USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 9
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Altemeier, of this sketch, namely : Pearl, Odessa, Eva, Lucile and Morris.
Mr. and Mrs. Altemeier are pleasant people to visit in their hospitable home, and they have many friends throughout the locality in which they live.
JOHN F. MEYER.
There is no better man nor truer gentleman in all the great county of Jasper than John F. Meyer, the subject of this brief review. Quiet and unas- suming, he has the respect of his fellow men wherever he is known and his acquaintance is as broad as the county. Then, too, he is a product of the county, having been born in Palo Alto township, November 17, 1861, being the son of John Meyer, Sr., and Louisa ( Klopping) Meyer, both of whom were natives of Germany.
Mr. Meyer's father was a Prussian and came here when but fourteen years of age, coming in an old sailing vessel and being eight weeks on the way. His mother was sixteen when she came over, being eleven weeks on the way. Upon landing in New York, the father stayed there two years, working at whatever he could find to do and having a very up-hill time of it, as he could not speak a word of English when he landed. In 1857 he came to Newton, Iowa, then but a small settlement of log huts, and worked at odd jobs until the summer of 1861, when he enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving all through the war. He was under both Grant and Sher- man and participated in nearly all the principal battles of the war, serving with signal bravery. Among the many engagements in which he took part were Port Gibson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, assault on and siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Mississippi, Winchester, where Sheridan made his famous ride, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek and Shiloh Twice he was wounded, once in the thigh, at the battle of Shiloh, and once in the back, escaping death from the last wound only because the ball struck a knapsack which contained writing paper. Upon one occasion he narrowly escaped capture, three of his companions being captured. He was honorably discharged at Savannah, Georgia, July 25, 1865, as fifth sergeant of his company. After the close of the war he returned to Newton and settled upon eighty acres of land which he continued to farm until 1890, when he retired and moved to Newton. at which place he died February 28, 1906, at the age of seventy-two. Mr. Meyer's mother is still living in Newton.
JOHN F. MEYER
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
On February 24, 1896, the subject of this sketch was married to Mary E. DeHaven, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Russell) DeHaven, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Meyer is one of twelve children, ten of whom are living as follows: Lewis F., the subject of this review; Frederick, a mail carrier residing in Carroll county, Iowa; Lena Scheel, wife of Fred Scheel, Stuttgart, Arkansas, a farmer of that vicinity ; Anna Lorimer, wife of John Lorimer, a merchant, resides in Newton ; George, superintendent of Jasper county water works plant; Henry, a farmer near Newton; Ella Carson, wife of Hans Carson, a farmer in Carroll county, Iowa ; Louie, a drayman in Newton; Valeria Couch, wife of Bert Couch, lives in Camera, Iowa ; Elizabeth Frith, wife of John Frith, who works for the Newton Lum- ber Company.
To Mr. and Mrs. Meyer has been born one child, a daughter, born June 2, 1888, who is the wife of William Howard, a hotel man at Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Meyer began working for himself when twenty-one years old at farm- ing and stock raising and has continued at this business ever since, making a specialty of thoroughbred Poland China hogs and good horses. He is at this writing serving as trustee of Palo Alto township and has been director of the district schools. He is a Republican and has at all times taken an active interest in politics. He is also a member of Central Lodge No. 73. Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, having taken the subordinate and encampment degrees. Mrs. Meyer is a member of the Rebekahs at Newton and is a most excellent woman.
JAMES M. HUMMEL.
Among the representative farmers of Mound Prairie township. Jasper county, is James M. Hummel, who is the owner of a valuable landed estate, where he is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequence in definite success. To such men as Mr. Hummel we turn with particular satisfaction as offering in their life histories justification for works of this character owing to the life of industry, honesty and public spirit, and the effort he has made to uphold the honored name of one of the old and best known families of the locality of which this history treats.
Mr. Hummel was born at Monroe, Fairview township, this county, on February 14, 1856, and he is the son of Louis and Lucinda ( Murphy ) Hum- mel, the father born in Wittenburg, Germany, in 1833. and the mother was a
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TASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
native of Tennessee. The father grew up in the fatherland, emigrating to America when seventeen years of age and located in Ohio and there worked at the blacksmith's trade which he had learned in his native land. He came to Monroe, Jasper county, Iowa, in 1852 among the early pioneers, and, being a man of excellent judgment and foresight, had faith in the future pos- sibilities here, so decided to cast his lot in this region, which was then a wild, wide-sweeping prairie. He began working for a Mr. Kipps and there he met his future wife, she being in the employ of Mr. Kipps also, he as a blacksmith and she as a house girl. They were finally married and began housekeeping in Monroe, where Mr. Hummel worked at his trade After the Civil war he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Fairview township, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and here he began farming and stock raising, at which he became most successful, and he also specu- lated a great deal in farms, and at some time or other owned about half the land in Fairview township. He was one of the leading agriculturists in this locality, and at the time of his death in 1896 he owned about one thousand acres of valuable and well improved land, fine for general use. In 1890 he moved to Monroe and retired from active life and there he lived until his death. For years he had been known as one of the leading cattle feeders in this part of the county and no small part of his income was gained in this manner. He was a man of high moral attributes and a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was highly honored by all who knew him. His family consisted of six sons and three daughters, namely: John W., James M., Henry R., George F., Hugh Montgomery, Mrs. Carrie Arline Bulk, Charles, Mrs. Nancy McClintick, Mrs. Fannie Birchnell.
James M. Hummel, of this review, attended school in his home district, though his educational advantages were limited. He began working in the fields when eleven years of age, and when he reached his majority he started in life for himself and rented land for some time in order to get a start. Saving his earnings, he subsequently bought eighty acres in Mound Prairie township. later buying another eighty, then one hundred and sixty acres, then another eighty, making an aggregate of four hundred acres of valuable land. His efforts were attended by a large measure of success and he became one of the leading agriculturists of his township. He erected the substantial and convenient buildings which are still to be seen here, all in good condition. He always kept his land well improved and under a fine state of cultivation. He has long been an extensive cattle feeder, also a feeder of Poland China and Chester white hogs. His efforts along this line as well as general farming have been attended by a large degree of success.
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
Politically, Mr. Hummel is a Democrat and in fraternal matters a meni- ber of the Knights of Pythias.
On March 20, 1880, Mr. Hummel was united in marriage with Eliza A. Newell, who was born in Wapello county, Iowa, the daughter of William Newell, who settled in Jasper county in an early day and here became well established and highly respected.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, namely: Mrs. Carrie Bower, of Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Zola Baker and Mrs. Zetta Liv- ingston, twins ; Virgil is at home.
AUGUST GALEN MILLER.
We are glad to note in this series of biographical articles that so many of the progressive citizens of Jasper county have been born and reared here, for this is an indication of at least two things, namely, that they are men of keen discernment, being able to see and appreciate present conditions as they are, and that the county is indeed one of the favored sections of the great Hawkeye state, else these people would have sought opportunities elsewhere. As it is they did not need to heed the call of the wanderlust that is heard at some stage or other in the lives of all young men. It very frequently leads them to forsake the "land of milk and honey" and go in search of a never-to- be-attained oasis of a mirage, ultimately finding instead the barren, sand- swept waste of a Sahara, often, too, after it is too late to return and establish themselves in their own native heath. The subject of this sketch is one of a large number of Jasper county boys who have had the good judgment to remain right at home and devote their energies to the things with which they are most familiar, hence they have had a better chance of ultimately attaining the ever-sought-for guerdon-success.
August Galen Miller, farmer of Mariposa township, Jasper county, was born here on December 25, 1871. He is the son of August, Sr., and Emma (Buchann) Miller, the former born in Prussia in 1825 and the latter in Germany in 1844. The father grew up in his native land, received his education there and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed with success. In 1858 he and his parents emigrated to St. Louis, Missouri, in which city he remained, engaged at his trade, for several years, during which time he did a great deal of work in railroad construction. After the Civil war he went to Scott county, Iowa, and engaged in farming on rented land. In 1869 the father of the subject came to Mariposa township. Jasper county,
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
and bought eighty acres in section 24, and in 1870 he moved on his farm here, building the house that is still standing here. The farm was all raw prairie and a great deal of hard work was required to reclaim it from the wild and place it under profitable cultivation, but he was a man inured to hard work and in overcoming all manner of obstacles, so he set to work with a will and eventually had a good farm and a comfortable home.
August Miller, Sr., was a Republican in politics and he was baptized and reared in the Lutheran church, to which faith he ever adhered tenaciously. His family consisted of three sons and four daughters, named in order of birth as follows: Mrs. Amelia Miller, Mrs. Lillie Catron, Mrs. Minnie Infield, Daisy (died when thirteen years of age), Will (living at Deadwood, South Dakota), John (living at Hamilton, Missouri), Louis (deceased). August Galen, of this review, who is the fifth child of this family.
The subject grew up on the farm and when but a boy he was put to work in the fields, finding time, however, to attend school in the Barrett dis- trict. When twenty-one years of age he started to work out by the month, following this course for three years until he got a start, then, in 1894, he purchased forty acres in section 23, Mariposa township, and in 1897 he pur- chased the home place of eighty acres. He has met with encouraging success all the while as a general farmer and stock raiser, and he has become widely known as a raiser of registered shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. Owing to the recognized superiority of his fine stock they are greatly admired by all who see them and they find a very ready market at fancy prices when offered for sale. It would be hard to find a better judge of live stock than Mr. Miller, and he understands all the modern ways of properly caring for his herds so as to get the best results through the minimum amount of labor and cost. He has a comfortable, substantial home and convenient outbuild- ings and his place is kept well improved.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Miller has ably served his community as . township trustee and road supervisor.
On November 10, 1903, occurred the marriage of August G. Miller and Laura Belle Speas. The latter was born in Marshall county, Iowa, Septem- ber 20, 1877. and there she was reared and educated in the common schools. She is the daughter of Nathaniel and Mary ( Hilsebeck) Speas, early set- tlers of Marshall county and well known citizens there, in fact, the Speas and Hilsebeck families have been prominent in Marshall county for several generations. Elias Hilsebeck, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Miller, set- tled in that county as early as 1848.
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
The death of August Miller, Sr., father of the subject, occurred on April 16, 1880, after a successful and busy life. His widow, a woman of strong characteristics, is still living, making her home in Kellogg township, this county. She is now advanced in years, having survived her husband nearly thirty-two years.
Six children have been born to August G. Miller and wife, named in order of birth as follows: Floyd, born August 10, 1904, survived only ten days, dying on August 20th of the same year ; Morris was born on August 20, 1905; Marian, born February 3, 1906, died August 20th of the same year ; Florence, born April 23, 1907, died March 24, 1908; August Virgil, born May 13, 1908; Oliver Vernon, born June 13, 1910.
Mr. Miller is known to be a careful business man, broad-minded, genial and a man who appreciates a good joke. He is a man of positive ideas and advocates cleanliness in both public and social life.
CHRISTOPH HASSELBRINK.
One of the German-born citizens, a native of Barkow-by-Godems, Meck- lenburg-Schwerin, who has won success as a farmer and stock raiser solely through individual enterprise and courage is Christoph Hassselbrink, a man whom any community would delight to have in its midst, for he is not only progressive in material things, but has proven himself to be law-abiding and honorable in his relations with his fellowmen.
Mr. Hasselbrink was born in Germany on July 26, 1861. He is the son of Henry Christian Hasselbrink and Henrietta (Jabb) Hasselbrink, both born and reared in the fatherland, the father dying there October 26, 1892, and the mother died in 1909, in Jasper county, Iowa. The father worked principally as a day laborer. Their family consisted of five sons and one daughter. Christoph, of this sketch, being the fourth in order of birth.
The subject grew up in his native land and there received such education as the community in which he lived afforded and he worked on the farm in crop seasons. He emigrated alone to the United States in 1883. locating at Des Moines, Iowa, but soon afterwards went to work on a farm near that city, remaining there for a period of fourteen years, during which time he saved his money and got a start in the world. He then went to Texas and became a railroad laborer for different roads, working at construction work and on section for three years. In 1888 he came to Kellogg, Jasper county,
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
Iowa, to make his future home. Here he was employed by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad for seven years at construction work and on the section, becoming an expert in this work. Then, in 1895, turning his attention to farming, he rented a farm for two years, then moved to Marshall county and lived on rented farms until 1908, then began renting the C. W. Craven farm in Mariposa township, Jasper county. In the spring of 1911 he purchased one hundred and forty acres on the north boundary of Mariposa township, known as the old Christ Freese farm, and he moved to his perma- nent home March 1, 1912.
Politically, Mr. Hasselbrink is a Democrat and he was reared a Lutheran.
Mr. Hasselbrink was married on January 30, 1889, to Amelia Schultz, who was born in Germany on October 26, 1861, the daughter of John and Kathrina (Detloff) Schultz, who came from Germany to Kellogg, Iowa, in the year 1880. To the subject and wife have been born eight children, named as follows: Carl, William, Albert, Amelia, Elsie, Hugo, Lela and Louis. By a former marriage Mrs. Hasselbrink became the mother of two children who are living at home, John and Andrew Lunt.
WILLIAM BOND.
One of the best known and most highly respected men of a past generation in Mound Prairie township, Jasper county, was William M. Bond, who, after a life of usefulness and honor, having "fought the good fight" of St. Paul, the apostle, has closed his eyes on earthly scenes and become a part of that larger existence "beyond the utmost bounds of time," but his influence still lives. He took no small part in the work in transforming this locality from a wild prairie and the log cabin days to the present magnificent prosperity.
Mr. Bond was born in Schenectady county, New York, November 12, 1817. He is the son of Richard and Eva (Smith) Bond, natives of the state of New York, to which state the grandfather of the subject came from Eng- land before the Revolutionary war and there he married a German woman. In a very early day Richard Bond came to Wisconsin and there spent the rest of his life.
William Bond came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1840 and located in Jefferson county, and there the subject became the owner of eighty acres which he farmed many years. In 1866 he emigrated to Jasper county, Iowa, driving a team of oxen to an old fashioned wagon in which he brought his
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
family. He bought sixty acres, later buying forty more, all in Mound Prairie ยท township. This he improved and became very well established through hard work and good management. In the early days he kept a large herd of feed- ing cattle on the open prairie. He erected all the buildings on his place and set out every tree on the same. He was an influential man in the community and took an active part in public affairs, being an ardent Republican. In religious matters he was a Spiritualist.
Mr. Bond was married on July 13, 1847, to Melissa Boynton, who was born March 30, 1826, in Canada. She is the daughter of James Boynton, an early settler in Wisconsin. This was the subject's second marriage, his first wife having died early. Mrs. Melissa Bond is still living on the homestead here, being now eighty-six years of age, but is well preserved for her age. Like her husband before her, she enjoys the friendship of a wide circle of acquaintances. The death of William Bond occurred on May 8, 1895.
Mr. Bond and his first wife were the parents of two children, Richard, now deceased, and Mrs. Sarah J. Kees. By his second wife three children were born, namely : Samuel W. lives in Santa Cruz, California : Harriet and Mrs. Ella May Decker.
HERMAN H. JENSEN.
Another of the representative young farmers of Sherman township, Jasper county, is Herman H. Jensen, living on an excellent farmstead which he manages in a manner that stamps him as fully abreast of the times in matters pertaining to husbandry, and he is carrying on the various depart- ments of his enterprise with that discretion and diligence that insure success.
Mr. Jensen was born in the locality where he still lives on September 22, 1875. He is the son of Henry and Carolina (Schmidt) Jensen, the father born in Germany in October, 1849, and the mother's birth occurred in Scott county, Iowa, in 1856. Henry Jensen grew up and was educated in Germany and when nineteen years of age he emigrated to the United States and located in Davenport, Iowa, landing there without a dollar, and for several years he worked near there by the month and there he was married. In March, 1875, he moved to Sherman township, Jasper county, and bought one hundred and eighty acres. He went to work with a will, managed well and consequently prospered and now he owns four hundred and twenty acres, still residing on the home place. His wife died some time ago. Politically, he is a Re- publican. He has served his district as school director. Since 1896 he has
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
been a member of the Lutheran church. His family consists of the follow- ing children: William is living in Sherman township; Herman H., of this review ; Mrs. Meta Iske, Louie, Hulda is deceased.
Herman H. Jensen grew up on the home farm and helped develop the same, attending the district schools in Sherinan township, and he remained at home until he reached maturity, then began renting land of his father, of whom he yet rents one hundred and sixty acres. This he has kept well im- proved. Politically, he is a Republican and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He has been school director and township clerk.
Mr. Jensen was married on December 18, 1901, to Lena L. Reckler, who was born in Newton township, this county, the daughter of Frederick H. Reckler, an early settler from Germany. This union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Meta Marie; Ora Bell; the third in order of birth died in infancy; Henry F. is the youngest.
Besides farming, Mr. Jensen is interested in the Jasper County Tele- phone Company.
MARGARET I. GATES.
The lady whose name introduces this sketch is the widow of Sumner E. Gates, and lives upon her farm, which is located on sections 23, 25 and 26, in Newton township. It is a fine old home, about one-half mile east of the city limits of Newton, comprising four hundred and fifty acres of land.
Margaret I. Gates is a native of Jasper county, Iowa, having been born November 13, 1856, in Newton township, the daughter of Cobane and Sarah J. (Read) McConkey. Her father was born in Hopedale, Harrison county. Ohio, and the mother in Guernsey county, Ohio. The family came west and set- tled in Scott county, Iowa, in 1853, where Mr. McConkey engaged in farming for a couple of years. At the expiration of that time he came to Jasper county, and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Newton town- ship. At the time of his death, which occurred in 1896, at the age of seventy- four years, he was retired and living in Newton. Mrs. McConkey, who is now seventy-five years of age, lives with her daughter, the subject of this sketch. The fathers of both Mrs. Gates' parents, Samuel M. McConkey and John Read, served in the war of 1812. She is one of eight children, of whom she is the eldest, the others being as follows: Jane, wife of Frank Graham, died in Jasper county ; Alice, wife of John Munn, a farmer, living in Newton township: Edward died at the age of seventeen; Mary died at the age of
LE Gales
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nineteen; Lillie, who became the wife of Bert Beatty, lives on a farm in Newton township; Charles is a carpenter in Newton; William died at the age of twenty-nine.
On December 22, 1875, was solemnized the marriage of Margaret McCon- key and Sumner E. Gates, the son of E. N. and Sarah (Cunningham) Gates, natives of Vermont. E. N. Gates was provost marshal at Newton during the Civil war, and was a lawyer of renown. He began his practice at Ash- land, Ohio, but later removed to Genesee, Illinois, where he continued the practice of law until 1854, at which time he came to Newton. He was one of Newton's most prominent lawyers until his death, which occurred Decem- ber 12, 1882, at the age of sixty-six. At that time he was the owner of the place where Mrs. Gates now lives, and after his death Sumner Gates purchased the interest of the other heirs, and when his death occurred it passed into the hands of his widow, the subject of this sketch.
There were six children born to Judge Gates and his wife, three of whom grew to maturity : Sumner E .; Alvin C., a prominent manufacturer of New- ton; and Loren, formerly in the shoe business in Newton, but now in Kansas City, Missouri.
Sumner E. Gates was born May 20, 1848, in Ashland county, Ohio, and died in Newton, Jasper county, Iowa, on August 4, 1900. He came to Iowa with his parents in 1854. At the time of his marriage he owned three hundred and twenty acres of land in Kellogg township, and at the time of his death he had increased his holdings of real estate until he owned eighteen hundred acres of land in Kellogg township, which was sold in 1909. He was a man of great force of character, of good judgment and possessed of a fine public spirit. He was broad minded and had a host of friends. He was engaged extensively in stock raising, and was one of the progressive farmers and up-to-date citizens of his community. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church at Newton.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gates were born five children. namely: Simon, born March 3, 1877, married Georgia Randolph, lives in Newton, engaged in the ice business ; Edith, born February 17. 1879, is the wife of Thomas Buchanan, and lives on a farm in Newton township; Golda died at the age of two years; Estes, born June 6, 1889, married Bessie McQuislon and lives at home with his mother : Glen, born December 31, 1890, lives at home ; she is a graduate of the Newton high school and is also an accomplished musician. Both of the sons are prominent members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. having attained the highest honors of the order.
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