USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 49
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dwelling was built about twelve years ago, and he has good barns and all kinds of modern farming implements. He is a stockholder and director of the First State Bank of Hawkeye.
Mr. Bruehler has for some time been influential in local political matters, and for two terms, or a period of six years, beginning in 1900, he served in a very able and acceptable manner as county supervisor. This was during the time of the great flood, when many fine bridges were carried away, but he met the situation in a masterly manner. He had previously served as township trustee for several years. He has always been loyal to the Repub- lican party and he is at this writing chairman of the local delegation. He is known throughout the county as an honest, industrious and public-spirited citizen whom everyone trusts and respects. Mr. Bruehler is one of the directors of the First State Bank of Hawkeye.
WILLIAM M. HORN, SR.
The family of William M. Horn, Sr., a substantial citizen of Maynard, Fayette county, prominent farmer and honored ex-soldier, were influential Kentuckians, but the subject was born at De Kalb, Buchanan county, Mis- . souri, January 30, 1844. He is the son of John O. Horn, who was a native of Kentucky, but spent the latter years of his life in Missouri. He was of Irish descent and married Malissa Jane Bragg, a native of Kentucky. They went to Missouri in an early day, in 1847 went to Delaware county, Iowa, and in 1850 to California, making the long, tedious journey overland with an ox team. Mr. Horn died in California of the fever, shortly after he went there, leaving a widow, who married again and who died in 1858. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John O. Horn : Samuel, who served three years in the Twelfth Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, and is now living at Plattsville, Wisconsin; William M., of this review, was the youngest child. The parents of these children were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Horn was a Democrat.
William M. Horn, Sr., is purely a self-made man, starting in life under none too favorable environment. He lived with an uncle, James Rether- ford, at Colesburg, Iowa, until the spring of 1862, when he proved his loyalty to the old flag by enlisting in Company F. Twenty-seventh Iowa Volunteer In- fantry, in which he served in a very gallant manner until 1865. He was first sent to Minnesota to assist in keeping peace at the payment of a tribe of
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Indians. He was later sent to Memphis, Tennessee, then to Vicksburg and on a long march eastward to reinforce Sherman on Big Black river, later re- turning to Vicksburg. He took part in Banks' fatal Red River expedition, and he was in the battle and capture of Fort De Russy, Louisiana, March 14, 1864, Mr. Horn being the second man to mount the breastworks. His next battle was at Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864. He received a shot there which shattered his left thigh. His comrades dragged him and placed him under a tree and while lying there he received five other wounds and he was taken prisoner with four hundred others and was held three months in the open air, under the trees. He was paroled with one hundred and forty comrades, the rest of the four hundred dying of exposure and neglect. Mr. Horn was dis- charged on June 20, 1865, at Montgomery, Alabama, after serving three years.
After the war Mr. Horn returned to Delaware county, Iowa, and on September 13, 1865, he married Sarah Montgomery, a native of Pennsylvania, who at the age of four years came to Iowa with her father, Archibald Mont- gomery. To Mr. and Mrs. Horn one son was born, named William M., Jr., born June 16, 1866, in Delaware county, Iowa. He has always remained with his parents. Archibald Montgomery married Eleanor Kilgore, who, like himself, was a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, where they grew to maturity and where they were married. In 1842 they came to Colesburg, Delaware county, Iowa. The country was wild at that time, abounding in an abundance of wild game and Indians. Archibald Montgomery's father, William Montgomery, came to Iowa in 1840 and bought land. He was a great hunter and kept the family supplied with wild meat. He was a typical pioneer and loved the woods and primitive conditions. He died in 1866. In 1849 Archibald Montgomery went overland with an ox team to California, taking his son, William, who was then fourteen years of age, and a few neighbors, being six months on the journey. He remained in the Golden state two and one-half years, mining. He returned to Delaware county, Iowa, where he died in 1875, at the age of sixty-nine years; his wife had preceded him to the grave in 1849. Mr. Montgomery was a successful farmer and a man of considerable influence in his community. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, namely : William died in Illinois on his way home from the army on a furlough, having been a soldier in Company F, Twenty- seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry; Sarah, wife of William M. Horn, Sr., of this review ; Martha is the widow of James Arbuckle and is living at Greeley, Iowa; Hon. John K., of West Union, married Mary Mellon and they are the parents of two children, Belle M. and William A. John K. Montgomery
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was elected in 1885 to the twenty-first General Assembly and he served on two important committees, agricultural and senatorial districts, and he was also on the county central committee ; he is a Democrat and formerly engaged in farming. Elizabeth Montgomery married William Alcorn, of West Union, Iowa ; Mary J. Montgomery is the widow of James Montgomery, of West Union ; Isabelle Montgomery married Thomas Reeder, of West Union.
After the close of the war, William M. Horn, Sr., lived in Delaware county, Iowa, until 1869, when he located on section 30, in Smithfield town- ship, Fayette county, later on section 19, where he farmed successfully until 1896, when he retired and has since lived in Maynard, Iowa. They have in all two hundred and sixty acres of well improved and well kept land in Smith- field township. Mr. Horn has always been a farmer and a very progressive one and considering the disadvantages under which he started in life for him- self he is deserving of great credit for what he has accomplished. He has been an extensive raiser of Durham cattle, Norman horses, Poland-China hogs, and a large part of his competency has been made by the skillful handling of livestock. He votes the Democratic ticket and belongs to Lodge No. 126, Knights of Pythias, at Oelwein, Iowa. He has won and retained hosts of friends wherever he has lived, for he is a man of genuine worth, honest, kind and hospitable.
LYMAN EVERETT MITCHELL.
One of the best known men and in some respects one of the most re- markable characters in Fayette county is the subject of this sketch, who, after a lifetime of varied and unusual experiences, is now living retired at Oelwein, making his home with his sister. Mr. Mitchell is a Yankee by na- tivity, having been born in the town of Enfield, Hampshire county, Massachu- setts, on the 3rd of January, 1837. He is descended from noted ancestry and there flows in his veins some of the best blood on the continent. He is a son of Alden and Adeline (Hodges) Mitchell. Alden Mitchell was a direct descendant from Experience Mitchell, a native of England, who was a companion in Holland of Capt. Miles Standish and John Alden and others of the historic party who came to the New World, landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620. He, however, did not accompany this party, remaining in Holland until 1623, when he joined the party at Plymouth. Alden Mitchell's mother. who bore the maiden name of Nehitabel Alden, was a direct descendant of John Alden and Priscilla, the "Puritan maiden" immortalized by the poet.
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Longfellow. The latter and William Cullen Bryant, another of America's beloved poets, were both also descended from John Alden. Through his maternal grandmother, who was a member of the noted Drake family, Alden Mitchell also traced his lineage back to Sir Francis Drake, the great English navigator. Thus it is seen that the subject's forefathers were of that stanch New England stock which has been in many respects the very back- bone of American literature and religion. Many members of these families still live in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, though some live at Worces- ter.
Lyman E. Mitchell was reared on the paternal homestead at Enfield and received his education in a typical New England school house of that early day. When he was seventeen years old the family moved to Illinois, but in the spring of 1855 they came to what is now known as Smithfield township. Fayette county, Iowa, where they entered a quarter section of government land. It was known as graduation land, the price being graded according to the length of time it had been on the market or thrown open for purchase. The Mitchells bought it for seventy-five cents an acre, and it is worthy of note that the same land has since been sold for one hundred dollars an acre. At that time this township was very sparsely settled, especially in the south- ern part, and here the newcomers built a log cabin for their first home. At that time the subject was about eighteen years old and he made that his home until 1861, taking an active and effectual part in the work of clearing the land and putting it in shape for cultivation. In 1861 he caught the "Cali- fornia fever" and he and a number of companions started in wagons on the long and tiresome trip to the land of the golden sunsets. It required seventy days to make the trip from Fayette county to Salt Lake City. When he reached Sacramento, he learned that war had broken out between the North and the South and in October, 1861, he joined Company E, Fifth Regiment California Volunteer Infantry. This command was sent into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, where they were principally engaged in keeping under subjection the Indians, chiefly the bloodthirsty Apaches. They also did much scouting and convoying of wagon trains, the noted scout. Kit Carson, being a member of their command a part of the time, and the subject took part in the battle of Val Verde. During this time their common lot consisted of long and weary marches across the burning sands of the Arizona desert, ever keeping a close watch for signs of Indian trouble. The regiment re- mained in this service during the entire period of the war and were discharged at La Mesilla, on the Rio Grande, in New Mexico, after actual service of three years and two months. Such was the condition of the surrounding
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country that the subject and his companions had to practically fight their way back to civilization, it requiring forty-three days to get back to Los Angeles. Mr. Mitchell was first sergeant of his company and, having con- siderable talent as a drillmaster, he was given a good deal of responsibility in this direction. He was also a provost-marshal during a part of his mili- tary service in a wild western town, where he had to deal with many "bad men," with whom he dealt successfully, though at times it required an exhi- bition of nerve. During his military experience Mr. Mitchell escaped being wounded, but contracted malaria, from which he suffered greatly. From San Francisco he took ship and returned home by way of the isthmus of Panama and New York city. He was glad to get back to Fayette county, and here, under his mother's care and, as he says, largely her cooking, he was in due time restored to health. Had he been a man of less rugged phy- sique he would have succumbed, but his great strength and vitality carried him through. He reached home March 11, 1865, and during the greater part of his subsequent life he continued to reside on the Smithfield township farm, in the operation of which he took an active part. He has always been a hard worker and has been numbered among Fayette county's most industrious and enterprising citizens.
In 1874 Mr. Mitchell was married to Mrs. Lydia W. (Bryer) Mitchell, the widow of his deceased brother, George Byron Mitchell, she being a native of Rhode Island. To them were born three children, namely: Jessie Alden and Charlotte Caswell, both of whom are now living in Brooklyn, New York, and Mark Milton, who lives in Massachusetts, where he is a traveling salesman for an aluminum manufacturing establishment. Mark married, in August, 1908, Lillian Bessie Moulton, of Maine. In December, 1907, Mr. Mitchell came to Oelwein, and is now making his home with his sister, Mrs. Mary Catherine Bogert.
Politically, Mr. Mitchell was at one time active in support of the Green- back party and in 1880 was a delegate to the national convention of that party. In later years he has not taken a great interest in political matters. Frater- nally, he is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1870 he became a member of the Masonic order, but is not now actively affiliated. In 1871 Mr. Mitchell was elected a justice of the peace and discharged the duties of the office until 1907, when he resigned. He is now ( 1910) again a candidate for that office. He has at other times also held various local offices, such as clerk, assessor, etc.
Mr. Mitchell is a wide-awake and intelligent man, and, despite his advanc- ing years, he enjoys remarkable health, being a man of splendid physique and
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fine personal appearance, erect and broad-shouldered as in his prime. He is a man of linguistic accomplishment, being a fluent user of Spanish. Dur- ing the war, while on the Mexican frontier, he learned to speak the language readily, but recognizing that colloquialisms had rendered the language im- pure as he heard it, he determined to perfect himself in the use of the language in its purest form. To this end, after his return home, he gave the language serious study and became thoroughly fluent in its use, both in reading, writ- ing and speaking. At one time, while at Des Moines as a member of the soldiers' monument commission, he was called upon to read and interpret some Spanish communications in connection with the official business of the state of Iowa. In other lines he has been self-educated, and is considered an exceptionally well-informed man. He possesses great conversational powers and his recital of reminiscences of the early days here and in the West are exceedingly interesting as well as instructive. He is exceedingly optimistic in temperament and carries with him the buoyancy of youth. He is a de- lightful companion and enjoys the unbounded esteem and friendship of all who know him.
JOHN IRVINE.
The agricultural interests of Fayette county are well represented by the subject of this review, who is one of the practical and enterprising farmers of his section of the county, his residence being in the attractive little city of Oelwein. Like many other successful, self-made men of northern Iowa, he is an American by adoption only, being a native of Ireland, from whence has come so much of the bone and sinew of this great western republic. Wherever known the Irish type is noted for thrift and enterprise, the subject of this sketch being no exception to the rule.
John Irvine was born near Belfast, county Down, Ireland, on the 20th day of January, 1836, and was reared on the parental homestead, receiving his education in the schools of the neighborhood. In 1857, when twenty-one years old, he came to America, going at once to Ontario, Canada, where he resided during the ensuing ten or twelve years. He there followed farming and dealing in livestock and was fairly successful. In February, 1870, Mr. Irvine came to Fayette county, Iowa, locating two miles west of Oelwein, though at that time the town had not been laid out. On his arrival here he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land, to the cultivation of which he devoted his energies, and from time to time he added to his original
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land until he eventually owned four hundred acres of land in Jefferson town- ship, which is still in his possession. When the Great Western railway was run through Oelwein, Mr. Irvine moved to that place and has since re- sided there. £ About two years after locating here Mr. Irvine returned to Canada and brought back with him to Iowa four thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle. and soon afterwards he imported a carload of these animals, being the first man in the county to handle thoroughbred cattle extensively. He now has on his farm a large herd of milch cows, which are managed by his nephew, W. J. Irvine. Mr. Irvine has been industrious and practical in his methods and during his active years he gave his personal attention to every detail of his work, that being one of the main secrets of his success. He is known as one of the most progressive farmers in the county and is considered a representative of that industry.
On March 24, 1866, Mr. Irvine was married to Isabella C. Wiley, a native of Canada, her parents having been natives of county Down, Ireland. To the subject and his wife have been born four children, namely : Louise, who died December 4, 1905; Florence, who died January 12, 1907; the latter as the wife of George L. Thompson, of Oelwein, and she is sur- vived by two children, Marion Isabella and Viola Louisa, one child having died in infancy ; the only surviving child is Albert E., who is now living in Oelwein, where he is engaged in the practice of law and is a justice of the peace. Religiously, Mr. Irvine and his family are members of the Presby- terian church, to which they give an earnest support. While he takes an interest of proper sort in public affairs of a local nature, he has never been an aspirant for official preferment. He is ever found in hearty support of every movement which promises to be of benefit to the community, morally. educationally, socially or materially. Because of his sterling qualities of character, he enjoys the highest regard throughout the community where he resides.
CHRIST LEHMAN.
Although the republic of Switzerland is no larger than a county or province in the great empires and countries of Europe and Asia, yet it is doubtful if any foreign land has sent to the United States a larger number of first-class citizens. For upwards of two hundred years they have been estab- lishing their homes within our borders and assimilating our civilization, tak- ing rank with our best citizenship, law-abiding, industrious and ready to de-
CHRIST LEHMAN.
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fend our flag during crises. Of this great horde, C. Lehman, a well known merchant of Elgin, Fayette county, is deserving of special mention, as will be understood from a brief resume of his career outlined in the following paragraphs. His birth occurred near Bern, Switzerland, February 26, 1845. He is the son of John Lehman and wife, full mention of whom is made on another page of this work. They brought their son, the subject, to America in 1852, and he remained at home with his parents, attending school during the winter months, until 1862, when he began learning the wagonmaker's trade, under John Neunswander, in the building which now stands across from the Lehman hardware store, the subject's place of business. He served an apprenticeship of two and one-half years, but he remained in Mr. Neun- swander's employ about four years, then worked at his trade in various places until 1871, in which year he was married to Mary Single, in Macomb, Illinois. They came to Elgin, Iowa, in a short time and here Mr. Lehman, in 1872, erected a two-story shop which still stands and there he maintained a well patronized wagon shop for six or seven years. He then began in the farm implement business and for several years sold implements in large numbers and became widely known in this part of the county in his special line. In 1883 he and his nephew, J. W. Lehman, formed a partnership and began a general hardware business, which they conducted successfully until 1890, when the partnership was dissolved, after which Mr. Lehman conducted his busi- ness alone until 1906, when he took his son, L. G. Lehman, as a partner and they have continued to do a very satisfactory business, enjoying a liberal trade with the people of northeastern Fayette county. Besides carrying a large, complete and carefully selected stock of general hardware, they also handle an excellent stock of builders' supplies.
To Mr. and Mrs. C. Lehman the following children have been born: Lulu, now Mrs. J. C. Schmidt ; Eda married F. R. Burg ; two children are de- ceased, Josie and Eddie, they having been the first and second in order of birth, respectively; the son, Leslie G .. is associated with his father in the store and is a young man of excellent business qualifications.
Mr. Lehman in his fraternal relations is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (blue lodge, chapter and commandery) and the Mystic Shrine, also the Iowa Legion of Honor, taking an active interest in all these orders, and endeavoring to live up to their high precepts in his every-day life.
Politically, Mr. Lehman is a Democrat and has long been active in the ranks. He has the distinction of having been the first mayor of Elgin and he has done perhaps more for the upbuilding of the town than any other indi- vidual, having always stood ready to aid whatever measure that had for its
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object the general welfare of the village and vicinity. He has been trustee of his township for several years, and he has been on the local school board for the past fifteen successive years. His life has been one of unceasing activity and has been led in such a manner as to inspire the confidence and esteem of everyone, since he ever evinces a desire to deal fairly with his fel- low men and while he is advancing his own interests not to lose sight of his obligations to others.
ELBERT H. ESTEY.
Holding prestige among the successful attorneys of Fayette and adjoin- ing counties, Elbert H. Estey, while yet a young man, has proven his worth to rank with the leading professional men in a community long noted for its high order of talent. especially along legal lines, and the study of such a life cannot fail of interest and incentive, as he is distinctively representative of his sphere of activity and has contributed in no small measure to the general uplift of West Union and the locality which is his home and field of operation, at the same time establishing a reputation for honor and integrity.
Mr. Estey is a member of the firm of Clements & Estey, and he was born in the city of Fayette, this county, November 4, 1873. He is the son of Charles P. and Mary (Scott) Estey, the father a native of Vermont and the mother of Ohio, the latter being the daughter of William Scott, who was among the early settlers of Dover township and where the family is still represented. Elbert H. Estey's paternal grandfather, Warren Estey, was an early settler of Winneshiek county. Charles P. Estey lived for a time at Postville, Allamakee county, but he came to Fayette about 1871. His family consisted of three daughters and one son, Elbert H. of this review being the youngest ; his sisters are, Carrie, who married Rev. M. T. Miller, of Colorado. a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church; Addie, who has remained un- married, is a talented lecturer and reformer, engaged in the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, located at Des Moines, Iowa ; Blanche is the wife of Rev. George C. Fort and is located at Salina, Kansas. All the family except the youngest sister are graduates of the Upper Iowa Uni- versity.
The father of these children is a painter and decorator, having made this his life work and he is very adroit in the use of the brush, his services having always been in great demand. He and his wife make their home in Fayette, where they are highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends.
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Elbert H. Estey, after completing his college course, performed in a very commendable manner the duties of court reporter in the thirteenth judi- cial district for a period of two years, during the term of Judge William A. Hoyt. All the while he studied law during his spare moments, having decided early in life to devote his energies to the legal profession. He took a law course at the State University of Minnesota, where he made a good record and from which institution he was graduated in June, 1896. He soon re- turned to Iowa and opened an office in the city of Waterloo and he practiced there with a very satisfactory clientele for a period of seven years and became one of the leading members of the bar of that place, but desiring to return to his home county, he began practice in West Union on December 1, 1905, and has been here to the present time, his record at the Fayette county bar having been one of honor and credit and has won the admiration of his clients and contemporaries at the bar. He was associated with the late David W. Clements, one of the leading lawyers of this district, the firm of Clements & Estey having been a most potent one in all local courts.
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