USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 12
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In his political affiliations Mr. Orr is a republican, stanchly upholding the candidates of that party at the polls. Although he never personally aspired to
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political honors, he served for some time efficiently as township assessor. He has given a considerable part of his time to a worthy cause by rendering, for twelve years, service in the Iowa National Guard. In the six years after his enlistment he had, by gradual stages, attained the rank of lieutenant colonel and as such commanded the Fourth Regiment. He has ever been interested in matters military and has willingly given his time and attention to that branch of the state government, recognizing its importance and beneficial influence upon the young men. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Viewed from every side, the career of Mr. Orr is worthy of the highest commendation and may serve as example for the younger generation. While he has made himself financially independent by close application to the work on hand, he has been an important factor along lines of progress not only as an agriculturist, but also in moral and intellectual upbuilding. He is recog- nized as a forceful element in his locality and enjoys the highest esteem and fullest confidence of all who come in contact with him in a business or social way.
EDWIN R. LIVINGOOD.
Edwin R. Livingood has become one of the substantial farmers of Post town- ship, owning a valuable agricultural property of one hundred and eighty-six acres near Postville. He was born in Franklin township, Allamakee county, December 11, 1858, his parents being Greenburg J. and Abigail ( Ewing) Livin- good. The father was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1820, and the mother in Cannelton, Indiana, January 2, 1821. In early life Greenburg J. Livingood followed the trade of cabinet-maker. With his parents he removed from his native state to Ohio and then to Indiana, where he married, and from there came to Iowa in 1852, locating in Ludlow township, this county. Later in the same year, however, he went to Lebanon, Illinois, and did not return to this county until the fall of 1864. He settled on the farm, to the cultivation of which he devoted the rest of his life, passing away in 1898. His wife survived him about seven years, her death occurring in 1905. In their family were four chil- dren, of whom two are living, the sister of our subject being Mary Jane, who now resides in Waukon. She was the eldest of this family.
In the acquirement of his education Edwin R. Livingood attended district school in Franklin township and for six months studied at the Elkader high school. Until twenty-one years of age he assisted his father with the farm work, but then took active charge of the place, which he operated until his twenty- fifth year, when he bought the farm, and there he now lives. It then comprised ninety-two acres, but he has since increased its boundaries, his property now consisting of one hundred and sixty-eight acres, all highly improved. He gives his attention to mixed farming and also engages in stock-raising. Here he has resided continuously with the exception of about two years, which he spent in the western part of the state, and he has devoted all of his life to farming inter- ests. Modern and substantially built barns, outbuildings and sheds are pro- vided and the farm is otherwise thoroughly equipped with up-to-date machinery
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to facilitate the labor and increase the yield. As prosperity has come to him he has made judicious investments and is now part owner in the Cooperative Creamery at Postville and a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Store of that town.
On October 21, 1882, Mr. Livingood married Miss Matilda Pechia, a native of Post township, born December 9, 1864. She is a daughter of Joseph and Martha (Smith) Pechia, the father a native of Vermont and the mother of Indiana. They were among the earliest settlers of Allamakee county. The mother was a daughter of Reuben Smith, one of the pioneers on the Yellow river. Mr. Pechia became a well known and prosperous agriculturist of Post township and continued in that occupation until his death. He and his wife had ten children, of whom eight are now living and of whom Mrs. Livingood is the fifth in order of birth. Mr. Pechia passed away December 7, 1885, having survived his wife for about five years, her death occurring May 28, 1880.
Mr. and Mrs. Livingood have ten children: Maud Eleanor, who was born June 24, 1884, and married Frank Miller, an agriculturist of Ludlow town- ship: Willard Sidney, whose birth occurred on August 30, 1885, and who mar- ried Effic Miller and is farming in Ludlow township on the old Livingood homestead, which was entered as a government claim ; Charles B., born Febru- ary 8, 1887, who married Esther Lee, and is now farming near Detroit, in Becker county, Minnesota ; Stella Rosela, whose natal day was July 23, 1888, and who is the wife of Gerald Moose, a farmer of Winneshiek county, this state ; Earl Rinaldo, born August 25, 1890, who married Sophia Hager and farms in Winneshiek county ; Abigail Blossom, who was born April 8, 1892, and is at home: Cecil Edwin, born May 1, 1897; Caroline Dora, July 13, 1899; Nellie Esther, May 3, 1903; and Lynn Mayhew, April 25, 1906. The five last named are yet under the'parental roof.
In his political views Mr. Livingood is independent, giving his support to such candidates as he considers best able to fill the offices. In former years, however, he was a republican. He has done valuable work as an agriculturist in Alla- makee county, which not only has brought him success but has been a factor in general development.
PETER RISER.
Upon the role of Allamakee county's honored dead appears the name of Peter Riser, who at the time of his death in 1902 was one of the substantial agriculturists and large landowners of Lansing township. Although born across the water, practically his entire life was spent in Iowa among whose pioneers he is numbered and to whose development and progress he made important contributions through the years.
Mr. Riser was born in Switzerland, May 31, 1838, and when he was four years of age was brought to the United States by his parents who established their home in Illinois. They there remained until their son was fourteen years of age when they came to Iowa settling in Allamakee county in pioneer times. Here Peter Riser grew to manhood, aiding in the clearing, opening and develop-
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ing of the homestead and becoming a practical and able agriculturist. At the age of twenty-one he began his independent career, turning his attention to the occupation to which he had been raised and winning success as a general farmer. Upon the death of his father he inherited a farm of one hundred and twenty acres and upon this property continued to reside until his death, each year adding to his prosperity and to the high regard in which he was held by his neighbors and friends. As circumstances justified he added to his holdings, finally acquir- ing three hundred and sixty acres of land upon which he made substantial im- provements, erecting a large barn and all the necessary outbuildings and in- stalling the needed farm equipment. The old log cabin in which the family made their home in the early days still stands upon the homestead, but the present residence is a fine, modern brick structure erected some years ago.
In Allamakee county Mr. Riser was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Marti, who was born in Switzerland, February 4, 1844, a daughter of Henry and Catherine ( Blumer ) Marti, who came to the United States in 1853. They settled in Allamakee county and here made their home until their death, the father passing away in 1871 as a result of a stroke of paralysis suffered seventeen years before. Mr. and Mrs. Riser became the parents of the following children : Marie Anna, who died October 17, 1871, when she was seven years of age; John Henry, who is engaged in farming near New Albin, Iowa; George William, a farmer of Lansing township; Julius Edward, who passed away on January 10, 1900, at the age of twenty-eight ; Emma, the wife of John Babler ; and Philip and Barbara Catherine, both of whom live at home.
Mr. Riser was ever stanch in his support of the republican party and although he never sought nor desired office took an intelligent interest in community affairs and could always be relied upon to further progressive public movements. He was public-spirited and loyal in all matters of citizenship, cooperating heartily in those measures and projects which had for their object the upbuilding and development of the county wherein he had so long resided. Thus it was that at his death which occurred November II, 1902, Allamakee county lost one of its representative and valued citizens. Mrs. Riser survives her husband and makes her home on the farm, which is now conducted by her son Philip. She is a member of the Methodist church to which her husband also belonged and is a lady whose many excellent traits of heart and mind have won her the affection and esteem of all who know her.
BENEDICT TROENDLE.
Benedict Troendle has lived in Allamakee county for sixty-one years and he is one of the very few who have so long witnessed its growth and development. During the time he has made substantial contributions towards its upbuilding by opening up and developing a number of fine farms, and by his upright dealings, his high integrity and his honorable and worthy life has aided in raising standards of business and of citizenship. As a result he is known and honored all over this section of Iowa and is today one of the leading and representative citizens of Waukon where he is living practically retired.
MR. AND MRS. BENEDICT TROENDLE
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Mr. Troendle was born in Baden, Germany, March 25, 1831, and acquired an excellent education in his native city where he remained until he was nineteen years of age. He became proficient in Latin and French as well as German for he studied for the priesthood, never, however, taking orders. In 1850 he emigrated to the new world, going immediately to Ohio and joining his brother, Sales, in Huron county. There he went to work on a farm, engaging in agri- cultural pursuits during the summer months and in the winter attending an English school. For two years thereafter he continued as a farm laborer and then in 1852 came with his brother to lowa and settled in Allamakee county where he has since resided being today one of the earliest living residents. They purchased eighty acres in French Creek township and also twenty acres adjoin- ing, buying this latter tract from a neighbor in order to get the benefit of a spring of clear, cold water which supplied enough for all domestic purposes and also for watering the stock. The land was raw and unimproved but with characteristic energy the brothers set about the task of developing it, clearing it of timber, breaking the soil, and fencing the property into convenient fields. In 1856 Benedict Troendle purchased his brother's interest and continued the work of improvement alone, erecting the necessary outbuildings and tilling the fields in the most practical manner, his progessive methods and well directed industry bringing him a substantial measure of success. He continued upon this farm until 1865 when he disposed of the property and purchased another tract of land of one hundred and twenty acres, slightly improved. He made this also a valuable and productive enterprise, selling it in 1868 and buying in the same year eighty acres in Makee township near Lycurgus. To this he later added another two hundred acres of which a part was improved when it came into his possession, and he cleared this property and fenced it into fields, continuing upon it for twelve years and making it eventually one of the finest and best improved farms in this part of the country. It was during the period of his residence upon it that he was made postmaster of Lycurgus and he held this office for many years, discharging his duties in an able, straighforward and systematic manner. He is numbered among the pioneers in French Creek town- ship and was long a potent force in its development, cooperating heartily in movements for the general good and giving his active support to all progressive public measures. He helped in the organization of the first school, donating a half acre of land for the schoolhouse and also became a leader in founding the first independent school in Lycurgus. Always interested in the cause of educa- tion, he gave freely of his time and talents in this direction, accomplishing much far-sighted, discriminating and beneficial work during a long period of service as a member of the school board. Mr. Troendle erected a comfortable residence upon his farm wherein he continued to reside until 1892 when he laid aside the cares of active life, moving into Waukon where he has since lived retired.
On the 29th of July, 1855, Mr. Troendle married Miss Hedwig Nierling, also a native of Germany, born and reared in Prussia. She is a daughter of Anton Nierling, who emigrated to America and made a permanent location in Allamakee county in 1854, purchasing land in Makee township and turning his attention to general farming. Mr. and Mrs. Troendle became the parents of five children : Julia, who married Gus Kerndt, a farmer of French Creek town- ship, passed away in 1910 when she was forty-eight years of age. Caroline became
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the wife of J. W. Rice of Waterloo, Iowa. Mary married John Miller of Waukon. Johanna became the wife of Dan Haas. Gustave, youngest mem- ber of this family, owns and operates the old home farm in Makee township. On the 29th of July. 1905, Mr. and Mrs. Troendle celebrated the completion of fifty years of a peaceful and happy wedded life, their golden wedding anniver- sary being attended by their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to the number of thirty-two, who together with over two hundred friends, gathered at the home in Waukon, making the day one of gladness and rejoicing. They presented many tokens as souvenirs of the occasion, endeavoring in this way to express in some slight degree the love and veneration in which they held these worthy people, to whom they were bound by many ties of love and friendship.
Few if any men of Allamakee county are more widely known or more highly honored throughout this section of the state than is Mr. Troendle, who for over sixty-one years has lived in the county and who during all of that period has honorably borne his share in the work of upbuilding and development. Viewed from any standpoint, his life may be termed successful, for he has accumulated a comfortable fortune, has drawn to himself many loyal and faithful friends and has made his name an honored one wherever it is known.
JACOB HIRTH.
Jacob Hirth makes his home on a fine farm of one hundred and seventy- eight acres on section 29, Lansing township-a property which his father pur- chased in pioneer times and upon which he himself has resided since his child- hood. He is one of the earliest settlers in this section, which he has seen develop from a frontier wilderness, and in all of the work of upbuilding he has borne an active and useful part, his labors constituting elements in general agricultural progress. Germany numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Baden, on the 3d of October, 1837. He is a son of John Adam and Margaret (Kircher) Hirth, also natives of Germany, where the mother passed away March 6, 1853. In the same year the father and children crossed the Atlantic to America and, after arriving in this country, came west to Iowa, set- tling in Dubuque, and thence coming to Allamakee county. Here John Adam Hirth purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land and, with characteristic energy set himself to cultivate and develop it. He built a log cabin upon his holdings and for many years made his home therein, eventually erecting the present frame farm house. The old log cabin, however, still stands -a reminder of the hardships and inconveniences of pioneer times. The father was reared in the Protestant religion in Germany and after coming to America became a member of the Congregational church. He was a democrat in his political beliefs and actively interested in the growth of the community he had done so much to upbuild. He died upon his farm in Lansing township in 1896, having reached the advanced age of ninety-one years. He and his wife became the parents of four children, only one of whom, the subject of this review, survives. Magdalena, who became the wife of Conrad Steibert, has passed away. She and her husband lived for many years in La Fayette township. George was
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drowned in the Mississippi river when he was twenty-one years of age. Adam died on the ocean while on the journey to the United States. He was at that time two years of age.
In the public schools of Germany Jacob Hirth acquired his education and after laying aside his books accompanied his father to America and after the family settled in Allamakee county assisted with the work of the farm until after the death of his father, when he assumed ownership and control. Since that time he has steadily carried forward the work of improvement and the results of his many years of care and labor are evident in the neat and attrac- tive appearance of the place. He has increased his holdings to one hundred and seventy-eight acres and upon this carries on general farming, harvesting excellent crops and engaging to some extent in stock-raising.
Mr. Hirth has been twice married. In 1869 he wedded Miss Katie Leppert, by whom he had two children: Johannah, the wife of George Wendel, of Lansing township, who became the mother of five children; and Magdalena, the deceased wife of John Decker, by whom she had one daughter. Mr. Hirth's first wife passed away in 1874 and three years later he married her sister, Josephine Leppert, by whom he has five children: John J., who resides in North Dakota; Clara Emma, the wife of George Wendel, of Cerro Gordo county, lowa ; Charles E., who married Emma Decker ; and Roy Andrew and William George, who live at home. Mrs. Hirth is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Hirth is a democrat in his political beliefs and is interested in the growth and welfare of this section of the state, although he never seeks public office. He is numbered among the real pioneers of the county, having come to Lansing township when there were only a few scattered settlements and when the Indians were still numerous on the prairies, while game abounded in the forest and pioneer conditions were everywhere evident, there being no schools and, indeed, no need for educational institutions. He has watched the evolution which has transformed this wilderness into a populous, wealthy and growing community and has been to a great extent identified therewith.
CHARLES B. BACHTELL.
Although a native of Pennsylvania, Charles B. Bachtell has practically spent his entire life in Iowa, where for many years he was prominently connected with agricultural pursuits, actively operating a large and profitable farm of two hundred and forty acres. In 1909, however, he removed to Postville, where he now resides in a handsome residence set in a plat of five acres, still super- vising the operation of a two hundred and twenty-five acre farm, which he cul- tivates by the means of hired help. Mr. Bachtell also has other valuable prop- erty in Postville. He was born April 23. 1849. a native of Chester county, Penn- sylvania, and a son of David and Susanna (Davis) Bachtell, both natives of the same county of the Keystone state. The father was born December 18, 1818, and the mother, May 6, 1819. In early life the father followed the trade of butcher, but gave up that line in favor of farming when he came to Iowa in 1853.
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He settled at National, Clayton county, later buying land and, in the course of years, becoming one of the leading agriculturists of his section. He continued to reside there, near Elkader, and passed away on February 17, 1891, his wife's demise occurring within one month, on March 13. In their family were ten chil- dren, of whom Charles B. of this review is the fifth in order of birth.
Charles B. Bachtell was brought by his parents to Iowa when but four years of age and, in the acquirement of his education, attended school at Elkader, making use of such opportunities as were afforded pupils at that pioneer period. He subsequently attended district school near there in Clayton county. At the early age of sixteen Mr. Bachtell tried his hand at farming and, hiring out, worked for others until thirty years of age, carefully saving his earnings during that time with a view toward independence. He then married and bought a tract of one hundred and twenty acres, upon which he resided for thirty-one years, profitably engaged in general farming and stock-raising. As his means permitted, he had added to this farm until he owned two hundred and forty acres. In September, 1909, he removed from there to Postville, buying a com- modious residence set in a beautiful five-acre tract. However, he still operates a farm of two hundred and twenty-five acres with hired help. Mr. Bachtell is a stockholder in the Canning Factory and also in the Cooperative Creamery of Post- ville. Moreover, he is interested in the Citizens Bank of this city.
The marriage of Mr. Bachtell and Miss Carrie Carrithers occurred on Feb- ruary 11, 1879. Mrs. Bachtell is a native of Post township, where she was born August 3, 1859, a daughter of William H. and Elizabeth (Smith) Carrithers. The father was born in Ohio county, West Virginia, on December 29, 1829. and the mother in Indiana, at or near Perrysville, on May 23, 1833. Their mar- riage occurred in 1851, in Allamakee county, whence he had come in that year on horseback, the mother arriving in 1849. The father always followed agricul- tural pursuits and here took up government land, which he cleared, improved and developed, spending the balance of his life, with the exception of two years in the early part of his career, in this county. During those two years he worked in a mill in Clayton county. He was prominent and favorably known in his local- ity and for some years served as county supervisor. His marriage was per- formed by Judge Topliff, who was the first judge of Allamakee county. Both he and his wife resided in the home which he first prepared for sixteen years. when he built the residence as it now stands and which is known as the Car- rithers homestead. He made a specialty of stock-raising in connection with gen- ral farming. Mr. and Mrs. Carrithers had three children, of whom Mrs. Bach- tell is the youngest. She grew up on the home farm amid the primitive condi- tions of pioneer life, under the able guidance of her worthy parents and received her educational advantages in the district school of Post township. Mr. and Mrs. Bachtell became the parents of three children: Elmer C., who was born October 11, 1880, and died at the age of eleven months ; one child, born in 1882, who died in infancy ; and Ralph William, born March 18, 1889, who resides at home.
In his political affiliations Mr. Bachtell is a republican and, at a period about twenty years ago, served efficiently as township trustee of Post township for three terms, doing valuable work in promoting public interests at that early
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period. A man of progressive tendencies and sound principles, he has based his success upon determined endeavor and honesty, and the financial indepen- dence which has come to him is well merited. Publie-spirited and progressive, he has ever been considerate of the general welfare and by his work has done much toward promoting agricultural development. He enjoys the confidence and good-will of all who know him and there are many in the Postville district who are proud to call him friend.
HANS SIMENSON.
Farming interests of Hanover township lost a progressive and worthy rep- resentative and Allamakee county an honored and worthy pioneer citizen when Hans Simenson passed away on his farm on section 21. He was known and recognized as one of the representative agriculturists of this vicinity-a man whose success was an important element in general development, and he was honored also as a veteran of the Civil war to whom the country owes a debt of gratitude which can never be forgotten and never fully repaid.
Mr. Simenson was one of the many sturdy and industrious citizens whom Norway has given to America, his birth having occurred in that country in 1840, his parents being Ole and Anna Simenson. They came to America in 1851 and settled in Winneshiek county, this state, where the father died in 1876. His wife survived him some years, dying at the home of the subject of this review in 1883. They were the parents of seven children, of whom one, a son, still survives.
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