USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 26
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Henry J. Killmer was educated in his native land and when twenty- two years of age he decided to come to America and seek his fortune. Immediately after coming to this country he located in Benton county, Iowa, and farmed for two years. In 1885 he came to O'Brien county, lowa, and rented land. In 1911 he purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Omega township, where he is now living. In addition to his farm in Omega township he owns six lots in Moneta and is also a shareholder in the Farmers Elevator and Moneta Savings Bank. He is a large breed- er and raiser of live stock and makes a specialty of Shorthorn cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs and Norman horses. Since coming into possession of his pres- ent farm he has made two thousand dollars worth of improvements on the farm. Mr. Killmer is a progressive farmer and takes advantage of all the latest improvements in farming machinery and agricultural methods.
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Mr. Killmer was married August 13, 1888, to Bertha Hirch, and to this union have been born four children, Carl. Emma, Albert and George, all of whom are still living with their parents. Politically, Mr. Killmer is a Democrat and takes an interest in public affairs. He has been especially interested in the educational affairs of his township and has been for some years a school director in Omega township. He is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Yeomen, while in his religious belief he and the other members of his family are strong adherents of the German Lutheran church. He is a great believer in the work of the churches and has always donated to the churches of Hartley and Moneta. Mr. Killmer has been a hard working man since coming to this country, and has seen many hardships. During the winter of 1893 he hauled hay at a time when it was so cold that the air was so full of snow that he could not see his horses before him. However, he has persevered and now has the satisfaction of being able to look back over a life which has been well spent in every way. His clean and wholesome way of living and the frank and open manner in which he treats his fellow men has won him the un- qualified esteem of all of those with whom he has been associated.
DENISON C. PUTNAM.
A retired farmer of Hartley, O'Brien county, Iowa, who, as a farmi- er in this county, laid by a sufficient quantity of this world's goods in order to spend his declining days in comfort, is Denison C. Putnam, who was born in 1847 in Phoenix. Oswego county, New York, the son of Will- jam and Mary (Crary) Putnam. William Putnam was born in Connecti- cut in 1812, and was a merchant in Phoenix, New York, for a number of years, operating the mercantile business in that place until 1864, when he came to Hardin county, Iowa, and engaged in the mercantile business there for a number of years. At that time all provisions had to be freighted over- land from Marshalltown, Iowa, a distance of twenty-seven miles. He finally disposed of his mercantile interests in Hardin county and engaged in the hotel business at Rockwell, Iowa, where he remained until his death, which occurred on January 8, 1876. William Putnam was twice married, his first marriage occurring in 1839 to Mary Crary, and to this union six children were born: Frances, the wife of O. A. Sutton, of South Dakota; Mrs. Eliza Names, deceased; two who died in infancy: Denison C., whose
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history is here presented, and Lewis, deceased. The second marriage of William Putnam occurred on February 28, 1853, to Martha L. Reynolds. and to this second union were born four children: Thomas, of North Da- kota: Mary. the wife of Doctor Miller of Brookings, South Dakota; Frank, who was killed in 1881 while helping to clear the snow blockade: Fred R., a banker of Morris, Minnesota.
Denison C. Putnam was a son of his father's first marriage and was only six years of age at the time of his father's second marriage. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-one years of age. during which time he received a good, common school education and learn- ed the rudiments of agricultural life. Shortly after reaching his majority he married and then rented land in Hardin county, Iowa, and began to follow the occupation of a farmer on his own account. He continued to farm in Hardin county until 1883, when he came to O'Brien county and pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land for six dollars and a quarter an acre. He improved and cultivated this land and lived on it many years. He always raised a great deal of live stock and was especially interested in the breeding and raising of Percheron horses, and at one time he was the winner of the second prize at the Sutherland fair. Sev- eral years ago Mr. Putnam sold his farm and invested his money in one hundred and twenty acres of land in Brookings county, South Dakota. In 1909 he came to Hartley, Iowa, built a livery barn and engaged in the livery business, and here conducted a prosperous livery business until 1908. when he permanently retired from active work. He has a home in Hart- ley, where he is now living.
Mr. Putnam was married in 1869 to Josephine Walker, who was born in 1847, in Pennsylvania, and to this marriage have been born nine chil- dren : William, deceased: Lewis, who is a farmer of this county; George, deceased : Mrs. Martha Harness, who lives in Minnesota: Edson, who is a carpenter in Hartley. Iowa : Mrs. Addie McDonald, also of Hartley ; Thomas, deceased : Frank, who is a dealer in horses, of Hartley, and Glenn, deceased.
The Republican party has received the support of Mr. Putnam for many years and he has been honored by his party on several occasions by being elected to public office. For nine years he served as a constable in his township and at different periods in the history of his township he has been school director and road overseer. Religiously, he and his family are members of the Church of God, of Omega township, this county. and give their earnest and hearty support to this denomination. Frater- nally. he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Hartley.
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He is always in sympathy with any movement looking toward the better- ment and advancement of his community and has always been regarded as a man of sterling honesty and worthy of the utmost confidence and respect.
CHARLIE CLARKSEAN.
Among the enterprising citizens of O'Brien county who owe their suc- cess and advancement in life to their own industry and well directed efforts is Charlie Clarksean. He hails from New York state, but has spent the greater part of his active and successful life in lowa, where, by his individ- ual and unaided efforts, he has made a success of his chosen calling and has won the respect of all with whom he has had dealings in either a busi- ness or a social way.
Mr. Clarksean was born in New York state in 1858 and is the son of Fred and Sophia ( Bowman). Clarksean, both of whom were born in Ger- many, the father in 1827. His father was for many years a shepherd in the land of his nativity, but located in New York in 1857, where he worked in the lumber camps for several years. Later he removed to Wisconsin and engaged in farming, in which he spent the remainder of his active life. He retired a few years ago and now makes his home with his son. August, in Wisconsin.
The subject left the parental roof in 1873, when but fifteen years of age. and worked out as a farm hand for several years. In 1884 he and his brother. Fred. bought one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land. To- gether they began the arduous task of improving and stocking their new possession, planting trees, a grove and generally creating a home-like at- mosphere about the place. The original farm has been increased until he now owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres of land, and there are many improvements on it amounting to a value of seven thousand dollars. Like many other progressive farmers in his neighborhood, he has no place on his farm for scrub stock, but gives his attention to the breeding and raising of grades and pure bloods. He also has stock in the Moneta Ele- vator. a company whose stock is largely subscribed to by the farmers of that vicinity.
In 1886 Mr. Clarksean was united in marriage to Mary Rietzow. This union has been strengthened by the birth of four children, of whom two.
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Walter and Bernhart, are engaged in agricultural pursuits in O'Brien county ; the other two, Ray and Esther, are at home with their parents.
Mr. Clarksean has three brothers and two sisters: Fred, with whom the subject first began farming, lives in Montana; William and Elmer, in South Dakota, and August, in Wisconsin; Anna (Heiter) lives in Wis- consin, and Mary (Sauter) lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. Clarksean is a Republican in politics, but he has never aspired to office, preferring the quietness of his farm home to the glamour of political activity. He is a modest, unassuming gentleman, respected by all who know him, and that includes almost every one in Omega township.
Since 1884 Mr. Clarksean has been on the farm which continues to be his home. He has made nearly all of the improvements on the farm, and he carries on a general farming business, having devoted his life to this line of usefulness. His farm home is one of the modern residences for which this part of the state is notable.
NICHOLAS BOOR.
In this memoir of the life of the late Nicholas Boor, who is now 111111- bered with the honored dead, those who knew him best cannot help but recall his numerous kindly acts, his charitable and public-spirited deeds. Coming to Osceola county in its early history, he became one of the worthy and honored men of the county and filled a large place in the life of the com- munity in which he lived for so many years. For this reason it seems emi- nently fitting that this tribute be here recorded that coming generations may know the worth of such a man.
Nicholas Boor was born in August, 1845, in Prussia and died in Ash- ton, Osceola county, Iowa, February 5, 1897. He came to this country with his parents when he was twelve years of age and settled in Kenosha county, Wisconsin. In 1871 he. together with two of his friends, John Streit and William Schultz, came to Osceola county, Iowa, and homesteaded in section 4. Gilman township. After building a small house on this tract, Mr. Boor returned to Wisconsin, where he was married to Eva Streit, and in the spring of 1873 he came with his young wife to Osceola county, where they lived until his death. He resided on the farm which he homesteaded until 1881, when the family moved to Ashton, where Mr. Boor engaged in the lumber and grain business until his death. He was highly successful as a business
NICHOLAS BOOR
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man and was widely respected by everyone who had any dealings with him. He took an active interest in public affairs and served nine years as super- visor of Osceola county. He always took an active part in the Republican party, and was considered one of its leaders in the county. He was a firm believer in the possibilities of land in Osceola county and invested heavily during his business career in Ashton. At the time of his death he was the owner of twelve hundred acres of land in the county. His widow still owns four farms. aggregating seven hundred acres, besides the finest modern home in Ashton.
Nicholas Boor was married in 1872 to Eva Streit, who was born in Prussia on June 13, 1853. Her parents, Michael and Helena (Strout ) Streit, left their native land and settled in Kenosha county, Wisconsin. in 1857. They came to Osceola county, Iowa, in the fall of 1873, the same year in which the Boor family permanently settled in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Boor were the parents of ten children: Reinold J .. Mathias J., Katherine E .. Helena M., John L. (deceased February 14, 1907). Charles S., Frederick T., Anna V., Anthony L. and Francis M. Reinold J. is married and has five children, Martin, Hilda, Vincent, Marie and Bertha. and resides at Ashton, this county: Mathias J. also lives in Ashton, and he and his wife had two sons. Donald and Mark, the mother dying September 2. 1903 : Katherine E. married a Mr. Hubbard, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, and has five children, Eva. Helen. Marcella. Jack and Alice; Helena M. married Mr. Osweiler, of Lewistown, Montana, and has two children living, Paul and Helen : Charles S. Boor is living in Lewistown. Montana, while the other children are still living with their mother in Ashton.
WILLIAM BYRON ELLIOTT.
The history of the Hawkeye state is not an ancient one, in fact, there are many settlers living in Iowa today who are older than their state. William B. Elliott, whose history forms the theme of this narrative, was only one year of age when Iowa was admitted to the Union, in 1846. The history of Iowa from December 28, 1846, when it was admitted to the Union, down to the present time, is a record of steady growth of the community, planted upon the wide, treeless and trackless plains of the prairie beyond the Mississippi. From the twenty-seven counties which were in existence in
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1846. it has grown to ninety-nine counties, with a population that has increased about as rapidly as any state in the Union. This history of this state is but a record of the things which have been done by its people. Every nation of Europe has contributed of its best citizens that Iowa might attain its present position of honor among its sister states. From Norway and Sweden on the north, to Italy and Greece on the south, from Ireland on the west, to Russia on the east, have come men who have labored for the common good of their state. The little island of Ireland has contributed some of the sturdiest citizens to this state and among them William Byron Elliott is an honorable descendant.
William B. Elliott, a retired farmer and stockman of Hartley, O'Brien county, lowa. was born in Canada in 1847. He is the son of Jeremiah and Rebecca ( Bothwell) Elliott. His father was born in Ireland in 1816, where he lived the life of the simple farmer until his death. He and his good wife reared a large family of children to lives of usefulness: John. a farmer of Saskatchewan, Canada; Alexander, deceased; Samuel, a rail- road employee of British Columbia, Canada: Jane, of Saskatchewan, Cana- da : Jeremiah and Ralph, deceased and buried in Canada; Mrs. Elizabeth Waters, of Waterloo, Iowa; Richard, who is farming the old home place in Canada : Mrs. Mildred McLarion, of British Columbia, Canada; Trotter, deceased and buried in Mexico, and William B., with whom this narrative deals.
William B. Elliott received his education in the schools of Canada and worked with his father on the farm until he was eighteen years of age then left home and started to seek his fortune in the western states of this county. He roamed around in different parts of the Mississippi valley and finally settled in Grundy county, Iowa, in 1867. Here he secured em- ployment as a farm hand and worked for the next nine years. He then purchased eighty acres of land with his savings and lived on it until 1892. then sold it at a good profit, putting all of his possessions in a covered wagon and drove across the country to O'Brien county. Here he purchased two hundred and forty acres of prairie land in Lincoln township, and be- gan to make extensive improvements on the farm in order to make it yield better returns. He has been an extensive raiser and breeder of high class stock, including Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. A few years ago he retired from active farm life and moved to Hartley, where he now owns four acres of land and a residence in the western part of the town. He confines his activities in town to the breeding of White Wyan- dotte chickens.
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Mr. Elliott was married in 1887, in Hampton, Iowa, to Margaret Dor- cas Hyndman, a native of Canada, and to this marriage have been born five children : Bryant, deceased ; Mrs. Anna Smith, of Hartley, Iowa; Mrs. Edna Huston, whose husband is a farmer of O'Brien county; George, a farmer of South Dakota, and Jermina, of South Dakota.
Since reaching his majority, Mr. Elliott has been casting his vote for the candidates of the Republican party and in the affairs of his party he has taken an active interest. He has been honored by his party by being elected township trustee as well as being made a member of the school board of Lincoln township. He and his family are earnest members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. to which they contribute generously of their means. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active interest in the affairs of that fraternal organization.
GEORGE E. RECTOR.
The history of O'Brien county is a history of the men who have made it what it is today. There are leaders in every community who force to the front in their respective professions and set the pace for the quiet plod- ders who have not the native ability or the energy themselves. It has been estimated that in a town of two thousand there are at least two hundred different occupations represented. It is impossible to say which one is the most important, since everyone contributes its share to the success of the community. Among the men of Hartley who have contributed in their way to the success of this community there is no one who is more deserving of mention than George E. Rector, a cement contractor. He is interested in the construction of anything which is made out of cement.
George E. Rector was born in 1853 in Delaware county, Iowa, and is the son of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth ( Walsmith ) Rector. Andrew J. Rector was born November 26, 1823, in Rowan county, North Carolina, and when a young man settled in the southern part of Indiana. A few years later he went to South Bend, Indiana, where he farmed and worked by the day. In 1849 he came to Delaware county, lowa, and was one of the earliest pioneers to settle here. He pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of government land and in the course of time became a prosperous farmer and stock raiser. He took an active interest in all public affairs and was a man of considerable influence throughout the county. He died Janu-
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ary 7, 1904. He was married December 22, 1846, to Elizabeth Wals- mith and to this union were born six children: John, deceased; Mrs. Delia Sargent, of Independence, Iowa; Mrs. Sarah Warnick, of Wayne, Nebraska: Martha Trewin, deceased : Mary, deceased, and George E., whose history is here briefly delineated.
George E. Rector remained with his parents until twenty-three years of age, was given an excellent education in the common schools of Iowa and later attended the college at Hopkinton, Iowa. In 1876 he went to Sac county, Iowa, and farmed during the summer and taught school during the winter. His excellent education made him a good teacher, and he taught school for five years in Delaware and Sac counties with marked success. During the year 1877 he, with a party of three others, including J. E, Wheelock, the present postmaster of Hartley, Iowa. started with a mule team from Delaware county, Iowa. for the Black Hills of South Dako- ta. They went to prospect and carried a large amount of provisions. Only one could ride at a time, so they took turns at riding. From South Da- kota the party went on west to Montana. However, the prospecting trip did not produce any returns from the investment. Mr. Rector returned to Sac county, sold his farm and for a time engaged in the cattle busi- ness. He bought one hundred and sixty acres in Sac county, again, and lived on it for five years. He then moved to South Dakota, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres and farmed it for eight years. He had the unfortunate experience of living through the terrible blizzard of 1887. In 1895 he came to Hartley, O'Brien county, and engaged in the produce business, buying butter and eggs. Later he traded his South Dakota land for a shoe store in Hartley and for three years managed the shoe store, but still continued the produce business. He then traded his building and business for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Osceola county. Iowa, and within a short time he traded his farm in Osceola for a business building in Hartley, the present site of the Earl Miller Drug Com- pany. A few years ago he sold that building and is now a cement contrac- tor. doing a large amount of work in Hartley and the surrounding country. He owns his home in Hartley and is one of the most influential men of the town.
Mr. Rector was married in 1882 in Delaware county, lowa, to Eleanor Hebron and to this marriage have been born two children: Mark, who died at the age of seventeen, and Mrs. Neva Knaack, of Rock county, Minne- sota. Politically, Mr. Rector is a Republican and as a member of his party has been elected to the county council of his county. Mr. Rector has
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been a busy man all of his life and has been engaged in many different enterprises, being a man of sterling honesty and uprightness of character. He is a man of pleasing personality and has a host of friends throughout the county.
LORENZ SCHUBERT.
From the land of the Kaiser some hundreds of O'Brien county's best citizens have come and the prosperity of this county is due in a large mea- sure to these enterprising sons of Germany. The success which has at- tended their efforts in this county has been the result of their early train- ing in their mother country, together with the natural fertility of the soil of this county and the many opportunities for investment. In this country every man may aspire to the head of his country; no matter what his birth or how poor the advantages in his youth, there is a chance for any man who is willing to work. Lorenz Schubert had little idea when he came here. at the age of twenty-one, that in the course of time he would be holding one of the responsible official positions of his community, but such has been his life in this county that he is today the efficient trustee of his town- ship.
Lorenz Schubert was born in Germany in 1864, the son of Lorenz and Mary (Ablass) Schubert. His father was born in 1829 and died in 1865. at the age of thirty-six. He was a prosperous farmer in his home country and one of his sons is still living on the old home farm in Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Schubert were born six children, all of whom were born in Germany: Jacob. who is farming the old home farm in the fatherland : Christopher, a farmer of Lyons county, Iowa; Mrs. Catherine Scherner, who lives in Ida county, this state: Hans, also of Ida county: Marie and Lorenz, Jr., whose life history forms the theme of this narrative.
Lorenz Schubert was educated in his native land and remained with his parents until he was eighteen years of age, then, as was the custom of his country, he served three years with the German army, and upon the expiration of his enlistment he decided to come to America to seek his fortune. He crossed the ocean in 1885 and immediately came to Ida county, Iowa, where he secured employment as a farm hand for four years. He then married and rented two hundred and forty acres of land in Ida county and lived on this tract until 1907. With the intention of purchasing a farm of his own. he and his wife saved their money and bought one hun-
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dred and sixty acres of land in Omega township, O'Brien county. Two years later they sold this farm, at a profit, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Omega township, in sections 12 and 13. This is one of the best and most valuable farms in the township and has a large eight- acre grove of fruit and forest trees upon it. He raises a large amount of stock in addition to the grains of this locality and is counted among the most progressive and substantial farmers of his township. He owns a share in the Co-operative Elevator in Moneta, Iowa, an enterprise which has been of great benefit to the farmers of that locality.
Mr. Schubert was married in 1889 to Anna Rice, and to this union have been born six children: Otto, of Minnesota; William; Albert; John : Mrs. Emma Gotch, who lives in this county, and Lillie. Albert, John and Lillie are still with their parents on the old home farm.
Politically. Mr. Schubert has identified himself with the Democratic party and, for a naturalized citizen, has taken a deep interest in political affairs. His worth as a citizen is shown by the fact that his party nomi- nated him for the office of township trustee, and his subsequent election to this office shows that he is highly regarded by the citizens of his town- ship. He is now filling this important office to the entire satisfaction of all the citizens of the township, irrespective of their politics. He and his family are earnest and devoted members of the German Lutheran church and are interested in its various activities. Mr. Schubert is one of the leading citizens of his township and enjoys, in a marked degree, the con- fidence and esteem of his neighbors and friends throughout the community. His career, since coming to this country, has been eminently honorable, and those who know him speak in high terms of his many sterling qualities and characteristics.
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