USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 40
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George .A. Weed, brother of Franeis W., came to Towa on August 20, 1870, and for the first four years of his residence here tilled the soil in partnership with his brother. Later, he settled on the farm adjoining that of Frank and here resided until 1909, when he made a trip to California and the Pacific coast and then settled in the town of Wall Lake. He was born February 22, 1850, and was married to Jane Tait October 23. 1874. His wife died without issue.
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The greatest tribute that we can pay this active and sturdy pioneer is that he is a true son of the soil and a great lover of animals, who desires nothing better than to spend his days in looking after his well-loved acres and each year contributing the result of his endeavors for the sustenance of his fellow men. The biographer agrees with him in the time-tried maxim that "Farmers are born, not made." The results which he has attained as a plain agriculturist entitle him to rank high among the citizens of this great country, and this review is herein presented in further recognition of his attainments. Hospitable to the core, his home is open to his friends and those with whom he has dealings. His wife is a fitting helpmeet for one who is deserving of commendation.
BEN BROUGHTON.
While many essentials contribute in the making of a successful man, there is usually one strong predominating trait which stands out in relief and furnishes the foundation for the development of the faculties with which he has been naturally endowed. Inborn intelligence, with a broad mentality, when found to be a well marked characteristic of a successful man in whatever sphere of usefulness his lot may be cast, is responsible for his transformation to the realms of successful endeavor and his taking a right- ful place as a leader among men. Naturally, Sac county, being an agri- cultural county, the greatest successes are found to be among the agri- cultural class of this rich and fertile portion of mother earth. The science of animal husbandry is one of the most important divisions of agricul- ture and many of the followers of this highly productive vocation are known far beyond the borders of their neighborhood because of the dis- tribution of the product of their skill and profound knowledge of the breed- ing of live stock. Ben Broughton, live stock breeder of Lake View, lowa, is one of the best known stock men in this section of Iowa, and is, withal, a citizen of excellent attainments and education.
Mr. Broughton has a beautiful farm of two hundred acres within the corporate limits of Lake View and has a handsome modern home which sits on the hillside overlooking the town and the lake in the distance. No more favorable spot for a residence and farmstead is to be found in the length and breadth of the state than that of the Broughton farm. The home is surrounded by great trees which cast their beneficent and welcome
BEN BROUGHTON
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shade over well-kept lawns and grounds. Three large stock barns, fitted with every modern convenience and with adjacent silos, are situated at some distance from the residence. Mr. Broughton has what is considered to be the finest breed barns in Sac county without exception. For eighteen years he has been a breeder of fine live stock and has attained the highest success in this difficult vocation. He maintains a herd of one hundred thoroughbred registered Herefords and disposes of about fifty head annually at an average price of two hundred dollars each. His famous herd has been exhibited at various county fairs and live stock shows thorough- out the country and the proprietor has an accumulation of blue ribbons and first premium prizes that are truly enviable. His herd of Herefords have taken first premiums at the Sac county fair, the Shelby county fair, the Lyon county fair, the Iowa state fairs, and the Sioux City fair, having taken both first and second prizes on many occasions.
Mr. Broughton is likewise an extensive breeder of Poland China hogs and at this writing he has over one hundred head of registered stock, among them being some prize winning sires. The breeding of Percheron horses is another speciality of this versatile farmer and at this vocation he is also making a success.
Ben Broughton was born May 25, 1871, on a farm in DeKalb county, Illinois. His father was C. W. Broughton, who was born in 1817 and died in 1893. . His mother before her marriage was Caroline Churchill, a member of the famous Churchill family of which Winston Churchill is a member. The Churchill family trace their ancestry back to the "May- flower", on which the original founder of the American family came to America, seeking religious freedom with the Pilgrim fathers. C. W. Brough- ton was the father of nine children, namely: Charles Preston, of Jackson county, Missouri ; Mrs. Ella B. Woods, of DeKalb county, Illinois; Mrs. May Kingsley, also a resident of DeKalb county, Illinois; Ben; and two sons by second marriage, Charles Beers and Chauncey W., residing in De- Kalb county, Illinois. The mother of Ben Broughton died May 29, 1871, and the father remarried.
In the year 1894 Mr. Broughton came to Lake View, Iowa, from his home in Illinois and in the fall of 1894 purchased an interest in a local hardware store. He was engaged in the hardware business for three years and then disposed of his interest and purchased the Sunny Slope Stock Farm. Since purchasing the farm he has remodeled and practically re- built all of the buildings on the place and greatly improved the farm until it is one of the most valuable tracts of land in the county. One hundred
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and twenty-five acres of this land cost him seventy dollars an acre and eighty acres additional, bought in the spring of 1912, cost one hundred and thirty-three dollars an acre. He laid off a portion of this land which is now a part of Lake View proper and is officially known as Broughton's addition to the town of Lake View.
Mr. Broughton was married in the fall of 1894 to Alice B. Cleve- land, of Dekalb county, Illinois, who is a distant relative of the late Presi- dent Grover Cleveland. They have two children: Lois Marie, who is at- tending the Lake View high school, and Chauncey Preston Broughton.
Politically, Mr. Broughton is a Republican who has long been identified prominently with his party in Sac county and has taken an active part in political affairs. He has served one term as trustee of Wall Lake township and has filled the office of city councilman two terms and has served as a member, secretary and treasurer of the Lake View school board for over fourteen years. In the fall of 1908 he was elected a member of the board of county supervisors and filled the office capably and well for a period of three years. He is a Mason of blue lodge, chapter, commandery and Shrine, and a Woodman and is well and favorably known as a progressive and enterprising citizen who is always found in the forefront of the advocates of better citizenship and the advancement of his home city's best inter- est. This can be said of him with truth and conviction, even recognizing the fact that Lake View is noted far and wide for the hustling, progres- sive spirit which pervades the rank and file of its citizens. He is a live member of the body politic in a city which has its full quota of live, wide- awake men of affairs.
DAN D. CARLTON.
The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished. An enumeration of those men who have succeeded in their special vocations in Sac county, Iowa, and at the same time are impressing their personalities on the community, men who are conferring honor on the locality in which they reside, would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of the gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph, for he is an important factor in the business life of his community. The splen- did success which has come to him has been the direct result of the salient points in his character, for, with a mind capable of laying judicious plans and a will strong enough to carry them into execution, his energy, foresight
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and perseverance have carried him forward to a position in the front rank of the successful men of his community. He has carried forward to a suc- cessful completion whatever he has undertaken, and his methods have ever been in strict conformity with the standard ethics of commercial life. He has taken an intelligent interest in the civic life of the community and has earned the high regard in which he is held by all who know him.
Dan D. Carlton, vice-president of the Citizens State Bank of Early, Iowa, and retired merchant of that city, was born January 31, 1862, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His parents, E. W. and Nancy R. (Fuller ) Carl- ton, were both natives of New Hampshire, and shortly after the birth of D. D. Carlton they moved back to their old home in New Hampshire, where the father died in 1903, and the mother is still residing in that state, nearly seventy-seven years of age. E. W. Carlton and wife were the parents of a large family of children: Mrs. Anna Hunter, of Wall Lake, Iowa; Edward, of Dubuque, Iowa; Guy, of Washta, Iowa; Mrs. Etta Siscoe; Mrs. Nellie Marshall: Fred, of New Hampshire; D. D., with whom this narrative deals, and Bert, deceased.
Dan D. Carlton was educated in the public schools and Derby Academy in New Hampshire, and later graduated from Eastman's Business Colloge, at Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1883. He immediately came west and in 1884 located in Early, lowa, then a new town. He worked on a farm for the first year, and then began clerking in the store of H. Mohr & Son. In 1886 he became a partner of T. A. Barrett, his father-in-law, a partnership which lasted for twenty-five years, and on January 1, 1913. Mr. Carlton retired from the mercantile business, and he has been vice-president of the Citizens State Bank, of Early, since its organization. In addition to his mercantile and banking interests, he has been also interested in farming lands, and is now the owner of two hundred and fifty-five acres in Buena Vista county, Iowa, two hundred and sixty acres in Sac county and three hundred and twenty acres in South Dakota.
Mr. Carlton was married in 1886 to Kitty L. Barrett, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Barrett, and to this marriage have been born three children : Byrhl, cashier of the Citizens' State Bank, of Early; Murl, who is now a law student in the University of Michigan, and Marjorie, who is a student in the high school at Early.
Politically, Mr. Carlton is a Republican. The members of the family are all faithful adherents of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally, Mr. Carl- ton is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Early, inchuid-
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ing chapter and commandery, and has served as master of the Early blue lodge. He has also served for one year as treasurer of the grand lodge of Towa. He is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.
T. A. Barrett, father of Mrs. Carlton, was born April 13, 1833, in Erie county, Pennsylvania. His parents were L. W. and Martha ( Wells ) Bar- rett, natives of Vermont and New York respectively. In 1843 his parents moved to Ohio, where T. A. Barrett was educated. When twenty years of age he came to Porter county, Indiana, where he spent ten years in a gen- eral mercantile store, and in 1864 he crossed the plains to the headwaters of the Missouri in search of health, but returned to Porter county, Indiana, and in 1873 he went west again and settled in Story county, Iowa, where he spent eight years on a farm. Ile then came to Sac county and became one of the first settlers in the town of Early and opened the first general merchandise store in Early under the name of Thurman & Barrett. Later he bought out the interests of his partner and in 1886 took his son-in-law into the business, retiring in January, 1911, and his son-in-law, Mr. Carlton, sold out his interests two years later. Mr. Barrett erected the Early Cream- ery and for several years this was the pioneer creamery in northern Sac county, Iowa. In addition to his mercantile and banking interests, Mr. Bar- rett was interested in farm lands, and at one time was the owner of over eight hundred acres. Ile now owns about two hundred and fifty acres as well as a business block and dwelling houses in Early.
Mr. Barrett was married September 9, 1859, in Porter county, In- diana, to Lavina White, who was born October 27, 1835, and to this mar- riage were born two children, Byrhl, deceased, and Kitty L., the wife of Mr. Carlton. Mr. Barrett is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and also of the Eastern Star, while in his church affiliations he adheres to the Universalist faith.
The Citizens State Bank of Early was organized in January, 1896, by T. A. Barrett and operated as a private bank under the firm name of Bar- rett & Carlton. On January 1, 1911, the bank was reorganized as a state bank and Mr. Barrett has been its president since its organization. The bank has had a very successful career, as is shown by its statement to the auditor of lowa on September 10, 1913, as follows: Resources-Loans and discounts, $189,995.61 ; overdrafts, $3.583.02; bank building and fixtures, $6,500.00 ; cash and exchange, $21.348.87; total, $221,427.50. Liabilities- Capital, $30,000.00; surplus fund, $1,000.00; undivided profits, $1,074.29; deposits, $189.353.21 ; total, $221.353.50.
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MICHAEL B. WOLF.
The town of Odebolt, Sac county, Iowa, boasts of many retired farm- ers and whenever any county has a number of retired farmers it is an indication that they have been successful in their careers. While Sac county has thousands of German citizens, it has few who are descendants of German and French parents. Mr. Wolf has inherited the good characteristics of a German father and a French mother, and combines the thrift and frugality of both nations.
Michael B. Wolf was born February 25. 1858, in Alsace-Loraine, and was the son of Michael and Margaret ( Bartel) Wolf. His father was a sturdy German farmer, while his mother was a daughter of French parents. Michael Wolf and wife were the parents of five children : Mrs. Mar- garet Bachman, of Alsace-Loraine; Michael B., with whom this narrative deals; Mrs. Katherine Fleck, of Lyons, Nebraska, and two married daugh- ters, Salome and Mary, who are living in Strasburg, Germany.
Michael B. Wolf was given an excellent common school education in the schools of Alsace-Loraine, but early in life decided that he wanted to come to America to seek his fortune. Accordingly when he was only fifteen years of age he set sail for America and first located in Ashland, Ohio, where he worked at farm labor until 1881. However, he did not spend all of his time in Ashland county. Shortly after coming to this country-in fact, when he was only sixteen years of age-he was given the management of a large farm in Wood and Ashland counties, Ohio, and managed this farm very successfully. While living in Ohio Mr. Wolf was married in 1885. and two years later he went West and arrived in Odebolt on February 2, 1882.
Mr. Wolf arrived in Odebolt with the earnings of several years and immediately purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in section 17, Wheeler township, at a cost of twenty dollars an acre. The farm had scarcely any improvements on it at the time he purchased it, although there was a house with no plastering and only a ladder for a stairway. He gradually improved his farm until it was able to net him handsome returns each year. In 1900 he moved to Odebolt where he has an excellent place in the west part of the city. Ile sold eighty acres of his farm to his brother- in-law and still retains one hundred and sixty acres, which he rents out.
Mr. Wolf was married October 24, 1880, to Lelia Smith, who was born in Champaign county, Ohio, but reared in Wood county. that state. She is the daughter of John Z. and Ruth Smith, natives of Dutchess county,
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New York, and Connecticut, respectively. Her mother came to Odebolt after her father's death and died there.
The branch of the Smith family to which Mrs. Smith belongs can trace their ancestry back through several generations. The original John Smith, of whom she is a lineal descendant, was born July 5. 1781. He married Judy Benson, who was born in 1788, and they lived in New York until after their first two children, Hiram and Julia, were born, after which they moved to Connecticut, where John C., the father of Mrs. Wolf, was born March 20, 1812. The other children of John Smith, Sr .. and wife were Julia Ann, Hiram Benson, John Z., Susan, David. Betsy, William Henry, Benjamin and George DeWitt Clinton. A son of William Henry Smith, Glen, lives on the Wolf farm in Wheeler township, Sac county. Towa. John Z. Smith, the father of Mrs. Wolf, moved from Connecticut to Avon. Livingston county, New York, and from thence to Waukegon, Illinois. In 1851 he made the overland trip to California, where he lived for two years, after which he returned to Ohio and settled near Urbana on the famous Neil stock farm. Later he moved to Wood county, Ohio, where his death occurred. John Z. Smith married Ruth Scott, whose grandfather, Capt. Ezekiel Scott, was a famous soklier of the War of the Revolution. The father of Captain Scott was Samuel Scott. John Z. Smith's children were Mrs. M. B. Wolf : Hiram B., deceased. late of Wheeler township, this county ; John H .. also of Wheeler township, and Mrs. Julia Dubbs, of Wood county, Ohio.
Hiram B. Smith, a brother of Mrs. Wolf, was born in Lake county, Illinois, December 7, 1846, and was married in 1870 to Jennie Marsh, of Otsego county, New York. In 1878 H. B. Smith and family went to Ohio, and later came to Sac county, Iowa, where they purchased a half section of prairie land. To Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Smith were born two children, Ada and Lenore, and they also raised two nephews, Edmond and Maury Marsh. H. B. Smith died February 1. 1914, at Fort Orange. Florida. John H. Smith, another brother of Mrs. Wolf, was born in Cook county, Ilinois, in 1852, and was married in 1885 to Rachel Keister, and came to Sac county from Ohio in 1884. He owns eighty acres of land in section 17 of this township, which he purchased from Mr. Wolf. John H. Smith and wife are the parents of four children, Ione. Hilda. Ruth and Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf have one daughter, Esther, at home.
Politically, Mr. Wolf is a Republican in national politics, but in local politics he reserves the right to cast his vote for the best man in his judg- ment. While Mr. Wolf was reared in the German Lutheran church, he
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attends the Church of Christ with his wife, and subseribes to its support. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while he and his wife are both members of the Odebolt Rebekah lodge. Mrs. Wolf is a charter member of this order and was the first presiding officer of the lodge. She has served as the county deputy and is prominent in the affairs of this order.
CLAUS LANGE.
A complete chapter might well be written as a part of the Sac county history and might also be called the "German invasion and conquest" of the prairie lands of the county, for a conquest it has been and it is still going on. A large per cent of the population of the county is either of German birth or descended from German immigrants who have since attained success in the field of agriculture and many of whom have become very wealthy and are large land owners. . \ representative of this elass of developers is Claus Lange, retired farmer of the town of Wall Lake, who came to America when a poor boy and is now rated as one of the wealthiest men in Sac county.
Claus Lange was born June 6. 1845, in Germany, the son of Max and Anna Lange, who were of the farming class in Germany and did not leave their native land. Claus came to America in 1860. after serving two years in the German army. He located at Wheatland, Clinton county, lowa, and worked at farm labor for five years. In 1874 he came to Sac county and rented land in Clinton township for two years. He saved his earnings in the meantime and invested in one hundred and sixty acres of land in seetion 24 of Clinton township. He made this purchase on a time contract, and after he had fully paid for his first farm he bought another quarter section adjoining it. He resided in Clinton township for twenty-nine years and then moved to Wall Lake, where he and his good wife reside in one of the finest residences in the town. Mr. Lange is the owner of seven farms in Sac county, all fitted with excellent buildings and the total acreage of which will exceed one thousand eight hundred acres in Wall Lake and Coon Valley townships. His home farm, whereon he resided for nearly thirty years, is one of the finest and best-kept agricultural plants in western Iowa. It is a characteristic of this enterprising German-American that he spares no expense in keeping the buildings on his various farms in an attractive state of repair and also conserving the soil by the production of a great many head of live stock.
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Mr. Lange was married February 20, 1876, in Clinton township, to Henrietta Schulte, who was born on December 2, 1857, in Germany, the daughter of John and Radamacher ( Talke) Schulte. These parents came to America in 1870, locating in Grundy county, Iowa, until 1876, when they removed to Sac county and purchased a farm in Clinton township. Mr. and Mrs. Claus Lange are the parents of eight children, namely : Marcus, located on the home farm in Clinton township; John, a rancher in North Dakota; Fred, a farmer in Wall Lake township: August. in Coon Valley township: Mrs. Alma Wicker, residing in the town of Wall Lake ; Adolph, a farmer of Wall Lake township; William, who lives in North Dakota: Rufus, attending school.
In politics, Mr. Lange is aligned with the Republican party. He is affiliated with the Lutheran church and a liberal supporter of this denomina- tion. He is well read, genial, and is a representative type of the intelligent German-American class who make such valuable additions to the body politic of any community wherever they may locate.
THOMAS J. ANDRE, M. D.
The man who devotes his talents and energies to the noble work of ministering to the ills and alleviating the suffering of humanity is pur- suing a calling which in dignity, importance and beneficial results is second to no other. If true to his profession and earnest in his efforts to en- large his sphere of usefulness, he is indeed a benefactor to his kind, for to him more than to any other man are entrusted the safety, the comfort and in many instances the lives of those who place themselves under his care and profit by his services. It is gratifying to note in the series of personal sketches appearing in this work that there remain identified with the pro- fessional, public and civic affairs of Sac county, lowa, many who are ably maintaining the prestige of noble names. Of this number, Dr. Thomas J. Andre, who is prominent among the physicians and surgeons and who is practicing his profession in the city of Schaller. is one of the representa- tive men of the county. He stands in the front rank of Sac county's professional men, having been engaged in his calling here for thirty-two years, during which he has not only gained wide professional notoriety, but also established a sound reputation for uprightness of character in all the relations of life.
J. L. andre
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Dr. T. J. Andre, a popular practicing physician of Schaller, lowa, was born May 10, 1857, in Columbiana county, Ohio, near the village of llanover. His parents, John L. and Rachel Ann ( Taylor ) Andre, were natives of the same county and continued to reside there until 1865, at which time they migrated to Scott county, lowa, and settled on a farm where they lived for forty-one years. John Andre died March 9. 1911, in New Sharon, Mahaska county, this state, at the advanced age of eighty- four years and six months. His wife died in 1903. John L. Andre and wife were the parents of eight children: W. H., of Estherville, lowa ; Mrs. Mary J. Cook, deceased; Mrs. R. A. Fleck, of Lake City, Iowa ; Mrs. Emeline Parker, of Davenport, lowa; Dr. T. J., with whom this narra- tive deals; J. Frank, of Davenport, this state; John L., Jr., who died at the age of eight years, and Mrs. Alberta Landstrom, of New Sharon, Iowa.
Dr. Thomas J. Andre was reared on the farm in Scott county, this state, receiving his education in the common schools of his neighborhood. Early in life he decided that he wanted to follow the medical profession and with this end in view he entered Rush Medical College, of Chicago, from which institution he graduated in the spring of 1882. In the fall of the same year he located in Schaller, this county, at a time when that town boasted of three saloons, two drug stores and one blacksmith shop. Ile has lived through all of the history of the town and has seen it grow from that spirited beginning to its present prosperous condition. While Doctor Andre has been wonderfully successful as a physician he has also been successful as a business man, and for several years he has dealt in lowa lands, and is now a large land owner in this and other counties of the state.
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