USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 84
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August H. W. Reuber was born March 31, 1866, in Hanover, Germany, the son of August and Fredericka Reuber, and belonged to the High Ger- man class. When August Reuber was sixteen years of age his parents came to America and first located in Grant county, Wisconsin, where his father followed the shoemaker's trade. Four years later Angust H. W. came to Sac county, Iowa, and the family followed three years later, locating on a farm one mile north of Odebolt. Two years later, upon the marriage of August, his parents moved to a small farm of twenty acres in Richland township, and two years later they moved to an eighty-acre farm in Delaware county, Iowa, where the mother died in 1901. The father afterward resided with his son for three years, and in 1904 returned to Germany, where his death occurred. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. August Reuber, Sr. : Mrs. Henry Lutz, of Storm Lake, Iowa; Carl H., of Schaller, Iowa, and August H. W., with whom this narrative deals.
August H. W. Reuber was well educated in his native country, and when a mere youth was apprenticed to a printer, where he learned the trade of typesetting. However, he never followed this profession in this country, but, owing to his poor health, engaged in farm work as soon as his parents landed in this county. In 1888 he rented a farm in Richland township, and here he planted his first crop of popcorn, and, fortunately, his first yield netted him a handsome return on his investment. In 1890 he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Cook township at a cost of thirty-one dollars an acre, and engaged in the raising of popcorn on a larger scale. Two years later he discontinued the raising of popcorn himself on account of un favorable seasons, and went to feeding cattle. However, he returned to the popcorn culture, and soon afterward began to buy and ship popcorn. and as early as 1898 he had the sobriquet of "Popcorn King." In 1905 his business had grown to such an extent that he felt justified in moving to Odebolt and engaging in the buying and shipping of popcorn. In 1909 he took in J. L. Bruce as a partner and added a regular grain department to his business. In 1910 they erected a large elevator with a capacity of thirty- eight thousand bushels. During the past four years the firm has shipped about seventy-five cars of popcorn annually, and handles a total of other grains amounting to one hundred and twenty-five thousand to one hundred and eighty-five thousand bushels annually. In 1913 the firm had sixty thou- sand dollars invested in popcorn alone, and about twenty thousand dollars in other grains. The equipment is now worth twenty-three thousand dollars and in 1914 the firm expects to erect a large double crib which will have a capacity of two million pounds of popcorn annually. The plant extends
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over twenty-one city lots in Odebolt, and this fact alone gives some idea of the magnitude of the business.
Mr. Reuber was married, February 5, 1891, to Louise Katherine Rabe, of this county, who was born in Germany, coming to America when five years of age with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Reuber are the parents of two children, Edgar H., who is a farmer of Cook township, this county, and Minnie, who is still in school.
Politically, Mr. Reuber is a Progressive and takes an active interest in politics. He has been a member of the school board of Odebolt since 1909. The family are loyal and consistent members of the German Methodist church, and contribute liberally of their substance to its support.
J. F. UMBARGER.
Among the farmers of Sac county who have been prominent in the agricultural profession is J. F. Umbarger, who is now living upon a five- hundred-acre farm near Ringsted, in Palo Alto county, this state. He was born May 11, 1872, in Monmouth, Jackson county, Iowa, and is the son of Nathaniel Brown and Mary A. (Brown) Umbarger. .
Nathaniel B. Umbarger was born January 4, 1845, in Wythe county, Virginia. He received his early education in a rude log school house, and later attended Wytheville Academy. Nathaniel B. was the son of Stephen and Mary Umbarger. Stephen Umbarger enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War and was captured and made prisoner at Andersonville, dying in Andersonville prison. In 1864 Nathaniel B. was drafted in the Con- federate army and assigned to Company B, Thirtieth Regiment of Virginia Regulars. He fought under Gen. Jubal A. Early until his capture at New Market. He was then made a prisoner of war and confined at Elmira, New York, where he remained until the war closed. He then came to Iowa on free government transportation issued to discharged soldiers, where he stayed a few months with an uncle in the eastern part of the state. He then re- turned to Virginia, where he was married on May 23, 1867, to Mary Agnes Brown, of Wytheville. In March, 1868, he came to Jackson county, Iowa, and settled near Monmouth. In 1873 he moved to Sac county and in 1874 settled on the old homestead farm, where he lived for thirty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Brown Umbarger were the parents of a large family of children: Two daughters, who died in infancy; Lemuel Stephen, who died
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at the age of thirteen; J. Francis, of Odebolt; Clara L. ; William L .; Mrs. Florence L. Norris, of Oelwein, and Arthur G., of Moline, Illinois. In 1906 N. B. Umbarger moved to Odebolt, where he lived until his death, October 26, 1911.
J. F. Umbarger was educated in the Odebolt schools and later spent one year in Miami University and one year in Carthage College, at Carthage, Illinois. He was married in 1896 and since then has been farming for him- self. For three years he rented before moving on his farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Richland township. On March 1, 1913, he moved to Palo Alto county and settled on a five-hundred-acre farm, where he is now living.
Mr. Umbarger was married February 29, 1896, to Winifred D. Ballard, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Ballard, of Odebolt. To this union have been born six children, one of whom died in infancy. The remaining five children who are living are Morris, Max, Percy, Margaret and Frank.
Mr. Umbarger has always been interested in politics and was the leader in the Republican party until the organization of the Progressive party in the summer of 1912. He then became a member of the Progressive party and took an active part in its organization in this county. He served one term as township clerk and as school director. Religiously, he and his family are loyal members of the Presbyterian church and contribute of their sub- stance to its support. Mr. Umbarger has been prominently identified with the life of his community up to the time when he left the county. He en- joyed, to a marked degree, the esteem of his neighbors and friends, because he was a true type of an enterprising citizen who is interested in the welfare of his community. This county lost an excellent citizen when he moved to Palo Alto county.
OLDEN C. ROBINSON.
A prosperous farmer of Richland township, Sac county, Iowa, is Olden C. Robinson, who, although he has been deprived of his hearing from chiklhood, yet is one of the most prosperous, as well as one of the most highly respected. citizens of his township. He was born November 2. 1881, in Odebolt, lowa, the son of H. C. and Jeannette Robinson, who were old pio- neer settlers of Sac county. The history of Jeannette Robinson gives the family genealogy of the Robinsons and will be found elsewhere in this volume.
When a child Olden C. Robinson met with an accident which deprived
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him of his hearing. Consequently, he was educated in the School for the Deaf at Council Bluffs, Jowa, where he left in 1901. Notwithstanding this handi- cap, he is happy, contented and a genial man to meet. He began farming operations in 1902, on a rented farm in Clinton township, and in 1910 bought his present farm adjoining the western side of Odebolt, for which he paid one hundred and thirty-one dollars and a quarter for the land, and it is now easily worth two hundred and fifty dollars an acre. He is a breeder of fine horses, and in 1913 produced fifteen head of horses for the market. In addition he raised twenty-nine head of cattle and about fifty head of hogs.
Mr. Robinson was married February 11, 1904, in Lamoni, Iowa. to Loretta Stedman, the daughter of Eli and Adelia L. Stedman, natives of Ohio and New York, respectively. His wife was also educated in the School for the Deaf at Council Bluffs. Iowa, where they met. They are a devoted couple and thoroughly enjoy life in all its aspects. Mrs. Robinson supple- mented the training received at Council Bluffs by further educational work in Faribault, Minnesota, and she and her husband are great readers and both keep thoroughly informed on the march of civilization as reflected in the best literature of the day. Mrs. Robinson is of a fine family, her father being of English descent with a trace of Indian blood in his veins. Her mother was of Scotch-Irish parentage. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Methodist church and gives to it his earnest support. Mrs. Robinson belongs to the Church of Latter-day Saints. Politically, Mr. Robinson is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in the political arena.
JAMES HAMAND.
The present age is essentially utilitarian and the life of every successful man carries a lesson which, told in contemporary narrative, is productive of much good in shaping the destiny of others. There is, therefore, a due measure of satisfaction in presenting, even in brief resume, the life and achievements of such men, and in preparing the following history of the progressive farmer and enterprising citizen whose name appears above, it is with the hope that it may prove not only interesting and instructive, but also serve as an incentive to those who contemplate making agriculture their life work.
James Hamand, one of the largest individual land owners of Sac county, Iowa, was born March 1. 1839, at Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, the
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son of James and Eliza Hamand, who were natives of Perry county, that state, and at the time of his birth James Hamand was a merchant in Zanes- ville, and later was engaged in the mercantile business in Columbus, Ohio. Lexington, Kentucky, and Mount Vernon, Ohio. In 1849 James Hamand went to California, with the "Forty-niners" and died there. Mr. and Mrs. James Hamand, Sr., were the parents of four children: James, Jr., with whom this narrative deals; John: Thomas, and Jane, who now lives with her brother, James.
James Hamand, Jr., was reared in Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, by his paternal grandfather, John Hamand, who was a leading citizen of that county. He attended the common schools, as well as the high school at Somerset, and was given a good educational training. At the age of twenty he took a tour west to the Rocky mountains, and when twenty-one years of age settled in Macon county, Illinois, on a farm. Here he lived and pros- pered until 1882, when he came to Sac county and purchased six hundred and forty acres of land at six dollars an acre. In 1902 he purchased three hundred and twenty acres across the road from his previous purchase, for which he paid eighty dollars an acre. In 1907 he bought one hundred and twenty-seven acres, paying one hundred and forty dollars an acre, and he is now the owner of ten hundred and eighty-seven acres of fine land, with nine hundred and sixty acres of it in one large farm south of Schaller, this county. He has about twenty sets of buildings on his farms and until a few years ago Mr. Hamand had personal supervision of his extensive farming operations. He now has four tenants on his farms, being compelled by ad- vancing age to relinquish some of his former activities. He has a fine, large home and since coming to this county he has planted large groves of trees and orchards over his land, and so prolific has been the growth that some of the trees in the open measure as much as two feet in diameter. He has raised large herds of cattle and hogs and farmed on an extensive scale with very profitable results.
For many years Mr. Hamand and his sister, Jane, have lived together. She has been his faithful companion and housekeeper and has helped him with her advice and counsel in a way which has been beneficial to him. She is an intelligent and cultured woman who has a large circle of friends and acquaintances in the county.
Politically, Mr. Hamand is an independent Republican and reserves the right of the free-born American citizen to cast his vote as he pleases. In 1896 he voted for Bryan and in 1912 he voted for Wilson. He is well in- formed upon all current issues of the day and is a man who has an enviable
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name for his honesty and upright character. His career has been noteworthy in view of the fact that he has attained such a pronounced success in agricul- tural lines in this county. He has always been a hard worker and until a few years ago he was always to be found in the fields. He can now look back over a life which has been well spent in every particular and feel that he has lived such a life as will have redounded to his honor and been a benefit to his fellow citizens.
AUGUST HAHNE.
Although the character of the immigrants that come to America today seems to be changing, yet there is not a single doubt but that in years past some of the most sturdy, energetic and progressive people living upon our soil were the ones that came to us from foreign lands. They have brought to us not only the spirit of thrift and endurance, but have contributed to the loyal American spirit to a degree which can hardly be overestimated.
August Hahne, a prosperous farmer of Eureka township, in Sac county, Iowa, was born in September, 1859, in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. His parents, Frederick and Sophia ( Domeier) Hahne, were both natives of Ger- many, who came to America in the later thirties and hewed out a home for themselves in the dense forests of Wisconsin. In 1863. when August was only four years of age, they moved to Allamakee county, Iowa, where they stayed for eight years. In 1871 the family moved to Sac county, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hahne have four sons and two daughters living: Henry ; Herman, whose history is delineated elsewhere in this volume; William; August; Mina and Sophia.
August Hahne went to school in Allamakee county, Iowa, and Sac county, and from his earliest boyhood helped with the work on the home farm. At the age of twenty-two he started to seek his fortune, and picked up land in Eureka township, in this county, which he now owns. On his farm of two hundred and forty-seven acres he has built a fine home, excellent barn and other outbuildings. He has fenced, drained and improved it in such a way as to increase its productivity as well as add to its value. He has put out groves and orchards and has one of the most attractive places in the township. While he raises all the crops peculiar to this locality, he makes a specialty of stock raising and produces annually for the market twenty head of cattle and one hundred head of hogs. In his forty-two years of farming in this county, he has acquired a reputation as one of the most progressive
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and up-to-date farmers of the county, one who is always at the forefront in every laudable enterprise concerning the public welfare.
Mr. Hahne was married December 18, 1888, to Margaret Van Atta, a native of Wisconsin and the daughter of Joseph Van Atta and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Hahne have seven children living, all of whom are at home: Walter, Clarence, George, Henry, Leonard, Bernice and Gladys. The five younger children are still in school and are being given the best educational advantages which the local schools provide.
Politically, Mr. Hahn is a Republican, but, like thousands of other Republicans, in 1912 he changed his ballot for the first time and voted for Woodrow Wilson. The Western states particularly seemed to have had thousands of men who were not blind partisans, but who really voted their convictions and cast their ballot for men and principles which they believed to be for the best interest of the country at large. Mr. Hahne is a man who has won the respect and admiration of his fellow citizens because of the wholesome life he has lived in this township. He and his wife are hospitable people and have a large circle of friends and acquaintances in the community.
HENRY HIX.
One of the few native-born farmers of Richland township, Sac county, Iowa, is Henry Hix, who, by thrift and economy, has attained to a position of influence and prominence in his home township. He is the descendant of German parentage and has inherited those sterling characteristics of the Germanic race which have made them such valuable citizens in this county. While he has been advancing his own material interests, he does not neglect his part in that higher life which makes a man the most valuable member of his community.
Henry Hix, of Richland township, was born May 30, 1876, in Boyer Valley township, this county. His parents, John and Margaret ( Reitzel) Hix, were both natives of Germany. John Hix came to America when a young man and settled in Sac county, Iowa, where he married Margaret Reitzel, and shortly after their marriage they moved to Boyer Valley town- ship, where he died in 1880, leaving his widow with seven children: Mrs. Eva Dusenberg, of Garner, Iowa; George, of Storm Lake, this state: Charles, a resident of Sac City; Conrad, of Storm Lake; Henry and Edward, twins, who both live in Richland township, this county, and Caroline, who is living
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with her mother in Odebolt. Mrs. Hix and her children moved to Richland township about 1890, where the mother lived until she moved to Odebolt, in the spring of 1908.
Henry Hix has had charge of the home farm since he was grown to maturity, and in addition to farming the eighty acres of the home farm he has purchased eighty acres of his own adjoining the old home place, for which he paid one hundred dollars an acre in 1906, and has had the satisfac- tion of seeing it greatly advance in value since it has come into his possession. He is a successful farmer by virtue of the fact that he combines his grain and stock raising in such a way as to net him the largest returns.
Mr. Hix was married January 6, 1908, to Anna Buehler, the daughter of Sebastian and Mary Buehler, who were old pioneers of Richland town- ship, and to this marriage have been born a son, Marion, born July 4, 1910, and a daughter. Louise, born March 12, 1913. The history of the Buehler family is found elsewhere in this volume, under the sketch of Sebastian Bueller, deceased.
Mr. Hix has identified himself politically with the Republican party and. although deeply interested in the chief political questions of the day, he has never been an aspirant for office at the hands of his party. He and the members of his family are loyal adherents of the German Methodist Episco- pal church. and render to it their earnest and zealous support at all times. Fraternally, he is a member of the Royal Highlanders. Since the world at large judges a community by the character of its citizens, it is but fair to say that Mr. Hix is one of the large representative class of American citizens in his township, who, in the aggregate, have placed their township on a par with any in the county.
ARCHIE P. CRANSTON.
"Like father, like son." The time-tried and never-found-wanting adage, where conditions have been right in the upbringing of children with a high regard for the moral rectitude of living and with an excellent example of the highest sort of citizenship as a guide to the best development of in- herited talents, will apply to the Cranston family specifically and generally. Archie P. Cranston, son of James and Fanny ( Clapp) Cranston, of whom this work is pleased to give extensive mention, is one of the progressive and rising young farmers of Richland township.
Archie P. Cranston was born December 5. 1877. in Benton county.
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Iowa, and came to Sac county with his parents in 1878. He received his education in the nearby district school and the Odebolt high school. He as- sisted in tilling his father's acreage until 1901, when he moved on the place which he now owns and began farming on his own responsibility. In 1909 he purchased eighty acres comprising his farm from his father, paying there- for the high price of one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. This farm pro- duces in excess of twenty head of Shorthorn cattle yearly and from forty to one hundred head of hogs.
Mr. Cranston is a Progressive in politics and is now serving his second term as clerk of Richland township. He is allied with the Presbyterian faith, which has been the faith of his forefathers for many generations.
Mr. Cranston was married on February 5, 1902, to Grace Estella Traver, who was born in Illinois, the daughter of Luther Traver, a native of New York, whose wife, Fanny Traver, was a native of England. To the Crans- tons has been born one son, Kenneth Preston, born December 16, 1912.
HERMAN C. HESS.
Among the successful farmers of Sac county there is a surprisingly large number of citizens of German descent. While many nations have con- tributed to the population of this county, there is no nation which has furnished more or better citizens than has Germany. Wherever they have settled in this county they have quickly identified themselves with the various interests of their community and have given to their adopted country the same loyal support which they accorded to their native land before coming to this country.
Herman C. Hess, a prosperous farmer of Clinton township, this county, was born August 9. 1858, in Germany, on the isle of Ruegen in the East Baltic sea. He is the son of August and Caroline ( Blisath) Hess. August Hess was born October 19, 1819, and died in July, 1904. The wife of August Hess died when Herman C. was less than two years of age, and August Hess later remarried. In 1873 August Hess and his family came to America and settled in Cedar county. Iowa, and three years later permanently located in Clinton township. Sac county.
Herman C. Hess received his elementary education in the schools of Germany, but upon coming to this country assisted his father on the home farm until his marriage, in 1885. He then built a home on his farm in
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Clinton township and in 1903 built a new house with all modern improve- ments. He put out orchards, groves and other trees upon his farm, thereby adding greatly to its value. He raises all of the crops peculiar to this locality and in addition supplements his income by marketing considerable live stock cach year.
Mr. Hess was married in 1885 to Minnie Zein, the daughter of Christopher and Mary Zein. The father of Mrs. Hess is dead and hier mother is still living at Wall Lake in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hess are the parents of seven children, William, Mary. Henry, Caroline, Martin. Herman and Wilma. Mary, who is married and lives in Minnesota, has one child, Marvin.
Politically. Mr. Hess is a Republican, but has never felt that he had the time to engage in politics, although he casts an intelligent vote and takes an interest in the public questions which are now confronting the American people. He and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and give liberally to its support. Mr. Hess is a fine example of the many German citizens who have been so influential in making Sac county the prosperous section it is today. He has many friends throughout the town- ship and county who admire him because of his honesty and wholesome life.
WILLIAM HAHNE.
Among the prosperous farmers of Sac county, who are of German descent, is William Hahne, of Eden township, who is now operating a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in this township. He was born Novem- ber 12, 1867, in Allamakee county, Iowa, and is the son of Frederick and Sophia (Dohmeier) Hahne.
Frederick Hahne and his wife were both born, reared and married in Germany and emigrated to this country in 1848. They first settled in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, and in 1863 moved to Allamakee county, Iowa. They purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in that county and lived there for ten years, and in 1873 they sold this tract for sixty dollars an acre and moved to Eden township, Sac county, where they invested in land in section 17. Frederick Hahne died in 1890, and his wife in Septem- ber, 1882. They were the parents of eleven children: Frederick H., de- ceased ; Simon C., deceased; Mrs. Sophia Schorer, who is a resident of Cali- fornia; Henry J., who lives in Storm Lake, Iowa ; Herman; Mrs. Mina Luh-
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man, of Schaller, this county; August, a farmer of Eureka township; Mary, deceased; and William, whose history forms the theme of this narrative.
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