USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 17
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years; Kate, the wife of C. C. Johnson, a druggist of Carson ; and Myrtle, the wife of Walter B. Lytle, a farmer of this county.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Shinn is a Mason, belonging to Coral lodge, No. 430, A. F. & A. M. As stated, he was elected the first president of the Old Settlers' Association when the pioneers of Pottawattamie, Mills and Fre- mont counties met on the 14th of September, 1886, to form this society, which has since held annual meetings. He served for one year as its chief executive officer and has always been an active and valued member of the organization. Few men are as familiar with the history of the county. Events which are to others a matter of record are to him matters of personal knowledge or experience. He has witnessed the growth of the county from an early epoch in its development to the present time, his memory compassing the period of its early progress as well as of its later day prosperity. He has done not a little in molding public thought and action in his section of the county, his opinions being an influencing factor in public life, while his labors have been effectively directed toward improvement, reform, material growth and municipal virtue.
WILLIAM H. ZENTMIRE.
William H. Zentmire, now living on section 1, Belknap township, where he owns and operates one hundred and ninety acres of land, has for the past twenty years been engaged in breeding registered shorthorn cattle and now makes a specialty of handling polled Durhams. He is a successful business man and a worthy representative of agricultural interests in Pottawattamie county.
He was born in Warren county, Ohio, September 1, 1844. His father, David Zentmire, was a native of the same state and was of German ancestry. The paternal grandfather served as a soldier in the war of 1812. David Zent- mire was a carpenter by trade and followed that pursuit in early manhood, but afterward turned his attention to farming and became fairly well-to-do. His early political allegiance was given to the whig party and he afterward sup- ported the republican party. He married Diana Minick, who was born in Pennsylvania and was a member of the Quaker or Friends church. She rep- resented one of the old Pennsylvania Dutch families. By her marriage she became the mother of the following named: Angeline, the wife of Robert J. Black, a retired farmer living in Chautauqua county, Kansas; Amanda, de- ceased; Samantha, who makes her home with her sister Angeline; William II .; Sylvester, deceased; Wilson, who is superintendent of the county infirm- ary of Mercer county, Illinois; Elizabeth, the wife of Hale McClure, a cattle- man of North Dakota; George, a cattleman of Montana; Harry, who is en- gaged in farming near Big Mound, Iowa; Alice, the widow of Horace McLean, of Red Oak, Iowa; and Eva, the wife of Adam Hemingway and a resident of Red Oak, Iowa.
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The usual experiences. that fall to the lot of farm boys came to William H. Zentmire in his boyhood and youth. He attended the country schools and when not busy with his text-books aided in the work of the fields or in the care of the stock. He has always followed farming and stock-raising, and upon coming to Iowa in the spring of 1872 he located at Big Grove, where he has since resided. He is now living on section 1, Belknap township, where he owns and cultivates one hundred and ninety acres of land. A part of this is used for pasturage, and for the past twenty years Mr. Zentmire has been engaged in breeding registered shorthorn cattle, making a specialty at the present time of polled Durhams, of which he has a fine herd of thirty-five head. He has been very successful in tilling the soil and in raising stock and is recognized as a man of good business ability and unfaltering enterprise.
On the 22d of April, 1872, Mr. Zentmire was married to Miss Eliza Kiddoo, who was born in Illinois in 1850. They became the parents of seven children, of whom Rena, Alva, Frederick and Elsie are all now deceased. The others are Etta, the wife of James O. May, pastor of the Broadway Methodist church of Council Bluffs; and Frank and Martha, both at home.
The parents are faithful and consistent members of the Methodist church, in which Mr. Zentmire has long been an officer, serving also as a teacher of the bible class in the Sunday school for many years. In politics he is a republican and has held several township offices. He is deeply interested in the welfare of his community, especially in its moral progress, and has labored untiringly and unceasingly for the upbuilding of the church and for the best interests of the community at large.
JAMES ELAM BROOKS.
James Elam Brooks, who has led an active and useful life and has now attained the age of almost eighty years, his home being in Council Bluffs, was born near Hillsboro in Highland county, Ohio, May 25, 1828. His parents were Benjamin H. and Sarah (Henton) Brooks. The father was born in Kentucky in 1810 and engaged in merchandising after his removal to Bethel, Morgan county, Illinois, in 1837. There he remained for four years and upon selling out removed to Jasper county, Missouri, where he purchased and culti- vated a farm for three years. On disposing of that property he returned to Illinois and made his home in Marion county while engaged in railroad con- struction work on the Illinois Central Railroad for four years. He next fol- lowed carpentering and contracting at Central City, Illinois, for five years, or until his life's labors were ended in death on the 8th of November, 1856. His wife's birth occurred in 1810, in the same house in which her son James was born. Like her husband, she was educated in the public schools of Ohio. She was killed by lightning at Bethel, Illinois, in August, 1842, while standing under a tree holding her baby, Thomas Brooks, in her arms. The child es- caped with only a slight injury and is now supposed to be living in St. Louis.
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James E. Brooks was a pupil in the public schools of Morgan county, Illi- nois, and after putting aside his text-books he became a pilot on the Mississippi river, being thus engaged in the year 1850. He afterward went to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he secured employment as overseer of slaves, but in 1854 re- turned to Central City, Illinois, and became connected with railroad building, acting as foreman of a construction gang for two years. He was next elected constable on the democratic ticket and served for four years, after which he took charge of his father's business affairs, which he conducted until the father's death.
On the 16th of September, 1859, Mr. Brooks became a resident of Harri- son county, Iowa, and for one season engaged in farming. In 1860 he arrived in Council Bluffs and during the succeeding five years was employed as a stage driver, after which he entered upon a clerical position in the office of the stage coach. Later he became agent for the omnibus line of G. W. Homan at Omaha, Nebraska, where he continued for five years when Mr. Homan sold out to Jake Rogers, with whom Mr. Brooks remained in the same capacity for eight years. In 1880 he became a member of the Council Bluffs police force, serving as a patrolman for four years, one half of the time under Chief H. H. Field and the other half under E. W. Jackson. Soon after leaving the police force he met with an accident that rendered him unable to perform further active business duties. While trimming a tree he accidentally cut his left leg at the knee joint with an ax, causing the limb to become stiff. Since that time he has been engaged in furnishing meals and for the past ten years he has furnished meals to prisoners confined in the city jail.
On the 1st of June, 1854, Mr. Brooks was married to Miss Lucy Heath, a daughter of Charles and Adeline Heath, of Washington, Davis county, Indiana. Her father was a leading carriage manufacturer of that locality. Mrs. Brooks was born in Little Falls, New York, April 21, 1837, was educated in the public schools there, and has now for more than a half century traveled life's journey with her husband, proving to him a faithful companion and helpmate. She holds membership in the First Baptist church of this city.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have been born the following named: Charles, born at Central City, Illinois, November 8, 1856, died September 2, 1857. Addie, born in Central City, January 17, 1858, became the wife of Judson Cain, and to them was born a son, Winfield Scott Cain, whose birth occurred July 3, 1881. He wedded Margaret Herman and they have three children, Charlie, Edward and Helen Cain. Mrs. Addie Cain now lives with her parents in Council Bluffs. Katie, the next member of the family, was born at Auter- ville, Missouri, March 9, 1861, and became the wife of Russell Percy. After his death she was married February 7, 1883, to John T. Madden, who died January 2, 1901, leaving a son, William T. Madden, born December 20, 1884. By her former marriage she had one child, Lorena R. Brooks-Percy, born June 1, 1880. After losing her second husband, Mrs. Madden became the wife of Fred Peterson, a conductor on the Union Pacific Railroad, now living in Omaha, Nebraska. Thomas H. Brooks, born in Calhoun, Iowa, January 17, 1863, is employed by the Wickham Brothers, railroad builders of Council Bluffs, and lives with his parents. William F. Brooks, born September 8,
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1865, was accidentally shot and killed by a companion August 21, 1877. Harry E. Brooks, born January 7, 1868, is city fireman. He married Addie Loomis, of Council Bluffs, a daughter of W. F. and Alice Loomis, the former a resident of this city, while the latter is deceased. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Brooks have been born two children: Marie, born November 27, 1893. and Alice, born May 30, 1895.
Mr. Brooks, whose name introduces this record, is now a stalwart repub- lican in his political views. In 1892 he was elected on the party ticket to the office of constable by a large majority, but owing to his injured limb he found he could not capably discharge the duties of the office and resigned in favor of Joe Foreman, who was appointed to fill the vacancy by the board of super- visors. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks are now living at No. 257 Vine street. They have traveled life's journey together for fifty-three years, sharing with each other in its joys and its sorrows. They are an esteemed and worthy couple, having the friendship of many and the respect of all who know them.
ALANSON J. DURFEE.
Alanson J. Durfee, the manager of Durfee Furniture Company, figures as one of the representative citizens of Council Bluffs. He came here in 1892 and since that time has been an important factor in advancing its interests. Mr. Durfee was born in Berlin, Wisconsin, in 1855, and received his first schooling in a log schoolhouse near his native city. His education was fur- ther extended by his attendance at other public schools and by his practical business experience. He always worked during the summer vacation in order to accumulate enough money to take him through his winter school term. At the age of eighteen years he was obliged to leave his books and devote his entire time to the various occupations in which he was later engaged. His operations have been very extensive, embracing several fields of labor, for he began to work when he was but nine years old. He has run a gristmill, a furniture factory, and between the age of fourteen and twenty-four he had charge of a cranberry ranch in Wisconsin, where he employed eight hundred hands. His wide sympathy and generous nature were large elements in his success in dealing with these men and in managing them successfully without their ever thinking that they were being managed. In 1890 he left Wis- consin and took up his residence for eighteen months at Perry, Iowa. In 1892 he came to Council Bluffs, where he bought an interest in the furniture business in which he has since been engaged.
Mr. Durfee was married in 1878, in Aurora, Wisconsin, to Ida E. Chapen and their union has been blessed with three sons: Clifton O., Waite D. and Alanson G. In his political relations Mr. Durfee has been a stalwart sup- porter of the republican party and fraternally is associated with the Odd Fellows. He has been the architect of his own fortune and all that he pos- sesses has been acquired through his own efforts. He owes his present position to perseverance, hard work, mastery of the details of his business and deter-
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mination to succeed. Being a man of strong individuality he has made a success of whatever he has undertaken and his operations have not been limited to one line of trade, but he has successfully conducted many and his able management made each a profitable investment.
ANDREW L. INGRAM.
Andrew L. Ingram, one of the highly respected citizens of Keg Creek township, spoken of in terms of praise by all who know him, now follows farm- ing on section 13. He was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, September 20, 1861, and is the eldest of the three surviving members of a family of four children, whose parents were Robert and Melissa (McMurphy) Ingram. The father, a native of Scotland, was born in 1832 and came alone to America when a young man, making his way direct to Chicago. This was in 1852. Soon after his arrival in the western metropolis he established his home at Michigan City, Indiana, where he lived for about a year and then went to La- porte, Indiana, where he remained for several years. On leaving that locality he established his home in Kankakee, Illinois, where he followed farming until 1870, when he sold out and in the spring of that year came to Pottawatta- mie county, Iowa, settling on section 13, Keg Creek township, on a farm, which' is now owned and occupied by his son Andrew. He purchased two hundred and eighty acres of raw land which he developed and cultivated, tilling the fields and also raising stock until 1896, when he retired from active business life to spend his remaining days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He removed to Council Bluffs, where he now makes his home. For years he has been a member of the Baptist church and has lived an earnest, consist- ent Christian life, thereby winning the trust and confidence of his fellowmen. His wife, a native of Michigan, died on the home farm in Keg Creek township in 1893, at the age of forty-nine years. The surviving sons and daughter of the family are: Andrew L., of this review ; Mrs. Roland Ward, of Pottawatta- mic county ; and Robert, living in Missouri Valley, Iowa.
Andrew L. Ingram was but nine years of age when his parents came to this state. He acquired a common-school education and assisted in the develop- ment of the home farm until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in business life on his own account, cultivating a part of his father's land, which he rented. Ambitious to own property, he carefully saved his earnings and by judicious management and wise expenditure he was at length enabled to purchase one hundred and eighty acres in Silver Creek township. This he owned for four years, when he sold out and upon his father's retirement from business life and removal to Council Bluffs, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of the old homestead, all of which is in grass. He devotes his at- tention to stock-raising, keeping cattle, hogs, sheep and horses. He feeds from ten to twenty carloads of cattle each year and uses about twenty-five thousand bushels of corn. In fact he is one of the best known stock dealers of the town- ship, making extensive shipments to the city markets. He also owns three
POBERT INGRAM
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC SONGS
ASTRI, LEN GU TILD FOUNDATIONS.
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
hundred and twenty acres of land in the Alberta district of Canada. He was likewise one of the promoters of the Treynor Bank and is now a member of its board of directors.
On the 22d of March, 1887, Mr. Ingram was married to Miss Villa Mil- ler, who was born near Albia, Iowa, and is a daughter of Henry H. and Re- becca (Hightman) Miller, who were early settlers of Monroe county, this state, where the mother died in 1891. The father survived for about fourteen years and passed away at the home of Mr. Ingram in 1905, at the age of seventy- nine. In their family were eleven children, of whom nine are still living. Two of the number, John and Mrs. Mary Custer, are residents of Council Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. Ingram have four children, Lea, Robert, Ruth and Leonard.
In polities Mr. Ingram is a stalwart democrat, who for the past eight years has filled the office of township trustee, a fact which indicates his capability and fidelity in office. He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge, at Silver City, Iowa, to the Modern Woodmen camp at Treynor, and to the Elks lodge at Council Bluffs and is popular with his brethren of the fraternity. In fact he is a man of many admirable characteristics, highly spoken of throughout the community and his substantial qualities have gained for him the favorable regard of many warm friends.
A. C. BERGMAN.
In the remote regions of the past Germany sent her sons forth to conquer different lands and their people and extended her domain, carrying the erude civilization of the earlier ages into hitherto wild districts. As the centuries have gone by and the ages of modern progress have come the learning and the labor of her sons have been a force in civilizing the new world, and the German-American element in our citizenship is widely recognized as an important one. Mr. Bergman, a representative of this class, was born in the kingdom of Prussia, Germany, on the 24th of August, 1833, his parents being Henry and Caroline (Hesse) Bergman, also natives of the same country. Their family numbered fourteen children but the subject of this review is the only one living in America. The father always followed farming and his entire life was passed beneath one roof-a house which has stood for two hundred and forty-two years. The youngest brother of our subject was or- dained as a minister in his father's home and just two hundred years prior to that time one of his great-great-uncles had been ordained in the same house.
A. C. Bergman remained with his father until twenty years of age and acquired his education in the schools of his native country. When his life span had covered two decades he determined to seek his fortune in America and crossed the Atlantic to New Orleans, whence he took a steamboat up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, it requiring seven days to make the trip. He landed at the latter city and soon afterward found employment as a farm hand at nine dollars per month, being employed in that way for three
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months. He next went to Aurora, Kane county, Illinois, securing work on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at a dollar and a quarter per day. The road was at that time being built and he assisted in laying the track. He continued to work on the railroad in the winter of 1854-5, being engaged in shoveling snow a part of the time, and in the spring of the latter year he made his way to Galva, Henry county, Illinois, where he was em- ployed as a section hand for a year. In 1856 he was engaged in prospecting for coal in the employ of the railroad company but in the spring of 1857 he left Illinois and with a boy friend walked from Galva to Davenport, Iowa, in search of farm work. Failing to find employment as they anticipated, however, they returned on foot to Galva and Mr. Bergman soon afterward secured a position on the farm of Lyman Riddle, with whom he continued for two years. He did not draw his money during that period, wishing to save it and gain therewith a start in business life on his own account. Two hundred dollars was due him when his employer went to the east, failing to pay Mr. Bergman for his work. Such a circumstance would have utterly dis- couraged and disheartened many a man of less resolute spirit, but Mr. Berg- man bravely faced the situation and started out anew.
In 1859, A. C. Bergman was married, in Illinois, to Miss Katy M. John- son, a native of Sweden, born in 1841, her parents being Peter and Katy (Olson) Johnson, who were likewise natives of Sweden. They came to Amer- ica in 1852, settling in Stark county, Illinois, where the father died the same year and the mother there spent her remaining days. Their family numbered five children.
Following his marriage Mr. Bergman went to Knox county, Illinois, where he rented a tract of land and engaged in farming for twelve consecutive years. In 1871 he came to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and invested his earnings in eighty acres of land in Pleasant township, which he began till- ing and cultivating, adding to this as he found opportunity until he is now the owner of two hundred and six acres of valuable farm property on section 1, Pleasant township. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1903, when he left the farm and removed to Avoca, buying a fine residence and two lots. He and his wife are now occupying this attractive home in the enjoyment of a rest which they have justly earned. His property is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and labor, his untiring diligence having constituted the key which has unlocked for him the portals of success.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bergman were born two sons but both died while the family were residing in Knox county, Illinois. They afterward adopted a son, who is now living upon and operating the home farm. Mr. Bergman votes with the republican party and for twenty-six years has held the office of justice of the peace, presiding with impartiality over his court, his decisions being strictly fair and just. He has also been president of the school board for seven years and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He belongs to Selentia lodge, No. 371, A. F. & A. M., at Shelby, Iowa, having been made a Mason in Galva, Illinois, in 1867, since which time he has been a faithful follower and worthy exemplar of the craft. He was reared in the Catholic faith and his wife is a member of the First Congregational church
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at Avoca. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bergman are much esteemed in the com- munity where they have now long resided and his example is one which is well worthy of emulation, for it shows what may be accomplished through determined and persistent effort in a land where labor is not hampered by caste or class.
WILLIAM THOMAS SHIVELY.
William Thomas Shively, who is living in honorable retirement in Council Bluffs, was born in Taylor county, Kentucky, March 8, 1830. His father, John B. Shively, was likewise a native of that state, born in 1804. Death came to him August 12, 1864, he being killed by Union soldiers, and it is said that the reason was that he owned slaves. At the same time he had six sons serving in the Union army, including William T. Shively of this review. The father's death occurred in Lebanon, Marion county, Kentucky. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah Heavrin and was a daughter of Robert Heavrin, of Marion county.
In the district schools of Taylor county, Kentucky, William T. Shively acquired his education, and afterward began flat-boating on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, going down to New Orleans in 1850. He was thus engaged for three years and on the 15th of October, 1853, he married and settled on a farm on Cloyd's creek in Marion county, Kentucky, where he continued for five years. He then removed to Taylor county, Kentucky, and bought four hundred acres of land, upon which he remained until after the out- break of the Civil war. Espousing the cause of the Union he entered Company H, of the Tenth Kentucky Infantry, serving under Colonel John M. Harlan, now one of the judges of the supreme court of the United States. He was in that command for nearly four years and was mustered out at Louisville. He joined the army as a private and won promotion to the rank of captain.
When the war was ended Mr. Shively bought a farm in Taylor county, Kentucky, which he sold after a year and then gave his attention to the milling business until he came to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, in the sum- mer of 1866. For several months he worked in the steam sawmills at Lewins Grove near Avoca, and in the spring of 1867 he began farming, in which he continued until the following winter, when he entered the employ of the Rock Island Railroad Company. He worked at grading until the road was completed to Council Bluffs in the same year. Subsequently he entered the car repairing department of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and so continued until 1869. In that year he removed to Lemars, Iowa, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land and turned his attention to farming, cultivating and developing that place until the spring of 1882, when he went to O'Neill, Nebraska. He there pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he brought under cultivation, and upon that farm lived for sixteen years, his labors converting it into a rich and productive property. Removing to the city of O'Neill, he there lived for six years, and
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