USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 3
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
24
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
and, moreover, he finds his reward in the thought that the black man con- tinues in his upward development as the years roll on and that as times passes the civilized world will better and better appreciate the magnificent grandeur of thought and beauty of soul of that honest and remarkable man, Abraham Lincoln, as he expressed and exemplified them in his life and actions.
With a creditable military record marked by brave, able and loyal service in the Union cause, Colonel Earle received his honorable discharge and re- turned to Waukon, whence he went to Chicago in order to enter Rush Medi- cal College. He took a course of lectures in that institution in 1865-1866 and during the following winter spent some time at the Jefferson Medical Col- lege at Philadelphia, where he completed his studies, graduating with the class of 1867. After receiving his degree he returned to Waukon and formed a partnership with Dr. I. H. Hedge, beginning the general practice of his pro- fession in this city. His partner, who was one of the earliest physicians in Waukon, had built up an extensive patronage here and in the vicinity, and to Dr. Earle as the younger man fell a large portion of the long rides and mid- night calls incident to a country practice. The two physicians later established a drug store and conducted it successfully for some time. Dr. Earle later pur- chased his partner's interest and in 1870 added to his stock a fine line of gen- eral merchandise, rapidly securing a lucrative trade. So steadily did this branch of his business expand that after seven years he erected a fine brick business house, in which he continued to conduct a separate mercantile concern for a number of years. Even at this time, however, this was not his only business con- nection, for as early as 1867 he had formed a partnership with his brother in the buying and shipping of stock and grain. J. W. Earle remained the active manager of this enterprise until his death in 1885 when the business was taken over by the subject of this review who continued to carry it on for some years.
Ever since beginning his active career Dr. Earle has been one of the leaders in all work of public development and many of the most important business and public institutions owe their inception and continued growth to his ability and enterprise. He was one of the promoters of the Waukon & Mississippi Rail- road Company, which was built by subscriptions from Waukon and Allamakee county citizens. Dr. Earle gave largely of his time and means to promote this project and was one of the greatest individual forces in its successful comple- tion. In Waukon he has built and is still the owner of a number of substantial business houses and has a comfortable residence in the city besides valuable hold- ings in Allamakee county farming land. All of his business interests are care- fully and conservatively conducted and in their management he has met with that success which always results from ability, enterprise and well directed organizing power.
During his half a century of residence in this city Dr. Earle's interests have not been confined to lines of business development, for he has for many years been active in local politics, his influence being always on the side of progress and reform. After the close of the Civil war he identified himself with the republican party and supported its principles and policies for a number of years. In 1884, however, he allied his interests with democracy and, representing that party, was nominated and elected to the lower house of the nineteenth gen- eral assembly, receiving a majority of five hundred votes over his nearest oppo-
25
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
nent. After serving one term he was elected to fill out an unexpired term occa- sioned by the election of Mr. Larrabee to the office of governor, and he dis- charged his important duties with honor to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents and friends. His political activity has always been of a con- structive and progressive kind, and his public service has been beneficial and far- reaching in its results.
On January 1, 1860, Dr. Earle was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Augusta Hedge of Waukon, a daughter of Dr. Isaiah H. Hedge, one of the pioneer physicians of Allamakee county and one of the best known practitioners in Waukon for many years. Dr. and Mrs. Earle became the parents of three children. The eldest, Minnie Charlotte, is the wife of Grant C. Hemenway, for some time a lumber dealer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and now a resi- dent of Paris, France. They have three children, Charlotte, Willard and Genette. Dr. Earle has one son Carlton Hedge, who is a prominent business man in Waukon, where he is well known as cashier of the Citizens' Bank. William Allison Earle, youngest son in this family, died April 21, 1866.
Among the forces which have directed the growth of Waukon, and which have been the greatest contributing elements in the general advancement, Dr. Earle's fifty-nine years of continuous and well directed activity are of utmost importance, for they have affected politics, business and public morality and have elevated standards, along all lines. Dr. Earle is well known and highly esteemed in the community where he makes his home and his name stands for all that is honorable and loyal in citizenship and upright and worthy in business relations.
CARL HOLTER.
Mercantile interests of Postville find a progressive and able representative in Carl Holter, who for many years past has been closely connected with the clothing, gentlemen's furnishings and shoe business in the city, controlling today a.large and representative enterprise. A native of Norway, he was born in Christiania, June 30, 1847, a son of Ole and Martha (Oleson) Holter, both born in the vicinity of that city. The father spent his entire life farming in Norway, dying in that country in 1860. The mother afterward crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in Postville in 1873, and continuing to make her home in the city until her death, which occurred about the year 1903.
Carl Holter supplemented an education acquired in the public schools of Norway by one winter's attendance after he came to America. He had. how- ever, begun his independent career before crossing the Atlantic, having secured a position as clerk in a government office in his native country. After two years in that capacity he went to Christiania and was there employed in a grocery store, later becoming connected with a hat store in that capital. He came to the United States in 1869 and pushed westward to Chicago, where he remained for four months working at anything which would bring him an income. Having studied English while in Norway he had one advantage over many of his fellow emigrants and found that his knowledge of the language of the
26
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
country was a valuable asset to him in the beginning of his career here. From Chicago he went to Memphis, Tennessee, and there worked for six months in a large bakery, returning at the end of that time to Chicago. After two months he came to Postville, working upon a farm near the city for two years there- after and then securing employment in a general store, a connection which he retained for ten years, although he spent one year during that time in River Falls, Wisconsin. Being ambitious to engage in business for himself, he founded the firm of Holter, Schultz & Welzel but after one year withdrew from this con- nection and established the clothing firm of Armstrong & Holter. This associa- tion continued from 1883 to 1892, at which time Mr. Holter purchased his partner's interest and assumed entire control of the business. He has conducted it alone since that time and controls an important and growing trade accorded him in recognition of his full and complete line of goods, his modern and progres- sive business methods and his courteous service. Always a progressive and public- spirited citizen, he has taken a great interest in the growth of Postville's business institutions and aided in the organization of the Citizens State Bank, of which he is now a director. He has not, however, varied outside interests, preferring to devote all of his attention to the conduct of his store, with the result that he is numbered today among the substantial merchants of the community.
On the 22d of May, 1883, Mr. Holter married Miss Mary Marston, who was born in Post township, October 26, 1854, a daughter of James C. and Nancy Maria (Fisher) Marston, natives of New York state. The father was a prosperous farmer and also a local preacher. He came as a pioneer to Post township, he and his wife being among the first settlers there, and both died in the community where they had so long made their home. Mr. and Mrs. Holter are the parents of a daughter, Edna, born April 23, 1884. She is the wife of WV. H. Burling, an attorney in Postville, and they have one son, Carl Frederick, born November 21, 1912.
Fraternally Mr. Holter is connected with the blue lodge of Masons, in Postville, with the chapter at Elgin and the commandery at West Union. He was formerly connected with other important fraternal organizations but has now withdrawn from membership. He is a progressive republican in his political views and for twelve years did straightforward, able and businesslike work as a member of the Postville city council. He is one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of the community where he has so long resided. His record is, indeed, a commendable one and the most envious cannot criticise his business or political accomplishments. His course has been characterized by the strictest fidelity to principle and in social relations he displays an unfailing courtesy and cordiality which have won for him many friends.
CARL WILLIAM MEIER.
Carl William Meier is one of the enterprising merchants of Postville, where he is conducting a large dry-goods store, and this and his other business interests combine to make him a leading and enterprising citizen of the community, his alert and progressive spirit enabling him to carry forward to successful completion
27
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
whatever he undertakes. He was born in Clayton county, May 14, 1850, and is a son of Christian J. and Elizabeth ( Runger ) Meier, natives of Germany, the former born in Prussia, May 13, 1825, and the latter in the province of Hanover, January 7, 1827. In early life the father turned his attention to farming. On coming to America he located in Ohio, near Portsmouth, in 1845 and engaged in digging iron ore until he came to lowa. He met with an accident while chopping wood, injuring his ankle and becoming incapacitated for heavy physical labor. He was therefore compelled to learn a trade and engaged in shoemaking for a time. It was in 1849 that he came to Clayton county, Iowa, and purchased land, but he lived upon the farm only a short time, returning then to Ohio. In April, 1850, he again took up his residence in this state and continued to reside on his first farm until January, 1866, when he bought another place, living thereon until he retired from active life in 1884. He spent his last days in Post- ville, where his death occurred in September, 1911. He had survived his wife since 1906. They were parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this review is the oldest.
Carl W. Meier attended school in Farmersburg township, Clayton county, and supplemented this by one term at National. He remained at home until 1873 and then purchased a farm, engaging in agricultural pursuits upon that property until 1883, when he removed to Allamakee county, locating on an excellent tract of land in Post township. In 1892 he rented his farm and removed to Postville, where he engaged in the furniture business for two years, selling out in the fall of 1895 and conducting a similar establishment in Farmersburg for about one year. Turning his business over to his son at the end of that time, he returned to his farm in Post township but in 1902 again located in Farmersburg, where he conducted a large and important general merchandise store until 1908, when he disposed of his interests and came again to Postville. Here he purchased the remnants of a general stock of merchandise and he has since added to his store and enlarged his stock, carrying now a full and complete line of goods, his enterprise being one of the largest and best managed in the city.
Mr. Meier was married, September 8, 1871, to Miss Louisa Hedeman, a native of southern Illinois, born February 29, 1852. She is a daughter of Frederick and Helena (Breuner ) Hedeman, natives of Oldenburg, Germany. The father crossed the Atlantic in the late '3os but after a few years returned to Germany, making his second crossing with his wife about 1843. For ten years thereafter they lived upon a farm in southern Illinois but in 1853 came to Garnavillo township, Clayton county, lowa, where the father became an extensive landowner and a prosperous farmer, giving all his attention to agricul- tural pursuits until his death, which occurred about 1893 or 1894. His wife survived him two years, her death also occurring upon the homestead. They had six children, of whom the wife of the subject of this review is the fourth in the order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Meier became the parents of six children : Louisa, the wife of F. L. Eaton, proprietor of a restaurant and cafe in Spencer ; Christian, ex-county treasurer of Clayton county and now a prosperous farmer in Montana ; Amanda, the wife of Alonzo Phillips, clerking in the store of our subject : George J. and Irene M., who reside at home; and Wilbur, deceased,
28
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
Mr. Meier gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has held various important local offices, serving as trustee of Post township for three terms and for a number of years as constable. He belongs to the Masonic order at Farmersburg and is connected also with the Ancient Order of United Work- men. All of his life has been spent in Iowa and although his career offers no spectacular chapters, he yet belongs to that class of substantial and representative citizens who constitute the real strength of any community by reason of their busi- ness activity, their loyalty in citizenship and the honor and integrity of their private lives.
GILBERT SWENSON.
Among the progressive and enterprising young farmers of Allamakee county is numbered Gilbert Swenson, who owns and operates a fine property in Post township. Upon this he has resided since he was seven years of age and its excellent condition at the present time is largely due to the care, skill and prac- tical knowledge which he has displayed in its management. He was born in Franklin township, this county, on the 25th of February, 1878, and is a son of Jargen and Mary (Gilbertson) Swenson, natives of Norway, the former born on the roth of May, 1839, and the latter in Christiania on the 22d of October, 1848. The father crossed the Atlantic when he was twenty-two years of age and, locating near Madison, Wisconsin, worked in the employ of others for about one year, after which he came to Iowa, settling in Grand Meadow town- ship, Clayton county, in pioneer times. He rented land in that locality and after a number of years purchased a farm in Franklin township, just across the line from Post township, and there he resided for ten years, becoming one of the representative and prosperous agriculturists of the community. Eventually, however, he removed to South Dakota, taking up his residence near Chamberlain, that state, but at the end of three months he returned to Jowa, settling on the farm where the subject of this review now resides. In October, 1912, he retired from active business life and removed to Clermont, where he still resides.
Gilbert Swenson acquired his education in the West Grove district school of Post township. He has lived upon his present farm since he was seven years of age and from his childhood assisted with the work of its cultivation, early becoming familiar with the best agricultural methods. At twenty-three he rented and assumed the management of the home farin and in the fall of 1912 bought the property, whereon he has continued to reside to the present time. Being progressive and enterprising, he has carried on its cultivation along modern and practical lines and has made substantial improvements upon it, erecting a modern residence, fine barns and outbuildings and installing the necessary machinery. He carries on general farming, giving a great deal of attention to the raising of cattle, horses and hogs, and his business interests, being carefully and capably conducted, have brought him a gratifying measure of success. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Store and the canning factory in Post- ville and is connected also with the Luana Creamery Company and the Elgin State Bank.
29
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
On the 24th of October, 1912, Mr. Swenson was united in marriage to Miss Tillie Gunderson, who was born in Clermont township, Fayette county, Iowa, on the 21st of October. 1888. She is a daughter of Arney and Anna (Gunderson) Gunderson, natives of Norway, the former born on the 22d of February, 1848, and the latter on the 24th of February, 1845. At the age of nine the father crossed the Atlantic with his parents and located with them in Fayette county, where he grew to manhood, becoming an extensive landowner and a prosperous farmer. He served as county supervisor for one term and was also representative from his district to the state legislature. He is still prominent and active in public affairs and is doing capable and progressive work as a member of the school board.
Mr. Swenson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and, although not an office seeker, is interested in the growth and development of his native county. He is still a young man but is already numbered among the progressive and successful agriculturists of Post township, and his record is a credit to a name that has been honored and respected in Allamakee county since pioneer times.
PETER J. BEUCHER.
Peter J. Beucher, mayor of Postville and connected with business interests as the proprietor of a profitable real-estate enterprise in Postville, is a native son of the city, born just across the line in Clayton county, May 17, 1865, his parents being Mathias and Louisa (Koevnig) Beucher, both of whom were born in Trier, Germany, the father, May 10, 1830, and the mother, December 8, 1835. " They came to Allamakee county in 1856 and were among the early settlers in this section, settling near what was then the early Old Mission, or Sixteen. The father turned his attention to farming, later moving to Springfield, where in connection with the conduct of his farm he operated a small brewery. In 1866 he came to Postville and was in charge of the city schools for some years, conducting also a profitable hardware store until 1885, when he put aside the cares of active life and lived retired until his death, August 1, 1901. His wife survives him and makes her home in Postville, being now in the seventy-eighth year of her age.
Peter J. Beucher was reared in Postville and acquired his education in the local schools. At the age of twenty-one he began his independent career, establishing himself in the hotel business, in which he continued for a short time, eventually trading his hotel for land. At the same time he purchased a dray line which, after operating it for three years, he sold, turning his attention at that time to the butcher business. In this he engaged for a year or two, after which he became identified with the real-estate business, buying and selling eity property and farming lands. He handles a great deal of city property and, being an excellent judge of land values as well as a resourceful and far-sighted business man, has made his enterprise profitable not only to himself but to his clients also. For fifteen years he was a wholesale dealer of Pabst beer but he has now abandoned that line of business. He is a director in the Citizens State
30
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
Bank of Postville and is connected with five other financial institutions, most of which are located in Iowa. He has extensive holdings in Minnesota lands and city property in Postville and recently disposed of a large tract in Fayette county. His business interests are conducted in a capable and progressive way and his success places him in the front ranks of the substantial men of this community.
In December, 1886, Mr. Beucher married Miss Lena Olson, who was born in Norway in February, 1866. Her father died when she was still an infant and her mother married again, coming to America soon afterward. Mrs. Beucher died, May 1, 1909, leaving six children. Louisa, born September 17, 1887, married Lynn S. McEwen, cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Postville. Otto J. operates a dray line in this city. Leo is paying teller in the Citizens State Bank. Charlotte lives at home. Harry and Helen are attending school.
Although Mr. Beucher has been very successful in business affairs he has not by any means confined his attention to this one line of work but has con- stituted himself also an active force in local politics. He gives his allegiance to the democratic party but is capable of independent action when the occasion demands it. He is now in the second term of his service as mayor of Postville and is giving to the city a straightforward, progressive and constructive admin- istration. Fraternally he is connected with Decorah Lodge, No. 443, B. P. O. E., and with Postville Lodge, No. 204. F. & A. M., being thoroughly in sympathy with the principles of brotherly love upon which these orders are founded. He is a man of high integrity and business and political honor and he enjoys in the highest measure the respect of all who know him. That many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from childhood is an evidence that his has been an honorable and upright life and that he is in every way worthy of the respect and esteem in which he is uniformly held.
JOHN H. HALE.
One of the early residents of Waukon and a man who has many claims to the honor and respect of his fellow citizens is John H. Hale, who came to the city in 1865 after a long and honorable period of service in the Civil war and who from that time to the present has been a central figure in mercantile circles here. For almost half a century he has witnessd the work of development and progress which has transformed the community and to an important extent has been identified with it, working along constructive and progressive lines through many active and honorable years until today he stands among the substantial and successful men of the city he aided in upbuilding.
Mr. Hale was born in Hartford, Connecticut, September 26, 1838, and acquired his education in Wilson Seminary in Massachusetts. He took a course in civil engineering and after completing it came west to Wisconsin in the fall of 1856, locating in La Crosse on the 10th of October of that year. He there engaged in important engineering work on the Milwaukee Railroad and afterward was identified with the construction of the Root River Valley Road. In 1859
JOHN IL. HALE
33
PAST AND PRESENT OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
he went to Texas and practiced his profession there until the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1861 he enlisted in the Union army, joining Company D, Thirteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and as a private was sent to the front. He participated in numerous engagements, including the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga and Mission Ridge and was with Sherman on his march to the sea. At Chickamauga he received a gunshot wound in the leg. He came to Waukon and married in February, 1864, and almost immediately after- ward returned to the front and, rejoining his command, served until the close of the war. He won promotion from the rank of private to that of second and then first lieutenant and was afterward captain and acting major through the Carolinas. He marched with his regiment to Washington, where he took part in the famous grand review, afterward receiving his honorable discharge at Jackson, Michigan, on July 25, 1865. John H. Hale was related to Nathan Hale of Revolutionary fame.
With this credible military record Mr. Hale came to Waukon and soon after- ward engaged in merchandising, an occupation with which he has now been identified for forty-eight years. Under the firm name of J. H. Hale & Company he established a small business which he enlarged with his increasing trade until he now has one of the largest dry-goods concerns in the city. For years C. W. Jenkins was a member of the firm and since his death the name of the firm has been J. H. Hale & Sons. A few years ago he erected a fine modern building to accommodate his growing patronage and on two of the floors carries an im- mense stock of goods which is well selected and tastefully arranged. Each year has seen an increase in the volume and importance of his business, which now amounts to more than fifty thousand dollars annually. Many changes have been made in the firm name since 1865, the title being today J. H. Hale & Sons, as- sumed when Mr. Hale admitted his two sons as partners.
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.