USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 42
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"Twenty-six years' successful experience as mining engineer in the mining camps of Colorado, supplemented by years of scientific study, has eminently
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fitted Professor Larson to take his place in the front rank of mining experts. To his superior judgment and sound advice are due in a large measure the present prosperous conditions in Turret and many other leading Colorado mining camps. As a mineralogist he occupies a front rank in the mining domain and his opinions are eagerly sought and acted upon by the capitalists and mine operators of the state. Being conservative in his methods, he is thoroughly competent to dis- criminate in the matter of mining investments on a safe and prudent basis. His wide experience with the peculiar mineralogical formations of the various Colo- rado mining district's, renders his judgment profound, his reports unquestioned and his reputation without blemish."
Mr. Larson passed away on the 26th of August, 1909, at Pojuaque, near Espanola, New Mexico, after an illness of but three days. He was then fifty- seven years of age. He left a son, Claude, twenty-three years of age, who was at the time looking after his father's mining interests in Colorado, for Olen Larson had gone to New Mexico to purchase a fruit ranch. It was while in the southwest that he was taken suddenly ill and passed away. He possessed many sterling qualities of character, was thoroughly reliable at all times and his many qualities endeared him to all who knew him.
CHARLES J. RISER.
Charles J. Riser, a worthy native son of Allamakee county and a prosperous and esteemed resident of the village of Church, is now serving for the second year as secretary of the Calhoun Creamery. He was born on the home farm in Lansing township, this county, his parents being John and Eva (Kaam) Riser. The former, whose birth occurred in Berne, Switzerland, on the 21st of February, 1829, accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States in 1843, the family home being established in Madison county. Illinois, where he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1852 he came to Allamakee county, Iowa, and helped erect the first home on the Riser place in Lansing township. Going back to Madison county, Illinois, he purchased eighty acres of land and there resided for two years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Allamakee county and purchased a tract of one hundred and twenty-four acres in Lansing township, continuing to reside thereon and being busily engaged in its cultivation throughout the remainder of his active business career. His last years were spent in the home of his son, Charles J., his demise occurring at Church in January, 1907. He passed away in the faith of the German Congregational church and his death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he had been a resident of this county for more than a half century and had become well known and highly esteemed within its borders. He was first married in Illinois to a Miss Anderson, who died in that state, leaving one son, John, a resident of Illinois. For his second wife Mr. Riser chose Miss Eva Kaam, a native of Berne, Switzerland. who passed away on the old home farm in Lansing township in 1893. By this union there are eleven children, as follows: Mrs. John Schupbach, who is a resident of Madison county, Illinois ; Caroline, of Allamakce county ; Fred, living in Woodbury county, Iowa; IIenry, of Idaho; George, who makes his home in
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Colorado ; Amelia, who is the wife of L. W. Wendel, of Belmond, Iowa ; Rosa ; Charles J., of this review ; Theodore; Pauline, and Elizabeth.
Charles J. Riser attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education and when not busy with his text-books assisted his father in the work of the home farm. In 1900 he purchased the property from his father and con- tinued its operation until 1905, when he sold the place. During the following six years he was engaged in business as a member of the firm of Decker & Riser, general merchants at Church. For the past two years, however, he has devoted his attention to his duties as secretary of the Calhoun Creamery and in this con- nection has won a creditable and gratifying measure of success.
As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Riser chose Miss Clara Martinson, by whom he has five children, Hazel, Edgar, Carl, Leigh and Harold. The family home is the most attractive and pleasing in Church. In the community where his entire life has been spent he has gained a large circle of friends who esteem him as a man of genuine personal worth and many sterling traits of character.
GEORGE WUENNECKE.
Among the residents of Allamakee county who have attained an honorable place in the community through their acknowledged ability and personal worth is George Wuennecke, who since 1892 has owned and cultivated a fine farm of two hundred acres in Union City township. Germany numbers him among her native sons, his birth having there occurred in 1855, his parents being Peter and Dora Wuennecke. They came to America in 1866 and settled in Minnesota, where the father engaged in general farming, an occupation which he followed until his death in 1883. The mother survived him many years, passing away in 1908. To their union were born six children, two of whom survive: George, the subject of this review ; and Dora, the widow of Christ Bunge.
George Wuennecke began his independent career at the age of fourteen years, and, being thus early thrown upon his own resources, developed qualities of industry, self-reliance and independence which form the basis of his success today. For ten years after laying aside his books he worked as a farm laborer, saving his money and eventually accumulating enough to enable him to purchase land of his own. He farmed for thirteen years thereafter upon his own property in Minnesota, at the end of that time disposing of his interests and coming to Iowa, in which state he bought two hundred acres of land in Union City township, Allamakee county, upon which he still resides. He has not confined his atten- tion entirely to the work of the fields, however, but has paid considerable atten- tion to the raising of live stock and in this as in all departments of the farm he has shown a judgment and skill that have steadily increased the annual income from the place and added to its value. Fle is a director and stockholder of the Merchants Savings Bank of New Albin and. a stockholder in the Crystal Cream- ery of Eitzen, Minnesota.
In 1879 Mr. Wuennecke married Miss Margaret Gade, who was born in Germany in 1860. She came to America with her parents in 1872 and they
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settled in Iowa, later moving to Minnesota, where the father and mother passed away. Of the children born to their union three are still living, as follows : Mrs. Katherine Hyndman, of Union City township; George, a resident of Da- kota; and Margaret, the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Wuennecke became the parents of fourteen children, ten of whom survive: Bertha, who married Charles Deters, a farmer in Minnesota; Emma, the wife of Richard Pottratz, also of Minnesota; August and Gustave, twins, the former of whom resides in Minnesota and the latter in lowa; George, who is engaged in farming in South Dakota ; and Annie, Margaret, Dora, John and Hulda, all of whom are at home. The family are devout members of the Evangelical church.
Mr. Wuennecke gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is in- telligently interested in the growth of the community, although he never seeks public office. He is one of the well informed and progressive men of Union City township, active and enterprising in business, and his intelligently directed efforts are making the property of which he is the owner a valuable and productive one.
JAMES E. RUSH.
James E. Rush, the owner of a valuable and productive farm of one hundred and thirty-seven acres on section 2, Franklin township, has remained thereon from his birth to the present time, his natal day being December 31, 1862. His parents, William L. and Sarah ( Parker) Rush, were both natives of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, the former born on the 6th of October, 1829, and the latter on the 5th of October, 1828. In early life William L. Rush learned the trade of a cabinet-maker and house carpenter and followed that occupation ex- clusively for a number of years. In 1854 he made his way from Pennsylvania to Rossville, Allamakce county, Iowa, here working at his trade until the fall of 1860, when he purchased the farm in Franklin township which is now in pos- session of his son James. He devoted his attention to its operation throughout the remainder of his life and also worked at the carpenter's trade at different times. His demise occurred in February, 1888, while his wife was called to her final rest in September, 1891. Mr. Rush held several township offices and en- joyed an enviable reputation as a substantial and representative citizen of his community.
James E. Rush, the seventh in order of birth in a family of ten children, attended district school No. 9 in Franklin township. After attaining his majority he worked for his father for two years and then rented the homestead prop- erty. When his parents had passed away he bought out the other heirs to the estate and became the owner of the home farm, embracing one hundred and thirty-seven acres on section 2, Franklin township. The buildings thereon are modern and substantial and the place is now lacking in none of the accessories and equipments of a model farm of the twentieth century. Mr. Rush devotes his attention to general agricultural pursuits with excellent results and has long been numbered among the successful farmers and respected citizens of his native county.
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On the 27th of June, 1888, Mr. Rush was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Denning, whose birth occurred in Jefferson township, Allamakce county, Septem- ber 14, 1868, her parents being Samuel and Elizabeth ( Francis) Denning, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Samuel Denning, who followed agricultural pursuits throughout his active business carcer, came to Iowa at an early day, locating first in Fairview township, Allama- kee county. He became one of the earliest landowners here, going to Dubuque to enter his tract. Subsequently he took up his abode in Jefferson township, purchased land and maintained his residence there until his death, which oc- curred in the spring of 1909. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Rush conducted the old mission in Fairview township and was one of the esteemed and influ- ential citizens of the early days. Mrs. Elizabeth (Francis) Denning passed away in 1903. She was the mother of thirteen children, Mrs. Rush being the eighth in order of birth. Our subject and his wife have nine children, as follows: Ray L .; Leslie W .; Jesse E., a traveling salesman; Bessie E .; Carroll; Dewey ; Ethel ; Vernie and Blanche.
Mr. Rush gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has done able service in the interests of education as a school director. Fraternally he is identified with the Foodmen. Both he and his wife have always lived within the borders of Allamakee county and the circle of their friends is a wide one.
S. J. SVENDSON.
S. J. Svendson is cultivating eighty acres of productive soil in Waterloo town- ship and has been so engaged since he was twenty-six years of age. He is prac- tical in his methods and consequently successful and he has gained a comfortable degree of prosperity and a growing prominence among his fellow citizens in both private and public life. He was born in this township in 1860, a son of Jonas and Mette Svendson, both natives of Norway. They emigrated to America in 1856 and settled in Waterloo township, Allamakec county, lowa, the father purchas- ing government land upon which he has since resided and to the cultivation of which he has continued to give his attention. He now owns a fine tract of one hundred and two acres, all under cultivation, and in its operation is still active although he has reached the age of seventy-five years. His wife also survives at the age of seventy-eight years. In their family were twelve children but only five are living, namely : Mary, the wife of Nick Johnson, of North Dakota; S. J., of this review; Petra, the wife of O. Evenmoe, of Waterloo township; Martin, resid- ing in Canada ; and Rena, who married Charles Rossow, of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The deceased are Isabelle, Rena, John. Isabelle, Gertrude, Gilbert and one, who dicd in infancy.
In Waterloo township S. J. Svendson received his education and in the home fields, under the direction of his father, acquired thorough training along agri- cultural lines. He remained with his parents, giving them the benefit of his as- sistance, until twenty-six years of age, when, wishing to engage independently in farmning, he purchased forty acres of land in Waterloo township which forms the nucleus of his present farm. To this he added from time to time and now
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has a tract of eighty acres, all finely improved and under cultivation. He divides his attention between farming and stock-raising and has been successful from the beginning of his independent career, his present prosperity being based on continuous endeavor along developing lines. His home is situated four miles west of Dorchester.
It was in 1899 that Mr. Svendson was united in marriage to Miss Gena Von- graven, who was born in Norway and as a little maiden of three years came with her parents to the United States in 1879, the family home being established in Waterloo township, where the parents have since continued to reside. She is the fifth in order of birth in a family of seven children, the others being as follows: Claus. of Minnesota ; John, of Alaska ; Johanna, who married John McMullen, of Winneshiek county ; Lewis, of Allamakee county ; Lucy, the widow of Arthur Nimmocks, of La Crosse, Wisconsin; and one who died in infancy. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Svendson were born four children: Jonas, born in 1899, whose death occurred in 1912; Ole, born April 4, 1901 ; Gilbert, born April 20, 1902; and Morris Arthur, January 24, 1909. The family hold membership in the Lutheran church and are held in high esteem by all who know them. Mr. Svendson is a republican in politics and is not unknown in public life, having served as town- ship clerk and is now acting as township assessor, which office he has held for five years. He is a public-spirited citizen and a faithful and efficient public servant and his life has been spent honorably and usefully in a worthy occupation.
JOHN B. SUTTER.
Probably no man is more familiar with pioneer customs and conditions in Allamakee county than John B. Sutter, to whom they are matters of personal experience rather than of history. As a boy of eleven years he came to this section of Iowa and he has since that time witnessed practically the entire de- velopment of the state, taking an active and honorable part in the work of upbuilding. Although he is now about to retire from active life, he has been for years numbered among the greatest individual forces in agricultural de- velopment in this section and has by his ability, untiring energy and steadfastness of purpose won success, prominence and substantial fortune.
Mr. Sutter was born in Ripley county, Indiana, October 30, 1840, and is a son of John B. and Elizabeth ( Kiser) Sutter, natives of Switzerland, where the father spent his early childhood. He afterward took passage with his parents on board a vessel bound for America, all of the family dying at sea with the exception of the father of the subject of this review and his brother Joseph. In order to pay for their passage across the Atlantic the brothers after their arrival were bound out as farm laborers in one of the eastern states, but Joseph Sutter ran away before the expiration of the required term. However, John served out the entire period and at the age of twenty-one received his release, going immediately to Missouri, where for five years he worked as a pilot on a flat boat. In 1850 he came to Iowa and landed at Dubuque, where he re- mained for one winter. In the fall of 1851 he moved to Allamakee county and entered government land and resided in this part of Iowa until his death.
JOHN B. SUTTER
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In Indiana he had purchased a number of soldier's land warrants and he applied these on Iowa land, accumulating over two thousand acres in Allamakee county. He later sold this vast tract and purchased a farm in Clayton county, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until he retired from active life, returning at that time and making his home with his son until his death, which occurred March 29, 1808, when he was within twenty days of being ninety-two years of age. He was a public-spirited and progressive citizen and active in public affairs, having served for five years as county assessor and for some time as county supervisor, school treasurer and justice of the peace. He served on the school board for a number of years and was a director in various banks and other business enterprises, leaving the impress of his ability and personality upon many fields of endeavor. He survived his wife, who died in 1882, some sixteen years.
John B. Sutter was eleven years of age when his parents moved to Allamakee county and he entered the class which was being held at the home of Mr. Wins- low just across the line in Clayton county. Mrs. Winslow taught this school, which offered the only educational facilities in this vicinity, there being no public schools in those early days. Mr. Sutter grew up amid pioneer conditions and as a boy assisted his father with the work of the homestead. When he grew older he began driving a team from the old mission to Dubuque, being employed by Mr. Linton, and he would often be three days or more upon the road. It was no uncommon experience for him to get stuck in a slough and remain over night in the open, the Indians often assisting him out of his predicament. He and his brother afterward operated a breaking outfit drawn by seven yoke of cattle and with this they broke land all over Allamakee and Clayton counties. At one time they went into Minnesota, where they broke three hundred and sixty acres of land and in the following year a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. They received two dollars and a half per acre for breaking prairie land and five dollars for timber tracts. During this time Mr. Sutter purchased a farm and at the age of twenty-two moved upon this property, upon which he has since carried forward the work of improvement and development. When he took up his residence upon it it was all raw land upon which the timber had not yet been cut. Mr. Sutter felled the trees and with characteristic energy began culti- vating the property, which became more and more productive and valuable with the passing years. Upon it he made substantial improvements, erecting a fine residence, barns and outbuildings and installing modern machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. His farm became one of the finest and best managed agricultural properties in this vicinity and he himself took rank among the most representative and substantial men in the township. He has recently sold all but forty acres of his homestead and has purchased a residence in Monona, where he intends to live retired, having earned comfort and leisure through well directed and untiring labor in the past.
On the 22d of October, 1863, Mr. Sutter was united in marriage to Miss Mary Plank, who was born in Missouri in November, 1841, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ebinger) Plank, natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, where the father was ordained to the Methodist Episcopal ministry. The father crossed the Atlantic at a very early date and located in Chicago, where he for some years conducted a hotel, and he was afterward a resident of various states to which
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he had been sent by the Methodist Episcopal conference, and he later became a landowner in Allamakee county. Selling out his interests here he moved to Dakota and entered government land, dying there February 14, 1890. He had survived his wife some years, her death having occurred in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Sutter have become the parents of five children : Viola, who was born May 26, 1870, and who married Frank Jones, a farmer of Fairview township: Edna, whose birth occurred on January 4, 1872, and who married J. W. Bennett, who was a druggist but now has turned his attention to farming in the vicinity of Janesville, this state; Frank, who was born January 18, 1874, and who died March 10, 1879; Clara M., whose birth occurred December 26, 1875, and who graduated from the Iowa State Teachers College, being now engaged in teaching in Aberdeen, South Dakota; and Nettie, who was born October 19, 1880, and who married Theodore Schlitter, a farmer, in Clayton county.
Mr. Sutter gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and has served for nine years as township trustee, for a number of years as constable, and for a long period as president of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a loyal and able supporter. At all times he has been interested in the welfare of the county and has given active cooperation to many move- ments for the public good, while his efforts in behalf of public improvement have been effective and far reaching. Living in Iowa for sixty-two years and having been active in argicultural circles in Allamakee county for over forty, he is one of the best known citizens of this locality, being recognized as a man of tried integrity and worth, of business enterprise and unfaltering diligence. Now that he is seventy-three years of age he enjoys a well earned rest, for it is fitting that his former business career should give him this period of leisure to enjoy the fruits of his former toil. His fellow citizens honor and respect him and wherever he is known he has an extensive circle of friends.
JOHN J. BRODERICK.
Since 1883 John J. Broderick has lived upon his fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Fairview township and has carried forward its improvement and cultivation along modern and progressive lines, the results of his labors being evident today in the value, productiveness and attractive appearance of his home- stead. He is a representative of one of the best known pioneer families in this section of the state, his grandfather having entered government land as early as 1845, having remained a continuous resident of Fairview township until his death. Mr. Broderick of this review was born at Dubuque, December 1, 1861, his parents being Hugh and Ellen ( Rabbit) Broderick, the former born in County Galway, Ireland, in 1837, and the latter in County Roscommon on the 22d of De- cember, 1829. Hugh Broderick's mother died when he was still in his infancy and his father afterward married again. Crossing the Atlantic in 1845 the grand- father of our subject settled in Iowa, taking up government land on the site where the city of Des Moines now stands. He endured all of the hardships incident to life in the wilderness in those early times and was often in danger of his life from the hostile Indians. Hugh Broderick and his brother-in-law, Thomas Cav-
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anaugh, had one especially narrow escape, for they were captured, tied to the stake and about to be scalped before help arrived. In fact the knife had already been inserted at the base of Mr. Cavanaugh's head when an Indian to whom he had given a drink of whiskey a few days before came up and declared him to be a "good paleface" and untied the cord which bound the captives. They were released, given their clothing and sent back to their homes but Mr. Cavanaugh carried a deep scar at the back of his neck during the remainder of his life. He and Mr. Broderick afterward proved up on land to which they had entered a claim and the father of the subject of this review went to Dubuque, where he entered the employ of John T. Hancock as clerk in a general store. He remained in this capacity for eleven years, dying in 1864. His wife survived him until 1908.
John J. Broderick acquired his education in the public schools of Elkport, Iowa, but his advantages along this line were extremely limited as he attended for only six months during his entire life. He grew up amid pioneer conditions, learning farming by practical experience upon his father's homestead, and when he was sixteen years of age he engaged as a farm laborer for Senator Garber at Elkport. He retained this position for five years and six months and in 1883 married and bought the John Walsh homestead of one hundred and twenty acres. He paid for as much of this land as his capital of one hundred dollars would buy and went in debt for the remainder. Upon the property he has continuously re- sided since that time, engaging in general farming and stock-raising, and he has met with excellent success, his property being today worthy of comparison with the finest farms in the state. His prosperity has come as a natural result of his own industry, firm determination and well directed labor and his career furnishes a splendid example of the value of these qualities in the attainment of an hon- orable place in the world.
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