USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 47
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On March 15, 1867, Hugh Cory and Alice LaGourgue were united in marriage. Alice is the daughter of William LaGourgue and was born March 25, 1851, in the state of Iowa. William was a native of the island of Jamaica, and the son of French Canadian parents. He became a sailor when
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very young and followed the seat until his emigration to Ohio, in 1849, where he was married in 1850, emigrating and taking up his residence in Sac county in 1854. In September of that year he pre-empted government land in the county, and soon became a prominent figure in the organization of the county government. He was the first sheriff of Sac county.
It is stated on good authority that his daughter, Alice, has resided in Sac county for a longer period of time than any other woman now living. Her oklest brother, Horace, who died at the age of eight years, was actually the first white male child born within the borders of the county. The wife of William LaGourgue was Elizabeth Austin, a native of Canada. She was the mother of eight children: Mrs. Alice Cory; Mary (Swett), deceased in 1909: Horace, deceased; Frank, who resides at Anahem, California; Isabel ( Earnest ), of South Omaha ; Jane ( Allsworth), of Beatrice, Nebraska ; Will- ianı B., a farmer in Nebraska: and Minnie ( Arnold), who lives near Denver. Colorado.
William LaGourgue was born in 1822 and died in October. 1903. His wife was born July 14, 1832, and now resides at Odell, Nebraska, to which state William removed in 1875, because of the "crowded conditions" of Sac county.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Cory have had a family of six children, viz. : Francis M., born in June, 1868, and is now a postoffice clerk at Bellingham, Washing- ton. He is the father of three children, Berney, Alice and Jean. Francis was a soldier in the Spanish- American war and a member of the Thirty- second lowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment, having served in the Philippine islands and Cuba during the periods of American occupancy. Nora (Geary), wife of William Geary, was the second child. She was born June 17, 1871, and married in 1890. She departed this life August 16, 1906, leaving three children, Merville, Iva and Hugh, who reside with their father at Bellingham, Washington. The third in order of birth is Dora, wife of Kelley Garoutt, of Heron Lake, Minnesota. She was born May 4, 1875. and is the mother of two children, Harold and Eula. Leon is the fourth, born 1885, and resides at Los Angeles, California. He is the father of one child. Leon, Jr. Next comes Ella, wife of Bert Nixon, Sac City. She was born in 1882 and has one child, Yetta. William Victor is the next living child, born 1890. He resides at Bellingham, Washington.
In politics, Mr. Cory is a Republican. He has served as school director and road supervisor. He and Mrs. Cory are stanch members of the First Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Cory is a member of the Masonic lodge. and is also a comrade of William Sherman Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
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ARTHUR SUMNER HAYDEN, M. D.
It is probable that the average professional medical practitioner sees more of the darker side of human life than any other, owing to the nature of his calling, which is to relieve suffering and to eradicate disease from mankind. He is often self-sacrificing and of necessity must be very reti- cent concerning the knowledge which comes into his possession; frequently he becomes the family adviser and counselor; it is he who soothes the last hours of the dying and gently leads the sick and ailing along the high road to recovery through the ministration of the remedies provided by nature and often through the exercise of his own optimism and gifts of power.
A true representative of this noblest of all professions is found in the person of Dr. Arthur S. Hayden, of the town of Wall Lake. He is a pioneer resident of Sac county, and his parents before him were pioneers. Doctor Hayden was born March 12, 1862, near Blackberry Station, now Elburn. county of Kane, Illinois. He is the son of Rev. Rufus Hayden, who was born December 10, 1819, and died December 27. 1908. His mother was Lucia AFuncil, born in 1821 and died in 1900. They were both natives of Old Vermont and descendants of old New England forbears. They were reared and married in their native state and migrated to New Hampshire and thence to Auburn, New York .. Rev. Rufus Hayden was a Baptist min- ister and by the necessity of his calling he was required to have many homes and moved about considerably. From Auburn, New York, he went to Hills- dale, Michigan, and from there to Elburn, Illinois, in the late fifties.
In the year 1864 he removed to Buchanan county, lowa, and resided their until 1873, when he came to Sac county. For two years he preached the gospel in Sac City and then bought a farm two and one half miles south of the city. Ile organized Baptist churches throughout the county while engaged in farming. He was the pioneer minister of the Baptist faith in Sac county and will long be remembered by the older residents who had the opportunity of listening to his discourses from the pulpit. His was a noble task. Rev. Hayden was the father of eight children: Francilia, born in New Hampshire and died in Michigan; George, born in New Hampshire and died in Toledo in 1909; Harlan, born in Michigan and died at the age of two years; Lucian, born in Michigan and now residing at Little Rock, Arkansas: Caroline, wife of C. O. Strong, of near Sac City: Mrs. May Bayne, born in Illinois and living at Morningside, Iowa; Arthur S .: Flora. wife of Charles Swarm, born in Buchanan county, lowa, and living in Windom, Minnesota.
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Dr. Hayden was eleven years of age when his parents removed to Sac county. He received his education in the Sac City high school and the Western Normal College of Shenandoah, Iowa. He entered the State Uni- versity at lowa City and graduated from the department of homeopathy in 1896. From the time he was seventeen years of age until he attained the age of thirty he taught school in Sac county. He served as principal of the Lake View schools and the schools of Wall Lake. He began his practice in Wall Lake and has resided here over thirty years in all. He has an ex- cellent practice and enjoys the esteem of a large cirele of friends and ac- quaintances.
Dr. Hayden was married October 16, 1886, to Ethel Baker, daughter of W. L. Baker. of Wall Lake, born near Belvidere, Boone county, Illinois, August 20, 1868. In 1878 her parents and their three children moved to Sac county, where her mother and eldest brother died that same year. Her father died June 20, 1908. One brother, John E. Baker, lives at Lake View. Two children were born Dr. and Mrs. Hayden: Beulah, wife of G. A. May, M. D., of Audubon, and Harold Baker, a resident of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Arthur S. Hayden is a member of the State Hahnemann Society and the Iowa State Medical Society. Politically, he is allied with the Republican party. but is progressive in his tendencies. He has served as school director of Wall Lake and is now a member of the city council. He is affiliated with the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen.
WILLIAM OVERTON HOWARD.
It is a well recognized fact that the most powerful influence in shap- ing and controlling public life is the press. It reaches a greater number of people than any other agency and thus has always been and, in the hands of persons competent to direct it, always will be a most important factor in moulding public opinion and shaping the destiny of the nation. The gentle- man to a brief review of whose life these lines are devoted is prominently connected with the journalism of northwestern Iowa and at this time is editor and publisher of the W'all Lake Blade, one of the most popular papers of Sac county, Iowa, comparing favorably with the best local sheets in this section of the state in news, editorial ability and mechanical execution.
William Overton Howard, the son of George Overton and Susan Fran-
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ces ( Seay ) Howard, was born March 10, 1874, at Drakesville, Davis county, Iowa. George Howard was born in Ohio and was a shoemaker by trade. He died when William was four years of age. The mother was a native of Iowa, her parents coming originally from Tennessee. After the death of the father, Mrs. Susan Frances Howard moved to Clarinda, Iowa, to re- side with her father, Rev. Isaac M. Seay, a pioneer Baptist minister of lowa. William, who is the only living child of his parents, was reared and edu- cated in Clarinda, and when twelve years of age entered the office of the Page County Democrat. He was quick to pick up the printer's trade, and by the time he was sixteen years of age had a sufficient knowledge of the business to establish the Bradyville News, and became the youngest pub- lisher in the state of Iowa. Several months later young Howard entered the trade as a journeyman and spent ten years in Minnesota, where, for a time, he was in the employ of Brown & Bigelow, art calendar publishers at St. Paul. In 1908 he located at Forest City, Iowa, where he purchased the con- trolling interest in the Forest City Summit. Three years later he sold his interest in this paper and purchased the Wl'all Lake Blade, a paper which he is still publishing. He is a Progressive Republican and naturally ex- presses his political views in his paper. In a newspaper of this kind par- ticular attention is always paid to local news, and his paper is recognized as one of the best and cleanest newspapers in that section of the state. He gathers all the news of importance, puts it into excellent reading form and has the necessary typographical skill to give it to his readers in good shape.
Mr. Howard was married New Year's day, 1897, to Sadie Peterson, who was a native of Norway. They were married while Mr. Howard was working in Minnesota, and to this marriage have been born three sons and one daughter : Harold Madison, born May 6, 1898: Morton Overton, born July 3. 1800: Francis Elmo, born June 22, 1901, and Ruth Mildred, born September 17, 1904.
Fraternally, Mr. Howard is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of these fraternal organizations. He is a man of vigorous mentality and forceful expression in his paper and is never afraid to express his views upon any question which affects the wel- fare of his community, and always tries to make a stand on the right side of every question, and when he once makes up his mind to follow a particu- lar policy, he sets it before his readers in clean and convincing style. He is a man of genial personality, and although he has been in the community but a short time, yet he has won a host of friends who admire him for his many good qualities of head and heart.
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HARRY I. STRAHN.
An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves, and at the same time have hon- ored the locality to which they belong, would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of him whose name forms the caption of this sketch. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful men of Sac county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow men, for his career has been one of well-directed energy. strong determination and honor- able methods. As a business man he has evinced ability of a high order and so managed his affairs as to win large material success, while as mayor of Schaller he has so administered the affairs of the city as to earn the hearty commendation of his fellow citizens regardless of political affiliations.
Harry I. Strahn, mayor of Schaller, Iowa, and prominent real estate dealer, is a native of Sac county, having been born on a farm in Wheeler township July 6, 1875. He is a son of Nels Strahn, a native of Sweden. born 1843, who came to Sac county, Iowa, in 1873. Coming direct to Iowa from Sweden, he first located at Denison, but later secured a farm on the Sac and Crawford county lines. He came here without a dollar and at the time of his death, in 1883, he owned two hundred acres of good land. A part of this was purchased at twenty-five dollars per acre. in 1882, and was recently sold by his son for two hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre. Ilis widow, Mrs. Nellie Strahn, now resides at Kiron, Iowa. They were the parents of six children, as follows: W. M. Strahn, of Vermillion, South Dakota: H. I., the immediate subject of this sketch: O. U. Strahn, of Iroquois, South Da- kota ; O. E. Strahn, of Arthur, Iowa; Mrs. Lillian Amos, of St. Joseph, Mis- souri : Nathan Strahn, of Glasgow. Montana.
Harry I. Strahn was reared as a farmer boy and received his education in the district schools, which he attended until he was twelve years old. When sixteen years old he left the farm and took employment in a store at Arthur, Iowa, where he worked for five years for Lester & Cole. He then engaged in the mercantile business for himself at Arthur, and was there for one year, and also was in business at Moville for a like period. He spent one year at Sioux City, Iowa, and then, in 1898, removed to Ida Grove, where he lived. while employed as a traveling salesman, until 1903. He then came to Schaller. lowa, and engaged in the grocery business for three years. In 1906 he en- gaged in the real estate and insurance business, in which he has been notably successful. He has had the handling of many important and valuable prop-
HARRY I. STRAHN
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erties, and his judgment of land values is second to none in Sac county. He represents a number of the old-line insurance companies and does a lucrative business also in this field. In 1910 he was elected mayor of Schaller and re-elected in 1912 and 1914, which is a criterion of his popularity.
Mr. Strahn was married in 1895 to Augusta J. Danielson, of Denison, lowa, and they have two children, Horace, aged seventeen, and Audrey, aged sixteen. Audrey graduated from the Schaller high school in 1914, with the highest honor of a class of sixteen.
Mr. Strahn is recognized as one of the most progressive and enterprising citizens of the community, a man who readily gives his aid to every move- ment for the moral and material betterment of the town. His success has been commensurate with his enterprise and ability, and he is the owner of a fine home in Schaller, three hundred and twenty acres of land in North Dakota, a half interest in six hundred and ninety acres in Minnesota, and seven hundred acres in Florida and equities in some other properties in this vicinity, all of which is choice property.
Mr. Strahn has been, in the most significant sense, the architect of his own fortunes, and the noteworthy success which he has achieved has been entirely through his own efforts. He well exemplifies that spirit of enterprise and progressiveness that has conserved the splendid advancement of western lowa. He has ever stood exponent of liberal and public-spirited citizenship, and commands, both personally and professionally, a high measure of popular confidence and esteem.
Politically, Mr. Strahn gives his allegiance to the Republican party. He is a member of the Methodist church, and holds membership with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and Woodmen of the World.
HENRY HOFT.
Germany has contributed more good citizens to Sac county than has any other foreign country. They are among the most substantial and en- terprising people of the county. Henry Hoft is one of the large number of Germans who came to this country before the War of the Rebellion and upon the outbreak of that terrible struggle threw his heart and soul into the Union cause and fought for his adopted country with all the fervor of our native sons. He offered his services and his life, if need be, during those (31)
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dark days and after that fearful war was over he returned to habits of peace, became one of Sac county's most honored citizens and has lived more than a half century in this state and more than thirty years in Sac county.
Henry Hoft, a retired farmer of Wall Lake, Iowa, was born in Hol- stein, Germany. March 9, 1840. His parents, John and Katerina Hoft, were born, reared and married in their native land, coming to this country when their son. Henry, was twenty-one years of age. Before Henry Hoft came to this country with his parents in 1861, four sisters and one brother, Margaretta. Louise. Lena and August. had already settled in this state in Clinton county. Accordingly when John Hoft and wife, together with their son, Henry, came here in 1861, they settled in Clinton county.
Although Henry Hoft had been here only one year after the War of the Rebellion had begun, he enlisted for service in the Union army in August, 1862. in Company E. Twenty-sixth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, participating in the Grand Review at Washington in the summer of 1865. The regiment in which he went to the front was attached to the command of General Sherman and Mr. Hoft participated in all the battles from Chattanooga to the end of the war under Sherman's command. He passed through such terrible battles as Chatta- nooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Dallas, Resaca, Atlanta, the seige of Savannah and many minor skirmishes which marked Sherman's march north through the Carolinas to Johnson's final surrender in April. 1865. near Grovesboro, North Carolina. After the war was over Mr. Hoft returned to Clinton county, lowa, and took up his trade as a carpenter.
In 1880, three years after his marriage, Mr. Hoft decided to move to Sac county. in order to take advantage of the cheap land in this county. Accordingly he purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Viola township, this county, and started out to carve his fortune in this county. German citizens have always proved to be excellent farmers and Mr. Hoft is no exception to this rule. The thrift and economy which characterizes these German citizens are marked characteristics of Mr. Hoft, and as the years went by he added from time to time to his land holdings until he owned five hundred and fifty acres of land in this township. In the spring of 1910 he felt that the increasing years had made it necessary for him to retire from active farming, so he sold all but two hundred acres of his land and retired to Wall Lake to spend the remainder of his days in ease and comfort.
Mr. Hoft was married on November 8, 1866, to Betty Geise, the daughter of Peter and Katherine Geise, who were natives of Germany. Mrs. Hoft was born December 6, 1847. in Germany and came with her
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parents to America in 1854. They settled at Comanche, Clinton county, this state, and were among the first settlers of that county. She was in Clinton county when the first house was built in Clinton. To Mr. and Mrs. Hoft have been born six children, Alvena, Louisa and Amel, who are all deceased: Louis, who resides on the home farm; Mrs. Clara Willhoite, of this township, and Mrs. Ella Rowedder, of Newell, Iowa.
In politics, Mr. Hoft has always adhered to the policies of the Re- publican party, while in his fraternal relations he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic post of Wall Lake. More than half a century has elapsed since he came to this country from Germany and his devotion to his adopted country has never been questioned in any way. Sac county is proud to honor such citi- zens as he, and this biographical volume is pleased to set forth in this manner the history of one who has contributed in no small way to the material, moral and educational welfare of the community.
HIRAM ADAMS.
Among the aged citizens of Sac county, Iowa, Hiram Adams, who is now living a retired life at Wall Lake, in this county, is deserving of partic- ular mention in this volume. He has, in addition to his record as a successful farmer in this county, a war record which entitles him to honorable mention. Mr. Adams is a fine example of the man who follows one occupation to middle life successfully, and then changes and makes a success of a totally different occupation. Born in New York state, October 5, 1836, he lived in that state for the first twenty years of his life. His father. Samuel B. Adams, was born May 19, 1791, in New York state, and died February 27, 1864. His mother. Elizabeth ( Haynes) Adams, was also a native of New York, born there on August 12. 1801, and died September 19. 1841. Neither of his parents ever left the state of New York.
In 1856 Hiram Adams left his native state and located in DuPage county. Illinois, where he followed the trade which he had learned as a youth, namely that of shoemaking. He continued to work in his chosen calling until he enlisted for service in the Union army in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and after an honorable service in the war, he returned to Illinois and followed his trade as a shoemaker until 1880. He then left Illinois and came to Sac
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county, Iowa, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land . in Levey township, at four and one-half dollars an acre, and this land he has gradually improved and developed until it is now one of the best in the township, and he has also gradually increased his land holdings until he is now the owner of five hundred and sixty acres in this county, as well as a tract of eight hundred acres in Alberta, Canada. In 1888 he moved to Wall Lake, where he purchased a residence, which he has since remodeled into his present attractive modern home. Mr. Adams was in the mercantile business in Wall Lake for eighteen years, retiring from that business in 1906.
Mr. Adams has been twice married, his first marriage being to Frances Bigelow, on July 10, 1860, and her death occurred February 1, 1873, leaving three children: Mrs. Mary E. Crighton, who lives in Odebolt; A. J., of Sioux City, this state, and who is in the employ of a railroad company, and Francis Hiram, of California. Mr. Adams was married the second time on May 14, 1874, to Sarah Jane White, a native of Geneva, Kane county, Illinois, and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Amsa White. Two children were born to the second marriage, but both are now deceased.
Mr. Adams is a Progressive in politics, and has always taken more or less of an interest in political affairs. He served for several years as a justice of the peace in Illinois, and since living in Wall Lake has been the mayor of that city. He is a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Re- public and takes an active interest in the affairs of the local post. lle has been a man of tireless energy and indomitable courage, and has won the con- fidence and held the unqualified esteem of his fellow citizens. He has met and encountered many obstacles along life's pathway, but now he can look back over his career and feel that no action of his has brought sorrow to any of his fellow citizens or trouble to anyone.
CHARLES W. DAVIS.
The records of the greater number of the successful men in most com- munities-and especially true is this of the western section of this great land of opportunity-show that they began their careers with practically no assets but their intelligence and brawn. It is likewise true that the self- made class of Americans make the best citizens and are' essentially human and tolerant in their dealings with fellow human beings. . \ few there may
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be who apparently deem themselves as above their station and ignore the fact that once they were poor and ambitious, but happily this class can be numbered with few numerals. Charles W. Davis, proprietor of the Wall Lake Creamery, is a self-made man of affairs who began at the bottom of the ladder without a dollar and is now one of the substantial citizens of the city and county wherein he resides.
The Wall Lake Creamery was established in 1886 and Mr. Davis has owned the plant since February 1, 1909. It is one of the largest if not the largest and most successful creamery establishment in Sac county. The average weekly output of creamery butter manufactured on the premises is fifty-two tubs, of sixty-three pounds each. The total output from July 1, 1912, to July 13. 1913, exceeded three thousand two hundred tubs. Three men are employed and the capital invested exceeds five thousand dollars. The factory is fitted with all modern equipment and there is always a ready demand for the product. In addition Mr. Davis manufactures an excellent brand of ice cream, freezing in excess of six thousand gallons in a single season. He also operates a retail ice business in connection with the cream- ery and places in storage about forty cars yearly. The creamery itself re- quires a total of ten cars during the heated season. Twelve thousand tons of ice were stored in the Davis houses during last winter and supplies the town of Wall Lake and vicinity. Over twelve hundred dollars is invested in the ice plant alone.
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