USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 74
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endured many hardships and privations and not a little suffering. Mr. Rogers was a farmer and miller in the East, but by reason of failing health followed no regular vocation after moving to Iowa. He died in the year 1864. His family consisted of the following children: Rosamond R., Luther, Reuben, Ahilena, Joseph, Charles, Mary, Almira, Sarah, Nancy, Newell, Augusta, James, Ephraim, Margaret, Jennie. At the beginning of the Rebellion, Luther, Reuben, Joseph and Newell enlisted and served with honorable rec- ords in defense of their country, Newell dying at St. Louis before the struggle ended, the others returning home at the close of the war. A little later the mother and children bought a small farm in Bethel township, Fayette county, to which the family removed. Mrs. Rogers afterwards went to California, where she spent the remainder of her life with her oldest daughter.
Mr. and Mrs. Ostrander have had four children: Clyde Elverton, a farmer of Westfield township, Fayette county ; Clinton R., a farmer at Groton, South Dakota; Elton, who died in infancy, and Harold, who is still at home.
KNUDT KETTLESON.
Scandinavians and their descendants have played an important and ap- preciated part in the development of the resources of Fayette county, Iowa, and today they are numbered among the leading and representative citizens of this prosperous community, one of the best all-around counties in the com- monwealth of Missouri. Among those in whose veins flows Scandinavian blood is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch, who is a leading farmer of Clermont township and who, by persistent industry, good management and correct principles, has attained a definite and gratifying measure of success.
Mr. Kettleson is a native son of Fayette county, having been born on March 16, 1855, and is a son of Hans and Helen Kettleson, both of whom were natives of Norway. These parents came to Fayette county in about 1852 and bought land, to the improvement and cultivation of which they de- voted their energies, this being the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch. Hans Kettleson died in 1862 and is survived by his widow, who is now ninety years old. They reared a family of eight children, of which num- ber seven, six daughters and a son, are now living. Politically, Hans Kettle- son gave his support to the Republican party, while his religious belief was that of the Lutheran church, of which he was an active and faithful member,
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having been influential in advancing the interests of that denomination in this community. He was a man of sterling character and enjoyed universal re- spect in the community.
Knudt Kettleson, who was reared on the parental farmstead, is indebted to the common schools for his mental discipline and to the strenuous labor of his early years on the farm for a good constitution which has enabled him to perform much hard labor during the subsequent years. He has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits and in this line has achieved a gratifying success, being known throughout the township as a progressive and up-to-date farmer. He is the owner of two hundred acres of as good land as can be found in the township, and the place is maintained in such a condition as to please the eye of the visitor and reflect great credit on the owner. Mr. Ket- tleson is thoroughly wide-awake to the possibilities of the farm and keeps in touch with advanced ideas relating to the science of husbandry, not hesitating to adopt new methods when their practicability has been demonstrated by experience. He raises some livestock, as a side line, and has found this work profitable.
On November 23, 1882, Mr. Kettleson married Christina Ostle, a native of Clayton county, Iowa, and a daughter of Lars Ostle, who was an early settler of Fayette county. To Mr. and Mrs. Kettleson have been born five children, namely : Henry, Clara (deceased), Clara, Irene and Clifford. Mr. Kettleson is a stanch supporter of the Republican party in political affairs and takes a keen and intelligent interest in the trend of current events. In reli- gion he and his family are affiliated with the Lutheran church, of which they are consistent members and earnest supporters. The members of this family move in the best social circles of the community and their home is the scene of many pleasant and enjoyable gatherings, their friends appreciating the spirit of good cheer and hospitality which is ever in evidence there. Mr. Kettleson is a man of splendid personal qualifications and enjoys not only a wide acquaintance, but many warm personal friendships.
JOHN J. FENNELL.
A man who has long been extensively identified with the livestock and agricultural interests of Fayette county is J. J. Fennell, who was born in Illyria township, this county, January 13, 1861, the son of William and Ellen (Dwyer) Fennell, natives of Ireland, where the father received his
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education and remained until 1856, when, having heard of the vaster oppor- tunities that awaited the conscientious workers in America, he set sail for this country, and, penetrating to the interior, located near Wadena, Fayette county, Iowa, where, for some time, he worked at various things until he could get a foothold. He married here and, having saved his money, was able to buy a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, also another farm of one hun- dred and thirty-three acres and thirteen acres of woods. He developed this land and became very well.fixed, having started with practically nothing and with no one to aid, but he rose rapidly nevertheless, gradually increasing his holdings. Later in life he became an extensive breeder of Chester White hogs, owning about the first of this breed in this community. Politically, he was a Democrat and was active in the affairs of his party. He was a man of much influence, and was always truthful, reliable and careful of his atti- tude toward his fellow men. He belonged to the Catholic church. He and his wife were the parents of six children, five of whom were living at the time of his death. They were, John J., Catherine C., Ellen (died when four years of age), Minnie, who is a teacher, and in Chicago, where she has made a great success as an educator; William V. is a farmer on the old Fennell homestead; Anna married Frank Hartell, a ranch foreman.
John J. Fennell, of this review, was educated in the public schools of Wadena and Pleasant Valley, this county, and after leaving school he farmed for one year in Pleasant Valley township on one of his father's places ; then he went West and after one year of varied experience there, returned to Fayette county and rented the home place north of Wadena and also a place near the old home; then he rented a place in Illyria township.
Mr. Fennell was married in November, 1887, to Mary E. O'Harren, the daughter of a highly respected family here, and this union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Maggie Genevra, Demarion Daniel, Mar- cella Mildred, Maria Winifred, Johnnie James, Evangelin Kathryn.
After his marriage Mr. Fennell farmed and began dealing in livestock, especially calves, later adding various grades of cattle. After farming four or five years, he purchased a part of the place and later the entire farm; then added forty acres, which then made him one hundred and seventy-three acres in all, located in Pleasant Valley, where he lived until 1907, when he came to West Union, having devoted the previous ten years very largely to cattle buying, coming to West Union in September, 1907. On January 1, 1908, he became a partner of his cousin, E. C. Fennell, of Wadena, and from 1902 to about 1905 he was a partner with R. W. Helms. Aside from these partner- ships, Mr. Fennell was an individual buyer of all kinds of stock. Being an
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excellent judge of all grades and varieties of livestock, he has been unusually successful and is known as one of the leading stockmen of Fayette county. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church. He is liberal in his po- litical views, prefering to vote for the man instead of the party. He has been too busy to take much interest in political affairs, but he served very ably as trustee of Pleasant Valley township for two or three years. He is well known throughout the county and, having always been a good mixer, a jolly, kindly disposed man, is popular with all who know him.
H. E. FOSTER.
It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to that individual who, beginning the great struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes all obstacles in the pathway of success and by his own force and vitality succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a position of esteem and influence among his fellow men. Such is the record of the popular citizen of Clermont, Fay- ette county, to a brief synopsis of whose life and character the following paragraphs are devoted.
H. E. Foster is a native son of the old Hoosier state, having first seen the light of day in Laporte county, Indiana, on January 21, 1841. In 1849 he came with his parents to West Union, Fayette county, Iowa, arriving here on the Fourth of July. At that time the country was sparsely settled and at what is now the thriving city of West Union there then was but one log house. The subject remained during his boyhood with his parents and re- ceived his education in the district schools, which at that time were rather primitive in both methods and equipment. His patriotism was aroused at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion and in September, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Sixth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, with which com- mand he served until the close of the war. He proved a loyal and courageous soldier and, inspired by an ardent love for his country, he threw his whole heart and soul into the conflict.
Upon his discharge from the military service, Mr. Foster returned to West Union and apprenticed himself to E. L. Sherman to learn the trade of a harnessmaker, and he spent the following eleven years in the same shop. He then bought forty-seven acres of choice land northeast of West Union in Dover township, and he made his home there until August, 1904, when
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he moved to Clermont and engaged in cement contracting. Sound business principles, correct motives and persistent industry have been contributing elements to the success which has crowned Mr. Foster's efforts and today he is numbered among the representative citizens and enterprising business men of his community.
Politically a Republican, Mr. Foster has been active in advancing the interests of his party and during the past eight years he has served as assessor of Dover township. His religious membership is with the Methodist Episco- pal church, of which he is a liberal supporter.
On May 13, 1880, Mr. Foster was married to Ellen Learn, who was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Abram and Martha (Ha- venstrite) Learn, both also natives of the Keystone state. These parents came to Dover township, Fayette county, on April 8, 1869, and there followed farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster has been born one daughter, Laura, who is still a member of the home circle.
The parents of the subject of this sketch were Joseph W. and Aurilla (Griffith) Foster, the former a native of Rutland county, Vermont, and the latter of New York state. They moved to Butler county, Ohio, where the father followed his trades of miller and millwright. They moved to Laporte county, Indiana, in 1834, where Mr. Foster continued in the same line of work until 1843, when they removed to Rock county, Wisconsin, which was their home for five years. In March, 1848, they came to Fayette county, Iowa, locating four and a half miles northwest of West Union, two years later settling where West Union now stands. Mr. Foster was an expert in his line of work and he built two mills, a saw-mill and a grist-mill, at Eldo- rado for Mr. Elrod, and also assisted in the erection of a grist-mill at Au- burn.
Before closing this sketch, mention should be made of a brother of the subject, David P. Foster, one of the honored and respected old resi- dents of Fayette county. Mr. Foster was born in Butler county, Ohio, on January 1, 1833, the son of Joseph W. and Aurilla (Griffith) Foster. He came to Fayette county, Iowa, with his parents in 1848 and has ever since been closely identified with this section of the county, having been an eye-witness of and participant in the wonderful development which has characterized this part of the state. To him fell the honor and also the respon- sibility of first carrying the mail in Fayette county. This was during the administration of President Pierce and the mail route was from West Union to McGregor. During the subsequent years Mr. Foster has been employed at various occupations, including those of cabinetmaker, painter, carpenter
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and other kindred lines. He relates that at one time in the early days he har- vested grain on the spot where now stands the busy city of West Union. In 1861 Mr. Foster enlisted in Company F, Third Regiment Iowa Volun- teer Infantry, and served faithfully until receiving his honorable discharge in 1863. In October, 1862, he was wounded at Ahatchie, and was also in- jured at the battle of Shiloh. He is now an appreciative member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he is a stanch Republican. On January 1, 1859, he was married to Mary Lang, and to them have been born four children, namely : Carrie (died in infancy), Clara, Jennie and Blanche. Religiously, Mr. and Mr. Foster are affiliated with the Presbyterian church.
KARL D. FISK.
A skilled optometrist, whose name has become a household word in northeastern Iowa and who is deserving of the confidence and esteem in which he is held by all with whom he has come in contact, is Karl D. Fisk, who was born in Mendota, Lasalle county, Illinois, November 3, 1869, the son of Andrew Jackson and Mary (Hill) Fisk, both natives of Connecticut. His paternal grandfather, William A. Fisk, was of fine old Pilgrim stock who built the first silk factory in America, it being located at Mansfield, Connecticut. William A. Fisk later came west and opened a bank, also managed a general store and conducted a lumber business in Malden, Bu- reau county, Illinois. He became quite well to do for those early days, hav- ing come there in the early thirties, and remained until his death. Karl Fisk's maternal grandfather, John W. Hill, came to Lasalle county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. He also came west in the early thirties, became wealthy and spent his last days on the place which he homesteaded.
Andrew Jackson Fisk, father of Karl D. Fisk, was educated first in the common schools, came west with his father and completed his education in Bureau county, Illinois. He followed painting and contracting in his early life, later farmed on a general plan and was successful and influential in his neighborhood. In 1903 he located in Guthrie county, Iowa, but in 1905 he moved to West Union where he lived, retired, until his death in 1908. He was a man who won the respect of all who knew him by his up- right life. His widow is still living in West Union. Thirteen children were born to them, nine of whom are still living. Karl D. Fisk, of this review, being the eighth in order of birth.
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Karl D. Fisk was educated in the high school of Mendota, Illinois, and at the Ophthalmic College in Chicago, where he made a splendid record and from which institution he was graduated in 1890, after which he took up the practice of his profession in Illinois, remaining for a time at several ' different places, having his headquarters at Mendota, Lasalle county. In 1892 he came to Iowa and located in West Union, and from this city as his head office he makes several cities in northeastern Iowa, in all of which he has an excellent patronage, for he is thoroughly versed in his profession, keeps ad- vised on all up-to-date matters pertaining to the same and he is a man of pleasing address, courteous, genial and he has the happy faculty of making friends of his patients. He is also vice-president of the Iowa Optical Com- pany, located at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Karl D. Fisk was married October 12, 1892, to Lorena E. Farr, daugh- ter of Levi L. Farr, a prominent citizen of West Union. This union has resulted in the birth of three children, Dorothy, Helen and Marjorie.
Karl D. Fisk is a thirty-second-degree Mason, belonging to both the Scottish rite and the York rite. He is past eminent commander of Lan- gridge Commandery No. 47, Knights Templar. He formerly belonged to the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Brotherhood of America.
Since 1897 Karl D. Fisk has been a member of the American Associa- tion of Opticians, and he became a member of the Iowa Association of Optometrists in 1903, the organization having been started in 1898 and in- corporated in 1908. In 1908 he was made president of the Iowa Association of Optometrists, and he did many things for the benefit of the organization, the most notable being the securing of a law, passed by the Legislature, that governs the practice of optometry. He is influential in all these or- ganizations and is one of the best known optometrists in the state.
MILO McGLATHERY.
Few men of Fayette county were as widely and favorably known as the late Milo McGlathery, the honored pioneer and eminent jurist. He was one of the strong and influential citizens whose lives have become an es- sential part of the history of this section of the state and for years his name was synonymous for all that constituted honorable and upright manhood. Tireless energy, keen perception and honesty of purpose, combined with a
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large fund of every-day common sense and deep learning in his profession, were among his chief characteristics, and the annals of Fayette county would be incomplete without a record of his career.
Milo McGlathery was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 20, 1834, and was the son of John P. McGlathery, who also was a native of the old Keystone state and whose ancestors rendered valiant service to their country during the Revolutionary war. John P. McGlathery was a large contractor and among the important public works constructed by him was the Erie Canal. His last days were spent in Topeka, Kansas. His wife, who also was born in Pennsylvania, bore the maiden name of Amanda Kirckpatrick, and she also came from sterling Revolutionary stock.
Milo McGlathery was reared and educated in his native locality, and early in boyhood he became impressed with the idea of adopting the law as his life profession. To this end, he studied law in the office of Judge L. L. McGuffin, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, for two years, during which time he laid the foundation for future studies in the Ohio State and Union Law School, where he was graduated in 1856, being admitted to the bar in June of the same year.
In September, 1856, Mr. McGlathery came to Iowa and was one of the pioneers of West Union, Fayette county, and early formed a professional partnership with Hon. S. B. Zeigler, now deceased. In the fall of 1857 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Fayette county, and here began an uninterrupted political career which ended only with his death. In the au- tumn of 1858 Mr. McGlathery was elected prosecuting attorney for the tenth judicial district, which then embraced ten counties, and in 1862 he was re-elected for another term of four years. In 1866 Mr. McGlathery was nominated for district judge and was elected without opposition. Again in 1870, and on petition of the lawyers of the district, he was urged by the central committees of both parties to become a candidate for re-election, the voters of both parties being requested by their respective committees to support Judge McGlathery. Of course he was unanimously re-elected, and thus served out a period of eighteen years in the important offices of prosecuting attorney and district judge. The Judge was an ardent Repub- lican, and one of the organizers of that party, but he was never a partisan in the administration of his official duties, hence his popularity among all classes. His qualifications for the office of judge were unquestionable. First of all, he had integrity of character. He possessed the natural ability and essential requirements, the acumen of the judicial temperament. He was able
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to divest himself of prejudice or favoritism and consider only the legal as- pects of a question submitted. No labor was too great, however onerous ; no application too exacting, however severe, if necessary to the complete understanding and correct determination of a question. Many of his de- cisions bear the impress of his patient investigation and his logical deduc- tions, and his career on the bench was a noble example and an inspiration.
On December 7, 1859, occurred the marriage of Milo McGlathery and Anna M. McMasters, the ceremony occurring at West Union, where their home was continued. Mrs. McGlathery was the daughter of James and Eliza (Lipton) McMasters, natives of Pennsylvania, but who came to Iowa in 1857, locating at West Union. In the East Mr. McMasters had been engaged in a number of business enterprises, having owned a coal mine, a hotel and farming property. On coming to Iowa he bought a farm, to which he devoted his attention during the remainder of his life. He was a man of sterling character and in his make-up were displayed the same qualities which had impelled his ancestors who were defenders of the colonies during the war of the Revolution. To Milo and Anna McGlathery were born two children, Edward S., born October 10, 1860, and a daughter, Addie.
Edward S. McGlathery is a prosperous farmer and breeder of thorough- bred trotting horses on his farm, adjoining the corporation of West Union on the south. He has made a specialty of this line of stock raising and gives his entire attention and the use of his fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres to the rearing and training of standard-bred trotting horses. He estab- lished in this business in 1890 and was one of the first men in Fayette county who decided that trotting horses could be profitably reared in Iowa as well as in Kentucky. When the initial stock was secured neither time nor money was spared to secure the best that could be bought after thorough investigation. The original stock was from the well known farms of Sena- tor Stanford, of California, and the Woodborn farms of Kentucky. The re- sult has been in every way satisfactory. Mr. McGlathery was reared and educated in his native town of West Union, and, though he has traveled ex- tensively, his home has always been here. Everyone knows "Ed" McGlath- ery and no one knows him but to respect and honor him for his quiet and unassuming manner and strict adherence to honest and upright dealings. The writer has known him since he was a school boy in knee breeches, wrest- ling with the intricate problems propounded by the late Prof. S. S. Ains- worth. The family is nearly extinct through the death of both father and mother, but the survivors maintain the high standing attained and trans- mitted by their ancestors.
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In 1899 Edward McGlathery was married to Anna E. Moore, a daughter of John Moore, a native of Dubuque, whose parents were pioneer settlers of that place.
GEORGE G. SCOTT.
The gentleman to a brief review of whose life the following paragraphs are devoted, has long been numbered among the foremost citizens of Wa- dena, Illyria township, Fayette county, and has by his enterprise and pro- gressive methods contributed in a material way to the advancement of the locality in which he has resided. He has in the course of an honorable career been most successful in the business affairs with which he has been connected, and is well deserving of mention in the biographical annals of Fayette county.
George G. Scott is a native son of bonnie Scotland, where his birth oc- curred on May 24, 1842. His parents were George and Maney (Gray) Scott, the former born at Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, on April 7, 1795, and the latter at Easter Duddingston, Scotland, on November 9, 1799. The subject's birthplace was also Perth and there his boyhood days were spent, his elementary education being received in the schools of that city. In 1863 Mr. Scott left the land of hills and heather and cast his lot with thousands of his countrymen who had established homes in the United States, and he located at Dubuque, Iowa, where two elder brothers had long preceded him. In 1877 he came to Wadena, Fayette county, Iowa, where he engaged in the mercantile business. The Scotch national characteristics of shrewdness, sobriety and honesty were contributing elements to the success which at- tended his efforts and for a number of years he was numbered among the leading merchants of this section of the county, so that in 1899 he was enabled to retire from active business life and is now enjoying that leisure and rest which his former years of activity so richly entitle him to. He has always been deeply interested in the welfare and development of the com- munity with which his interests have been identified and he has been an influential factor in its advancement, having long enjoyed the respect and esteem of the entire community.
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