USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 72
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Mr. Strain was married on March 1, 1877, to Mrs. Eliza (Myers) Block, who was born in Posey county, Indiana, the daughter of Isaac Myers, who came to Mahaska county, Iowa, in 1849, thus being an early settler. The following children have been born to Mr. Strain and wife: Mrs. Edna R. Freel. Mrs. Mayme F. Wilson, Mrs. Lilly M. Schlosser and Mrs. Abbie R. Ward. Personally, Mr. Strain is a man of splendid physique and of a genial, jovial nature which makes him a favorite in any crowd.
. HENRY WELLE.
In the constant and laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a creditable name on the part of business or professional men there is little to attract the reader in search of a sensational chapter, but to a mind thoroughly awake to the true meaning of life and its responsibilities there are noble and imperishable lessons in the career of an individual who, early thrown upon
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his own resources and without other means than a sound mind, fertile per- ceptive faculty and a true heart, conquers adversity and wins not only a position in the industrial world, but what is equally as great, the deserved esteem and confidence of his fellow men. Such a man is the prominent business man of Sully, Jasper county, whom the biographer treats in this connection, and whose name is so intimately associated with the material and civic interests of Lynn Grove township as to reflect much credit upon the town and vicinity, at the same time gaining the undivided respect of all who know him for his well directed life, which has been along paths of honor.
Henry Welle was born in Marion county, Iowa, June 24, 1867, the son of Cornelius and Sarah (Nollen) Welle, both natives of Holland, the father having emigrated to America in 1847 with his parents, Peter and Dirkie Welle, and located in Marion county, Iowa, two and one-half miles from Pella, and there they spent the rest of their lives, having established a very pleasant home in the new world, and there the father of our subject was reared, he having been but a boy when he was brought to this state. The maternal grandparents, Henry and Sarah Nollen, also natives of Holland who emigrated to America in 1854, located in Marion county, Iowa, also and there the mother of the sub- ject was reared.
Cornelius Welle devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and became the owner of about two hundred acres of valuable land. His death occurred on September 20, 1907 ; his widow is still living at the town of Pella, being now about seventy-five years of age. Their family consisted of two sons and two daughters, all living. Mr. Welle was a quiet, home man, a member of the Dutch Reformed church, to which his widow also belongs.
Henry Welle was educated in the common schools of Marion county and reared on the farm, and he engaged in the various phases of agricultural pur- suits until he was twenty-eight years of age, then he spent a year in Pella and in 1895 came to Sully, Jasper county, and entered the general mercantile busi- ness in partnership with B. H. Van Spanckeren, which continued successfully for a period of five years, during which time they built up an extensive trade with the town and surrounding country. At the end of that time Mr. Welle bought out his partner and conducted the business alone for ten years, enjoying a liberal and growing patronage all the while, then sold out in the fall of 1910 to Mr. Haan, and soon entered a partnership with Frank Sherman in the automobile and garage business, in which they are still engaged, having been successful from the first. They built a modern. substantial cement building, thirty by sixty feet, on Main street. They handle the popular Ford, Hudson and Mitchell cars and their business is constantly growing.
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Mr. Welle is a Democrat in politics and while he has never sought public leadership he has always stood ready to do his part in furthering any laudable undertaking having for its object the upbuilding of the community in any way. Religiously, he belongs to the Congregational church.
Mr. Welle was married on September 2, 1896, to Dora Van Spanckeren, daughter of B. H. VanSpanckeren, Sr., who located in Marion county, lowa, in 1847. He now lives in Pella and is eighty-four years of age. One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Welle, named Cornelius.
JOHN G. HORSFORD.
This sterling farmer, who has come to us from the great and powerful British empire, but who, nevertheless, reveres our flag and gladly supports our institutions, is one of the progressive and highly honored citizens of Washing- ton' township, Jasper county, owning there a valuable and well kept farm- stead. Since coming here he has won a reputation for both industry and in- tegrity, his character standing out unblemished, so that to him is accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. He is eminently en- titled to representation in this work, which aims to give all worthy citizens of this locality due credit for their praiseworthy lives.
Mr. Horsford was born in Devonshire, England, July 26, 1860, and he is the son of George and Charlotte (Griffin) Horsford, both natives of Devon- shire, England. There they grew up, were educated and married, devoted their lives to farming, and there they died, the father in the same house in which he was born. Their family consisted of four sons, namely : John G., of this sketch; William lives in England; Harry died in his native country ; and Fred, who is still living in England.
John G. Horsford grew up in his native community and was educated there, emigrating to America when twenty-one years of age and located in Winnebago county, Illinois, where he worked a few months, then returned to England, where he remained until the spring of the next year, then returned to Illinois and located in La Salle county where he worked out as a farm hand. In the fall of 1883 he came to Jasper county and located in Richland town- ship, buying one hundred acres there, which he improved into a good farm and there made his home for a period of sixteen years, then sold out and bought one hundred and forty acres near Bethel church. Selling that farm in March, 1909, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Washington township and this place he has improved and is very comfortably situated.
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having a pleasant home and convenient barns and other buildings; in connec- tion with general farming, he raises a good grade of live stock of various kinds. Having been a man of thrift, he has met with a large measure of success in his adopted country.
Mr. Horsford is a man of decided views, and he votes for the man who, in his estimation, is best qualified for the office sought, irrespective of politics. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been school director in his district.
On July 24, 1884, Mr. Hosford was united in marriage with Mary Black, who was born in Grinnell, Iowa, May 18, 1864, the daughter of O. W. Black and wife, early settlers of this portion of Iowa. Two children have been born to the subject and wife, Mrs. Fannie Hoover and Charlotte.
HIRAM C. LIBOLT.
The subject of this sketch holds worthy prestige among the enterprising farmers and representative citizens of Jasper county and it is with no small degree of satisfaction that the biographer gives to the public the following brief outline of his life and achievements, for he has always stood for upright manhood and progressive citizenship, his influence in every relation of lite making for the material advancement of his community, while he has led a life of honesty and established a reputation for fairness in all his relations with the world.
Hiram C. Libolt was born in Washington township. this county, Septent- ber 7. 1868, the son of one of our worthy pioneer families, John L. and Eliza (Corwin) Libolt, the father born in the state of New York in 1829 and died in 1907; the mother was born on the Isle of Man and her death occurred in 1869 when her son, Hiram C., of this sketch, was six months old. The father subsequently married Mrs. Jennie ( Robinson) Allen. John L. Libolt, the father, was one of the earliest settlers in Cedar county, Iowa, whither he came about 1854 and there he was married some time afterwards to the subject's mother. About 1865 he moved to Jasper county and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Washington township and here he continued farming. He was a Greenbacker, later a Democrat and he served his community as road supervisor. His family consisted of two children by his first wife, William, deceased, and Hiram C., of this review. Three children were born of his second union, Ada, deceased : Mrs. Della Smith, and George, who is living in Salt Lake City.
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Hiram C. Libolt was educated in Washington township, district No. 6. When fourteen years of age he left home and worked out by the month and while still thus employed, at the age of twenty-three, he bought eighty acres of the home place and there he still resides, having kept the same well improved and well tilled. In 1907 he built a commodious new dwelling, and he has always kept good live stock.
Politically, Mr. Libolt is a Democrat and he is now serving as school director in Washington township. He is a member of the Modern Wood- men lodge and of the Christian church at Colfax.
On February 27, 1901, Mr. Libolt was married to Anna Stineman, who was born in Polk county, Iowa, the daughter of John Stineman. This union has been without issue.
Mr. Libolt is a pleasant man to meet, genial, hospitable and broad-minded. Such a man is to be congratulated for working his way from an humble begin- ning to the position which he now occupies in the community, and he is a fine example of the self-reliant, courageous and self-made American, his ex- ample proving that the boy who is ambitious and earnest may succeed in the face of obstacles, without the help of family or influential friends. By hon- est methods, economy, industry, the exercise of sound judgment and keen foresight he has pushed his way to the front. Being a close observer, he profited by the failures and faults of others.
JOHN H. SHERMAN.
What characterizes the present age of industry in contrast with all that have gone before is the great and wonderful diversity of pursuits. One merchant of today will handle nothing but hats, another nothing but stationery, another nothing but confectionery, and so on; few manufacturers nowadays turn out more than one product, and in nearly every line of endeavor in this rushing, specializing, industrial age, this fact is traceable. To a considerable extent this holds good on the farm as well as in the city ; the modern agricul- turist is turning his attention to some specific branch of farming, and only pursues the others so far as they will aid him in making a success of the one. In following the one he but observes the tendency of the times to concentrate most of his attention on certain lines which are thus sure to be vastly more suc- cessful than if his efforts were scattered over many occupations. Thus it is found that some farmers make a specialty of raising certain grades of stock, to the exclusion of general farming except as the latter will aid him with his
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stock. A good exponent of both general and special farming is to be found in John H. Sherman, one of the best known citizens of the southeastern part of Jasper county, and the son of one of the honored and most influential of the pioneers of Lynn Grove township, in the development of which the Shermans have been among the most active during the past half century or more, and in which township occurred the birth of the subject on March 23. 1861, and here he has been content to spend his life. He is the son of Thomas and Peninah (Sparks) Sherman. The paternal grandfather, Harris Sherman, was a native of Massachusetts, and in 1831 this family moved to Portage county, Ohio, and settled among the pioneers there, Mr. Sherman engaging in farming there until his death, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, his wife also reaching a ripe old age.
The Sparks family originated in Wales, from which country they emi- grated to America and settled in Maryland in the early history of this country, later making their home in North Carolina, and still later in Kentucky. The maternal grandparents, John R. and Elizabeth Sparks, were born in Adair county, Kentucky, he on March 16, 1806, and she on January 7, 1806, and there they grew up and were married, and moved to Illinois in the early set- tlement of that state, and from there came on to Lee county, Iowa, in 1836. making their home there until 1845, when they moved to Jasper county, locat- ing in section 10, Lynn Grove township, entering about three hundred and twenty acres from the government. Mr. Sparks had little of this world's goods when he arrived here: he had twenty-five dollars in money, a span of horses, three yoke of oxen and two plows. But he liked nothing better than to begin life in a new country, and he made a clearing, built a rude hut and went to work with his usual courage, and soon had a good farm and comfort- able home in which he spent the remainder of his life, dying on August 17, 1886, his wife having preceded him to the grave only a short time, her death having occurred on June 7th of that year. Their lives were remarkable in that they began and closed, each within a few days of the other and during a long flight of years they traversed the pathway side by side. They were among the first settlers of Iowa and their like are not frequently met with nowadays. John R. Sparks built the first saw-mill in Lynn Grove township, choosing for the site the present village of Lynnville, on the Skunk river, and he also estab- lished the first grist-mill here, in fact, this antedated the saw-mill some time, he having established these mills at Lynnville before he began farming in this vicinity.
Thomas Sherman, father of John H., of this review, was born in Massa- chusetts, on September 6, 1828, and in 1831 he accompanied his parents to
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Portage county, Ohio, and there grew to maturity on the home farm, receiving such education as those early times afforded in the public schools. Early in life he manifested an unusual ability as a financier. In 1854 he came to Jas- per county, lowa, reaching here with absolutely nothing, and he began work- ing for John R. Sparks, for two years at twelve dollars per month. On April 10. 1856, he married his employer's daughter, Peninah. She was born in Morgan county, Illinois, on. December 3. 1835. He had been economical. saved his money and after his marriage bought two hundred and forty acres of land in Lynn Grove township, not far from the Sparks homestead, for which he paid only one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. when this township had a population of less than two hundred. He built a frame house of a native walnut tree. Being a man of keen business discernment and good judgment. he prospered from the first, and added to his original purchase from time to time until he owned one thousand and sixty acres of valuable Jasper county land which he divided mostly among his seven children before his death. His home farm was a model in every respect, and he became one of the county's leading agriculturists and substantial citizens, prominent and influential and a man whom everybody trusted and esteemed. He retained the old homestead until his death, on April 10, 1909, his widow surviving until January 27, 19II, both having reached advanced ages. He was a great reader, kept well advised on current topics and was an intelligent and progressive citizen. He dealt exclusively in land, never refusing to sell when offered a reasonable profit. When the lowa Central railroad built through this country he aided in organ- izing and founding the town of Sully. He gave his children good educations and they are all doing well in life's affairs. In politics he was a Republican and he and his wife belonged to the Methodist Protestant church, to which their parents before them also belonged.
John H. Sherman, of this review, grew up on his father's farm and when he became of proper age assisted in the general work on the same. After passing through the public schools of his community, he spent four years in Towa College at Grinnell. In 1886 he returned to his native community and took up his life work. On December 23, 1887, he was united in marriage with Anna L. Shoop, daughter of a highly respected family. They started housekeeping on the farm which his father had given him. Later he bought a part of the homestead and now owns a valuable, well improved and productive farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Lynn Grove township and has met with a large measure of success as a general farmer and stock raiser. He has placed many modern improvements on this land, including a new and attractive dwelling and a good barn, fencing, etc. He has dealt in stock raising all his
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life, and for some time specialized in breeding Poland-China hogs. In the fall of 1908 he moved to Sully and built a fine modern home in that pleasant village, in the southeast part of town where he now lives retired, leaving the operation of his farm to his sons, though he still maintains general supervision of the same.
Politically, Mr. Sherman is a Republican and he and his wife have always been members of the Methodist Protestant church. Mrs. Sherman was born in Ohio, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Shoop, the father a soldier in the Civil war, dying after returning from the army, of sickness contracted in line of service. About 1867 his widow and daughter came to Iowa and located near Kellogg, Jasper county. Mrs. Shoop lived until 1894. Anna L., wife of Mr. Sherman, was her only child.
To Mr. and Mrs. Sherman three children were born, namely : Emerson, born November 5. 1888: Raymond, born September 9, 1890, and Florence M., born August 6, 1900.
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