USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 77
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Hazeldorn on the 19th of June, 1834, and died May 4. 1885; James, father of the subject, was born September 6, 1812, married Sophia Hazeldorn, of . Saratoga county, New York, March 3, 1836, she having been born on the 23d of May, 1807. He departed this life August 30, 1886, she preceding him to the grave on July 26, 1842; Anna, the fifth of the family, was born May 20, 1818, married on August 23, 1843, T. L. Gillette and was called from earth on the 8th of October, 1853; William, whose birth occurred on the 21st of March, 1820, died February 20, 1837; Lucinda, born July 20, 1822, was married on June 12, 1850, to H. L. Burr, and died April 22, 1878; Asenath, the youngest of the family, was born December 8, 1824, and on the 7th day of February, 1849, became the wife of William L. Wait.
Jonathan Hazeldorn, father of Mrs. James Sumner, and grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in New York, October 7, 1770, married on December 3, 1792, Abigail York, of Shepardtown, that state, and died January 15, 1866, she having died on May 3Ist of the year 1857. Their children, eight in number, were as follows: Samuel, born September 2, 1793, was married to Sylvia Liggett on the 9th of November, 1820, and died April 3, 1853, his wife departing this life March 15, 1835; Charlotte, whose birth occurred on June 31, 1795, was married July 19, 1818, to S. Bass and died March 15, 1835; Thomas, born September 23, 1797, was married Sep- tember 1, 1822, to Harriett Pixley, who died on the 4th day of April, 1853; John was born November 30, 1800, married, July 12, 1827, Mabel M. and passed from earth on February 22, 1843; Abigail was born May 6. 1803, became the wife of James Sumner (subject's father) on April 27, 1843, and departed this life September 15, 1870; Sophia was born May 23, 1807, and became Mrs. James Sumner on the 3d day of March, 1836, this being his first marriage. Stephen L., born October 24, 1811, was married January 19, 1834, to Harriett Sumner and died September 24, 1892. Dr. Thomas York, father of Abigail York, wife of Jonathan Hazeldorn, was a surgeon in the American army during the war of the Revolution, and in addition to his profession also baked bread for the regiment with which he was connected.
James Sumner, father of William O., as already stated, was a native of Fulton county, New York. He early became a tiller of the soil in Saratoga county, where he lived until 1865, when he moved to Orleans county, in the same state, where he spent the remainder of his days. His first wife. as noted in a preceding paragraph, was Sophia Hazeldorn, after whose death he married her older sister, Abigail. The latter dying, he afterwards chose a third wife and helpmeet in the person of Sallie Ann Wild, of Orleans
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county. There were three children born of his first marriage, William O., of this sketch, being the only one living. James Sumner was a man of con- siderable local prominence and for many years was a leader of the Whig party in the counties of Saratoga and Orleans and in 1860-61 served in the General Assembly of New York. His death, already mentioned, was felt as a personal loss by all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaintance.
William C. Sumner was reared on the home farm and in addition to tilling the soil he worked in a saw-mill during his youth, his father having carried on the manufacture of lumber in connection with agricultural pur- suits. After receiving an elementary education in the schools of his native county, he entered the Keystone Academy, where he pursued his studies for several years, obtaining a knowledge of the higher branches of learning. On attaining his majority he engaged in farming in Saratoga county, where he lived and prospered for several years, subsequently removing to the county of Orleans where he continued the pursuit of agriculture and where he still owns the family homestead, a beautiful place of one hundred and thirty acres in Shelby township.
In March, 1869, Mr. Sumner came to Fayette county, Iowa, and located on section 33, Scott township, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres of fine land, in addition to which he also purchased an eighty-acre tract in Buchanan county, owning at one time four hundred acres, the greater part. of which he reduced to cultivation and otherwise improved. Subsequently he disposed of considerable of his real estate, but still retains two hundred and forty acres on which he now lives and which, under his excellent man- agement, has become one of the finest and most valuable farms in the county of Fayette.
Mr. Sumner was married in Saratoga county, New York, in 1859, to Atlanta Manchester, daughter of Aaron and Hannah Manchester, the father a prominent agriculturist of that county and for many years a justice of the peace and public spirited citizen. He died in 1886. aged eighty-six years. his wife surviving him until 1888, when she was called to the unseen world, after reaching the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Sum- ner have one daughter, Alice, widow of the late Charles Winslow, to whom she was married in the year 1888. Mr. Winslow, a civil engineer by profes- sion, was for a number of years in the employ of the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company, with headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ac- complished in his profession, enjoyed the confidence of the corporation with
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which identified and his accidental death, in 1906, cast a gloom over the minds of all who knew him.
Since the year 1869 Mr. Sumner has lived on his prairie farm in Scott township and, as already stated, he has long ranked with the leading men of his vocation in the county. He is public spirited in all the term implies, takes an active interest in the advancement of his community along material and other lines and at all times is ready to lend his support to enterprises having for their object the general welfare of his fellow men. In politics he is an ardent supporter of the Republican party, but aside from the office of assessor, which he held for a period of fifteen years, he has never aspired to public position or leadership. The Baptist church, with which he has long been identified, holds his religious creed. Mrs. Sumner also belongs to the same church and is zealous in its various lines of religious work.
JOHN H. MILLER.
Nothing is more remarkable than the recent change in attitude towards the farmer. There was a time when the word farmer was a term of re- proach, the farmer boy was looked upon as an unsophisticated greenhorn and "rube" jokes were quite popular. Now the city dwellers are wishing that they owned farms and envying the farmer's lot, the farmer boy is as well dressed and as well educated as any one, has lost his "rube" appearance, and can generally go his city cousin one better on money to spend. The noble vocation of farming is again gaining the respect due it, which for a time was lost.
John H. Miller was born in Wayne county, Ohio, June 28, 1852. the son of Henry Miller, originally of Pennsylvania, and Mary Miller, originally of New York, both of whom came to Ohio in 1842. The first railroad reached Wooster, Ohio, on the day John H. was born. He grew up on the farm eight miles from Wooster, and in 1872 came to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to work in the lumber mills. In summer he ran the big lumber rafts from Eau Claire to Nabisha. On December 30, 1875, he was married to Amanda Smith, of Durand, Wisconsin, a town where his own home had been while working on the river. In the spring of 1876 he came to this county, where his brother, William Miller, now of Waucoma, had preceded him two years. He rented for three years and then bought the farm lying in the northwest corner of Bethel township. He started on a small farm of prairie and grub-
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covered land. He had to go in debt for every cent of the price and it took years to pay for it. He left it in 1907, coming to his present home in Eden township, but still owns the old place. His present farm contains one hun- dred and sixty acres, has good buildings on it, and is one of the best improved farms of the neighborhood. The house stands on a ridge in the midst of a fine grove of ash and maple trees, all set out by the owners. The house has been remodeled by Mr. Miller to make it a pleasant home. He also owns a fifty-five-acre farm bordering on Crane creek. His home is four and one- half miles from Waucoma. He has carried on general farming. and has always bred good grade stock. His horses are Hambletonian, coach and Cleveland bay, and he has bred some very fine individuals of all these breeds.
Mr. Miller has two daughters, Gertie, the wife of Guy Trewin, who is farming the old place, a nephew of Attorney Trewin at Cedar Rapids, and the mother of one child, Doris; and Ethel J., a stenographer, graduate of a business college, living at home. Mr. Miller is a Democrat, a member of the Methodist church at Alpha, Crane Creek Lodge No. 338, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Saurer formerly, but of Alpha lodge now, and of the Waucoma lodge of Masons, while he and his wife are both members of the Eastern Star. He is a man of few idiosyncrasies. a plain man who at- tends to business strictly, and by so doing has gained a competency.
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B. R. FRISBEE.
Upon the roll of representative citizens and prominent and influential business men of a past generation in Fayette county, consistently appears the name of B. R. Frisbee, who was a resident of this locality for a number of years, during which time he gradually won his way into the affections of the people, for he possessed those sterling qualities of character which com- mended themselves to persons of intelligence and the highest morality, so it is no cause for wonder that he achieved so high a position in the esti- mation of all with whom he was associated, and now that his life work is closed and he has gone to his reward his influence still pervades the lives of his old associates and they revere his memory.
Mr. Frisbee was born in Burlington county, Connecticut, December 7, 1830, and he received his education in the schools of the old Nut- meg state, growing to maturity there and remaining at home until he reached manhood. But, being imbued with the western idea, he followed the trend
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of emigration setting in strongly to that particular portion of the nation in the fifties, and in 1857 he came to Freeport, Illinois, where he remained until the war between the states began, when he showed his patriotism and his love of country by enlisting in Company K, Forty-sixth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, in which he served faithfully and gallantly for a period of three years, after the expiration of his term of enlistment receiving an honorable dis- charge.
Mr. Frisbee was married to Drusilla Clark on November 4, 1870. She was born in Manchester, Iowa, where her people were well established and prominent. After their marriage they went to Freeport where they lived until 1871, when they moved to a farm in Union township, Fayette county, where the family has since resided.
Mr. Frisbee was the last survivor of a family of fourteen children. He worked in the hammer factory while living at Freeport, and also sold light- ning rods. He prospered as a farmer and owned one hundred acres in one farm and one hundred and sixty acres where he first lived. He there put up a saw mill which he operated with much success for a number of years, although there were several other mills along the same stream where his mill was located, but he was most successful as a general farmer and he laid by an ample competency for his family.
To Mr. and Mrs. Frisbee the following children were born: B. O. is an engineer, now living in San Francisco, California: E. L. married Grace Randall in 1896; Aloe, Howard and Edward.
Mr. Frisbee was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Frisbee is also a member. In his youth he was a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and an active and influential member of the Grand Army of the Republic. No family in Fayette county is held in higher regard than the Frisbees.
ANDREW GILBERTSON.
It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has made a success of life and won the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such is the record of the well known farmer whose name heads this sketch, than whom a more whole-souled or popular man it would be difficult to find within the limits of the township where he has his home.
Andrew Gilbertson, whose attractive and productive homestead is lo- cated in Clermont township, Fayette county, is a native of far-away Norway,
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where his birth took place on the 19th day of September, 1866. His parents, Ole and Rachael (Anderson) Gilbertson, were also natives of Norway, the father having been born on August 12, 1835, and the mother on September 4, 1837. They came to the United States and to Fayette county in 1869 and settled on forty acres of land, to which the father devoted his energies with satisfactory results. As he prospered he added to his landed possessions until he became the owner of one hundred and ten acres. He was successful as a farmer and is now able to live in retirement from active labor, enjoying that rest which he has so richly earned. He is a Republican in political be- lief and he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. They became the parents of three children, as follows: Julia, who died at the age of six- teen years; Gilbert, who died at the age of three years; and Andrew, the im- mediate subject of this sketch.
Andrew Gilbertson was reared under the parental roof and secured a good practical education in the public schools of this country, having been an infant of but three years when the family came to Fayette county. He early in boyhood took up his share of the farm work and he has never de- parted from that line of work, having had the discernment to foresee the wonderful possibilities open to the farmers of this country. He has given care- ful thought and intelligent direction to his efforts and his labor has been abundantly rewarded. He is the owner of three hundred and fifty acres of land, which he devotes to the raising of all the crops common to this section of the country, and he also, with good results, devotes considerable atten- tion to the raising of livestock. His farm is characterized by improvements of a high order, including a comfortable and attractive residence, commodious barns and other necessary outbuildings, the general appearance of the place indicating the owner to be a man of good judgment and excellent taste.
In 1897 Mr. Gilbertson was united in marriage to Sarah Goth, who was born in Clayton county, this state, the daughter of Halsten and Rachel Goth. These parents were early settlers of this part of the state, having come to Clayton county in 1853. Her father died in Clermont in 1909, and he is survived by his widow, who is now eighty years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Gilbertson have been born four children, namely: Rose, Oscar, Roy and Helen.
The political creed embodied in the platforms of the Republican party have met with the approval of Mr. Gilbertson, who has given that party his support ever since attaining his majority. He takes a keen interest in public affairs, though not a seeker after public office. Religiously, he is a faithful member of the Lutheran church, to which the members of his family also
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belong. Public spirited and progressive in his views, Mr. Gilbertson has ever given his support to those measures which have promised to be of ma- terial benefit to the community and he is justly numbered among its repre- sentative citizens.
MRS. ANNIS DAVIS.
The estimable lady whose name introduces this sketch is a favorite with a wide circle of friends in Fayette county, being a woman of high ideals and correct principles, and a representative of one of the best old families of the county, also the widow of a well remembered and highly honored citizen of Bethel township, the late Lewis H. Davis. She was born in January, 1851, in Fremont county, Ohio, and is the daughter of Joseph and Annie (Glick) Morse, the father a sterling New Englander, having been born in Vermont, March 14, 1802. Emigrating west, he located in Fairfield county, Ohio, and there he married Annie Glick, a native of that county. In 1852 the parents of Mrs. Davis moved to Winneshiek county, Iowa, being among the pioneers of that locality. The country was wild and wolves were frequently seen, and an occasional lynx added its quota of danger to the hardships of life in a new country. Mr. Morse followed farming there for many years and on the old homestead in Winneshiek county the subject grew to womanhood. She assisted with the manifold duties about the home and attended the neigh- boring schools during her girlhood days.
On November 1, 1875. Miss Morse and Lewis H. Davis were married. He was then a resident of West Union, but was born in Shelby county, Ohio, in 1839. He was the son of Cornelius and Matilda ( Ferrow) Davis. His an- cestors came from Virginia to Ohio in an early day and there Lewis H. spent his childhood. In the early fifties he came with his parents to Fayette county, Iowa, and grew to manhood on the home farm a mile east of West Union. He attended the early schools, and his first marriage was to Minerva Van Dorn, whose parents lived near West Union. Two children were born to them, Lydia and Florence Davis; the former married H. L. McCubbin and lives at Reno, Nevada ; the latter married E. S. Butz and lives in South Adelaide, Australia. The mother of these children dying, Mr. Davis subse- quently led to the hymeneal altar Annis Morse, as above noted.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis continued to reside on his farm of sixty acres near West Union about fourteen years. This place was sold about 1889 and they moved three and one-half miles southeast of Fayette where Mr. Davis pur-
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chased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and there they continued to reside for a period of fourteen years, developing a fine farm and laying by a competency through good management and hard work. They then moved into a neat and comfortable dwelling in Auburn, but retained the farm. While living in the town of Auburn, Mr. Davis was called to his reward on September 9, 1906.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis were the parents of two children, Clarence C. and Alice. The daughter went to Lemore county, California, where her half- sister, Mrs. Lydia McCubbin, then resided, and there her death occurred in 1909, at the age of twenty-one years; she was a young lady of much promise.
After the death of Lewis H. Davis, Mrs. Davis and her son, Clarence C., a young man of excellent business qualifications, made their home with Peter Snyder, whose sketch appears on another page of this work, and the three have had their home together ever since. For about four years the two families had their joint home near Arlington. In September, 1909, when Mr. Snyder bought a farm in the southeast quarter of section 35, Bethel town- ship, they all moved there, and have continued to make this attractive vi- cinity their home.
SAMUEL R. STIGGALL.
Holding worthy prestige among the enterprising farmers and represen- tative citizens of Jefferson township is Samuel R. Stiggall, who was born in Erie, Ohio, in October, 1854. His father, Samuel Stiggall, was a native of England, where his birth occurred in the year 1827, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Emily Hamer, was born in 1831 in Dutchess county, New York. The father was brought to America by his parents when two years old and grew up in Onondaga county, New York, where, in 1848, he and Emily Hamer were united in the bonds of wedlock. Two years later they moved to Ohio and after a residence of two years in that state, came to Iowa, locating, in 1856, in Jefferson township, Fayette county, where Mr. Stiggall purchased forty acres of land, to which he subsequently added one hundred and sixty acres, all wild and in the condition that nature had made it. In due time he reduced the greater part of his land to cultivation, made a num- ber of valuable improvements and it was not long until he was accounted one of the leading farmers and public spirited men of the township in which he resided.
Mr. Stiggall lived on the above farm until the year 1897, when he moved
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to Oelwein where he spent the remainder of his days in honorable retirement, departing this life on the 26th of May, 1909. He was widely and favorably known throughout the county, took an active interest in public matters and long wielded an influence for the Democratic party and in the Baptist church. of which for many years he had been a worthy and devoted member. His wife, who is still living in Oelwein, bore him eleven children whose names are as follows: Mary is married and lives in Jefferson township; Asa, retired farmer, resides in Fayette; Samuel R., subject of this sketch; Rose is mar- ried and lives in Minnesota : Walter, a farmer of Jefferson township; George, also a resident of that township and a farmer by occupation; Dora, now Mrs. James Lawrence, of Cedar Rapids ; Martha, wife of Henry Baltison, of Oel- wein ; Edwin, a farmer of Smithfield township: Charles, a farmer and stock raiser of Buchanan county, this state, and Della, who married Ed Fortner, of the county of Fayette.
The early life of Samuel R. Stiggall, in close touch with nature on the farm, was conducive to a well developed physique and he grew to maturity strong of body and with a well defined purpose to become something more than a mere passive factor in the affairs of men. He attended the public schools at intervals during his minority and remained at home assisting in the cultivation of the farm until twenty-four years of age when he married and set up a domestic establishment of his own, choosing for his wife and help- meet Annie Gardner, of Delaware county, Iowa, to whom he was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony on the 26th day of October, 1881.
Mrs. Stiggall's parents were Rufus and Elizabeth Gardner, natives re- spectively of Delaware county, Iowa, and Dutchess county, New York, the mother being a daughter of one of the early pioneers of Delaware county and a veteran of the Black Hawk war and the war of the Rebellion. Rufus Gardner, also an early settler of Delaware county, moved his family to the county of Fayette in 1880 and settled in Oran township, but later changed his residence to Buchanan county, thence returned to Fayette county and spent the remainder of his life at Oelwein, where his death occurred on April 17, 1890, his widow being still a resident of that city. The children of this estimable couple, four in number, are as follows : Annie, wife of the subject of this review: Andrew, a railroad man with headquarters at Minneapolis, Minnesota ; D-, a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, and an employe of the Chicago Great Western Railroad, the same road with which his brother is connected, and Blanche, who married D. E. Taylor, of Clarksville, Iowa.
Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Stiggall rented a farm in Jefferson township, on which he lived during the three years ensuing, and later, in 1892.
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he purchased eighty acres in section 30, where he now lives. He has made many improvements on his farm, erecting a commodious barn in 1896 and in 1905 built the beautiful modern dwelling which he and his wife now occupy, besides adding to the attractiveness and value of his home in many other ways. He cultivates the soil by the most approved methods, is progressive in his ideas and as a farmer and stock raiser ranks among the most enterprising and successful of his compeers. Mr. Stiggall is a well informed man and aims to keep abreast of the times on all matters of public interest and in touch with the leading political questions and issues of the day. In his political affiliations he is a stanch and unwavering supporter of the Republican party and, while zealous in upholding his opinions, his ambition has never led him to seek office at the hands of his fellow citizens. He is held in high esteem in his own community where his worth has long been recognized and appreciated, and he also has many friends elsewhere, being well known throughout the county and enjoying the confidence of all with whom he comes into contact.
HERMAN NEUMANN.
Among the large class of enterprising Germans who have cast their lot with the people of Fayette county, Iowa, none is more deserving of specific mention than Herman Neumann, and few have benefited themselves or their neighbors more than he, for while laboring for his own advancement he has never been neglectful of his duties to others. He was born in Germany in 1852, the son of Fred and Louise Neumann. The father spent his life in the fatherland, but the mother and the rest of the family, with the exception of one child, came to America, four boys and an equal number of girls coming to our shores: The family located in Watertown, Wisconsin, where they remained three years, then the mother and Herman, of this review, moved to Ft. Atkinson, where they lived about a year; then they lived on a farm near Eldorado, that state, for about two years, then purchased sixty acres near that city, which they retained for two years and then bought eighty acres in Union township, Fayette county, Iowa, which they retained for about six years, then rented a farm four miles south of Hawkeye where they lived a year, then bought sixty acres where they now live. Prospering here, ten acres were first added to the original, then forty-five, and a second forty-five, now owning over a quarter section. Mr. Neumann has been a good manager and has placed all the improvements on his farm and so well has he carried on general
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