USA > Iowa > Calhoun County > Past and present of Calhoun County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress, and achievement, Volume II > Part 27
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Mr. McDermott has been twice married. In 1869 he wedded Miss Mary E. Griffin, by whom he had seven children, namely: Cenora C., the wife of II. A. Squires, an agriculturist of Minnesota, by whom she has three children: Thomas O., a merchant of Quimby, Iowa, who married Miss Belle Tuller and has one child: Le Roy G., of Lohr- ville, whose wife bore the maiden name of Daisy Shackleford and by whom he has two living children: Lillian, the widow of J. C. Stratton: A. J., Jr., who died in 1899, at the age of twenty, as the result of gasoline burns; Sylva B., living in Oklahoma City, who is the wife of P. J. Hodgins, a practicing attorney, and has two children; and Ora Faye, of Sioux City, Iowa. On the 4th of May, 1899, Mr. McDer- mott was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary E. Lochner, of Carroll county, Iowa, a daughter of George and Alice (Brimmer) Lochner, the former a farmer by occupation. Mrs. Mc- Dermott, one of a family of seven children, has become the mother of three children, as follows: Vera V., who was born January 18,
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1900: Kenneth B., whose birth oceurred on the 2d of April, 1904; and Verta V., whose natal day was February 14, 1911.
Politically Mr. MeDermott is a stanch advocate of the democracy and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to positions of publie trust. Ile held the office of postmaster at Lohrville during Cleveland's second administration, and for three terms served as mayor of Lohrville, proving a progressive executive who did much for the growth and welfare of the town. For three terms he likewise acted as a member of the school board. Ilis religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, the teachings of which he exemplifies in his daily life. Mr. MeDermott came to this county as a comparatively poor man in 1880 and has since worked his way upward by industry, ability and perse- veranee to a position among the foremost citizens and leading bankers of his community.
JOHN E. BARR.
John E. Barr is filling the office of mayor of Lohrville and at the same time is actively identified with the farming interests of Calhoun county. In his career the affairs of life are evenly balanced. He gives due attention to publie duties and to private interests, and his fellow townsmen have come to value him for his devotion to the general good and his support of those measures which prove of worth to the community. He was born in Will county, Illinois, near Joliet, February 9, 1864, and is a son of George and Jane (McGraw) Barr, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of the north of Ireland. During his boyhood days the father went with his parents to the Emerald isle and in the year 1855 he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and became a resident of Illinois, where he was married in 1857. He then began farming and remained a resident of that state until his death, which occurred in 1878. He was the owner of two hundred acres of good land in Will county and was regarded as one of the representative agrieulturists of that community. In 1855 he herded cattle on the open prairie of Will county, and he purchased land from the government at a dollar and a quarter per acre. He hauled goods from Chicago and took his crops to that city in order to secure a market. For about five years he engaged in herding cattle and throughout his life he was perhaps more a stoekman than a gen- eral farmer, always engaging in feeding cattle. In the early period
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of his residence in Will county there were no houses between his home and Joliet, and he shared in all of the experiences of pioneer life. Mr. Barr though active in the councils of the democratie party, was never an officeseeker. There was no church within fifteen miles of his home, religious services. if held at all, being held in the homes of the settlers. Various kinds of wild game were plentiful, including deer and geese, and there were also many wolves in the distriet. On one occasion, when hauling Inmber in the early days, he had to ford a creek. The coupling pin came out of the wagon and he was obliged to take the lumber off by hand and carry it ashore. The weather was so cold that his clothes froze to him. Such were some of the experiences which the early settlers endured in their efforts to reclaim the frontier for the purpose of civilization. Mr. Barr continued to live in Will county until his death, which occurred in 1878, and he is still survived by his wife, who is now living in Joliet at the age of seventy-six years.
John E. Barr attended the public schools of Will county, and in early life he began ditching and also worked upon the home farm with his brothers until he reached the age of twenty-one years. In 1885 he was married and began farming on his own aecount on the old homestead, which he purchased from the other heirs, residing thereon until March, 1901. At that date he removed to Lohrville, where he has since been engaged in farming, being now the owner of three hundred and twenty aeres, three-quarters of a mile from the town. He feeds sheep and cattle, and in 1914 fed two thousand sheep. Upon his place he has a very fine new home containing every modern convenience, this being one of the most splendidly equipped residences in the township. To his place he has added all modern conveniences, and one cannot but be impressed with the well kept appearance of his place and the air of neatness and thrift which pervades it in every department. Aside from his other interests he is a director and stock- holder in the Lohrville Savings Bank and a stockholder in the Farm- ers Elevator Company of Lohrville.
In 1885 Mr. Barr was united in marriage to Miss Ella A. Jones, who was born in Will county, Illinois, a daughter of David and Amanda Jones, both of whom were natives of England. They settled in Will county in the late '50s, the father there owning land and en- gaging in farming until his death, which occurred in 1890. He was never so prominent in polities, but was very active in the Methodist Episcopal church, and helped organize congregations and build churches near his home. He was the owner of two hundred and forty aeres of valuable land and was living in Manhattan, Illinois, at the time of his death. To Mr. and Mrs. Barr have been born three chil-
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dren: Berniee, who is bookkeeper for the Lohrville Savings Bank ; Earl, who was born November 21, 1894, and is attending the lowa State College; pursuing the agricultural course; and Newell, at home. The residence of the family is a new stneco dwelling, large, com- modious, carefully arranged and built in attractive style of architec- ture. Upon the place are extensive barns, and the farm is one of the fine places of the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Barr take a very active and helpful part in church work, and are also prominent in social eireles. They are identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Barr has for many years served as trustee and was a member of the building committee when the new church was erected. He belongs to Nakoda Lodge, No. 597, A. F. & A. M., of Lohrville, to the Knights of Pythias, and to Evergreen Camp, of the Modern Woodmen of America, being a trustee in the last named. In polities he has long been an influential factor as a supporter of the republican party, and he has served on the school board, as a member of the town eouneil and is now mayor of Lohrville, in which connection he carefully studies the needs and opportunities of the city and works for its benefit and upbuilding along practical, substantial and permanent lines.
MICHAEL G. BECK.
Michael G. Beek is a retired farmer now engaged in the insurance business at Farnhamville. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 28th of February, 1843, and is a son of George and Mary (Schwartz) Beek, who were likewise natives of that country. The father spent his entire life in Germany. The paternal grandfather, John Beck, went to Russia with Napoleon I and was one of the few soldiers of that great army who lived to return. His son George was also a soldier in the German army.
Michael G. Beek pursued his education in the schools of Germany. His memory goes back to the time when fires were started in the old- fashioned way, as matches had not then been invented. He learned the trade of a miller, serving a three years' apprenticeship, and was employed in Germany along that line until 1867, when he sought the broader business opportunities of the new world, being then a young man of twenty-four years. On coming to the United States he settled in Bureau County, Illinois, near Peru, where he worked at his trade, being employed in and also operating water mills for several years.
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He devoted his attention to that business until the introduction of the roller process in milling. In 1879 he came to lowa and operated a water mill at Big Rock, which was afterward removed to Rockwell City. In 1881 he arrived in Calhoun county and purchased land in Reading township at ten dollars per acre. At that time there were no railroads and practically no towns and the work of development and improvement seemed a thing of the far distant future. In 1882 he settled on section 24, Reading township, building one of the best homes in the township. All around him was raw prairie, but he broke the sod and began tilling the fields. He also planted trees and made various other improvements. Notwithstanding the many difficulties and obstacles which had to be encountered because of the pioneer condition of the country, he resolutely continued on his way and in the course of years his efforts were crowned with success. In the early days the roads were so bad that an empty wagon would often get stuck in the mud. He continued upon the farm and developed his property for many years but eventually put aside the work of the fields and is now living in Farnhamville, where he is engaged in the insurance and loan business, in which connection he has secured a large clientage. He is also a stockholder and one of the directors of the Farmers Lumber Company and of the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company. He still retains the ownership of two farms, which embrace three hundred and sixty acres of land and from which he derives a handsome annual income.
In 1867 Mr. Beek was joined in wedlock to Miss Margaret Bauer, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and a daughter of John Bauer, who was an agriculturist by occupation. She emigrated to the United States in 1867 and by her marriage has become the mother of six children, as follows: John, who is married and has one child and is the general manager of the Hanson Lumber Company of Boone, lowa; Lucy, the wife of D. B. Farnham, by whom she has one child: Mar- garet, the wife of II. L. Foster, a farmer of Greeley, Colorado, by whom she has three sons and two daughters: Will and Frank, twins, both of whom are married and reside on the home farm: and Charles H., cashier of the Farmers Savings Bank. In 1914 Mr. and Mrs. Beek took a trip back to their native land, visiting the scenes and meeting the friends of their early life and experienced some little in- convenience in returning to the United States, by reason of the out- break of the great European war.
Business and family interests have made large demand upon Mr. Beck's time and yet he has had opportunity to co-operate in many plans for the publie good and has contributed in large measure to
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general progress. He established a school near his home in pioneer times that his six children might have the opportunities of acquiring an education, and he was continually officially connected with the school from its organization until he removed to Farnhamville in 1902. He has also been active in public affairs in the town and is holding three offices at the present time, the duties of which he dis- charges with marked promptness and fidelity. In his political views he has always been a republican and he is able to support his position by intelligent argument, for he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He is a member of the Congregational church and is very active in Sunday school work, serving for some time as superintendent, while at the present time he is teaching the men's Bible elass. His church work is one of the chief interests of his life and his efforts in that field have been a potent force in holding high the moral standards of the community. Those who know him enter- tain for him warm regard, for men have learned that what he prom- ises he will do, that his word is always as good as any bond solemnized by signature or seal and that his ideals of life are high.
JOSEPHI SHIMA.
Joseph Shima, a well known and successful agriculturist of Elm Grove township, residing on seetion 18, is the owner of an excellent farm comprising one hundred and twenty acres. His birth occurred in Bohemia, Austria, on the 10th of February, 1844, his parents being Joseph and Teckla ( Kaspar) Shima, who emigrated to the United States in 1855 and took up their abode in Johnson county, Iowa, where they spent the remainder of their lives. To them were born two children, a son and daughter, but the latter is deceased.
Joseph Shima of this review, who was a youth of eleven years when he accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world, made his home in Johnson county until 1881 and then removed to Carroll county, this state, where he continued to reside until 1901. In the latter year he came to Calhoun county and has since been engaged in the operation of a farm of one hundred and twenty aeres on section 18, Elm Grove township. General agricultural pursuits have claimed his attention throughout his entire business career and have yielded him a gratifying annual income. In connection with the cultivation of cereals he devotes considerable attention to live-stock interests, raising Durham and Hereford cattle and Poland China
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and Duroe Jersey hogs. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Grain Company of Yetter and enjoys recognition as one of the substantial and representative citizens of the community.
In April, 1872, in Johnson county, Iowa, Mr. Shima was united in marriage to Miss Katie Prochaska, a daughter of Joseph Pro- chaska, who came to this country from Bohemia and settled in John- son county, this state. To our subject and his wife have been born eight children, as follows: Lizzie, who gave her hand in marriage to L. J. Jacobus, an agriculturist of Minnesota : Anna, who is the wife of E. A. Clark, a farmer of Emmet county, Iowa: Frank J., at home: Mary, who is engaged in teaching school; Matilda, the wife of Sammuel Siders, living at Perry, Iowa; George, who is attending school; and Joseph L. and Lillian, both at home.
Mr. Shima gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has ably served as school director for several terms. He and his family attend the services of the United Brethren church at Vetter and are highly respected in their home comomity. Mr. Shima has now passed the seventy-first milestone on life's journey and his record is that of a self-made man whose prosperity has come as the direct result of his untiring industry, energy and perseverance.
JOHN D. E. REED.
John D. E. Reed is a retired farmer living at Rockwell City. He was born in Vigo county, Indiana, December 4, 1839, so that he is now almost seventy-six years of age. His boyhood days were spent in the usual manner of lads of that locality and period. That county was then largely a pioneer distriet and the entire middle west was only slightly improved. It was before the era of railroad building and before the day of modern farm machinery, so that much of the work of the fields was done by hand. He remained upon the home farm until seventeen years of age, when he began working by the month as a farm hand, and at the age of twenty years he began farming on his own account by renting land. He devoted five years to that work and then came to Iowa, reaching Cedar county on the 10th of March, 1865. He made the journey across the country on horseback and for three years he rented land. In 1868 he removed to Tama county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Dysart. There he carried on farming until 1875 and he converted the prairie tract into richly cultivated fields. In the year mentioned, however, he
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sold out and rented eighty acres a mile north of Traer. This he continued to work until 1900, when he came to Rockwell City. In 1888 he had purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land in Lake Creek township, seven miles south of Rockwell City, for which he had paid thirty-seven dollars and a half per acre, and he has always rented this to tenants. In 1901 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Cedar township, for which he paid fifty dollars per acre. His farm property has largely increased in valne, owing to the care and labor which he has bestowed upon it and to the improvements which have been made thereon. ITis holdings are sufficient to yield him an excel- lent income so that he is able to live retired.
On the 24th of February, 1859, Mr. Reed was united in marriage to Miss Letitia Watts, who was born in Kentucky but was reared in Indiana. They have four children: George, a retired farmer living near his father's residence in Rockwell City; Mary Ellen, the wife of Charles Palmer, of Rockwell City; Charley, who owns and cultivates a farm in Lake Creek township; and John D. E., Jr., who is in the west.
In his political views Mr. Reed is a democrat. He was active in politics while residing in Tama county. He is not, however, a poli- tician in the usually accepted sense of office seeking, although he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. In his business affairs he has been successful and an analyzation of the methods which he has followed commends his course to others. He has never sought success by questionable methods but has won his advancement through persistent, earnest purpose. He has carefully watched the markets and the sale of his farm products and his wise investment in land have heen the means of bringing him the success which he has enjoyed.
WILLIAM M. SCHNECK.
William M. Sehneek is conducting one of the leading mercantile establishments in Pomeroy, having been identified with the business interests of the city since 1896. He was born in Niles, Michigan, August 19, 1866, a son of Frederick and Dorothea (Eisle) Schneck. The former was a native of Germany and there learned the carpen- ter's trade. In 1852 he came as a young man to the new world and purchased eighty aeres of land on the Michigan and Indiana state line. This he improved and cultivated and also worked a part of the time at his trade. In 1859 he made the overland trip to California, Vol. II-18
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prospecting and working in the mines there for four years. He like- wise followed his trade on the Pacific coast. He eventually returned to his home in Michigan and sold his land, after which he removed to Niles, there to devote his entire time and attention to the carpenter's trade. He died there about 1895, when he was seventy-three years of age, passing away in the faith of the Lutheran church. The mother of our subject was also a native of Germany, and accompanied her parents to the new world during her girlhood days. The family home was established in northern Indiana near Niles, Michigan, and there the father engaged in farming. Mrs. Schneck died June 19, 1915, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, at the home of her daughter in Chicago. She was the mother of nine children, but three of the mimber died when young.
William M. Sehneck was reared in Niles, Michigan, to the age of ten years, when the family removed to Stevensville, Michigan, and there he continued his education in the common schools. At about the age of eighteen years he began clerking in a general store, being thus employed in Stevensville until 1888, when he eame to Pomeroy. Iowa, and continued in the same line of work here four years. He was then appointed postmaster under President Cleveland's adminis- tration, serving for the full term of four years. In 1896 he formed a partnership with Solomon Johnson and engaged in his present busi- ness, the partnership so continuing three years. Mr. Sehneek and his brother John then bought Mr. Johnson's interest in the store and that partnership existed for three years, at the end of which time Mr. Sehneck of this review purchased the interest of his brother and has continued business alone. He carries a line of elothing, dry goods. groceries and, in fact, everything that is usually found in a general mercantile establishment. He has met with marked suceess in this umdertaking and investigation into his history discloses the fact that he has based his business principles and actions upon strict adherenee to the rules which govern economy, industry and unswerving integrity.
Mr. Schneck was married on Thanksgiving day of 1891 to Miss Margaret Loekie, who was born in Pomeroy, a daughter of Charles Loekie, who was an early settler in this locality, and is a car- penter and builder by trade. Mr. Loekie was born in Illinois. while his wife was a native of Kansas. To Mr. and Mrs. Schneek have been born two children, Gladys and Pearle W. Gladys was married to Charles Taylor. son of Charles D. and Georgia E. (Gordon) Taylor, May 18, 1915.
Mr. Schneck is a demoerat in his political affiliations and has taken an active part in public affairs, having served on the city council
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eighteen years, while for three terms he was a member of the school board. In religious faith he and his wife are Presbyterians and he is a Mason. belonging to Solar Lodge, No. 475, and to the Modern Woodmen. He is publie spirited and takes a deep interest in all mat- ters which tend toward the development and improvement of the city in which he resides. He has a kindly, genial nature and is very con- siderate in his intercourse with all people, being to all equally affable, whether they are poor or have wealth.
JOHN T. REYNOLDS.
John T. Reynolds is a well known farmer and stoekman residing on section 25, Logan township, where he owns four hundred and sixty-nine aeres of rich and productive land. His birth occurred in Whiteside county, Illinois, on the 6th of March, 1861, his parents being Wilson and Paulina A. ( Miller) Reynolds, the former born in Morgan county, Illinois, in 1833, and the latter in Greene county, that state, in 1835. Wilson Reynolds devoted his attention to agricul- tural pursuits throughout his entire business career, owning a well improved traet of land and being actively engaged in the pursuits of general farming and stock-raising. He did not enter the Union army because of physical disability and was called to his final rest in the year 1863. his community thus losing one of its esteemed citizens and substantial men of affairs. His widow still survives and now makes her home in this county.
John T. Reynolds acquired his education in the schools of his native eounty and when eighteen years of age began working as a farm hand, being thus employed for five years, on the expiration of which period he was married and started out as an agriculturist on his own account. In 1902 he removed to Hamilton county, Iowa, where he purchased land and carried on farming until 1906, when he came to Calhoun county. Here he has been actively engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising continuously to the present time, own- ing one hundred and sixty aeres of land in Logan township and three hundred and nine in Calhoun township. He has made a number of substantial improvements on the property and owns an attractive and commodious residence. He materially augments his annual income through his activities as a feeder and shipper of stock and at one time he served as president of the Farmers Mutual Elevator Company at Wightman.
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Mr. Reynolds has been married twice, his first wife bearing the maiden name of Dibbie N. Spencer and being a native of Greene county, Ilinois. Her father, John Spencer, was a successful agricul- turist of that county and a very active man of affairs, being an exten- sive landowner. At one time he owned and operated a large farm near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but at present makes his home in Ohio. To John T. and Dibbie N. (Spencer) Reynolds were born four children, as follows: Merle, the wife of Robert Richardson, who is a farmer residing in Lawton, Oklahoma, and by whom she has two children, Ruth and Mary; Charles, who is pursuing an agricultural course in the Iowa State College at Ames; LeRoy, a student in the State Uni- versity of Iowa at lowa City; and Stanley, at home. The mother of these children passed away in 1896 and for his second.wife Mr. Rey- nolds chose Miss Essie Winget, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Joseph and Naney (Dowell) Winget. The father, born in Ohio in 1822. removed to Indiana in an early day and in that state owned and cultivated a small traet of land, devoting his attention to the pur- suits of general farming and stoek-raising. He enjoyed an enviable reputation as an active, progressive citizen of his community and reached the venerable age of eighty years, passing away in 1902. His wife, who was born in Ohio in 1842, died at the age of forty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are the parents of four children, namely: Dorothy and Jesse, who are students in the high school at Lohrville: John T., Jr. ; and Glenn.
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