USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 85
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
William Hahne was five years of age when his parents moved to Sac county from Allamakee county, Iowa, and has lived on the farm which his parents bought in 1873 until the present time. He attended the district schools near his home, and later graduated from the Business College of Iowa City University in 1888. At the close of his college career he took charge of the home farm and in 1892 engaged in the implement business in Schaller. After conducting this business for nine years he sold out and returned to the farm, where he has since lived.
Mr. Hahne was married in the fall of 1889 to Lillian Eliza Perrott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius C. Perrott, of Schaller, and to this union there has been born one son, William Frederick, who was born Janu- ary 27, 1899.
Politically, Mr. Hahne is a Republican and has been honored by his party by being nominated for township trustee and subsequently elected to that important position. and he is administering the affairs of that office to the entire satisfaction of all of the citizens of his township, irrespective of party lines. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which order he takes an active interest. Mr. Hahne has always taken an active and interested part in the public affairs of his township and believes that the true American citizen best serves his community who takes his full share of the responsibilities of the official life of his community. For this reason he has felt that in performing the duties of township trustee he has been serving his fellow citizens in the best possible manner. He is a man of genial manner and pleasing personality and has a large number of loyal friends and acquaintances who admire him for his many good qualities.
CHARLES AUSTIN EDSON.
Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Sac county within the pages of this work, citizens who have figured in the growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests have been identified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well-being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he whose name appears above, peculiar interest attaching to his career from the fact that thirty years of his life have been spent within the borders of this county.
CHARLES A. EDSON
865
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
Charles A. Edson, a prosperous farmer, public-spirited citizen and dis- tinguished Son of the Revolution, was born in September, 1847, in eastern Canada, on the Vermont line. He is one of the fortunate few who are able to trace their ancestry back to the body of American citizens who came over in the "Mayflower" in 1620. Alexander Edson, the great-grandfather of C. A. Edson, was in the Revolutionary War and his grandfathers on both sides, Alexander Edson and Timothy Wyman, were in the War of 1812. After the War of 1812, Alexander Edson settled on the Vermont-Canada line, where they lived the remainder of their days. The parents of C. A. Edson were Truman and Amanda Edson, who were natives of Maine, and never left their native country. They were the parents of three children, who are still living : C. A., whose history is portrayed here; Mrs. Mary Dexter, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Mrs. Eliza Boynton, of Tacoma, Washington.
C. A. Edson left the parental home when he was eighteen years of age, came west and located near Joliet. Illinois. in Will county. He stayed in Illinois until after his marriage, in 1870, and came to Sac county in 1885, where he bought three hundred and twenty acres of his present farm, in Eureka township, for which he paid thirty-seven and a half dollars an acre. The land at this time was but partially improved, and since he has acquired it he has built a new house and barn, and fenced and drained it in such way as to increase its value. Since buying the first three hundred and twenty acres he has never felt that he could successfully manage any more land, and con- sequently has devoted all his energy to the development of this half section. He raises a large amount of stock each year, specializing in cattle and hogs. In 1913 his farm produced seventy head of cattle and one hundred and twenty- five head of hogs, for which he found a ready market at a good price.
Mr. Edson was married September II, 1870, to Elizabeth Barr, a native of Ireland. Mrs. Edson lost both her parents when she was an infant, and she came to this country from the north of Ireland when fourteen years of age with her sister and three brothers. Mr. and Mrs. Edson are the parents of four children : John T., who now manages the Lakeside farin at Storm Lake, and was for many years a banker at Schaller, Sac county; Willis C., who is an attorney in Storm Lake, Iowa; Mrs. Margaret Mandeville, of Brookings county, South Dakota, and Emma, who is still with her parents.
In politics, Mr. Edson has always allied himself with the Republican party, but in 1912 he felt that the best interests of the country demanded a return of the Democratic party at the head of national affairs and, in accord- ance with this belief, he voted for Woodrow Wilson. He has always taken a
(54)
866
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
prominent part in local politics, and has served as school director and town- ship trustee for ten years in his township. He has filled these positions to the entire satisfaction of all of the citizens of the township, irrespective of their politics. Mr. Edson has been a man of strict integrity and a high sense of honor. In the score and a half years which have elapsed since he became a resident of the township he has built up a reputation which has won for him the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
ANGUS McCORKINDALE.
Human life is like the waves of the sea ; they flash a few brief moments in the sunlight, marvels of power and beauty, and then are dashed upon the remorseless shores of death and disappear forever. As the mighty deep has rolled for ages past and chanted its sublime requiem and will continue to roll during the coming ages until time shall be no more, so will the waves of human life follow each other in countless succession until they mingle at last with the billows of eternity's boundless sea. The passing of any human life. however humble and unknown, is sure to give rise to a pang of anguish to some heart, but when the "fell destroyer" knocks at the door of the useful and great and removes from earthly scenes the man of honor and influence and the benefactor of his kind, it not only means bereavement to kindred and friends but a public calamity as well.
The late Angus McCorkindale was born September 15, 1850, in Argyle, Argyleshire, Scotland, and died in Sac county, Iowa, on June 10, 1912. He came to America with his parents. four brothers and two sisters in July, 1865, and settled in Clinton county, Iowa. In 1878 the family moved to Sac county and located a farm in Richland township.
Mr. McCorkindale received his elementary education in the public schools of Scotland and on coming to this country assisted on the home farm until his marriage. He was married on September 21, 1882, to Florence A. Maloney, of Mt. Carroll, Illinois. She was born in Carroll county, Illinois, April 17. 1862, and is the daughter of J. S. and Frances Maloney, natives of Delaware and Canada, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. McCorkindale were born nine children : Mrs. Kate Pelton, the widow of Dr. H. C. Pelton, who died January 1, 1912, is now living with her mother and has one son, Robert A. The other children of Mr. and Mrs. McCorkindale are Jessie, Donald, Florence, William, Dorothy, Kenneth and two who are deceased, Florence
867
SAC COUNTY. IOWA.
Grace and John Howard. Jessie is now in the University of Wisconsin, attending the school of domestic science.
Mr. McCorkindale was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Religiously, he was a life-long member of the Presbyterian church and was earnest in the faith as exemplified by that denomination. He was a man whom to know was to admire and because of his many good qualities of head and heart he had a host of friends throughout the community where he spent so many years of his life. In addition to his widow and the children, he was survived by one brother and two sisters: Malcolm, of Wakefield, Nebraska ; Mrs. Catherine Stuart, of Wall Lake, and Mrs. Richard Shilleto, of Canada. Mr. McCorkindale was a plain, simple and dignified man, his devotion to every duty was intense, while his perfection of truth and worth made him a man who was esteemed by everyone. Always calm and straightforward. his life was a steady effort for the worth of Christian doctrine, the purity and grandeur of Christian principles and the duty and elevation of Christian character.
PAT QUINN.
It is probably true that no people on earth have suffered more indig- nities and have had more discouragements to meet than have the people of the little island of Ireland. For more than three hundred years they have been under the domination of England and until within the last few years it was practically impossible for a native of the island to own iand in fee simple. The result has been that its most enterprising citizens have left the country by the thousands, and there is not a state in the Union but what claims some of these sturdy people of the Emerald isle among its citizens. Among the settlers of Sac county, Iowa, who are of Irish descent and have made a phenomenal success in the agricultural line in this county, there is no one who is more deserving of mention than Pat Quinn, a farmer and stock breeder of Viola township, this county.
Pat Quinn was born April 4, 1855, in county Kilkenny, Ireland, and is the son of Edward and Johanna ( Burke) Quinn. Mrs. Edward Quinn died in Ireland in 1913, at the advanced age of ninety years. Three sons and one daughter were born to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Quinn: Pat, of whom this narrative speaks : Michael. now living on the old home farm in Ireland ;
868
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
Thomas J .. who lives in Nebraska : Kate, who died at the home of Mr. Quinn and is buried at Wall Lake, lowa.
Pat Quinn received a very meager education in his home country and when sixteen years of age left home for the New World, and upon arrival in this country he at once went to DeKalb county, Illinois, where he lived for nine years. In 1880 he and his wife came to Sac county, Iowa, and bought eighty acres of land. but later sold this tract and then purchased the farm where he is now living in Viola township. Mr. and Mrs. Quinn have been successful from the start of their agricultural career in this country and are now the owners of three hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land in Viola township, one hundred and twenty aeres in Boyer Valley township. four hundred and eighty acres in Nebraska and the five eldest children own six hundred and forty aeres in Colorado, which gives them a total of one thousand five hundred and sixty acres of land, truly a remarkable acreage, which they have acquired solely through his own thrift and industry. Mr. Quinn has been a large breeder of Aberdeen Angus cattle since 1893 and is now the owner of a herd of one hundred cattle, including twenty thorough- bred registered animals. He has been breeding Percheron horses since 1889. and now has twenty-five head of these animals. He has a fine farm in Viola township within sight of the town of Wall Lake.
Mr. Quinn was married at Clinton, Iowa, in November, 1882, to Mary King, the daughter of James and Anna (Wynne) King. James King was a native of Ireland and came to America in 1848, was married in this country and first settled in Chicago. Later the King family moved to Clinton, Iowa, . and in 1890 came to Sac county and settled in Viola township, where James King died January 28. 1807 ; his wife had preceded him in death in November of 1892. Mr. and Mrs. King were the parents of ten children, six of whom are living : Patrick, a resident of Oklahoma; Mrs. Eleanor McDermot, of Union City, Pennsylvania : Mary, the wife of Mr. Quinn: Elizabeth, who lives in Chicago; Catherine and Thomas, both residents of Viola township. this county. Mr. and Mrs. Quinn are the parents of ten children: James Richard, of Boyer Valley township, who is married and has one daughter, Muriel Dorothy; Edward Vincent ; Anna Eleanor; Johanna Agatha ; Mary Cecilia ; Elizabeth Frances; Catherine, deceased: John Wynne: Eleanor Margaret and Patrick Francis.
Mr. Quinn is a Democrat in politics and has been honored by his party by being nominated for the office of township trustee and was elected to this important position, serving for one term to the eminent satisfaction of all the citizens of the township. He and his family are carnest members of
SAC COUNTY, IOWA. 869
the Catholic church and give of their time and means to the support of the church of their choice. Mr. Quinn is an admirable citizen in every way and has always taken an active interest in the various enterprises of his township. He is interested in schools and in the moral and religious life of his com- munity, as well as every enterprise which promises to better the conditions of his locality. He has a host of friends and acquaintances throughout the township and county, who admire him for his many good qualities.
JAMES T. IRWIN.
Among the representative farmers of Sac county is the subject of this sketch, who is the owner of a fine landed estate in Boyer Valley township and is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequence in definite success, having always been a hard worker, a good manager and a man of economical habits, and, being fortunately situated in a thriving farming community, it is no wonder that he stands today in the front rank of the agriculturists of this favored locality.
James T. Irwin, a prosperous farmer of Boyer Valley township, Sac county, Jowa, was born December 4, 1868, in Clinton county, Iowa. His parents, William Henry and Mary ( Waugh) Irwin, were both natives of Pennsylvania and settled in Clinton county, Iowa, in about 1866. Here they remained on a farm until the spring of 1895, when they moved to Sac county. where the father died December 22, 1910; the mother is still living and makes her home with her children. To William H. and Mary Irwin were born nine children: George, deceased; Edward, of Sac City; Charles WV., of Clinton township, this county ; Walter, of Wall Lake township: Mrs. Aletta Vaughn, of Sioux City: Mrs. Jennie Davenport, of this county ; Will- iam, of Clinton township; James T .. whose history is herein portrayed. and Austin, of Odebolt.
James T. Irwin was educated in the public schools of Clinton county and remained on the home farm until his marriage in 1895. His parents then moved to Sac county, while he remained on the old home farm in Clinton county for the next three years. In 1898 he moved to Sac county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of forty-dollar land in Boyer Valley township. To this he added eighty acres, which he purchased in 1907 for one hundred and eight dollars an acre. He has improved his farm in various ways by the
870
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
erection of new buildings and the building of a great deal of fencing as well as the installation of a system of drainage. He has practically rebuilt all his barns and outbuildings and in 1904 erected a new ten-room house, which is modern throughout. He has his own private electric plant, which furnishes him power and lighting for his own use, a convenience which is enjoyed by few farmers in this section of the state. His farm is very productive in both grains and live stock and his annual shipment of stock includes a car load of cattle and one hundred head of hogs each year.
Mr. Irwin was married in 1895 to Martha D. Hill, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hill, of Clinton county, Iowa. To this marriage have been born four children : Ralph J., born December 11, 1895 : Earl H., born Febril- ary 6. 1900; Helen M., born September 11. 1907, and William Henry, born April 7, 1911.
Mr. Irwin is a Republican of progressive tendencies and has always kept himself well informed on the various political issues which confront the American people. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and render it such assistance as is in their power. Mr. Irwin is a fine type of the self-made man who has taken advantage of conditions and by his energy and persistence made a home for himself in this region of the United States.
FRANCIS T. MARTIN.
One of the successful farmers and stock breeders of Viola township, Sac county, who has risen to a position of prominence, and is surrounded by extensive land holding's and commodious buildings of various kinds, is Francis T. Martin, who has a fine home located about midway between the towns of Wall Lake and Lake View. The distance between these two towns is four and one-half miles, and Mr. Martin's home is on the main thoroughfare and enables him to transact business at either point with but little inconvenience. On his farm two residences are maintained, barns of ample size, outbuildings of all kinds, silos, and every modern equipment which is usually found on a farm of this kind.
Being essentially a farmer, Mr. Martin has made his greatest success in the breeding of pure bred Aberdeen Angus cattle. His father, the late M. A. Martin, was one of the pioneer breeders of Angus cattle, and the success that he achieved would form an interesting chapter in the history of the breed. At the time of the dispersion of his herd in 1899 the work was turned
87
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
over to his son, Francis T. Martin, who is now entering upon the twenty- eighth year that he has been identified with the breed. But little attention was paid to the public exhibition of his stock, but cattle that were bred on the farm won distinguished careers in the greatest shows of the country. Probably his greatest success in this line was the bull "Valiant Knight 2d," bred on the farm and who was first in his class for three successive years at the International show at Chicago. This is the only bull of the breed that has won this honor up to the present time.
Francis T. Martin was born March 18, 1874, in St. Croix county, Wis- consin, the son of M. A. and Catherine Martin, both of whom were natives of Ireland, and who emigrated to America at an early date, first settling in Ohio, and later in Wisconsin. The senior Mr. Martin came to Sac county in the year 1875. and at the time of his death was the owner of seven hun- dre.l and forty acres of land, with improvements on each quarter section.
Francis T. Martin was educated in the district schools and later in the Wall Lake high school. He has been a wide reader on all matters pertaining to progressive agriculture and to improved live stock production. He has always displayed unbounded faith in live stock and land, and the Lakeside farm, upon which he resides, has been known for a third of a century as the home of the best improved stock that skill and judgment could produce.
Mr. Martin was married April 24. 1911, to Ada Albright, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albright, of Boone, Iowa. Their union has been blessed with a daughter, Mary Catherine, now two years of age.
Politically, Mr. Martin is a member of that large and increasingly numerous body of men who prefer to cast their ballot for the best men at election, irrespective of party affiliations. The day of partisan politics is past, fortunately, and men are now voting their convictions. Instead of stamping the eagle or the rooster. they are now glancing down the list of candidates, and are using judgment in selecting men who will represent the best interests of the people as a whole. He is not a member of any fraternal organization, but is active in the affairs of the National Aberdeen Angus Breeders' Association, as well as the Iowa State Breeders' Association.
Mr. Martin has established a firm reputation for honesty of purpose in all his dealings with his fellow men, and is a thorough believer in the work- ings of the Golden Rule and of its application to every day life. His qualities of head and heart are of commendable character, and he has always striven to contribute something that is worth while to the community in which he has spent practically every day of his life. The work that he has accomplished is worthy of specific mention in a volume of the character of the one in hand.
872
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
JOHN H. GOSCH.
There are no thriftier people in Sac county today than those who are of German descent and while they have always been successful in their busi- ness affairs, they have also taken their full share in the public life of their respective communities.
John H. Gosch, one of the most prosperous farmers of Levey township, Sac county, Iowa, was born September 9. 1857, in Schleswig. Holstein, Germany. He is the son of Peter Frederick and Mary (Kuhr) Gosch, who spent all their lives in the land of their birth.
John H. Gosch received a good practical education in the public schools of Germany and when twenty-five years of age left his native land and came direct to Odebolt, Sac county, Iowa, landing here on October 9th. A few years later he married and went on a rented farm in Levey township, where he lived for three years. In 1888 he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land for twenty-six dollars an acre and in 1894 he added forty acres ad- joining at the cost of fifty dollars an acre, bought from J. H. Knappen. The next purchase was in 1809, when he bought eighty acres at fifty dollars an acre from C. E. Allen : in 1906 he added eighty more acres adjoining at a total cost of sixty-four hundred dollars, purchased of Josias Skinner. In 1909 he purchased a quarter section in Osceola county. this state, for which he paid fifty-five dollars an acre. He has been prosperous from the start and is now recognized as a progressive farmer who never neglects to take advantage of the latest improvements in machinery or the newest methods in crop production. In 1910 he built a new home, enlarged his barn, erected a large corn crib and other buildings. In 1914 he erected a new barn, fifty by sixty feet in size. He markets from seventy-five to a hundred head of cattle and one hundred head of hogs annually.
Mr. Gosch was married March 10, 1885, to Mary M. Fleck. She was born September 12, 1863, in Germany and is the daughter of Johann Henry and Sophia Magdalena ( Seeman) Fleck. She came to this country from her native land in 1883. To Mr. and Mrs. Gosch have been born ten chil- dren : Fred, who was accidentally killed while plowing on September 30. 1913, was twenty-seven years of age, married and left his widow with two children, Alfred Robert and Christian August : Johannes D., of Osceola county, who is married and has one son, Marvin Herman; Edward, of Levey township, who is married and has one daughter. Vera Edna. The remain- ing seven children, still with their parents. are Lorena Mary. Elsie Wilhel- mina, Wilhelm, Elbert, Edna. Robert and Arthur.
873
SAC COUNTY, IOWA.
Mr. Gosch has identified himself with the Democratic party since coming to this country, but is not a blind partisan, reserving the right to cast his ballot for the right man irrespective of politics. Since settling in his township he has served six years as township assessor and filled this position to the entire satisfaction of all of his fellow citizens. He and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and contribute generously of their substance to its support. Mr. Gosch reserves a great deal of credit for his success, which has come about solely through his own efforts. He came to this county with no money and in the course of a few years was recognized as one of the substantial farmers of his township. He is a man who takes things easy and because of his clean and wholesome life is highly regarded by everyone with whom he is associated.
CHARLES A. MARTIN.
Among the prosperous farmers and stock breeders of Viola township, Sac county, Iowa, who have made a notable success in their line of business. is Charles A. Martin, who was born December 25. 1867. in St. Croix county, Wisconsin, near New Richmond. He is a son of Michael A. and Katherine (Donahue) Martin, who were both natives of Ireland.
Michael Martin and Catherine Donahue came to America with their parents when they were children. They met in Wisconsin and were married in that state. In 1875 they came to Sac county, Iowa, settling in section 5, of this township, where they accumulated six hundred and sixty acres of land. Michael Martin was born in 1839 and died in August, 1913. while his wife is still living in Carroll, Iowa. Michael Martin and wife were the parents of seven children : Nora. the wife of J. J. Kemper, of Carroll. Iowa : D. E., of Roswell. New Mexico: Charles A., with whom this narrative deals; G. E., of Aurora. Illinois: Francis T., a stock breeder of this township; Clarence N., of Carroll county, this state, and Mrs. J. F. Holland, also of Carroll county.
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.