USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 78
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Mr. Neal was married in 1894 to Eliza Batie, daughter of Thomas Batie. and they have three interesting children, Frank, Adam and Emma.
Politically, Mr. Neal is an ardent Republican, and has taken an active interest in the welfare and success of his party. Fraternally, he holds mem- bership in the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 178, Chapter No. 58 and Commandery No. 38.
MALCOLM CURRIE.
An enumeration of those young men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves, and at the same time have honered the locality to which they belong would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of him of whom this biography treats. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and rising young men of Sac county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow men, for his career has been one of well directed energy, with a well defined goal in view, combined with strong determination and honorable methods. As a lawyer, Malcolm Currie has evinced ability of a high order, while as a public official he has won the respect and good wishes of his fellow citizens for his con- tinued success in climbing the ladder of success. He has so administered the affairs of the office of county attorney as to win the hearty commenda- tions of his fellow citizens regardless of politics.
Malcolm Currie was born December 5, 1875, on his father's farm in Clinton township, Sac county. He is the son of John and Janet ( Mc- .Geachey ) Currie, pioneer residents of the county of whom an extended and well merited mention is made in the sketch of John Currie on other pages of this volume. The parents of Malcolm Currie were natives of Scotland. who emigrated to America and settled in Clinton county, lowa, in 1872, and removed to Clinton township, Sac county. in the year 1874. He of whom this biography directly reads attended the district school in his neigh- borhood, varying the time with farm labor. He was not only an apt student, but he was an energetic worker on the farm. After completing such courses as the district school afforded, he attended the Odebolt high school; then entered Coe College of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and pursued the literary and
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classical courses, graduating from this institution with the class of 1901, and was granted the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the fall of the same year he began his studies in the University of Missouri, at Columbia, and graduated with honors from the law department of this famous institution in the spring of 1905. He was immediately admitted to the practice of law in Sac county and took up his residence in Sac City. Turning his attention to politics in 1906, he was elected to the office of sheriff of the county in the fall of that year and served four years. two terms in succession, or until January, 19II. He was elected to the office of county attorney in the fall election in 1912 and took up the duties of his official position in January, 1913.
Mr. Currie is a tireless pleader of pronounced eloquence and is known as an earnest and thorough worker in his chosen profession, to which he seems peculiarly adapted, by reason of his power of concentration and natural gifts. Since assuming the responsibility of his office he has attracted the attention of the people of his native county by his able and masterly conduct of the matters entrusted to his care officially. His law offices are con- veniently located in the State Bank building. He is a director of the Sac County State Bank. In politics he is a pronounced Progressive Republican and one of the leaders in the progressive movement for better government. Descending from a long line of Scotch Presbyterian ancestors, Mr. Currie has naturally adopted the religious faith of his fathers. He is prominent in lodge circles, being a member of the Sac City lodge of Masons, and also holding membership in the chapter and commandery at Sac City.
Mr. Currie was married November 18, 1908, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Clara M. Austin, a talented teacher of music. Mrs. Currie is the daugh- ter of Nathaniel Austin, whose people were among the first settlers of Ashta- bula county, Ohio, and after whom the town of Austinburg was named. Two sons have blessed this happy union. Robert, aged four years, and Bruce, aged two years.
CHARLES BRYNTESON.
The annals of the counties of western Iowa abound with tales of young men who have forged ahead of the regular procession as a natural sequence of their destined end and have reaped rewards for their sterling endeavor which have seldom been equalled in any other section of the great country. Many of them have been the sons of foreign-born parents or have had their
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birth on foreign soil. Sac county is peculiarly fortunate in having several bright and rising young citizens of the latter class, among them being the sons of Swedish immigrants, who, it is rightly said, become assimilated into the great cosmopolitan body of Americans more quickly than the average race of Europeans. Sac county is proud of its Swedish-American citizens, who have achieved wonderful progress along all lines of endeavor since the great immigration began over forty years ago. Charles Brynteson, druggist, of Sac City, is a striking example of what can be accomplished in a material and civic sense by a young man gifted with ambition and the necessary energy to progress along well defined lines. He was born in Sweden. Septem- ber 25. 1884. His parents were Peter and Christina ( Olson ) Brynteson, who emigrated to America in 1887, when Charles was but three years old. The family arrived in the town of Odebolt in June, 1887, and there Peter fol- lowed his trade of carpenter. For over twenty-five years he has been en- gaged in carpenter work and contracting in this thriving city. Peter Brynte- son was born in 1855: his wife, Christina, was born in 1800. and died in 1906. They have reared a family of nine children, namely: Brynte. of Minneapolis: Olaf, who recently proved up a claim near Willard. Colorado; Charles : Jennie, a stenographer. now employed in Minneapolis: Paul also a resident of Minneapolis: Josephine, who is her father's housekeeper : Flor- ence. Ted and Harold, in school.
Mr. Brynteson graduated from the Odebolt high school at the age of seventeen years and then attended Highland Park College. He studied phar- macy in 1905. was admitted to the practice of pharmacy in July. 1905, and in the following August he took charge of a drug store in the town of Schaller. He held this position until June. 1907. He was appointed county recorder on June 3. 1907, in order to fill a vacancy, removing to Sac City to take up the duties of his office on June 4th of the same year and serving for a term of three years and seven months. In the fall of 1908 he was nom- inated and elected to the office on the Republican county ticket. In Septem- ber. 1910, before his retirement from the office, he purchased his drug busi- ness in Sac City. His place of business is located in a large room on the main street of Sac City in the heart of the business district. It is completely stocked with the very best of drugs and druggists' sundries and is widely and favorably known as the Rexall store. People easily get the habit of trading at Brynteson's through a personal liking for the courteous proprietor and his clerks, and on account of the fairness in which all transactions are conducted.
Mr. Brynteson is prominently identified with the Republican party in
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Sac county and is county chairman of the Republican central committee. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Schaller and the Eastern Star chapter.
Mr. Brynteson was married on September 17. 1913. to Elsie Hechtner, daughter of Charles Hechtner. of Coon Valley township, a leading farmer of the county and former county supervisor, of whom deserving mention is made in the pages of this history.
Mr. Brynteson's friends are legion and he is possessed of a faculty which enables him to succeed in practically any undertaking in which he embarks. He is keenly alive to the necessity of keeping his home city to the forefront in industry and commerce and is usually found in support of all movements which are calculated to increase the trade prestige of the mer- cantile associations of the city and bring about a better and bigger Sac City in every sense the phrase implies. He is one of the cleanest and one of the most straightforward young men with whom the biographer has had the good fortune to become acquainted, and mere words fail to do justice to his many sterling qualities.
FRANCIS E. GORDON.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that make the real his- tory of a community and their influence as potential factors of the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting even in a casual way to their achievements in advancing the in- terests of their fellow men and in giving strength and solidity to the institu- tions which make so much for the prosperity of a community. Such a man is Francis E. Gordon, and as such it is distinctly proper that a review of his career be accorded a place among the representative citizens of the city and county in which he resides.
Francis E. Gordon, secretary of the Sac County Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association, was born June 26, 1856, in Schoharie county. New York, the son of S. E. and Anna ( Freese) Gordon, both of whom were also natives of Schoharie county, New York, who emigrated to Sac county, Iowa, in March, 1866. S. E. Gordon was a soldier during the Civil War, with a New York regiment, and took up a soldier's homestead in Sac county, on the northwest quarter of section 36 in Douglas township. He
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purchased a piece of timber land in the same locality, sawed the lumber and built a good frame house on his homestead, and here he lived until his death, January 29, 1890. His wife died in 1900. He served as county supervisor of Sac county for three terms. He was a prosperous and successful farmer and a highly respected citizen. His landed estate consisted of four hundred and eighty acres, gained through his own thrift, industry and good judg- ment. Five children were born of the marriage of S. E. Gordon and Anna Freese. Francis E., the oldest, is the immediate subject of this sketch. H. C. Gordon resides at Newell, Buena Vista county, Iowa. M. L. Gordon lives at Brooklyn, Iowa. Mary Gordon died in 1894. Mrs. Nellie (Gordon) Hazard also lives in Buena Vista county, Iowa.
Francis E. Gordon received a good common school education, attending the little "school house on the prairie." He was reared on the farm and amid this healthful influence early learned the value and dignity of honest toil. In 1878 he became a farmer for himself. his father having given him eighty acres of land, and he followed the active life of a farmer until 1894. In the fall of 1893 he was elected secretary of the Sac County Farmers Mutual Insurance Association, assuming the duties of this office January 1, 1894. Since 1900 he has also been president of the Town Mutual Dwelling House Insurance Association. a large concern operating in the state of Iowa, with headquarters at Des Moines.
Mr. Gordon was married in 1878 to Athelia M. Davis, of Lake City, Iowa. They have no children.
Politically, Mr. Gordon is a Republican, and he holds membership with the Advent Christian church, the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. Gordon is a man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fibre who possesses the necessary energy and business qualifications to discharge worth- ily the duties of any responsibility with which he may be intrusted. He has achieved eminent success in the special field to which he has directed his efforts and won for himself an enviable place among the leading men of the city and county honored by his citizenship.
The Sac County Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association was or- ganized in August. 1875, by S. E. Gordon and others. The first meeting was held June 5. 1875, when a constitution and by-laws was adopted. The first annual meeting was held June 5. 1876. The officers then elected were: Phil Schaller, president; J. N. Miller, vice-president ; Joseph L. Dobson, secretary ; James Taylor, treasurer. The directors were F. N. Hahne, Thomas Batie. J. W. McClellan. A. B. Holmes, S. E. Gordon, J. P. Carr, Oscar
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Staley, E. S. Fanning, C. Martin, S. Beeler, William Cory, William Warren, C. N. Levy, John Bence, A. C. Ables and A. Young. The executive com- mittee was S. E. Gordon, William Hawks and John Bence. The records show that at the beginning of the year June 7, 1878, the number of policies in force was sixty-two, representing insurance to the amount of $50.717.66. Thirty-six policies were issued during the year, of a value of $34,910.99. S. E. Gordon was chosen vice-president in 1878. The present officers are R. M. Long, president ; L. E. Irvin, vice-president ; F. E. Gordon, secretary ; J. Y. Campfield, treasurer. The directors are C. A. Drewry, Dennis Mc- Teague, F. E. Smith, George B. Gould, John Halling, A. Mason, E. L. Ahrens, Ed. Williams, Charles Hechter. W. W. Rhoades, C. L. Wade, S. E. Peck, William Nutzman, Earnest A. Walrod, W. F. Charles and L. P. Lowry. The number of policies now in force, one thousand seven hundred. Insurance in force, $3.857.806.00. The company has had a steady and con- tinuous growth, and is now firmly established as one of the best insurance companies in the state of lowa.
ANTON E. GUNDERSON.
Among the most progressive and thoroughly up-to-date agriculturists of Sac county, Iowa, is the immediately subject of this sketch, who is engaged in farming in Wheeler township, where he owns a homestead comprising three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land and in addition to the arduous duties devolving upon him in the proper care and management of his business, Mr. Gunderson finds time to devote to public interests. Besides being secretary of the Co-operative Store Company and a director of the Farmers Savings Bank of Odebolt, he is township clerk of Wheeler township and also president of the school board, and to the duties of these offices he gives conscientious care and attention.
A. E. Gunderson was born on July 29, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of John and Anna May Peterson, both natives of Sweden, where John was born in 1844 and Anna May in 1853. It was about the year 1868 when John emigrated from Sweden. coming directly to Chicago, and Anna May came one year later. They were married in Chicago, where they lived for several years, and in the spring of 1880 came to this county, where, in 1875. they had pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres, being the northwest quarter of section 7. in Levey township. They were among the earlier pioneer residents of this
MR. AND MRS. ANTON E. GUNDERSON
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county, and on this farm they passed the remainder of their lives, John dying in 1893 and the wife passing away on July 20, 1901. When they purchased their homestead it was raw prairie land and through unremitting care and labor they converted it into excellent farming land. They were the parents of eleven children, but five of whom came to mature age and of these three are now deceased, being Hulda, Gustave and Amil. Besides Anton E., the imme- diate subject of this sketch. there is still living Esther ( Mrs. Roscoe Robinson ), who resides in Spencer, Iowa.
When a youth, Mr. Gunderson attended the district schools of their vicinity, supplementing this later with a course at the Odebolt high school and also the Carroll Normal School. In 1800 his father purchased a mercantile business in Odebolt, known previously as the E. W. Lester store, and the firm was known as Gunderson-Larson-Erickson Company, and in this business Mr. Gunderson spent three years, developing the excellent business ability. which has characterized his later activities. When he was about eighteen years old, his father died and he consequently assumed charge of the family interests. disposing of the mercantile business and taking charge of the estate. In 1898 Mr. Gunderson moved from the old home place to land which he had purchased in section 2 of Wheeler township, which purchase comprised one hundred and sixty acres, for which he paid forty-nine dollars per acre. The year previous he had purchased the same acreage adjoining at forty dollars per acre. This tract of three hundred and twenty acres he has since made his home. In 1908 he built an elegant residence of eight rooms, thoroughly mod- ern in every sense of the word, possessing every convenience possible. On his ranch he has two barns, one forty-eight by seventy feet and the other forty-eight by sixty feet: he has, in fact, two complete sets of buildings throughout. He has fifty head of Shorthorn cattle, some of pure bred : produces one hundred head of Duroc Jerseys annually and has twelve head of fine Percheron horses. Mrs. Gunderson also has a fine flock of chickens and confines her efforts to one good breed. preferring the White Plymouth Rocks. Mr. Gunderson has resided on this farm for fifteen years, and in that time has made wonderful improvements, bringing it up to a high state of per- fection.
On January 18. 1899, Mr. Gunderson was united in marriage with Grace Goreham, daughter of J. P. Goreham, one of the pioneers of this county. To their union have been born seven children, namely: Hazel, born December 30, 1899; Vernon, born August 1, 1901 ; Pierce, born May 18, 1904: Paul. born July 27, 1906: Cyril, born May 2, 1909: Eva, born February 4, 1910. and
(50)
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John Edward, born December 25, 1912. This interesting family of children are being reared along proper lines, are receiving good educations in the Odebolt public schools and in every way are being trained to take their places in the world as useful and intelligent citizens. The family are attendants at the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Gunderson is a faithful mem- ber, and are being raised in strict accordance with the tenets of that faith. Mr. Gunderson's fraternal affiliations are with the Modern Woodmen of America and. politically, he gives his support to the Republican party, being decidedly progressive in his views. He is a man of strong personal qualities. who realizes fully his responsibilities in every phase of life and seeks to dis- charge the duties falling to his lot in a fitting manner. Aside from his busi- ness cares and the rearing of his family, he gives his hearty co-operation to every movement having as its object the ultimate benefit of the moral, material or educational life of the community.
C. M. WHITTED.
Among those who have, by virtue of their strong individual qualities, earned their way to a high standing in the estimation of their fellow citizens, and by force of character won their way to a place of influence and promi- nence in the community, is C. M. Whitted, the present efficient clerk of the district court of Sac county.
Mr. Whitted was born at Monroe, Jasper county, Iowa, October 29, 1882, the son of John and Harriet ( Taylor) Whitted. John Whitted was born in 1856, in the same house and on the same farm where the son, C. M., was born. John Whitted is the son of Joseph Whitted, a native of England and a very early settler of Jasper county, lowa. The farm which he home- steaded is still in the family, being owned by E. E. Whitted, a brother of John. John Whitted married Harriet Taylor, the daughter of William Taylor, a native of England and a pioneer of Jasper county, Iowa. He sold his farm in Jasper county and settled in Calhoun county, Iowa, in 1888 .* His wife died in 1903 and he now resides in Des Moines. Iowa. They were the parents of three children: C. A. Whitted is a farmer near Lake City, Iowa ; Ars. J. T. Edson, of Lake Side farm, Storm Lake, Iowa, and C. M. Whitted, the immediate subject of this sketch.
C. M. Whitted was reared on the farm and received his education in the country schools and the Lake City high school. He came to Sac county,
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Iowa, March 3. 1903. and became identified with the Shull Lumber Company, of Schaller. Iowa. He was elected clerk of the district court of Sac City in the fall of 1910. and assumed the duties of his office January 1, 1911. He was re-elected in 1912, and he is now discharging his public duties in a manner highly creditable to himself and to the satisfaction of all.
Mr. Whitted was married November 16. 1905. to Gertrude Sellers, of Schaller, lowa.
Politically, an ardent Republican, Mr. Whitted takes an active interest in the affairs of his party. Although a partisan, with firm convictions and well-defined opinions on questions on which men and parties divide, he has the esteem and confidence of the people of Sac county, regardless of party ties. Fraternally, he is a Mason, and he holds membership with the Pres- byterian church.
Mr. Whitten is a man of sagacity and good business ability, elements which have contributed materially to his success. Genial and accommodating, he has made friends of all who have come in contact with him, and no more popular official is in the Sac county court house than he.
ALFRED C. SCHULTZ.
This is an age of progress and material activity, and the initiative man forges to the front in the industrial world. One to whom is due the upbuild- ing of an industry which is one of the most important in Sac county, is Alfred C. Schultz, manager of the Sac City Creamery Company, an enter- prise that has benefited the community in many ways. As secretary of this company. Mr. Schultz has displayed an aptitude for successful management, conducting all his business matters carefully and systematically, and the creamery is today rated one of the substantial enterprises of the locality.
A. C. Schultz was born on a farm, twenty-seven miles from Chicago, in Cook county, Illinois, January 20, 1871, the son of Charles F. Schultz, a native of Germany, who came to America when sixteen years old. He died in 1908. Mr. Schultz's mother came to America when eight years old, and now resides in Cook county. Illinois.
.A. C. Schultz left the farm when he was seventeen years old. and worked as an official bookkeeper for the Cook county public service until he was twenty-three years of age. Giving up this work on account of ill health, he went to Platteville, Wisconsin, and, in partnership with his brother-in-law.
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engaged in the dairying and creamery business. He was thus engaged for a period of eighteen years, or until 1913, when he came to Sac City. Iowa.
Mr. Schultz was married in June, 1896, to Alma K. Schmidt, of Illinois, and they have five children, Edwin, Robert, Elizabeth. Estelle and Dorothea.
Mr. Schultz is a member of the Masons and the Modern Woodmen. He is also prominent in the National Butter-Makers' Association, having been elected president in 1910. Mr. Schultz, with his associates, is operating six creameries in Grant county, Wisconsin.
The Sac City Creamery Company was established April 27, 1913. It is quartered in a new concrete building, thirty-six by sixty feet in size, and the plant is equipped with the most modern butter-making machinery. The capacity of the plant, with present equipment, is two thousand pounds daily. An additional vat, which has been recently added, has increased the capacity from one to two thousand pounds daily. The product is now five thou- sand pounds of creamery butter each week. During the favorable season ten thousand pounds is made. During June, 1914, the creamery was run at full capacity.
The Sac City Creamery is a great aid to the farmers of the community. providing a ready market for their milk, and is an enterprise worthy the patronage and support of the people at large.
WILLIAM H. TOWNSEND, M. D.
The medical profession is one of the most ancient and the noblest of the learned occupations. It numbers among thie fraternity examples of the high- est type of manhood and is composed in general of self-sacrificing individuals who have dedicated their lives to the alleviation of human suffering and the amelioration of the condition of the human family in a sanitary and physical sense. The family physician is one in whom we place the highest confidence ; we value his skill, which at times seems to border upon the miraculous; we seek his advice in intimate family affairs; in him we frequently confide our troubles and rely upon his matured judgment, knowing absolutely that he is incapable of violating the secrets which are naturally intrusted to his con- fidence in the course of his practice. The biographer is gratified to present herein a record of one who has not only achieved distinction in the pursuit of his profession, but has served the people of Sac county in an official capacity. It can be said of Dr. W. H. Townsend that he has been worthy
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