USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 34
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LOUIS MISCHLER.
Louis Mischler, well known as a leading representative of business interests in Minden, being the senior partner of the firm of Pieper & Mischler, was born in Moniteau county, Missouri, October 10, 1865. His father, John Mischler, was a native of Germany and on coming to the United States settled first in Missouri but in 1871 removed to Iowa, locating in Webster county near Fort Dodge. There he remained for four years and in 1875 came to Pottawattamie county. He bought land in York township, where he developed a farm and reared his family. At a later date he went to Kansas, settling in Osborne county, and is now living retired in the city of Osborne.
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Louis Mischler was reared in this county and acquired a common-school education. He remained with his father until he had attained his majority. In early manhood he married Miss Louisa Ida Singleman, who was born, reared and educated in Ogle county, Illinois, but the wedding was celebrated in Min- den township about 1890. Following their marriage they began housekeeping on a farm in Minden township, Mr. Mischler owning and cultivating two hun- dred and forty acres of land. He further developed and improved this place, raising. feeding and shipping stoek in addition to the work of cultivating the fields. He was a successful farmer and stockman, continuing the business year after year with gratifying results until 1907, when he rented his farm and purchased an interest in the business with which he is now connected. As a member of the firm of Pieper & Mischler he is interested in a general mercantile enterprise. They own a large and well selected line of goods and occupy a commodious and well lighted double store, which affords them excellent op- portunity for the attractive display of their goods. Their business methods are thoroughly reliable, conforming closely to a high standard of commercial ethics. The courtesy which is always extended the patrons secures to them a continuanee of the trade and their business is gradually increasing.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mischler have been born two sons and three daugh- ters: Marguerite, Elva, Lloyd, Paul and Myrtle, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. The parents are members of the German Evangelical church and are greatly esteemed by many warm friends, while the hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them. In his political views Mr. Mischler has al- ways been a republican and has served on the school board for several years, the cause of education finding in him a warm and stalwart friend. Political office, however, has had no attraction for him as he has preferred to give undi- vided attention to his business interests, and as a farmer and merchant he has made continual advancement in business circles, while his laudable ambition and close application promise well for a prosperous future.
WILLIAM C. DROGE.
William C. Droge is a member of the firm of Droge Brothers, proprietors of a large grain elevator at Council Bluffs, and is thus closely associated with the grain trade at this point. He was born here on the 5th of November, 1876. and is a son of Herman Droge, a native of Germany, born in the year 1833. He spent the first fifteen years of his life in that land and in 1848 came to America with his parents, settling in Iowa. Later he arrived in Council Bluffs and for a long period was an active factor in the business interests of the city. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the Union cause and during his service at the front he participated in a number of important engagements. He was married in this city to Miss Minnie Schaffer, and unto them have been born eleven children, nine of whom reached adult age, while eight are yet living.
William C. Droge spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the city of his nativity. At the usual age he entered the public schools, passing through
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successive grades to the age of sixteen years, when he put aside his text-books and started in business. He has since been dependent upon his own resources and his success has come as the merited reward of earnest labor. In 1894, in company with his brother, Henry F. Droge, he began buying hay and also followed farming to a limited extent. They continued in the hay trade until 1902, building a warehouse in Council Bluffs, after which they dealt in hay and grain. They carried on a wholesale business and were in that line until 1905, when they sold out and have since given their attention to the elevator. They are thus still closely connected with the grain trade and are well known to the farmers and others who produce cereals and other products which are handled by the firm.
Henry F. Droge, the brother and partner of our subject, was born in Council Bluffs in 1874, was here reared and educated and became a partner of William C. Droge in 1894. The latter belongs to the Commercial Club and is well known in business circles of the city as a young man who accomplishes results by reason of well defined plans and untiring activity.
HENRY F. SAAR.
A well developed and highly improved farm comprising eight hundred and forty-six acres situated on sections 10, 15, 21 and 22, Keg Creek township, Pottawattamie county, is the property of Henry F. Saar, who was born in Moniteau county, Missouri. March 21, 1848, a son of Henry and Sophia (Plummer) Saar, both of whom were natives of Germany, the former having been born in Bavaria, August 5, 1822. His death occurred in 1888, when he had reached the age of sixty-six years and he was for a long period survived by his wife, who passed away in 1902, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. The father emigrated to America in 1842, locating first in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he worked in a stone quarry, for the meager sum of five dollars per month. . Noting the opportunities which were offered in agri- cultural lines, he then purchased eighty acres of land, but hearing favorable reports concerning the state of Iowa, he rode on horseback to Mills county to look over the country. Being pleased with that section of the state, he returned to his home in Missouri, disposed of his land and returned to Mills county, making the trip with ox teams, the year of his arrival there being 1851. He purchased forty acres of land in a district which later became known as the Plummer settlement. Taking up his abode thereon he began ยท the active work of farm life and as the years passed and he prospered in his undertakings he added to his original holdings until at one time he owned three thousand acres of land in Mills and Pottawattamie counties, his home place comprising fourteen hundred acres, situated in the former county. Thus through his own well directed efforts he became a very wealthy man and at the time of his death was regarded as one of the substantial citizens of his section of the state.
H. F. SAAR.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDE N FOUNDATIONS.
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Henry .F. Saar is one of a family of thirteen children, of whom four survive, his brothers being Julius and Otto, both of whom are residents of Keg Creek township, while his sister, Eliza, is the wife of Dr. Charles Deetken. a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was a little lad of three years at the time of the parents' removal from Missouri to Mills county, Iowa, so that practically his entire life has been spent in this state. His educational priv- ileges were very limited, for at that early period few schoolhouses had been built and he was ten years of age before he had any advantages in this direc- tion, and it was then that he attended a subscription school, wherein he acquired a fair knowledge of the more common English branches. He was early trained to the duties of the home farm and assisted his father in the operation of the fields until he had reached the age of twenty-three years, when, in 1871, he began business on his own account by operating land which was given him by his father and which comprised what is now a portion of his home place. However, his father wished him to return home and take charge of the homestead farm, where he continued until 1875, when he removed once more to his own property and has since made this his place of residence. He has, however, added to his landed holdings until he owns at the present time seven hundred and seventy-six acres after giving to his son Arthur a tract of eighty acres. This is a valuable property, on which stands a fine country residence and substantial barns and outbuildings, also a good orchard and small fruit, all of which have been placed there by the owner. In addition to tilling the soil he is engaged quite extensively in raising and feeding stock and this branch of his business has proved a valuable source of income to him. He makes a specialty of polled Angus cattle and Poland China hogs.
It was on the 27th of June, 1872, that Mr. Saar was united in marriage to Miss Caroline W. Rickman, who also comes of German parentage. She was born in Davenport. Iowa, a daughter of E. H. and Maria (Spetman) Rickman, the former a native of Germany. Their marriage was celebrated in Davenport, after which they located on a farm near that city, the father being engaged in general agricultural pursuits until the last year of his life. which was spent in honorable retirement in the city of Council Bluffs, where his death occurred in 1889, when he had reached the age of sixty-five. The mother is still living and makes her home in Council Bluffs. This marriage was blessed with four children, all of whom survive, namely: Adolph, a resident of Nebraska: Caroline W., now Mrs. Saar; Christina, who lives in Nebraska; and Teresa, who resides with her mother in Council Bluffs.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Saar has been blessed with seven children, as follows: Albert, who assists his father in the operation of the home farm; Arthur, who wedded Annie Schultz and is engaged in the hardware and furniture business in Treynor, Iowa; Clara, the wife of H. H. Guttan, of Washington township, Pottawattamie county; Carl, who wedded Ollie Miller and makes his home in Keg Creek townhip; Hattie, who died in 1903 at the age of twenty years; and Ernest and Lulu, both under the parental roof.
Mr. Saar holds membership relations with the German Lutheran church, while his political allegiance is given to the democratic party. He has been
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called to fill some public offices, having served as township trustee and road supervisor and is acting as treasurer of the school board. He has made good use of his opportunities and has prospered from year to year, conducting his business affairs carefully and successfully until he is today numbered among the well-to-do citizens of his section of the state.
FRED J. SCHNORR.
Fred J. Schnorr, engaged in the real-estate, loan and investment business in Council Bluffs, was born in McHenry, Illinois, on the 8th of July, 1859. His father, Fred Schnorr, Sr., was a native of Germany, the year of his birth being 1833. He came to America in 1852, when a young man of about nine- teen years, and after spending two years in the state of New York removed westward to McHenry, Illinois, where for many years he was engaged in the boot and shoe business, becoming well known in commercial circles in that place. In the year 1855, in McHenry, Illinois, he wedded Catharine Waldeis, and they have two children : Frank A., who was born in 1857 and now resides in Spencer, Iowa; and Fred J., of this review.
Fred J. Schnorr, the younger son, was a pupil in the public schools of his native town to the age of sixteen years, when he put aside his text-books and started out in life on his own account. Leaving McHenry in 1876, he went to Elgin, Illinois, where he learned the tinner's trade, which he followed for three and a half years. He then removed to Chenoa, Illinois, where he worked for three years, and on the expiration of that period went to Nunda, where he spent one year as manager of a hardware store. A removal to South Dakota made him a resident of Aphol, where he opened a hardware store, conducting business at that point for two years. Later he became a resident of Liberty, Nebraska, where he purchased a hardware store and on selling his stock he turned his attention to the loan business, in which he continued for a year. His next location was at Quinter, Kansas, where he organized the Bank of Quinter, a private banking institution, of which he was one of the proprietors and cashier for three years.
Seeking a still broader field of labor, Mr. Schnorr came to Council Bluffs in 1890 and has here since engaged in the real-estate, loan and investment business. He has made it a point to acquaint himself thoroughly with realty values and few if any men of the county have more intimate knowledge of the property interests of the city. He knows almost every piece of property on the market, recognizes its possibilities for advance in price and has nego- tiated many important realty transfers. He has also succeeded in placing many loans and in this connection is well known in financial circles. He allows nothing to interfere with the conduct of his business interests, and his duty to his clients and his close application has been one of the salient features in his business success.
In 1883 Mr. Schnorr was married at Crystal Lake, Illinois, to Miss Nellie A. Hill, and they have one son, William F. Mr. Schnorr belongs to the Benev-
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olent & Protective Order of Elks, and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party. He has made vari- ous removals, each time with the hope of enjoying better opportunities, and gradually he has worked his way upward until he is now in control of a large and gratifying business, while his activity and enterprise have gained him rec- ognition as a foremost factor in business circles in Council Bluffs.
GEORGE HENRY JACKSON.
George Henry Jackson. in charge of the elaim department at the transfer depot of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, is perhaps equally well known in political and Masonic circles, and in all these varied lines, whatever his hand has found to do he has done to the utmost of his ability and with a sense of conscientious obligation. He was born in Selby, Yorkshire. England, No- vember 10, 1844. His father, John Jackson, also a native of that place, was born in 1823, and in England, in 1843, was married to Miss Mary Dickinson, also a native of that country. They came to America with their family in 1858, but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death occurring at Utica, New York, in 1859. His wife, long surviving him, died in Manches- ter, England, in 1902.
The eldest of five children, George H. Jackson pursued his education in the public schools of England, after which he was engaged as buyer in a wholesale dry-goods house at Selby and later in Manchester for a few years prior to coming to America with his parents. He was married in his native town, March 24, 1869, to Miss Maria Green. a daughter of Thomas and Mary Ann (Cliffe) Green. Her father, who was a shipbuilder, died in England in 1888. The daughter was educated in a young ladies' boarding school in Selby and is a lady of culture and refinement. Crossing the Atlantic to the new world, they were thirteen days upon the water and traveled by land for two days before reaching Council Bluffs, on the 11th of June. 1871. Mr. Jackson then entered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company as cashier and served in that capacity for five years, after which he went to the Union Pacific Railroad, in May, 1881. He is still in charge of the claim de- partment at the transfer depot, a position of large responsibility, demanding keen sagacity, discernment and business tact, all of which qualities he possesses in large degree.
Mr. Jackson is even better known perhaps in Council Bluffs as a leader in political circles and throughout the state in connection with his work in the Masonic fraternity. As candidate of the democratic party he was elected al- derman from the first ward in 1880 and served for two years. In 1896, because of the free-silver plank in the democratic platform, he transferred his allegi- ance to the republican party. In matters of citizenship he is always progres- sive and champions every measure for the general good. He is a prominent Mason, a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and of the Royal Arcanum. Of the last named he has been state regent. He joined Excelsior lodge, No.
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258, A. F. & A. M., of Council Bluffs, in 1876; Star chapter, No. 47, R. A. M., in 1877; Ivanhoe commandery, No. 17, K. T., of which he is a past com- mander, in 1877; Joppa council, R. & S. M., in 1887: and Kaaba shrine, at Davenport, in 1896, in all of which he still retains membership. He has also attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite. With his wife he joined Harmony chapter, No. 25, O. E. S., at Council Bluffs, and they have both been actively interested in its work. He is a past worthy patron and Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are the only persons who, as husband and wife, have had the dis- tinguished honor of filling the positions of past grand patron and past grand matron, respectively, of the Iowa Order of the Eastern Star at the same time. Mrs. Jackson also belongs to the P. E. O., and is now state secretary of the Eastern Star.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have been born three children: Marion, born in Manchester, England, in January, 1870, died in Council Bluffs in 1888. Lillian, born in Council Bluffs, November 21, 1873. is a graduate of the high school of this city and was married, June 9, 1897, to F. H. Ellis, who was gen- eral baggage agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company for several years, but retired a few years ago on account of his health. He and his wife now live at No. 513 South First street. Jessica, born in Council Bluffs, November 5, 1876, and educated in the city schools, became the wife of William F. Siedentopf, December 11, 1897. He is a real-estate dealer, living at No. 525 South First street.
Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have a beautiful home at No. 517 South First street, besides other properties in the city. They hold membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church, are deeply interested in its work and Mrs. Jackson is connected with the Ladies' Guild. In social circles, where true worth and in- telligence are received as the passports into good society, they occupy an en- viable position.
JOSEPII O. BOOTHI.
With all of the modern processes and methods of photography Joseph O. Booth, of Council Bluffs, is familiar, having kept thoroughly abreast with the advancement which has been made in this art and today he conducts one of the best equipped and most complete studios in his adopted city. The liberal patronage accorded him is an indication of the general satisfaction which he gives in his work and in his chosen field of labor he is meeting with good success.
Mr. Booth is a native of Stockton, California, born on the 31st of May, 1866. In 1868 he was brought to Iowa by his parents, Nathaniel and Sarah M. (Osgood) Booth. The father, a native of London, England, was born in 1832, and when a youth of eleven years came to America in 1843. He is now living in Harlan, Iowa, where he is engaged in the implement business. He married Miss Sarah M. Osgood, who died in 1888, leaving three little sons, William N., John HI. and Joseph O.
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At the removal of the family to Shelby county, Iowa, in 1868, they settled upon a farm, where Joseph O. Booth remained for twelve years, his experiences being those of the farm lad of the period. He attended the district schools, en- joying the sports of the playground, and he assisted to some extent in the work of the fields. Following the removal of his father to Harlan, Iowa, he there at- tended school for five years, or until he reached the age of seventeen, when he started out in business life, beginning work in a photographic studio in that place. Six months later he went to Sioux City. Iowa, where he continued for ten years and during the last three years of that time he was proprietor of a gallery. He had in previous years thoroughly acquainted himself with the best and most modern processes of photography and his labors brought him added knowledge and experience.
On leaving Sioux City Mr. Booth went to Denver, Colorado, and after be- ing located at other places he came to Council Bluffs in 1902. The following year he established his present studio, which he has now condueted for four years, having a well equipped photographic gallery with all of the latest appli- ances known to the art. He has thorough appreciation for the excellent effects that may be obtained through light and shade and pose, and in his work he has been very successful in securing the natural results which are to be so much desired in photography and because of the high grade of his pictures he has secured a most liberal patronage.
Mr. Booth was married in 1889, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Miss Leni Leoti Rice, a daughter of M. E. Rice, and they have three children, George, Gladys and Joseph O. Jr. Mr. Booth belongs to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
WILLIAM P. ANDERSEN.
William P. Andersen carries on general farming and stock-raising on sec- tion 29, York township, where he has a good farm property of one hundred and twenty acres and also has ten acres of timber land. He has lived upon this farm since 1885 and during the intervening years his labors have worked a marked transformation in its appearance. He was born in Holstein, Germany, October 29, 1856, a son of John C. Andersen, of Germany, in which country the father died. The mother bore the maiden name of Mary Mass. Follow- ing the death of her husband, which occurred when he was fifty-three years of age, Mrs. Andersen and her five children came to America. This was in 1883.
William P. Andersen, who was reared and educated in the fatherland, came with his mother, and after arriving in the new world rented land for three years. He then purchased one hundred and twenty acres, where he now resides. It was raw land but with characteristic energy he began the work of plowing, planting and cultivating and in due time harvested good crops. The work of improvement has been carried forward along modern lines and he has here built a good two-story residence. substantial barns and in fact has added all of the improvements known to a model farm of the twentieth century. He
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has set out an orchard of two acres, planted much small fruit and also many shade trees, which now adorn and enhance the beauty of the place, making it one of the attractive features of the landscape.
On the 17th of November, 1889, Mr. Andersen was married to Miss Mattie Rehder, a native of Germany, and a daughter of John Rehder, who in his na- tive country was a teacher. On coming to America he located in Pottawattamie county. Following his marriage Mr. Andersen took his bride to the farm and in the support of his family has since successfully prosecuted agricultural in- terests. In addition to tilling the soil he has raised and fed shorthorn cattle, shipping from one to three carloads per year, and he has also made a specialty of Chester White hogs, feeding from one to two carloads annually. In his business he is watchful of all of the details pointing to success and in the con- trol of his affairs manifests an aptitude for successful management. His labors are effective in that they have won him a place among the leading agri- culturists of the community and his business methods, too, are at all times straightforward and reliable.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Andersen have been born a daughter and son, Lydia and William. By a former marriage Mrs. Andersen had two children, Otto and Louis Falk.
In his political views Mr. Andersen is independent and takes no active part in politics, yet as a citizen interested in local affairs he has advocated many measures that have proven of benefit in promoting the interests of the com- munity. He is a member of the Lutheran church of Minden and during his residence of twenty-two years in this county he has become widely known, displaying those substantial qualities which in every land and clime command respect and regard.
FRANK H. MORGAN.
Frank H. Morgan, who for twenty-one years has been connected with the drug business in Council Bluffs, also selling paints, oils and glass, is well known in commercial circles and deserves mention with the representative busi- ness inen of the city: He was born in Glenwood, Mills county, Iowa, on the 13th of August, 1869, and in 1871 was taken by his parents to Council Bluffs, where he received his schooling in part, although his education was largely acquired in Burlington, Iowa, to which place the family removed in 1878.
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