USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 62
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JOHN G. HECHTNER.
Every nation on the face of the earth has contributed to the population of the one hundred million occupying the United States as their home. Every nation in Europe has contributed its quota to the incoming tide of immi- grants who annually flock to the shores of this country. In the olden times people lived and died in communities where they were born, but in the nine- teenth century, when the fame of the United States was broadened through- out the world, the ambitious people of the world turned their eyes to America, the Land of Opportunity, flocking here literally by the millions. Thus it comes about that we have, scattered throughout the United States, couples who have come together. whose native homes were often thousands of miles apart. The family history of John G. Hechtner, which forms the theme of the present narrative, is an illustration of the fact and shows what the civiliza- tion of the nineteenth century has accomplished. Ilis father was born in
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Prussia, his mother in Switzerland, while he himself was born in Illinois, in the United States of America.
John G. Hechtner, a prosperous farmer of Coon Valley township, Sac county, Iowa, was born on December 13, 1868, in Bureau county, Illinois, near Princeton, and is the son of John and Elizabeth ( Melilin) Hechtner. John Hechtner was born in Prussia and came to America when he was eighteen years of age with his father, Godfrey. Elizabeth Mehlin was born in Switzerland and came with her father to this country when she was six- teen years of age. It so happened that the fathers of Mr. and Mrs. John Hechtner settled in the same county in Illinois, and there John Hechtner and Elizabeth Mehlin met and were married. John Hechtner died in Princeton, Illinois, in 1901. at the age of sixty-three, and his wife is still living in that city. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. John Hechtner there are seven living : Mrs. Marion Rudigar. of Bureau county, Illinois ; Mrs. Emma Dre- man, of the same county: John G., with whom this narrative deals; Charles, of Chariton, Iowa; Mrs. Elizabeth Dreman, of Bureau county, Illinois; Mrs. Caroline Yingling, of Mannius, Illinois, and Mrs. Joseph Johnson, of near Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois.
John G. Hechtner was educated in the common schools of Bureau county, Illinois, later attended a business college at Davenport. When twenty- two years of age he went to Chicago, and for ten years was employed in the circulation department of the Chicago Chronicle. In 1901 he came to Sac county with his savings and purchased two hundred acres of land at fifty dollars an acre. In 1909 he added forty acres to his original purchase at a cost of ninety-six dollars an acre. Since coming to this county he has spent from ten to fifteen thousand dollars in the way of improvement. He has built a fine modern residence. remodeled his barn, tiled and fenced his farm. His land is today worth two hundred dollars an acre. In 1913 he had seventy- five acres of corn, which averaged sixty-five bushels to the acre. He annually puts on the market from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty head of hogs, and raises other live stock in proportion.
Mr. Hechtner was married November 30, 1892, in Tiskilwa, Illinois, to Jessie M. Sheldon. To this union five children have been born, three of whom are now living: Gertrude, born November 21, 1893; Marion, born October 27. 1905, and Bernard, born August 24, 1908.
Politically, Mr. Hechtner belongs to that intelligent class of voters who are classed as independent. Though he was reared a Democrat, he has exer- cised his right as an American citizen and voted for the best man irrespective of their politics. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac-
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cepted Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Modern Wood- men of America. Mr. Hechtner has established a reputation for honesty of purpose in all his dealings with his fellow men and by being an advocate of clean and wholesome principle in politics, in home life, in everything which touches the welfare of his community, he has come to be regarded as one of the representative men of the county.
GEORGE P. COLLINS.
Life holds possibilities for all of us, whether it be in the halls of the learned, within the temples of the great, in the marts of trade and barter, or in close communion with nature in all her various moods and changes of tem- perament. The agriculturist is, to the comprehension of the philosopher and observer, the individual thrice blessed in his privilege of being closely allied with nature in the pleasant and beneficent task of inducing the elements of the soil and the atmosphere to combine in yielding the necessary foods which form the sustenance of all Imman life. When, in the eventide of his years, the tiller of the soil retires to the enjoyment of a well-earned repose. he is again blessed if he be enabled to further enlarge his comprehension by the in- dulgence of his mental acumen in the assimilation of literary productions which have always appealed to his mind. Such a gentleman is he whose name forms the caption of this creation of the biographer.
George P. Collins, of whom this narrative is written, was born in the town of East Hartford, Connecticut, the direct descendant of a long line of illustrious New England ancestors. He belongs to the family of Pitkins on his mother's side, and is a near relative of Governor Pitkin, of Connecticut. The family originated in America with William Pitkin, who emigrated from Eng- land in 1659, and settled in Connecticut. The present site of the city of Hartford formed a pasture in those early days for the grazing proclivities of his oxen. The ancestral Pitkin home was built on the east banks of the his- toric Connecticut river. Several of the Pitkin family fought in the Revolu- tionary War, and later gave their services in behalf of their country in the War of 1812.
The birthdate of George P. Collins is recorded as being on July 2, 1851. He was the son of Orin T. and Charlotte Pitkin Collins. O. T. Collins, the father, was born in South Gastonbury, Connecticut, and was the son of Isaac Collins. His birth occurred January 3, 1823, and he departed this life Septem-
MR. AND MRS. GEORGE P. COLLINS
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ber 7, 1901. It is recorded in the annals of New England that the first ancestor of George P. to arrive in America was a member of the Willisfield colony of freemen in the state of Connecticut. From him has descended a numerous and distinguished progeny. Charlotte, wife of O. T. Collins, was born August 14, 1821, and died May 7, 1878. She was the daughter of George Pitkin.
O. T. Collins and family migrated to Bureau county, Illinois, in the year 1855, and settled on a farm. He became prominently identified with the creation of a component part of the great state of Illinois and lived a long and useful life in the land of his adoption. He was the father of five children : George P .; Mrs. Lottie E. Rose, residing in Kansas: Sophia, a resident of Parkridge, Illinois; Charles P., of Redwood Falls, Minnesota ; Laura C. Col- lins, of Parkridge, Illinois.
This brief chronicle directly concerns the life and fortunes of George P. Collins, however, and we will now resume the narrative direct. He was educated in the district schools of Westfield township, Bureau county, Illi- nois, and always showed an aptitude for learning. Further advance beyond the common schools was denied him. however, and he took up the vocation of farming. In the year 1883 he left the vicinity of his early struggles and journeyed to Ida county, Iowa, and there purchased a farm in Galva town- ship, on which he and his family resided until 1894. He then disposed of his holdings in the neighboring county and invested in a fine farm of three hun- dred and twenty aeres in Eureka township, Sac county. He resided on this farm until December of 1909, and then removed to a pleasant home in the nearby town of Schaller.
Mr. Collins' political affiliations are with the Republican party, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Modern Woodmen.
Mr. Collins was united in marriage with Emma Holler in LaSalle county, Illinois, December 31, 1874. She was born in LaSalle county, the daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Ott) Holler, natives of Germany and Pennsylvania, respectively. Philip Holler was born in September, 1820, in the German empire, and first settled in Pennsylvania after his emigration to the States. He later became one of the pioneer settlers of LaSalle county. Illinois, and it is recorded that he drove a six-horse team overland from Pennsylvania to the newer country. He died in the month of June, 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. Collins have reared an interesting family of four children, namely: Elizabeth, the efficient and capable manager of a store in Kingsley,
(40)
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Iowa: Charles, who is tilling the homestead acres and who is the parent of two children, George, Jr., and Millicent : Mrs. Lucy Watson, of Eureka township, who is the mother of three children, Elizabeth. Marjorie and John ; Frank Collins, a farmer in Eureka township, and who has one child, Ruth.
George P. Collins, by virtue of his exemplary life and his successful career as a farmer and husbandman, is fully entitled to a place of honor among the citizens of this county, and we are pleased to present this enco- mium for the perusal of his friends and associates. He has been fortune in his inheritance of preconceived notions of duty and abilities above the average, as a natural birthright bequeathed by a long line of sturdy and upright ances- tors, whose lives and the inspiration derived therefrom have been a guiding light for him and his in their progress.
J. J. SPICER.
One of the prominent citizens of Coon Valley township, Sac county, Iowa, who has made a success of two distinct vocations in life, is J. J. Spicer, formerly a civil engineer, now a successful farmer in this township. The experience and training which he gained in that profession have not come amiss in his farm work, and. again, his knowledge gained through extensive traveling while in the employ of various railroad companies has given him a better view and a grasp of the bigger problems of life, which has contributed not a little to his success.
J. J. Spicer was born December 16, 1870, in Iowa county, Wisconsin. His parents were Francis and Margaret ( Baker) Spicer. His father was born December 15, 1833, in Devonshire, England, while his mother was a native of Ohio. His parents came to Sac county in March. 1880, where his father died March 16, 1904 : his mother later married Mr. Towle, of Nemaha, Sac county, and is now living in that place, at the advanced age of seventy- two years. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Spicer were the parents of eight children. only two of whom are now living. Mrs. Helen Margaret Gary, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and J. J., with whom this narrative deals.
J. J. Spicer was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin and Sac county. lowa. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-seven years of age, helping his father with the work on the farm. He had been interested in surveying since a youth and took up the scientific study of the subject with a view of entering that profession. He became qualified to enter the pro-
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fession and entered the en:ploy of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway and for several years followed surveying in the Northwest and Canada. However, his marriage, in 1899, caused him to change his plans, and in 1900 he quit the surveying business and returned to Sac City, where he later pur- chased two residence properties. In the spring of 1908 he bought a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Coon Valley township, and in March of that year moved on to the farm and has continued to reside there up to the present time. In his farming, Mr. Spicer has been as successful as he was in his civil engineering, and having had some previous experience in agriculture, it was not hard for him to soon adjust himself to the latest methods of farm- ing. In 1914 Mr. Spicer rented his farm and expects to move again to Sac City.
Mr. Spicer was married April 5, 1899. to Mary Fetter, of Sac City, and to this union have been born two children, Orville, deceased, and Fanny, who is now twelve years of age. Politically, Mr. Spicer is a Republican, but the nature of his business up until 1900 kept him out of politics practically alto- gether. Since then he has been taking an intelligent interest in the affairs of his party, but has never been a candidate for any public office, being content to serve in the ranks of the organization. All of those qualities which go to make ideal citizenship Mr. Spicer is well equipped with, and among those with whom he associates he is held in high regard. His life has been conducted along the lines laid down by the Golden Rule and his relations with his fellow- men have ever been such as to place his good name beyond criticismn.
NESTOR B. IRWIN.
The country today is more dependent upon the work of the farmer than ever before, and with the increase in population the work of the farmer is becoming increasingly important. As the country becomes older and as the soil in any particular locality becomes depleted in fertility, it becomes more important that the farmer know something about scientific farming. As long as the soil was fertile anyone could raise good crops, but after a number of years have passed by, the same farmer, using the same methods, would barely be able to make a living. Today in the older sections of our country the farmer has to feed his soil. the same as feeding his live stock- in other words, scientific farming has become a necessity. Originally, the state of Iowa had as fertile land as coukl be found any place in the United
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States, yet the time is sure to come when the fertility of the soil will be de- pleted if skillful crop rotation and scientific methods are not used to keep the soil to its highest state of productivity.
Nestor B. Irwin, a progressive farmer of Coon Valley township, Sac county, Iowa, and a man who has adapted himself to the advanced methods of agriculture, was born July 6, 1856, in Des Moines county, Iowa. His parents, Robert and Mary ( Bailes ) Irwin, were natives of Ohio, and came to Tama county, Iowa, in 1868, where they lived until their death, the mother dying in 1898 and the father two years later. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Irwin were the parents of six children: M. A., of Lake View, Iowa; N. B .. with whom this narrative deals: Emmor, of Colfax, Iowa; George, of Albert City, Iowa; Mrs. O. D. Taylor, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Mrs. Edward Cobb, of Green Mountain, this state. The two youngest were born in Tama county, Iowa.
Nestor B. Irwin came from Burlington to Tama county, Iowa, with his parents when he was eight years of age, and received his education in Tama county. When he was twenty-one years of age he came to Sac county and worked for a while. His father, who was a large land owner, gave him eighty acres in this county, and he worked on this farm for some time, but did not make a permanent home in Sac county until his marriage, February 26. 1890. After his marriage he settled on the farm which his father had given him in this county in 1890, and since that time has made all of the improvements which he now has. He has built a new and modern home, erected barns and good outbuildings, and brought the farm to a place where it is giving a hand- some return annually. In addition to the eighty acres which he owns in Coon Valley township, this county, Mr. Irwin also has one hundred and sixty acres in Minnesota. He recognizes the value of systematic crop rotation and is always on the alert for any new methods by which he thinks he can increase his returns from his farm.
Mr. Irwin was married February 26, 1890, to Laura Fike, who was born in Benton county, Iowa, the daughter of Moses and Emeline ( Yeager ) Fike, both of whom are natives of Pennsylvania. Her parents came to Ben- ton county, Iowa, in 1850. The father of Moses Fike was Christian Fike, an early pioneer of Benton county and one of its largest land owners. He reared a family of thirteen children and gave to each one of his children a farm. Moses Fike died in 1911, his wife having died when Mrs. Irwin was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Moses Fike were the parents of six children: Mrs. Caroline Collins, who lives in Colorado; Laura, the wife of Mr. Irwin; Samuel, of Vancouver, British Columbia; Frank, of Kingfisher, Oklahoma ;
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George, of Woodward, Oklahoma, and Edwin, of Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin have no children.
The Republican party has always claimed the support of Mr. Irwin, and although he is well informed upon the current issues of the day he has never been an active party man. Public office has never held any charms for him, having always preferred to give all of his time to his agricultural in- terests. He and his wife are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church, and give of their means to its support. Mrs. Irwin is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society. Possessing a splendid business ability, Mr. Irwin has been successful in material way, and because of his sterling qualities he is numbered among the representative men of the community in which he lives.
ANDREW J. FRIESNER.
The importance that attaches to the lives, character and work of the early settlers of Sac county and the influence they have exerted upon the cause of humanity and civilization is one of the most absorbing themes that can possibly attract the attention of the local chronicler of histories. If great and beneficent results-results that endure and bless mankind-are the proper measure of the good men do, then who is there in the world's history that can take their places above the hardy pioneer? To point out the way, to make possible our present advancing civilization, its happy homes, its arts and sciences, its discoveries and inventions, its education, literature, culture, re- finement and social life and joy, is to be the truly great benefactors of man- kind for all time. This was the great work accomplished by the early settlers, and it is granted by all that they builded wiser than they knew. Admit that, as a rule, but few ever realized in the dimmest way the transcendent possibili- ties that rested upon their shoulders; grant it that their lives, in certain in- stances, were somewhat narrow and that they realized but little the great results that ultimately crowned their efforts, yet there exists the supreme fact that they followed their restless inipulses, took their lives in their hands. penetrated the wilderness and, with a patient energy, resolution and self- sacrifice that stands alone and unparalleled, they worked out their allotted tasks, accomplished their destinies and today their descendants and others enjoy undisturbed the fruitage of their labors.
Among the worthy class referred to above, there is no one who deserves more honorable mention among the citizens of Sac county than A. J. Friesner,
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
who was born July 18, 1859, in Coles county. Illinois. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Friesner and came to Sac county from Illinois in 1866, when he was seven years of age. He has spent his whole life in this county and has devoted has career to agricultural interests. He now has eighty acres of excellent farming land in Coon Valley township, on which he raises all of the crops peculiar to this climate.
Mr. Friesner was married in 1886 to Matilda Cleveland, of Sac county, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Cleveland. To this union have been born fourteen children, Noah. Fred. Herbet, Robert, Joseph, Archie, Floyd, Henry, Arnold, Lester, Elsic, Laura, Golden and Pearl. All of these children, except the oldest, are at home with their parents.
Politically, Mr. Friesner has always identified himself with the Republi- can party, but, while taking an interest in the success of his party, has never tak ... an active part in its various activities. Mr. Friesner is one of the farmers in Sac county who were here in 1870, and for this reason he thoroughly appreciates the wonderful advance which has been made in civ- ilization in this county in the past forty years. He has seen the county grow from a broad prairie tract to its present prosperous condition and has taken his full share in bringing about this change. Being a man of industry and strict integrity, he has, by his clean and wholesome life since living in this county, won the esteem of a large circle of friends.
CONRAD A. RITTER.
The United States is indebted to Germany more than any other country in Europe for the excellent citizens of that country who have made their per- manent homes in this country. Almost without exception, the people of Germany who have become citizens of this country have become owners of property and been loyal citizens to their adopted country. Undoubtedly much of the prosperity of Sac county today is due to the energetic Gerinan citizens who have favored this country with their residence. The Ritters have con- tributed their full share to the advancement of the county. Conrad A. Ritter. whose history is here presented, is a citizen of whom any county should be proud to claim.
Conrad A. Ritter, who is farming two hundred and eighty acres of ex- cellent land in Coon Valley township and is the owner of one hundred and forty-nine acres, was born March 2, 1876, in Benton county, Iowa. He is the
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son of George and Elizabeth (Reifsnyder) Ritter, both of whom were born and reared in Germany. They were married in their native land and in 1870 came from Germany to the United States and immediately settled in Benton county, lowa. In 1879 they removed to Sac county and settled in Levey township. In their old age, the parents retired to Lake View to pass their declining years. George Ritter died in Dakota in 1908, while on a visit, and the mother is still living with her children. Mr. and Mrs. George Ritter were the parents of seven children, one of whom died in infancy, the remain- ing six children being as follows: Mrs. Sarah Wright, of Vermillion, South Dakota; Mrs. Mary Parsons, of Craig, Missouri; Conrad A .: Mrs. Katie Irwin, of Devon, Kansas ; Mrs. Susan Ganger, of Devon. Kansas; Mrs. Eliza- beth Cleveland, of Devon, Kansas.
Conrad .\. Ritter was educated in the district schools of Sac county. At the age of eighteen he began to learn the creamery business and for eleven years worked in the Gold Medal Creamery, which was located about seven miles southwest of Early. For the past eight years he has been farming, buy- ing his present farm in 1908 at one hundred and ten dollars an acre. In 1913 he had one hundred acres of corn which averaged fifty bushels to the acre and twenty acres of pop corn, which averaged thirty-five bushels to the acre. In 1912, which was a much better season, Mr. Ritter had corn which averaged eighty-five bushels to the acre and in that year he had fifteen acres of corn which averaged one hundred bushels to the acre. He raises a large amount of stock for the market each year and sells annually about twenty-five head of cattle and from seventy-five to a hundred head of hogs.
Mr. Ritter identifies himself with the Republican party and is in sym- pathy with the Progressive element of his party. While never having been a candidate for any public office, he takes an intelligent interest in the affairs of the party. The Ritter family are loyal members of the Methodist Epis- copal church and give their assistance to the various activities of that denon- ination. Fraternally, Mr. Ritter is a member of the Yeomen and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Ritter was married on August 8, 1900, to Myrtle Irwin, the daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. George Irwin. Mrs. Ritter is a graduate of the Odebolt high school and taught school one year. George Ritter was born in Pennsyl- vania and came west with his parents to Linn county, where he married Mar- garet Cook. They came to Sac county in 1885 and settled in Clinton township where the father died in 1887, leaving four children : Charles P., of Devon, Kansas; George H., deceased: Jay C., near Lakeview, and Myrtle Ritter. To this marriage have been born five children, four of whom are
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living : Esther Mabel, age eight years ; Charles Wesley, age six : Laura May and Lawrence J., twins, who are now two years of age. Mr. Ritter has always taken an active part in the various phases of the community life where he lives and is well known as a man of excellent reputation and high char- acter.
JOHN R. MARKLEY.
One of Eden township's agriculturists and stock men who is deserving of a place in this volume is John R. Markley, a man of courage, self-reliance and of the utmost integrity of purpose, as a result of which he has, during his entire life, stood high in the estimation of his neighbors and friends, whose interests he has sought to promote while endeavoring to advance his own.
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