USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 81
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90
Mr. Tiberghien is a Republican in political faith, and had the honor of casting a vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has served as township clerk, jus- tice of the peace and school director. He has been a Master Mason since 1859, being the only charter member living of the Sac City Masonic lodge. He is also a member of Gen. W. T. Sherman Post, Grand Army of the Re- public, and the Christian church.
A product of the pioneer epoch, and he himself a pioneer, Mr. Tiber- ghien is one of those estimable citizens whose labors and self-sacrifice have made possible the advanced state of civilization and enlightenment for which the great state of Iowa has long been noted. His life forcibly illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish when actions are governed by right principles and high ideals. He is one of the kind that can be relied on in the world's affairs, a splendid specimen of the many that do the real work of the world in places of passing importance, and do it well. His is a life that does not attract attention for any picturesque or erratic qualities, but the kind out of which the warp and woof of the substance that goes to make up the continuous achievement of humanity is made. Plain, unassuming. straightforward, his life has been consistent in motive and action, and he has earned and holds the high regard of a large acquaintance.
His favorite recreation, even at his advanced age, is fishing-the pursuit of Presidents and men of all walks of life. On bright, sunshiny days this fine old gentleman can be found along the shaded banks of the beautiful Raccoon river plying his reel and net.
.A worthy avocation to which he has dedicated the active part of his declining years, is the care of Cory's Grove cemetery, the last resting place
825
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
of the earliest pioneers of Sac county. Reverently, and with loving, tender hands, he looks after this beautiful plot of burial ground which lies within a stone's throw of his cottage home, and which contains the remains of those who were dear and near to him in his boyhood days. The Eternal Being blesses such noble characters as James W. Tiberghien.
FRANCIS S. NEEDHAM.
Banking is a business and profession which calls for talent of a high order. To succeed in this oldest of commercial pursuits requires a high degree of intelligence, a great measure of personal integrity, a modicum of absolute honesty, and a broad sense of citizenship which enables one to cap- ably judge human nature, and at the same time retain the confidence and re- spect of those with whom he is daily thrown in contact in the course of the conduct of his business. Francis S. Needham is a true type of the broad- minded banker who has achieved a standing and eminence in the banking world through his own efforts, beginning in a small way. From a reason- ably small beginning in the banking business he has risen to the control of several of the leading banking concerns of Sac county, and enjoys a prestige among his fellow citizens rarely exceeded.
Mr. Needham occupies the important position of president of the Farm- ers Savings Bank, of Sac City, the State Bank of Early, the Schaller Sav- ings Bank and the Lake View State Bank.
The Farmers Savings Bank was organized in 1906 with a capital of ten thousand dollars. The capital stock was increased to fifty thousand dol- lars in 1910, to accommodate the rapid and substantial growth of the institu- tion, which numbers among its stockholders many of the most prosperous and well-to-do farmers and citizens of the county. The business is housed in a handsme brick structure owned and erected by the banking company. The interior is fitted with modern fixtures. The deposits of the bank now exceed the total of two hundred and thirty thousand dollars, and it enjoys a measure of confidence among its patrons exceeded by no similar institu- tion in the county. The present officers of the bank are: F. S. Needham, president ; L. E. Irwin, vice-president : C. E. Harding, cashier : J. T. Dolli- son, W. F. Block, S. M. Elwood, J. H. Grohe, directors.
Francis S. Needham was born November 2, 1864, in Staceyville, Mit- chell county, Iowa, the son of Gerrit S. and Mary L. ( Smith) Needham, who
826
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
were natives of New York and Massachusetts, respectively. The parents were very early settlers in Mitchell county, locating there in 1852. The mar- riage of Mr. Needham's parents occurred in 1860. Gerrit S. was the son of Dwight Needham, who is chronicled among the early and prominent pioneer settlers of Mitchell county. Gerrit moved to Dickinson county in 1869, and after a few years' residence there removed to the state of California. He resided on the coast from 1874 to 1876, and then returned to take up a resi- dence at Grinnell, Iowa, where he engaged in the grocery business. In 1881 he removed to Chicago for the purpose of engaging in the red clover busi- ness. He returned west in 1903 and made his final residence in Early, Iowa, where he died November 6, 1012. His wife died in 1908. They reared a family of three children, namely: Mrs. Mary Stowe, deceased; Mrs. Mabel A. Grim, of Union Post Office, Montana, and Francis S.
The elder Needham's purpose in settling in Grinnell for a time was un- doubtedly to give his children the opportunity of securing an education such as was afforded by the excellent institution of higher learning in existence in the city. Francis entered Grinnell College and graduated therefrom in the scientific course in 1887. During the summer of 1887 he was employed as a member of a surveying corps by the Santa Fe Railroad Company. He taught school during the fall and winter, and after this he assisted his father in conducting his business for one year. He came to Lake View, Iowa. in 1889, and opened the Lake View State Bank, which was soon afterward incorporated as a state bank. He resided in the town of Lake View until 1907, and then removed to Sac City. Since 1900 he has been connected with the State Bank of Early. In 1902 he purchased a bank at Sioux Rapids, lowa, which he later sold. He bought the controlling interest in the Cushing Savings Bank in 1903 and successfully conducted this institution for a term of years, eventually disposing of his holdings. He became the owner of the Schaller Savings Bank in 1904, and still holds a large interest in that pros- perous concern. In March, 1913. he obtained a large interest in the Farm- ers Savings Bank, and is now the official head of this influential banking con- cern. Mr. Needham's carcer in the banking world has met with success which is well merited. Individually, he is possessed of a strong versatility and the power of concentration which enables him to carry out his operations in a masterly way. He has had the forethought to surround himself with gifted and able young men who have confidence in him and esteem his ex- cellent judgment and advice.
Mr. Needham is descended from a long line of religious workers, from whom he naturally inherited a deep, religious conviction and a desire to
827
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
affiliate prominently with his favorite church organization and to assist in every possible manner in the furtherance of a religious sentiment in the community. His moral uprightness on all occasions speaks for itself and is evidence of his desire to live a blameless and irreproachable life. His father was originally one of the pioneers in the organization of the Congregational church and its subsequent spread throughout the length and breadth of Iowa, but later became a Presbyterian. Francis was one of the principal organizers and a liberal supporter of the Congregational church in the town of Lake View, and is now prominently identified as a leading lay member of the Sac City Presbyterian church. He is politically allied with the Republican party and has served as treasurer of the school board of Lake View.
Mr. Needham was wedded in 1888 to Eugenie E. Schaller, daughter of Phil Schaller, one of the prominent figures in the upbuilding and develop- ment of Sac county, and of whom extended and favorable mention is made elsewhere in these pages. Five children have been born to them, namely : Emeline, aged twenty-two years: Leonard, who died at the age of eleven years : Frances, aged seventeen years ; Philip, aged thirteen years; Elizabeth. aged two years and the infant of this interesting family.
GEORGE A. TAYLOR.
Conspicuous among the representative men and public-spirited citizens of Sac county is George A. Taylor, a man who has made his influence felt for good in his community and whose life has been closely interwoven with the history of the community in which he resides 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 fellowmen.
George A. Taylor, enterprising real estate dealer of Sac City, lowa, is a native of LaPorte county, Indiana, born in the year 1849, the son of Will- iam and Mary Taylor, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Penn- sylvania. William Taylor was a pioneer merchant of LaPorte county, In- diana. He was in business there in the thirties, and had a log store building about ten miles west of LaPorte. He was an extensive shipper of hogs and cattle. He came to Indianola, Warren county, Iowa, in 1863, and had a store and a nicely improved farm there. In his earlier years he had been a traveling salesman, and in his later years he felt the lure of the road and again traveled for some years, having headquarters in New York City. He died in 1873.
828
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
George A. Taylor was fourteen years old when he came to Iowa. He was reared on the farm, but took up railroading when a young man, which he followed for some time. He first came to Sac county in 1871 on a visit, but remained awhile. In 1882 he located permanently in the county, settling on a farm of forty acres four and one-half miles southeast of Sac City. He later disposed of this land and removed to Sac City in October, 1901. In 1900 he had been elected auditor of Sac county, and he served two terms of two years each in this responsible position, his administration of the office being such as to reflect credit upon himself and his constituents.
Mr. Taylor is now actively engaged in the real estate business in Sac City, in which he has been uniformly successful, handling many important properties. He makes a specialty of Iowa and Minnesota lands, and at pres- ent is dealing extensively in southern Minnesota land. His transfers amount to several hundred acres annually. He also deals in local real estate, inchid- ing town realty. He has well-equipped offices in the Platte building. Mr. Taylor owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in South Dakota.
In 1880 occurred the marriage of Mr. Taylor and Nannie Rothwell, daughter of James Rothwell, formerly of Indianola, lowa. They are the parents of three children, as follows: Flora E. is a deaconess in the Metho- dist mission at Sioux City, Iowa; Mrs. Lena M. Marple, of Buena Vista county, Iowa, and Thomas M., who is at home.
Mr. Taylor is a man of high moral character. unimpeachable integrity .and excellent business judgment, and throughout the locality where he is known he occupies an enviable position among his fellowmen, among whom he is universally esteemed.
CHARLES HATFIELD.
The biographies of successful men, especially of good men, are incen- tives and guides for the instruction of others. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in life, yet have succeeded in overcoming apparently unsurmountable obstacles which in many instances have awakened their latent powers and have served as stimulus which has carried them onward to success while yet in the prime of life. Self reliance, when given half a chance, will win out in the end. Sturdy colonial ancestry has frequently inbred in descendants the power to do and build where others fail. For a man to have struggled onward to attain a
829
SAC COUNTY, IOW.1.
comfortable competence which enabled him and his beloved wife to sit in com- fort and enjoy the setting of life's journey by their own fireside in peace and contentment with the world at large, is the greatest of successes, to the mind of the historian. Such an example is the aged gentleman of whom it is a pleasure to record the ensuing facts.
Charles Hatfield, of Sac City, Iowa, was born February 14, 1839, in the old state of Massachusetts, the offspring of Horace Hatfield, of Massachusetts, and Almire ( Kellogg) Hatfield. He was left fatherless when twenty-two years of age, and, having previously married, he assumed the care of his inother during the remainder of her life. Charles, having been reared in the vicinity of the great paper mills of his native state, learned the trade of paper maker in the mills and was employed at his trade for a period of eight years. He was married in 1858. taking to wife Lovenia Warren, who was born in Massachusetts on March 5. 1839. Mrs. Hatfield is a descendant of an ofd New England family. She is the daughter of Pliny and Mary (Tanner ) Warren, whose immediate ancestors crossed the Atlantic in the "Mayflower." One of her direct ancestors was Dr. William Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill.
The mother, son and wife set out for the West in 1864 and located in Wisconsin, where they resided for two years on a farm. In 1866 they came to Iowa, locating in Butler county. They were very poor, and it was neces- sary for Charles to work out at farm labor for two years in order to obtain a livelihood. This enabled him to obtain some tools and live stock and he rented a farm in Butler county for twelve years. The family were thrifty and saving-qualities which enabled him to come to Sac county in 1879 and purchase eighty acres of good land in Jackson township for six dollars and sixty cents an acre. He at once began breaking his land and sowed it to crops and erected a small house which served as their habitation. Some years later he purchased an additional forty acres at a cost of thirty-two dollars an acre. In 1891 he sold his entire holdings in Jackson township at sixty- five dollars an acre and invested in one hundred and seventy-one acres in Douglas township at a purchase price of forty-four dollars an acre .. He rented this farm for a little over twenty-one years and in 1891 removed to a cottage in Sac City where he and his estimable wife are enjoying a com- fortable and peaceful old age. In the year 1912 Mr. Hatfield disposed of his farm holdings for the considerable sum of one hundred and fifteen dollars per acre. . This well respected couple have reared two daughters to beneficent womanhood, namely: Mrs. Cora Reynolds, who resides in northwestern Nebraska and is the mother of three children. Charles Reynolds, of Omaha.
830
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
and father of two children. Milton and Robert : Mrs. Cora Daly, of Nebraska, who is the mother of one child, Helen: Leroy Reynolds, unmarried. The second daughter is Mrs. Nellie Corderman, of Cedar township, who is the mother of seven children, namely: Alvin Corderman, who is married and lives in Cedar township. Sac county ; Louis : Ellis, who is married and has one child. Beryl; Walter; Warren; Elsie, and David. Mr. Hatfield has always been allied with the Republican party and has served as trustee of Jackson township. He and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Hatfield is a Free Mason, being a member of the chapter and commandery, and is a member of the Yeomen.
LARKIN P. LOWRY.
Among those men of fine character who have impressed their personality upon the community of their residence and have borne their full share in the upbuilding and development of Sac county, mention is deservedly due Larkin P. Lowry, one of the enterprising merchants of Sac City.
Larkin P. Lowry, of the firm of Ahrens & Lowry, hardware merchants of Sac City, Iowa, was born December 6, 1845, in Madison county, Illinois, the son of John and Elizabeth ( Sharp) Lowry, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Kentucky. John Lowry removed to Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1856, and there he enlisted in the Union army when the Civil War came on. He was a member of Company I of the Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the great battle of Shiloh, after which he became seriously ill and died on liis way home at Carlinville, Illinois. The mother reared the family and spent her later days with her children, of whom there were four, as follows: A. J. Lowry, of Corning, California: W. W. Lowry, of Auburn, Sangamon county, Illinois; Mrs. Josephine McMillen, deceased, and Larkin P. Lowry, the immediate subject of this sketch.
Larkin P. Lowry was born and reared on the farm and has spent much of his life as an active farmer. . He removed to Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1878, and in 1882 came to Sac county, Iowa. He resided on a farm north- east of Sac City, which he owned until 1899. He had rented land until 1888, when he bought three hundred and twenty acres in Douglas township, which he still owns. In the spring of 1899 he removed to Sac City to reside. He
831
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
engaged in the hardware business in 1903, and is now a member of the firm of Ahrens & Lowry, one of the leading hardware stores of the county, who carry a full and complete line of hardware and enjoy a large and growing patronage.
Mr. Lowry was married in 1885 to Anna M. Hughes, who was born and reared in Illinois. They are the parents of two children, E. P. Lowry. a bank cashier at Marathon, Iowa, and Mrs. Myrtle Montgomery, who resides at home with her parents.
Politically, Mr. Lowry is an independent Republican. He is a member of the First-Day Adventist church, and holds membership with the Brother- hood of American Yeomen, a fraternal order.
GUY SWEARINGEN, M. D.
One who has won honorable distinction in the ranks of the medical fra- ternity of Sac county is Dr. Guy Swearingen, of Sac City. That his ability and skill as a successful practitioner have been duly recognized is well attested by the liberal share of public patronage which he enjoys and the conspicuous place he occupies among the most advanced professional men of the city and county where he lives.
Doctor Swearingen is a native of Homer, Illinois, born July 3, 1881, and he is a son of William and Flora ( Wrisk) Swearingen, both natives of the state of Illinois, and now residing at Homer, that state. William Swear- ingen was a successful farmer for many years. He and his wife reared a family of two children, Mrs. Daisy Eikman, of New Palestine, Indiana, and he of whom this sketch is narrated.
Doctor Swearingen received his primary education in the common schools of his community. He later entered the University of Indiana Medical College and pursued his studies at this institution during the years 1903 and 1904. He then entered Drake University, at Des Moines, Iowa, from which well-known college he was graduated in 1911, after a student term of two years. Following his graduation he spent one year as interne at Mercy Hospital, Des Moines, Iowa, and in the fall of 1912 located at Sac City for the practice of his profession. Here he has built up a substantial and representative practice, and the same has ample basis on his unquestioned ability in both the theoretical and practical phases of his profession.
Doctor Swearingen was married in 1903 to Flora Robbins, of the state
832
SAC COUNTY, IOWA1.
of Minnesota, and their home has been blessed by one son, Ralph, aged seven years.
The Doctor is a member of the Masonic order. He is a gentleman of pleasing personality and a loyal and high-minded citizen, whose support is willingly given to every canse having for its object the moral and material betterment of the community.
DONALD McGEACHY.
The sons of Scotland who have come to America and made homes in this country have been among the most prosperous citizens wherever they settled. Some of these have come to Iowa, and Sac county is proud to number a few of these thrifty people among her number. The McGeachys who have come to this country from Scotland have been reckoned among the most pros- perous and substantial people of the county and have shown those character- istics which have made their native land famous in history.
Donald McGeachy, the son of Malcolm and Jean McGeachy, was born November 12, 1850, at Glenbar, Argyleshire, Scotland. He received a good common school education in his native country, and at the age of twenty-three decided to come to America and seek his fortime. Upon reaching this country he immediately went to Iowa and settled in Clinton, Clinton county. where he worked in a saw mill for six years. He wanted to invest in land, and with this in view he saved his money in order to make a cash payment on his first purchase. In 1879 he came to Sac county and lived on a farm in the western part of Clinton township for eleven years. In 1890 he came to his present farm of two hundred and sixty acres in Clinton township, where he was farming at the time of his death, on January 10, 1907. He was a thrifty farmer and used good judgment in all his agricultural ventures. In addition to raising all the crops of this locality, he raised considerable live stock each year.
In 1891 Mr. McGeachy returned to Scotland and married Jeannette Hnie, who was born February 21, 1862, in Argyleshire, Scotland. To this marriage have been born seven children: Maria Stuart: Jane L., a graduate from the Odebolt high school and is now a teacher ; Malcolm, who works on the home farm; Jeannette, a graduate of the Odebolt high school; Margaret and Mary, who are now in the Odebolt high school, and John, who is still in the common school. All of the children are still at home with their mother.
MR. AND MRS. DONALD McGEACHY
833
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
Mr. and Mrs. McGeachy gave to all of their children a good education, feeling that there was nothing which would fit them better for the coming years of life than a good education.
Mr. McGeachy was a member of the Presbyterian church, and rendered it his earnest support at all times. He was a warm-hearted, generous friend and modest and unassuming in all his relations with his fellow men. He was a man of sound conviction, and no one ever had any doubt as to where he stood upon any question. The memory of such a man will be cherished by his friends and honored by his children. Mr. McGeachy was a man of sterling worth. Thoroughly honest, his word was as good as his bond. Quiet and unassuming, his good impulses were always uppermost and his friendship was valued by those who knew him well. He was devoted to his wife and children, and they to him.
JOHN WALTER CRISS.
Citizens are called to perform various duties which lie within their capabilities. Usually, the individual himself selects that line of duty for which he possesses a natural aptitude and in which calling he is more cer- tain of success. He who is called to fulfill the exactions and demands of public office has a two-fold mission in life; he must conduct himself in an exemplary manner as a member of the citizen body and so perform his offi- cial duties as to merit the approval and esteem of his fellow men to whom he is responsible. A fitting representative of the official body in Sac county is he to whom this brief review is devoted. Sheriff J. Walter Criss is a faith- ful county official who has ably applied his abilities to the proper conduct of the duties of his high office.
Mr. Criss was born March 17, 1878, in the state of West Virginia. He is the grandson of Isaac Criss, who was born in 1827, and died in October, 1902, in Sac City. He was joined in wedlock in West Virginia with Sarah Jane Means ( Marquess). He served as a soldier in the Union army, en- listing in the spring of 1862 in Company H. Fourteenth West Virginia Regi- mient of Volunteers. He served until the close of the Rebellion and was en- gaged in many hard-fought battles and skirmishes. In 1883 he removed his family to Sac county and settled on a farm in Jackson township, about two and one-half miles west of Sac City. In June, 1883, he moved on a farm owned by his cousin, Judge Eugene Criss, but not long afterward he pur-
(52)
834
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
chased a farm of his own in Jackson township on which he resided until 1809, when he retired to a residence in Sac City. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Isaac Criss was the father of nine children, namely : Rebecca, Sarah, William, John, Elmer, James, Luther, Bertha and J. W. Luther came to Sac county with his parents and is now a farmer near Nemaha. Bertha is the wife of R. E. Williams, of Staples, Minnesota, and with whom the mother makes her residence. The father of Sheriff Criss was William H. Criss, still a resident of West Virginia. His mother died when he was an infant and his grandparents reared him.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.