USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 36
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and, believing in using the good things of this world to wise and beneficent ends, he has not been sparing in adding to its beauty and attractiveness.
Beginning life in humble circumstances and having always been obliged to rely upon himself, his success in overcoming a discouraging environment and advancing to his present position of independence indicates the possession of well balanced intelligence, mature judgment and the ability to mould conditions to suit his purposes. By his first marriage, which is noted in a preceding paragraph, he had five children, whose names are as follows : Charles Frederick, Arthur Emil, Dora Minnie, Fritz Richard and Herbert Au- gust Fritz. His wife dying March 9, 1902, on November 23d, of the following year, he was united in marriage with Theresa Loeb, daughter of Valentine Loeb, of Black Hawk county, the union being blessed with four offspring, viz: Walter Henry, Esther Minnie Marie, August Henry, and Willie Julius Valentine.
JAMES SPENCE.
The gentleman of whom the biographer writes in this connection is an American by adoption, being a native of county Down, Ireland, where he first saw the light of day on November 5. 1862. His parents, John and Mary C. (Stephenson) Spence, were also born in that country, as were their ancestors for many generations, both branches of the family being well known through- out their native county and highly esteemed for sterling qualities of manhood and womanhood. John and Mary Spence had seven children, whose names are as follows: Eliza, Bell, Jane, James, Anna, Maggie and Mary, the sub- ject being the only one to come to the United States.
James Spence enjoyed the advantages of a common school education and spent his early life at the place of his birth. He remained at the parental home until twenty-five years of age, but in the meantime, April 9, 1881, was united in marriage with Ruth Marshall, daughter of William and Ruth (Shephard) Marshall, an estimable and intelligent young lady who has co-operated with him in his labors and sympathized in all of his aspirations from that time to the present. Satisfied that America abounded in better opportunities and advantages for a young man than his own country, Mr. Spence, in 1884, bid farewell to the house of his childhood and youth and, turning his back on the beautiful and romantic Emerald Isle, set sail on September 25th of that year and in due time arrived at his destination in the New World. Making his way west, he located at Oelwein, Iowa, where dur-
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ing the two years ensuing he worked for a Mr. Harrison. Later he was em- ployed for a similar period at farm labor in Jefferson township, at the expira- tion of which time he rented the John Irvin place and continued to cultivate the same until 1904, when he purchased the farm where he now lives, con- sisting of one hundred and twenty acres of fine land in one of the most pro- ductive agricultural districts of the county.
Since moving to this place Mr. Spence has made a number of improve- ments and added much to its appearance and value. He is an industrious man, a careful, methodical worker and by judicious management has placed his family in comfortable circumstances and earned for himself an honorable reputation as an enterprising tiller of the soil and praiseworthy citizen. Like the majority of his neighbors, he devotes his attention to general agriculture and stock-raising, in addition to which he also conducts a dairy, which has proven quite profitable. In his political affiliation he is a Republican and as such works for the interest of his party, keeping well informed on the ques- tions and issues before the people and fully abreast of the times concerning matters of general import.
Mr. Spence possesses sound intelligence and, although a hard worker, finds time for the improvement of his mind and is one of the best posted men in the community, being a reader, a thinker, a close observer and widely in- formed on many subjects. He is held in high esteem by those with whom he mingles and wherever known his sterling qualities of head and heart, to- gether with his desire to treat everybody fairly and honorably, have won for him many warm personal friends. In his religious faith he subscribes to the Presbyterian creed and, with his wife, holds membership with the church at Oelwein, both being interested in all lines of good work under the auspices of the society and ready at all times to lend their assistance and influence to further any laudable enterprise for the moral improvement of the community. They are the parents of four children, viz: Minnie, wife of Ray Sackville, of Jefferson township; William Henry, who married Eva Irvin and lives in Oran township; Anna E. and Thomas Ray, both of whom are members of the home circle.
Although of foreign birth and retaining fond recollections of the beauti- ful and romantic isle where he spent his childhood and youth, Mr. Spence is a loyal American citizen, has great respect for the free institutions of his adopted country and profound admiration for the flag under which he lives.
James Marshall, a brother of Mrs. Spence, came to the United States a number of years ago and is now a resident of Denver, Colorado. He is a brick mason and has done much at his trade in the above city and elsewhere.
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FRED BOESS.
This highly respected farmer of Fayette county is a member of a family who came over from Germany in 1881, he himself being at that time only about eleven years of age. The little colony consisted of father and mother and a number of children. They were very poor and the father had to go to work without delay at his trade as a carpenter in order to provide for the family. He had a hard struggle for many years as a mechanic, farmhand and renter, but eventually made good and at his death, in 1892, owned a fair-sized place in Bethel township. Fred Boess, his oldest child, was born in Hanover, Germany, January 11, 1870, and was but a lad when the trip was made across the ocean. So he grew up with the training of an American boy, joined with the advantages that come from being a member of an am- bitious German home. He attended school and worked on the farm, being of great assistance to his father as long as he remained with him, as he was steady, industrious and painstaking in business matters. When his father bought the farm in section 23, which proved to be his permanent home, he left the parental roof and concluded to strike a few blows for himself. For two years he did ordinary farm work by the month, but such was his German thrift and economy that he managed to save nearly every dollar of his wages, which were not large. By the fall of 1892 he had saved up enough to make a first payment on a farm, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres in section 22, Bethel township. In the spring of 1893 he took possession of his new place and immediately began to farm it on his own accountt.
On December 15, 1897, Mr. Boess married Louisa Hoepfner, a native of Fayette county. She is a daughter of Fred and Marie Hoepfner and of excellent stock. Before 1870 her parents came from Mecklinburg-Schwerin and located in Illinois. After spending two years in that state, they came to Iowa and settled in Fayette county on the south line of Bethel township. Mr. Boess lived on his first farm until the spring of 1908. In the fall of 1901 he bought his father's old place in section 23, still retaining the original place in section 22. The fact that he has prospered is shown by his present ownership of two hundred and eighty acres. He has four children, Albert, Clarence, George and Mildred. The family are members of the Lutheran church at Richfield. Mr. Boess has five brothers and sisters, all of whom are are well settled in the world and have met with their share of prosperity. Marie, the eldest sister, married John Erhardt and is a resident of California. Lizzie, the second of Herman Boess' daughters, married George Hucke, and they are residents of Chickasaw county. Minnie, who is the wife of
MRS. LOUISA BOESS.
FRED BOESS.
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Fred Brenner, lives with him in California. Adam lives with his mother on the farm in section 15, Bethel township. Anna, the youngest child, married Carl Sinner, of whom full particulars may be found in the sketch of Herman Boess. The family, by its intermarriages, is connected with some of the most substantial farmers of Fayette county. With the Sinners and others they constitute a wide and influential connection in Fayette county. With- out exception, they are unostentatious people, noted for their industry and saving habits and attend to their own business. In business they are reliable and in social circles they are highly esteemed by all who know them. In politics, Mr. Boess is a Democrat, but is inclined to be liberal in his views. Religiously, he is a member of the Lutheran church, to which he gives gener- ously of his time and means.
HON. THOMAS L. GREEN.
The student interested in the history of Fayette county does not have to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that Thomas L. Green has long been an active and leading representative citizen and one of the most influential men of West Union, his labors having proven to be a potent force in the upbuilding of this locality along many lines. The biogra- phies of such men of success are instructive as guides and incentives to those whose careers are yet to be achieved. The examples they furnish of patient and consecutive endeavor strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish if his energies are persistently and conscientiously applied. Mr. Green is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and achieved a definite degree of success in the various spheres to which his talents and energies have been devoted, and notwithstanding the fact that he has out- stripped many of the less persistent plodders on life's highway and of the un- questioned good he has accomplished, he is conservative and unassuming, a true type of the genteel, self-made American gentleman, whom to know is to respect and admire.
Mr. Green was born at Hamilton, Canada, September 11, 1847, and is the son of Thomas and Ann (Stevens) Green, both natives of Ireland, the father having been born there in 1815 and died in America in 1904, and the mother's birth occurred in 1824 and her death in 1910.
Thomas Green, Sr., whose sketch appears in full on another page of this work, served three years and three months in Company F, Seventh Iowa
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Cavalry, with a commission of sergeant, having charge of the horseshoeing, farrier and repair department on the frontier. While in the service he was injured, as a result of which he was remembered by his country with a pen- sion of twenty-four dollars per month. He returned home in 1866 and, with his son, Thomas L. of this review, engaged in the manufacture of wagons, buggies and blacksmithing, the father having served an apprenticeship at the above line of work for seven years in Ireland, then went to Scotland where he worked in the shipyards of Glasgow, later in the Highlands, where he learned to talk the Gaelic language, and while there became a lover of the poetry of Burns and Scottish literature, and he was noted as a great reader all his life. During the more than sixty years of married life, during which time he and his wife reared a family of eight children, they were among the most highly respected and best citizens in the community. The elder Green enjoyed his work and made the "hours flit by on angels' wings," to quote from his Bard of Ayr, by giving vent to his effervescent spirit in song and stories of good cheer. His wife, too, a gracious and good woman, although ever active with her family, found time to share the joys and sorrows of her neighbors, being always with them in their troubles to serve and comfort.
Thomas L. Green came to Fayette county, Iowa, when a child and here he was educated in the common schools and at Upper Iowa University, where he spent one year. He has always been a student and has kept well informed on current events, topics of interest in the political, social and scientific world and is an interesting man to converse with. He started in life for himself as a wagonmaker, in which line he was an expert and which he followed suc- cessfully for a period of ten years. He then launched into the real estate business, which he continued with very satisfactory results for a period of twenty years. During the past twelve years he has very ably and creditably filled the position as postmaster at West Union, giving satisfaction in every respect both to the department and to everyone who patronized the local office, his long service in this connection being a criterion of his fidelity to duty and his genuine worth as a public servant. He is now living in honorable retire- ment, spending a part of his time with his family in Los Angeles, California, where his daughters, Gladys and Florence, are attending the University of Southern California. During the period noted above, Mr. Green served in a very praiseworthy manner as mayor of West Union for two terms, during which incumbency he was instrumental in securing the city water works, superintending the entire construction, devoting nearly a year of almost daily service to the work of procuring buildings and overseeing the construction of the plant, which is one of the best in the country. For this meritorious service
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he received the compensation of twelve dollars. He was also largely instru- mental in securing the town clock. Being interested in local public schools, he served as a member of the school board for a period of thirteen years, being president of the same during the last six years, and he takes just pride in the fact that the city has one of the best high schools in the state. He also took a leading part in securing macadam streets for West Union and in innumer- able ways has contributed to the material prosperity and moral and intellectual growth of this community.
Thomas L. Green proved his loyalty to the stars and stripes during the nation's dark hours of trial by enlisting as a private in Company C. Ninth Illinois Cavalry, on March 9, 1864, and he served very faithfully in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. He was orderly to the provost marshal at Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. He was mustered out of service at Selma in October, 1865.
Politically, Mr. Green is a Republican. He was county chairman for a period of six years, and a member of the Republican state central committee for the fourth district of Iowa for two years. He has been active and in- fluential in politics and he belongs with the progressive Republicans of Iowa. During the past twenty-five years he has devoted much of his energies and the best years of his life, as well as given freely of his means, in conducting a campaign of education along temperance lines and he is proud to note the efforts of himself and others who have worked against prejudice and bitter opposition, bringing good results in the better condition of our county, state and nation, and he hopes for the final overthrow of what he considers the greatest evil that confronts our civilization. He has defeated different county petitions for the saloon, having gone to the supreme court to get his counter remonstrance, maintained in the case of Green and the State of Iowa against Smith, and in retiring he hopes that the younger element will continue to fight the great evils to the death.
He is a member of the H. A. L. Club, a literary society of wide note, and for twenty years has enjoyed the study and discussions. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He has been president of the Anti-Horse Stealing Society of the county, and he has been president of the Anti-Saloon League of Fayette county for many years and active in the enforcement of the prohibition laws. Also he was president of the Fayette County Law and Order League long before the Anti-Saloon League came on the scene.
On October 30, 1876, Mr. Green married Ella Sherwood, daughter of Philo and Trephena (Yale) Sherwood, of Susquehanna county, Pennsyl- vania. She is a lady of fine attributes and comes of an excellent family.
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This union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Louise died in infancy; Lottie died when six years old; Laura M., now Mrs. Dr. E. T. Lawler, of Amarillo, Texas; Alfred N. died in infancy ; Lillian S., now Mrs. P. E. Magee, lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Gladys and Florence are with their parents and attending school. Mrs. Green belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and has long been an active and earnest worker in the same, also in charities. She has been a helpmeet indeed, a true wife and mother, and a good neighbor whom all who knew respected.
BEN SCHORI.
One of the most useful members of an agricultural community is the stock dealer. To the individual farmers he saves much time, trouble and expense in providing for them near at home a safe and convenient market for their stock. At the same time stock-buying is by no means an easy task, and the successful stock-buyer must have an eye as skilled as that of the artist in order to be a good judge of stock, a skill which cannot be entirely acquired by prac- tice. but must be to some extent inherent ; moreover, his profession calls for a more than common shrewdness in judging human nature. It is the excep- tional man who can succeed in this business and Mr. Schori belongs to this class.
Ben Schori was born in canton Bern, Switzerland, July 26, 1841, the son of Ben and Mary (Baumgartner) Schori, both natives of Switzerland. His mother died there and his father came to America in 1846 and located in Monroe county, Ohio. About 1849 Ben and his mother's sister came to Joliet, Illinois, but later he returned to his father in Ohio. Ben received but a lim- ited education. In 1856 he came with his father's family to a farm two miles east of Elgin, where his father farmed for some years, and then moved to Elgin. Ben farmed until 1872, when he entered the retail butcher business. In 1875 he began buying stock and grain and became one of the largest dealers in this part of the country. During his operations he has accumulated one thousand acres of land, which he devotes to the stock business. His success in this has been commensurate with the care, attention and ability he has be- stowed upon it, the work which has occupied the greater portion of his life. He is now president of the Citizens' State Bank of Elgin.
In 1869 Mr. Schori married Elizabeth Bauder, a native of Switzerland. to whom as a result of this marriage eight children were born : Emma, Albert.
Bon achari
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Ernest, George, Ida, Clara, Hulda and Elmer. Albert, Ernest and George are now conducting the stock business which their father founded. Ben Schori is a Republican in politics, but has always given his attention to his private affairs rather than to political.
This sturdy son of Switzerland is one whose strong qualities speak for themselves of the worth of the blood that flows in his veins. If all the immi- grants into this country were of his mettle, the immigration problem would be solved.
JAMES HARKIN.
It is interesting to note from the beginning the growth and development of a community, to note the lines along which progress has been made and to take cognizance of those whose industry and leadership in the work of ad- vancement have rendered possible the present prosperity of the locality under consideration. James Harkin, an extensive farmer of Putnam township, Fayette county, has contributed largely to the material welfare of the com- munity in which he resides, being a progressive man of affairs and a public- spirited citizen. He was born August 17, 1847, in Kenosha county, WViscon- sin, and is the son of William and Catherine (McCauley) Harkin, both na- tives of Ireland, where they grew to maturity, were educated and married, and from which country they came to America in 1832, Mr. Harkin entering our navy, in which he served as a gunner for three years. In 1836 he moved to Wisconsin, and in 1855 came to Iowa and settled in Clayton county, where he remained five years, coming to that county in 1860, locating two and one- half miles north of Strawberry Point, where he entered land, later trading the same for a farm in Fayette county, the present home of the Larkin family, and he was successful as a farmer and established a good home. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, two of whom are living, Jennie, now Mrs. McClanahan, of California, and James, of this review. These parents were fine old pioneer people, well liked and highly respected wherever they were known.
James Harkin received a good common school education and later in life supplemented the same by contact with the world and by home study. He was married on October 14, 1888, to Emma Lang, daughter of Nicholas and Charlotte Lang, natives of Ohio, where they grew to maturity and were married, coming to Delaware county, Iowa, about 1856, and to Fayette county about 1866, purchasing a farm in section 34, Putnam township, on which he
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lived continuously until his death, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, dying in 1907, his wife dying the same year at the age of seventy-six years, and they are both buried at Strawberry Point. They became the parents of nine children.
James Harkin began his married life on the farm which he now owns, it consisting at that time of two hundred and forty acres ; he has been a good manager and a hard worker and has added to his place until it now contains four hundred acres of as good land as Fayette county can boast. He has made extensive and substantial improvements, and he is today one of the prosperous and up-to-date farmers of the county, having an attractive and comfortable home and commodious outbuildings, everything about the place indicating thrift, prosperity, good management and that a gentleman of fine taste has its management in hand. He has kept abreast of the times in the matter of up-to-date farming and stock raising, having been very successful in all his undertakings.
To Mr. and Mrs. Harkin two children have been born, William, whose birth occurred August 4, 1889, finished the common school course and gradu- ated at the high school at Strawberry Point. also received a thorough com- mercial course at Oelwein and is a young man of much promise and natural business ability : Mabel, who graduated at the high school at Strawberry Point. is preparing for a career as teacher in the public schools, and she is well in- formed not only in text-books, but is talented and cultured and a favorite with a wide circle of friends.
JOHN GLADWIN.
An honored and highly respected citizen of Arlington, Fayette county, is John Gladwin, who, now that the evening of his years is upon him, can look back over a well spent life, one that has brought nothing but good to those whom it has touched, for he belongs to that class of citizens who believe in carrying the principle of the Golden Rule into their every-day affairs, "Live and let live" has been his motto, so that he now enjoys a wide friendship wherever he is known. Mr. Gladwin was born in Marrick, Yorkshire, Eng- land, July 19, 1839. He grew to maturity and was educated in his home country and when a young man came to America, finally, after a wearisome trip, reaching Wisconsin on April 27, 1855, where he remained four years, working at various things to earn an honest dollar : then he came to Dubuque, Iowa, where he spent about eighteen years. He then turned his attention to
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FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
farming, following the same in Dubuque county eleven years, then came to Fayette county in 1877 and for a period of twenty-one years devoted him- self to tilling the soil in Putnam township. He is at present engaged as a rural mail carrier, having very faithfully performed this service for his adopted country for a period of eight years, giving the authorities entire satisfaction.
Politically, Mr. Gladwin is a Republican, and he has held several of the minor township offices and has been a frequent delegate to conventions of his party. He is very much in sympathy with the prohibition movement and lends his aid and influence in this cause whenever possible.
Mr. Gladwin was married in Dubuque county, Iowa, in March, 1861, to Mary Ann Reynoldson, who was born in England. Her death occurred on April 13, 1902. Nine children, all living, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Glad- win. Of this family, six daughters and three sons, one son became a teacher and taught very acceptably in Fayette county.
Mr. Gladwin is a member of the Woodman lodge and the Methodist Episcopal church. He and his family are highly respected throughout the county. Mr. Gladwin takes great interest in Sunday schools, having been a scholar and teacher for over sixty years. He is a great promoter of the prohibition movement.
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