USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 44
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John Rankin continued to cultivate this place until his death, being killed by a horse November 9, 1892. He was prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Carson lodge, and he was also somewhat influential in political affairs as a supporter of the democracy. His fellow townsmen recognizing his worth and ability frequently called him to public office and he filled various township positions, including those of justice of the peace and constable. There were no exciting chapters in his life record, for the years were devoted to the practical duties of the work-a-day world, and yet his record is not without valuable lessons concerning good citizenship, trustworthi- ness in business, and fidelity to all the ties of friendship and of home.
WILLIAM J. MCCUNE.
William J. McCune, the efficient secretary of lodge No. 531, B. P. O. E., at Council Bluffs, was born in Solon, Iowa, April 11. 1855, was one of the eleven children of John P. and Electa R. (Sutliff) MeCune. His paternal grandfather, William MeCune, was a native of Jefferson county, New York, and was the son of William MeCune, Sr., who was of Scotch-Irish lineage and became the founder of the family in the new world, emigrating from Scotland to the United States in the eighteenth century. He settled in New York and there spent his remaining days. The father was born in Jefferson county. New York, in 1819, and seeking to better his financial condition by removal to the middle west, he came to Towa in 1840. Hle was a farmer by occupation and thus provided for his family. In 1843 he was married in Johnson county, this state, to Miss Electa R. Sutliff, and his death occurred in the year 1885. Unto Mr. and Mrs. McCune were born eleven children, of whom seven vet survive, namely: Harriet E., the wife of Loren Clark ; Tully S ..: Dora M .. the wife of Lewis Le Grand; William J., of this review: Belle E., the wife of Mathias Umbdenstock; Helen E., the wife of Ilon. O. D. Wheeler; and Nannie M., the wife of Charles D. Maybauer.
William J. MeCune was reared on a farm in Johnson county, Iowa. early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agri- culturist and there he remained to the age of thirty-two years. He acquired
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his primary education in the country schools and afterward attended the academy at Iowa City, being graduated therefrom in 1871. He next pre- pared for a business career as a student in a commercial college, from which he was graduated in 1872. His education completed, he returned to the farm. It had been his intention, however, to enter Yale College but trouble with his eyes prevented him from carrying out this plan. For some years his time and energies were devoted to general agricultural pursuits and in 1887 he went to Geneseo, Kansas. The following year he located in Festus, Mis- souri, where he remained for about three years, and in 1894 he removed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he entered upon arrangements to travel for a wholesale grocery house. He was then upon the road for about twelve years, or until 1906, when he retired from that life. He had become a resident of Council Bluffs in 1897, and in 1906 he was made secretary of lodge No. 531, B. P. O. E., in which capacity he has since served.
Mr. McCune was married in 1886, in Manchester, Iowa, to Miss Anna Kent, and they have one son, Ford E., born February 19, 1891. Mr. McCune is quite prominent in Masonic circles and at the time he served as worshipful master of Wayfaring lodge, No. 33, A. F. & A. M., at Solon, Iowa, he was the youngest incumbent in such a position in the United States. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is demitted from the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the American Yeomen. He is very popular in the order to which he now devotes his time and atten- tion as secretary and he is well qualified for the work by reason of his social qualities as well as his good business capacity.
FRED HEUWINKEL.
The perseverance and energy so characteristic of the German race are the dominant factors in the success of Fred Heuwinkel, for, although he came to America empty-handed, he has improved his opportunities in this country and is today the owner of a well improved and valuable farm comprising three hundred and ninety acres, situated on section 18, Keg Creek township, so that he is numbered among the substantial citizens of this part of the county.
Mr. Heuwinkel was born in Lippe, Detmold, Germany, April 20, 1843, a son of Henry and Sophia (Meinold) Heuwinkel, who engaged in agricultural pursuits in the fatherland and there spent their entire lives, the father passing away in 1860, when he had reached the age of seventy-three years, while the mother died in 1883, at the very advanced age of eighty-six years. Their family numbered eleven children, of whom seven still survive, namely: Mrs. Mena Smith, a widow, who still resides in Germany ; Mrs. Louisa Weber, a resi- dent of Quincy, Illinois; Mary, who resides in the fatherland; August, a resi- dent of Evansville, Indiana; William and Henry, who have always remained in Germany; and Fred, whose name introduces this review.
Fred Heuwinkel spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the home of his parents and acquired his education in the schools of his native country.
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FRED HEUWINKEL AND FAMILY.
PUBLIÉ
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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From the fact that he was the seventh son in his father's family, he was not required to serve in the army, which is the usual custom in that country. He gained a partial knowledge of the carpenter's trade during his residence in his native land and at the age of twenty-three years, having heard favorable re- ports concerning the opportunities which America afforded, he determined to try his fortune in this country, and accordingly on the 19th of October, 1867, took passage on a sailing vessel bound for the new world. Upon reaching American shores he at once made his way to Quincy, Illinois, where lived a sister, and he there spent a couple of months, subsequent to which time he made his way to Evansville, Indiana, where for a year and half he worked at his trade of carpentering. In 1869 he continued his journey into Iowa, set- tling at Council Bluffs, where for two years he worked as a farm hand. Two years later, in 1871, having saved his earnings, he invested his capital in forty acres of land, this tract comprising a portion of his present homestead prop- erty. As the years have come and gone and he has prospered in his undertak- ings he has added to his original holdings until he is today in possession of a valuable and well improved farm property comprising three hundred and ninety acres. He is here engaged in general agricultural pursuits and each year gathers rich crops as a reward for the care and labor which he bestows upon his fields. His business methods, too, are reliable and he has thereby won the confidence and respect of all with whom he has dealings.
On the 19th of April, 1871, Mr. Heuwinkel was united in marriage to Miss Mena Wittland, who was born in Moniteau county, Missouri, April 11, 1853, a daughter of Frederick and Louisa (Frantrup) Wittland, who were natives of Germany but emigrated to America in the year 1848, at which time they located in Moniteau county, Missouri, where the father purchased land, on which he made his home for some time. In 1861 he disposed of his land in that state and took up his abode in Lewis township, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and in 1870 came to Keg Creek township, settling on a farm on section 18. There the parents spent their remaining days, the father passing away in 1889, when he had reached the age of seventy-five years, while the mother passed away in 1893, at the age of seventy-four. Of the nine children born of this marriage, seven still survive, as follows: Gottlieb, who resides in Council Bluffs; Mrs. Louisa Basch, of Keg Creek township; Mrs. Annie Meyer, also of that township; Mena, now Mrs. Heuwinkel; Mrs. Carrie Meyer, a widow, who makes her home in Woodbury county, this state; Mrs. Ricka Fisher, a widow, residing in Lewis township, Pottawattamie county; and Herman, a resident of Keg Creek township.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Heuwinkel has been blessed with ten chil- dren, of whom two are deceased, Sophia and Martha. Those living are: Henry, who wedded Ida Funke and makes his home in Keg Creek township; Mary, at home; Louisa, the wife of William Burkhalter, also of Keg Creek township; John. Fred. Lydia. August and Lena, all still under the parental roof.
Mr. Heuwinkel has always given stalwart support to the republican party and is a public-spirited citizen, who has been called by his fellow townsmen to fill some local offices. He has served as trustee of the township for the past
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fifteen years and is the present incumbent in that office, while at various periods he has filled the office of road supervisor, justice of the peace and assessor. In- terested in education, he has also filled some school offices. He and his family are members of the German Evangelical church. Mr. Heuwinkel has resided in Keg Creek township for thirty-six years and during that time has won a host of warm friends, all of whom speak of him in terms of highest praise and commendation, for he is a gentleman of high principle and manly con- duet.
CHARLES H. AYER.
Charles H. Ayer, a farmer and stock-raiser of Macedonia township, resides on section 24, where he owns and cultivates one hundred and twenty acres of good land. The improvements here were made by him and the fine appearance of the farm indicates the spirit of enterprise and progress which dominates him in all that he does. He came to this county from Mills county, Iowa, in the spring of 1891 and his entire life has been passed in the middle west, his birth having occurred in Henderson county, Illinois, on the 16th of December, 1867. His parents were J. II. and Elizabeth E. (Debolt) Ayer, who in the fall of 1870 removed from Illinois to Mills county, Iowa. There the father purchased land and made his home until a recent date. He was a native of Rhode Island and resided in Canada, Minnesota and other points. He has always followed farming as a life work and upon his removal from Mills county he took up his abode near McCook, Nebraska, where he owns and cultivates a farm. He is now sixty-one years of age and yet gives active supervision to his agricultural interests. His wife died in Mills county, Iowa, in January, 1905, at the age of sixty-four years. In their family were three children, the sister of our subject being Mrs. Samuel J. Roush of Nuc- kolls county, Nebraska, while the brother is John R., still living in Mills county.
Charles H. Ayer was three years of age when the family came from Illi- nois to Iowa and therefore was reared in Mills county. He acquired his edu- cation largely in the public schools and also spent three winters as a student at Carson. He began life for himself when twenty-one years of age and has since been dependent upon his own resources, so that whatever Success he h- achieved or enjoyed is attributable to his own labors. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary Belle Boicourt, whom he wedded in Pottawattamie county when twenty-three years of age. Mrs. Ayer was born in Mahaska county, Iowa, and on the 1st of January, 1881, her parents removed to this county with their family, settling in Silver Creek township, where her father, Elihu Boicourt, still resides. The mother died when Mrs. Ayer was but nine years of age, passing away in 1882. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ayer has been blessed with a son and daughter: Charles Mervin, born August 1, 1893; and Mabel Minnie, born February 2, 1896.
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In his political views Mr. Ayer has always been a republican and has taken an active interest in the work of the party, doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. Socially he is connected with the Masons of Macedonia and his religious views are indicated by his attendance at the services of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is interested in every measure and movement for the general good and gives to many his active co-operation. At the same time he never neglects his business affairs but on the contrary carefully manages his agricultural interests and has developed an excellent property, having one of the good farms of Macedonia township.
HON. JOSEPH LYMAN.
Hon. Joseph Lyman, who for many years was a distinguished member of the bar of western Iowa and left the impress of his individuality upon the judicial history of the state, was born at Lyon, Oakland county, Michigan, September 13, 1840. The following year his parents removed with their family to Defiance county, Ohio, and, passing through successive grades in the public schools, Joseph Lyman was eventually graduated from the high school of Defiance with the class of 1856. Although he was then but fifteen years of age he taught school through the following winter, having in the mean- time passed the sixteenth milestone on life's journey. About this time he received an appointment to a scholarship at West Point but on account of his father's wish that he should study law he declined the offer and removed with his parents to Big Grove, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, in the spring of 1857. Becoming one of the carly educators of this portion of the state, he taught school at Stutsman Mills, now Macedonia, in the winter of 1857-8 and afterward attended school at Grinnell, Iowa, in 1859, 1860 and a part of 1861.
During the periods of vacation he engaged in teaching until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when in the fall of 1861 he offered his services to the government, enlisting as a member of Company E, Fourth Iowa Cavalry. He was at that time employed in teaching at the north end of Big Grove in Center township but put aside the duties of the schoolroom in order to espouse the Union cause and served with the Fourth Cavalry until the summer of 1862, when he was appointed adjutant of the Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, with which he continued until August, 1865. About a year prior to his return from the army he was promoted to the rank of major and he served as acting adjutant general on the staff of Brigadier General Rice and Major General Steele for several months.
With the close of the military chapter in his life history he took up the study of law in the office of Judge C. C. Cole, of Des Moines, and after thor- ough and comprehensive preliminary reading he was admitted to the bar. Locating for practice in Council Bluffs, he became connected with much im- portant litigation tried in the courts of his district, ever presenting his cause with clearness and cogency, his deductions being logical, his reasoning sound
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and convincing. He continued in active practice until appointed to the office of judge to fill out the unexpired term of Judge Loofborough, resigned, and in the fall of 1884 he was nominated for district judge. Later he received his party's nomination for congress and after serving for one term was re- elected in 1886. He proved a capable member of the law-making body of the commonwealth, giving to each question which came up for settlement his careful consideration, followed either by loyal support or strong opposi- tion, as he believed the weal of the state demanded. On his retirement from the general assembly he resumed the practice of law at Council Bluffs and continued an active and prominent member of the bar until his death, which occurred in July, 1890.
Soon after coming to Council Bluffs Major Lyman was married to Miss Josephine Smith, who died about a year later. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Shaw, of Olney. Illinois, and unto this marriage was born one son, Aaron Lyman, who is now a practicing attorney of Boston, Massachusetts.
BERNHARD EICHENBERGER.
Bernhard Eichenbenberger, well known as a farmer, stock-raiser and dairy- man, lives on section 1, York township, where he owns a neat, well improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He came to the county during a com- paratively early period in its development and settlement, arriving here in 1876. A native of Switzerland, he was born September 6, 1842, and was there reared and educated. In early life he worked in a factory.
When he determined to seek a home in another land there could be but one place that would satisfy a representative of the liberty-loving Swiss people. Born and reared in the oldest republic on the face of the globe, when he changed his location it was to become a resident of the greatest republic. In 1865 he took passage on a vessel sailing from Havre on the 13th of April, the day before Lincoln was assassinated. In course of time the voyage was com- pleted and he landed at New York, whence he made his way westward to La- Salle county, Illinois. There he worked on a farm for eleven years, on the expiration of which period he came to Pottawattamie county in 1876. Four months prior to this time he had visited Iowa and had purchased a tract of raw land here, for he believed the county had good possibilities and that it would prove advantageous to him to change his location. Taking up his per- manent abode here, he at once began the task of breaking the sod and culti- vating his fields, and in due course of time the land was brought under a high state of cultivation. He at first erected a little dwelling, in which he lived for fifteen years, when this home was replaced by the large, two-story residence which now adorns the farm. He has added many other substantial and mod- ern improvements, including two good barns, granaries and sheds. He has planted an orchard, set out a grove of trees, and has continued the work of developing his place along modern progressive lines until the farm is now one
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of the attractive features of the landscape. He uses good machinery in facili- tating the work of the fields and annually gathers rich crops of the various cereals best adapted to soil and climate.
On the 30th of May, 1876, in James township, this county, Mr. Eichen- berger was married to Miss Louisa Vieth. a native of Germany, who was reared, however. in Pottawattamie county. They now have six children : Elnora, the wife of Walter Busse, a farmer of James township; Tusanelda, the wife of Francis Haas, of Corning, lowa; Emma, the wife of Jesse Busse, of James township: Eda, at home: Alpha, who is a teacher in this county ; and Gretchen, who completes the family.
Mr. Eichenberger and his wife are members of the Evangelical Associa- tion, in the work of which they are much interested, Mr. Eichenberger serving as one of the church trustees. Politically he has been a stalwart republican since casting his first presidential ballot for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, his last vote supporting the present popular chief executive, Theodore Roosevelt. Ile is now serving as president of the school board and has long been actively identified with educational interests, believing the public-school system to be one of the strongest bulwarks of our national prosperity. He has also served as assessor for several terms and as township treasurer. the duties of these var- ions offices being discharged with promptness and fidelity. He has been chosen as delegate to county conventions and his opinions carry weight in the local ranks of the party. In community affairs he takes an active and helpful inter- est, giving loyal support to all those measures which he deems of benefit to the community in promoting its material, social, intellectual and moral progress. He came to the county at a time when there were comparatively few residents outside of the cities and when Council Bluffs was but a comparatively small place. Few roads had been laid out and the land was largely unimproved, but the rapid settlement of the county has wrought a wonderful transformation here. Mr. Eichenberger bearing his full share in the work of general improve- ment and development.
V. L. WATSON.
V. L. Watson, a general farmer and stock-raiser, his home being pleasant- ly located on section 23. Macedonia township, where he owns one hundred and twenty acres of arable lad, was born in Pottawattamie county. April 11, 1867, the old homestead being then in Grove township. His parents were J. D. and Mary S. (Buckner) Watson, now residents of Shenandoah, Iowa. The pa- rental grandfather, J. S. Watson, one of the earliest citizens of this county, settled in Grove township in 1848. removing to this state from Indiana when his son. J. D. Watson, was about two years of age. He cast in his lot with the early settlers and shared in the hardships and privations common to the frontier. Later he removed to Cass county. Iowa, where he operated a mill. as he had previously done in Pottawattamie county, having built and con- dueted a sawmill here during the early epoch in the industrial development of
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this part of the state. He died near Elliott, Iowa, having for some years sur- vived his wife, who passed away in Pottawattamie county.
J. D. Watson was reared in this county to the occupation of farming, which he has always followed as a life work, and he still owns a good tract of land which is located in Pottawattamie and Montgomery counties. At the present writing he is also engaged in the painting business, being thus con- nected with the industrial interests of Shenandoah. His family numbered four children, two sisters of our subject still living: Mrs. Edith Sheets, of Shenandoah, Iowa; and Mrs. Etta Willy, of Bloomfield, Nebraska. The brother, Jackson, died when a youth of nine years.
V. L. Watson was largely reared in this county. He resided for five and a half years in Montgomery county but his home has mainly been in Potta- wattamie county where he acquired his education as a pupil in the public schools. He received thorough, ample and practical training in farm work as he assisted his father in the development of the fields and was thus well quali- fied to take charge of a farm of his own when he started out in life for him- self. In December, 1904, he purchased his present property and in the fall of 1905 took up his abode thereon, having here one hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land. He is now cultivating the soil in raising the cereals to which it is best adapted, and he is also engaged in raising stock, meeting with prosperity in his undertakings.
In this county Mr. Watson was married to Miss Josephine Knox, a na- tive of Ohio, who came to Iowa with her parents about twenty-six years ago. By this marriage there were three children, but William Earl, the eldest, died in Grove township in infancy. The daughters, Opal and Lila, are both at home. In his political views Mr. Watson is a republican, but has neither time nor inclination for public offices as he gives undivided attention to his business affairs.
J. M. MEREDITH.
J. M. Meredith, owning and controlling a farm of three hundred and fif- teen acres lying on each side of the boundary line that divides Pottawattamie and Cass counties, has made his home in this state from early life. His birth occurred in Hendricks county, Indiana, on the 26th of April, 1854. His parents, Nathan and Rachel (Garrison) Meredith, were natives of North Caro- lina. In the paternal line there was a strain of Indian blood, for the great- grandfather of our subject married a daughter of a chief of the Cherokees, whose name was Crews. On leaving the south Nathan Meredith and his wife established their home in Indiana, casting in their lot with its early settlers. In Hendricks county he built a log house with a clapboard roof and puncheon floor and doors, occupying that primitive pioneer home for a number of years, during which time the family bore many of the hardships and trials which are the invariable accompaniment of life on the frontier. In 1858 he sold his farm in Indiana and with his family started westward with team and cov-
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ered wagon. They drove across the country to Nebraska City and lived for four years in that locality, the father again carrying on general agricultural pursuits. In 1862 he returned to Indiana by the same method of travel and there engaged in farming until 1871. In that year he became a resident of Cass county, Iowa, where he purchased land upon which he resided for a number of years. He afterward lived with our subject until his death in 1889. His wife, surviving him for about two years, passed away in 1891. They had two sons, the elder being William H. Meredith, now of Lewis, Iowa.
J. M. Meredith, remaining under the parental roof until he had reached adult age, pursued his education in the public schools and was early trained to the work of the farm. After reaching man's estate he rented his father's farm for two years and then with the money saved from his earnings he purchased forty acres of land on section 13. Wright township, Pottawattamie county, where he still makes his home. The place today, however, bears little resem- blance to the tract which came into his possession at that time, for his labors have converted it into a very productive and well improved farm, the boundaries of which he has extended from time to time by additional purchase until it now comprises three hundred and fifteen acres in Pottawattamie and Cass counties. Here Mr. Meredith has continuously resided save for a period of five years. In 1890 he removed to Indiana in order to care for his mother- in-law and rented his farm in Towa. He continued in the Hoosier state until 1895 and then purchased a half interest in a hay ranch in the Plateau valley of Colorado. Upon that place he resided for two years, after which he sold his interest and returned to his farm in Pottawattamie county, where he has re- sided continuously during the past decade. He is engaged extensively and successfully in raising full blooded black polled Angus cattle, of which he has a fine herd of over eighty head, and he also makes a specialty of Duroc Jersey hogs. His extensive interests in this direction make him one of the leading stock-dealers of his part of the county. In 1904. in connection with Samuel Elbright and Stevens Brothers, he established and put in operation the Lewis Mutual Telephone Company.
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