USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 61
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Clark Cox, a gallant veteran of the Civil War, and now a retired farmer living in Sac City, Iowa, was born July 25, 1839, in Jackson county, Indiana. He is the son of Abner and Sarah ( Shoemaker ) Cox, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. In 1843 Abner Cox and family came to lowa and spent the first winter in Henry county, and in the spring of 1844 moved to Mahaska county, this state, where they lived until 1851. when they moved to Polk county, seven miles north of Des Moines, and here they bought a
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farm, but later sold it and moved to a place northwest of Polk City, where Abner Cox and his wife spent the remainder of their days. They were the parents of ten children, four of whom are now living: Clark, with whom this narrative deals; James, of Polk county; Mrs. Sarah Elerfits, who lives near Granger, Iowa, and Anna Jane, whose home is in Algona, Iowa.
Clark Cox received his elementary education in the various counties in which his parents lived while he was of school age, and at the opening of the Civil War he was seized with the same fervor which stirred the hearts of millions of other men in the North and enlisted in the Union army and fought through the long, bloody struggle from start to finish. He enlisted August 1, 1861, in Company A, Tenth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was in actual service for four years and fifteen days. Among the many battles and skirmishes in which he took part, he was in the battles of Vicks- burg. Corinth, Belmont, Iuka, Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Resaca, Dallas, Atlanta and the various battles and skirmishes which General Sherman had to meet on his march to the sea and his subse- quent march through the Carolinas to Goldsboro in North Carolina. Mr. Cox was in the forefront with his company during his whole career, was never wounded, never seriously sick, never captured and has the distinguished honor of participating in the Grand Review at Washington in the summer of 1865.
Immediately after the close of the war Mr. Cox returned to Jowa and began farming in Polk county. A year later he married and he and his wife continued to reside in Polk county until 1885, when they moved to Sac county, where he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Coon Valley township, on which they lived until 1903, at which time they bought a farm adjoining Sac City, on which they lived until 1906. when they moved to Sac City, where they are now living.
Mr. Cox was married October 11, 1866, to Mary C. Howard, of Polk county. lowa, and to this union have been born three children: Elmer, a farmer of this county; Samuel, a farmer of Calhoun county, this state, and Mrs. Sarah Naomi Ringgenberg, whose husband is a farmer of Calhoun county.
Politically, Mr. Cox is an independent voter and he prefers to cast his ballot for men rather than for measures. He represents the large class of citizens who exercise the franchise in an intelligent manner and are not bound by partisan politics. If all citizens would use the same good judg- ment many of the evils of this country would disappear. Fraternally, Mr. Cox is a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Sac City,
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and is proud of the fact that this post is named after the famous commander who marched to the sea. Although a quiet and unassuming man, Mr. Cox has contributed much to the material advancement of the community by his admirable qualities of head and heart, and the straight-forward, upright course of his life has tended greatly to uplift the moral standing of the circles in which he moves. He is a man of liberal views, believes in progress and improvement, therefore he does what he can to further these ends, taking a live interest in whatever makes for the material advancement of the county and the social, intellectual and moral good of its people.
ALEXANDER WAGER.
Dependent very largely upon his own resources from his early youth. Alexander Wager, of Jackson township, this county, has attained no insignif- icant success, and though he may have, like most men of affairs, encountered obstacles and met with reverses, yet he has pressed steadily forward. His tenacity and fortitude are due, no doubt, in a large measure to the worthy traits inherited from his ancestors, whose high ideals and correct principles he has ever sought to perpetuate in all the relations of life.
Alexander Wager was born in 1850 in Genoa, DeKalb county, Ilinois, the son of Henry and Mehitabel ( Brown ) Wager, natives respectively of New York and Ohio. Alexander lost his mother when he was two years of age, and his father later married a Miss Deborah. By his first marriage, Henry Wager had four children: Lucinda, deceased; William Henry, who lives in Michigan ; Mrs. Julia Donaldson, of Aurora, Illinois, and Alexander.
Alexander Wager grew to manhood in DeKalb county, Illinois, where he received a good common-school education, and early in life began to assist his father with the duties on the home farm. In 1882, on the first day of the year. Mr. Wager left DeKalb county, Illinois, and came to Jackson township, Sac county, Iowa, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres for six dollars and a half an acre. The land had no improvements on it whatever and everything which is on the land at this time has been placed there by Mr. Wager. In 1884 he purchased eighty acres adjoining his farm for ten dollars an acre and in 1897 he purchased another eighty for thirty dollars an acre, and is now the owner of four hundred acres of land which is worth one hundred and seventy-five dollars an acre. Hle does not attempt to farm all of his land, but rents some of it out to responsible tenants and farms the remainder himself.
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Mr. Wager was married December 25, 1876, to Anna Lewis, daughter of Jolm and Catherine Lewis, who were natives of New York state and early settlers in Dekalb county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Wager are the parents of three children: Fred Lewis and Ruth Esther, who are at home with their parents on the farm, and Mrs. Elsie May Gneiss, of Chicago, Illinois.
Politically, Mr. Wager is a Republican, while his religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal church. His fraternal relations are with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Wager has reached his pres- ent position of influence solely through the sweat of his own brow and can now live his remaining days surrounded by the comforts of life. Eighty acres of his land is situated within the corporate limits of Sac City. He has always raised considerable live stock and now has thirty head of cattle on his farm. Because of his upright character, marked ability and genial dis- position, Mr. Wager is numbered among the most popular residents of Jackson township. He is mindful of the duties he owes to his community and is always found upon the right side of all questions affecting the welfare of his fellow men.
THOMAS G. KEIR.
The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed is among the favorably known and representative citizens of Sac county. By his indomitable enterprise and progressive methods he has contributed in a material way to the advance- ment of his locality and during the course of an honorable career has been successful in his business enterprises, having been a man of energy, sound judgment and honesty of purpose and is thus well deserving of mention in this volume.
Thomas G. Keir, a traveling salesman for Wayt & Son, monument dealers of Sac City, Iowa, was born January 31, 1856, in the province of Quebec, Canada, on a farm. He is the son of John and Helen ( McGregor ) Keir. John Keir was born in Scotland in 1818, came to Livingston county, Illinois, in 1868 and there farmed until his death, in October, 1869. John Keir was a veterinary surgeon, having graduated from a veterinary college, and in addition to farming and following his profession as a veterinary he also operated a blacksmith shop. Helen McGregor was born in Scotland, March 26, 1826, and came to Canada with her parents when she was four
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years. old. John Keir and Helen McGregor were married April 5. 1844. They reared a family of twelve children, seven of whom are living: John Keir, who died at Wellington, Kansas, December 10, 1912; Duncan B., of Douglas township: Thomas G., with whom this narrative deals: Robert, of Douglas township; William, of Oklahoma; Charles, of Colorado, and Mrs. Clark Deshler, of Wellington, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. John Keir also had one adopted daughter, Mrs. George Morton, who now lives near Dalton, Kansas.
Thomas G. Keir was reared and educated principally in Illinois. When a youth he learned the blacksmith trade with his father and for several years conducted a blacksmith and wagon shop. Later he also managed a meat market. In December. 1894, Mr. Kier came to Sac county, Iowa, and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Jackson township, where he lived until March 1, 1910. He then moved to Sac City, purchased a residence and entered the employ of Wayt & Son, monument dealers, as traveling sales- man. For the past four years he has been connected with this firm and is proving an efficient salesman for his company, and has that necessary knowl- edge of the business, together with a tact and diplomacy which a skilled salesman needs in order to make him successful in this particular line of business.
Mr. Keir was married, May 16, 1878, to Ellen Elizabeth Sackett, the daughter of James and Ursula ( Makepeace ) Sackett. Her parents were natives of New York, but later came to Forrest, Illinois, where she was born. James Sackett died in 1880 and his wife died on January 19, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Sackett were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are living : Hutchinson. deceased; John, deceased; Lydia, deceased; Mrs. Delia Jones, of Oklahoma ; Mrs. Emma Whitson, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jay, of Joplin, Missouri: Mrs. Sabina Gordon, of Columbus, Kansas; Mrs. Mary Hopkins, of Illinois; Mrs. Hattie Cumpston, of Illinois: William, of Big Horn, Wyoming, and Mrs. Keir, the wife of Thomas G. Keir. Mr. and Mrs. Keir reared two children: Leroy, a rancher of Avalon, Alberta. who is married and has one child, Laverne, and Thomas Otto, a farmer of Avalon, Alberta, Canada.
Mr. Keir lends his stanch support to the Republican party and has filled varions township offices. He has served as president of the township school board in Jackson township, this county, for two years. Religiously, he and his wife are loyal members of the Christian church. He is a mem- ber of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, inchiding the chapter and commandery at Sac City; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
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Modern Woodmen of America. The life of Mr. Keir has been controlled by proper motives and he has been indefatigable in his honest efforts and busi- ness pursuits. As an employee of the company for which he is now work- ing he has proved entirely satisfactory. As a member of the body politie he has given his support to such public measures as he felt would be of benefit to his community.
HENRY FRIESNER.
Shortly after the Civil War, Horace Greeley, who was then editor of the New York Tribune, made himself famous and gave a new impetus to Western migration by the use of two magic words, "Go west." These words were printed in large type, from day to day, in his famous newspaper and had a wonderful effect upon stimulating migration to the states west of the Missis- sippi river. There can be no question but that thousands of young men had this cry. "Go west," dinned into their ears until they really felt that fortunes were scattered around over the broad prairies waiting for some enterprising men to pick them up. And there were fortunes which, like the uncut dia- mond, had to be polished before their real worth was known. Thousands and tens of thousands of acres of land in Iowa and other Western states were sold as late as the seventies for five to ten dollars an acre and this same land, which has now been polished as it were, is now worth from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars an aere. It required only the touch of man to convert this apparently worthless land into what is now a garden spot of the world.
Henry Friesner, one of the earliest pioneers of Sae county, Iowa, was born January 15, 1830. in Fairfield county, Ohio, about three miles east of Lancaster. His parents, Jacob and Polly ( Whiel) Friesner, were natives of Pennsylvania, and in 1840 the Friesner family moved to Coles county, Illi- nois, and there bought a farm. Here Jacob Friesner and his wife spent the remainder of their days. They reared a large family of children, only one of whom is living besides the one whose life history is here portrayed, Louis, a farmer of Calhoun county, in this state. Two of the brothers, Levi and Louis. served in the Union army during the Civil War.
In 1867 Henry Friesner obeyed that call of "Go west." and came to Grant City, Sae township. Sac county, Iowa, and bought forty acres for one dollar and a quarter an aere. Mr. Friesner built a small frame house, four- teen by sixteen feet, on his farm in October, 1869. The cost of the house
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completely depleted his finances. He had no money with which to buy corn to put out his crop, so he went to a neighbor in Calhoun county and tried to borrow some corn, but was refused. He tried another farmer and met with better success, for the second farmer let him have corn and potatoes in order to enable him to make a start. At the Oxenford mill they told him he could have anything he wanted to carry with him. He has never forgotten the kindness which was shown him at this time of his life and has many times remembered this incident when he saw some neighbor who needed help. In this way he got a start and, while operating his small farm, he worked out for two or three years and gradually saved enough money in order to buy more land. When he came to Sac county he had one yoke of oxen and a cow and in the fall of the first year he bought another yoke on one year's time in Carroll county. The second yoke of oxen cost him one hundred and thirty-three dollars, and he gave a mortgage on the two yoke to secure the payment of the pair he purchased. After he broke up his first forty acres and got his crops started he commenced to buy land and soon had another forty acres under cultivation. He and his son broke prairie land for their neighbors in order to earn money to pay for cattle. He purchased his second forty acres in 1872 at four dollars an acre, but he only had ten dollars to pay down on it. In 1874 he bought eighty acres for five dollars an acre and two years later he bought forty acres for six dollars and six cents an acre. By 1881 the land had arisen in price and the eighty which he bought in that year cost him ten dollars an acre. He had now bought five separate tracts of land, totalling two hundred and eighty acres and had placed buildings on each of his farms. The people called him "land poor," but he felt confident that the land would increase in value and that he and his son would be able to make it net good returns. The subsequent success which attended him in his efforts amply justified his wisdom in purchasing the land when it was cheap. He now has one hundred and sixty acres of land and has given his two sons eighty acres apiece, a result which has afforded him a great deal of satisfaction in his declining years.
Mr. Friesner was married in 1857 to Martha Swisher, who died in 1897. To them were born four children, all of whom are living: William Lewis and Andrew, who are farmers in this county ; Mrs. Eliza Ann DeCamp, of Minnesota ; Mrs. May Pontious, who keeps house for her father and has five children, Nina, Hazel, Edith, Lillian and Gerald.
Mr. Friesner was voting the Democratic ticket several years before the Republican party was organized. When Abraham Lincoln came out in oppo- sition to slavery, in 1860, he voted for him and has voted for every Republi-
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can candidate for President from that time down to 1912. He has always taken an active interest in politics, but has never been an aspirant for any public office. Mr. Friesner is now eighty-four years of age, still hale and hearty and enjoying life. His life has indeed been a long and useful one and he can look back over it and feel that the world has been the better for his having lived in it. He has a host of friends who admire him for his clean character, for his wholesome life and for the good influence which he has brought about him through his long life in this county.
ADOLPH ANDERSON.
From the land of the Vikings have come some of the most substantial citizens of Sac county and the same indomitable spirit which characterized the Northmen of old are to be found in these sturdy sons of Sweden today. Adolph AAnderson offers another striking example of the oft-repeated state- ment that "America is the land of opportunity," for he came to this country when a mere youth without money and without friends, and yet by the sweat of his brow he has risen to a position where he is classed among the most substantial farmers of Sac county.
Adolph Anderson, of Coon Valley township, was born August 27, 1857. in Sweden, the son of Andrew and Hannah Anderson, who spent all of their lives in the land of their birth.
When a lad of sixteen years, Adolph Anderson came to America. The subsequent story of his life illustrates what can be accomplished by the proper application of industry and honest methods of life. Upon coming to America in 1874, he came directly to Illinois, where he secured a posi- tion on a farm, at the rate of fifteen dollars a month. A year later this young man, now seventeen years of age, rented a piece of land and for the next seven years worked diligently to save enough money to buy a farm of his own. By the time he was twenty-four years of age he was in a position financially to invest in a farm of his own, and accordingly, he came to Cedar township, Sac county, lowa, and bought one hundred and sixty acres for five dollars and seventy-five cents an acre. The following year he married and at once he and his young bride settled on his farm in Sac county, and started to lay the foundation of their future prosperity. However, they met with many discouragements. A year later they returned to Illinois where they lived for the next four years. The year 1886 found them back again
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in Sac county, where they purchased one hundred and seventeen acres in Coon Valley township for seventeen dollars and a half an acre. This farm they still own and, as they felt able, they added to their original investment till at one time they owned one thousand two hundred acres of land in the county. Mr. Anderson has not attempted to farm all of this land and has sold some of it from time to time. although he still owns six hundred and twenty acres in Coon Valley township. Failure is a word not found in the Anderson family dictionary and today Mr. Anderson is classed with the most substantial farmers of his township. He has improved his farm in such a way as to net him handsome returns, and he now has three complete sets of buildings on his land. Some years ago he retired from active work himself and turned over the management of his farm to his son. In 1908 he erected a fine modern home on the farm and removed to Sac City. where he and his wife are spending their days surrounded by all of the conveniences of the twentieth century. His farms are exceedingly productive and his vearly sale of live stock comprises forty head of horses, one hundred and fifty head of hogs and from seventy-five to one hundred head of cattle.
Mr. Anderson was married in 1881 to Mary S. Peterson, who also is a native of Sweden. She came to America in 1877 when twenty-eight years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been born three children : Charles, who is married and has two children, Cecil and Ethel; Albert, who is married and has three children, Adolph, Behula and Bernice; Mrs. Anna DeBorgh, of Lytton, who has one daughter, Eilleen.
The Republican party has claimed the support of Mr. Anderson and he has seen no reason why he should change his party allegiance to any other political organization. Religiously, he and his family are loyal members of the Lutheran church and give liberally of their means to its support. Mr. Anderson is regarded as a good business man of excellent judgment and foresight, and has been very successful in managing his large estate. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Bank of Sac City and now owns five shares in that financial institution. llis six hundred acres are easily worth one hun- (Ired and seventy-five dollars an acre, and it can be readily seen that he can now afford to live a life of ease for the remainder of his days. However, his whole career has not been devoted solely to the acquisition of wealth, but he has kept abreast of the times and taken his part in the public life of county fully attests. He is another of the many descendants of the sturdy his friendly manner, his business ability and his upright living and is there- fore a representative man of Sac county.
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CHARLES HECHTNER.
It is evident from a study of the life of Charles Hechtner that when opportunity knocked at his door he opened it and invited opportunity to step in. Some wise man has said that opportunity knocks but once at every man's door and that the subsequent success of every man depends upon whether he answers the knock and takes advantage of the one chance which is offered him. Whether this be true or not, it is a fact that the subject of this brief review did not miss his chance, as his successful career in Sac county fully attests. He is another of the many descendants of Germanic ancestry who have gained success in Sac county and although a native of this state, yet he inherits those characteristics which dominates a true son of Germany.
Charles Hechtner was born April 10, 1864, in Muscatine county, Iowa. His parents, Frederick and Sophie Hechtner, were born, reared and married in Germany. They came to this country in 1855. Upon coming to America. they located first at Princeton, Illinois. In 1864 they came to Muscatine county, Iowa, where Charles was born. Frederick Hechtner died in 1891 and his wife in 1900. To them were born nine children, seven of whom are living: Mrs. Mary Hector, of Avoca, Iowa: Mrs. Emma Hector, of Wal- nut, lowa; Mrs. Eliza Slade, of Des Moines; Mrs. Caroline Shannon, of Nichols, Iowa; Charles, whose history is portrayed in this connection; Al- freda, of Chicago; Mrs. Elizabeth Sauer, of Denver, Colorado.
Charles Hechtner received his education in the public schools of Musca- tine county, Iowa, and at the age of twenty-four he began farming for him- self in his native county. In 1892 he came to Sac county and purchased two hundred and forty acres in Coon Valley township, on which he is living today. Ile is an expert raiser of corn, and in 1913 had forty acres of corn which averaged sixty-five bushels to the acre; is a large raiser of live stock and markets from twenty-five to fifty head of cattle and one hundred head of hogs annually. He is also a large breeder of Percheron horses and has ten head of these fine animals on his farm at the present time. He has a fine modern home which he erected in 1898, as well as large barns and other outbuildings. When he bought his farm, much of it was of such swampy character that it was not in a condition to raise any crops at all-in fact, only twenty acres of it was cultivated when he took charge of the farm, but by a system of scientific ditching he has brought all of the farm under cultivation. The land originally cost him six thousand five hundred dollars ; it is now worth over sixty thousand dollars. He has spent sixteen thousand
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dollars in improvement, in the way of buildings, ditching and fencing, and he now has two complete sets of buildings on his land.
Mr. Hechtner was married March 1. 1888, to Hattie Belle Messenger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Messenger, of Muscatine county, Iowa. To this union have been born three children: Mrs. Elsie May Brynteson, of Sac City, born June 5. 1891 : Charles Lloyd, who was born January 21, 1904, and Robert Raymond, who was born March 26, 1908.
Mr. Hechtner has been active in the Republican party for many years and has filled many township offices, as well as the position of county super- visor for six years. He was selected as county supervisor in 1906 and so efficient was his achministration that he was re-elected in 1909, terminating his second term on January 1. 1913. He and his family are regular atten- dants of the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute liberally of their means to its support. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Successful in business, respected in social life and efficient as administrator of various duties in public affairs, Mr. Hechtner has been a prominent factor in the life of his township and county. He has at all times discharged his duties in a manner becoming an intelligent citizen and justly earns the high esteem in which he is held by a large circle of friends and acquaintances throughout the county.
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