USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 32
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It was the late Hon. George D. Perkins, editor of the Sioux City Journal, who said upon hearing of the death of comrade Schaller: "Dear old Phil Schaller! Big-hearted man ; courageous man-a type of man who leaves his impress and mark where the chance to live is given."
Another token of love and esteem came through a committee of three from the Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown, sent to Sac City on this special
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errand, to deliver the following set of resolutions, bespeaking of the senti- ment held at Marshalltown among his old-time comrades :
"Whereas, the sad and mournful funeral knell has betokened that an- other spirit has winged its flight to a new state of existence; an alarm has come to our outpost and the messenger is Death, and none will presume to say to the awful presence: 'Who comes there?' In the death of comrade, friend and associate Schaller we feel that we have met an irreparable loss, but our loss is far less than that sustained by those nearer and dearer to him.
"Therefore, be it resolved: That in behalf of our post, we give this tribute symbol of our undying love for comrades of the war and that we mourn for one who was in every way worthy of our respect and regards and, as members of the Iowa Sokliers' Home, we feel that he has always had our best interests at heart; that he has been an undefatigable worker in his endeavors to better the condition of this home -- more so than any other person.
"Resolved, That we sincerely condole with the family of the deceased on the dispensation which has pleased Divine Providence to afflict them and we commend for consolation to Him who orders all things well and whose chastisements are given with a merciful hand.
"Resolved, that this heart-felt testimonial of our sorrow and sympathies be delivered to the family of our departed comrade and friend by the dele- gates from this post selected to attend his burial.
"J. J. BEEDY, "GEORGE WV. WEBB, "\V. A. HAMILTON."
For several years previous to his death Mr. Schaller was the senior mem- ber of the firm of Schaller & Hart, lands and loans, and composed of Mr. Schaller and William H. Hart, the editor of the historical section of this work. The thriving and beautiful town of Schaller was named in his honor by the land company. He was the first president of the Sac County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, which he assisted in organizing. Mr. Schaller became a director in the First National Bank of Sac City, and was originator and first president of the Lake View State Bank.
Mr. Schaller was first married in October of 1865 to Emiline L. Knight, of Clayton county, lowa, by whom he had two daughters born, Louise, the wife of E. P. Hartman, of Lake View, and Eugenie, the wife of F. S. Need-
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ham, banker of Sac City. Mrs. Schaller passed from earth on February 13, 1899. In July of 1900, Mr. Schaller married Mrs. Catherine Fishiman, who survives him and resides at Sac City.
Catharine Rosenhauer (Fishman) Schaller is a native of Bavaria, Ger- many, the daughter of John and Julia Rosenhauer, who emigrated to America in the year 1845. They first settled in Massachusetts, and in 1848 removed to the wilds of Wisconsin where they became pioneer settlers and where John Rosenhauer is still residing in the ripeness of a long and fruitful life: Catharine Rosenhauer was first married in Wisconsin to William Fishman in 1869. William Fishman was a native of Westphalia, Germany, and came to America when a youth. He learned the trade of blacksmith and followed it as a means of gaining a livelihood throughout his entire life. Not many years after this marriage they settled in Sac City where Mr. Fishman con- ducted a blacksmith shop and prospered. He died in 1884, leaving a son. George, now deceased. A niece, Agnes Rosenhauer, is residing with Mrs. Schaller. Mrs. Schaller is a member of the Presbyterian church and the Eastern Star chapter.
Phil Schaller was one of the first members of Occidental Lodge No. 178. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, a member of Darius Chapter No. 58. Royal Arch Masons, Rose Croix Commandery No. 38. Knights Templar, and the Eastern Star Chapter No. 18, of Sac City. He was affiliated with the De Molay Consistory No. 1 of Lyons, Iowa, and was a member of the Des Moines Consistory of Scottish Rite Masonry. He held the office of grand treasurer of the grand lodge of lowa Masons. He valued most highly his comradeship in the Grand Army of the Republic, Gen. W. T. Sherman Post, at Sac City. For a period of three years Comrade Schaller was commander of the Northwestern Iowa Veterans' Association with the title of colonel commanding.
Mr. Schaller's death occurred at Earlville, Iowa, July 21, 1911, and was occasioned by apoplexy. He and his wife had been in attendance at the funeral of his sister in Dubuque and stopped off at Earlville to visit relatives. Without warning, this gallant soldier, pioneer and statesman was gathered to his fathers. His funeral was held from the Presbyterian church in Sac City and was conducted by Rev. R. L. Brackman, pastor. His remains were interred in Oakland cemetery, with a large company of ex-soldiers and hun- dreds of friends from distant places furnishing the funeral procession. The deceased had surviving him, his wife, two daughters, six brothers and ten grandchildren.
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Phil Schaller departed this carthly life at the ripe age of seventy-two years. His life and accomplishments are so closely interwoven with the history and development of Sac county that it is necessary elsewhere in this volume to record data more closely than is herein presented by the biographer. We cannot do justice to his character or fittingly portray the usefulness of a truly great and wonderfully endowed citizen such as he. Phil Schaller will live long in the memory of the people of Sac county. His life story will prove to be an inspiration to every poor boy who looks forward to the time when he, too. may become a leader of his fellow men and win wealth and greatness such as comes to but few men in a community. To have known Phil Schaller was to have esteemed him highly. Peace be to his ashes.
ERNEST C. FULLER.
Prominent in the affairs of Sac county and distinguished as a citizen whose influence is far extended beyond the limits of the community honored by his residence, the name of E. C. Fuller stands out a conspicuous figure among the successful men of the locality of which this history treats. All of his undertakings have been actuated by noble motives and high re- solves and characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individuality and his success and achievements but represent the result of fit utilization of innate talent in directing effort along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way. He has been identified in a business way with various local enterprises, in all of which he has been uniformly successful.
E. C. Fuller, county supervisor from the first district, and substantial business man of Early, Iowa, was born August 4, 1855, at LaSalle, LaSalle county, Illinois, the son of S. K. and Mary Ann (Swartauf) Fuller, both natives of the state of New York, the father born in December, 1826, in Orleans county, that state, and died at Early, Iowa, in September, 1911, and the mother, also deceased, born in Niagara county, New York. S. K. Fuller located at LaSalle, Illinois, at a very early day, and in September, 1855, migrated to Poweshiek county, Iowa, locating in the town of Grinnell when that now prosperous little city was first founded. He came to Sac county about 1878 and for two years lived on a farm. He removed to Early when the town was started, and here established the Bank of Early, a private bank, and in 1890 he organized the State Bank of Early. He
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thus became one of the pioneer bankers of this locality. The success of this bank was largely due to his earnest and able efforts, for he was a far- seeing business man of unimpeachable honesty and high integrity.
Six children were born of the marriage of S. K. and Mary Ann (Swartauf) Fuller: Two children died in infancy; E. M. Fuller lives at Long Branch, California; E. C. Fuller, the immediate subject of this sketch, was the fourth in order of birth; Mrs. Helen G. Wood died in April, 1912; S. C. Fuller died at Imperial, California, in November, 1913.
E. C. Fuller came to Sac county, Iowa, May 30, 1875, and located on section 7 in Boyer Valley township, where he bought two hundred and ten acres of land at fifteen dollars per acre. He later purchased two hundred and forty acres more at a cost of twelve dollars and fifty cents per acre. He purchased additional land from time to time until his holdings included over four hundred and fifty acres in one tract, two hundred and ninety-two acres in Boyer Valley township and one hundred and sixty acres in Cook township. He still retains the first farm he purchased. and is the owner of two other fine farnis. He has one hundred and sixty acres in South Dakota and three hundred and eighteen acres near Spirit Lake, Dickinson county, Iowa.
Mr. Fuller lived on the farm until 1888, when he removed to Early, Iowa. For a period of twenty years or more he dealt extensively in live stock. For five years he conducted a meat market. He also owned a drug store for two years and a livery barn for three years, selling the latter only recently. He has a beautiful home in Early, which he purchased in 1903. and which he entirely remodeled into one of the finest and most modern residences of the community.
Mr. Fuller is vice-president and a director of the State Bank of Early and has been connected with this popular institution since its organization. He is a man whose judgment on important business matters is valued highly. Politically, he is a Republican and has taken a more or less active interest in the political affairs of his county. He served two years in the city council and nine years as a member of the school board of Early, as well as holding all the township offices. In 1906 he was elected supervisor from the first district and re-elected in 1912, and it is universally conceded that his official record is without blemish.
Mr. Fuller was married December 24, 1883. to Ida May Spalding. daughter of Calvin Spalding, of Early, and they have one son. Ivan L., who has been a student at Ames, Iowa, and at Morningside College at Sioux City, Iowa.
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Fraternally, Mr. Fuller holds membership with the Masons and the Odd Fellows, having attained to the thirty-second degree in Masonry and being a member of Abu Beke Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Sioux City, Iowa. He is a member of the Methodist church. Progressive and public-spirited as a citizen, Mr. Fuller has shown a commendable interest in local affairs and lends his support readily to every enterprise having for its object the advancement of the community. Personally, he is most genial and com- panionable and his popularity is universal.
WILLIAM W. FIELD.
To have lived an honorable and unselfish life which has been devoted in the main to the service of one's fellowmen deserves more than mere mention To be remembered as a liberal public benefactor and to have achieved renown and become distinguished in two commonwealths of this nation is more achievement than usually falls to the lot of mankind, specifically. We re- member an able man by his deeds, for the fact is well established that a good man lives onward and forever in the hearts and minds of the people. Has it not been said, "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, was not written of the soul?" The body perishes and returns to the earth and air from which it was origi- nally created. The man himself does not die-he lives on and on- and if his life has been worthy and useful, one in which he has won a certain definite measure of renown, he is remembered for years and even ages after his earthly demise. It is a comforting thought which our religion teaches us that death in itself is but a brief separation, to be followed by a grand reunion in the great beyond, whither all souls must travel and rest in peace if the earthly life has merited a just reward. William W. Fiekl is well remem- bered for his fine attainments, generous philanthropy and statesmanship. qualities which he possessed in abundance. He was a high type of man, de- scended from a long line of illustrious forbears, and was born into a family that has furnished wonderful geniuses and some of the ablest men in several decades of the family's history. He came of the famous Field family which produced Cyrus W. Field, of the Atlantic cable fame, and Marshall Field, the merchant prince of Chicago, and a long line of illustrious Americans famous in many professions and walks of life.
W. W. Field was born October 31, 1824, in the town of Lancaster, New Ilampshire. Ile was the son of Abel Waite Field, a native of Brattleboro.
Any'n 'Il Field
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Vermont. The Field genealogy gives the line of Fields in the following suc- cession, beginning with William Field, who was the first in line, followed by his son William ( II), Richard ( III), John (IV), John (V), Zechariah (VI), John (VII), Zechariah (VIII), John ( IX), John (X). Abel W. (NI), and William Weils ( XII).
Mr. Field was married October 31, 1850, to Mahala J. Howe, who was born December 1, 1825, and is the daughter of parents whose residence was in the state of New Hampshire, where they both died. She was one of eight children, as follows: Mrs. Hattie S. Taylor, deceased: Mahala J. Field ; Edward B., who died in infancy : Sophia Ann, deceased in childhood ; Edwin Newell, died in infancy ; Althea Perkins, died at the age of twelve years ; Mrs. Mary Farnam, deceased : Joseph D., a resident of Lancaster, New Hampshire.
He with whom this review is directly concerned was the son of a farmer who had five sons and a daughter, to each of whom he managed to give the advantages of a good school education, and it was given to William W. to attend the Lancaster Academy and there finish his education. He taught school at the age of seventeen years for three winters in succession. When he was twenty years old his father gave him his "time," or rather gave him per- mission to make his own way in the world, as he had no property to give, and had done all that he possibly could in preparing him to fight life's battle in the future. In the year 1845 he left home with thirty dollars in gold as his sole possession and went to Medford, Massachusetts, and there worked at farm labor for a period two years. He then engaged in the marble business in the town of Belfast, Maine.
In 1852 Mr. Field came west and stopped at the town of Fenniman. Grant county, Wisconsin, and purchased a tract of land in the vicinity, on which he lived in a log cabin and there made his home. In 1865 he rented his farm and moved to Boscobel, Grant county, for the purpose of affording his children better educational advantages. In January of 1873 he removed to Madison, the capital of Wisconsin.
During the Civil War Mr. Field was a strong advocate of the integrity of the Union and threw the weight of his influence in behalf of the Federal government at all times. His public career in Wisconsin began with his election as a member of the Grant county board of supervisors in 1861, and he served as chairman of this board. He served his county as a member of the state Legislature in the sessions of 1855, 1862, 1863. 1864 and 1865, and filled the position of speaker of the House during 1862 and 1863 of his legis- lative service. He represented the state as presidential elector at large in (22)
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1864. Mr. Field was appointed a member of the board of regents of the State University of Wisconsin in 1871, and served in this high office until 1873. In February of 1873 he was elected a member of the executive board of the State Agricultural Society and held this position for several years. In April of 1875 he was elected secretary of the Wisconsin state board of cen- tennial managers.
Mr. Field migrated from Wisconsin to lowa in 1879 and located in the new town of Odebolt. He purchased an entire section of land in Wheeler township, which he farmed and developed until 1892, when he made a per- manent residence in Odebolt. He died in April of 1907. He was very active in financial and civic affairs while residing in Sac county. He was one of the founders and the first president of the First National Bank of Odebolt. While he was especially gifted in the line of public duty, the only office which he cared to accept in the county was the trusteeship of Wheeler township.
Politically, Mr. Field was always allied with the Republican party. He was an attendant and liberal supporter of the Presbyterian church and was a Mason during the greater part of his life. Mrs. Field has been a life-long member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Field was a liberal donor to the fund which was provided for the erection of the handsome public library in Ode- bolt : in fact, it is a matter of record that he gave a considerable portion of the necessary funds for defraying the cost of the erection of the structure. He did this with the idea of giving some substantial return to the community in which he had prospered. Ile will long be remembered as one of the main donors of this useful institution.
Something concerning the family history of Mahala J. Howe Field is not inappropriate at this point. The Howe family is a very old one from an American standpoint and numbers among its members and descendants some of the ablest Americans and men and women in all walks of life who have been successful. The family begins with Abraham Howe, who emigrated from England and settled at Malvern, Massachusetts, in the year of 1858. From him have descended five generations of Joseph Howes as they were named respectively and have been prominent in the colonial life of New England. Daniel Howe, the grandsire of Mrs. Field, located in Lancaster, Vermont, in about 1778, and married Eunice Bucknan, a daughter of Capt. Edward Bucknan, one of the leading spirits in the settlement of Lancaster. He was justice of the peace, town clerk and a leader of the community for many years. The father of Mrs. Field, although defective in eyesight, managed to achieve a comfortable competency in life and reared a worthy family. It is worthy of note that Eunice Bucknan, grandmother of Mrs. Field, was the
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first white child born in Lancaster. Joseph D. Field, brother of Mrs. Field, is one of the substantial and leading citizens of the Lancaster community and is the owner of a very fine stock farm, which is noted for the quality of its pure bred live stock. At the present writing, Mr. Howe and wife are the guests at the Field home.
Mrs. Mahala J. Field resides in the old homestead in Odebolt and is one of the respected and best loved ladies of the city. She is the mother of the following children: Mrs. Jennie Bashford, wife of Rev. James W. Bash- ford, a bishop of the Methodist church, and at present a missionary located in Peking. China; Mrs. Ella Frank, wife of a live-stock ranchman, located at Ree Heights, South Dakota, and who is the mother of two children, Marion Feild, also a missionary at Nanking. China, and Howard Price Frank, of Natick, Massachusetts.
It was not to be expected that W. W. Field could refrain from taking a prominent and active part in state affairs after he became a resident of Iowa, but he turned his energies in the direction of his favorite avocation, that of the agriculturist. He became vice-president of the State Agricultural Society and also served as president of this great body. He was a strong and able exponent of better and more improved farming methods and wielded quite an influence in bettering conditions for the farmers of the state. He will long be remembered as one of the ablest and most widely known men who have served in the councils of the state board.
A distinct loss to the community and state at large occurred with his demise, and he was sincerely mourned by hundreds and thousands who knew him and who knew of his many excellent qualities and accomplishments as a citizen and statesman. Were this volume without the foregoing memoir it would be incomplete.
HON. D. CARR EARLY.
Invulnerable integrity and high purpose characterized the life of Hon. D Carr Early, an honored citizen and representative business man of Sac City, who left an indelible impress upon the civic and industrial annals of the county and upon whose record there rests no shadow of blemish. Flis strength was as the number of his days, and not only did he accomplish much in connection with the practical affairs of life, but his nature. strong and vigorous, found denotement in kindly tolerance and human sympathy, generous deeds and worthy service. He was a lawyer by profession, who
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served his county in several important positions of public trust with signal honor and ability, but a greater part of his long and active career was one of close and fruitful identification with business interests, especially in the line of banking, in which he gained marked prestige.
Among the important factors in the settlement and final development of Sac county, perhaps no one man did more and stood higher in the esti- mation of his fellow citizens than Judge Early, who was a resident of Sac City and vicinity for more than forty-seven years. In the settlement of new countries there are two classes always found-one, the short stayer, and the other. the permanent settler, who sets his stakes and builds worthily for the oncoming years. The latter class included Mr. Early, whose name is now and ever will be mentioned in connection with Sac county, by reason of his energy and tact, as well as for his actual accomplishments.
Judge Early was born April 21. 1830, near the village of Feesburg, Brown county, Ohio, the son of Andrew Early, a native of Kentucky, whose wife's name was Fanny Summers. Mr. Early's ancestors came from Ireland in the eighteenth century and settled in Hampshire county. Virginia. Thomas Early was the great-grandfather of Judge Early and the father of David Early, who was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, in 1774. David Early removed to Kentucky in 1778 and settled in Fleming county, where Andrew Early, father of D. Carr Early, was born. Andrew was born December 4, 1803, and removed to Brown county, Ohio, in the year 1826.
D. Carr Early was reared on a farm, but diligently improved every spare moment in gaining an education. At the age of eighteen years he com- menced school teaching, at the same time taking up the study of Latin. His father allowed him two acres of land, which he planted to corn and tobacco. The first season he made one hundred and forty-five dollars, with which money he went to school at Felicity, Clermont county, Ohio, called Spring- town Institute, where he was especially proficient in mathematics. He then went to Nelson county, Kentucky, where his uncle, Walter Summers, lived. There he taught school for one year, with the proceeds of which he was enabled to attend school further. He then returned to Ohio and began reading law with H. L. Penn, of Georgetown. By money earned as a teacher, he continued his studies and at the end of two years was admitted to the bar of the supreme court. He then taught two years longer, as he needed the money in starting out as a lawyer. In 1856 he set his face toward the West, making nearly the entire trip on foot. He had determined to be the owner of a quarter section of government land, with timber upon it if possible, and he found that tract in Sac county, lowa. Ile and Andrew J.
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Taylor, a companion, selected claims May 5, 1856. He went on foot to the land office at Sioux City to file his pre-emption papers, while Taylor, his chum, remained and cut logs and made clapboards for a cabin, which was erected on the line of the two claims. Here the two young men dwelt in rude fashion as real pioneers of Sac county, for three months, until they could pay for their lands under the pre-emption laws.
Mr. Early went back to Fleming county, Kentucky, and there taught school the next winter, but in the spring of 1857 returned to Sac county. coming back by boat to Sioux City. During this water trip he freed himself of the fever and ague which had troubled him the season before. He then located in Sac City, then a village of only three or four log houses, including one erected for a school house. He at once engaged to teach the pioneer school, but after teaching seven days he resigned to accept the office of county treasurer and recorder: F. M. Cory had been elected, but preferred to have another perform his duties. Mr. Early was an expert penman and an excel- lent accountant. He was called upon to draw many legal papers for the incoming settlers, in connection, generally, with their land claims and titles. Much of the land was known as military land and had been taken up with army scrip. He kept a careful list of all non-resident lands and paid taxes for the owners of the same, and thus laid the foundation for his future fortune.
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