USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 23
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James Wilson, reared under the parental roof, early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He worked in the fields during the summer months, spending the winter seasons as a pupil in the public schools, and after completing his education he remained upon the home farm until 1871, when he came to the middle west. He had some uncles liv- ing in Washington county, Iowa, whither he made his way in search of a loca- tion. Later in the same year he continued his journey to Pottawattamie county and invested in one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 7, Knox town- ship, where he now resides, paving eight dollars per acre for this land. Subse-
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quently he bought eighty acres on section 7 and one hundred acres on section 18 just across the road from the old farm.
Throughout the intervening years he has carried on general agricultural pursuits with excellent success, and in more recent years has given considerable attention to the raising of fine stock, in which connection he has become widely known. In 1893, when on a visit to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, he purchased a premium polled Durham bull and began breeding high grade cattle for the market. In this regard he has gained a national repu- tation, being known throughout the entire country as one of the leading breeders of polled Durhams, having a herd of over one hundred head. He has now some fifty-five head of fancy bulls and heifers, which he intends to dispose of at a sale in October, 1907. There are no finer cattle of this breed to be found in the entire country than those owned by Mr. Wilson and in fact he is widely regarded as authority upon the subject of Durhams. He has met with excellent success in his business and as one of the leading stock breeders and raisers not only of Iowa but of the entire country, he well deserves mention in this volume.
In 1872 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Maria A. Hammond, of Marysville, Missouri, and they have become the parents of five children, of whom four are yet living: Cora D., Rosa B., Warren F. and Oley M. All are yet at home with the exception of Rosa, who is now the wife of Warren Best, of Shelby county, Iowa. All have been students in the high school at Avoca and have thus enjoyed liberal educational privileges.
In politics Mr. Wilson is a republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party, and at the present writing is a member of the board of township trustees. He has also served for several years as a member of the school board and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is serving as a trustee, and he is much interested in all that pertains to the material, intellectual and moral progress of the community. In his business affairs he is reliable and energetic and his close application and unfaltering diligence have brought him a very gratifying success.
ELDIN H. LOUGEE.
Eldin H. Lougee, a real-estate dealer of Council Bluffs, was born in Campton, New Hampshire, on the 11th of July, 1868, and in 1870 accom- panied his parents on their removal to Plymouth, New Hampshire, which was one of the towns of his native county. There he was reared, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of life for him in his boyhood and youth. At the usual age he took up his studies and passed through the grades successfully until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1886.
Following his graduation, Mr. Lougee went to St. Johnsburg, Vermont, where he engaged in clerking for two years, and in the fall of 1887 he arrived
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in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he soon after secured a clerical position in the Council Bluffs Savings Bank. He remained as an employe of that insti- tution until May, 1890, and then entered the office of E. E. Hart and J. D. Edmundson as clerk, remaining there until the spring of 1897. In that year he embarked in business on his own account as a real-estate and loan agent in partnership with his uncle, F. C. Lougee. This firm was continued until January 1, 1906, when Eldin H. Lougee bought out his partner and has since been in the business alone. He has thoroughly informed himself con- cerning realty values and has negotiated many important real-estate transfers. He has likewise placed many loans and has secured a good clientage in this department of business.
Mr. Lougee is well known in connection with public life in Council Bluffs, having served for four consecutive years in the city council as the republican member from the second ward. He is deeply interested in the success of his party, but he never allows partisanship to warp his judgment in regard to public measures relative to the welfare and progress of the city.
Mr. Lougee was married in 1906, in this city to Miss Caroline, the daugh- ter of John Schoentgen, deceased. Mr. Lougee belongs to the Elks lodge and has membership relations with the Knights of the Maccabees. He has been a resident of Council Bluffs for twenty years, and in the field of political life and commercial activity has won distinction, being today numbered among the leading, influential and honored residents of Pottawattamie county. A young man, he possesses the enterprising spirit of the west which has been the dominant factor in producing the wonderful development of this section of the country.
NICOLAUS PETERSEN.
In a history of the agricultural development of Pottawattamie county, mention should be made of Nicolaus Petersen, who though now living retired in Walnut, was for many years closely associated with the farming interests of the county and is still the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of valuable land within its borders. A native of Germany he was born on the island of Fehmarn, province of Holstein, on the 3d of March, 1852, his parents being Matthias and Catharine Petersen, who were also natives of Germany, where they spent their entire lives. In their family were five children, of whom two are now living: Nicolaus and a sister who yet makes her home in the father- land.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for Nicolaus Petersen in his boyhood days but the favorable reports which he heard concerning America and her opportunities awakened in him a desire to try his fortune in the new world and in 1871, when nineteen years of age, he crossed the Atlantic, settling in Davenport, Iowa, where he worked at the brewer's trade for fifteen months. He was next employed as a farm hand for three years, during which time he carefully saved his earning toward the
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time when he should be able to purchase a farm. In 1877 he arrived in Pottawattamie county and his hopes of one day owning property found ful- fillment in his purchase of one hundred and sixty acres in Layton township. Later he bought more land, adding to his holdings from time to time as his financial resources increased until he now owns five hundred and sixty acres in Layton township. He lived for twenty-eight years upon that farm and brought it under a high state of cultivation, the fields bringing forth large crops annually so that in the course of years he acquired a handsome com- petence, enabling him now to live retired in well earned ease. In 1905 he removed to Walnut and purchased a fine residence, which he now occupies, here enjoying the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. While upon the farm he made a specialty of raising and feeding stock and was very suc- cessful in that business.
In 1877 Mr. Petersen was married to Miss Margaret Ehlers, a native of Germany, who came with her parents to America in 1868, settling in Scott county, Iowa, where her father and mother are now living. Their family numbered five children and unto Mr. and Mrs. Petersen have been born six children: Matthias, Nicolaus and Charles, all of this county; Louisa, the wife of Charles Ormann, of Scott county, Iowa; Agnes, the wife of William Stamp; and Minnie at home.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and are much interested in the intellectual and moral progress of the community, their influence being ever found on the side of right, justice and truth. In his political views Mr. Petersen is a democrat but has never filled offices save that of school director, in which he has served for several terms. He is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Walnut and has filled all the chairs, being in hearty sympathy with its beneficent principles and purposes.
CHRISTINE S. ERICKSEN, M. D.
Dr. Christine S. Ericksen, who in the practice of her profession has made an excellent record and is now city physician for contagious diseases, came to Pottawattamie county from Newman Grove, Nebraska, in 1899. A native of Chicago, Illinois, she is a daughter of Erick P. and Christine S. Ericksen, the former a farmer by occupation. Her parents were married in Denmark, whence they came to the United States in 1867, shortly afterward settling in Chicago, where the father was a contractor and builder. During the great Chicago fire of 1871 they lost all that they had. In 1878 they removed to Sycamore, Illinois, where they remained for one year. On the expiration of that period they became residents of Nebraska, in 1879, settling forty miles from a railroad or trading point. They have since seen the development of the great middle west and the Northwestern Railroad now runs within two miles of their home. They were the parents of seven children.
The removal of the family to Nebraska in her early girlhood led Dr. Ericksen to pursue her studies in the public schools of Newman Grove and
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eventually she was graduated from the high school there. She then taught school for four years and was afterward graduated from Fremont Normal College in 1897 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. She again taught school from 1897 until 1899, when, having determined upon the practice of medi- cine as a life work, in the fall of the latter year she began studying for that purpose and was graduated from the medical department of the University of Nebraska in 1903. She has since been engaged in general practice in Council Bluffs and has been accorded a liberal patronage here. She keeps in touch with the onward march of the profession through her membership in the Pot- tawattamie County Medical Society, the Council Bluffs Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. She is now city physician for contagious diseases-a position which she has filled for several years. She also belongs to the Ben Hur Court of Honor, the Rebekah degree of the Odd Fellows and the Knights and Ladies of Security.
Dr. Ericksen is a member of the Fifth Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which she has taken a very active and helpful interest, serv- ing as superintendent of the Sunday school for three years, while for a similar period she has been the second vice president of the district Epworth League.
HENRY SCOTT.
Henry Scott, who for twenty years has been engaged in raising and feed- ing shorthorn cattle for the market in connection with the conduct of his gen- eral farming interests, makes his home on section 23, Hazel Dell township. Here he owns four hundred and forty acres of valuable land, all of which has been acquired through his own efforts. His first purchase was but eighty acres and to this he added until he is now one of the substantial agriculturists of the county. His birth occurred in Cambridgeshire, England, April 5, 1848, his parents being George and Ann (Cooper) Scott, both of whom were natives of England. They were married in that country and in 1856 came to the United States, settling in Kane township, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, ivhere they made their home for twenty years. Their last days, however, were spent in Hazel Dell township, where Mr. Scott cultivated and improved a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, bringing his land under a high state of cultivation. They were associated with the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints. In their family were twelve children but only three are now living, Thomas and William being residents of Norwalk township.
Henry Scott, whose name introduces this review, was reared in England to the age of eight years and then accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world. The greater part of his youth was therefore passed in this county upon the homestead farm, amid the scenes and environments of pioneer life. When not busy with the work of the fields he attended the country schools and at the age of twenty years he started out in life on his own account, work- ing as a farm hand by the month. His first purchase of land made him owner of eighty acres on section 23, Hazel Dell township. It was raw prairie and his
HENRY SCOTT.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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first home was a small shanty. As time has passed he has extended the bound- aries of his farm until he now owns four hundred acres, upon which are ex- cellent, modern improvements. He has made all this himself, living a life of activity and energy. He is still a hard worker, carrying on his farm along most progressive lines. For twenty years he has successfully raised, fed and fattened cattle for the market, making a specialty of shorthorns. He owns a registered herd of that breed and also many full blooded Poland China swine. His stock-raising interests are an important branch of his business and con- tribute largely to his annual income.
On the 1st of January, 1869, Mr. Scott was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Springer, who was born in Missouri, November 2, 1849, a daughter of George Springer, one of the early settlers of the county. Mrs. Scott died Janu- ary 10, 1882, leaving six children : Laura E., the wife of Joe McMullen, of Council Bluffs ; Lulu A., the wife of Jay Ely, of Wyoming; Sadie E., the wife of L. D. Groves, of Hazel Dell township; Harry G., who is living on a part of his father's farm ; Bertha, the wife of Frank Hough of Hazel Dell: and Frank, who died at the age of twelve months. After losing his first wife, Mr. Scott was again married on the 5th of May, 1885, his second union being with Carrie Hemmingsen, who was born in Denmark, November 25, 1861. They have six children : Bessie F., now the wife of William Jensen, of Hazel Dell township; Raymond H., at home; Alice M., deceased; Thomas L., Esther G. and Carrie Ruth, all at home.
Mr. Scott exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and has served as township trustee and school director, yet is not a politician in the sense of office seeking. He has preferred to give his time and energies to his business affairs and in his chosen field of labor has met with the success, which is all the more gratifying because it indi- cates his own business ability and enterprise. He is one of the oldest residents of the county in years of continuous connection therewith, having for more than half a century lived within its borders. He has therefore witnessed its development as it has emerged from pioneer conditions and taken on all the evidences of a modern civilization, its wild lands being converted into produc- tive farms, while its hamlets and villages have grown into thriving towns and cities. He has borne his full share in the work of improvement along agri- cultural lines and as the architect of his own fortune he has builded wisely and well.
ALEXANDER P. FAIR.
Alexander P. Fair, district manager for the Nebraska Telephone Com- pany at Council Bluffs, was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, but much of his life has been spent in the middle west, to which he removed with his parents when eleven years of age, the family home being established in Dakota City, Nebraska. He completed his preliminary education in the pub- lic schools there and afterward attended the State University, at Lincoln, thus
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acquiring a good education to prepare him for life's practical and responsible duties. Leaving the university in 1881, he entered the employ of the Nebraska Telephone Company at Lincoln, and has since been continuously with that corporation save for nine months, in 1892, which he spent in Seward, Ne- braska. His long connection with the company is indisputable proof of his fidelity to its interests and his capability in the discharge of his duties. He has worked his way upward until he now occupies the responsible position of district manager with headquarters in Council Bluffs.
Mr. Fair was married in 1885, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Miss Fannie A. Patmore, and in the city of their residence they have many warm friends, while their own home is justly celebrated for its warm-hearted and gracious hospitality. Mr. Fair belongs to the Royal Arcanum and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his social qualities render him a favorite in these organizations.
GEORGE DIRGO.
George Dirgo, who is now engaged in the dairy business in the village of Avoca, was born in the state of New York, May 24, 1859. He is a son of John and Anna Mary (Henn) Dirgo, who were natives of Germany, whence they crossed the Atlantic to America in 1855, settling in the Empire state. The father worked by the month for fourteen years. In 1869 he removed to the west, settling in Scott county, Iowa, where he rented a farm for seven years. In 1875 he became a resident of Pottawattamie county, establishing his home in Pleasant township, where he purchased two hundred acres of land, continuing its further development and improvement for a number of years. He then retired from business life and removed to Avoca, where both he and his wife passed away in 1906. In their family were four chil- dren, namely: John, living in Pleasant township; Katie, whose home is in Avoca; George, of this review; and Charles, who resides in Pleasant township.
In taking up the personal history of George Dirgo we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Pot- tawattamie county as a representative of its agricultural interests. He was eight years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Iowa and he remained with his father until he had attained his majority, when he began farming on his own account, cultivating a traet of rented land for one year. On the expiration of that period he bought a farm of eighty acres, to which he added an eighty acre tract, and he also inherited forty aeres from his father's estate, making two hundred acres, besides the forty acres where he lives in Knox township adjoining the village of Avoca. At the present writing he is engaged in the dairy business, keeping a large number of cows and finding a ready sale for the product of his dairy. Ilis business interests are well man- aged and are bringing to him gratifying success.
Mr. Dirgo has been married twice. In 1892 he wedded Miss Louisa Davis and unto them was born a son, Harry C., who is at home. The wife
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and mother died in 1896 and Mr. Dirgo has since married Miss Minnie Geidel, who was born in Pottawattamie county in 1881 and is a daughter of Gustav and Mary Geidel, who were natives of Germany. In their family were seven children, including Mrs. Dirgo, who by her marriage has become the mother of two daughters, Lily May and Marie Margaret. The parents are well known in Avoca and throughout the surrounding district and enjoy the hospitality of many of the best homes of the locality.
In his political views Mr. Dirgo is a republican, having supported the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He does not seek nor desire office, however, preferring to give undivided attention to his business affairs, and the capable management thereof results in bringing to him a merited prosperity.
GEORGE H. NICOLL.
George H. Nicoll has the ability for the mastery of a complexity of busi- ness interests and the executive ability required in the management of such an office as he fills. He is in control of the Western Union Telegraph interests at Council Bluffs and as manager has made an excellent record. He has worked up to this position from that of messenger boy, his promotions coming to him in recognition of his capability and genuine worth.
Mr. Nicoll is a native of Scotland, having been born in Perth, on the 15th of December, 1862, his parents being James and Amelia (Hutton) Nicoll. He spent the first eight or nine years of his life in the land of hills and heather, and in 1871 came with his parents to the new world, the family home being established at Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he completed his edu- cation at the age of seventeen years. The school of experience, however, has brought him many valuable lessons.
On putting aside his text-books he entered the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Council Bluffs, in November, 1879. as mes- senger boy. Ambitious for success and desirous of advancement he has eagerly embraced every opportunity offering itself and promotions have come to him as the result of his diligence and trustworthiness. In 1880 he was made operator in the Council Bluffs office, filling that position until November, 1888, when he went to Salt Lake City, where he was operator for the Western Union until March, 1890. He was then transferred to Omaha, continuing in the office of the company at that place until November. 1891. when he was promoted to his present position as manager of the Council Bluffs office.
Mr. Nicoll is well known in telegraphic circles, where he has gained warm friendships, and in social life he has won equally favorable regard. He is a chapter Mason, now serving as king of Star chapter. No. 47, R. A. M. IIe also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and to the Royal Arcanum, of which he is a past regent, while at the present time he is a grand trustee of the order in Iowa. He likewise holds membership in the Council Bluffs Commercial Club. He is an excellent type of the western man,
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alert and enterprising, eagerly seeking and utilizing opportunities and thus winning advancement, and at the same time he manifests many of the sterling characteristics of the Scottish race, including the perseverance and business integrity which have ever been strongly marked features of the sons of Scotland.
PETER F. HOWELL.
Peter F. Howell, one of the extensive agriculturists and enterprising citi- zens of this section of the state, was born in Staffordshire, England, on the 1st of November, 1851, a son of John and Frances (Bate) Howell. The parents ' were both natives of England and were reared and married in that country, the father being first a blacksmith by trade and later a veterinary surgeon. In 1855, in company with his family, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and located on a farm which he purchased near Cascade, Iowa. When a year had passed, however, he returned to England and, as he was persuaded by friends to remain in that country, he sent for his family to join him. In 1868, however, he once more emigrated to the United States in company with his wife and two sons, locating in Washington county, Iowa, where they re- mained until 1880. In that year they came to Pottawattamie county and a year later purchased eighty acres in Layton township, where the father's de- mise occurred in 1882. The mother afterward made her home among her children until she, too, departed this life, in 1901. This worthy couple had become the parents of eight children, four of whom yet survive: John B., a resident of Iola, Kansas; Arthur, living in Osborne county, Kansas; Fannie Winifred, of Renton, Washington ; and Peter F., of this review.
Peter F. Howell was reared under the parental roof and acquired his edu- cation in the private schools of England, being seventeen years of age when his parents came to the United States the second time. He came to Pottawatta- mie county in 1875 and broke prairie the first year, bringing three horses with him from Washington county, Iowa. The following year he began operating a rented farm but in 1878 purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Knox township, which he successfully cultivated until 1883, when he sold the property and went to Audubon county, Iowa, and there carried on agricultural pursuits on one of Dr. Ballard's farms. The Doctor died the same year and Mr. Howell then took charge of the widow's farm lands, which he managed in an able and profitable manner for seventeen years. During a portion of this time he also operated thirty-four hundred acres of rented land. In 1900 he re- turned to Pottawattamie county, having become the owner of four hundred and ninety acres in Knox township, this county, and one hundred and sixty acres in Adams county. He has met with an unusual degree of success in his farming operations and is widely recognized as one of the representative agri- culturists of this section of the state.
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