USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > Past and present of Allamakee county, Iowa. A record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 43
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On the 2d of April, 1883, Mr. Broderick was united in marriage to Miss Alice M. Walsh, who was born in this township, May 29, 1862, a daughter of John and Maria (Carter) Walsh, natives. of County Galway, Ireland, the former born Au- gust 15, 1819, and the latter, August 17th of the same year. The father crossed the Atlantic in 1840 and settled in Ohio, where he married a Miss Ryder, who died in that state. After a residence of four or five years there, John Walsh moved to lowa and settled on the farm now owned by his son-in-law. He here married again, his second wife being Mrs. Broderick's mother, who had crossed the Atlantic in 1860. Mr. Walsh held various local offices and did especially efficient work for a number of years as township trustee. Mr. and Mrs. Brod- erick became the parents of eleven children : Ellen, who was born April 10, 1884, and died January 18, 1893; John P., who was born March 17, 1886, and who married Rose McDonald; Michael, who was born October 15, 1888, and died October 19th of the same year ; a son, born October 2, 1889, who died on the day of his birth ; Mary E., who was born January 5, 1891, and who married William Finnegan, a farmer of Fairview township; Alice, who was born December 25, 1892, and whose death occurred a few days later; a child, who died in 1895; Hugh J., who was born May 1, 1896, and who resides at home ; Katherine Irene, born June 8, 1898; Alice Estrella, born January 30, 1901 ; and a child, who died in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Broderick have also an adopted son, Thomas J., who was born December 7, 1904.
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Mr. Broderick and family are members of the Cherry Mound Roman Catholic church and he is a republican in his political beliefs, taking an active and intel- ligent interest in the welfare of the section which his parents and grandparents did so much to upbuild. He served as justice of the peace for nine years and since 1896 has been notary public. In addition to this office he holds that of as- sessor of Fairview township and in this capacity has for the past five years discharged his duties in a capable and efficient way. Aside from his general farming and stock-raising interests he acts also as agent for four insurance com- panies in this vicinity and has secured a large and important patronage along this line, being known as a far-sighted, discriminating and resourceful business man. Mr. Broderick is well known throughout Fairview township and enjoys the confidence and respect of his neighbors, being accounted an active worker and a progressive farmer whose record is worthy of a name long known and honored in this locality.
P. C. EVENMOE.
A well tilled farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres in Waterloo township has yielded most gratifying returns for the labor expended upon it by its owner, P. C. Evenmoe, who during the entire period of his active career has engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. Upon the property which he now occupies his birth occurred in 1870, his parents being Christian and Lucy Evenmoe, natives of Norway. They came from that country to America in 1856 and settled in Allamakee county where the father purchased eighty acres of land, which constitutes a portion of the farm now operated by the subject of this review. On section 7, Waterloo township, he followed farming and stock-raising until his retirement, adding to his holdings from time to time until he owned three hundred and thirteen acres, two hundred of which were in a high state of cultivation. He passed away Janu- ary 28, 1907, having survived his wife since 1898. To their union were born six children : Olaus, Mary, Andrew, Dorothy and Peter, all of whom have passed away ; and P. C., of this review.
P. C. Evenmoe acquired his education in the public schools of Allamakee county and in the Breckenridge Institute at Decorah. In his youth he assisted his father with the work of the homestead and when he was twenty-two years of age rented the property which he has operated since that time. Upon the death of his father he came into possession of his portion of the land and he now owns one hundred and fifty-six acres, one hundred of which are under cul- tivation. Upon this fine property he engages in general farming, paying particu- lar attention to stock-raising, which under his able management has become an important source of income to him.
Mr. Evenmoe married in 1900 Miss Sophia Swenson, a native of Waterloo township and a daughter of John and Carrie Swenson, who were born in Norway and who came to America in 1858. After an attempted settlement in Minne- sota, from which state they were driven out by the Indians, they made their home in Allamakee county, Iowa, where the father accumulated large landed holdings, owning at one time one hundred and forty acres. He afterward sold the property
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and moved to Winneshiek county, where he and his wife passed away. They had a large family of children, eight of whom are still living, namely, Mary. Johannah, Gertrude, Maria, Belle, Sophia, Julia and Samuel. Mrs. Evenmoe acquired her education in the Breckenridge Institute in Decorah and for thirteen years previous to her marriage engaged in teaching. She and her husband have four children : Joel C., whose birth occurred in 1901 ; Leonard A., born in 1903: Carl E., born in 1907; and Henry G., born in 1910. The family are members of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Evenmoe is a republican in his political beliefs and is now in the fourth term of his able service as township clerk. A man of good business ability which has won for him substantial success and guided in all his dealings by the most honorable and upright principles, he possesses also those personal characteristics which command confidence and good-will and which place him among the most highly respected and valued residents of his native township.
RICHARD WILLIAM WALSH.
No farmer in Allamakee county has achieved greater success in agricultural pursuits than Richard William Walsh, whose attractive homestead lies on section 26, Fairview township, and comprises three hundred and sixty acres. Through his own industry and enterprise he has gained an enviable degree of success and he stands today among the leading farmers and stock-raisers of this locality. He was born on the farm which he now operates in a pioneer log cabin, August 17, 1864, a son of William and Ellen ( Reed) Walsh, natives of Ireland, the for- mer born in County Galway, June 14, 1827, and the latter in County Mayo, De- cember 25, 1834. The father's parents died in Ireland and when he was about twenty-one years of age he emigrated to America, obtaining employment at rail- road work in Pennsylvania, where he remained for a number of years. He later moved to Galena, Illinois, and then to Allamakee county, Iowa, where he entered land and at the same time engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi river. During several seasons he engaged in this occupation and then settled upon his farm, which was at that time entirely unimproved and covered with a dense growth of timber. With characteristic energy and enterprise he began clearing and devel- oping this land and his well directed efforts were eventually rewarded by success, the farm becoming one of the finest and best equipped in this vicinity. He died upon his holdings, which comprised three hundred and sixty acres, January 18, 1911. His wife survives him and is living happily under the devoted care of her son, who places his mother's interests and welfare above all other considerations, making her happiness the main object of his life.
Richard W. Walsh was reared upon his father's farm in Fairview township and in his childhood learned the details of. farm operation by assisting with the work of the homestead. At the age of twenty he went to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where for four months he was employed by the St. Paul railroad, after which he moved to northern Minnesota and worked at farming in the employ of others for the remainder of the year. Returning to Wisconsin at the end of that time, he spent a winter in the northern lumber camps and then returned to Iowa, set-
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tling upon the homestead, where he remained for six years. Removing then to Independence, Iowa, he rented a farm and after four years went to Minneapolis, where he was for three years engaged as a brakeman and switchman. Eventually he again returned to the homestead in Fairview township and upon this property he has since resided. He has steadily carried forward the work of improvement and development and has now a valuable and productive farm equipped with sub- stantial buildings and provided with modern, labor-saving machinery. Mr. Walsh devotes a great deal of his time to his farming and stock-raising interests and has won that success which follows earnest and persistent labor.
Mr. Walsh is a member of the Roman Catholic church and he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. However, he votes independently when he feels that the best interests of the community demand such action and he has always taken an intelligent interest in the welfare and growth of his township. For about eight years he held the office of township trustee but refused to serve longer, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his business interests. His sterling qualities of mind and character have gained him the friendship of many, while his business record commends him to the confidence of his fellowmen, for at all times he is reliable and straightforward.
JOSEPH F. WACHTER.
Joseph F. Wachter, who since 1885 has lived upon the farm in Fairview town- ship which he now operates, is well known in this vicinity as a progressive and substantial agriculturist, his fine property of one hundred and twenty acres being visible evidence of his life of industry and thrift. He was born in Aurora, Indi- ana, October 22, 1854, and is a son of Anton and Grace (Sprool) Wachter, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, the former born in April, 1821, and the latter January 8, 1825. Their marriage occurred in Germany, where the father was a teamster and a freight and grain hauler, driving four and six-horse teams before the days of the railroads. They crossed the Atlantic to America in 1853 and settled first in Indiana, whence they removed to Wisconsin, where for sixteen years they resided upon a farm in the vicinity of Seneca. At the end of that time they came to Iowa settling in Fairview township, Allamakee county, where the father became an extensive landowner and prosperous farmer, making his home here until his death, which occurred May 8, 1898. His wife afterward removed to Harper's Ferry, where her death occurred May 8, 1909.
Joseph F. Wachter attended district school for four terms in Wisconsin, but his advantages along this line were limited and he is practically self-educated. When he was about eighteen years of age he began working at farming in the employ of others, and he afterward aided in the operation of the homestead, remaining there until 1885. He then married and bought a farm in Fairview township, whereon he has since resided. At that time there were but ten acres improved and the house consisted of a crude shack. This has been replaced by a modern dwelling. Substantial barns and outbuildings have been erected and the entire tract of one hundred and twenty acres is under cultivation. Mr. Wachter has carried forward the work of development with characteristic energy and
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enterprise and his farming and stock-raising interests are today extensive and important, placing him in the front rank of progressive and substantial agricul- turists.
On the 14th of October, 1885, Mr. Wachter was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Gast, who was born in Paint Creek township, April 25, 1861. They have become the parents of eight children: Emma, born September 22, 1886, a ladies' tailor at Nora Springs, Iowa; Lurena, born September 1, 1888, the wife of Nels Attall, a farmer, residing in Meade county, South Dakota ; Hattie, born November 3, 1891, the wife of Albert Hancock, a farmer living in Montana ; Lydia, born January 5, 1893, teaching in the district schools of this county ; Flor- ence, born December 14, 1895, who attends the Sisters' School; Walter and Ger- trude, twins, born December 13, 1901 ; and Joseph, born February 5, 1906.
Mr. Wachter is a republican in his political beliefs, but he is not an active office seeker, preferring to do his public service in other ways. During the twenty-eight years he has lived upon his present farm he has brought the property from a raw tract to a highly developed and productive condition and has made many substantial contributions to the general advancement of this section of the state.
SAMUEL W. BARNES.
Samuel W. Barnes, the oldest native son of Allamakee county living in the vicinity of Monona, if not the oldest in the entire county, has been prominently connected with farming and stock-raising interests for many years and in advance- ing his own interests along these lines has made substantial contributions to general agricultural development. He owns one hundred and forty acres in Linton township and upon this property was born January 6, 1853. his parents being Jones and Mary (Evans) Barnes, the former a native of Cumberland county, Kentucky, and the latter of Tennessee, born near the line, on the Cum- berland river, in 1830. In his early life the father was an overseer on a large plantation, this being in the days of slavery, before the Civil war. In the early 40s he came north and for a time engaged in rafting cedar timber from Wabasha to Dubuque, Iowa, having formed a partnership with his wife's brother, who had come to this state ten years previously and who during the Indian troubles here was a scout under General Miles. The father settled first at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then came to Linton township, Iowa, where he entered from the government the property upon which the subject of this review now resides and with characteristic energy he began clearing and developing the land, enduring all of the hardships and privations of pioneer times and finally evolving out of the wilderness a profitable and well managed farm. Upon this property he resided for many years, dying upon his holdings in March, 1878. His wife survives him and makes her home in Monroe, Washington, being still active and hearty in the eighty-third year of her age.
Samuel W. Barnes grew up amid pioneer conditions, acquiring such education as the little log cabin frontier schoolhouse afforded and spending a great deal of his time assisting his father with the clearing and development of the homestead.
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At the age of twenty-one he became a farm laborer, working upon properties throughout Minnesota, Dakota and Nebraska. Not caring to settle in any of these states, he eventually returned home and purchased the homestead whereon he has since resided. He owns one hundred and forty acres of valuable land in Linton township and through the years has steadily carried forward the work of improve- ment and development until it is today one of the best agricultural properties in this vicinity. Upon it Mr. Barnes engages in general farming and stock raising and, being a practical and able agriculturist, has made both branches of his activities profitable. He-is a stockholder in the Monona Creamery and the Monona Shipping Association and his ability is widely recognized in business circles.
On the 2d of July, 1880, Mr. Barnes married Miss Rachel Hazelett, who was born in Clayton county, near Watson, in 1859, a daughter of George and Jane (Whetlinger ) Hazelett, natives of the north of Ireland. The parents emigrated to America at a very early date and made the overland journey with ox teams in 1849. having spent six months upon the way. The father entered government land and upon this farm resided until his death, which occurred in 1888. His wife survives him and still resides upon the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes became the parents of three children: Jennie, who was born in April, 1886, and who married Ray Hancock, a farmer at Medicine Lake, Montana ; a child, who died in infancy ; and Mary, who was born in September, 1896.
Mr. Barnes belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. He has the distinction of being one of the oldest native sons of Allamakee county and the oldest in this vicinity and he has borne an active and honorable part in the work of development which has transformed this section of the state from a frontier wilderness into a prosperous and growing community. He began his agricultural career at a time when the percentage of cultivated land in this county was less than one-half of what it is today and he has himself cleared and developed more than one-third of the culti- vated land upon his own farm. The years have brought him success and a com- fortable fortune and a high place in the regard of his fellow citizens, who respect his prosperity and honor his integrity of character.
HERMAN A. PEGLOW.
Among the many sturdy, determined and industrious citizens of Allamakee county whom Germany has given to America is numbered Herman A. Peglow, whose valuable farm of one hundred and eighty acres lies on section 13, Franklin township. He has risen by his own efforts from a humble position to a place among the leading agriculturists of this vicinity and his record is one which is well worthy of emulation. He was born in Pomerania, Prussia. December 19, 1848, and is a son of Gottlieb Carl and Fredericka (Gerth) Peglow, also natives of that province, the former born October 17, 1816, and the latter, November 8, 1821. In his early life the father served in the Prussian army as a member of the noted Colberg Regiment which saw active service on the Baltic sea. The parents crossed the Atlantic in 1867 in a sailing vessel and on July 13th of that year landed in Quebec, Canada, whence they went by train to Chicago, Illinois.
MR. AND MRS. HERMAN A. PEGLOW
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They arrived in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, July 20, 1867, and remained resi- dents of that city until March 12, 1869. In that year they moved to Iowa and settled upon the farm where the subject of this review now resides. This was at that time an unimproved tract but with characteristic energy the father set to work on its development and at his death in 1899 owned one of the finest farms in this vicinity. He was past eighty-two years of age at the time of his demise and had survived his wife for many years, her death having occurred in 1886. They were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this review is the second in order of birth.
Herman A. Peglow acquired his education in the public schools of Germany and before and after laying aside his books assisted his father with the work of the farm, doing his mowing with a hand scythe. He became thoroughly famil- iar with practical agricultural methods and when he came to America at the age of eighteen was already an able farmer. He could speak no English at that time but all such obstacles to his success in life he met with confidence and courage. He worked as a farm laborer for one year but afterward returned to the homestead and long before the death of his father assumed entire charge of the farm, whereon he has resided since that time. He has added to it from time to time until his holdings comprise one hundred and eighty acres lying on sec- tion 13, Franklin township. Mr. Peglow has improved this fine property with substantial barns and outbuildings and has installed modern, labor-saving ma- chinery and upon it he carries on general farming and stock-raising, both branches of his business being extremely profitable under his able management. His place is one of the model farms of this locality and everything about it is indicative of his careful supervision, practical methods and progressive spirit. Mr. Peglow is a stockholder in the Monona State Bank and the Monona Creamery Company, a member and director of the Farmers Commission Com- pany in that city and also the Shipping Association, and he is recognized and respected as a far-sighted, capable and successful business man.
On the 5th of June, 1889, Mr. Peglow was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Raasch, who was born in Pomerania, Germany, September 15, 1861, a daughter of Carl and Caroline (Gutcke) Raasch, the former a carpenter by trade. His death occurred in the fatherland and the mother subsequently mar- ried William Schwantz and with him and her children crossed the Atlantic in about the year 1881 and after residing in Milwaukee for a short time they all came to Iowa, settling in McGregor. Subsequently they moved upon a farmi in Franklin township, where she passed away in 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Peglow have two children. Clara W., who was born April 24, 1890, graduated from the Monona high school in 1908, after which she taught in the rural schools of Alla- makee county for two years and is now a junior in the College of Liberal Arts at the State University of lowa City. Fred Julius, who was born March 19, 1892, is now assisting his father with the work of the farm. He is a graduate of the Ossian public schools. He is well known in the Modern Woodmen of America, in the local lodge of which he is one of the younger members.
Mr. Peglow is a republican in his political beliefs and has held various im- portant public offices, serving as township trustee for several terms. He is now school treasurer and has discharged the duties of this office in an able and capa- ble way since 1883. It is, however, his only outside connection for he has
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always preferred to give his undivided attention to his business affairs since he commenced life empty-handed and dependent entirely upon his own labors and well directed energies for whatever success he might achieve. In all of his dealings he has been strictly honorable and is today one of the substantial farmers of Allamakee county, having accumulated a comfortable and gratifying fortune.
WILLIAM HEFFERNAN.
A valuable farm of one hundred and fifty-one acres in Linton township pays tribute to the care and skill of William Heffernan, who is numbered among Al- lamakee county's progressive agriculturists and most successful and representative native sons. He was born in this township, February 22, 1855, and is a son of William and Mary ( McCormac) Heffernan, the former born in Waterford, Ire- land, in 1832 and the latter in County Fermanagh in 1838. In his youth the father learned the shoemaking trade and about 1850 emigrated to America, fol- lowing this occupation for one year in New York city. He then moved to Poughkeepsie, in the same state, where his marriage occurred, after which he and his wife came west, settling in Galena, Illinois. The father followed his trade in that community until he came to Iowa in 1854, settling on what was known as the old Rice homestead, where the subject of this review was born. The par- ents continued to reside there for one year and then moved to another farm in Linton township, this property comprising a portion of William Heffernan's pres- ent holdings. The father spent the remainder of his life upon this property, en- gaging in farming, and died here December 28, 1903. He had survived his wife since December 21, 1899. Seven children were born to their union, of whom the subject of this review is the fourth in order of birth.
William Heffernan acquired his education in the Egan school in district No. I, Linton township, and when not engaged with his books assisted his father with the operation of the homestead. becoming thus familiar with the best and most practical agricultural methods. When he was twenty-two years of age he left home and went to Nebraska, where he took up a homestead claim in Custer county which he held for fourteen years. He did not, however, reside continuously upon this property, going back and forth for one year and in 1879 walked from Broken Bow, Custer county, Nebraska, to Cherry Mound, Allamakee county, Iowa, lead- ing a span of colts, the trip consuming three weeks. During the remainder of his time he lived on the homestead in Linton township, Iowa, caring for his par- ents in their declining years. Eventually he disposed of his property in Nebraska and bought the old Corcoran homestead in Allamakee county, a property ad- joining his father's farm. He operated this and the family homestead until after the death of his parents, when he became proprietor of the entire tract. IIe has since disposed of some of the land, owing to his impaired health, and owns today one hundred and fifty-one acres which are ably managed and which he has made one of the valuable and attractive farms in this locality. Mr. Heffernan en- gages in general farming and has extensive stock-raising and dairy interests, all of the branches of his enterprise being carefully conducted and therefore profitable.
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