USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 19
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Mr. and Mrs. McGee have had four offspring, the oldest dying in infancy. Those living are Frank A., born April 13, 1875, married April 3, 1905, to Nellie Jennings, who was born in Westfield township, February 20, 1881, a daughter of James and Jane (Carmichael) Jennings. Frank McGee and wife are the parents of one child, Parker J., born July 26, 1908. William E., second child, born November 28, 1876, and Mary Ann, born March II, 1881, and who both reside with their parents. Frank owns and lives on a farm of ninety acres in Illyria township and with his brother, William, for seven years operated a threshing machine outfit.
Politically, William McGee was a Democrat until after the war, when he joined the ranks of the Republican party. He deserves recognition as one of Fayette county's honorable citizens.
HENRY SALISBURY.
The record of Mr. Salisbury is that of a man who by his own unaided efforts worked his way from a modest beginning to a position of comparative affluence and influence among men of affairs. His life has been of unceasing industry and perseverance and the systematic and honorable methods which
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he has followed have won him the unbounded confidence of his fellow citizens of Westfield township. Mr. Salisbury is a native of Winnebago county, Illi- nois, where he was born on the 5th day of June, 1837. He is a son of Nelson and Mary (Paine) Salisbury, both of whom were born in Delaware county, New York. About 1832 they migrated to Laporte county, Indiana, where they remained until 1835, when they moved to Winnebago county, Illinois. There the father took up a tract of government land and at once entered upon the strenuous task of clearing it and developing a farm. He lived but a few years after locating there, his death occurring when the subject of this sketch was but a child. The widow and her only child, the subject, remained on the Illinois homestead until 1855, when they came to Fayette county, Iowa, and settled on a farm in Auburn township. In 1860 this farm was sold and from 1863 until 1868 Henry Salisbury was at various points in the West. In the year last named, however, he returned to Fayette county, locat- ing in Bethel township, where for thirty years he engaged in agricultural pursuits, meeting with success commensurate with his efforts. In 1900 Mr. Salisbury came to Westfield township and bought two hundred and forty acres of good land, comprising his present home farm, and to the cultivation of this place he has since applied his energies. He is a man of advanced ideas, thoroughly up-to-date in his methods and in touch with twentieth-cen- tury thought in relation to the science of husbandry. He has erected a well- arranged and attractive residence, which is a frequent gathering place for the many friends, who delight in the spirit of hospitality and good cheer which is ever in evidence there. In his farm work Mr. Salisbury does not specialize, raising all the crops common to this section of the state and giving a due share of attention to the raising of livestock.
Politically, Mr. Salisbury assumes an independent attitude and while a resident of Bethel township held a number of township offices, though not in any sense a seeker after office. In his religious views, he is liberal, not being bound by any creed or articles of belief. However, he is charitable, broad- minded and large hearted, and denies to none the fullest liberty of thought and belief. He gives an earnest support to worthy movements having for their object the advancement of the best interests of the community.
In 1860 Mr. Salisbury was happily united in marriage with Antoinette Murphy, a native of New York state, daughter of Rev. George and Rachel Murphy, to which union were born three children, all of whom are now de- ceased. Reverend Murphy died in 1887 and his wife in 1889 and they are buried in Bethel cemetery, Fayette county. Mrs. Salisbury died in 1880 and
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in 1881 Mr. Salisbury married Eva Murphy, a niece of his first wife, and to them has been born a son, Henry Salisbury, Jr., who is now a student at the school of the Order of Benedictine Monks at Oelwein. Mrs. Salisbury's grandparents were Rev. George and Rachel Murphy, both of whom were born in New York state. They came to Iowa about 1855 and here he attained to prominence and great success as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Salisbury's career has been one of hard work and sturdy integrity, and he is eminently deserving of the respect in which he is held by everyone.
WILLIAM ARTHUR ANDERSON.
A progressive citizen of Fayette county and the worthy son of a worthy sire is William Arthur Anderson, who was born at Bloomerton, Dover town- ship, this county, June 30, 1866, the son of Vincent and Hannah (Bell) An- derson. A sketch of their lives appears on another page of this work.
William A. Anderson was educated in the district schools of his native community, also attended Ainsworth Academy, receiving a fairly good edu- cation. He began life for himself as a teacher and farmer, alternating the two summer and winter for a period of seven years, during which time he established a local reputation as an instructor of which anyone might well be proud.
In 1892 Mr. Anderson purchased seventy acres in section 21, Dover township, and he has since made his home here, having improved the place until he has a choice farm, on which he raises a general line of small fruits and does a general nursery business for the local trade. Having prospered at this, he has since added thirty acres to his original purchase, and besides his fruit raising he carries on a general farming business. He has a cozy and substantial home and good outbuildings.
Mr. Anderson was married on March 17, 1892, to Lena S. Olson, a na- tive of Dover township, where she grew to maturity and was educated and where her family has long been well known. Three children have blessed this union, named as follows: Harry Stephens, Oliver Verdi and Florence Myrtle.
Mrs. Anderson is a member of the Lutheran church. Politically. Mr. Anderson is a Republican and he has taken considerable interest in local political matters for some time. He served very acceptably at one time as assessor of Dover township and he is now township clerk.
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PHILIP LAUER.
The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been those to whom satisfaction lies ever in the future, who have labored continuously, always finding in each transition stage an incentive for further effort. Mr. Lauer is one whose well directed efforts have gained for him a position of desirable prominence in his community and his energy and enterprise have been crowned by a gratifying measure of success, so that now he is enabled to en- joy a surcease from active labor and live in comfort and ease.
Philip Lauer was born in Germany in April, 1840, and is a son of Peter and Dora (Deal) Lauer, both of whom were natives and lifelong resi- dents of the Fatherland. Philip was reared to the years of youth by his par- ents and attended the splendid schools of his native land. At the early age of fifteen years he came alone to the United States and first located in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he learned and followed the trade of a carpenter. In 1860 he came to Iowa, locating in Winneshiek county, where he acquired a tract of two hundred and forty-seven acres, to the cultivation of which he devoted himself. He made many improvements and gave much attention to the raising of cattle and hogs. He remained there until 1895, when he bought two hundred and thirty-five acres of fine land lying north of Eldorado, Fayette county, to which he moved the following year, and this has been his home since. He has here followed a general line of farming and stock raising and his efforts were rewarded with marked success. He also owns another tract of twenty acres which he had bought before leaving Winneshiek county. He has looked carefully after the material welfare of his children and has bought and given to his sons tracts of one hundred and sixty, one hundred and thirty-eight and one hundred and three acres respectively. During the past few years he has practically retired from active labor.
In 1862 Mr. Lauer was united in marriage to Gosen Kester, whose death occurred on January 8, 1910. They became the. parents of twelve children, namely : Henry, Charles, Philip H., John P., William P., Peter, Fritz, Maggie, Dora, John and Elizabeth, the two last named being deceased.
Politically, Mr. Lauer is a stanch Republican, and he has served six years as township trustee and two terms as school director, and while living in Winneshiek county he was trustee for nine years and school director for many years. He is a member of the Lutheran church at Eldorado, being the oldest member of the society and the first person married in it. He has taken a deep interest in the welfare of the community in which he lives and gives an unre- served support to every movement calculated to benefit his fellow men morally,
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educationally, socially or materially. He is a stockholder of the Farmers In- surance Company, of which he has been treasurer for the past twenty-seven years, much of the success of the company being due to his influence and efforts in its behalf, it being one of the solid and beneficial institutions of the county. Personally, Mr. Lauer is genial and companionable, enjoys a wide acquaintance and has a large circle of warm personal friends, who esteem him for his ability and genuine worth.
FREDRICK BECKER, M. D.
The Germans who come to America do not usually enter the professions. Their tastes lead them into commercial pursuits, such as hotels and restau- rants, and, in the cities, dry goods and other branches of storekeeping and in- vestments in real estate. Many become farmers and, as is well known, they have no superiors in this line. The states of the Central West and Northwest are especially indebted to the German immigration and they are found by thousands in Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas and Minnesota. Occasionally, however, Germans become physicians and lawyers and when they do it is after the usual careful preparation which they bring to all their work. This sketch deals with a man who became a doctor in early life and for more than a half century has been identified with the West, especially Iowa. Fredrick Becker was born in Gutenberg, Germany, in 1838 and spent the first fourteen years of his life in his native place. His parents were George and Elizabeth Becker. the former for many years proprietor of a large landed estate. He was edu- cated at Marburg University for a minister, but abandoned this calling on ac- count of his father's death. During the Napoleonic wars in 1813-14, when sixteen years old, he enlisted under the German banner, furnishing his own equipment. His son attended the public schools in Germany during his boy- hood and came to America in 1852. Locating at Cleveland, Ohio, he began the study of medicine at a medical college in that city. After spending four years there, he entered the Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri at. St. Louis and spent the years 1874-5 in that institution. After obtaining his de- gree, he returned to Taylorsville, Fayette county, Iowa, where he had put in his time before going to the Missouri college. He practiced a while in this town, but in 1875 went to Clermont and carried on his profession until the death of his wife in 1896, since when he has practiced only incidentally. In 1861 he was elected township clerk of Fairfield township and held that posi-
Ausrick Becker. -
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tion and the office of township trustee for several years. In 1889 he was a member of the state board of health and for some years was president of the Homeopathic Medical Association of the state. He filled other places of honor and trust, including president of the state board of medical examiners, presi- dent of state board of health, mayor of Clermont and chairman of the Fayette county Republican central committee.
In 1859 Doctor Becker married Sophia Miller, a native of Germany, who came to the United States with her brother. They have three children : Carl F., George A. and Fredrick J. Doctor Becker is a member of the Lutheran church and throughout his life has been a stanch and enthusiastic Republican, following that party during the exciting period of its organization and through the trying ordeals of the Civil war. It is a proud boast of the Doctor that he cast his first vote for Lincoln in Fayette county. He has always been active in party affairs and long one of the local leaders in the county. He has been a useful and influential citizen in various ways in religious circles, political affairs and matters relating to his profession. In this he obtained more than a local reputation, his name at one time being familiar in medical circles throughout the state, he having held the professorship of materia medica in the college at Iowa City.
CHARLES P. ESTEY.
The subject of this sketch, who is numbered among the leading business men of Fayette, Fayette county, Iowa, has by an honorable and upright course of living earned for himself the high regard and sincere respect of all who have come in contact with him. A thorough technical knowledge of his pro- fession, which he has conducted with a right conception of the highest business principles, have brought to him a large share of the public patronage, while his splendid personal qualities have commended him to his associates.
Charles P. Estey is descended from a long line of sterling ancestry, it being possible to trace the family history back to 1630, when Jeffrey Estey, a paternal ancestor eight generations removed, came from England and settled in Pottsfield, Massachusetts. In 1692 Mary Estey, who was the mother of nine children and a woman of rare Christian character, well educated and of a high intelligence, was hanged at Salem for witchcraft. Twenty years later the court which convicted her became convinced of its terrible error and in
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acknowledgment of this fact granted to the husband a judgment for the nominal sum of twenty pounds sterling.
The Estey family has numerous members, most of which are to be found in the New England states and one of whom is the head of the firm which manufactures the well-known Estey organs and pianos, other members of the family being prominent in other localities in various lines of business activity. The subject's father, Warren Estey, was born at Lester Junction, Vermont, March 9, 1802, and was there reared and educated. On attaining mature years he learned the trade of a painter. He was married in 1832 to Clarissa Hayward and became the father of four sons and a daughter. In 1850 he left his New England home and went by canal to Buffalo, thence by lake to Milwaukee, going from there by wagons to Johnstown Center, Rock county, Wisconsin. He remained there until the spring of 1850, when, leaving his family there, he came alone to Iowa, buying a half section of school land near Postville. In the fall of the same year he sent for the other members of the family. The Indians had left this section of the state but a short time prior to their coming, and the land was all wild and uncultivated. It was mostly prairie land, though there was a little timber near by Mr. Estey's pur- chase. On the farm was an old sugar camp and burying ground of the In- dians, who left behind them many relics of their former occupancy.
Charles P. Estey was born in Addison county, Vermont, in 1841 and ac- companied the family on their journey westward. He attended the first school in Winneshiek county, Iowa, their home farm being just over the line in Alla- makee county. During the Civil war he remained at home and assisted in the operation of the farm, while two brothers were in the military service. The older brother, Wilbur F. Estey, was a member of Company D, Third Regi- ment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Brown. He had an honorable military record and died in 1885. The other brother, John F. Estey, was born in 1838, and was a member of the Second Iowa Cavalry, under Colonel Hatch. During a great part of his service he was on detached duty as a spy, in which capacity he rendered effective service to the Union cause, meet- ing with a number of thrilling adventures and narrow escapes, in all of which fortune favored him. He is now residing in Tama county, Iowa.
In the spring of 1868 the subject of this sketch came to Fayette and began working at the painting trade, which he has followed uninterruptedly since. He soon acquired a reputation as a careful and conscientious workman and did some of the best work in this city. Eventually he began contracting on his own account and for a number of years he hast performed the major
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part of the work in his line in Fayette and surrounding country, being known as a thorough, reliable workman, and honest and trustworthy in his dealings with others. On November 26, 1861, Mr. Estey married Emily E. Stowell, and this union was blessed in the birth of three children, Carrie A., Addie M. and Charles. Carrie became the wife of William Miller, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church who is now residing at Brighton, Colorado. Addie M. lives in Des Moines, this state. Charles died in childhood. Mrs. Emily Estey died on June 8, 1867, and on March 3, 1869, Mr. Estey married Emma Scott, of Dover township, Fayette county, the daughter of W. H. and Mary (Meikle) Scott, the former born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, and the latter in Lenoxshire, Scotland. When Mrs. Estey's mother was about twenty- three years old she came with her parents to the United States and joined a brother in Trumbull county, Ohio, where there was a settlement of Scotch Presbyterians, the settlement being known as Little Scotland. In the spring of 1856 the family moved to Dover township, this county, and bought a farm of over two hundred acres, where they made their future home. To Mr. Estey's second union were born two children, Blanche M. and Elbert Harrison. In 1891 Blanche became the wife of Rev. George C. Fort, D. D., a Methodist minister, who had been a former classmate of hers at Upper Iowa University. They are now living at Salina, Kansas, and are the parents of three children, Dorothy, George Hubert and Charles N. Elbert Harrison Estey is a lawyer at West Union, this county, in partnership with D. W. Clements. He grad- uated from the Upper Iowa University with the class of '93 and subsequently was court reporter for two years under Judge Hoyt. He was located in Wa- terloo for seven years, and then became associated with the firm of Mullin & Picket, able lawyers, and was afterwards in partnership with George W. Daw- son in the law practice there. He located in West Union in 1903. In the same year he married Mary E. Scoby, a daughter of George P. Scoby, of Fayette, and they have one son, Robert F.
Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Estey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they give an earnest and liberal support. Politically Mr. Estey is a Republican and his first vote was for Abraham Lincoln in his sec- ond election. He has taken a commendable interest in local public affairs and is now rendering effective service as a member of the city council of Fayette.
Reverting to Mr. Estey's family history, it is noted that he had three brothers, Wilbur F., John F. (who have been referred to heretofore in this article) and Daniel, who died in Wisconsin November 7, 1850. One sister, Clara M., died in 1857, at the age of twelve years.
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PETER PAPE.
As the name would indicate, Peter Pape, a progressive farmer of near Eldorado, Dover township, Fayette county, is of German origin, he himself being a native of that great empire that has sent such a vast horde of her able and most welcomed citizens to our shores, for they have done a great work in placing our country abreast of any in the world, on an equality with the father- land itself. Mr. Pape is a man who is well thought of in his community, hav- ing led a quiet. honest, law-abiding and industrious life ; for after a long course of years of daily observations by his neighbors it would be out of the question for them not to know his worth, because. as has been said, "Actions speak louder than words." In this township there is nothing heard concerning the subject of this sketch but good words. He has passed so many years here that his worth is well known, but it will be of interest to run over the busy events of his life in these pages. He was born in Germany in April, 1863, the son of Henry and Anna ( Hinch) Pape, who were born, reared, educated and married there, and who came to America in 1876. Their son, Peter, of this re- view, preceded them by about a year, having arrived here in 1875. He had received a very good education in his home country, and thus when a very young man decided to cast his lot with Americans, believing that here were larger opportunities for one of his tastes. He located in Dover township, Fayette county, Iowa, where his parents also settled when they came. The father bought ninety-five acres of land in this township, where Fred Mettelstadt now lives. The land was wild, but he was a hard worker and soon placed the land under excellent improvements and became very well established here. He was an honest man and took more than a passing interest in the affairs of the Lutheran church, of which he was a member.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Pape consisted of thirteen children, eight of whom are now living. Their son Peter assisted with the work on the home farm until his marriage, in 1887, to Katherine Schatz, when he bought a farm of eighty acres in the northern part of Dover township and improved it. soon having a very comfortable home. In 1900 he purchased the place where he now lives, east of Eldorado, which consists of three hundred and seventy- one acres, which was known as the Etka place, also the Ropes place. Here he carries on general farming and stock raising in a manner that stamps him as abreast of the times in every respect. He has added many valuable im- provements on his fine farm and it now ranks with the best in the township. everything about the place showing thrift and good management. He has a very substantial and comfortable home and good outbuildings. Considering
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the fact that he started in life empty handed, and has forged to the front with- out assistance, the large success that is today his has been well earned and he is certainly deserving of much credit for what he has accomplished. He has left no stone unturned whereby he could better the condition of himself and family, but at the same time he has done his full share in the development of his community, looking out for others' good as well as his own.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pape: Henry Lawrence, Fred George, Emma Annettia, William Michael, Leonard Amiel, Elmer Fred, Martha Emelia, Augustoff Samuel, and Herman Ervin.
Mr. Pape and his wife are members of the Lutheran church, and political- ly Mr. Pape is a Republican; for some time he was school director in his district.
LODELL T. GRAVES.
The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the ver- dict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of the sub- ject of this sketch the writer aims to avoid fulsome encomium and extrava- gant praise ; yet the desire is to hold up for consideration those facts which have shown the distinction of a true, useful and honorable life-a life charac- terized by well-defined purpose, perseverance and inflexible integrity.
Lodell T. Graves was born in Lacon, Illinois, on the 13th day of May, 1858, and is the son of Rev. A. P. and Elvira L. (Bonney) Graves, the former having been a native of Vermont. At the early age of two years the subject was deprived by death of the loving care and attention of his mother and at that time was placed in the family of William C. Taylor, a farmer at Concord, Minnesota, by whom he was reared. He remained with this worthy man until he was twenty years old and received his education in the public schools of that neighborhood, supplementing this by becoming a student, in 1878-79, in the Upper Iowa University. He was thus fairly well equipped for life's duties and he at once plunged boldly into business affairs. His first venture was as a banker at Emmettsburg, Iowa, where he remained three years, after which he engaged in the same business at Huron, South Dakota, where he remained five years. He then moved to Los Angeles, California, which was his home during the following eleven years, during which time he carried on a collection and commission business, for which he had an unusual aptitude and in which
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