USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 68
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Watson V. Terpstra was born in Marion county, Iowa, on February 14, 1868. He is the son of Dow W. and Rosa ( Napjus) Terpstra, both natives of Friesland, Holland, the father born on June 11, 1842, and the mother on September 23, 1848, and from there they emigrated to America, the mother when she was eight years of age, with her parents, John and Rosa ( Plantenga) Napjus ; they settled near Red Rock, Marion county. lowa, in 1856, where they lived one year and then moved to Pella. There the mother of the subject grew to womanhood and attended school, marrying Mr. Terpstra on February 14. 1867. Dow W. Terpstra was the son of Watson and Sietska (Zuidma) Terpstra, natives of Holland, who emigrated to America in 1850 and located in the state of New York, engaging in farm work there for a peri- five years, then moved to Iowa, locating in Marion county, and there bought eighty acres of land and there the father of the subject grew to manhood and helped develop the farm from the raw prairie. After his marriage he moved to Jasper county in 1869 and bought about eight acres of land near Kill- duff, which he later traded for one hundred and twenty acres in Elk Creek township. Here he worked hard and forged ahead and became one of the sub- stantial and influential men in his community, finally becoming the owner of four hundred and fifty acres on which he carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale, being known as one of the largest cattle feeders in the county. Laying by a competency, he retired from active life in 1905
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and he and his good wife retired to their pleasant home in Sully, Iowa, and there they continued to enjoy the fruits of their earlier years of industry until Mr. Terpstra's death, on July 11, 1906, Mrs. Terpstra subsequently returning to the farm and she is at present living on a portion of the old homestead.
Politically, Dow W. Terpstra was a Democrat and he took a great deal of interest in the affairs of his community, holding several local offices with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned. He was a man of fine personal characteristics, a typical pioneer, having found in Iowa a wild, new country, and here he bore the hardships and worked hard to develop himself and eventually wrenched success from a resisting nature and, passing from the arena on to his reward, left behind a clear record.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dow W. Terpstra eight children were born, named as follows: Watson Valentine, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. Sietsk George, of North Dakota; Harry D. is farming in Elk Creek township, this county ; Albert L., Mrs. Rose Dick, Mrs. Yetta Romans, Martin and John.
When Watson V. Terpstra was about a year old his parents moved to Jasper county and here he grew to manhood and received his education in the Mckinney district school. When he was sixteen years of age he went to Pella, Iowa, and, having had a desire to enter the mercantile field, found em- ployment there and learned the business, clerking in a general merchandise store for two years. But not taking to this line as kindly as he had anticipated, he returned to his father's farm and there assisted with the general work on the same until he was twenty-one years old. Then for two years he clerked in the store of August Wendt at Newton, Iowa. Shortly after this he took charge of the clothing department in the large department store at Boyden, Iowa, remaining there two years, giving his usual high grade service and general satisfaction. Then, in 1899, after having spent several years in the mercantile business, he traded his property in Newton for a restaurant in Prairie City, in southwest Jasper county, and he lived there one year, then traded his res- taurant for a farm in Decatur county, Iowa. In 1900 he began renting a farm of his father, a part of the old Jonathan Black place and also a part of the old Nels Alloway place, Mr. Alloway having been the picturesque charac- ter well known in this part of the state as the mail carrier between Marshall- town and Newton before the days of railroads. The subject still lives on this place, now owning eighty acres there on which he is making a very comfortable living, and he also rents other land. He built a new, commodious and con- venient dwelling in 1904 and he has improved the place generally. He keeps good live stock, making a specialty of Poland China hogs.
Politically, Mr. Terpstra is a Republican and an active worker for his party in a Democratic township, and his influence always helps to lower the
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majorities of the opposing party. Fraternally, he belongs to the Woodmen of the World and he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Terpstra was united in marriage in 1892 with Anna Luella Holmes, who was born in Cass county, Nebraska, on March 5, 1870. She is the daughter of Frank T. and Hannah ( Dove) Holmes, the father born in Cape May county, New Jersey, on July 7, 1837, and he was the son of Theophelus and Mary Holmes, both natives of New Jersey, in which state this family has long been more or less prominent. Theophelus Holmes was a wheel- wright by trade and during the latter part of his life he was quartermaster and ship carpenter in the navy and was regarded as a very skilled mechanic by the department. Frank T. Holmes, father of Mrs. Terpstra, grew up in his native state and was educated there, and in 1855 he came west to Sangamon county, Illinois, where he remained until 1858, when he went overland to Colorado and worked in the Pike's Peak gold mines. The Civil war coming on while he was in the West. he enlisted, in 1861, in Company F, First Colorado Cav- alry, and he served very faithfully until October, 1864. In 1866 he came to Marion county, Iowa, and farmed on different rented lands until 1876, when he moved to Galesburg, Elk Creek township, Jasper county, and there worked at the carpenter's trade. He is now living in the town of Galesburg retired. an aged, well known and highly respected pioneer.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Watson V. Terpstra : Ina, born September 14. 1893 ; Blanche, born May 15, 1895 ; Forest, born November 14, 1900: Harold, born January 7, 1903.
Mr. Terpstra is a well informed man, having been a student all his life, and his home is well supplied with good literature. He is a very versatile man, speaking four languages fluently. English, Dutch, German and Fries- land. This accomplishment has been a big asset to him in a business way. Personally, he is a pleasant gentleman to meet, straightforward and genial, enjoying a reputation for fairness in all the relations of life.
FRED ROHRDANZ.
The agricultural interests of Elk Creek township, Jasper county, are ably represented by Fred Rohrdanz, who, during the entire period since his birth, February 17, 1859, lias been a resident and honored citizen of the locality of which this history deals. He is a connecting link with the pioneer period of the history of this section, this family having been active in the affairs of the same since the county was attacked by the seekers of new homes
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from the Eastern states, something more than a half century ago. Going still further back in the family history, it is learned that his parents in an early day left the vine-clad hills of Prussia and joined the tide of emigration to the free republic in the western hemisphere, for they realized that here was to be found a land which the poet Mackay sang of in the old colonial days as a "realm where the humblest may gather the fruits of the soil." This, of course, implied some outlay of physical labor on the part of those who would be beneficiaries of this great storehouse of mother Nature's. But this family having been used to the hardest kind of labor in the old country,-labor which had inadequate returns,-did not shrink from the task of clearing the wild land here and improving it, so they have succeeded.
Fred Rohrdanz grew to manhood on the home farm and here he at- tended the district schools until he was fairly well educated. He is the son of John J. and Mary ( Price) Rohrdanz, both born in Prussia, now a part of Germany, the father on February 11, 1825, and the mother in the town of Deemen, on January 23, 1829. There they grew up and were educated and there the father learned the blacksmith's trade. When thirty-six years of age he emigrated to America, locating in New York City, where he worked at his trade for a year. He then went to Niagara Falls, where he assisted in building the first suspension bridge over that noted cataract. The mother emigrated to New York in her girlhood days and there the parents of the subject were married. In 1844, seeking newer fields in which to establish their permanent home, they emigrated westward until they came to Jasper county, Iowa, where the father purchased forty acres of land of the govern- ment, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, in Elk Creek township. The country was new and they had to undergo many priva- tions for a time, but they worked hard, developed a good farm and became very comfortably established, the father owning at the time of his death about two hundred and thirty-six acres. He was highly respected among the pio- neers. Politically, he was a Democrat and in religious matters he belonged to the German Lutheran church. He was a true pioneer, having come here only one year after the first settler in the county. There was but one house be- tween his and Newton, eleven miles away, and neighbors were indeed very few. He was a splendid soldier, having served in the German army for a period of eight years and he served gallantly in the Franco-Prussian war. His death occurred on his farm here on November 10, 1906. His family con- sisted of two daughters and one son, Fred, of this review, being the youngest of the family : his elder sisters were, Mrs. Christina Schultz and Mrs. Mary Berkenholz.
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Fred Rohrdanz was a mere lad when he began making a hand in the fields of his father, plowing corn when twelve years of age. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and has met with encouraging success ail along the line, being now the owner of three hundred and nine acres of choice land in Elk Creek township, which he has placed under excellent improvements and a high state of cultivation. He has a pleasant home and such other farm buildings as his needs require, and everything about the place indicates that a gentleman of good taste has its management in hand. In connection with general farming he raises and feeds considerable live stock of various kinds.
Politically, Mr. Rohrdanz is a Democrat and he belongs to the Lutheran church.
On March 19, 1890, occurred the marriage of Fred Rohrdanz and Emma Andrews. The latter was born in Elk Creek township, Jasper county, on November 19, 1868. She is the daughter of Fred C. Andrews, who came to Jasper county in 1857 from Germany, where he was born on April 1, 1843.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rohrdanz : Letta, born February 2, 1893 ; Ella, born August 4, 1901 ; Otis, born Septem- ber 22, 1906; Wilma, born March 27, 1908; Pearl, Lulu, Lily and Vera are all deceased.
ANDREW JACKSON HAYES.
A large number of the early pioneers of Jasper county have passed to their reward and now rest from their labors, but here and there a scattered few remain, honorable heroes of a former day and generation, bent under time's autograph indelibly stamped upon their brows, but still sturdy and in- dependent of spirit as when in the long ago they cut loose from the moorings of civilization and penetrated the woods and traversed the trackless prairies in search of new homes and new destinies. Among those who have borne an active part in the pioneer period of this county is the well known farmer of Elk Creek township whose name introduces this sketch, whom to know is to honor and respect. Andrew Jackson Hayes, a Buckeye by birth, has long been one of the highly esteemed citizens of the township of his residence and it is with pleasure that the following brief outline of his life and achievements is accorded a place in this volume which is devoted to a review of Jasper's representative men. That he is one of such, no one who has known him since his residence began in our midst nearly a half century ago, will deny.
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Mr. Hayes was born in Perry county, Ohio, March 30, 1844. He is the son of Bazel Cooper Hayes and Mary Pickeral Hayes, the father born in Maryland on December 25, 1800, and the mother in Perry county, Ohio. The father was young when he came to Perry county, Ohio, and there they grew up and were married. He had lived in Baltimore prior to his leaving the Oriole state. He learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed in con- nection with farming, but devoted the principal part of his life to the latter pursuit. It was about 1846 or 1847 that the Hayes family moved to Licking county, Ohio, where the father of the subject purchased a farm. The mother dying when the subject was two and one-half years of age, the father later remarried, his second wife being Hannah Matthews. The death of Bazel C. Hayes occurred in Ohio in 1863. He was a very radical Democrat, but a loyal supporter of the Union. Although he was an admirer of Stephen A. Douglas, he was an abolitionist. He and his wife belonged to the Christian church.
Andrew J. Hayes, of this review, had two sisters, and two half-sisters and a half-brother. The subject is the second child and, being the oldest son, he began assisting his father with the general work on the home farm when quite young, and although he was kept busy in the fields the major part of the year, he found time to attend school in the brief winter months in Licking county, Ohio. The schools being excellent for those days, he became fairly well educated. When twenty years of age he hired to A. V. Cooper to drive five hundred sheep from Licking county, Ohio, to Jasper county, Iowa. That was in 1864. He and his assistants were fifty-two days on the trip, which re- quired considerable hardship and labor. Mr. Cooper owned considerable land in Jasper county. Being pleased with the prospect here, the subject decided to remain, so he continued to reside here for two years, working by the month. He then married and lived on his father-in-law's place. that of John Wheeler. In ISSI he bought forty acres in Elk Creek township and has since made it his home. He has served as justice of the peace for a period of sixteen years, filling this post of duty in a manner that stamps him as a faithful and able public servant and he has given the utmost satisfaction to all concerned. His decisions have been characterized by fairness and have seldom met with re- versal at the hands of a higher tribunal. Mr. Hayes has long been a loyal supporter of the Democratic party.
On November 14, 1869, occurred the marriage of Andrew J. Hayes with Emeline Melissa Wheeler, who was born in McLean county, Illinois. She was the daughter of John Wheeler, who came to Jasper county in 1856 and here Mrs. Hayes spent her girlhood and attended the early schools of the district in which the family resided.
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The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hayes: Will B. and Artemissia are deceased ; Lee B. is living in Newton ; Mrs. Nellie Zander- man, Arthur, Agnes O .; Mrs. Myrtle Blacklidge (of Waterloo, Iowa) and Maud, who is now deceased, were twins: Nina was the youngest in order of birth
JOHN W. LUST.
One of the worthiest young farmers and enterprising citizens of Elk Creek township, Jasper county, is John W. Lust, who, never lured away from the pleasant prairies of the Hawkeye state by the wanderlust spirit, has been content to spend his life here at home, and he has succeeded because he early grew familiar with the local conditions governing soils, crops and the various phases of the calling which he has been pleased to follow. It would seem that he has been thus wiser than so many of his contemporaries who have in their boyhood left the old home and gone out into other states to seek their for- tunes where conditions and peoples are alike strange and where so many for- tunes assume the marsh-light aspect-alluring to the sight, but hard to grasp in tangible form.
Mr. Lust was born in this township on June 20, 1878, and here he grew up, received his education in the common schools, and worked on the home place during his boyhood days, in fact he has ever been identified with agri- cultural pursuits in this vicinity.
The subject is the son of Riley and Amanda ( Pender) Lust, his father being a native of Ohio and his mother of Indiana. His father, whose parents were natives of Germany, is one of the best known men in all Jasper county, besides being one of its largest land owners. He is a man who is extremely modest regarding his achievements and he has the respect of all who know him because of the sturdiness and true worth of his character. He is largely interested in a great number of investments and enterprises aside from his extensive farm holdings, among others being the implement business in the little city of Reasnor. He is also a stockholder and director of the Reasnor Savings Bank. He is a man who does not seek public praise, but has always stood ready to assist in any way the upbuilding of his community and to serve his fellows in whatever capacity they called him. At present he is leading a more or less retired life in his beautiful and modern residence in Reasnor.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Riley Lust, namely : Fred E., born July 22, 1874 ; Alfred T., born March 30, 1876; John W., of this review, being third in order of birth; Arthur J., born September 21, 1880; Elmer B.,
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born February 18, 1883; Roy R., born July 4, 1885; Minnie J., born Septem- ber 19, 1887, is the wife of Elmer Mercer, a farmer of Jasper county; Kather- ine S., born March 5, 1890, is the wife of Carl Trout, a banker living in West Grove, Iowa; Myrtle M., who is at home, single, was born August 19, 1893; Carl M., born May 31, 1896, is with his parents.
John W. Lust attended the Sand Point district school and the Newton Normal College three winters. In 1899 he began renting on the same place where he now lives, which belongs to his father. He is now successfully en- gaged in farming one hundred and twenty-five acres.
Politically, Mr. Lust is a Republican and he belongs to the blue lodge of Masons.
Mr. Lust was married on March 3, 1904, to Grace Romans, who was born in Fairview township, Jasper county, Iowa, July 16, 1882, the daughter of James M. Romans, now a resident of Grinnell, Iowa. He was born in Fairview township, Jasper county, Iowa, on July 1, 1855. He married Mary Eleanor McCuen, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, August 23, 1857. William Green Romans, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Lust, came to Jasper county in 1843, locating as one of the earliest pioneers on the wild Iowa prai- ries. Mrs. Lust's folks lived on the old Highland farm, on which place the first white child was born in Jasper county, as the Highlands were the first settlers here, and Mrs. Lust grew to womanhood and was educated in the common schools of this county.
Mr. Lust is a young man of engaging personality and is a man whom a large circle of acquaintances delight to call friend.
JOHN H. TOOL.
The subject of this sketch is a worthy representative of one of the oldest and best known families in Jasper county and since his childhood, which was passed amid the stern experiences of the pioneer period, he has been actively identified with the growth and development of this locality. He has not only worthily upheld an honored family name, but has won a reputation for public spirit, honesty in politics and the home and his material success is well de- served. He is the grandson of Adam Tool, the first white settler in Jasper county.
John H. Tool, farmer of Elk Creek township. was born in Fairview township, this county. on May 23, 1854. He is the son of James A. and Sarah ( Fouch) Tool, the father born on June 12, 1825, in Virginia, and the
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mother was a native of Indiana. In an early day the father came to Fairfield, Iowa, and from there to Jasper county. For a complete history of the Tool family the reader is directed to the sketch of Quinn H. Tool, brother of the subject, which appears in another part of this volume.
John H. Tool, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm and when but a boy he assisted with the general work in the fields and about the place. In the winter months he attended school in the Oak Grove district, and one winter in the Monroe high school. He remained under his parental roof-tree until he was twenty-one years of age, when he bought sixty acres, where he still resides. He has made a good living here, keeping his place well cultivated and well improved and he has a cozy home and excellent outbuild- ings. By good management and close application to his affairs he has pros- pered and added to his place from time to time until he now owns four hun- dred and twenty acres in Elk Creek and Fairview townships. Good live stock are always to be found in his fields and everything about hin indicates good management.
Mr. Tool was first a Greenbacker in his political belief, and he now votes the Democratic ticket. In religious matters he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he takes much interest. He believes in carrying his religion into his every-day life and is therefore known as a mild-mannered, honorable, straightforward gentleman, eminently deserving of the confidence and respect which all freely accord him.
Mr. Tool was married on November 6. 1875, to Rebecca Wood, who was born near Warsaw, Indiana, December 2, 1855, the daughter of Wesley Wood, who came to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1855 and who is now living at Monroe. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Tool, namely: George A., who married Marie Broderson; Bernice; Clarence C., who married Dora Trout, and Lillian.
ALFRED T. LUST.
Without searching for lineage in musty tomes or the less satisfactory authority of tradition, it suffices to state in writing this brief sketch of a prac- tical man and a master of his craft, that his progenitors were in the broadest sense high and their influence salutary and whose characters and sterling worth have been reproduced on their descendants. Alfred Lust, farmer of Elk Creek township, Jasper county, has shown himself to be ready at all times to encourage and aid all laudable measures and enterprises for the general
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good. By a life consistent in motive and because of his many good qualities he has earned the sincere regard of all who know him, and his success while yet a young man bespeaks for him continued advancements and a higher sphere of usefulness.
Mr. Lust was born on the place where he still resides in this township, on March 30, 1876, and here he has been content to spend his life. He is the son of Riley and Amanda (Pender) Lust, a well known pioneer family of this locality. The father was born in Ohio and the mother in Indiana. The pa- ternal grandparents were natives of Germany. Riley Lust is one of the best known and most substantial farmers in Jasper county, besides being one of our most extensive land owners. He is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished, having hewn out his own fortune without depend- ing on anyone for aid ; however, he is very modest regarding his achievements, being a plain, unassuming gentleman, content to be an unobtrusive citizen of what he considers one of the very foremost localities of our great sisterhood of states. He is largely interested in a great number of investments and en- terprises aside from his extensive farm holdings, among others being the im- plement business in the town of Reasnor, in which his son, Elmer, is a part- ner. He is also a stockholder and director in the Reasnor Savings Bank, and has at all times stood ready to serve his township in any capacity. At the present writing he is leading a practically retired life in his beautiful and modernly furnished residence in Reasnor. He has the confidence and esteem of all who know him and his character has ever been above cavil.
To Mr. and Mrs. Riley Lust ten children have been born, all still living, namely : Fred E, born July 22, 1874; Alfred T., subject of this sketch ; John WV., born June 20, 1878; Arthur J., born July 4, 1885 ; Mamie J., born Sep- tember 19, 1887, is the wife of Elmer Mercer, a farmer of Jasper county ; Katherine S., born March 5. 1890, is the wife of Carl Trout, a banker residing in West Grove, Iowa: Myrtle M., born August 19, 1893, is living at home ; Carl M., born May 31, 1896, also lives at home ; Elmer B., born February 18, 1883. is engaged in the implement business at Reasnor, this county.
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