USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 52
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During his entire experience Mr. Howard has never lost sight of the possibilities of a great increase in land values in this section of the country, and is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of lands in Ida county ; three hundred and twenty acres in Yellow Medicine county, Minnesota, and seven hundred and twenty acres in Lyons county, Minnesota.
Mr. Howard was married January 28, 1886, to Mattie Hodges, daugh- ter of John Hodges, of Jackson county. They have had three children born to them, two of whom are living: Mrs. May Skinner, of Schaller, whose husband conducts a hardware store ; William, deceased; James L., who is as- sociated with his father in the implement and vehicle business.
It is with gratification in the performance of a pleasant task that the biographer concludes this brief testimonial in behalf of this leading citizen of a beautiful and growing city, and acknowledges the fact that the foregoing lines fail to do more than common justice to the excellent and manly qualifi- cations possessed by Mr. Howard, whose career and sterling attributes entitle him to recognition in this history of Sac county.
JOSEPH H. KING.
The student interested in the history of Sac county does not have to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that Joseph H. King has long been one of its most active and leading citizens in its agricultural and stock-raising interests and that his labors have been a potent force in mak- ing this a rich agricultural region, for through several decades he has carried on general farming, gradually improving his valuable place, and while he has prospered in this he has also found time and ample opportunity to assist in the material and civic development of the county.
Joseph H. King, Jr., one of the prosperous farmers in Eureka township.
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Sac county, lowa, was born December 27, 1860. in Clayton county, lowa, near Garnavillo. His parents were Joseph and Rosanna ( Dolan) King, na- tives of Ohio and Ireland respectively. Joseph King, Sr., was one of the pioneer settlers of lowa, coming to this state from Ohio in 1845 and settling in Clayton county. In 1883 the King family left Clayton county and set- tled in Sac county, where they bought four hundred acres in Eureka town- ship. Here Joseph King, Sr., died in 1895. at the advanced age of eighty- two. His wife died in the fall of 1909 at the age of eighty-six. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph King, Sr., were the parents of six children, all of whom are living: John, of LaVerne, Minnesota; Charles D., of Eureka township; Mrs. John Reininger, of Eureka township: Mrs. John Meier, of Eureka town- ship; Mary, of Schaller, and Joseph H., Jr.
Joseph H. King, Jr., was educated in the district schools of Clayton county and later took a course in Briggs Academy at Garnavillo and a course in a business college. He completed his education by attending Grinnell Col- lege for a time.
The whole life of Mr. King has been spent upon the farm with the ex- ception of about a year when he was in the welding business. When twenty- four years of age he began to farm for himself on a farm which his father purchased for him at a cost of eight dollars an acre. Young Joseph worked three years for his father in order to pay for the land. After locating on this farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which his father had given him, he worked hard in order to add to his possessions and from time to time he was able to make a substantial addition to his original farm. He first bought out his brother on the east side of the road and after buying this eighty, he bought one hundred and twenty acres of William Kelley. Later he bought one hun- dred and fifty acres from Mr. Carey, which he sold in 1911 for one hundred and thirty dollars an acre. He now owns three hundred and sixty acres, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and improved in such a way as to bring it up to a high state of productivity. In the summer of 1913 Mr. King erected a fine modern residence at the cost of eight thousand dol- lars. This beautiful sixteen-room house has its own heating and water plant and is as near modern in every way as is possible for a house to be built in that section of the state. Mr. King, in 1913, raised one hundred cattle, one hundred hogs and other stock, realizing a very handsome return from his sales of livestock.
Mr. King was married in 1891 to Matilda M. Meier, the daughter of Charles Meier and wife. To this union there have been born six children : Margaret, deceased; Josephine, who is now a junior in Grinnell College
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and will graduate in the spring of 1915: Clarence, aged seventeen, who grad- uated from the Schaller high school in June, 1914; Harry, a sophomore in Schaller high school; Loyal a freshman in Schaller high school, and Elinor, who is now in the last year of the common schools at Schaller. Mr. and Mrs. Schaller are exceptionally proud of their children. They have given them every educational advantage with the hope that they may become useful members of society.
Mr. King is a Progressive in politics, because he believes that in the principles of the new party there is better hope for the future of the country. Religiously, he and all of his family are loyal members of the Presbyterian church and render it zealous support. Mr. King has spent a life which has been worthy in every respect. He is a man who has thought to do his full (luty in all the relations of life and has performed his part as a high-minded citizen in every way befitting a patriotic citizen.
ALEXANDER HOVER.
Among the self-made men of Sac county, Iowa, who have arrived at their present state of prosperity solely through the work of their own hands. there is no more worthy representative than Alexander Hover, of Eden township. Left an orphan at a tender age, he has had to make his own way all his life and for this reason deserves a great amount of credit for the life he has lived.
Alexander Hover was born in New York city on April 11, 1851, and his father died when he was five years of age, while he lost his mother when he was only a babe of two years, so that when a very young lad he was left without parental care. Upon the death of his father he was placed in an orphans' home in New York city and two years later was sent to Morrison, Illinois, with Rev. J. M. Snyder, a Methodist minister. He lived with Mr. Snyder for six years, and during this time was given a good common school education and the best of care. When seventeen years of age he started out to work for himself, working by the day on farms. When twenty years of age he left the Snyder home and went to Minnesota, but in less than a year he left Minnesota and went to Clayton county, Iowa, where he lived with C. E. Angier, for whom he worked a couple of years. In 1873 Mr. Angier came to Sac county and Mr. Hover accompanied him and worked for him after he arrived here. In 1875 he worked for J. H. Angier, and in
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the spring of 1876 he again started to work for C. E. Angier, with whom he remained until 1879.
Mr. Hover was married in 1880 and moved upon his present farm on April 14th of that year. He was married to Amanda Van Buskirk, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Van Buskirk, of Cedar county, this state, and to this marriage has been born one daughter. Marion, who is now with her parents.
Mr. Hover bought forty acres of land in 1876 at six dollars and sev- enty cents an acre, and later added forty acres, for which he paid seven dol- lars an acre. He purchased his last forty acres in 1893, and for this he had to pay fifty dollars an acre. This was all raw prairie land in the beginning, and Mr. Hover has cultivated and improved it until it is now a very valuable farm. He has set out many trees and has a nice grove of evergreens. He has a fine home, which was remodeled in 1904. In 1901 he built a large and commodious barn and from time to time has added good corn cribs and other outbuildings.
Although a Republican in politics, Mr. Hover has never actively identi- fied himself with his party. Of late years Mr. Hover has retired from active farm operations and rents his land. Unlike many farmers, he prefers to live upon his farm, although he has retired from the active management of the land. Mr. Hover's career is a noteworthy one, in view of the fact that he started out penniless and has attained to his present prosperity solely through his own efforts. His life is an inspiration to the young men of the coming generation who are similarly placed at the beginning of their careers.
WILLIAM SEEK.
A native of Germany, a citizen of the United States and a prosperous farmer of Sac county, Iowa, is William Seek, who is now operating a three- hundred-and-ninety-seven-acre farm in Eden township, as well as perforni- ing all of those duties which characterize the citizens of this great common- wealth. He is one of the hundreds of German families of this county who have attained a definite degrec of success through the exercise of those quali- ties of uprightness and integrity which are the uniform characteristics of the Germanic people.
William Seek was born May 16, 1845, in Germany, and is the son of Charles and Isabel (Saur) Seek. His mother died in her native land and
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he came to this country in 1869, and his father, with his sister Elizabeth, came a few years later in 1872. He spent some months in the state of New York after arriving here and three months in Illinois, arriving in Clayton county, Iowa, in 1870. For four years he worked as a farm laborer in Clay- ton county, and in 1874 came to Eden township, Sac county, and after work- ing on farms in this township for two years, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land at five dollars an acre. He has added to this from time to time, buying eighty acres in 1888, eighty acres in 1898 and eighty acres in 1903. He now has his farm well improved and has two sets of buildings on it.
Mr. Seek was married in 1876 to Margaret Merkley, a native of Canada and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Merkley. Michael Merkley came to Eden township, this county, in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Seek are the parents of three children: Mrs. Louisa Chamberlain, of Eden township, who has three children, Gladys, Earl and Mabel: George, who is with his parents, and Curtis, deceased.
Mr. Seek is identified with the Republican party, but has never been an active partisan. The family are loyal and consistent members of the Metho- ‹list Episcopal church at Schaller and render it their earnest support at all times. Mr. Seek has always felt it his duty to take an active part in such enterprises of public welfare as he felt would benefit his community, and for this reason is rightly regarded as one of the representative citizens of his township.
JEREMIAH SHELTON TIBERGHIEN.
Front the pioneer period through many decades J. S. Tiberghien has been identified with the farming interests of Sac county, and he has won for himself an honorable position in his community by his straightforward course in all phases of life's activities. He is recognized as a man of strong and alert mentality, deeply interested in everything pertaining to the advancement of the locality along material, civic and moral lines, and is regarded by all as one of the progressive and representative men of the county.
J. S. Tiberghien was born in Indiana in 1841, where he lived until he was fourteen years of age. He is the son of Elias and Harriet Melville ( Harri- son) Tiberghien, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Kentucky. Elias Tiberghien was the son of Zachus Tiberghien, a native of France, who settled in Ohio in 1822, removing to Indiana and thence to Iowa, settling first in Jasper county in 1855, but removing one year later, in 1856. to Jackson
MR. AND MRS. JEREMIAH S. TIBERGHIEN
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township, Sac county, where he in due time became a prosperous farmer. Elias Tiberghien was born in 1810 and died in 1893. His wife, Harriet Mel- ville Harrison, was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, August 18, 1815, and died August 10, 1895. She was the daughter of Eli Harrison, who was a cousin of President Benjamin Harrison, and who fought in the War of 1812
The children of Elias and Harriet Melville ( Harrison) Tiberghien were as follows: Mrs. Nancy Slavons, deceased; Mrs. Penelope Staton. of Jack- son township, Sac county : James W .. a prosperous farmer of Jackson town- ship, Sac county, and mentioned elsewhere in this volume ; J. S., the immediate subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Elizabeth Cory, who died April, 1911 ; Mrs. Mary Julia Cromer, deceased ; Mrs. Helen Jepson, of North Dakota: Elias, of Sac City : Clarice Angeline, of Sac county ; Eli, of Sac county.
J. S. Tiberghien was reared on the home farm, which he helped to clear. enjoying his boyhood days hunting deer, elk and small game, which was plentiful in that primitive day. He lived with his father until he was twenty- six years of age. In 186y he purchased a farmi of one hundred and sixty acres and prepared it for cultivation. December 5, 1871, he was married to Frances Cory, who was born March 16. 1856. being the first white girl born in Sac county. She was the daughter of Francis McGuire and Isabelle (Hitchcock ) Cory. As a newly married couple they first lived in an old log house, but in 1884 built a large and comfortable home. To them have been born the following children: Malcolm died in infancy ; Cory died at the age of twenty-eight years; Mrs. Mand ( Lehman ) Crandall lives on a farm near Grant City. Iowa, and is the mother of four children, Darwin, Darrell, Charles Ronley, and Francis: U'r died at the age of eleven months : Ray is a stockman in Sac county : Floy died at the age of twenty-one years: Leo is rural free delivery carrier ont of Sac City, and is the father of one child. Dorothy ; Lois is a teacher in the blind school at Vinton, lowa ; Claude is a bridge builder in South Dakota: Esther is a vocal music teacher, having studied four years at Oskaloosa, Iowa, where she graduated in vocal music, and now resides at home.
Mr. Tiberghien was sheriff of Sac county 1869-1871, and filled the office with credit and entire satisfaction to all. He is a member of the Methodist church, and affiliates with the Prohibition party. He has a farm of eighty- eight acres, fifty-five being in Jackson township and thirty-three acres in Cedar township. He formerly owned one hundred and sixty acres, but sold part of it in 1912.
Mr. Tiberghien is a fine specimen of that strong, virile American man-
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hood that is nourished and matured on the farm. He stands over six feet, and in his youth was rated one of the finest athletes in the state. Though now in the evening of life, he is still hale and hearty, and enjoys life with the zest of a far younger man. His long residence in Sac county has given him a wide acquaintance, among whom he is held in the highest esteem for his many commendable traits of character.
CHARLES DORAN KING.
Conspicuous among the representative men and public-spirited citizens of Sac county is the well-known gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article. He has made his influence felt for good in his community in Eureka township, of which he was one of the organizers in 1871, being a man of sterling worth, whose life has been closely interwoven with the his- tory of this township from the day it was organized and whose efforts have always been for the material advancement of the same, as well as for the so- cial and moral welfare of his fellow men. The well-regulated life he has led, thereby gaining the respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens, entitles him to representation in a biographical work of the scope intended in the present work.
Charles Doran King, one of the oldest settlers in Eureka township, was born May 2, 1852, in Clayton county, Iowa. His parents were Joseph and Rosanna ( Doran) King, natives of Ohio and Ireland respectively. Joseph King was of English and Irish ancestry, while his wife was of Scotch-Irish parentage. Joseph King came from Ohio to Iowa in 1845. making the trip by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, first settling near Garnavillo, in the eastern part of Iowa, six miles from the Mississippi river. He came to Sac county in 1872 and bought one section of land. In 1873 he bought a half section, this land being in Eureka township. Sac county, and here Jo- seph King lived the rest of his days, and at his death owned fourteen hun- dred acres in the township. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph King were the parents of the following children: John. Mary, Mrs. Helen Reminger. Charles Doran and Joseph H.
Charles Doran King drove across the state of lowa in 1875. having made a prospective trip two years earlier. The country at this time was very sparsely settled. Upon his marriage, in 1881. Charles received one hundred and sixty acres from his father, on which he now lives. He added to his
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farm from time to time until he now has two hundred and forty acres of ex- cellent land within this township. Mr. King helped organize Eureka town- ship and was the first township clerk elected at the first election.
Mr. King was married in 1881 to Catherine Agney and to this marriage have been born three interesting daughters, all of whom have been given a college education and are now useful members of society: Agnes gradu- ated from Beunavista College, Iowa City College and the University of Wis- consin, and is now the librarian at Madison, Wisconsin; Grace, graduated from Buenavista College and is now a Latin teacher in Portland, Oregon; Mary also graduated from Buenavista College and is now a music teacher in Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. King are justly proud of their three daughters and have taken a great deal of pride in their notable achievements.
Politically, Mr. King is a Republican and, although well informed on the public questions of the day, he has never felt inclined to take an active part in politics. He is a man of large influence and has been identified with vari- ous kinds of enterprise within his township from the date of its organization. He has seen it develop from a sparsely settled community to its present pros- perous condition, and he has had a very important part in the present ad- vanced standing of the locality.
WALTER W. LITTLE.
It is generally considered by those in the habit of superficial thinking that the history of so-called great men only is worthy of preservation and that little merit exists among the masses to call forth the praises of the his- torian or the cheers and the appreciation of mankind. A greater mistake was never made. No man is great in all things and very few are great in many things. Many by a lucky stroke achieve lasting fame, who before that had no reputation beyond the limits of their neighborhoods. It is not a his- tory of the lucky stroke which benefits humanity most, but the long study and effort which made the lucky stroke possible. It is the preliminary work, the method, that serves as a guide for the success of others. Among those in this county who have achieved success along steady lines of action is Walter W. Little, who is now rendering efficient service as cashier of the State Bank of Early.
Walter W. Little, the present cashier of the State Bank of Early, was born September 18, 1887, on a farm near Early, Sac county, Iowa. His par-
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ents are George W. and Elizabeth ( Ridley) Little, who are now living in Indianaola, and were among the oldest settlers of Sac county. George Little was born in New Hampshire in 1850, and moved to Canada in his youth with his parents. Later he returned to the United States and settled in Wiscon- sin, when about eighteen years of age, with his father, John Little. In 1870 John Little, with his wife and only son, came to Sac county, Iowa, and set- tled on a farm in Boyer Valley township, where they bought eighty acres of railroad land, and on this farm George W. worked for a number of years. He then came to Early and operated a grain elevator until a few years ago, when he returned to the farm. In 1907 he came to Early and in September. 1913, he moved to Indianola, where he and his wife are now living. George W. Little and wife were the parents of three chiktren: Charles L., a veteri- nary surgeon of Lohrville, Iowa: Walter W., and Alice A .. who is now a student at Simpson College, making a study of music.
Walter W. Little was educated in the district schools of his township and later finished his education in the schools of Early. He then entered the bank at Early as bookkeeper and was promoted to the position of assistant cashier and subsequently to that of cashier.
The State Bank of Early was first operated as a private bank and was incorporated in 1890, with S. K. Fuller as the principal stockholder. It was first known as the Bank of Early and upon its incorporation was called the Early State Bank. S. K. Fuller was the first president and was succeeded by F. S. Needham. The cashier of this institution in the order of their service have been as follows: N. O. Fuller. E. M. Fuller, J. H. McCord. G. S. Needham and Walter W. Little. The bank now has a capital stock of forty thousand dollars; deposits of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars and resources of two hundred and sixty thousand dollars. The bank owns its own brick building, which is also occupied by the postoffice, as well as an- other brick building which is rented for business purposes. In 1910 the in- stitution changed its name to the State Bank of Early and increased its capi- tal stock from thirty to forty thousand dollars. The bank is doing a pros- perous business and is a financial institution which has won the confidence of the people of the community because of its sound business methods.
Mr. Little is a Republican in politics, but, owing to the nature of his profession, has never taken an active part in the game of politics. Frater- nally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux City, lowa, and also holds membership in the Mod- ern Woodmen of America. Mr. Little is yet a young man and has a long and promising career before him, and it is safe to predict that prosperity
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awaits him if he continues to follow the lines which he has already marked out. He is interested in the various enterprises of his town and community and is always found identified with the right side of all public questions.
THEODORE HUELMAN.
lowa has the reputation of being the greatest farming state in the Union and its corn experts are known wherever corn is raised throughout the world. Professor Golden, the famous corn expert, has a reputation which extends throughout the United States, as well as those countries of Europe where corn is raised. A man of Sac county, Iowa, today who owns a farm has the best investment which money can give, and one which yields the safest re- turns on the investment. Sac county's farmers are as progressive as may be found in any other state in the Union and among these Theodore Huelman takes his place as one of the representative agriculturists of his county.
Theodore Huelman, of Eden township, this county, was born May 2, 1858, in Jackson county, Iowa, the son of Henry and Margaret ( Anderson ) Huelman, who were both natives of Germany, and who emigrated to this country early in its history. They first lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later removed to Galena, Illinois, where Henry Huelman worked in the lead mines of that place. From Illinois they moved to Jackson county, this state, where Henry Huelman died in 1898, and his wife a few years later. Five chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Huelman : Mrs. Margaret Markers, who lives in Jackson county, Iowa: Mrs. Elizabeth Thola, who is a resident of the state of Washington: Andreas, Joseph, and Theodore, of whom this narrative speaks.
Theodore Huelman was reared and educated in the schools of Jackson county, Iowa, and was given an excellent education. He studied both Ger- man and English in the public schools, and has been a reader of the current topics of the day ever since leaving the school room. When he was twenty- three years of age he married and located in Clinton county, this state, where he remained until he came to Sac county, in 1892, when he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and he now operates this farm, together with three hundred and twenty acres, which is owned by Mrs. Huelman. He has a fine modern home, which was erected in 1906, and also good barns and outbuildings on his place, making it one of the best improved and valuable farms of the township.
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Mr. Huelman was married in 1881 to Elizabeth Fink, who was a native of Wisconsin, and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Fink. Mrs. Huel- man's father died several years ago, and her mother afterward married Henry Nurre, who resided in Clinton county, Iowa, and whose son, Joseph, came to Sac county. Joseph Nurre was one of the largest individual land owners in the county, and died some years ago in Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Hnelman are the parents of two children, Joseph and Mary.
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