USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 86
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Charles A. Martin was educated in the district schools of Wisconsin and Iowa, coming to Iowa with his parents when he was eight years of age and attended school for some time after coming to this state. He assisted his father on the work of his large farm until his marriage in 1898. He and his brother bought a farm in partnership in that year and continued to operate it together until the spring of 1909, when he sold out his interests in the
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farm and purchased his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Viola township, in sections 5 and 8. For many years he has been a breeder of registered live stock, making a specialty of Aberdeen Angus cattle, and had in 1913 sixty-five head of registered stock of this kind. His farm is well improved in every way and he has a large and commodious barn and other outbuildings.
Mr. Martin was married in September, 1898, to Nellie Duffy, of Water- loo, Iowa, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Duffy, and to this union have been born four children: Margaret, aged eleven years: Cyril, aged eight ; Charles, aged five, and Arnold, who died in infancy.
While Mr. Martin is nominally a Democrat, yet he is independent in his voting. He reserves the right to cast his ballot for the best man, irre- spective of politics. If every voter in the United States would exercise the same judgment much of the outcry against our officials would cease. He and his family are all earnest and devoted members of the Catholic church and contribute liberally of their substance and time to the support of their denomination. He is a man of liberal views, believing in progress and im- provement, and does what he can to further these ends. He takes an inter- est in whatever he thinks will make for the material advancement of his county, as well as its social, intellectual and moral good.
ALEXANDER McGEACHY.
From the nations of Europe have come many of the best citizens of Sac county, Iowa, and among these there have been a few who have claimed far- away Scotland as their native land. While that country has furnished only a few settlers for this county, yet the few who have come here have pros- pered and made good homes for themselves in this county. In their home country they learned habits of industry which they invariably brought with them to this country and wherever they have settled they have soon become among the most substantial citizens of their respective communities. Among the citizens of Sac county who are of Scottish ancestry, the late Alexander McGeachy stands as a prominent example.
Alexander McGeachy was born at Glen Barr. Killian parish, Argyle- shire. Scotland, on July 7, 1847, and died in this county on January 18, 1902. His parents were Malcolm and Jean ( McCorkindale) McGeachy, the first of
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whom lived and died in his native land. Jean came to America in 1873 and died a few years later in Sac county.
Alexander McGeachy came to America in 1870 and immediately went to Illinois, where he settled temporarily near Rockford. In the fall of the sanie year he went farther west and settled in Clinton county, Iowa, where he remained until his marriage. in 1878. He and his young wife then came to Sac county and located on a farm of one hundred acres on section 31. Clinton township. Six years later they were able to add sixty acres to their farm and by the time of Mr. McGeachy's death in 1902 they owned a fine farm of two hundred acres in this township. The land at first was a vast unbroken prairie, but they applied themselves with true Scottish determina- tion to the task of bringing the land under cultivation and succeeded beyond their expectations.
Mr. McGeachy was married on January 10, 1878, in Monroe county, Iowa, to Isabelle McQuistan, who was born on February 14, 1852, at Saddell, Scotland, and is the daughter of Edward and Margaret ( Me. Allister) Mc- Quistan. The McQuistan family came to America in 1875 and first settled at Rockford, Winnebago county, Illinois. In 1881 they came to Sac county, where they lived the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. McQuistan were the parents of ten children : Mrs. John McLean, of this county ; Donald, of Pender, Nebraska; John and Ronald, of Bloomfield, Nebraska; Mary, of Sioux City, Iowa ; Mrs. John MeCullum, of Bloomfield, Nebraska, and Mrs. Andrew Bruce, of Kingsley, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. McGeachy were born seven children: Malcolm, Edward, Jean, Alexander, Margaret, Agnes and Isabelle, who died at the age of five years. Malcolm, Margaret and Alex- ander are still with their mother; Edward is a farmer in Levey township. this county ; Jean married Earl Manly, a farmer of Clinton township, and Agnes is a student in the college at Cedar Rapids, this state.
Mr. McGeachy was a man of high civic ideals and a warm supporter of all measures and enterprises which were to promote the general welfare of his community. Politically, he was a Republican, but, while interested in the great political questions of the day, he never felt that he had the time to engage in politics. He and his family were life-long members of the Presby- terian church and contributed liberally of their means to its support. Mr. McGeachy was a man of great force of character and personality and enjoyed a wide degree of popularity in the community where he spent so many years. He left a good name which will be honored by his friends and cherished by his descendants.
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GEORGE WISEMAN.
The historian knows of no more pleasing or satisfactory accomplish- ment on the part of the individual than to have amassed a competence suffi- cient to enable him to live a contented life, free from care or annoyance, as a tiller of the soil. Owing to the fact that each year sees an increase of the hundreds of thousands of the populace who have to be sustained from the products of the soil. the science of agriculture has grown in importance until it now takes the lead of all occupations. A worthy example of the successful agriculturist who is now retired from the actual labor necessary to produce the crops annually yielded by his fertile acres is George Wiseman, of Sac City.
Mr. Wiseman was born on a farm in Grant county, Wisconsin. on Aug- ust 4. 1858. His parents were John Wiseman. a native of Ireland, and Sarah Lloyd Wiseman, a native of New York state. The father of George Wiseman came to America in the year 1847. when past fifty years of age. He first located in Grant county, Wisconsin. on a farm and was there mar- ried to Sarah Lloyd. He died in Grant county in 1877. He was the father of four hildren: George: Mrs. Mary Crouch, residing near Wall, South Dakota, and two deceased. Mr. Wiseman had nine half brothers and sisters. At one time there were six brothers in Sac county among the early settlers. coming here as early as 1867, namely: Robert, of Auburn, Iowa; John A .. of Auburn: Joseph, a farmer in Calhoun county, having come here in the year 1868: David, who resides now in Missouri; William, a resident of the state of Nebraska; Thomas, deceased: a sister, Mrs. Tanson Tillison, de- ceased: Edward, who died in Grant county, Wisconsin: James, who lives in Kansas.
George Wiseman made his first trip to Iowa in 1879, traveling the length of the state in order to view the country and probably find a suitable place for settlement. Evidently, he decided upon Sac county, for he located here in 1881. He purchased one hundred and thirty acres of land in Coon Valley township, on which he resided for over twenty years. Owing to his frugality and industry he has become the possessor of two very fine farms. totalling four hundred and sixty acres in all, well improved and in a high state of cultivation. He is the owner of eighty acres of land in Calhoun county. He removed to Sac City in 1901 and here resides in a handsome modern home. However, Mr. Wiseman exercises careful supervision over his farms in order that, under tenancy, the lands might not deteriorate in fertility or value.
SAC COUNTY, IOWA. 877
Mr. Wiseman is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Metho- dist church. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, blue lodge and chapter.
Mr. Wiseman was united in marriage, in Grant county, with Mary Bean, in the year 1885. Mrs. Wiseman is a native of Grant county, Wisconsin, and is the mother of four children: Mrs. Maud Whitnell, of Kingsley, Iowa ; Georgia Wiseman, a teacher in Nebraska; Ernest and Albert, at home.
By the exercise of indefatigable industry and good business judgment he has accomplished in a decade what usually requires a lifetime to complete. His first land in Sac township cost him fifteen dollars per acre. It had but few improvements. On the place was a small house, twelve by sixteen feet in extent, which had been erected by a pioneer in 1867. He remodeled this dwelling and later supplanted it with a more commodious residence. In 1895 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres additional and also a piece of timber land bordering on the Coon river for fifteen dollars an acre.
HENRY J. ROBERTS.
A farmer of Sac county who has contributed his share to the material advancement of his community is Henry J. Roberts, of Wall Lake township, who was born July 28, 1874. in Cedar county, Iowa, and is the son of Joseph Johnson Roberts and Martha ( Kelch) Roberts. Joseph Johnson Roberts was born in April, 1831, in Morristown, New Jersey, the son of Joseph Roberts, and came west to Iowa from New Jersey in 1868 and settled in Cedar county, this state, and in 1880 permanently settled in Wall Lake town- ship, Sac county. Martha Kelch was born in Germany, on October 27. 1833, the daughter of Nicholas and Catherine Kelch, both of whom were natives of Germany. Joseph J. Roberts and Martha Kelch were married on March 20, 1855, and they were the parents of nine children : Joseph Francis, born June 16. 1856, died August 27, 1856; Charles C., born August 12, 1857, and died June 12, 1891 : William Martin, born May 7, 1859: George De Forest, born January 2. 1862, died March 10, 1872; Hannah F., born January 19, 1864, died December 29. 1903 ; Joseph Harvey, born February 24. 1867, died October 25, 1907; Mrs. Catherine Reinhart, born April 17, 1860. shot by her husband June 6. 1900: Nicholas J., born February 7. 1873. died .August 15, 1873; Henry Johnson, whose history is here presented, born July 28. 1874. Of these nine children there are only two living, William Martin and Henry
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Johnson. The marriages of the Roberts family are as follows: Charles C. and Lydia Wilcox, on March 14, 1883, have one child, Myrtle; Hannah Roberts and John E. Franklin, March 16, 1887, have three children, Willie, Harvey, and a daughter who died in infancy : they live in Tacoma, Washing- ton : William M. and Eva Fuller, December 25, 1888, have two children, Irene and Gladys, living in Clinton, Iowa; Katherine E. and Perry F. Bricker, March 27, 1888, two children. Percy, living in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the first-born, Henry Johnson, who died in infancy; Joseph Harvey and Mabel Van Trump, July 3. 1893, one child; Eugene, living in Portland, Oregon. Katherine E. Bricker was married the second time February 3, 1900, to Charles Reinhart, and three months afterwards was shot by her husband.
Henry J. Roberts has lived in Wall Lake township since he was six years of age, and has accordingly received his education in this county. He was never married, but lives on the old home place with his uncle, Nicholas Kelch, who was born April 30, 1846, in Morristown, New Jersey. Nicholas Kelch came to Illinois in 1865, and to Cedar county, this state, in 1884. In 1902 he came to Sac county to reside.
Henry J. Roberts is a Republican in politics, but has never been active in the councils of his party. Religiously, his parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their family always attended that church. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and also belon ;. to the Yeomen.
J. W. WILSON.
Fealty to facts in the analyzation of the character of a citizen of the type of J. W. Wilson, a well known and successful business man of Sac county. is all that is required to make a biographical sketch interesting to those who have at heart the good name of the community honored by his residence, because it is the honorable reputation of the man of standing and affairs, more than any other consideration, that gives character and stability to the body politic. While advancing his individual interests, he has never lost sight of his obligations to the community in general, where for many years he has held a high place in popular confidence and esteem.
J. W. Wilson, of the firm of Harter, Wilson, Brownell & Company, of Sac City, Iowa, was born February 23, 1851, in Montezuma. Poweshiek county, Iowa. His parents were Isaac N. and Elizabeth ( Hardin) Wilson. both of whom were natives of lowa. The Wilson and Hardin families left
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Indiana and settled in Jefferson county, Iowa, Isaac Wilson being one of the pioneers of Poweshiek county and assisted in laying out the town of Monte- zuma. in that county. In 1863 Isaac Wilson went to Newton, Iowa, where he was in the mercantile business for a time, then left Newton and removed to Des Moines for three years. He then settled in Jefferson county, where he retired from active business, spending his declining years with his son. J. W .. at Sac City, and died in that place in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac M. Wilson were the parents of five children: Matthew B. and Fred, who are in the West; James W., with whom this narrative deals; Mrs. Margaret E. Morris, a widow of Des Moines, Iowa, and Mrs. Ida M. Sifford, of North Dakota.
J. W. Wilson moved from Jefferson county to Carroll county, Iowa, in 1870, and farmed in that county for the next ten years. In 1880 he located in Wall Lake and engaged in the implement business. After a period of eleven years of successful business in Wall Lake, he moved to Sioux City in 1891 and engaged in the live stock and commission business in the stock yards of that city with Henry Rinehart. under the firm name of Rinehart & Wilson. Two years later he sold out and returned to Wall Lake, where he made the race for county auditor on the Republican ticket. He proved to be an effective campaigner and was elected and gave such an efficient ad- ministration during his first term that he was re-elected. Upon the expira- tion of his second term in 1898 he was appointed postmaster of Sac City and served for the next eight years in that capacity. Upon retiring from the postoffice, he became a member of the firm of Harter, Wilson, Brownell & Company, which deals in agricultural implements, harness, wagons, bug- gies, etc. The firm handles a complete stock of agricultural implements and ve- hieles and carries a twenty-thousand-dollar stock in Sae City, besides a branch office at Nemaha, where they have an equal amount of capital invested in the same business. They also have a branch house at Lytton, this county. The Sae City firm was established by Harter and Wilson in 1904 and in 1905 F. R. Brownell entered the firm. Prior to 1904 the business had been conducted hy J. J. Harter for several years. The firm is now located in a large con- crete and brick three-story building, occupying half a block on Fifth street in Sac City. The firm employs from eight to twelve men all the time and does a large and flourishing business throughout this section of the state.
Mr. Wilson was married on February 27, 1879, in Carroll county, Iowa, to Maria Jane Herring, who was born in Cedar county, Iowa. To this union have been born six children: Maud. who is with her parents: Mrs. Mabel Shulte, of Sac City, Iowa: Mrs. Beatrice Schmererham, of Omaha; Ina, a
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nurse employed in the hospital at Omaha; James, Clifford and Fred, who are still at home with their parents.
The Republican party has claimed the support of Mr. Wilson since he has been old enough to vote and he has always been an active worker in his party. Being recognized as a man of sterling worth and character, he was elected to the office of county auditor and as a result of his efficient work in that office, as well as his work for the party, he received an appointment as postmaster of Sac City. All of the members of the family are faithful attendants of the Presbyterian church and render it zealous support in its various activities. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Sac City. For many years Mr. Wilson has been a potent factor in the civic life of his community, and no man stands higher in the estimation of the people than he.
PLATT ARMSTRONG.
To have the honor of establishing a city does not fall to the lot of every man, and yet Platt Armstrong, of Lake View, is the father of that prosperous little city by the lake. He had the foresight to see that the site which he chose would be a good location for a town, and the subsequent history of Lake View has justified his judgment. Lake View is one of the beauty spots of Iowa and is situated on the shores of Wall lake. Mr. Armstrong's resi- dence occupies a commanding and beautiful site overlooking the broad and rippling waters of the lake.
Platt Armstrong was born September 10, 1832, in Canada. He is the son of Henry and Martha (Guernsey ) Armstrong, the latter being the daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Guernsey, of Vermont.
Mr. Armstrong was reared and educated in Canada and married before he left his native country. In 1854 he came with his family to Freeport, Illinois, then the terminus of the Illinois Central railroad. Here they secured wagons and drove overland to their lowa destination from Freeport. He was accompanied by his wife and one son, Alden, whose biography is given elsewhere in this volume. From Freeport they journeyed to Clinton county, Iowa, and settled at Lost Nation. He purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres, improved it and resided in Clinton county until 1877. He then sold his Clinton county property and moved to Sac county, having previously bought land in Wall Lake township. In 1880 he bought
MRS. AMANDA ARMSTRONG
PLATT ARMSTRONG
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one hundred and sixty acres additional, but sold this in 1884, except ten acres of this quarter section, which he platted as part of the present town of Lake View. He platted Lake View in 1882 and has seen it thrive from the barren prairie to its present opulent condition. In 1892 he bought sixty acres on the north end of Wall lake and platted it for a residence section. In addition to his real estate holdings in Lake View, Mr. Armstrong has also handled land in Le Mars, in Plymouth county, and Pierson, Woodbury county.
Mr. Armstrong has the honor of serving his country faithfully and well during the long struggle in the sixties. He enlisted from Clinton. Iowa. September 3, 1862, in Company I, Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry. under Capt. Edward Wimple and Col. Milo Smith. He was before Vicksburg until July 12, 1863, and after participating in many engagements and skirmishes be- came ill and was sent to Jefferson barracks, at St. Louis, and then invalided to the federal hospital at Keokuk. Here his faithful wife, who had been left with the care of five children during the war, came on to care for and nurse him back to health and strength. He was honorably discharged June 15. 1865. His company was attached to the First Brigade, First Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, and participated in the following engagements : Chickasaw Bayou. Fort Hindman or Arkansas Post, Deer Creek, Black Bayou expedition. Jackson. Vicksburg, and many minor engagements, such as Clin- ton, Jackson. Raleigh, Rienzi. Brandon. Bear Creek and Tuscombia. Cherokee. The company was also engaged in the great battles of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold and Pea Vine Creek, the famous march to the sea, the capture of Savannah, and at Columbia, South Carolina. He was also in the subsequent Carolina campaign, and marched in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., after having served until June 12, 1865.
In recent years, Mr. Armstrong has been attending to his large farming interests. He is now farming three hundred and twenty acres near Lake View. He has also been engaged in the banking business at Moville, Iowa, but has now disposed of his interest in that bank.
Mr. Armstrong was married a second time, on November 25, 1856, to Amanda McCarter, a sister of his first wife, and who was born July 23. 1829. in Lisbon, St. Lawrence county, New York. To this second marriage have been born seven children: Kimball, a farmer of Lake View: Moody. who was killed by a horse on July 4, 1899; Rufus, of Medicine Hat. Canada ; Mrs. Millie Thayer, of Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Nina L. Mann, who is at home with her parents; Lowry, of Lyle, Washington, and Guernsey, who died in infancy. Mrs. Armstrong is the daughter of Robert and Amanda
(55)
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(Marshall) McCarter, who were of Scotch descent. Her grandfather was a native of Scotland, who emigrated to Ireland. Mr. Armstrong and his wife have traveled extensively and have had many unique experiences during the course of travel. They were caught in the railroad wreck on November I. 1913, while on their way to Brookings, South Dakota, and Mrs. Armstrong was slightly injured. They have made several trips to the state of Washing- ton, as well as other points on the Pacific coast.
Mr. Armstrong was old enough to cast his first vote for John C. Fre- mont in 1856, and voted for Abraham Lincoln at the front in Georgia, and has never seen any reason why he should change his political faith to any other than that of the Republican party. In his religious affiliations, he he- longs to the Christian Scientist church and contributes liberally to its support. He is a loyal member of tlie Grand Army post at Lake View. Mr. Arm- strong's life has been one of continuous activity from his earliest boyhood and because of his good business judgment, he has acquired a very comfortable competency for his declining years. His life has been full of good work, and many people have cause to be thankful because he has lived in this com- munity. He has always had the welfare of his city at heart, and as " the father of the city" his name will go down to succeeding generations as the man who put Lake View on the map of the United States.
CHARLES D. GOLDSMITH.
If a resume were to be written of the successful and influential attorneys of the northwestern part of Iowa, the name of Charles D. Goldsmith, of Sac county, wouldl occupy a high position. In the legal profession he has sup- plemented the practice of the essentials with a wealth of common sense. In every profession theories and rules cannot be literally interpreted ; they act as guides alone and the human equation is the force that impels decisions of merit. In judicious foresight, cool calculation and prompt initiative, Mr. Goldsmith has excelled. He stands for the lawyer, in the true sense of that word, that is to say, the man who advocates a sympathetic reading of the law, and not a merciless, steely and unyielding interpretation. Charles D. Goldsmith has won for himself a reputation for high integrity, and his courteous, affable nature, savored with a brilliant fund of wit, have won for him countless friends and clients among the good people of Sac county and this section of Iowa.
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Charles D. Goldsmith. ex-district judge and now a practicing attorney of Sac City, lowa, was born December 16, 1841, in Middletown. New York. He is the son of John M. and Martha A. (Davis) Goldsmith, natives of Orange county, New York, and descendants of old New England families. John M. Goldsmith was a contractor and builder in New York.
Charles D. Goldsmith received his education in the schools of New York and in August. 1861, enlisted in Company I. Fifty-sixtli Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, and served for four years and four months. He was in the Peninsula campaign of 1862. when Gen. George B. Mcclellan attempted to take Richmond. Thence he was transferred to South Carolina and, with his regiment, was stationed in this state until the end of the war, being mus- tered out October 15, 1865. In January of the following year he was mar- ried and came to Iowa a year later, locating in Hamilton county, where he was admitted to the bar. After practicing five years in this county he located in Newell, Buena Vista county. Iowa, where he practiced for six years. In 1879 he came to Sac City and for six years was in partnership with William H. Hart. In 1889 he was appointed district judge of this county and in the fall of the same year was elected to this office. He re- ceived his commission January 1. 1890, and served a term of four years, to the entire satisfaction of the county. Since that tinie he has not been a candi- date for any public office. preferring to devote all of his attention to his in- creasing legal practice. He has a reputation in this part of the state as one of the keenest lawyers who has ever appeared before a jury and in the various cases which he has conducted he has shown a rare knowledge of the intrica- cies of legal procedure.
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