USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 69
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ANDREW HUNSBERGER.
In the above named gentleman is found a sample of the self-made, reliant, enterprising men who have made the West-one who has been a witness of and participant in the wonderful development which has characterized this section during the past half century. During his early life he passed through some unique experiences and his reminiscences of those earlier days are inter- esting. Mr. Hunsberger was born in Ohio in 1851 and is a son of Benedict and Maria (Shadel) Hunsberger. Both were born in canton Bern, Switzer- land, where they were married. Mr. Hunsberger followed the trade of tin- ner with such success that in 1850 he was able to carry out a plan which had long been his cherished dream, namely, coming to America to give the wheel of fortune a turn in a new country. Arriving on the coast of the western continent, they proceeded to Ohio and there located. Not finding there the opportunities which he sought, Mr. Hunsberger, in 1854, came to Pleasant Valley township, this county, buying a small piece of land which he farmed carefully, at the same time following his trade, which he had learned in his native country. The first winter, as the subject of this sketch relates, they lived in a dug-out, which was fairly comfortable, although according to our present-day idea of comfort this would seem an almost unendurable experi- ence, and from this moved into a small log house. After a number of years' sojourn in this temporary abode they sold the place and thereafter lived with their children. This experience of living in a dugout was only one of many pioneer experiences that read like fiction. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsberger were the parents of four children, there being two brothers and two sisters of the
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subject of this review. Although the children enjoyed the advantage of edu- cation in the common schools, Andrew Hunsberger was compelled, owing to the condition of the family exchequer, to find work to do, and since early life he has made his own way. His success has come from "sticking to his last," in other words, he has kept steadily at farming. His first purchase of land was a tract of fifty-four acres, largely timber land with few improvements, but by dint of persevering labor the land was cleared and placed in a state of good cultivation, furnished with many improvements, and here he made his home for nine years.
Like many others at that time, Mr. Hunsberger then turned his eyes to the far West, whence reports had it that fortunes were quickly and easily made. About 1890 he went to Oregon, and there searched for sometime for a likely place for a home. However, after looking over the ground, he de- cided to return to Iowa. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Elgin after his return and made his home on this place for five years, at the end of which time he bought the one hundred and fifteen-acre tract where he now makes his home and where he does general farming. Many fine improvements have been placed upon this property, and most of the prop- erty is cleared and is under a high state of cultivation. It is rapidly becoming one of the best farms in the vicinity.
Mr. Hunsberger, in 1872, was united in marriage with Anna Spinden. They are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Hunsberger is a Democrat in politics, but is not an office aspirant. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsberger are ex- ceedingly pleasant and agreeable people and their fund of anecdote and in- formation gained from travel and the experiences which either one or both have passed through, make them delightful entertainers.
ELMER A. McILREE.
In placing the name of E. A. McIlree in the front rank of West Union's business men and the substantial and representative citizens of Fayette county, simple justice is done a biographical fact universally recognized in this part of Iowa by all men at all familiar with his history. A man of judgment, sound discretion and business ability of a high order, he has managed, with tactful success, important enterprises and so impressed his individuality upon the community as to gain recognition among its leading citizens and public spirited men of affairs, being a public official against whom not the shadow
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of suspicion ever rested and a man who has always taken an abiding interest in the general welfare of his community and county.
Mr. McIlree was born in Johnson county, Iowa, on January 5, 1865. He comes of one of the old pioneer families of sterling worth, being the son of Linus and Ann C. (Beam) McIlree, the father born in Niles, Ohio, and the mother in Stanton, Virginia.
E. A. McIlree was a printer in his early life and he followed this trade with much success until December 5, 1890, when he purchased The Leader at Riverside, Washington county, Iowa, which he conducted successfully until 1902, building up the property and increasing the circulation and making it one of the best papers of its type in that part of the state. He then bought The Fayette County Union and under his careful and judicious management it has become one of the leading and best weekly papers in the state. Its mechanical appearance has been greatly improved, as well as its circulation increased and its value enhanced as an advertising medium. It is well edited. newsy and is popular with the masses of the people and growing in power and prestige as a molder of public opinion.
Mr McIlree is also the owner of a substantial and valuable business block and a modern and handsome residence in West Union. He is a man of ex- cellent business ability and is deserving of great credit for what he has ac- complished owing to the fact that he started in life practically empty handed and has never relied upon anyone for assistance, but has forged to the front by sheer force of energy, persistency, tact and the exercise of sound judg- ment.
Mr. McIlree has long been prominent in public affairs and has always performed his every duty in reference to advancing the general welfare of the community in which he lived. He is an uncompromising Democrat, and his ability being recognized by his party and friends he was elected mayor of West Union, which position he held with much credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned for a period of four years, from 1906 to 1910. He did a great many things that will be of permanent benefit to this city and he won the lasting gratitude of the citizens of this vicinity. For the past four years he has been secretary of the Fayette County Agricultural Society, the duties of which he has very faithfully discharged.
Mr. McIlree was married in December, 1886, to Myrtle Z. Seaton, daugh- ter of Oliver and Harriet (Reed) Seaton, and this union has resulted in the birth of the following children : Paul L., Ruth, Reed and Vance. Mr. McIlree is prominent in fraternal circles in the Hawkeye state, belonging to the following orders: West Union Lodge, No. 69, Ancient Free and Ac-
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cepted Masons; Unity Chapter, No. 62, Royal Arch Masons ; Langridge Com- mandery, No. 47, Knights Templar ; West Union Chapter, No. 110, Order of the Eastern Star; Elkahir Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Cedar Rapids.
HENRY SIDLER.
Among the successful farmers and praiseworthy citizens of Oran town- ship is Henry Sidler, who was born in La Salle county, Illinois, on the 3d day of August, 1850. His father, Samuel Sidler, a native of Germany, came to the United States when young and settled in Pennsylvania, where he mar- ried Nancy Meyers, some time after which he moved to La Salle county, Illinois. He was accidentally killed in the year 1850, by the explosion of a steamboat on Red river, and later his widow became the wife of Henry Ger- ken, who moved his family to Fayette county, Iowa, in 1854. (See sketch of N. A. Gerken.) Henry and Nancy Sidler had three children, viz: Elias, a farmer of Douglas county, Oregon; Melissa, who died young, and Henry, the subject of this review. The mother died in August, 1883, and subsequently Mr. Gerken married Mrs. Hillman, a widow, after whose death he married her sister, who had been left a widow some years before.
Henry Sidler was brought to Fayette county, when about four years old, and spent his early life on a farm in Oran township, receiving his education in the public schools. He grew up a well developed young man and remained at home until his marriage, which was solemnized on April 17, 1878, with Sarah Jane Hotchkiss, of DeKalb county, Illinois, after which he lived with his grandmother Meyer until moving to the farm he now owns. Mr. Sidler, in 1879, purchased one hundred and twenty acres of fine land in sections 2 and 3. Oran township, which he at once began to improve and in due time he had his farm under an excellent state of cultivation and well stocked. From that year to the present he has devoted his attention very closely to his chosen call- ing, and as a general farmer and raiser of a high grade of livestock he now occupies a conspicuous place among the leading agriculturists of his township. His industry and good management mark him as a man of practical intelli- gence and mature judgment and as a result of his well directed labors he is now in comfortable circumstances, with a sufficiency of this world's goods in his possession to insure his future against any probable adversity. In all that concern's the advancement of the community and the welfare of his fel-
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low men, Mr. Sidler manifests a lively interest and as a Republican, in touch with his party and familiar with questions of the day, he wields a strong in- fluence for good government and stands firmly for law and order. He is an excellent neighbor, a loyal friend and as a citizen is public spirited and stands today among the most enterprising and successful men of his adopted country.
Charles and Maria (Crandall) Hotchkiss, parents of Mrs. Sidler, were natives of Chenango county, New York, but early went to DeKalb county, Illinois, where they lived until their removal to Iowa, in the year 1855. Lo- cating in Center township, Fayette county, Mr. Hotchkiss entered land, which he improved, and later he purchased two additional farms which in time made him one of the well-to-do men of his neighborhood. He was a progressive farmer and an excellent citizen and his death, on February 6, 1904, was great- ly deplored by the community in which he had spent the greater part of his life. Mrs. Hotchkiss survived her husband and is still living on the family homestead, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-five years and retaining to a marked degree the possession of her faculties. She is the mother of four children, namely : Mary, formerly a teacher in the public schools who married Frank Dewey and lives in Fremont township; Charles H. is unmar- ried and lives on the home farm with his mother; Sarah J., wife of Henry Sidler, and Helen M., now Mrs. William Cross, who lives near the town of Fayette. Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss early united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and were always very active in religious work, also took a lively inter- est in whatever made for the moral welfare of those with whom they mingled. In connection with farming, Mr. Hotchkiss worked at the blacksmith trade and his shop was long prized by the people of the community.
Mrs. Sidler received her preliminary education in the schools of Fayette and later attended for three years the Upper Iowa University, fitting herself for teaching. After leaving that institution she taught in the townships of Oran and Harlan and was thus engaged until her marriage, achieving honor- able mention for the excellency of her work with young people. She has borne her husband six children, as follows: Etta, who married Henry Shamer and has four offspring, Clint, Roy, Janie and Blanche. Maude is the wife of Charles Hahn, of Grove Hill, Illinois, and the mother of two children, Clarine and Clyde. Lottie married Valentine Loeb, of Buchanan county, Iowa, and has one daughter by the name of Ida. Elias, a farmer of Bremer county, this state, married Minnie Carpenter and is the father of three children, John. Daisy and Pearl, the last named being deceased. Blanche and Minnie, the youngest, are members of the family and still with their parents. Mrs. Sid- ler is a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a leader in
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its various lines of work. Although Mr. Sidler is identified with no particular church, he is a regular attendant of the congregation with which his wife is identified.
WILLIAM TOENGES.
Examples of Germans coming to this country and thriving, though they have no capital but industry and brains, are quite common, but none more striking than the case unfolded in this biographical story. Our search takes us to Westphalen, Germany, and to the home of Rudolph Handick and Mary Petertoenges. There we learn that in that part of Germany it was the custom for the husband to take his wife's name, if living on land of her estate. So Rudolph Handick becomes changed in law to Rudolph Peter- toenges, and so their deeds and other legal papers run. This couple had a son named William, who was born at Westphalen, Germany, in 1855. He re- mained with his parents for nearly thirty years, learning to farm as he grew up and attending the neighborhood schools. In 1884 he married Henrietta. daughter of Fred and Engel (Wobbs) Heick, of Essen, Hanover. About six months after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Toenges came to the United States and lost no time in taking hold after the energetic manner of their country- men. Henry Heick, a brother of Mrs. Toenges, resided in Fayette county and it was natural that the newly arrived immigrants should direct their course to distant Iowa. Mr. Toenges rented a farm in Bethel township which he worked for four years and during that time saved up every surplus dollar he made. With these savings he was able to buy the northwest quarter of section 36 in Bethel township. This place was not well improved, there being only a small house and a few outbuildings. It took an immense amount of hard work to whip it into shape, but Mr. Toenges was equal to the emer- gency and at the end of a few years it looked like a new place, with its im- provements of all kinds and freshened condition of the land. For this place Mr. Toenges paid twenty-six dollars an acre, but can now sell it for nearly one hundred dollars an acre. During all these years of struggle and priva- tion he was saving money and in 1900 was able to make another important purchase, which was the southwest quarter of section 25. In September, 1909, he bought the southwest quarter of section 24, making his land holdings amount to four hundred and eighty acres. He does general farming and stockraising and has made a marked success in this line. He attempts no fancy farming and, with the shrewd judgment that characterizes his race,
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avoids speculation. He attends strictly to his own business, never neglects a duty, never allows a debt to stand, owes nobody and can look the world in the face with a clear conscience. He is a man of few words, unassuming and quiet in manner, but possesses all the sturdy qualities to make a good farmer and good citizen. All who know him like him as they appreciate his sturdy virtues. Shortly after his arrival in America, Mr. Toenges learned that his name was undergoing another transformation, but somewhat different from what befell his father in the old country. The American mania for abbreviations, growing perhaps out of their national tendency to hasten and hurry, induces the people here to insist on shortening all long words that they have to use often. So Petertoenges, as it came across the sea, was speed- ily cut in two, the last half retained and the subject soon found that his United States name was plain Toenges.
Mr. and Mrs. Toenges have six children, Mary, Henry, Louisa, August, Alga, and William. Mary married John Pleggenkuble, with whom she re- sides on a farm five miles east of Fredericksburg, Chickasaw county. The other children remain at home with their parents. The family belong to the Lutheran church and perform their full share in the social and business de- velopment of the township. Politically, Mr. Toenges is independent.
WILLIAM LARRABEE, JR.
William Larrabee, Jr., was born at Clermont, Iowa, on December II. 1870, and is a son of ex-Governor William and Ann M. (Appelman) Larrabee and a grandson of Capt. Adam Larrabee, who took a prominent part in the war of 1812. 'The subject's genealogy is traced to the French Huguenots who came to America early in the seventeenth century. The career of Governor William Larrabee is detailed at length elsewhere in this work and will, therefore, not be referred to further here.
William Larrabee, Jr., was reared under the parental roof and secured his elementary education in the public schools of Clermont. He then entered the collegiate department of the Iowa State University, where he was gradu- ated with the class of 1893. He entered the law department of the State University, graduating in 1896.
Aside from the legal profession, Mr. Larrabee is also interested in agri- culture, owning several tracts of excellent and valuable farming land in this county. He is also a director and vice-president of the Clermont State Bank, one of the strong and influential monetary institutions of this part of the state.
WILLIAM LARRABEE, JR.
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Mr. Larrabee has always had an admiration for the military arm of our national government and at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war he enlisted as a private in Company G, Fifty-second Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and toward the close of the war was commissioned as captain and commissary of subsistence of volunteers, with the rank of captain. He was also a lieutenant-colonel on the staff of Governor Drake, colonel on the staff of Governor Shaw and held a similar rank on the staff of Governor Carroll. While at the State University in 1893, Mr. Larrabee was a member of the expedition sent by the university to the Bahama islands for scientific research, a trip which secured much valuable material for the science department of the university.
Politically, Mr. Larrabee has always been a stanch supporter of the Republican party and has taken an active part in public affairs. In 1901 he was the successful candidate of his party for representative in the Legislature and served in the twenty-ninth General Assembly. In 1908 he was again elected a member of that body and in November, 1910, was re-elected. Mr. Larrabee has also served several years as a member of the Clermont school board. being always ready to do all in his power to advance the educational interests of his community.
On September 20, 1901, Mr. Larrabee was united in marriage with Lillian Ingles, a native of Middletown, Connecticut, and a daughter of James and Lillian Ingles. To this union have been born three children, namely : William J., who died in infancy ; William, the third; Lillian.
JACOB SCHUG.
Of the people of foreign birth who have mingled on our shores and be- come an important element in our national life, none have borne a more con- spicuous part than the sturdy sons and daughters of the German fatherland. Honest, industrious and eminently honorable, they have taken advantage of the opportunities which here obtained and, although beginning the struggle in a modest way, they gradually surmount all obstacles and in due time are found dominating almost every phase of industry and making their influence felt in all lines of thought. Among the sturdy men of this nationality in Fayette county, Iowa, is the well known gentleman and enterprising farmer and stock raiser whose name appears at the head of this review.
Jacob Schug was born September 29, 1846, at Baumholder, Germany, near the historic Rhine, and is the youngest of three children whose parents,
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Nicholas and Dorethea (Claus) Schug, were also of German birth and natives of the same town in which the subject first saw the light of day. The mother died in Baumholder, Germany, when Jacob was a youth and later, in 1864, the father came to America and located at Newark, New Jersey, subsequently removing to Chicago, Illinois, where he remained until becoming a resident of Fayette county, Iowa, about the year 1867. In his native land he followed farming for a livelihood and on coming west he again became a tiller of the soil, purchasing land in Putnam township, on which he spent the remainder of his life. Peter, the oldest of his three sons, is a retired farmer, living at Strawberry Point, this state. Frederick resides in the town of Strawberry Point, Jacob, as already indicated, being the third and youngest of the family.
Jacob Schug spent his early life in his native land and was about eighteen years old when he accompanied his father to the United States in 1864. After remaining one year in Newark, he went to Canada, where he spent two years, at the expiration of which time he returned to New York state and during the ensuing year was variously employed in the city of Buffalo. In 1869 he came west and for two years thereafter worked at farm labor and burnt lime in Clayton county, Iowa, which state he has since made his home. On November 23, 1871, Mr. Schug entered the marriage relation with Marie Gundlach, of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, immediately following which he moved to Fayette county and purchased that part of the farm in section 26, Scott township, on which he now resides.
On coming to his present place of residence, Mr. Schug at once addressed himself to the task of improving his land and establishing a home and it is needless to state that he succeeded admirably in the undertaking, for within a comparatively brief period he had his farm under cultivation and substantial buildings erected. He also increased his holdings from time to time until his farm now embraces an area of three hundred and twenty acres of as fine land as the township of Scott can boast, while his improvements of all kinds are admittedly among the best not only in Fayette county, but in the northeastern part of the state. His place, which lies in section 26, is admirably adapted to general agriculture and stock raising, in both of which branches of farm- ing he has made commendable progress, as his high standing and wide repu- tation as a master of his calling abundantly attest.
Believing in using his means to good advantage, Mr. Schug, in the year 1896, erected the present handsome and imposing modern dwelling which the family now occupy, the building containing twenty rooms with all the latest comforts and conveniences and being, as already indicated, the most beautiful and attractive rural home in the county of Fayette as well as the most costly.
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The barns and various outbuildings, which are also up-to-date and in excellent repair, were erected a few years previously, these with the residence and every- thing else on the premises bespeaking the presence of a family of intelligence and good taste and the oversight of a modern farmer of advanced ideas and tendencies and an authority on matters pertaining to his vocation.
In connection with tilling the soil, Mr. Schug enjoys wide repute as a breeder and raiser of fine live stock, devoting especial attention to Aberdeen Angus cattle, draft horses, Poland China hogs, in addition to which he is also quite extensively engaged in the poultry business, his breeds of Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks being among the highest priced in this section of the state. He keeps in close touch with the times in the matter of agriculture and livestock, conducts his farm upon scientific principles and in all of his undertakings his progress has been far above the ordinary and his financial success in keeping with the intelligence and foresight displayed in his labors and management.
Mr. Schug is a public spirited man, takes an active and influential part in township and county affairs and from time to time has been elected to vari- ous local offices. For many years he served on the school board of his town- ship and in that capacity did much to promote the cause of education and se- cure better buildings and a more efficient class of teachers. He has sound convictions and well grounded opinions on the questions of the day, but yields allegiance to no party, supporting those principles which he considers to be for the best interests of the people and voting for the candidates best qualified for the offices to which they aspire. In his religious views he is a Lutheran and with his wife and children holds membership with the church of that de- nomination at Aurora.
Mr. and Mrs. Schug have six children: Anna D., who married John Kleinsorge, of Arlington, and is the mother of one daughter, Theodosia by name; Magdalena M., Alvena W., Emma H., Adela D., and William, all except the oldest still with their parents.
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