor house upon the place and in course of time Mr. Perry erected a new residence and bought eighty acres more adjoining, for as the ycars passed he prospered, owing to his close application and unfaltering dili- gence. In 1873 he came to Pottawattamie county and invested in five hundred and forty acres of land about a mile east of the present site of Carson, the pur- chase price being eight dollars per acre. This is today valued at one hundred dollars per acre and it is still in possession of the family. After three years, or in 1876, Mr. Perry brought his family to his new home and sold his Illinois property. He put all of the buildings upon the farm, adding many modern and substantial improvements and used the latest machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. He made stock-raising the principal feature of the farm and met with excellent success in his undertaking. About 1888 he removed to the village of Carson, where he purchased and afterward improved the resi- dence which is now the home of his widow. It is a commodious and attractive dwelling and is the center of a cultured society circle. In the meantime, how- ever, Mr. Perry had removed with his family to Indianola, where he lived two
ARS.J.H PERRY
J H. PERRY
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
721
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
years to educate his daughters, the eldest daughter, Leonora, being a graduate in music there. He then removed to Carson, where he spent his remaining days. Here he entered into partnership with L. F. Field, a lumber merchant, and for six years continued in the business under the firm style of Field & Perry, after which he bought his partner's interest. Subsequently the firm of Perry & Allensworth was formed and conducted the lumberyard successfully for some time. Eventually, however, Mr. Perry sold out and for two or three years was not in active business. He then again entered mercantile circles as a dealer in farm implements and admitted his son-in-law to a partnership but sold out two years prior to his death. In all of his business relations he was found thoroughly reliable and energetic and exemplified in his life the spirit of progress which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of the middle west. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Perry have been born four children but the first two, Albert and Adelbert, twins, died at the age of four months. Ella Leonora is the wife of R. E. Patrick, of Carson, and Sarah Malinda is at home with her mother.
Mr. and Mrs. Perry resided in this locality before the village of Carson was founded and heard the whistle of the first train that entered the village on the 4th of July, 1880, joining with their neighbors in celebration of the event, which they knew meant much in the development of the district. In his po- litical views Mr. Perry was a stalwart republican and served as a member of the first board of trustees of Carson township, while of the village he was one time mayor, giving a public-spirited, business-like and beneficial administra- tion. As president of the township school board he established the first school which ever convened in Carson. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was an active and faithful member of the Methodist church in Illi- nois. After coming to Iowa he assisted in organizing a church of that denomi- nation in Carson, contributed generously to its support and did everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He died January 20, 1904, in the faith of the Christian religion, resting in the promises which are made to those whose lives have been upright and honorable. Although he never sought to figure prominently in public life and valued his own self- respect more than wealth, fame or position, his genuine worth of character was recognized by all with whom he came in contact and his memory is cherished by those who knew him and enjoyed his friendship.
ABRAM B. HOUGHTALING. i
Abram B. Houghtaling, who is known as one of the leading business men of Valley township, is connected with various interests. He carries on general agricultural pursuits, merchandising, blacksmithing and stock-rais- ing and in these various lines is so conducting his interests that he is pros- pering in his undertakings.
He was born in Adams county, Wisconsin, May 29, 1864, and is the eldest of a family of four children, three of whom are yet living. The
722 '
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
parents were Aaron and Ursulla (Hawes) Houghtaling. The father's birth occurred near Mud Hollow, New York, in 1836, and there he resided until he had attained early manhood, when he went with his parents to Adams county, Wisconsin. He learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in connection with farming, devoting his time to the dual pursuit for a number of years. In 1901 he removed to Cedar Falls, Wisconsin, where he has since lived retired, deriving his revenue from extensive city property which he owns there. His has been a useful and busy life and in the com- munity where he makes his home he is held in the highest regard. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has been a stalwart sup- porter of the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He is numbered among the veterans of the Civil war, having joined the army as a member of the Fourth Wisconsin Regiment, with which he did active duty at the front during the period of hostilities. He now belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. The surviving members of his family are: Edith G., the wife of Herbert Mason, of Oxford, Wisconsin; Oscar A .; and Ernest O., who is in partnership with his brother Abram.
In the county of his nativity Abram B. Houghtaling spent his minor- ity and the common schools afforded him his educational privileges. When he had attained adult age he began providing for his own support by work- ing as a farm hand and in 1887 he went west to Nebraska, where he was engaged in breaking prairie and in farming for seven and a half years, thus becoming closely associated with the pioneer development of that state. In the fall of 1894 he arrived in Pottawattamie county and established his home in Hancock, where he was employed as a salesman in the general store of Frank K. Van Fossen. He also worked in a jewelry store in Hancock, having acquired a knowledge of the business in a brother's store in Ne- braska. For two years he lived in Hancock and afterward turned his atten- tion to general agricultural pursuits.
In 1897 Mr. Houghtaling was married to Miss Alberta Minick, a daugh- ter of John Minick, one of the leading farmers of Valley township. Follow- ing his marriage Mr. Houghtaling rented a tract of land and began farming. In 1898 he removed to the place where he now resides and which belongs to his father-in-law. He has since cultivated this farm, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land. In 1906 he erected a store building on the farm and has since carried on general merchandising, the location being a good one, for it is five miles to the nearest town. Hc also conducts a blacksmith shop and has a huekster and a creamery wagon, collecting milk from various farmers in this part of the county. He likewise has a dipping tank and dips all kinds of stock. He is likewise one of the leading stock-breeders of this section and is the owner of two jacks and a stallion of the Percheron breed. His business interests are thus varied and extensive and he is justly accounted one of the leading business men of Valley township. He is pre-eminently a man of affairs and of action rather than of theory. While others are considering things he does them, forming his plans readily and executing them with determination and dispatch.
723
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Houghtaling has been blessed with four children but they lost their eldest daughter, Nellie. The others are John, Mary and Alice, all yet at home. The parents are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church and Mr. Houghtaling exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party, but though he is interested in its success he has never desired public office, on the contrary preferring to concentrate his time and attention upon his business affairs. in which he is now meeting with gratifying prosperity.
WILLIAM W. WILSON.
William W. Wilson, prominent in business and fraternal circles in Council Bluffs and the well known proprietor of the Opera House Pharmacy, was born on a farm in Mahaska county, Iowa, September 15, 1858. When still a child his family removed to Warren county, Iowa, where they were well known agriculturists. His father's people came of old Quaker stock of North Carolina, while his mother's family were from the County Cavan, Ireland, and Mr. Wilson possesses the best qualities of both-the modest, peaceful character of the Quakers and the wit and alertness of the Irish people. He was reared to manhood under the parental roof, attending the district schools during the winter months and working in the fields upon his father's farm during the summer. His father, Dr. James H. Wilson, is not only a pharmacist but also studied medicine and has practiced extensively in Warren county, Iowa. He built and conducted a drug and general store on his farm and later removed to New Virginia, Iowa, where he is still engaged in the drug business.
William W. Wilson was practically reared in his father's drug store and seemed, when very young, to have absorbed most of the knowledge necessary for conducting such a business. He remained in Warren county until he had attained the age of twenty-five, when he removed to Polk county, Nebraska, locating on a farm which he operated for eight years. He then removed to Nance county, Nebraska, where he carried on an extensive farm. He was much interested in bringing his land to a condition where it would yield him abundant crops and added all the improvements which made the place an up-to-date home in every respect. In 1902 he removed to Blair, Nebraska, where he entered the live-stock business, shipping carloads of stock which brought him large returns because of their superior quality. In 1903 he re- moved to Lake City, Iowa, where he purchased a drug store, which he con- dueted until May, 1906. The opportunity of buying his present business in Council Bluffs came to him at this time and he sold his business enterprise at Lake City and became a citizen of Council Bluffs. Where a man has early taken a liking to a certain line of business and is able later to pursue that line, he is without doubt destined to succeed. We do best that which we like to do, and Mr. Wilson's success in his present business is an illustration of this saying.
724
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Mr. Wilson was married November 26, 1881, in Warren county, Iowa, to Martha J. Duffield, the daughter of Henry Duffield. Seven children have been born to this union: Lloyd E., Carrie A., Philip W., William Edward, Mabel E., Roy F. and Pearl R. This household is the abode of happiness and the many friends of the family are always sure to receive there a cheery welcome. Mrs. Wilson takes an active interest in charitable and benevolent work, always extending a helping hand to those in need of assistance.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.