USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 11
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JOHN WATERS.
A business turning over a quarter of a million of dollars annually is 110 small affair and no small man could handle successfully such an enterprise. Therefore, respect is due to John Waters for what he has attained as manager of the Postville Farmers Cooperative Society, which yearly handles this vast amount of business and of which he is the head. Active and popular, he has become known as one of the foremost business men of Postville and his position is based on just claims, for it rests on natural ability and a thoroughi experience of conditions in Allamakee county-an experience which he has gathered in the fifty-three years of his life which he has spent here, being born in Ludlow town- ship, August 29, 1860. His parents were George and Sophia (Hill) Waters, both of whom have passed away, but are still lovingly remembered by their many old-time friends and neighbors. George Waters was a north of Ireland man and came to America in 1849, living a few years in Pennsylvania, and in May, 1856, came to Allamakee county, where he began his life work on a forty- acre tract which he purchased in Ludlow township. There he spent the remain- der of his life on his farm, gradually wresting prosperity from the soil and becoming one of the prosperous and substantial men of his locality.
John Waters was born amid the primitive conditions of the frontier. In winter he attended the old log school and in summer worked on the farm, assisting his father in the hard work of converting timber land into an agricul- tural property. Remaining at home until he had grown to manhood, he then went on a place of his own, and it was not until he was twenty-nine years of age that he left the farm to engage in the hardware business in Postville. He retired from that line in 1901 and in the same year was elected one of the super- visors of Allamakee county. He served the people so faithfully and well that three years later he was reelected, serving on the governing board of the county for a total period of six years. In 1907 he returned to his early work and for three years engaged in farming, but on January 1, 1910, was elected manager of the Postville Farmers Cooperative Society. Conscientious, ambitious, alert and industrious, he has been very successful in promoting the growth of the busi- ness of this institution and enjoys the entire confidence of the members of the
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society and of the farmers of the community as a whole, at the same time retain- ing the good-will of the business men of Postville. Under his able management the business has largely increased, the stockholders receiving good financial returns and every patron being satisfied. While many cooperative societies have failed, or partially failed, in their mission, the one at Postville has thrived and it is but fair that a portion of the credit for this be given to Mr. Waters for the wise direction of its affairs.
The Cooperative Society was founded in July, 1904, with a paid-up capital of one thousand dollars. It was composed entirely of the farmers living near Postville and its chief business was the handling of live stock, which it sold on commission for its members. Today the capital stock is nine thousand, four hundred and fifty-five dollars and it owns its building and deals in flour, feed, coal, salt, cement and similar products in car load lots and its store is well filled with a large stock of groceries and farm necessities. The volume of business last year was two hundred and forty-six thousand, six hundred and one dollars and thirty-two cents, this sum including the handling of one hundred and seventy- three cars of live stock, the shipments being nine thousand and thirty-five hogs, one thousand and ninety-seven calves, six hundred and sixty-five head of cattle and eight hundred and thirty-two sheep. The value of these shipments was two hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and one dollars and ten cents. The officers of the corporation are: G. W. Harris, president ; R. J. Laughlin, vice president ; J. C. Weihe, secretary; W. J. H. Schultz, treasurer ; and F. H. Schultz, R. B. Waters, A. F. Marston, F. W. Meyer, W. H. Schroeder, Albert Zieman, Arthur Behrens, John Lydon and Frank Hangartner, directors.
John Waters is a kindly and genial man, popular with his fellows and well liked by people in all walks of life. At the same time he is a thorough business man, aggressive in attaining his ends and conservative in his policy, giving careful attention to all details, even the smallest, that come up in the course of the business. He was married, February 5. 1885. to Miss Minnic Early, and theirs is one of the pleasant, hospitable homes of Postville, from which radiates natural, true, warm-hearted hospitality-a hospitality which is cheerfully extended to the many friends which Mr. and Mrs. Waters have in the com- munity.
FRANK H. MOLUMBY.
Frank H. Molumby, who for the past eighteen years has been identified with business interests of Waukon as a furniture dealer and undertaker, has today one of the largest and best equipped stores in the city and controls an important business. He was born in Clayton county, May 22, 1866, and was reared upon a farm in that section, spending his childhood and early youth aid- ing in the operation of the homestead.
After acquiring a public-school education Mr. Molumby left the farm and began his independent career, obtaining a position as clerk in a business house in Elkader, where he remained for six years, coming to Waukon in 1895. In this city he purchased an interest in a furniture and undertaking business and,
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commencing with a small stock, he gradually built up the business until it was a large and profitable enterprise. In order to fit himself more thoroughly for his work Mr. Molumby took a course in embalming and, in 1907, passed his exam- ination before the state board, receiving his license in the same year. In 1909 he moved to his present location, where he occupies a double business house, with two large rooms filled with a complete and well selected stock of furniture and undertaking goods. He has his own hearse and carries a full line of caskets, and both branches of his business are very profitable, for he has been accorded a liberal patronage in recognition of his reasonable prices and his upright and honorable commercial methods.
Mr. Molumby married, in Waukon, in November, 1896, Miss Nellie Fitz- gerald, who was born and reared in this county, a daughter of Maurice Fitz- gerald, a well known farmer of Allamakee county. Mr. and Mrs. Molumby became the parents of six children: Mary, Pearl, Dolores, Frances and Helen ; and Gerald, who died in 1900, at the age of eleven months. The family home is located in one of the finest residence districts of the city and is an attractive and comfortable dwelling, which Mr. and Mrs. Molumby have made the center of hospitality for their many friends. They are members of the Waukon Cath- olic church and Mr. Molumby belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters. His life has ever been upright and honorable and he has at all times endeavored to deal justly by his fellowmen and to shape his conduct in accordance with the principles of good citizenship.
JOHN H. GERICKE.
John H. Gericke, a successful farmer and expert machinist, owning a fine property of one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of Postville, was born in Clayton county, near National, on the 3d of July, 1874. He is a son of John and Mary (Klinge) Gericke, natives of Germany, the former born in Prussia and the latter in Mecklenburg. The father crossed the Atlantic about 1869 and settled first in Chicago, where for a short time he worked in the employ of others, later removing to lowa and engaging in railroad construction work between MeGregor and La Crosse, Wisconsin. He abandoned this in favor of agricultural pursuits, working as a farm hand in Clayton county until his marriage, after which he rented land and engaged in farming for himself. Success steadily attended his labors and he was eventually able to purchase a fine property in Post township and to this he has added from time to time until he now owns two hundred and twenty acres. He lias of late years laid aside the cares of active life and is living retired, his sons developing and cultivating the farm. He and his wife became the parents of ten children: John H., of this review; Ida, the wife of Chiris Meyers, who operates the farm adjoining Mr. Gericke's; Fred, who is engaged in farming in Franklin township; Bertha, the wife of Wendell Wagener. a farmer near Castalia, Winneshiek county ; Amelia, who married Otto Sanders, a carpenter in Postville; Matilda, who lives at home; Henry, who resides with his father on the homestead; Amanda, who
JOHN H. GERICKE
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became the wife of William Sebastian, a farmer in Franklin township; Senda, who lives at home ; and William, who resides on a farm in Post township.
. John H. Gericke acquired his education in the district schools of Clayton county and began his independent career when he was eighteen years of age, at which time he formed a partnership with his brother William and purchased a threshing machine, which he operated during the threshing seasons, spending the remainder of his time assisting in clearing the homestead. He continued thus until he was twenty-seven years of age and again in partnership with his brother William purchased a half interest in two hundred and sixty-four acres of land. This property they cultivated for three years, and at the end of that time. Mr. Gericke of this review sold his interests to his brother. He then purchased the farm on which he now resides, his one hundred and sixty acres being principally fine timber land, although he has a small tract cleared and under cultivation. In addition to general farming he operates a sawmill, a threshing machine, a silo filler and cutter and a corn shredder and has developed a natural mechanical ability until he is today an expert machinist, never needing any assistance in setting up or operating his machinery.
Mr. Gericke is a member of the Turner Society of Postville and is well and favorably known in that place. His life has been such as to give him high standing in the locality where he makes his home; and he is generally recognized as a man whose industry, ability and well directed labors have not only contributed to his own prosperity but have also promoted the growth and advancement of the community at large.
CARL WILKE.
Through well directed business activity and enterprise Carl Wilke has gained recognition as one of the prosperous farmers of Allamakee county. He owns and operates a highly improved tract of land of one hundred and forty-six and one-quarter acres near Postville. Since 1880 he has lived in this county, during which time his labors have not only contributed to his own prosperity but have proven effective forces in the advancement of the general welfare. Mr. Wilke was born in Germany, December 18, 1860, and is a son of Jolm and Louisa Wilke, natives of Mecklenburg. They never came to America, the father spending his active life working in the factories of his native province.
Carl Wilke acquired his education in the public schools of Germany and as a young man obtained work as a farm laborer in Mecklenburg, retaining that position until he crossed the Atlantic to America in 1880. Coming immediately to Iowa, he worked as a farm hand near Postville for five years and then bought a farm in Franklin township, this county, upon which he resided for eleven years. He eventually sold that property and bought one hundred and forty-six and one- quarter acres near Postville, upon which he still resides. He has made substantial improvements upon the property and upon it carries on general farming and stock- raising, both branches of his activities being well directed and profitable. In Vol. II-6
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addition to his homestead Mr. Wilke owns one hundred and twenty acres in Frank- lin township, which is operated by his son.
On the 18th of November, 1887, Mr. Wilke married Miss Louisa Schultz, a native of Mecklenburg, Germany, born February 10, 1864. She is a daughter of John and Louisa Schultz, both of whom have passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Wilke have six children: William, who is married and engages in farming in Franklin township; and Ella, Nora, Bertha, Edna and Thelma, all of whom live at home.
Mr. Wilke is a member of the Lutheran church in Postville. He gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and although he has never sought nor desired public office, has in the promotion of his individual prosperity con- tributed in substantial measure to the progress and development of this section. He has depended upon no outside aid or influence but has wrought out his own success along well defined lines of labor and achieved his prosperity by industry and perseverance.
CHARLES H. MEIER.
Charles H. Meier has, ever since old enough, been prominently connected with agricultural pursuits and now owns five hundred and fifty-five acres near Postville, which he mostly rents out, although he still retains eighty acres for himself, devoted to hay and pasture. Ever progressive and enterprising, he has become one of the most substantial men of his section and is also largely con- nected with other enterprises, especially along financial lines. A son of H. William and Minnie (Koster) Meier, he was born in Garnavillo township, Clayton county, Iowa, on February 12, 1862. The father was born in Prussia, March 20, 1836, and the mother in Hanover, Germany, in 1844. She passed away in 1901 at the age of about fifty-seven years. At the age of sixteen the father crossed the ocean to America. During his active life he followed agri- cultural pursuits, working in the employ of others around Postville for a time, but later he removed to Minnesota and subsequently, having by thrift and in- dustry, acquired the means, bought a farm in Clayton county, Iowa, where he has since resided, now living retired. Charles H. Meier is the oldest of his seven chil- dren, there being twenty-six years between his birth and that of the youngest child in the family, and there also is a difference of twenty-six years between his and his father's age.
In the acquirement of his education Charles H. Meier attended school in Garnavillo township, Clayton county. He early assisted his father with the work of the farm and learned methods and details under his able guidance. He worked on the home farm until twenty-two years of age, when he rented his father's land for one year and then bought a farm belonging to him in Post township, Allamakee county. On that farm Charles H. Meier remained until 1903, when he bought eighty acres one and a half miles from Postville and removed to that place. That success has attended his labors is evident from the fact that he now owns five hundred and fifty-five acres of highly improved land in Post township. He operates eighty acres himself, while he rents out the rest
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of his holdings, receiving a gratifying income from this source. He has extended his interests to other lines and is a stockholder in various banks in Postville and other places as well as a director in the creamery and the Farmers Cooperative Store.
On September 16, 1884, Mr. Meier was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Splies, a native of Garnavillo township, Clayton county, where she attended the same school as her husband. She is a daughter of Jacob and Christina ( Brooker) Splies, the father a native of Switzerland and the mother of Ohio. Mr. Splies, who was a farmer by occupation, located in Garnavillo township, Clayton county, where both he and his wife passed away. In their family were six children, of whom Mrs. Meier is the fifth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Meier have three children: Vina Hermina, born October 23, 1886, at home; Lester, born July 1, 1890, who died December 17, 1906; and Orma, born June 28, 1892, who resides with her parents and teaches in the district schools of Post town- ship.
It is but natural that a man of the energy and activity of Mr. Meier should take part in the public affairs of his district and he has served efficiently as trus- tee of Post township and also in the capacity of road superintendent. He gives his allegiance to the republican party, ever upholding its principles and support. ing its candidates at the polls. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, in which he holds membership at Postville. A successful man in every sense of the word, Mr. Meier has not only attained prosperity, but has made many friends in his locality by reason of his high qualities of mind and character, which gain for him the respect and confidence of all who know him.
FRANK W. AMES.
Frank W. Ames, carrying on general farming and stock-raising on sixty acres of fine land in Franklin township, was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, on the 23d of August, 1856. He is a son of Alphonso and Matilda (Wheeler) Ames, the former born in Genesee county, New York, September 23, 1833, and the latter in Erie county, that state, in April, 1837. In early life the father worked as a river lumberman and, possessing great ability in the handling and controlling of men, made a success of that occupation. Later he used this ability as the manager of large gangs of workmen engaged in railroad construction in Pennsylvania. He afterward turned his attention to carpenter- ing, contracting and building, trades in which he had served an apprenticeship, and in 1872 he came west to Iowa, intending to make a permanent location in the southwestern part of the state. However, he never carried out this plan, dying one month after his arrival here. He had been twice married, his second wife having been Mrs. Dorlesca (Hinman) Wilcox, widow of a veteran of the Civil war. She has also passed away. By that union were born two children : George, who resides in South Dakota; and another child now deceased. Alphonso Ames had also two children by his first marriage, the subject of this review being the elder and the only one now living.
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In the acquirement of an education Frank W. Ames attended school in Cat- taraugus county, New York, studying in the public schools of Little Valley and afterward in those of Hardin, Allamakee county, Iowa. He began his indepen- dent career at the carly age of fourteen years, working for some time as a farm laborer before and after coming to Iowa. He was later engaged in railroad con- struction, but at the age of twenty-three rented land in Floyd county, beginning the development of this property on the Ist of September, 1879. After three years he went to Monona township, Clayton county, where he had previously purchased land, and at the end of a similar period of time rented another farm in the same township. Eventually he removed to Chickasaw county and then to Oelwein, Fayette county, remaining in the latter locality for three years. He afterward spent six years in Luana and then bought the farm where he now lives. He cultivated it successfully for two years and then returned to Luana, where he remained for six years, coming back to his farm at the end of that period. Upon this place of sixty acres of highly cultivated land he engages in general farming, success steadily rewarding his well directed labors and practical methods. From 1904 to 1913 he served as rural mail carrier and he is well known throughout this section of Iowa, holding a high position among the respected and able citizens.
On the 21st of June, 1879, Mr. Ames married Miss Allie Wilcox, who was born in New York, August 14, 1858. She is a daughter of Hiram and Dorlesca (Hinman) Wilcox, the latter of whom became the second wife of the father of our subject. Hiram Wilcox was a native of Pennsylvania and at an early date came to Jowa, settling near Monona, from which section he enlisted for service in the Civil war, dying in an army hospital in the south. His first service was in Minnesota, when, as a member of the Twenty-seventh lowa Volunteer Infan- try, he fought against the hostile Indians. Mr. and Mrs. Ames have a daugh- ter, Edna, who was born June 25, 1880. She is now in the tenth consecutive year of her service as a teacher in the public schools, having acted in this capac- ity in Luana, in Guttenburg and in Hardin, where she is now employed.
Mr. Ames gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has ren- dered his township excellent service as constable and as road supervisor. He devotes most of his attention, however, to his farm, which he has made the equal of the finest in his part of the county, its excellent condition gaining for him a high place among progressive and able agriculturists.
DARIUS S. ORR.
Still residing on the old homestead which his uncle entered many years ago and which Darius S. Orr subsequently acquired by purchase and where he has gained prosperity, he is not only prominent in agricultural circles of Allamakee county, but has to his credit a long and distinguished service in the National Guard of the state, in which he served for a number of years with the rank of lieutenant colonel. A native of Post township, he has grown up with this sec- tion and has not only been a witness of the wonderful transformation that has taken place as primitive conditions have given way to the onward march of
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civilization, but has been a helpful and cooperant factor in bringing about the prosperous conditions which the present generation enjoys.
It was in a small log house one mile northeast of Postville that, on June 4, 1859, Darius S. Orr saw the light of day, his parents being James and Margaret A. (Ellison) Orr. The father was a native of the north of Ireland, where he was born March 15, 1829, while the mother was born in New York state in 1834. When a boy eleven years of age the father crossed the ocean with his parents, the family locating in Schuyler county, New York, at the head of Seneca lake, where he grew to manhood. He received his education in the common schools of Schuyler county and at the Plattsburg and Starkey Seminaries and for several winters followed teaching in New York, while in the summers he assisted his father with the work of the farm. In Iowa lie also taught for six terms. The year 1855 marked his arrival in Allamakee county and here he was married on January 1, 1856. The home farm upon which the father settled had been entered from the government a year or two before his arrival by a brother, and there James Orr continued successfully in farming and stock-raising until 1898, when he and his wife removed to Postville, where they still live retired. The father has passed the age of eighty-four and the mother is seventy-nine years of age, and both are highly respected and esteemed as among the early pioneers. James Orr was prominent in public life in his days, having held the offices of township trustee and assessor, besides other positions. He and his wife are the parents of seven children, of whom Darius S. is the second in order of birth.
In the acquirement of his education Darius S. Orr attended public school in Postville and after laying aside his text-books, worked for his father until twenty-one years of age. He then rented the homestead for ten years, his labors being attended with such good success that he was enabled to buy the place and there he still resides in the cultivation of two hundred and twenty- five acres of highly improved land. He has added to the improvements by the erection of modern buildings and has installed modern machinery and imple- ments in order to facilitate labor and improve the productivity of the soil. He gives considerable attention to stock-raising, breeding shorthorn cattle and Shire horses, as well as Poland China hogs. Progressive and energetie, he follows the most approved methods and, by scientifie rotation of erops and fertilization, keeps his land in the best condition.
On November 26, 1889, Mr. Orr wedded Miss Bertha Harris, a native of Grand Meadow township, Clayton county, born January 12, 1871. Mrs. Orr is a daughter of William and Charity (McDonald) Harris, the former a prom- inent retired farmer of Post township. In their family are six children, of whom Bertha is the second in order of birth. The others are : Herman Howard, who resides in Postville: Edith, the wife of Ernie Churchill, of Monroe, Wis- consin ; Edna, who married Fred Oehring, of McGregor, this state; Glessner, the wife of Arthur Webster, of Postville; and Adelaide, residing with her par- ents. Mr. and Mrs. Orr have four children, as follows: Ethel, whose birth occurred October 29, 1890; Edith, who was born September 13, 1892; Esther, born February 27, 1896; and Eva, who was born November 14, 1898. All are still under the parental roof.
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