USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 4
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
In 1868 Mr. Bennett was married in Bentonsport, Iowa, to Miss Char- lotte Dunning, and unto them have been born two daughters: Georgia B .. the wife of Louis Zurmuehlen. of Council Bluffs; and Gertrude B., the wife of Fred B. Empkie.
Mr. Bennett is a Masen, in hearty sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft. In politics he is a republican and for many years has been well known in political circles, his opinions often proving an influencing factor in local politics. He is one of the oldest residents of the city in years of connec- tion with its interests and Council Bluffs has found in him a helpful friend. whose labors in its behalf have been far-reaching and beneficial.
AUGUST SUNDELL.
August Sundell, one of the active and successful farmers and stock raisers and breeders of Neola township, lives on section 17, where a farm of one hun- dred and twenty aeres pays tribute to the care and labor he bestows upon it. He arrived in this county when a young man of twenty-three years, his birth having occurred in Sweden, August 5, 1858. There he was reared to man- hood amid the environments of agricultural life while spending his boyhood on the old home farm. His father, Andrew Sundell, was born and reared in Sweden but died when August was but eleven months old. His widow long survived him and reared her family.
August Sundell enjoyed the advantages offered by the common schools of Sweden and also spent one year as a pupil in an English school in Nebraska. In early life he began work as a farm hand, receiving fourteen dollars per month for his services. He was thus engaged for several years or until his labors had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to engage in business on his own account. In March, 1889, in Omaha, Nebraska, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Johnson, who spent her girlhood days in her native
596
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
country-Sweden. After their marriage they settled on the farm which Mr. Sundell purchased near Underwood. He there had one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he cultivated for two years, after which he sold that property and rented for a year. About 1892 he purchased the place upon which he now resides. Some improvements had been made upon it and he began to cultivate the soil with his characteristic thrift and diligence. He has since tilled the fields and also raised and fed hogs and cattle, his live-stock in- terests being an important source of income to him. What he possesses he has gained through his own labor and may truly be called a self-made man.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sundell have been born four children, Anna, Elsie, Roy and Ruth, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. In the com- munity where they reside the family enjoy the warm friendship of those with whom they have come in contact. Politically Mr. Sundell is a democrat, in- terested in the work of his party and active in its support. He was elected and served as township trustee, also as a member of the school board and has been a delegate to the county conventions. Fraternally he is connected with Neola lodge, I. O. O. F.
JAMES G. BRADLEY.
James G. Bradley, the well known city electrician of Council Bluffs, was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, May 1, 1858. In the common schools of his native city he acquired his education and at the age of twenty he re- moved to Troy, New York, where he lived for two years. The tide of emigra- tion was then moving westward with great force and to his observing mind were shown great possibilities for business advancement in the west. Conse- quently he made his way to Council Bluffs, where he has since lived and where he has won distinction both in his public and private life. In 1884 he was appointed superintendent of the fire and police alarm telegraph department of the city and held that office for nineteen years and seven months. It is only necessary to consider his term of office to be sure that he gave entire sat- isfaction. He was given an opportunity for rest for two years but in April, 1906, the city felt that once more they must have his efficient service and the city council accordingly gave him his present position.
In 1892, Mr. Bradley was united in wedlock, in this city, to Bertha A. Vogeler, a daughter of G. A. Vogeler. One daughter has blessed this union, Adelaide A. Mr. Bradley is a member of the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks, the Modern Woodmen and the Woodmen of the World. His political affiliation has always been with the republican party and he has taken an active part in its campaigns since the time that he at- tained his majority. He has always undertaken with energy anything that would increase the prosperity of the city and add to the comfort of its in- habitants. His life has been a success and he uses his opportunities to the ad- vantages of the community. For twenty-nine years he has been an active factor in advancing the city of Council Bluffs and during that entire time has
597
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
so conducted all of his affairs as to command the esteem, confidence and re- spect of all classes. Personally he is sociable, ever willing to accord to any one the courtesy of an interview, and although his career has not been filled with thrilling incidents, probably no biography published in this volume can serve as a better illustration to young men of the power of honesty and in- tegrity in insuring success in public office.
RICHARD WALKER.
Richard Walker, deceased, who for many years resided in Pottawattamie county, where he successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits, was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, November 28, 1841. His father, the Hon. Richard Walker, was a native of Bradford, Massachusetts, born in 1810, and in 1818 he became a resident of Hanover, New Hampshire. On the 8th of March, 1837, he married Mary C. Swett, daughter of Stockwell Swett, who served as a general in the Revolutionary war. In 1842 they removed to East Lebanon, where they spent their remaining days, the father passing away July 28, 1890. He was a prominent and influential resident of his community, leaving the impress of his individuality upon public thought and action, his county and his commonwealth benefiting by his efforts in their behalf. He served for two terms in the state legislature and his brother David was also a member of the general assembly of New Hampshire at the same time and twice served as select man. Mrs. Richard Walker, the mother of our subject, was born October 20, 1810, at Hanover, New Hampshire, and died at Lebanon, that state, on the 22d of April, 1892. They were the parents of three chil- dren : William G., who died at the age of twenty-two years: Richard, of this review; and Kate M., the wife of Hon. Lyman Whipple, a contractor and builder of Lebanon, New Hampshire, who for two terms represented his dis- trict in the state legislature.
Richard Walker, whose name introduces this record, resided at the place of his birth until about thirty-one years of age, and after acquiring a common- school education he continued his studies in the New London Academy. He resided on the farm with his father until his marriage and was engaged in sheep-raising, which was the principal feature of his farming interests in New England. In 1872 he made his way westward to Dover, Bureau county. Illi- nois, and was there married to Miss Shuah B. Pierce, who was born in Dover on the 1st of March, 1852, a daughter of Caleb and Martha (Paddleford) Pierce. With his bride Mr. Walker returned to New Hampshire, where he spent one year on a farm, and then again went to Dover, Illinois. Soon after- ward he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. upon which he re- sided until his removal from Illinois to Iowa in March, 1880. He was living here at the time of the big cyclone, which occurred in June following his ar- rival. He bought a farm six miles east of Carson, in Center township, com- prising one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which he erected a new resi- dence and made many modern and substantial improvements. There he re-
598
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
sided up to the time of his death, devoting his energies untiringly to agri- cultural pursuits, with the result that his farm became a productive and valu- able property.
As the years passed three children were added to the Walker household. Wyllis Pierce resides upon the old home farm belonging to Mrs. Walker, now comprising two hundred and eighty acres of land. There is also a farm of eighty acres in Grove township which Mrs. Walker has purchased since her husband's death. There are two dwellings on his farm and two sons reside in them. Richard Reno is also living on the old home place. Leon De Forest is with his mother, attending school. The eldest son, Wyllis, was married at Oakland March 18, 1897, to Lula A. Purdy, and they have two children- Shuah Isobel, born July 13, 1898; and Richard Wallace, born in November, 1901. Richard Reno Walker was married September 4, 1904, at Tekamah, Nebraska, to Mary Frances McPherson, who was graduated from the Woman's Christian Association hospital of Council Bluffs in November, 1900. They have two children-Robert Reno, born July 8, 1905; and Kathryn Alice, born October 16, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Walker lost their only daughter, Martha, when four years of age. The death of the husband and father occurred Au- gust 19, 1892.
Mr. Walker was a stanch republican in politics but manifested only a citizen's interest in the political situation of town and country, never desir- ing or seeking office as a reward for party fealty. He was a man of domestic taste, devoted to the welfare of his wife and family, and he also held friend- ship inviolable, so that many who knew him mourned his loss. For twenty- one years he was a faithful member of the Odd Fellows society and he was ever loyal to the trust reposed in him and equally faithful to the principles which guided his life and shaped his conduct. While he did not seek to figure prominently in public affairs, he was known as one whose influence could ever be counted upon to further the general good. During the past three years Mrs. Walker has resided in Carson, where she has an attractive home and many friends.
JOSEPH C. WATERMAN, M. D.
The practice of medicine claims the time and energies of Dr. Joseph C. Waterman, of Council Bluffs, who for twenty-one years has been located here in the active work of his profession. A native of New England, he was born in Albany, Vermont, in the year 1859, and there lived to the age of six years, when the family removed to St. Lawrence county, New York. There he con- tinued for about five years, after which he accompanied his parents to Iowa, the family home being established in Ames, where he acquired the greater part of his education through attendance at the common schools and as a stu- dent in Ames College.
Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, Dr. Waterman began preparation for that calling by attending lectures in the
599
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Iowa State University and later he continued his studies in Drake Medical College, at Des Moines, Iowa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1886. Having thus qualified for professional service he located at Council Bluffs, where he has since remained, and he has made continued advancement in knowledge and skill through his experience, research and close study. Hle has also kept in touch with the onward march of the profession through his membership with the American Medical Association, the State Medical Society and the Pottawattamie County Medical Society and the Council Bluffs Medical Society.
In 1887, in Ames, Iowa, Dr. Waterman was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Stucklagler. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks. The only offices that he has ever held have been along the line of his profession, he having served as coroner of Potta- wattamie county and as city physician of Council Bluffs. His life has in many respects been quietly passed but the force of his character, his strong individu- ality and his devotion to his professional duties have gained him recognition as one of the representative men of western Iowa.
KARL W. KLOPPING.
A farm of two hundred and eighty acres of well improved and valuable. land on sections 10 and 11. Norwalk township. is the property of Karl W. Klopping, who since 1864 has lived in this county, having been brought thither by his parents while in his first year. He was born in Freeport, Illi- nois, December 15, 1863. Ilis father, August Klopping, was a native of Ger- many and when a young man of twenty years came to the United States. Mention is made of him on another page of this work. He settled upon a farm in Pottawattamie county in 1866 and upon the old homestead his son Karl was reared, devoting his time and attention in the winter months to the acquirement of an education in the public schools, while in the summer sea- sons he assisted in the work of field and meadow. He continued with his father in carrying on the home farm until twenty-seven years of age and then began farming on his own account.
On the 25th of April, 1888, Mr. Klopping was married in Council Bluffs to Miss Mary Geise, a sister of Conrad Geise of that city. She was born in Germany but spent her girlhood days in this country, where she acquired her education. Following their marriage the young couple located on a farm near Underwood, where they lived for a year and then removed to their present home in Norwalk township, Mr. Klopping securing one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he at once began to till, bringing the fields under a high state of cultivation. The farm is thoroughly equipped with all modern conveniences and accessories. In its midst stands a pleasant dwelling and not far away are two good barns, one of cement blocks. There is also a good granary and hay shed and in fact none of the accessories of a model farm are here lacking. The latest improved machinery is used to facilitate the work of
600
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
the fields and in addition to cultivating the soil Mr. Klopping raises some fruit. He has also put out shade and ornamental trees, which are an attractive fea- ture of the place. The boundaries of his farm have also been extended until it now comprises two hundred and eighty acres in one body. It is one of the best improved places in the township, owing to the care and labor, the practical methods and the progressive ideas of the owner. All these years he has like- wise engaged in raising and feeding stock and for several years has made a specialty of raising pure blooded and high grade Aberdeen Angus cattle, hav- ing now a herd of about one hundred and twenty-five head with a pure blooded male at the head of the herd. He also has six pure blooded registered cows and the stock produced upon the farm finds a ready sale on the market, while through the improvement of the grade raised Mr. Klopping has done much to advance the price paid for stock in this county. He buys and feeds from four to six carloads of fat steers each year and also a carload of hogs and a large number of sheep annually. In his business affairs he is energetic, prompt and capable and whatever he undertakes carries it forward to successful comple- tion.
Mr. and Mrs. Klopping have six children, three sons and three daughters: Anna, born May 2, 1889 ; Ella, April 3, 1891; Fred A., June 26, 1893; Walter L., July 31, 1895; Erna, March 3, 1898; and Donald A., March 10, 1900. Mrs. Klopping belongs to the Lutheran church. Mr. Klopping is an earnest democrat who is now serving as township trustee, while for seven or eight years he has been a member of the school board. For an equally long period he has been a trustee-a fact which indicates that the duties of both positions have been promptly and faithfully performed. He has served as a delegate to county conventions and is much interested in the success and growth of his party, manifesting at all times a public-spirited devotion to the general good.
CAPTAIN LEONARD KIRSCHT.
On the list of those who at one time figured actively in the business life of Council Bluffs and of Omaha, appears the name of Leonard Kirscht, now deceased. He was known as Captain, holding that rank in the state militia, for he was appointed captain of the Council Bluffs Rifles by Governor Stone in 1864. He came to this city in 1861, and was well known to the German- American residents of Pottawattamie county. A native of Germany, he was born December 3, 1828. His parents spent their entire lives in that country, where the father engaged in farming in order to provide for his family. He died there, however, during the early boyhood of his son Leonard, and the mother afterward came to America to live with her child- ren, dying at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Tholl, in Council Bluffs.
Captain Kirscht obtained a good education in the schools of his native country and when yet a young man served in the army in accordance with the laws of his native country. When his education was completed he left home and sailed for America, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel,
THE X RK
PUBLIS LIBRARY
ASTOR. 1 NOX. A 0 TILD N FOUNDA TIONS.
1
Henrietta I Huscht"
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 3
A., O , TILD N FOUNDA ISE
605
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
which was four months in completing the voyage. Landing in New York city, he proceeded thence to New Jersey, where he worked as a farm hand for a short time. He then came to the middle west, locating near Hills- dale, Michigan, where he carried on general farming.
While living in that locality, Captain Kirscht was married to Miss Henrietta Green, a native of Germany, in which country her parents died during her early girlhood, after which she came to the United States with friends. There were six children born unto Captain and Mrs. Kirscht: Lena, who became the wife of Alexander Mason and died in 1900; Emma, now the wife of Henry P. Butler, traveling passenger and freight agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company and a resident of Council Bluffs; Mary, who resides with her mother and attends to much of the business connected with the estate; Katherine, now the wife of H. W. Cowduroy, living in Omaha, being manager of the Omaha City Paving Asphalt Company; Leonard P., who died in Council Bluffs in 1898; and Elizabeth, the widow of John L. Clark. Her husband, who died February 12, 1902, was a very prominent and influential resident of Omaha, who at the time of his death was occupying the position of paying teller in the United States National Bank of that city, where he had been employed from his boyhood days, having gradually worked his way upward to a position of prominence and responsibility. His widow, Mrs. Clark, now re- sides with her mother.
After his marriage Captain Kirscht continued to make his home near Hillsdale, Michigan, for a short time and then removed to St. Joseph, Mis- souri, where he engaged in the manufacture of crackers, establishing a large cracker factory, from which he annually sent out large shipments. He ear- ried on the business with gratifying success until 1861, when he sold out there and came to Council Bluffs. Shortly after his arrival in this city he entered into partnership with William Groneweg, who is now in the whole- sale grocery business here. They opened a retail grocery house on Broad- way and conducted the store for seventeen years with mutual pleasure and profit. They soon built up a good trade and established the business which was the foundation of the present extensive wholesale house now conducted by Mr. Groneweg. When seventeen years had passed Captain Kirscht removed his business to No. 414 and 416 West Broadway, where he carried on a retail grocery house for several years. He had many patrons and did a large and profitable business, continuing in the same until 1893, when he sold out and removed to Omaha. There he established a wholesale liquor business, which he conducted until 1899, when he severed his business connections with that city and returned to Council Bluffs, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred on the 11th of March, 1901. He had been a resident of this city and this section of the country for about forty years.
Captain Kirscht's friends desired him to become a candidate for the office of mayor on several different occasions but he always declined, never caring for positions of political preferment. He was, however, a stanch republican, in thorough sympathy with the principles of the party and did what he could to promote its success. He belonged to the Independent Order
60€
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
of Odd Fellows and had many friends among its members. In all of his business life he was energetic and determined, carrying forward to suc- cessful completion whatever he undertook. As he prospered he invested his money largely in property and was thus enabled to leave his family in very comfortable financial circumstances.
Mrs. Kirscht is a member of the German Lutheran church, but the Captain was a communicant of the Catholic church. She owns much valu- able property in Council Bluffs and also farm property in different parts of Nebraska, her business interests being managed by her daughter Mary. Her residence is a beautiful brick structure at No. 128 Glen avenue, where she and her children reside and which they built in 1864.
JUDGE EGBERT E. AYLESWORTH.
Judge Egbert E. Aylesworth, for more than forty years a member of the bar of Council Bluffs, has throughout this period maintained a foremost place in the ranks of the legal profession, which has always had important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of a section or community and which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. He is descended from one of the old New England families, his paternal grandfather, Benjamin Ayles- worth, having been born in Pownal, Vermont. On leaving the Green Moun- tain state he removed to Milford, New York, in early manhood and was there married and spent his remaining days, his life being devoted to the occupa- tion of farming. His son, John Aylesworth, was born in Milford, New York, November 30, 1800, also carried on general agricultural pursuits throughout the period of his manhood and died while on a visit to Batavia, New York, in 1870. He married Savina Adams and they were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters.
Egbert E. Aylesworth remained a resident of his native town until twenty- six years of age. He acquired his primary education in the schools of Mil- ford and afterward attended Hartwick Seminary, at Otsego, New York, prior to entering Delaware Literary Institute in Franklin, New York. Completing . his studies in the latter institution in 1860 he then returned to Milford, where he began reading law as a student in the office of R. N. Townsend. On the 12th of May, 1863, he was admitted to the bar at Binghamton, New York, and soon afterward located for practice in Milford, where he remained until 1866, continuing in the office of his preceptor up to that time. In the year men- tioned he came to Council Bluffs, opened an office and has remained in active practice continuously since, save for the period of his service on the bench. He is devotedly attached to his profession, systematic and methodical in habit, sober and discreet in judgment, diligent in research and conscientious in the discharge of every duty.
In his political views Judge Aylesworth has always been an earnest denio- crat and in 1884 he was made the nominee of his party for the office of judge
607
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
in the fifteenth judicial district, his opponent being C. F. Loofbourrow. The canvas of the votes gave Judge Aylesworth a majority of two but the election was contested and Judge Loofbourrow was declared elected by fourteen votes. Four years before he had run against Judge Aylesworth, on which occasion he was elected by only sixty-four votes, although the normal republican ma- jority was about three thousand. In 1873 Judge Aylesworth was appointed by the city council to the office of city attorney of Council Bluffs, was elected to the position in 1874 and again in 1876, serving in all for four years. In March, 1882, he was elected judge of the superior court and remained upon the bench for twelve years, his service being highly satisfactory to all who give due regard to law and order. His decisions were strictly fair and impar- tial, being based upon the law and the equity in the case and in his applica- tion of legal principles he was always regarded as most sound. He retired from his position as he had entered it-with the confidence and trust of all concerned, and then resumed the private practice of law, in which he has since continued, being a member of the Council Bluffs bar for almost forty years.
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.