USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 13
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south half of the southwest quarter of section 14, in Allison township, and the north half of the northwest quarter of section 23. in this township, for which he paid thirty dollars an acre, and this land is now worth easily one hundred and twenty dollars an acre. He has put many improvements on the land in the way of buildings, fences and drainage, and his farm today pre- sents a very attractive appearance. He continued to reside on this farm until 1907, when he moved to Sibley to take the office of county recorder, to which he had been elected in the fall of 1906. So popular was his administration of the duties of this important office that he was re-elected in 1908, 1910 and 1912. Previous to moving to the county seat he had served in his home town- ship as trustee and school treasurer.
Mr. Metz was married in 1877 to Lucy Waters, the daughter of Daniel Waters, an early settler of Black Hawk county, Iowa. Daniel Waters was a native of Pennsylvania, and came to Linn county, Iowa, in 1855, and per- manently settled in Black Hawk county in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Metz are the parents of three children : Mrs. Eva M. Strayer, who lives in Ocheyedan. has one daughter. Neva ; A. C., a grain buyer of Underwood, North Dakota, who is married and has one daughter, Lucy Elnora, and R. J., a livery man of Underwood. North Dakota.
Politically, Mr. Metz is a stanch Republican and has been honored by his party on numerous occasions and it is needless to say that he has well merited the confidence which has been reposed in him by his party, as well as the citizens of the county. He and his wife are both members of the Brethren church, but attend the Methodist Episcopal church at Sibley. He is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Mr. Metz has proven one of the most popular and efficient county officials which the county has ever had. He is courteous in his dealings with the citizens of the county, and. being a man of intelligence, he is able to serve them in a very efficient manner. -
WILLIAM W. TURNBULL.
One of the residents of Sibley, Iowa, who has had an interesting career is William W. Turnbull, a prominent real estate dealer of the county seat. He has been identified with the history of this county for more than twenty- five years, and in that time has made his impress upon the community. Be- ginning the battle of life at the age of eleven, he has never ceased his efforts and today is reaping the results of his many years of hard work.
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William W. Turnbull, the son of John and Margaret ( Davidson) Turn- bull, was born in Brushland, Delaware county, New York, October 7, 1852. His parents were both natives of New York, and his father died in that state in 1857, while his mother died in Sibley, Iowa, in April. 1892.
Shortly after the death of his father, W. W. Turnbull started to school. but when he was eleven years of age he felt that he had to get out and help support his mother. Consequently, he hired out to a farmer for six months at eleven dollars a month. As he grew older he was able to command better wages, and before he was fourteen years of age was working in the tan-bark forests of Pennsylvania and doing the heaviest kinds of farm labor. A stray circular fell into his hands one day when he was fourteen years of age and changed his whole career. This innocent advertisement was from Lowell Com- mercial College, of Binghamton, New York, and the youth read it through eagerly. He got the idea that he could work his way through college and im- mediately wrote to the president of the college for information. President Lowell told him to come to Binghamton and upon his arrival there he was warmly received by the president. He had one hundred dollars saved and with this and the work which he was able to get to do in Binghamton he suc- ceeded in staying in college until he graduated. He received his tuition and board for keeping the college rooms clean and soon after graduation came west, where he felt there were opportunities for a young man.
Mr. Turnbull was only seventeen years of age when he and his mother came to lowa from New York and settled in Traer. Tama county, where he engaged in farming and incidentally learned the trade of a mason. For the next six years he followed the mason's trade, and in 1878 returned to New York and married Belle J. Winter. His marriage occurred December 26, 1878, and he immediately brought his young bride to Tama county, this state, to live. In 1882 he moved to Sibley, where he followed his trade as a mason until 1891. Since that time he has been engaged in the real estate business, handling Minnesota lands especially. He has sold thousands of acres on commission, as well as much land on his own account. He has made good in the best sense of the term and is recognized as one of the leading and substantial citizens of Sibley.
Mr. and Mrs. Turnbull are the parents of six children: Mrs. Bertha M. Worrell, deputy postmistress of Sibley ; A. C., who is a railroad conductor at St. James, Minnesota ; Mrs. Mable E. Regan, whose husband is a salesman at Sibley; John H., deputy postmaster at Sibley for six years, and now assist- ant county surveyor and superintendent of public construction ; Will P., who
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is also a salesman of Sibley, and Viola M., who is in the Gazette printing office of Sibley.
Mr. Turnbull has always been a Republican in politics and has been a great student of the issues of the day. He has never been a seeker for polit- ical office, although he held the office of township clerk and town clerk while living in Tama county. He and his family are loyal members of the Congre- gational church and contribute liberally to its support. Mr. Turnbull is a great reader and student and keeps fully abreast of the times. He is a man of essentially domestic tastes and is never as happy as when by his own fire- side, surrounded by his family and with good books to while away his idle hours. He has always taken an active interest in every enterprise which miglit benefit his city and has always thrown his influence in favor of good government.
CHARLES E. FOOTE.
The Foote family, of which Charles E. Foote is a member, trace their ancestry back to Nathaniel Foote, of Colchester. England, who came to Watertown, Massachusetts, about 1630. Rodger Foote, the grandfather of Charles E., came from Connecticut to Ohio in about 1820 and settled in Ashtabula county. He reared seven sons and one daughter. among whom was Lauren B., the father of Charles E., whose history is here portrayed. Lauren B. Foote was born in 1802 and is a direct descendant of Nathaniel, who came to Massachusetts in 1630. Seven generations of the Foote family have been reared in America.
Charles E. Foote, of Sanborn, lowa, a railroad conductor on the Chi- cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad and a prominent business man of San- born. was born August 1. 1856, in Ashtabula county, Ohio. He was the son of Lauren B. and Cornelia M. ( Ballard ) Foote. Cornelia Ballard was born in New York in 1824 and was the second wife of Lauren B. Foote. Several members of the Foote family fought in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and also the Civil War. The mother of Henry Ward Beecher was a Foote and a distant relative of this family. None of the children by the first wife of Lauren B. Foote are living. Two of the sons by his first marriage. Irenus and Derrow, served throughout the Civil War. Irenus was in the Twenty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Derrow was in the Seventh Regiment of Kansas Cavalry. To the second marriage of Lauren B. Foote were born four children: Mrs. Ella VanLeuven, of Howard
CHARLES E. FOOTE
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county, lowa; Howard S .. who is superintendent of the Jefferson (Ohio) schools: Charles E., with whom this narrative deals, and Mrs. Abbie C. Metcalf, of Ashtabula, Ohio.
Charles E. Foote was educated in the Grand River Institute in Ohio. His brothers and sisters attend this school and receive instruction from J. B. Tuckerman. Charles E. started in life as a school teacher, teaching his first terin of school in the country in New Linn township, Ohio. at the age of eighteen. He then taught two more terms in small towns in Ohio and in the fall of 1875 came to lowa and taught the fall and winter in Howard county. In the spring he returned to Ohio and attended school for the next year. In the fall of 1877 he returned to Howard county, Iowa, and taught until 1881. In 1881 Mr. Foote came to Sanborn. O'Brien county, and in the summer of 1881 taught four months and then taught the succeeding year in Sanborn. He was the first principal of the new school house which was opened for the first time in 1881. He then engaged in the real estate business for two years with Harley Day. In 1883 he became a brakeman on the Chi- cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway west of Sanborn and the year following became a freight conductor, being promoted after being in the service one year, two months and eight days. He began running as an extra passenger conductor in 1889 and received his regular assignment as a passenger con- ductor in 1897. His regular run now is from Sanborn to McGregor. a dis- tance of two hundred and forty-three miles.
Mr. Foote has saved his earnings and invested them in property in San- born, built five houses in Sanborn and has done everything he could to encourage home building and the growth of the town generally. He is a member of the school board at the present time and takes a deep interest in the educational affairs of the town.
Mr. Foote was married in 1878 to Jennie L. Lick, of Lime Springs, Iowa, the daughter of A. and Helen (Van Leuven) Lick. early settlers of Howard county, Iowa. They were natives of Pennsylvania and New York states respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Foote are the parents of five children : Lorne A .. born in 1879, runs a dray line in Sanborn: Alfred K., born in 1881, is a conductor on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway: Helen C., who is at home : George V .. born in 1885, is a conductor on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, running out of Mitchell, South Dakota; Bernece C., who graduated at Oberlin, is married, her husband being in the employ of the government at Washington, D. C., where they live.
In his politics. Mr. Foote is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, (53)
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but, aside from his position on the school board, has never filled any public . positions in the county. The nature of his business keeps him from taking an active part in politics. Mr. Foote's parents were members of the Congre- gational church, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian society. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and belongs to the commandery at Cherokee. He also belongs to the Order of American Railway Conductors. Mr. Foote is recognized as a man of strong mentality and his several years of experience in the school room have made him a man who is deeply interested in the educational welfare of his community. In fact, he is interested in everything pertaining to the advancement of his com- munity along material, civic, educational and moral lines. He is a man who to know is to respect and admire because of his sterling qualities of character and upright life.
E. M. TAYLOR.
A man who boldly faces the responsibilities of life and by untiring energy wins for himself an honorable success, exerts a powerful influence upon the lives of those who follow him. To such men life is so real that they find no time to do other than follow the best guide in their career. Their lives are bound up in their every-day duties and their desire to appear well among their fellow citizens gives them that standing which distinguishes the good American citizen. The career of E. M. Taylor, whose life history is here presented, illustrates what can be accomplished by the man who adheres strictly to the line of duty which he marks out for himself.
E. M. Taylor, the son of Melvin B. and Emily A. (Hurlburt) Taylor, was born in November, 1865, in Hubbleton, Wisconsin. His par- ents were natives of Maine and Fort Jackson, New York, respectively. The Taylors are a family of colonial descent. Isaac P. Taylor, the great-grand- father of E. M. Taylor, was a maker of silk hats in England, while other ancestors of the family fought in the Revolutionary War. Melvin B. Taylor was a merchant and postmaster at Hubbleton at the time of his death in 1874. His widow came to Emmetsburg. Iowa, about 1880 with her sons, having previously lived at Winneconne and Oshkosh, Wisconsin. After her husband's death she operated a store and postoffice at Hubbleton for a short time and was engaged in the millinery business in Winneconne and Oshkosh. Upon coming to Emmetsburg, Iowa, her son, E. M., became an employee in one of the stores in that city.
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E. M. Taylor was educated in the schools of Hubbleton, Winneconne and Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and when his mother came to Emmetsburg, in this state, he was fifteen years of age. He worked in a store here for about one year and then farmed a year upon a farm in Lyon county. He also attended school for a time in Silbey, in Osceola county. In 1884 he became assistant postmaster at Sibley and served in that capacity for a year and a half, after which he went to Emmetsburg and clerked in a store until 1888 when he be- came a partner in the store. In 1889 he started a branch store under the name of Schlegel, Taylor & Company at Sibley. In 1892 he and Mr. Hinkley purchased Mr. Schlegel's interest and conducted the business under the name of Hinkley & Taylor. On January 1, 1903, Mr. Taylor purchased Mr. Hink- ley's interest and since that time has been the sole proprietor of the store. He carries an extensive line of clothing, shoes and men's outfitting at the present time. Previous to January, 1908, the store was a general department store. but at that time he sold the dry goods department. He and Mr. Hinkley established the first department store in Sibley. The store has modern fixtures and at the present time carries a stock averaging twenty-two thousand dollars. His business is now housed in a handsome brick building on Main street and Mr. Taylor has a full share of the patronage of Sibley and the surrounding community.
Mr. Taylor was married in 1890 to Emma E. Fenton. of Sibley, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Fenton. Mr. Fenton was one of the earliest pioneers of the county, having brought his family from eastern Iowa to Osceola county in a covered wagon in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are the parents of three children: Bernadena. a graduate from Grinnell College in June. 1914: Melvin Fenton, the assistant postmaster at Sibley, and Ray- mond, who is still in school. Mrs. Taylor is a woman of culture and refine- ment and takes a prominent part in the club life of her city. She is a member of the Eastern Star and was worthy matron of the Sibley Chapter in 1912. She and her husband have a fine modern home with all of the latest con- veniences. It was one of the first modern homes to be erected in the city.
Polictically, Mr. Taylor is a member of the Republican party and has always been actively interested in the civic affairs of his city. For six years he was a member of the school board and for sixteen years a member of the city council. He and his family are loyal members of the Congregational church and contribute liberally of their means to its support. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and has attained to the degree of the Royal Arch and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have
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a wide acquaintance in the city and surrounding community and their many friends admire them for their good qualities of mind and heart. They have reared their children to lives of usefulness and honor and are now seeing them take their places in society in a way which will do them credit and re- flect honor upon their parents.
CHARLES W. BRIGGS.
Among the progressive men of Sutherland, O'Brien county, Iowa, who have long been identified with the interests of the city, is Charles W. Briggs. the present postmaster of the city. As a public official in his home township. and as a business man in Sutherland, he has shown rare business ability. public spirit and unquestioned integrity. He is essentially a man of the peo- ple, broadminded. faithful and possessing an equipoise of attributes that stamp him as a natural leader among his fellow citizens. He is a fine type of the self-made man, and during a long and busy career has never swerved from the path of duty as he saw it.
Charles W. Briggs, the present postmaster of Sutherland, Iowa, was born in Grant county, Wisconsin. in 1852, the son of Edmond L. and Caro- line ( Cranston) Briggs. Edmond L. Briggs was born in the state of New York in 1830, and when a young man he left the state and settled in Wis- consin. After farming for a few years in that state, he moved to South Dakota, where he followed the vocation of a farmer for twelve years. He then retired and came to Sutherland, lowa, where he remained with his children until his death in 1905. Caroline Cranston was born in Ohio. Edmond L. Briggs and wife were the parents of seven children : James C .. who lives in Sutherland; Charles W .. of this sketch; Waldo, a resident of Sutherland: Mrs. Earla Waterhouse, of this county; Edward, of South Dakota: Mrs. Edna Chesley, of Sutherland, whose husband is deceased : Mrs. Nort AAnderson, who lives in South Dakota.
Charles W. Briggs received a good common school education and also attended the academy at Patch Grove, Wisconsin. After finishing his educa- tion a: the age of twenty he rented a farm in Wisconsin and lived on it for four years In 1876 he went to California and worked as a farm hand and the following year returned to Wisconsin, where he remained until 1882. when he came to O'Brien county, Iowa, and opened the first drug store in
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Sutherland After operating this store for four years he sold it and moved to western Nebraska, where he remained for five years. In 1890 he returned to Sutherland and has lived in this city continuously since that time. For the first three years after his return he engaged in the buying and selling of grain and later bought stock for H. A. Peck, in which business he was engaged for a period of thirteen years. In 1907 he was appointed post- master of Sutherland, a position which he is still holding.
Mr. Briggs was married in 1884 to Rachel Townsend, who was a na- tive of the state of Illinois, and to this union there have been born eight children : Mrs. Alta M. Schultz, of Sutherland. a graduate of the Suther- land high school and Cornell College of Music at Mt. Vernon, Iowa : Edmond C., a graduate of the Sutherland high school and now assistant cashier of the First Savings Bank, of Sutherland: Arthur T., also a graduate of the high school of Sutherland and now a jeweler at Lemmon, South Dakota : Paul B., a salesman in a clothing store at Sutherland: Ruth A., who is now attending the Morningside College at Sioux City, Iowa : Donald J., Bernice and Majorie, the last three named children being still at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are justly proud of their children, to whom they have given every educational advantage, as they feel that there is no better asset for the young people of this day and age of the world than a good education, and for this reason they have placed every possible advan- tage before them, and it is indeed gratifying to the parents to see that their children have taken advantage of their opportunities and are now in a fair way to make successful careers for themselves in the world.
Mr. Briggs is a Republican in his political belief and always takes an active interest in public affairs. He was an assessor in his home township for several years and has been school treasurer of Sutherland and was also one of the first town councilmen of the city. In all his public activities he has so administered his duties as to gain the commendation of his fellow citizens. He and his family are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church and subscribe liberally to its support. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellow's and the Modern Woodmen of America, and takes a personal interest in the affairs of these fraternal organizations. Mr. Briggs has lived a busy and useful life, and his life history has been a career of unswerving integrity. indefatigable industry and wholesome home and social living. a most com- mendable career crowned with success. The best citizen is he who con- tributes his share to the commonwealth in the way of service and rears a
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family to lives of usefulness and honor. In both respects Mr. Briggs has done his full share as the true American citizen and for this reason is well worthy of mention in a biographical volume of the character of the one in hand.
CORNELIUS VEDDER VAN EPPS.
This land of ours owes a debt of gratitude to the stalwart and hardy Furopean races whose sons have come in large numbers, especially during the past half century, where there was a crying need of fearless men to assist in the work of winning and developing the Western states from their primi tive willness. The people of Germany have formed a large contingent and have ever been most welcome owing to their willingness to give their best efforts to this work, being, almost without exception, industrious and law- abiding, willing to upbuild and support our institutions and, while holding in grateful remembrance the native land, yet at the same time cherishing the Stars and Stripes. In their ranks were numbered Cornelius Vedder Var: Epps, one of Sheldon's best known business men and one of O'Brien county's highly respected citizens.
Cornelius Vedder Van Epps, the son of Charles and Angelica (Vedder Van Epps, was born September 16, 1837, in Albany county, New York. The Van Epps family trace their ancestry directly back to the old Dutch families who came over to this country in the earliest of the colonial times In 1620 Dirk Van Epen left Delfthaven, Holland, and came to this country where he settled on the Mohawk river, in what is now Schuylkill county, New York. Later he settled in Beaverwyck, now New Albany, New York. About this time the name appeared to have been changed from Van Epen to Var Eps. This Dirk Van Epen, who came to this country in 1620, is separated by six generations from the Van Epps whose history is here related. The direct descendants from Dirk Van Epen to Cornelius Vedder Van Epps are as follows: Jan or Johannes, the son of Dirk, was one of the first settlers of Schenectady; his son. John Baptist, was taken captive in the "Massacre of Schenectady" on February 9, 1690: Johannes, the son of John Baptist. was born May 5. 1700; Jan Baptist. the son of Johannes, was born May 30. 1731 : Charles, the son of Jan Baptist, was born April 12, 1788. and married May 16, 1806. He was in the War of 1812 and hauled ammunition fron: Albany to Buffalo, in New York. He was twice married and his second wife, the mother of Cornelius Vedder Van Epps, whose history is herein
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recorded, was the mother of thirteen children: Charles Henry ; Mrs. Susan Eleanor Hildebrant ; Elias Vedder, a soldier in the Mexican War, who was born September 10, 1828, and died November 30, 1901; Albert C .; Agnes; Harnion V. : Cornelius Vedder ; Mary Angelica : William Henry Harrison ; Rebecca V .; Sarah ; Theodore; Sebastian.
In 1852 Cornelius V. Van Epps left New York with his parents and the family settled in Iowa near Davenport. They crossed the river on a horse ferry-boat, and settled in Scott county, there being only two families in the whole county at that time. They first moved on the LaGranger farm and in the fall of 1852 moved to a farm one mile south, where they spent the winter. Charles Van Epps died in Plesant Valley township, Scott county, and his widow died later in Davenport. In the fall of 1856 the family moved to Muscatine county, where they lived seventeen years.
Cornelius V. Van Epps enlisted in April, 1864, in Company A, Missis- sippi Marine Brigade, and saw service on the lower part of the Mississippi river. He participated in the battles of Coleman's Cross Roads, Old River Lake in Arkansas, where he was wounded in his right leg, which continued to bother him for several years and as a result his leg had to be amputated in 1888. After his return from the war, Mr. Van Epps was married, September 16, 1867, to Isabella McElroy, the daughter of James E. and Margaret (Jordan) McElroy, who were of Scotch-Irish and Irish Protestant ancestry, respectively. Mrs. Van Epps was born May 6, 1842, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and came with her parents to Muscatine county, Iowa, in 1855, where her father taught school for some time. Mr. McElroy died in1 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Van Epps are the parents of two children, Mrs. May Gifford, of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Ervin M., a barber and printer.
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