USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 24
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of birth. James E. Robb was a self-made man and one of the best citizens Jasper county ever had. He was born and reared in Indiana and received a good academic education in the Rush county schools of his native state. He taught subscription schools and also taught singing in the old-time singing schools, which were numerous in his day. He came to Iowa in 1850 and entered land in Muscatine county which he improved and later sold, and he lived in that county until 1883, when he moved to Jasper county and settled in Buena Vista township in the locality known as Adamson Grove, purchasing one hundred and ninety-seven acres. Here the family home was maintained until 1892, when they moved to Newton, in which city the death of James E. Robb occurred on October 27, 1900. He had many friends wherever he was known, possessing the faculty in a marked degree of making and retain- ing warm personal friendships. He was a fearless, straightforward char- acter who was always interested in the community's good. While a citizen of Muscatine county he was for thirteen years county supervisor. He served a short time in the Civil war, refusing the offer of a substitute tendered him on account of a large and dependent family. He was a religious man, though not identified with any church. His exemplary and useful life remains a precious heirloom not only to those immediately left to mourn him, but to the com- munity in which he lived and labored.
Dr. E. H. Robb, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and Mary E. Robb, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, besides Wilson M., of this review, are the remain- ing children of James E. and Elmira Robb, one being deceased. Mrs. Robb was Elmira Freeman and was born in Indiana.
Wilson M. Robb came to Jasper county, Iowa, with his parents in 1883. He received a public school education, and was engaged in the management of the parental farm, bearing the brunt of the labor in the fields, and, with his father, shared in the success attained. After the father's death he became possessor of the home farm, but subsequently disposed of it, and now lives on his farm four miles north of Newton.
Mr. Robb was married on February 20, 1879, to Elmira J. Moss, daugh- ter of William and Mary E. (Humphrey) Moss, a well known and highly respected family. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Robb, two are living, namely : Lynn M., born December 2, 1879. and Clarence W., born March 13. 1883. This family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Robb is a man of distinctive moral courage, and he takes a special interest in the cause of temperance, being fearless in his advocacy of prohibi- tion and giving freely of his time and means to aid the success of temperance work. On all moral issues or community interests, Mr. Robb will not hesitate
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should occasion demand, to advocate his principles in the face of any opposi- tion. He is not a man to sacrifice principle for favor, but will do what he thinks is right, hewing to the line always and letting the chips fall where they will, regardless of consequences. Such unselfish devotion to principle does not always command its just reward, but Mr. Robb, unmindful of provoked censure, has not wavered in defending the moral principles he advocates. A man of more than ordinary ability and unquestioned integrity, his place in the community is one of honor and respect.
QUINN H. TOOL.
Among the earnest men whose enterprise and depth of character have gained a prominent place in the community and the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens is Quinn H. Tool, of Fairview township, Jasper county, where he has spent his life, being the representative of one of our most prom- inent pioneer families. A farmer and stock raiser and a man of decided views, his influence has ever been for the advancement of the community.
Mr. Tool was born here on July 6, 1852, the son of James A. and Sarah (Fouch) Tool, the father born in Virginia, June 12, 1825, and the mother in Indiana, December 14, 1826. The paternal grandfather, Adam Tool, was one of the three first, if not the first white settler in Jasper county, a Mr. High- land probably preceding him a few months. The elder Tool settled at Tool's Point, near where the town of Monroe stands, in 1843, and in the fall of that year the father of the subject came here with the rest of the family. Adam Tool entered one hundred and sixty acres where Monroe now stands, and his son, James A., owned three hundred and twenty acres four miles east of there. The latter took a leading part in the affairs of his community, and for many years he was trustee of his township. He was a Republican and later a Greenbacker. He belonged to the Methodist church. He was a pillar in the church, and no man ever did more for the early churches here than he, being a very earnest and devout man and conscientious in all that he undertook. He was a local preacher and did an incalculable amount of good in that connec- tion. He was universally esteemed for his excellent qualities of head and heart. He remained on his fine farm here until his death, on October 10, 1910, at an advanced age, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1890. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom three died in infancy. Those who grew up are, Charles W., Mrs. Cynthia Rigoulot ; Quinn H., of
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this sketch, was the third in order of birth; John H. is living in Elk Creek township; Mrs. Sarah E. Oldham, of this county; Oscar N. is living at Leb- anon, Kansas; Harrison F. L. is a resident of Atkin, Minnesota; Mrs. Ulysses A. Marshall, and Flora A.
Quinn H. Tool grew up on the home farm and attended the Oak Grove district school. But being one of the older members of the family he had to assist with the work at home when he was a boy. When twenty-two years of age he bought eighty acres in Fairview township, where he now lives. He has added to his original purchase until he owns two hundred and ten acres in this and Elk Creek townships, which he has placed under modern improve- ments and kept well tilled, having one of the best farms in the locality. He keeps a good grade of live stock. He has a pleasant home and his labors as an agriculturist have been amply rewarded. Part of his land lies in Fairview township and part in Elk Creek township. He is independent in politics. For two years he was assessor of his township. He belongs to the Methodist church.
On November 28, 1876, Mr. Tool was married to Selina E. Oldham, who was born in Knox county, Illinois, November 28, 1853, the daughter of Joseph Oldham, who was born in Cheshire, England, and who came to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1866.
The following children have been born to the subject and wife: Arthur A. is attending school in Germany ; Alvin S. is living in Des Moines township: Mrs. Pearl J. Foster.
ANDREW FRENCH.
A well known and influential business man and citizen of Jasper county who is deserving of the success he has attained in the world's affairs, because he has worked along proper avenues and been careful of his conduct at all times, is Andrew French, who was born near Geneseo. New York, August 27, 1866, and he is the scion of an excellent old family of the Empire state, being the son of Charles L. and Hannah (Emery ) French, both of whom are natives of New Hampshire. The father emigrated from his native state to Monroe. Jasper county, Iowa, in 1872 and lived here ten years, then moved to a farm near Reasnor, where he lived until his death at the age of seventy-five years ; his wife is still living at the age of seventy-eight. In her girlhood she had the rare privilege of being the pupil of John Greenleaf Whittier, the poet. To Mr.
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and Mrs. Charles L. French two sons and two daughters were born, all living, namely : Mrs. Alvin Dodge, of Larrabee, Iowa; Mrs. Clarence Bennett, of Creighton, Nebraska; Augustus E. has no fixed residence, traveling exten- sively ; Andrew, of this review.
Andrew French came to Iowa with his parents, with whom he made his home until he was twenty years of age, then went to western Kansas, where he found employment on cattle ranches for six years. He then went to Oklahoma City, where, among other things, he served as United States mar- shal, his chief duties being to keep down the lawless elements in the Indian country. He performed the duties of this important office in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the entire satisfaction of all con- cerned, making a most commendable record and proving himself to be a man of tact, foresight, courage and unswerving determination. He remained in that country nine years, and he saw the site of the present great center of industry, Oklahoma City, when there was but one house there. Returning to Jasper county, Iowa, he is now the owner and operator of a saw mill.
On September 26, 1888, Mr. French was united in marriage with Emma Evans, daughter of G. W. and Lucy Evans, and to this union one child has been born, Charles W., who resides in McCloud, Oklahoma. Mr. French's second marriage was solemnized on September 15, 1900, when he was united with Mrs. Anna Oliver, widow of Millard Fillmore Oliver and the daughter of Menke Blink and Anna Vanderlaan, both natives of Holland, Mrs. French being born in that country, May 26, 1869, and she was two years of age when her parents brought her to America in an old sailing vessel. Her own mother had died at the birth of Mrs. French and her father had remarried before starting to this country. The family settled in Chicago in 1871. In 1887 the daughter contracted her first marriage to M. F. Oliver, a son of James M. and Mercy (Noel) Oliver. James M. Oliver was a native of Ohio, a cabinet- maker by trade and came to Iowa. Mercy Noel was born July 2, 1819, in Scioto county, Ohio, married James Oliver December 7, 1851, and died Octo- ber 18, 1901, near Monroe, James Oliver died in 1907. Of their five children M. F. Oliver was third in order of birth. Mrs. Anna Oliver moved to Sioux county, Iowa. Her parents also came there to live, purchasing a small tract of land within the corporate limits of the city, and there they fol- lowed gardening until too old to work. The father died at the age of seventy- eight, the step-mother reaching the remarkable age of ninety-six.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver became the parents of two children, one of whom died in infancy, the other, Millard F. Oliver, was born April 27, 1896, and resides with his mother in Reasnor, and is now attending high school at
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Monroe, a remarkable young man, bright, genial. well beloved and a natural musician, being at this early age a master of the piano. He is admired by all who know him and a great comfort to his mother. He is upright, honorable and the making of a good man and citizen. Mr. Oliver was a very fine cabinet- maker and skilled wood worker. His death occurred in 1898.
Mrs. French is one of a family of ten full brothers and sisters, of whom but two besides herself survive, five having died in infancy ; Alice, seven years old, died on board ship while the family was en route to America ; Mrs. John Pool died in Chicago in 1898; Herman Blink lives in Wisconsin ; John Blink lives in Indiana. Mrs. French is well known and much admired as a vocalist, and for many years has sung at funerals and different public gatherings. She is a member of the United Presbyterian church at Monroe.
EUGENE BEAN.
To lead a clean life at home and before his fellow men, to be a good husband, father and citizen and to do his plain duty at all times as he sees it, is to merit the title, "A good man." However, it seems that few men really merit it, so it is a pleasure to the biographer when a man is found to whom the term may be truthfully applied. Eugene Bean, of Jasper county, comes well within the range of requirements of this title. He had a good father and mother whose influence was doubtless largely due to the fact that he has been a good son. He was born in Richland county, Ohio, March 12, 1860, the son of Joseph and Diantha (Cross) Bean, both of whom were natives of Belfast, Maine. They came to Ohio in 1848 and followed farming, and in 1868 emigrated to Jasper county, Iowa, purchasing a farm of two hundred acres in Palo Alto township, and there they developed a good farm and spent the rest of their lives, the father dying in April, 1896, at the age of eighty years, and the mother in 1898, when sixty-six years old. The father was a man of fine public spirit, holding a number of minor offices in his township, but while he was an active political worker, he never aspired to county or state offices, although a loyal Republican. While not a member of any church, he was a man of deep religious convictions, and of that rugged honesty which brooks of no swerving from the right, and he died having the love and respect of his fellow men. His family consisted of seven children, all boys, of whom five are living, namely: Julius E. died in Buena Vista county, Iowa, at the age of forty-six years. He was engaged in the nursery business: Charles resides
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in New Plymouth, Idaho, being engaged in farming and fruit-growing; Alonzo S. and Harvey C. reside at the same place and are engaged in the same business; Harry Lincoln, who was a farmer in this county, died in 1898; Frank E. lives in Reasnor, being employed as lineman for the tele- phone company.
Eugene Bean, after receiving an excellent education, began life for himself when twenty-one years of age, by teaching school, teaching very acceptably one year in Buena Vista county and three years in Jasper county. Then turning his attention to the business world, he accepted a position as cashier of the Marathon Bank of Marathon, Iowa, which position he filled with much credit and satisfaction for two years, he having an interest in the bank. At the end of this period, his partner, Richard Olney, having had a son frozen to death in a blizzard, became dissatisfied with the rigors of the Iowa climate and sold out, moving his banking interests to Arkansas. This necessitating some change of plans upon the part of Mr. Bean, he came to Reasnor, Iowa, where he farmed for two years, after which time he entered the depot of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, as station agent, conducting, in connection with this, a general live stock and grain business. Accumulating rapidly, in 1900, he moved to Newton, for the purpose, prin- cipally, of giving his children better educational advantages, and there he entered the auditor's office as deputy for Joe Horn, county auditor at that time. After serving as Mr. Horn's deputy for two years, he was elected auditor on the Republican ticket for two terms, making a clean, creditable and eminently satisfactory record. After his tenure in office he returned to Reasnor and resumed the grain, live stock, coal and poultry business, which he has continued ever since, building up an extensive and lucrative business.
On September 5, 1886, Mr. Bean was united in marriage with Martha A. Wilson, daughter of W. S. and Mary (Irvin) Wilson, both of whom were born close to the border line dividing Scotland and Ireland, being of hardy Scotch-Irish stock. Mrs. Bean is one of eight brothers and sisters, three of whom died in childhood; the living are: Mary J., who has remained single, resides in Reasnor; W. O. lives in Green City, Missouri, where he is engaged in merchandising; Mrs. W. E. Denniston lives in Newton, where Mr. Dennis- ton is engaged in the lumber business; James I. is engaged in the lumber business in Baxter, Iowa. Mrs. Martha A. Bean was born in Scott county, Iowa, February 26, 1867, and she received a good education in the home schools. Her father died in 1879, when forty-eight years old, and the mother passed away in 1906, when seventy-six years old.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Bean five children have been born, all of whom are living, namely: Lorena Fern, unmarried, was born in Marathon, Iowa, in 1888, and she is postmistress at Reasnor; Lavina Pearl, born in Reasnor in 1890, is teaching school in the country; Edith Aubine, born in Reasnor in 1892, is attending the high school at Newton, this county; Mary and William E., who were both born in Newton, the former in 1903 and the latter in 1907, are both living at home.
Mr. Bean is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Reasnor, and his wife is a devout member of the Presbyterian church in Palo Alto township. Mr. Bean is affiliated with Jasper Lodge No. 78, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, at Monroe and of the encampment and canton of Central Lodge No. 16, at Newton. In politics he is a stanch Republican and is well-known throughout the county.
DOW W. TERPSTRA.
That period of the nineteenth century embracing the decade between 1850 and 1860 was characterized by the immigration of the pioneer element which made the great state of Iowa very largely what it is today. These immigrants were sturdy, heroic, sincere and, in the main, upright people, such as consti- tute the strength of the commonwealth. It scarcely appears probable that in the future another such period can occur, or, indeed, any period when such a solid phalanx of strong-minded, brawny-armed men and noble, self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country. The period to which reference is made, therefore, cannot be too much or too well written up and the only way to do justice to such a subject is to record the lives of those who. led the van of civilization and founded the institutions which today are the pride and boast of a great state and a strong and virile people. Among those who braved the obstacles of Jasper county in its early period of development were the late Dow W. Terpstra and family. The subject was known as a man of extraordinary characteristics, who, by reason of years of indefatigable labor and honest effort, not only acquired a well merited material prosperity, but also richly earned the highest esteem of all with whom he was associated.
Mr. Terpstra was born in Friesland, Holland, June 11, 1842, and he was the son of Watson and Sietska (Zuidma) Terpstra, both born in the same locality as was the subject and there they grew up and were married. In the year 1850 they emigrated to the United States, locating in Lancaster, New
MR. AND MRS. DOW W. TERPSTRA
,
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York, where they maintained their home for a period of five years, engaged in farm work; then the family came to Iowa, selecting Marion county as their future place of abode, Watson Terpstra purchasing eighty acres there. His son, Dow W., of this review, being the eldest child, began working in the fields when very young, assisting his father clear up the timber and otherwise get the raw land in shape for crops, consequently he had little opportunity to obtain an education, indeed there were few schools and they were poorly managed and their sessions were brief; but this lack of text-book training was later made up through extensive miscellaneous home reading and actual con- tact with the business world.
Mr. Terpstra was married in Marion county, Iowa, and he moved to Jasper county in 1869 with his wife and here bought a fractional eighty acres near Killduff. Later he traded this for one hundred and twenty acres in Elk Creek township. He was a man of excellent ideas and he managed well, and, naturally a hard-working, industrious man, he forged rapidly ahead and added his place here until he became the owner of four hundred and fifty acres of as valuable land as the township afforded. This he kept well improved and well tilled, in fact, made it one of the model farms of his community, and here carried on general farming and stock raising on a large scale. He was one of the largest cattle feeders in the county and no small part of his handsome competency was realized from this source. He had a pleasant home and convenient outbuildings, everything about his place indicating thrift and that a gentleman of good taste had its management in hand. Having laid by a competency, Mr. Terpstra and wife retired from active life in 1905 and moved to an attractive residence in the town of Sully, Iowa, and that was their home until Mr. Terpstra's death, on July II, 1906, after a successful and honorable career. He was a man of considerable influence in his community and was well liked by all who knew him, being a man of kindly impulse and exemplary character who inspired confidence and respect. Mrs. Terpstra subsequently returned to the country and is now living on a part of the old home place. She is a woman of praiseworthy attributes and she enjoys the friendship of a very wide circle of acquaintances.
Mr. Terpstra aided in the public affairs of his community in whatever manner possible. For some time he was president of the school board of his district and after moving to Sully he became a member of the town council. Politically, he was a Democrat, and was always true to the tenets of his party. He attended the Reform Dutch church and was liberal in his support of the same.
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Mr. Terpstra was united in marriage on February 14, 1867, to Rosa Napjus, who was born in Friesland, Holland, on September 23, 1848, and she was eight years of age when she emigrated with her parents to the United States, and she therefore grew up and received her education in this country. She is the daughter of John and Rosa ( Plantenga) Napjus. This family came on to lowa and settled near Red Rock in Marion county, in 1856, and there lived for one year when they moved to Pella where they established a home.
To Mr. and Mrs. Terpstra were born eight children, named as follows: Watson Valentine, Mrs. Sielsk George, of North Dakota; Harry B., a farmer of Elk Creek township, this county; Albert L., Mrs. Rose Dick, Mrs. Yetta Romans and Martin.
Mr. Terpstra was a true pioneer, one of the best representatives of the Hollander people who cast their lots with us in the early days. He found here a wild, undeveloped country, but had the sagacity to see in it a great future, consequently he here persisted in his efforts, having faith that the future would bring rich rewards if today was properly lived. He played no inconspicuous part in the transformation of this nature-favored land and, as was natural and right, he received a fitting earthly reward and is now sleeping the sleep of the just. after life's fitful fever, leaving behind him not only the evidences of material achievement, but what is more to be prized by his family and host of friends-a worthy example and an irreproachable name.
LEWIS F. SCHULTZ.
There is something fine and high in the German character, something of wondrous gentleness and keen appreciation of the beauty which life holds. In music the Germans have given the world a magic gamut of sound, from the soft lullaby of the young mother crooning to her pink cheeked babe to the mighty thunders of dynamic masterpieces. In art, the German school is easily first with the wonderful galaxy of painters and sculptors whose fame is as broad as the world, while in science and in literature, in poetry and in the sweet pastoral beauty of their folk lore the sons and daughters of the fatherland stand almost without an equal. And what father and mothers they make! What homes they build! What garden-like farms they till! "This is a German settlement," we say, and behold! on every hand are clean, fertile fields, neat hedge rows, great barns bursting with plenty, grunting droves of fat swine and homes resplendent with good will, good health and honest contentment.
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Lewis F. Schultz is a German, as is also his good wife. Their parents came to this country as raw emigrants, ignorant of its language, its customs and its vicissitudes, but by that inherent thrift and inborn ability to make any place home, they prospered and thrived until their efforts blossomed forth in broad farms and generous roof-trees, and in the happy and con- tented faces of American-born children and grandchildren. And from the first they commanded the respect they so well merited and when they jour- neyed onward into that dim and unknown vista which lies beyond the grave, they each left that void in the hearts of those who knew them, which the passing of a good soul always leaves.
Mr. Schultz was born in Pommerania, Germany, kingdom of Prussia, April 2, 1849, his father being Christopher C. Schultz and his mother Caro- line (Severt) Schultz, both natives of the same place. The coming to the new land had long been planned by the shrewd old grandmother of the subject of this review, but it was not until in October of 1854 that the emigration was actually made. Landing safely in New York, the family, consisting of Mr. Schultz's father and mother and their children, the grandmother and two brothers of the father, came at once to Bureau county, Illinois, to which place two brothers had already come, and engaged in farming. In connection with this the father and brothers worked as carpenters, mostly in the building of barns for the settlers. In 1858 they came to Poweshiek county, Iowa, coming in the employ of E. P. Judd and Fred Mousley, two large land owners of the county at that time, and continuing to work for them for two years. At the end of this time, 1860, the father of the subject of this review started out for himself by purchasing one hundred and twenty acres of land of his own. As his faithful wife had died in the spring of 1855, soon after coming to America, the grandmother, who was the father's mother, kept the house until such time as the sister of the subject became old enough. Thus it was that little Ludwig, now Americanized to "Lewis," was practically with- out a mother's sympathy and care from babyhood, but he kept right on bravely facing each drawback or sorrow that came to him until at the time this review is penned his life is full of that sweet contentment which an honest and successful career holds in store.
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