USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. II > Part 50
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Dr. Augustine was united in marriage in Omaha on the 21st of June, 1904, to Miss Ida Belle Gates, a native of Iowa, born in Hamburg. She was largely educated in Missouri Valley and afterward pursued a course as
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surgical nurse in Chicago. There are two children by this marriage: Grant Augustine, Jr., and Margaret Augustine.
Politically the Doctor has been a life-long republican and while he has neither sought nor desired office his fellow townsmen elected him city councilman and in that position he discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with the lodge at Neola and with Avoca chapter, R. A. M. In his profession he has ample opportunity to put into practical use the beneficent principles of the order, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kind- ness. There is probably no profession or trade as little commercialized as is that of the physician, who necessarily does much work for which he receives nor expects any compensation and yet there is no man more worthy of his hire. Dr. Augustine has spared no pains to perfect himself in his chosen calling and is justly regarded as an able and learned physician, whose solution of the complex problems of the medical fraternity is usually correct.
OBADIAH H. DUTROW.
Obadiah H. Dutrow, a resident farmer of Crescent township, living on section 14, was born in Carroll county, Maryland, January 2, 1835. His father, Andrew Dutrow, was a native of that state and a mason and plasterer, who learned his trade in Baltimore and followed that pursuit in Maryland for many years. He died in Frederick county, Maryland, while his wife passed away in Ohio. She bore the maiden name of Lydia Yingling and was also a native of Maryland. In the family were four children, of whom one son is now living in Colorado.
In April, 1856, Obadiah H. Dutrow and his grandfather, David Ying- ling, left Ohio and proceeded down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi to St. Louis, Missouri, and on by way of the Missouri river to St. Joseph. By stage they continued the journey to Council Bluffs. Mr. Dutrow, then a young man of twenty-one years, walked nearly all the way, carrying a rail to assist him in digging the wheels out of the mud when their wagon should be stuck in the soft earth. They arrived at their destination on the 1st of May, 1856, and Mr. Dutrow purchased a third interest in eighty acres of land on which the village of Crescent City was laid out. This tract cost him one hundred and sixty-six dollars and later he sold lots to the value of four thousand dollars. He assisted in laying out the village and for two years was engaged in general merchandising, being one of the first business men of the place. Meeting with financial reverses at a later date, he then turned his attention to farming and in the fall of 1865 bought two hundred and three acres of land on section 14, Crescent township, upon which he has since made his home. All of the improvements upon the place stand as mon- uments to his thrift and enterprise and the farm is now a well developed property, neat in appearance and productive to the extent of returning rich
MR. AND MRS. O. II. DUTROW.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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harvests to the owner in reward for the care and labor which he has bestowed upon the fields.
On the 10th of December, 1857, Mr. Dutrow was married to Miss Mar- tha MeMullen, who was born in Ohio, July 17, 1836, and is a sister of Solomon MeMullen, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dutrow were born four children, of whom Orin, the second, died at the age of three years. The others are: Elizabeth, the widow of Ewing Hall and a resident of Colorado; William H., who married a Miss Manery and lives on his father's farm; and Charles B., who wedded Lulu McGinnis and also lives on the old homestead. The sons reside upon the farm, Charles and his wife living with his parents, while William H. has another set of build- ings on the farm.
Mr. Dutrow has been a democrat throughout his entire life and has served as assessor, as township elerk and school director. More than a half century has come and gone since he cast in his lot with the pioneers of Pot- tawattamie county and he and his wife have almost reached the fiftieth anni- versary of their marriage. People of the present period ean scareely realize the struggles and dangers which attended the early settiers, the heroism and self-sacrifice of lives passed upon the borders of civilization, the hardships endured, the difficulties overcome. These tales of the early days read almost like a romance to those who have known only the modern prosperity and conveniences. To the pioneer of the early days, far removed from the privi- leges and conveniences of the older east, the struggle for existence was a stern and often a hard one, but the early settlers possessed indomitable en- ergy and sterling worth of character as well as marked physical courage, and they laid the foundation upon which has been built the present progress and prosperity of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Dutrow are numbered among the early settlers here and they relate many interesting incidents of pioneer times, their lives forming a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present.
FRANK G. SCHOFIELD.
Frank G. Schofield, now in charge of a rural free delivery mail route and also deriving a fair income from his farming property in the county. makes his home at Carson. He is one of Iowa's native sons, born February 11, 1867, his parents being William and Mary (Bulles) Schofield. The father was a native of England and with his parents crossed the Atlantic and located in Wisconsin when a small boy. Later becoming a resident of Iowa, he here devoted his time and energies to farming and through that means provided for the wants of his family. He died upon a farm near Griswold, this county, in 1888 at the age of fifty-six years. His widow, a native of New Jersey. is now living on the home place with her son. The family numbered a daughter and three sons: Ella, the wife of George
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Rarey, of Griswold; Elsworth, who is residing upon the home farm; Frank G., of this review; and William, also of Griswold.
'It was in 1859 that the family removed from Atlantic, Iowa, to the farm near Griswold, Frank G. Schofield being then only two years of age. He has since resided in this county, being reared to general agricultural pursuits, in which he continued until about seven years ago, when he came to Carson. In 1905 he built his present fine residence in the village. He continued to engage in active agricultural pursuits until about a year ago, . when he took charge of rural route No. 1 out of Carson. He still owns a farm in Wright township comprising two hundred acres of rich and pro- ductive land, and he has twenty acres within the corporation limits of the village. He gives personal supervision to the management of the farm but the arduous work of the fields is now performed by others.
In 1890 Mr. Schofield was married to Miss Nellie Storrs, a native of Illinois, who came to Iowa when six years of age with her father, H. R. Storrs. This marriage has been blessed with one daughter, Vera. In Carson and throughout the community . the parents have many warm friends and Mr. Schofield is a worthy representative of one of the old families, having for almost four decades made his home in this county. He is a republican in politics and though he has never been an office seeker he has always been loyal to the best interests of the community and has withheld his support from no measure for the public good. His genial qualities, his deference for the opinions of others and his upright manhood have made him popular with his fellow townsmen.
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SIEVERT RIEF, SR.
Sievert Rief, who is now successfully carrying on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising on section 36, Rockford township, belongs to that class of men who owe their prosperity entirely to their capable planning and their untiring diligence in carrying out their plans. He may justly be called a self-made man and deserves all the praise which that term im- plies. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, May 29, 1840, his parents, Sievert and Phoebe (Schrum) Rief, being also natives of Germany, where they died many years ago. In their family were seven children, of whom five brothers came to the United States and three are now living: Sievert; John, a resident of Crescent, Towa; and Peter, whose home is in. Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Sievert Rief was reared in his native province, which at that time be- longed to Denmark, and in 1862 he served for nine months in the Danish army during the Danish and Prussian war. The opportunities of the new world attracted him and with the hope of bettering his financial condition he came to the United States in 1864, arriving in Chicago with but six dol- lars in his pocket. For nearly a year he worked in a bakery in that city
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and then came to Pottawattamie county, where he invested his little capital in sixteen acres of land in Hazel Dell township. Upon that place he built a little shanty and he spent his last cent for an ax, with which he went to work chopping wood for a living. His neighbors were good to him, see- ing his willingness to work, and gave him plenty to do. He was soon able to buy an old team and with this he hauled wood to Council Bluffs. He and his brother Peter, securing a government license, also sold beer for many years. In those days when families were widely scattered and roads were not very good, when one neighbor went to Council Bluffs, the others would send by him for groceries and this led Mr. Rief to the belief that a country store would pay. With the money he received for a load of wood he brought home five dollars' worth of groceries. In three days his little stock was sold out. The sale of another load of wood combined with the original five dollars enabled him this time to buy ten dollars' worth of gro- ceries. By the time he again went to the city to purchase goods a neighbor there named Perry Reel had spoken a favorable word for him, so that a credit had been established with the wholesale house of Kirscht & Groneweg in Council Bluffs. This time his stock of groceries amounted to twenty- five dollars, which were unpaid for. Mr. Rief and his wife, however, were so worried about the possibility of sale and the payment for the goods in Council Bluffs that they hesitated about unloading the supplies. However, they decided to do so and the neighbors soon showed their appreciation of a store so convenient. This larger supply of groceries was soon sold out and for twenty-five years Mr. Rief continued to conduct a general store at what is known as Reel's Postoffice. Twenty years ago he erected a two- story frame building, forty-six by sixty feet with additions. The second floor is a large hall used for public gatherings. The building was put up at a cost of six thousand dollars but it could not be built for twice that sum now. A year ago he disposed of the store and his stock and removed to one of his farms. As time has passed he has labored diligently and lived economically, carefully watching his expenditures and as carefully conduct- ing his business affairs with the result that he has from time to time been enabled to make judicious investments in property until he is now the owner of several improved farms, aggregating nine hundred aeres, and is today one of the largest landholders of the county. He also owns one thousand two hundred and eighty acres in Nebraska near Crawford devoted to farming and stock-raising. He is now fitting up a home in modern style and intends to retire from active business life, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Rief has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Lena Witt, who was born in Schleswig-Holstein and died twenty years ago, at the age of forty. By that marriage there were nine children, of whom one is now deceased. The others are: Phoebe, the wife of Lars Jensen, of Boomer township; Dora, the wife of Charles Olsen, also of Boomer township: Mar- garet, the wife of William Southern, who resides in that township; Lena, the wife of Alfred Page living in Boomer township; Sievert, Jr., who is fore-
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man for the telephone company at Council Bluffs; Perry and George, who follow farming in Nebraska; and Johan. For his second wife Mr. Rief chose his cousin, Emma Rief, who was born at Grand Island, Nebraska. She is still living and they have five children, Henry, Mary, Olga, Minnie and Effie, all yet under the parental roof.
Mr. Rief was reared in the Lutheran faith but has not become a mem- ber of any church in this country. In politics he is independent, voting for' men and measures rather than party nor has he aspired to public office. He was, however, postmaster at Reel's Postoffice for two years before the rural route was established. His business record seems almost phenomenal when we measure the distance between the starting point and his present position in financial circles. By fair and honest dealing and by carrying a line of goods which the families needed, he soon built up a good business and as the years have passed he has acquired considerable wealth. He has every reason to be proud of his success and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. His life record should serve to prove to others what may be gained if one has determination, energy and strong purpose. His realty interests are now extensive, returning him a very gratifying income, so that he may well retire from active life, knowing that his annual revenue is sufficient to supply him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries which go to make life worth living.
W. E. BUNNELL.
W. E. Bunnell, who is now operating a part of the old homestead farm and is also engaged in stock-raising, was born in Knox township, Novem- ber 18, 1866, his parents being Joseph A. and Sarah J. (Headley) Bunnell, who were of English descent. The father was born January 10, 1836, in Portage county, Ohio, and acquired a common-school education there. When sixteen years of age he accompanied his parents on their removal to Clinton county, Iowa, where his father took up government land, and he assisted in the improvement and cultivation of the farm for some time. He next went to Shelby county, this state, where he lived with his uncle, Truman R. Bar- low, who was blind but had an excellent education, and he remained with him until the uncle's death.
Joseph A. Bunnell made claim to a tract of wild land in Shelby county before it came into market. He was married August 14, 1856, to Miss Sarah J. Headley and the following spring renroved to Nebraska, where he engaged in breaking prairie with ox teams throughout the summer, while he spent the winter in Omaha hauling cord wood and brick. That city was then a small village. the Indians being still there, and Mr. Bunnell and his wife lived in a log house. In the spring of 1863 they returned to his claim in Shelby county and he began the improvement of his place. On the 14th of October, 1863, in response to the country's call for aid, he offered his services to the government, enlisting as a member of Company M, Ninth Regiment.
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of Iowa Volunteers, and he was in battle under General Shelby at Duvalls Bluff. The regiment was engaged in guarding the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad-a very dangerous service. Mr. Bunnell participated in other skirmishes, battles and military duties, serving until almost the close of the war but escaped without a scratch. He was honorably discharged at Dav- enport, Iowa, in February, 1865.
While in the army his wife lived at Newton, Pottawattamie county, and when his military experience was over he settled on a farm in Knox township, where he first purchased eighty acres. As a result of his energy and perseverance he was enabled to add to this from time to time until he became the owner of six hundred acres of as fine bottom land as can be found in Pottawattamie county. He also had thirty-two hundred acres in the Alberta district of Canada, besides other real estate. All of this prop- erty he acquired through his own well directed efforts for he was a self-made man, industrious, enterprising and progressive. After a well spent life he died November 29, 1905, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a member. Having accumulated extensive holdings he left his family in very comfortable circumstances but the estate is not yet settled.
In his political views Joseph A. Bunnell was a stanch republican, hav- ing firm faith in the principles and ultimate triumph of the party. He affiliated with U. S. Grant post, No. 123, G. A. R., at Avoca, and held several of the minor offices of the township, being regarded in the community as one of its leading and influential citizens. He possessed superior busi- ness ability, di-played keen discernment in placing his investments and in the management of his property as well. Whatever he undertook he car- ried forward to successful completion and as the years passed by won a place among the prosperous residents of the county. On August 14, 1856, he married Miss Sarah J. Headley and unto them were born nine children: Amanda J., George E., Annis D., Walter E., Albert E., Charles S:, Ola G., Emma V. and one who died in infancy.
W. E. Bunnell has spent his entire life in Knox township and is now operating a part of the old homestead farm. He was educated in the public schools, his time being divided between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. When he had at- tained his majority he resolved to engage in the occupation to which he had been reared and is now accounted one of the enterprising agriculturists of the community. In addition to tilling the soil he is now raising cattle, horses and hogs and his live-stock interests are an important branch of his business, bringing to him a very gratifying income.
In 1893 Mr. Bunnell was married to Miss Lulu Bunnell, a cousin, who was born in Shelby county, Iowa, in 1877. She was one of a family of ten children and her parents are now living east of Des Moines. Unto our sub- ject and his wife have been born five children: Lela Beth, Joseph Albert, Eugene, Ruth and Grace Cathryne. Mr. Bunnell is an advocate of the repub- lican party and his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has served as school director and school trustee for three years and both
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he and his wife are held in high esteem, being accorded a position of promi- nence in public regard in Knox township. Mr. Bunnell is a representative of one of the old pioneer families here and the work which was instituted by his grandfather and carried on by his father is being continued by him, for he is known as one of the leading, alert and enterprising agriculturists of his community.
HENRY J. F. KLAHN.
Henry J. F. Klahn, who since 1883 has made his home in this county, residing upon his present farm since 1892, now owns two hundred and eighty acres of rich and productive land. His home place is on section 4, Keg Creek township, and the farm is the visible evidence of his life of thrift, industry and well directed energy. Mr. Klahn was born in Holstein, Ger- many, April 8, 1856, his parents being Claus and Gusta (Wilkins) Klahn, both of whom were natives of Germany, where their entire lives were passed, the father dying in 1878 at the age of seventy-five years, while the mother passed away in 1884 at the age of sixty-five years. They were farming peo- ple and much respected in the community where they made their home. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Klahn were born seven children, of whom six are yet living: Anna, John, Dora, Johanna and Gusta, all of whom are residents of the fatherland save the subject of this review.
The boyhood of Henry J. F. Klahn was passed in Germany, where he acquired a common-school education. At twenty-one years of age he joined the German army, with which he served for three years, and afterward fol- lowed the wagonmaker's trade until 1882. In that year he came to Dav- enport, Iowa, where he resided for one year. In 1883 he came to Potta- wattamie county and worked for two years on a farm, but desiring that his labors should more directly benefit himself he then rented land for four years in Keg Creek township. He afterward cultivated a rented farm in Greene county, Nebraska, for two years, and in 1892 he bought his present place of two hundred acres on section 4, Keg Creek township. The tract was at that time but slightly improved, but the labors he has placed upon it have wrought a marked transformation in the farm. He now owns together two hundred and eighty acres and the various accessories and conveniences of the model farm are here found, all being the indication of the progressive spirit and the untiring labor of Mr. Klahn. In addition to the cultivation of crops he engaged in the raising, feeding and fattening of stock, annually shipping from five to six carloads of cattle and about one hundred and fifty hogs. What he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion and his efforts have been so discerningly directed along well defined lines of labor that he has accomplished a very gratifying measure of success.
In Council Bluffs, on the 2d of July. 1886, Mr. Klahn was married to Miss Eurcka Bebensee, a daughter of Henry C. and Dorothea (Koch)
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Bebensee, in whose family were eleven children. Five are now living: Fred R., a resident of Hardin township; Dora, whose home is in Montana; Mrs. Mary Husc, of Council Bluffs; Mrs. Klahn, of this review; and Henry, who is located in Keg Creek township. The parents have both passed away, the father having died February 1, 1907, at the age of seventy-seven years, while the mother's death occurred in 1872. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Klahn have been born the following children: William, Augusta, Rosa, August, Powell, Dora, Ella, Anna, Hannah and Herman.
Mr. and Mrs. Klahn are devoted members of the German Lutheran church and in politics he is a republican. He has been both the architect and builder of his own fortune and has justly won the proud, though some- what hackneyed, American title of self-made man. His finances were at low ebb when he came to America, but untiring labor and good manage- ment have gained him very gratifying success. Moreover, the business policy that he has always followed and the cordial feeling that he has ever mani- fested in social circles have gained him a host of warm friends in the neigh- borhood.
THOMAS LEONARD.
Thomas Leonard is a retired farmer residing with his son on section 15, Hazel Dell township. In former years he was closely associated with agricultural interests and developed in this county one of its fine and well improved farms, his life being a busy. active and useful one. He was born in the county of Roscommon, Ireland, about seventy-seven years ago and spent the first seventeen years of his life on the Emerald isle, after which he came to America, attracted by the broader business opportunities of the new world, hoping that he might acquire a competence more readily in this country than in the land of his birth. He resided in Boston for fifteen years and was there engaged in working in a brickyard.
His arrival in Iowa dates from 1867, at which time he took up his abode in Jackson county, where he engaged in farming until 1875. He then removed to Silver City in Mills county, and two years later came to Pottawattamie county. Here he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land partially improved, on section 15, Hazel Dell township, and has made this one of the most productive farms of the county. His life has been marked by untiring activity and industry and as the years have passed by good results have attended his labors, enabling him to rise from a humble financial position to one of affluence. He has now divided his property be- tween his two sons. James Leonard, near Neola, having a fine farm of over one hundred and sixty acres, while Thomas has the old home place of four hundred and forty acres.
Mr. Leonard was married in Boston to Miss Catherine Hoer, who died in 1864. They were the parents of six children but only the two men- tioned are now living. In 1867 Mr. Leonard was again married, his second
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union being with Mrs. Margaret Turner, the widow of Edward Turner, by whom she had three children: John, deceased; Patrick, living in Harrison county, Iowa; and Anna, the wife of Thomas W. Leonard, a son of our sub- ject. He now owns and carries on the old homestead farm and by his mar- riage there were born six children: Mamie, at home; James L., who died at the age of thirteen years; Edward T., William J. and Francis M., all at home; and John P., who died at the age of five months.
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