USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 32
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Jacob Marti was thirteen years of age when he was brought to America by his parents. He remembers well the journey across the ocean which was made in a sailing vessel, the John Hancock, and which was the last trip of this vessel as a passenger carrier. Thirty-three days were spent on the journey from Liverpool to New York city and from there the family pushed westward to Dubuque, whence after a short stop they came to Allamakee county. Jacob, however, remained for sometime with an uncle in Dubuque. He had acquired a common-school education in Switzerland and after coming to America spent three months in a German school in Dubuque and three months in the public schools of Allamakee county. He remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age and then began his independent career as manager of a farm belonging to the widow of his cousin, Frederick Marti. He subsequently married the widow, who was in her maidenhood Miss Catherine Wilhelm and who had two children by her former marriage: John, who lives on a farm in Makee township; and Casper, living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By her marriage to Jacob Marti she had five children: Henry, who resides upon a farm in Lansing township : George, engaged in agricultural pursuits in the same locality : Catherine, the wife of W. R. Gaine, of Chicago, Illinois ; William, a resident of Kasson, Minnesota ; and Emma, who died at the age of eighteen. Mr. Marti's first wife passed away at the age of forty years and he afterward married Miss Sarah Iverson, a native of Norway. They have three children: Jacob J., who is em-
MR. AND MRS. JACOB MARTI
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ployed in the postoffice at Mason City, Iowa; Anna, the wife of Charles Alfred Petrehn of Austin, Minnesota ; and Philip, a farmer in Allamakee county.
Since the farm came into Mr. Marti's possession he has continued to conduct it successfully, owning at the present time four hundred and fifty-four acres of good land upon which is one of the finest sets of buildings in the county. The original residence was burned down about ten years ago and in its place he has erected at a cost of over four thousand dollars a large modern home. It is finished on the inside in oak and is complete in furnishings and accessories, one of the finest private residences in this section of the state. Mr. Marti engages in general farming and is interested in the conduct of his dairy, which is well equipped and sanitary in every particular. For a number of years he made a great deal of cheese which he sold in the Dubuque markets, where it commanded a high price and a ready sale. A man of broad views and modern ideas, well informed on the questions and issues of the day, Mr. Marti is probably one of the most popular of Allamakee county's pioneer citizens and his place in the respect and esteem of his fellowmen has been won by reason of an honorable, upright and worthy life, the activities of which have contributed in an important way to the development of the section. It is said that he never knowingly wronged any man, and his name is today a synonym for kindness, geniality and courtesy.
JOHN J. ARNOLD.
The advanced and scientific methods which have of late years practically revolutionized agricultural pursuits find a progressive and worthy representative in John J. Arnold, one of the extensive landowners and most prominent stock breeders and shippers in Allamakee county. In association with his brother he owns one hundred and eighty-five acres of land in Jefferson township, another tract of one hundred and thirty acres, and another tract of one hundred and sixty acres, and has proven far-sighted and practical in the conduct of his important interests. For the past fifteen years he has bred stock on an extensive scale and also devotes a great deal of time to buying, selling and shipping, and his busi- ness affairs, being carefully conducted, have resulted in a success which places him among the leading men engaged in this line of work in this part of Iowa. He was born in Mitchell county, this state, July 6, 1870, and is a son of A. P. Arnold, a well known farmer and bridge contractor, of whom more extended mention is made elsewhere in this work.
John J. Arnold was three years of age when he came with his parents to Allamakee county. He was reared in Waukon and in Ludlow township. He acquired his primary education in district school, supplementing this by a term in the Waukon high school, after which he devoted practically all of his time to assisting his father with the cultivation of the homestead and in his bridge- building operations. After three years, however, he turned his attention to buy- ing and shipping stock, and he has been connected with this line of work for the past fifteen years. His land holdings are today extensive and important, com- prising three fine farms, one of one hundred and eighty-five acres, another of Vol. 11-1 €
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one hundred and thirty, and another of one hundred and sixty, lying principally in Jefferson township. In connection with his brother he operates these as model stock farms, and upon the one hundred and eighty-five acre tract has erected a fine residence and a modern silo with a capacity of one hundred and sixty tons. His barns house fifty cows and a fine herd of high-grade cattle. His property here is today one of the finest and best equipped in the township. Mr. Arnold, however, makes his home in the vicinity of Waukon, where he has rented eighty acres of land, upon which is a comfortable and attractive residence. Mr. Arnold makes his home upon this property because of its proximity to the Waukon stock yards, and he is well known in business circles of that city, owning a half interest in a local meat market and a half interest in an ice business there.
In Waukon, on the 21st of June, 1910, Mr. Arnold was united in marriage to Mrs. Elsie Ashbacher, who was born and reared in Allamakee county, and a daughter of James Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have become the parents of a daughter, Florence, and Mrs. Arnold has two children by her former mar- riage, Leora and Harriet.
Mr. Arnold is a member of the Presbyterian church of Waukon, to which he is a liberal contributor. He is connected fraternally with the Knights of Pythias, taking an active interest in the affairs of that organization. He has constantly and earnestly labored to stimulate the interest of his neighbors in all that tends to promote progress along agricultural lines, demonstrating in his own success the result of practical methods and well directed industry. His pros- perity is well deserved and Allamakee county numbers him among her most pro- gressive, prominent and desirable citizens.
CHARLES L. KEENAN.
Among the men widely known in Allamakee county as breeders of pure- blooded and high-grade cattle is Charles L. Keenan, who from his youth has been closely identified with this line of work and who is today the owner of the Maple Leaf Stock Farm of one hundred and fifty acres and of fine herds of shorthorn cattle, Poland China hogs and Percheron horses. A spirit of enterprise has distinguished all the activities of his career and has brought him today to a gratifying position in his chosen line. Mr. Keenan was born upon the farm which he now occupies on the 27th of February, 1871, and is a son of Patrick Keenan, one of the first settlers in Jefferson township, having located here in 1847. The father purchased wild land, securing over five hundred acres, and this he cleared of timber, breaking the soil and improving the place with sub- stantial buildings. He became in the course of years one of the well known men in Allamakee county, continuing to make his home in this part of Iowa until his death, which occurred March 14, 1878. In 1854, in Allamakee county, he mar- ried Miss Catherine Scanlan, who survived him for a number of years, carry- ing on the operation of the homestead and becoming the owner of one of the first herds of shorthorn cattle in Allamakee county. She passed away Septem- ber 14, 1909.
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Charles L. Keenan, who is one of a family of nine sons and three daughters, was reared upon the family homestead in Jefferson township and acquired his primary education in the country schools. He supplemented this by a business course at La Crosse Business College and then returned to the farm which he aided his mother in operating for a number of years, continuing as assistant until the estate was settled, when he succeeded to the portion of the farm which contained the homestead. From his youth up he was closely connected with stock-raising interests here and is today one of the leading stock men in the township. His stock is all high grade and his herd of cattle varies from ten to forty animals. In business circles Mr. Keenan is known as one of the pro- moters of the Farmers Cooperative Stock & Produce Company of Allamakee county and also has stock in the Paint Creek Telephone Company.
In Jefferson township, on the 25th of June, 1901, Mr. Keenan was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Ryan, who was born and reared in Jefferson town- ship, a daughter of John S. Ryan, who is numbered among the first settlers in this locality. A more extended mention of his life is found elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Keenan have become the parents of four children, John Cyril, Mary Lorraine, Katherine Estella and Cecilia. The family are members of the Waukon Catholic church and Mr. Keenan belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Knights of Columbus. He is numbered among the suc- cessful farmers and stock-raisers of Allamakee county and among its most pro- gressive business men, his success coming as the direct result of the sound judg- ment and keen discrimination which have distinguished the activities of his entire career.
FRED S. HANSMEIER.
That Fred S. Hansmeier has been found reliable, conscientious and efficient in positions of public trust is indicated by the fact that he is now in the eighth consecutive year of his service as assessor of Makee township, and that he is also an able agriculturist and a progressive business man his fine farm of one hundred acres on section 27 gives ample testimony. He has been a resident of Iowa since 1869, but is a native of Germany, born in Lippe, June 13, 1860, a son of Fred L. Hansmeier, also a native of that principality. The father married there Minnie Kollinge, who was born and reared in Lippe, and the family emigrated to America in 1869, settling directly in Iowa and making a permanent location in Allamakee county. One year later Fred L. Hansmeier purchased one hun- dred acres of land provided with a log house and with a few acres under culti- vation. For many years thereafter he continued to reside on this property, add- ing to it the adjoining farm and carrying forward the work of improvement and cultivation. He died upon his holdings in 1909, having survived his wife three years.
Fred S. Hansmeier is the eldest in a family of seven children, all of whom reside in Allamakee county. He was reared and educated here and remained upon the homestead until he was twenty-one years of age, aiding in the work of its development and improvement. He afterward learned the carpentering
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trade and for some years engaged in business as a contractor and builder, many of the finest residences in Waukon and upon the farms in the vicinity of the city standing as evidences of his architectural skill. Eventually he succeeded to the old home place and he has since resided thereon, giving his attention to its further development and improvement. He has erected upon it a fine modern residence, good barns, a granary, a cornerib and a henhouse, and has besides sunk a well three hundred feet deep, provided with a gas engine to pump the water to Oak Ridge Farm, by which name it is known. As the result of his efforts he has one of the finest agricultural properties in this vicinity, nothing being neglected which will add to its attractive appearance or its value. Mr. Hansmeier is num- bered among the able exponents of enlightened and scientific agricultural methods. In addition to general farming he is also a stock-raiser on an extensive scale, breeding a good grade of shorthorn cattle, Chester White hogs and Shropshire sheep. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Creamery of Waukon and is now in his fourth year of service as president of that concern, to which he sells the products of the model and sanitary dairy which he operates.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, November 27, 1887, Mr. Hansmeier was united in marriage to Miss Annie Umbriet, who was born in Wabasha county, that state. They were the first couple married in North St. Paul and in the Presbyterian church there, an edifice which Mr. Hansmeier aided in erecting. Seven children have been born to their union : Clara, the wife of Ed Raymond, of Waukon ; Ella ; Calvin A. : Esther ; Lillian ; Alfred L. ; and Arna. Mr. and Mrs. Hansmeier and their children are members of the Waukon German Reformed church.
Mr. Hansmeier is a stanch republican in his political beliefs and takes an intelli- gent interest in public affairs, cooperating heartily in all movements to promote the permanent interests of the community. In 1901 he was elected assessor of Makee township and after serving one term was reelected. After an interval of one term he was again elected to the office and has since served eight consecutive years, discharging his duties in a capable, reliable and energetic way. He has been a resident of Allamakee county since 1869 and the intervening years have brought him success, prominence and fortune and a place among the substantial agri- culturists and men of affairs.
MARTIN J. LARSON.
Martin J. Larson, who has resided in Allamakee county since 1854, is today numbered among the prosperous, substantial and progressive agriculturists of this part, owning and operating the Big Spring Stock Farm, a fine property of eighty acres which in its neat and attractive appearance is a visible evidence of his life of industry and thrift. He was born in Norway, near Christiania, Feb- ruary 4, 1852, and is a son of John and Karen (Johnson) Larson, who came to America at an early date and settled in Wisconsin in 1853. There the mother died and the father afterward came as a pioneer to Iowa, making a permanent location in Jefferson township. Allamakee county. A more extended mention of his career will be found on another page in this work.
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Martin J. Larson was reared upon his father's farm in Jefferson township and after his father's death operated the homestead in association with his brother for a number of years. After his marriage, which occurred in 1875, he rented land and continued to develop it until he went to North Dakota, where he spent one season. Upon his return he purchased the property which he now owns and turned his attention to breaking the soil and clearing it of timber. His property is known as the Big Spring Farm and comprises eighty acres of land, well tilled and equipped with substantial improvements. It was Mr. Larson who made this farm what it is today, for he broke the soil, felled the trees and has since carried forward the work of development with characteristic energy and with excellent results. He has divided his land into fields of convenient size enclosed with barbed wire fences, has erected a neat residence, a large barn with a basement, and a spring house and has neglected nothing that will add to the attractive appearance or value of the place. He makes a specialty of breeding and raising high-grade stock and controls also extensive dairy interests, selling the dairy products to the Waterville Cooperative Creamery, in which he is a stockholder. He is connected in the same way with the Peoples National Bank of Waukon, the Farmers Cooperative Stock & Produce Company and the Farmers Paint Creek Telephone Company, and his business ability has been a helpful factor in the development of these concerns.
On the 20th of May, 1875, Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Sando, a native of Norway, who came to the United States when she was thir- teen or fourteen years of age and grew to womanhood in Allamakee county. Mr. and Mrs. Larson have become the parents of six children: John E .; Helmer, of Berlin, North Dakota : Melvin R., who is aiding in the operation of the home- stead; Caroline L., the wife of Ed Smeby, of Jefferson township; Rosa, who married A. A. Koontz, of Berlin, North Dakota ; and Alma J. The last named supplemented a public-school education by three terms at a college in Austin, Min- nesota, and has been for fifteen terms a teacher in Winneshiek and Allamakee counties.
Mr. Larson is a member of the old West Paint Creek United Lutheran church and he is a republican in his political beliefs, having served for about twelve years at different times as township trustee. He is a progressive, loyal and enter- prising citizen, a capable business man and a progressive farmer and during the many years of his residence in Allamakee county has commanded and held the respect and high esteem of all who have come in contact with him.
EMIL H. PUFAHL.
Emil H. Pufahl, who is engaged in dairy farming in Linton township on a property comprising one hundred and sixty acres, has taken his place among the substantial farmers of his district. He understands the dairy business thor- oughly, having for many years been manager of various creameries, and as the years have passed has made his farm one of the most attractive and paying in the neighborhood, his particular grade or brand of cattle being high-grade Guern- seys. He was born in Guttenberg, Clayton county, Iowa, December 21, 1871, and is a son of Gottlieb and Wilhelmina Pufahl, both natives of the province
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of Posen, Germany. The father was born April 2, 1831, and passed away May 9. 1913, having passed his eighty-second birthday, and the mother is still resid- ing at Guttenberg. They crossed the Atlantic in 1871, coming directly to Gut- tenberg, where the father worked for others in a sawmill and continued in that occupation until he retired in 1898. From that time until his death he lived in the enjoyment of a comfortable competency, which his former labors had brought him. While yet in Germany he served with the army and often delighted to recall incidents from his early military life. Mr. and Mrs. Pufahl had eleven children, of whom six are living and seven grew to maturity : Gustav, who resides in Luana, Clayton county, and follows farming; Bertha, who mar- ried Fred Williams and Tesides at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where her hus- band is engaged in the hotel business ; Julius, who made his home near Gutten- berg until his death on November 7, 1910; Herman, who resides at Bolivar, Mis- souri, where he is a prominent attorney : Emil H., of this review; Otto, who is an art decorator at Butte, Montana : and Hulda, the wife of Orrin Burke, of Los Angeles, California. The four others died in infancy.
Emil H. Pufahl received his educational advantages in Guttenberg, where he attended high school. He left that institution at the age of seventeen and then for one year worked in Chicago, Illinois, where he operated a milk route. Com- ing back to Clayton county, he was employed on a farm for a short time and then became manager and secretary of the Luana Creamery Company, continu- ing so for six years. At the end of that time he set himself up independently. conducting a creamery at Nora Springs, Iowa, for four years. Upon selling his plant he bought his present farm comprising one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, which he operates as a dairy farm, keeping a number of high- grade Guernsey cattle. His barns and buildings are substantially built and mod- ernly equipped and in every way sanitary. Mr. Pufahl is a progressive farmer in the best sense of the word and is ever ready to embrace new methods if they promise improvements over older ones. He has made his property one of the most valuable and profitable in his section, and this is the more creditable to him as it has been brought about by his own labors alone. Mr. Pufahl is a stock- holder in the Farmers Creamery Company at Monona, an organization formed with the object of affording the farmer an opportunity to dispose of his products in the best possible way.
The date of the marriage of Mr. Pufahl was May 30, 1900, when he wedded Miss Carrie Biggs, the ceremony taking place at McGregor, Iowa. She is a daughter of David and Elizabeth ( Fitch) Biggs, the former born in Holmes county, Ohio, November 4, 1831, and the latter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. June 18, 1840. In 1853 the father came to Iowa, settling in Volney, where for a number of years he engaged in sawmilling. He conducted an enterprise of this kind in partnership with his sons with excellent results until 1860, when he went to the Rocky mountains, spending two months in the vicinity of Pike's Peak. Upon his return to Iowa he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Linton township, which he continued to cultivate until 1908, becoming a pros- perous farmer in this neighborhood. In that year he retired and now he and his wife reside in Rossville. David Biggs comes of an old American family which has been in this country since Revolutionary times, his grandfather hav- ing come to the colonies as a soldier in the English army. After his arrival here,
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however, he and his brother joined General Washington and they gave their service to the Continental cause. Mr. and Mrs. Pufahl have three children : John Kenneth, born October 17, 1903 ; Paul Wesley, May 16, 1911 ; and Florence Eugenia, August 19, 1912.
Mr. Pufahl was born in a Lutheran family and reared in that faith, although he is not now a member of any church. Politically he is a republican, giving his allegiance to the progressive movement in that party. He serves at the present time as clerk of Linton township. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, holding membership in the Nora Springs camp. Care- ful of his own interests, Mr. Pufahl is always considerate of those of others and ever views his actions from the point of their effect upon the general pros- perity. He has done much toward raising agricultural standards in Allamakee county and is therefore a forceful factor in community life.
EMMETT LEROY PALMER.
A thorough and experienced agriculturist and a good manager, Emmett Leroy Palmer takes a prominent place among the younger farmers of Allamakee county. Since 1910 he has owned his present property, comprising one hundred and twenty acres, and within a few years has brought it to a high state of culti- vation, his fields yielding rich harvests and being fenced into suitable tracts. His buildings are substantial and modern and the latest farm machinery and imple- ments can be found upon his place. Mr. Palmer is a native of Iowa, his birth occurring at Elkader, Clayton county, on September 21, 1878. He is a son of Aaron V. and Emma (Niblock) Palmer, the former a native of Pennsylvania, born about 1851, and the latter of Allamakee county, her birth having occurred near Waukon about a year later. In early life the father followed the trade of cooper but also engaged in teaming and farming and eventually settled on a property near Waukon, in Jefferson township, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and where he still resides. Enjoying good health, he is still active and is now enjoying a prosperity which his long years of incessant labor have brought him. He also was engaged for a time in carrying mail from Elkader to West Union and to Postville, making these routes for about thirteen years.
Emmett L. Palmer is the second in a family of nine children, all of whom are living. He attended school in Clayton county and also in Jefferson township, this county. He was early reared to an agricultural life by his father and from him learned the thorough methods which now bring him such gratifying results. He remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he started out upon his independent career by working as a farm hand for others and also engaging in other work until married and then rented land which he operated until November, 1910, with such good results that he was enabled to buy his present farm. . He owns one hundred and twenty acres in Franklin township and operates the same in a general way. The farm is now fully equipped with modern buildings, is conveniently fenced and its appearance in every way betrays careful manage- ment and well applied labor. Mr. Palmer is also a stockholder in the Farmers
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Cooperative Creamery Company at Monona and in the Farmers Shipping Asso- ciation.
The marriage of Mr. Palmer to Miss Ethel Stafford occurred on September 4, 1901. She is a daughter of Seth N. Stafford and is just nine days younger than her husband, her birth occurring on September 30, 1878. Mr. Stafford is a pioneer of Allamakee county and one of the representative agriculturists of Franklin township. He owns a valuable farm of nearly three hundred and fifty acres on section 23 and there has gained prosperity. A native of Virginia, he was born near Morgantown, on the Monongahela river, on the Ist of June, 1848, and is a son of James Harrison and Christina (Trisler) Stafford. In his early youth he came to Allamakee county, where he spent all his active life with the exception of one year which was passed with his father in Colorado. As the years passed he attained to prosperity and has become one of the prominent citizens of his district. He was twice married and to his first union, with Miss Mary White, two children were born, a son and a daughter. Later he married Miss Betty C. Entwisle, who was born in Franklin township in 1858 and is a daughter of William and Martha ( Hancock) Entwisle, the former a native of England and the latter of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Stafford became the parents of seven children, of whom Ethel, the wife of our subject, is the oldest. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have four children: Everett Merle, born August 31, 1902; Emmett Earl, August 18, 1907; Greta L., April 21, 1910; and Crayton James, October 17, 1912.
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