USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 48
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C. W. Davis was born June 21, 1866, in Brazil, Indiana, the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Davis, natives of Ohio. When Charles W. was an infant six months okl the family removed to Middletown, Ohio, where they located on a nearby farm. Both of his parents are deceased, the mother dying at Middletown in 1888. Charles was educated in the Middletown schools and on the death of his mother left the city and went to Owensboro, Kentucky, where he was employed in a wagon factory for one year. In the fall of the same year he went to Chicago, and after a six weeks' stay in the city he located on a farm in Illinois, remaining there for two years. In March of 1800 he went to Wauconda, Illinois, and worked at farm labor for the ensuing four years. In February of 1894 he obtained employment in the Wauconda Creamery and was thus employed for nine years. becoming thoroughly proficient in butter making and skilled in the operation of the establishment. In the year 1903 he came west and located in the town of Ashton, Osceola county, and operated a creamery for six years in partner- ship with another gentleman, B. Kramer. He disposed of his holdings at Ashton in 1909 and invested his capital in the Wall Lake Creamery.
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Mr. Davis was married May 29, 1895, at Woodstock, Illinois, to Lizzic Bacon. To them have been born two children, as follows: Edna, a graduate of the class of 1914, Wall Lake high school, and Percy, who is attending school.
Politically speaking, Mr. Davis is a Democrat. He is affiliated with the Congregational church, and, fraternally, is connected with the Masonic, Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen and the Mystic Workers lodges. He is a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree and is a member of the consistory at Sioux City. He is a member of the Iowa Buttermakers' Asso- ciation, the Iowa Dairymen's Association and the National Creamery and Buttermakers' Association. He is proudest of all of the fact that he is president of the West Central lowa Improvement Association. Above all things, he is what is known as a good fellow, an enterprising citizen, and a live, progressive member of the community in which he resides. He is well and favorably known throughout the country and his friends are numbered by hundreds. This brief review can not do justice to this esteemed gentle- man's many manly attributes, but it is an attempt to record something of the life of a man who is eminently entitled to representation in this Sac county history.
HENRY HASCH.
All credit should be given a man like Henry Hasch, one of the pro- gressive farmers and substantial citizens of Wall Lake, lowa, a man who, although interested primarily in his own affairs, manifests an abiding regard for the advancement and welfare of the community and for any measure or enterprise by which his fellow men may be benefited. All this is only the more commendable because he is not a native of "the land of the free and the home of the brave," but was reared to honor another flag and sup- ported other forms of administrations; but since coming among us he has quickly assimilated our civilization and adopted our customs.
Henry Hasch, a prosperous, retired farmer living in Wall Lake, lowa, was born May 5, 1840, in Holstein, Germany. His parents, Hans and Christina Hasch, were born, lived and died in Germany. Hans Hasch was a shoemaker by trade, while his son, Henry, was apprenticed to a brick layer in his youth and learned that trade before coming to America.
Henry Hasch received a good, elementary education in his native land and was an expert brick layer and plasterer when he came to this country in
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1869. He first stopped in Chicago, where he worked for three months, and then mnade his way to Davenport, lowa, where he worked until September, 1870, after which he removed to Cedar Rapids. this state, but shortly after- wards went to Benton county, this state, where he found plenty of work to do in his trade among the farmers of that county. Here he worked until 1873, when he married and started on his own successful career as a farmer.
The first experience of Mr. Hasch on a farmi was in Benton county, lowa, and here he worked for six years, learning the rudiments of the pro- fession and perfecting himself in all of those details which are the necessary concomitants of the successful farmer. He saved his money and in 1879 he started to come to Sac county and invest in land. After making a care- ful survey of the land offered for sale in this county, he finally decided to purchase ninety-six acres in Wall Lake township, at six dollars and sixty- five cents an acre. This proved to be a fortunate investment and a few years later he felt justified in purchasing one hundred and thirteen acres of land adjoining his farm at six dollars an acre. He now had over two hundred acres of land and applied himself with true German thrift and determination to make his farm a paying proposition. He improved the farm by ditching, draining and the construction of buildings, so that he had a comfortable home in which to live. In 1901 he added another farm of two hundred acres to his land holdings, for which he had to pay forty-five dollars an acre. This two-hundred-acre farm was crossed by the railroad, which takes out twelve acres, so that his total land holdings are now three hundred and ninety-seven acres. In addition to his own farm, he purchased farms for his sons upon their marriage and has the satisfaction of knowing that they are becoming successful farmers and useful citizens of the county.
Mr. Hasch was married on December 13. 1873. to Lena Emke, who was born in Germany in 1854 and came to America in 1871. To this union there have been born eight children: Minnie, the wife of Louis Staub, a farmer in this township: William, who lives on the home farm: Mrs. Dora Melbrech, deceased: Mary, wife of John Lange, of North Dakota: Henry. deceased : August and Benjamin, who are farmers of Clinton township. this county, and Arthur, also a farmer living in this county.
In 1897 Mr. Hasch retired from active farm work and moved to Wall Lake, where he and his wife are spending their days in a comfortable home surrounded by all the modern conveniences of life. Such, in brief, is the story of one of Sac county's prosperous citizens. Coming to this country practically penniless, he has within thirty-five years risen to a position of affluence and wealth and his story but repeats what has often been said that
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"where there is a will, there is a way." Mr. Hasch is a Democrat in poli- ties and a German Lutheran in his religious affiliations. He has fully measured up to all of the standards of American citizenship and has given to his adopted country a devotion no less sincere than that of her native sons. It is needless to say that he has won the esteem and respect of a large circle of friends and acquaintances, for his life has been one which has been entirely above censure.
C. EVERETT LEE.
There is a niche for every man in the general makeup of an American community. He who tries to fill this niche and to fit into his proper sphere is deserving of a measure of credit which none can gainsay him. If it be within his power to become of real service to the community at large, he has fulfilled his mission in life and has done his destined part in the creation of the com- monwealth. He whose cognomen heads this brief narrative belongs to that great army of journalists whose lives have been dedicated to the edification of their fellowmen and whose hearts and minds are thoroughly in sympathy with the demands of their great profession. For over three decades C. Everett Lee, of Lytton, lowa. has been engaged in newspaper work and enjoys a reputation for uprightness, ability and sterling integrity second to none in the profession.
C. Everett Lee was born in Federal City, Schoharie county, New York, June 23. 1846. His parents, William and Chloe Lee, were descendants of that hardy pioneer stock that came from England and Scotland and who played an important and glorious part in the settlement and development of the New England states. When a boy of sixteen he, in company of his mother and brother Addison and family, left the hills and mountains of the Catskills on the 12th day of March. 1862, and began the long journey to Sac county, Towa. They arrived in Sac county on April 9th of the same year, although it looked at times, when they were wading sloughs or swimming overflowed streams, as though they would never live to reach the coveted goal. They traveled via the Illinois Central railroad to the terminus, which was then at Cedar Falls. The rest of the journey was made by teams. Arriving at Sac City, Everett resided with the good mother on what is now the Frank Howard farm, one mile north of Sac City, until the fall, when he traveled by stage to Vermillion, South Dakota, then part of Dakota Territory. Here he spent the winter with an uncle and cousin, and started in to learn the printing trade
(. EVERETT LEE, DAUGHTER, GRANDDAUGHTER AND GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER
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with Mahlon Gore. afterwards the founder of the Sioux City Journal. Owing to the fatal illness of his mother, it became necessary for him to return to Sac county, where he lias since resided. After the death of his mother he remained with his brother, M. S. Lee, for the first three months of the summer of 1863, and received the sum of five dollars per month and his board as pay- ment for his labor. Shortly after the 4th of July, he removed to Sac City, and entered the employ of Judge Eugene Criss for ten dollars per month and his board. He remained in Judge Criss' employ until the school term opened, with Levi Davis as teacher, when he attended school during the fall of 1863 and the winter of 1864. In January, 1864, he journeyed to Fort Dodge, for the purpose of enlisting in the Union army, but, upon final examination, he was rejected. He then returned home and again entered school. When the mem- bers of the Tenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment came home on furlough, he joined them and traveled as far as Davenport, where he again enlisted and was mustered in July 18, 1864. He served until the close of the Civil War, being mustered out of the service at Little Rock, Arkansas, August 15, 1865.
Mr. Lee embarked in the newspaper business in 1880, at Newell, lowa. having purchased the Newell Mirror from J. N. Miller, then publisher of the Suc Sun. He published this organ until the fall of 1884, when he sold the paper to J. C. Blair, now editor of the Early Newes. Mr. Lee then went to Storm Lake and launched the Buena l'ista L'idette, which he operated for a few years, and then purchased the Sac County Democrat of the Cory brothers, Isaac. H. M. and George 1. Cory. After operating this plant for a few years he sold the outfit and good will to Mrs. William Allen, and engaged in the insurance business, entering the employ of the Banker's Life and the Brother- hood of American Yeoman, which business he followed a few years. In 1907 he again drifted into his favorite occupation, and is at this time editor of the Lytton Star, a newspaper published at Lytton, on the east line of the county.
Politically, Mr. Lee is allied with the Democratic party in Sac county, and has long held a high place in the councils of his party. He is fraternally allied with the Odd Fellows, of which organization he is one of the leading members of the county. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, blue lodge. chapter and commandery. He is a member of Gen. W. T. Sherman Post. Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Lee was united in marriage with Esther Alwida Tuffs, October 5. 1865. To this union three daughters, now living, were born, namely: Eva I., wife of H. McCourt, of St. Louis, Missouri; Carrie E., wife of H. D. McLagan, of Sac City, lowa: Ada C., wife of E. J. Eveleth, of Sac City,
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Iowa. His first wife died September 6. 1872. Several years later he was married to Mrs. Mary A. Maple, of near Newell, and to this marriage two sons were born: Melitus T. and Lloyd T .. both living to early manhood, when the mother and sons died within a period of two years. He was after- ward married to Elizabeth C. Fox, of Sac City, and with whom he is now enjoying the last days of a life that has passed through the usual vicissitudes which fall to the average lot of mankind.
JOHN D. OLDSEN.
Of the many German citizens who have cast their lot in Sac county, lowa, and have thereby not only benefited themselves, but the general public as well, John D. Oldsen, a pioneer citizen of Clinton township, is worthy of special mention, for he has always been an honorable, upright man, indus- trious, temperate, economical and in every way exemplary in his daily life and conduct. He has performed well his part as a factor in the body politic and no one questions his standing as one of the leading farmers and worthy citizens of the township in which he lives.
John D. Oldsen, a retired farmer of Wall Lake, Iowa, was born April 19, 1852, in Langhorn, Germany, the son of Carsten and Susan Oldsen, who never left their native land. John Oldsen received his education in his native country and when nineteen years of age came to America and imme- diately went to Iowa, locating in Clinton county. At first he worked for farmers, receiving fifteen dollars a month and his board, and after being engaged in this line of work for three years he was engaged in the well- digging business for a year. In 1874 he came to Sac county, and bought two hundred acres of land at five dollars an acre. In 1877, having in the meantime married, he came back to this farm and built a house, to which he moved his family. Later he added two hundred more acres to his farm, at a cost of twenty and twenty-eight dollars an acre. He continued to reside on his farm until January 19. 1906, at which time he moved to Wall Lake, where he purchased a home and retired from active farm life. He has dis- posed of his land to his children and now owns only eighty acres.
Mr. Oldsen was married in 1876 in Clinton county to .Anna M. Peter- son, who was born in Stadeum, Germany, in 1855. Her parents, Amos and Marguerita Peterson, came to America in 1872 and settled in Clinton county, this state, after which they moved to Sac county and here they continued to
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reside the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Oldsen are the parents of four children: Mrs. Sophia Tadsen, of Clinton township, this county ; Carl A., a farmer and stock breeder of Clinton township: Mrs. Agnes Jensen, of Jackson township, this county, and Malinda, who is still under the parental roof.
Mr. Oldsen has identified himself with the new Progressive party, be- lieving that the principles advocated by this party will be for the best benefit of the nation. He and the members of the family are loyal and faithful members of the Lutheran church, to which they give liberally of their time and substance. Mr. Oldsen has been a man who has believed in lending his aid to all worthy enterprises and has been known to his neighbors as an industrious and hard working man of undoubted honesty and the highest moral integrity. He has built up a reputation which shall endure for years to come, and has always exerted a beneficial influence on those about him because of his upright life.
EDSON E. GOREHAM.
The biographer finds it a difficult task to adequately outline the career of a man who has led an eminently active and busy life, particularly if the subject still be numbered among the living, for it is not an easy matter to gain the proper perspective of a career still in the making. And it is, there- fore, with a full appreciation of the care that is demanded and the close scrutiny to which each statement must be subjected, that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the man whose career now comes under review.
Fairhope farm, the home of E. E. Goreham, has more than a local reputation as the home of an excellent strain of Percheron draft horses. Mr. Goreham has five mares and two stallions, all thoroughbreds, and in addition has ten head of grade horses. He is an excellent judge of horses as well as other live stock, and from his stables many beautiful and valuable animals have gone out. He also breeds cattle, preferring the well bred variety, and has some graded milch animals. He also raises for the market about forty hogs annually. Mr. Goreham's home farm consists of forty acres, located in Wheeler township, Sac county, and in addition to this acreage he farms other land, making him about one hundred and sixty acres in all. All the buildings on the farm are practically new and of excellent construction.
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The handsome modern home was erected in 1903 and contains eight rooms, beautifully arranged. The large barn, with all modern conveniences, has a floor space of fifty-eight by sixty-eight feet and the granary is eight by thirty-two feet. In addition to the time and attention devoted to the raising of live stock, Mr. Goreham gives equal attention to the raising of the usual crops, in which he is eminently successful. A statement of his production for the year 1913 will give a fair idea of the magnitude of the business he handles. In the season mentioned, he had twenty-three acres planted to pop- corn, which produced from twenty-five hundred to three thousand pounds to the acre: he planted forty acres to corn, producing from forty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. His oats yielded fifty bushels to the acre, thirteen acres being devoted to this crop. Fifteen acres of domestic hay were cut and the same amount of wild hay, all averaging from two to two and one-half tons to the acre. Mr. Goreham believes in the adoption of most up-to-date methods in managing such a business as his, and this fact together with the energy and enterprise with which he has been so largely endowed, have won for him the degree of success to which he has attained.
Edson E. Goreham is a native of Wheeler township, Sac county, Iowa, born on December 8, 1875, the son of J. P. Goreham, one of the earlier pioneer settlers of the county, a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere within the covers of this book. Mr. Goreham received his earliest instruc- tion in the district schools of Wheeler township, later attending the schools of Odebolt. He early gave his attention to farm work and has been en- gaged in this work in his own behalf on the location he now occupies for the past sixteen years, having taken up his residence here in 1897. On October 12, 1899, Mr. Goreham was united in marriage with Mabel J. Lester, of Odebolt, daughter of Mrs. Julia Lester. To their union have been born five children. The oldest children are twins, Doris and Dorothy, born November 20, 1902: Charlotte was born December 5. 1905: Mildred, born on September 25. 1907, and Gertrude was born November 22, 1909 .. The family are attendants of the Presbyterian church, of which the subject is a member. Mr. Goreham keeps well informed on current events and at the birth of the Progressive party he heartily endorsed the principles as laid down in its platform. His fraternal affiliation is with the Modern Woodmen of America, in the working of which order he takes a commendable interest.
Mr. Goreham is a member of one of the oldest families of the county, a family which has always exerted a beneficent influence on the life of the community. While primarily devoting his best energies to furthering the interests of himself and his immediate family, Mr. Goreham has ever borne
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in mind the essential principles of good citizenship and has been interested in everything that made for the welfare of the community. He is one of those stalwart men of brain and substance who impress their personality forcibly upon the life of their locality. Successful in business, he also has so ordered his manner of life as to win the trust and confidence of those who know him, and he numbers his friends by the score.
HANS TISCHER.
The German citizens and their descendants have been large factors in the material prosperity of Sac county, lowa, and no other nation has fur- nished as successful farmers and business men as has the German nation for this county. Among the successful farmers of the German nationality who have made a pronounced success in the agricultural field in this county there is no one who is deserving of more credit than Hans Tischer, retired farmer of Wall Lake, lowa. Mr. Tischer was born July 16, 1853, in Schles- wig, Germany, and is the son of John A. and Margaret ( Marquard) Tischer. The Tischer family came to America in June, 1872, and located in Benton county, Iowa, where John Tischer and his wife lived the remainder of their days.
Hans Tischer received his education in his native land and on coming to this country with his parents he worked with his father on the farm in Benton county, this state, until 1881, at which time he married and went to housekeeping on an eighty-acre farm which he bought in Sac county, in Wall Lake township. After living here for a year and a half, he sold the tract and bought a farm in Bremer county, this state, where he remained for six years, at which time he sold this farm and returned to Sac county in 1889, where he purchased a half section in Clinton township, and six years later he bought another one hundred and sixty acres so that he is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of fine farming land in sections 22 and 23. He continued to reside on this farm until August. 1900, when he moved to Wall Lake, where he built a handsome residence of twelve rooms. His home is one of the most beautiful in the city and is architecturally one of the handsomest in this part of the state.
Mr. Tischer was married January 17, 1881, to Antje Schulte, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Schulte, and her death occurred January 8. 1910. To this marriage were born four children: Mrs. Matilda Lenz. who
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lives in Delaware township, this county; William, who is now residing on the old home farm; Mrs. Elma Eaton, of Wall Lake, and Mrs. Amanda Green, residing in Wheeler township. Mr. Tischer was married a second time on April 18, 1911, to Margaret (Godbersen) Schmidt, the widow of Eric Schmidt. Mrs. Tischer is the mother of three children by her first marriage: Mrs. Anna Mohr, of Wall Lake; Mrs. John Zein, who lives in Clinton township, this county, and Eric, of Wall Lake. Mrs. Tischer was born in Schleswig, Germany, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Godbersen. Her father died when she was a child and her mother later married Andrew Hansen. In 1873 Mr. Hansen and his wife, with his wife's children, came to America and located in Clinton county, Iowa, and in 1880 permanently settled in Sac county.
Politically, Mr. Tischer is a Democrat, but, while always upholding the principles of his party, has never gone out into the open field and taken an active part in political affairs. He and the members of his family have been loyal adherents of the Lutheran church and have interested themselves in its various activities.
THOMAS W. DOWN.
Sac county is the home of good farms and excellent farmers and the material prosperity of the county is due to the prosperity of the farmers. The effect of a bad season is felt on every industry in the county, while a successful farming year means prosperous times for every one else in the county. It has been said that the corn crop is the business barometer of Iowa, and this agricultural aphorism is certainly a true statement of the situ- ation. Among Sac county's farmers who have aided in keeping this county to the front as an agricultural county there is no one more worthy of men- tion than Thomas W. Down, a prosperous farmer of Richland township, this county.
Thomas W. Down, the son of Thomas and Eliza ( Hodge) Down, was born February 20, 1872, in Woodford county, Illinois, near El Paso. Thomas Down, Sr., was born May 4, 1824, in Highbickington, Devonshire, England. His parents were William and Elizabeth Down. Thomas Down, Sr., came to America from England in 1849 and first settled in Batavia, New York. In 1854 he came to Peoria county, Illinois, and worked as a farm laborer near Kickapoo. Later he went to El Paso in Woodford county, Illinois, and while working in this county he was married to Eliza
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Hodge on January 21, 1863. She was born in Devonshire, England, Oc- tober 28. 18.13. and is the daughter of Richard and Mary Hodge, who came to America in 1852 and settled in Batavia, New York. In 1854 the Hodges left New York and settled in Kane county, Illinois, near Aurora. Two years later went to Iowa, but returned, however, to Illinois in 1860 and lived in Woodford county, that state, until the death of Richard Hodge, who is buried in El Paso, Illinois. Mary Hodge, the mother of Mrs. Down, died in 1846, and Richard Hodge then married Susan Land.
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