USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 35
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LOUIS RUWE.
A man who boldly faces the responsibility of life and by determined and untiring energy carves out for himself an honorable success exerts a power- ful influence upon the lives of all who follow him. Such men constitute the foundation of our republican institutions and are the pride of our civilization. To them life is so real that they find no time to plot either mischief or vice. Their lives are bound up in their duties, they feel the weight of their citizen- ship and take pleasure in sowing the seeds of uprightness. Such has been the career of the subject of this brief notice.
Louis Ruwe, automobile dealer of Moneta, O'Brien county, Iowa, was born in Scott county, Iowa, in 1874, the son of Henry and Rica (Carlson) Ruwe. Henry Ruwe was born in 1834 while his parents were crossing the ocean to this country from their native land of Germany. Upon arriving in this country his parents settled in Davenport. Iowa, where Henry Ruwe was interested in mining and agricultural pursuits. He became one of the large land owners of Scott county, Iowa, and lived on his farm until 1898, when he retired and moved to Davenport. Iowa, where he is now residing. Henry Ruwe and wife were the parents of twelve children: Henry, Jr., of Buena Vista county; Fred. deceased: John. a farmer of Scott county; William, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa: David, who lives in Cedar county, Iowa; Charles, de- ceased : Jacob, deceased : Mrs. Minnie Moeller, who is a resident of South Dakota: Mrs. Mary Golinghort, of Lake Park: Mrs. Emma Bader, who lives in South Dakota ; Rica, who is living at Davenport with her father, and Louis, whose history is here presented.
Louis Ruwe received a good common school education and when twenty- one years of age left his home and settled in O'Brien county, Iowa, where he engaged in the buying and selling of grain in the employ of an elevator company. He worked for this company for about four years and then be- gan to work on the farm where he lived until 1911, when he came to Moneta and engaged in the automobile business. He has erected a building in which he stores his stock and maintains a repair shop, which is well equipped with all of the improved machinery for the repairing of automobiles, and he en- joys a large and increasing patronage. Mr. Ruwe is the owner of several lots in Moneta and is also one of the stockholders of the Moneta Savings Bank, of which financial institution he is a director. He is agent for the Moon and Overland automobiles and has built up a good trade in the com munity surrounding Moneta.
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Mr. Ruwe was married in 1904 in Clay county, lowa, to Anna Voss, the daughter of John Voss. The political party to which Mr. Ruwe owes his allegiance is the old time-honored party headed by Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson. Since reaching his majority he has been casting his vote for the Democratic party. He and his wife are regular attendants of the German Lutheran church and subscribe generously to the support of that de- nomination. He is a public-spirited citizen and his influence is always felt in the various enterprises which are advanced for the benefit of his com- munity. He has always been regarded as a man of sterling honesty and worth and has the confidence and respect of a large circle of friends and ac- quaintances owing to his upright and industrious life.
DANIEL M. SHELDON.
Daniel M. Sheldon was born December 4. 1846, at Belvidere, Illinois. While yet in his teens, on August 14, 1862, at Cherry Valley, Illinois, he enlisted in Company E. Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, First Brigade, Sec- ond Division, Fourth Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, and served in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Dalton. Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Franklin and Nash- ville. He was wounded in the face by a musket ball July 4. 1864, at Marietta. Georgia, and was honorably discharged June 10, 1865, at Nashville, Ten- nessee. He settled permanently in Sutherland in 1882 and was engaged in the mercantile business for thirty years. While not among the earliest of the settlers in the county, he came at the beginning of the substantial period in the county and for thirty years participated in all the upbuildings of a permanent character in his own town. On January 29, 1874, he was mar- ried to Catherine E. Davis. They have six children, Frederick E .. Charles M., Edna B., Ethel I., Frank M. and Roy H.
But the public activities of Mr. Sheldon were not confined to his own home town. His substantial work became county wide. He was a mem- ber of the board of supervisors of O'Brien county from 1884 to 1886 in- clusive and again from 1894 to 1899 inclusive, a period of nine years in all, and was chairman portions of that time.
Mr. Sheldon in his very make-up is a positive, definite man in all his movements and life. During this nine years he stamped this definiteness into all the public affairs of the county. He did not become a member of the
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board until the main troublous period of the county had practically ended. He belonged to the first of the building period of the county. Fortunate- ly he was surrounded by the new conditions demanding betterments and uplift. Mr. Sheldon's very presence on the board said in positive terms, "there must be nothing questionable even suggested to this board or to my- self as a member." For nine years he stood out like a stone wall in the county affairs as one of the strong men of the strong boards in the later half period of the county, and as a preventative against any possible re- lapse in public matters. We will not attempt to individual the items con- nected with his work as they are substantially recited in various articles during these nine years. He participated in all those public administrative and healthy improvements, now commenced and continued, during his nine years of public service, as in this history recited in the building up of a larger and better O'Brien county.
FOSTER HAIN.
A farmer of Floyd township, O'Brien county, lowa, who has inherited in a large measure the characteristics which made his father a successful farmer in this county, is Foster Hain, a successful agriculturist and stock- man. His father, it is safe to say, was not only one of the most successful farmers of the county, but was one of the most successful in this section of the state.
Foster Hain was born May 28, 1876, in Illinois, the son of Joseph and Mary E. (Cooper) Hain. Joseph Hain was born in Pennsylvania in 1851 and came to Illinois with his parents when he was four years of age. Marry- ing at the early age of nineteen, he lived for twelve years in Illinois and then came to O'Brien county, Iowa, in 1887 and purchased eight hundred acres of unimproved land. This land he has improved, at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars, and has added to this until he is now the owner of fourteen hundred acres of land in O'Brien county and six hundred and forty acres in Canada. He has always been an extensive stockman and has fed hundreds of cattle each year until 1909, when he retired from active farm work and turned his land over to his sons, Foster and Earl, to manage. Joseph Hain was married in 1875 to Mary E. Cooper, who was born May 28, 1856, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Cooper. Peter Cooper was born in 1822, and when eighteen years of age he crossed the Alleghany mountains on foot
MR. AND MRS. FOSTER HAIN
1
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to seek his fortunes in the West. Joseph Hain and wife were the parents of seven children: Mrs. Lavina E. Griffith, of this county; Calvin G., of this county ; Mrs. Carrie E. Garrard, who lives in Sheldon; Earl W., who is on the old homestead; Peter C., who lives in Saskatchewan, Canada; Mrs. Hila Brewster, who is a resident of Sioux county, this state, and Foster, of whom this narrative speaks.
Foster Hain was educated in the schools of Illinois and Iowa, and has always lived with his parents. At the present time he is renting land from his father. He has taken first and second prizes in farm products on sev- eral occasions at the O'Brien county fair.
Mr. Hain was married in 1901 to Kitty Larch, who was born in 1875 in Michigan, and to this marriage have been born three children, Lawrence. Howard and Mildred.
Mr. Hain is independent in politics and casts his vote for the best man at all times. He is progressive in his inclinations and favors all measures which he feels will benefit his community and fellow citizens. He and his family are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church and subscribe lib- erally to its support. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active interest in the work of that organization. He has always been interested in educational affairs and has served as clerk and secretary of the school board of Floyd township. Mr. Hain is a worthy descendant of his father, and promises to be no less successful in his agri- cultural career than his father before him. He has shown those character- istics which made his father a leader in his community. He is a man of pleasing address and manner. and has a large number of friends throughout the county who admire him for his many good qualities.
JAMES B. MURPHY.
Many of the best citizens of O'Brien county, Iowa, have come from the good old Hoosier state of Indiana. Among the native-born citizens who have lived in O'Brien county for more than thirty years is James B. Murphy, a prosperous farmer and stock man of Grant township. Since coming to this county he has ever had the upbuilding of his home com- munity at heart and has led the life of a good citizen in every respect. for while living to advance himself along material lines he has not neglected those larger duties to his neighbors and to the public.
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James B. Murphy was born in Rushville, Indiana, in 1856, and is the son of Maurice and Sarah (Gilson) Murphy. Maurice Murphy was born in Ireland in 1833 and when thirteen years of age left his native land and came to Indiana, where for a time he worked at day labor and then se- cured work on the railroad which was built through Rushville, Indiana. For a number of years he was a railroad brakeman on this road and made his home in Rushville. Late in life he became a farmer in Rush county, Indiana, and followed that occupation until his retirement in 1903. Sarah Gilson was born in 1837, in Rushville, Indiana, and is still living, while her husband died in 1908. To this union were born four children, three of whom are still living.
James B. Murphy received his education in the schools of Rushville. Indiana, and when twenty-three years of age married and began to farm on a rented farm. Believing that Iowa offered better opportunities for farming than Indiana, he came to Iowa in 1882 and settled in O'Brien county. He rented land for the first nine years and was so successful that he was enabled to purchase the same one hundred and sixty acres which he had been renting. He has a fine grove of fruit and forest trees upon his farm in which he takes a great deal of pride. He raises high-grade live stock of all kinds and is counted among the most successful stock raisers of his township. He owns a share of stock in the Farmers Elevator Company and also the fair association at Sutherland, and has always been an active member of the O'Brien County Fair Association. At the present time he is a director and one of the most enthusiastic sup- porters of the association.
Mr. Murphy was married in 1879 to Carvana Bebout, who was born in Rushville in 1857 and died in O'Brien county in 1913. To this union were born eight children: Mamie, who is a trained nurse in Sioux City, Iowa; Lettie, who is still at home with her father; Grover, who is a farm- er of Grant township, this county ; Carmie, now Mrs. Lee Ferguson, of Grant township; Maurice a farmer, with the Western Bridge Company; Charles, Jr., and Jessie, the last two named children being still with their father.
Since coming to this county Mr. Murphy has always taken a prominent part in public affairs and his interests have always been identified with the Democratic party and his party has honored him on several occasions by nominating him for township offices. During the past thirty years of his residence here he has served as township clerk, road superintendent. township trustee and is now hokling the office of treasurer of the township school board. During his incumbency of these various positions hie exer-
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cised the same care and fidelity to duty that he uses in his own private af- fairs, and it is safe to say that no more popular official ever held an office in Grant township than Mr. Murphy. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes a deep interest in the affairs of that organization. He has done a great deal for his township, whose interests he has ever had at heart and for this reason he is really one of the representative men of his township.
CHARLES F. AND GEORGE REIFSTECK.
Among the prosperous business men of O'Brien county, Iowa, who are connected with the banking interests of the county are the Reifsteck broth- ers, Charles F. and George. They have forged to the front in their pro- fession, because of their natural endowment and force of character. It is always profitable to study the lives of such men as these, because their lives have been characterized by that devotion to duty which must actuate every successful man. They have obtained their present position in the business world of the county only through hard work and the success which they enjoy today is richly merited.
Charles F. and George Reifsteck, the sons of Louis and Katherine (Kirmeileh) Reifsteck, were born in Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1868 and 1870 respectively. Louis Reifsteck was born in Germany in 1834 and when a young man came to this country and settled in Galena, Illinois. Several years later he moved to Jamestown, Wisconsin, where he became engaged in the mercantile business and still later became identified with the mining industry in that state. He was one of the men to open the mine and plot a town in Grant county which was known by the name of Louisburg. Louis Reifsteck was postmaster and took a great deal of interest in the young town in its earliest history. He subsequently moved to LeMars. Iowa, where he 'engaged in the mercantile business. After living in Le- Mars for three years he came to Calumet, Iowa, in 1893, and opened up a mercantile establishment which he managed for a few years. He is now the president of the Calumet State Bank and one of the stockholders. To Louis Reifsteck and wife were born five children: Louis, Jr., a mer- chant of Chicago, Illinois ; William, deceased : Charles; Mrs. Katherine Rall, whose husband is a minister of the gospel. and George.
Charles F. Reifsteck, the elder of the two sons whose life histories are
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here reviewed, was given a good common school education in Grant county, Wisconsin, and when eighteen years of age left home and went to Ply- mouth county, Iowa, where he worked for a short time. Later he entered the mercantile business with his brother George at Neptune, Iowa. He was appointed postmaster there under Cleveland's administration and after serving his term removed to Gaza, Iowa, where he again engaged in the mercantile business. In 1893 he was appointed postmaster at Gaza and lived there for the next ten years. He then disposed of his business interests and moved to Calumet, Iowa, where he again became identified with the mercan- tile business. In 1909 he disposed of his store and became cashier of the bank of Gaza, known as the Farmers Savings Bank. He is heavily inter- ested in real estate in this county and now owns five hundred acres of ex- cellent land in the county. He was married on December 19, 1898, to Florence C. Henderson, and to this union have been born three children, C. Dewey, Katherine and Melba. Politically, Charles Reifsteck is a Demo- crat, but has never been actively identified with politics. He and his fam- ily are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while in his fraternal relations he is found affiliated with Knights of Pythias and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen.
George Reifsteck. like his brother Charles, received a good common school education in Grant county, Wisconsin, and when eighteen years of age left home to work for himself. He clerked first for three years, then he and his brother Charles opened up a general store at Neptune, Iowa. In 1897 he disposed of his interests in the store and moved to Calumet, where he again engaged in the mercantile business. He was appointed postmaster of Calu- met and three years later sold out his interests in the store and resigned as postmaster to accept the position of cashier in the bank at Calumet, later reorganized as the Calumet State Bank. He is a heavy stockholder in the bank and also holds considerable land in O'Brien county. He was mar- ried in 1904 at Calumet, Iowa, to Grace Hessenius. In his political affilia- tions he identifies himself with that large and intelligent class of voters who are not bound by any partisan rule. He prefers to cast his vote for the best men irrespective of their party affiliations. Since moving to Calumet he has been actively identified with all the interests of the city and at one time or another has held every office within the gift of the people of the city. He was mayor for eight years and while filling that responsible office did everything he could for the welfare of his city. Fraternally, he is. a member of the Knights of Pythias and takes a deep interest in the work of that fraternal organization.
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The two brothers are men of influence in their respective communities and are a high type of the excellent American citizens who. while advancing their own material interest, never neglect their duty to their common- wealth. They are men of high qualities of character and deserving of the high standing which they enjoy.
FRED GUHL.
Practically every country in Europe has contributed to the population of O'Brien county, Iowa. It is a matter of history that Germany has gone through several revolutions within the past century which have forced thou- sands of their best citizens to leave the country. After the revolutions of 1820 and 1848 there were thousands of citizens of Germany who came to America and settled in various parts of the United States. As a matter of fact whenever any German settlers came to this country and made a suc- cess, it usually followed that the neighbors who lived in the same locality in his native land also came over to this country. No German who has settled in O'Brien county, Iowa, has ever been an inmate of the poor house. This fact alone shows that they have been uniformly successful. Among the successful men of Lincoln township, O'Brien county, Iowa, who came to this country after reaching their majority there is no one who occupies a more prominent position in his township than Fred Guhl, of Lincoln town- ship.
Fred Guhl, the son of Joachin and Elizabeth (Jauert) Guhl, was born in 1866 in Germany. His father was born in 1835 and followed the pro- fession of a sailor and fisherman in his native land. Joachin Guhl and wife were married in 1865 in Germany and to their union were born four chil- dren : William, who was killed by a team on his father's farm; Mrs. Ricker Lach, of Pocahontas county. Iowa: Albert, a cement worker of Minnesota, and Fred, whose life history forms the theme of this narrative.
Fred Guhl went to school in Germany and received a good common school education. After leaving the school room he worked out as a farm hand in the vicinity of his home neighborhood. He came with his parents from Germany to Benton county, Iowa, in 1888 and stayed with his father on the farm two years after he came to this state. He then came from Benton county to O'Brien county in 1896. In the year 1894 he was mar- ried and first rented land in Benton county. After coming to O'Brien county
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he rented land for six years; he then bought one hundred and sixty acres in Lincoln township, which he is still farming. Since purchasing this farm he has made eight thousand dollars' worth of improvements on it. His father also owned one hundred and sixty acres in this same township and had the largest grove in the township. His father sold his farm a short time before his death and moved to Hartley, where he lived until 1913. the year of his death. Mr. Guhl is a large stock raiser and keeps a good grade of stock, and from the sale of this he realizes a handsome return each year. He has a share in the Farmers Elevator Company of Hartley, Iowa.
Mr. Guhl was married in 1894 to Marie Wiedite and to this marriage have been born two children. William and Elizabeth, both of whom are still with their parents. Mr. Guhl gives his support to the Democratic party at all times, although he has never taken an active part in politics, preferring to devote all of his time to his agricultural interests. Mr. Guhl and his family are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and contribute generously of their means to its support. Mr. Guhl came to this country after reaching his majority and in the course of twenty-five years obtained a position of influence in his community, solely through his own efforts. He is a man who is held in high esteem by his neighbors because of his kindly manner and his upright way of living.
DR. PLEASANT S. STEARNS.
One of the professions which is indispensable to the community life of an agricultural country is that of a veterinary surgeon. While for many centuries we have had physicians to minister to human ills, it has only been within the past century that the treatment of diseases of animals has risen to the dignity of a science. At the present time we have colleges which are giving technical training of a high character to treatment of the diseases of horses, cows, dogs, cats, etc. A veterinary surgeon who understands his business is one of the most valuable assets a farming community can have, and for this reason Dr. Pleasant S. Stearns is one of the representa- tive men of O'Brien county, Iowa.
Pleasant S. Stearns was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, in 1856, the son of Isaac and Lorana (Knox) Stearns. Isaac Stearns was born in Os- wego county, New York, in 1819. and was a minister in the United Breth- ren and Methodist Episcopal churches. He was a man who was a power for
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good in his community. As a young man he settled in Illinois, and at the opening of the Civil War enlisted in an Illinois regiment of volunteer infan- try. However, he served only a short time. being mustered out on account of disability caused by rheumatism. After leaving the army he returned to Illinois, where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1907. He was married in 1842 to Lorana Knox, who was born in Ohio in 1819, and to . this union six children were born, all but one of whom are still living.
Pleasant S. Stearns received a common school education in his home schools, and when a very small lad began working on his father's farm. At the age of fifteen he secured employment in a street car barn in Illinois. where he worked for a short time. after which he went to work with a veteri- nary surgeon by the name of Scott. and studied with him for a year, after- wards working and studying with other veterinary surgeons, and in 1883 began to practice by himself at Gladbrook, Iowa, where he remained for six years, after which he came to Sutherland, where he has since continued to reside, and has built up a practice which earries him beyond the limits of this county into all of the neighboring counties of the state. Although he has never taken a graduate course of any kind in his profession, yet he is recognized as one of the most skillful veterinary surgeons in the state of lowa. He has a well equipped laboratory, where he has performed some very skillful and interesting operations. He is frequently called into consultation by other veterinary surgeons throughout this section of the state and his ad- vice is always considered very good. He is a member of the Hawkeye Veter- inary Association of Des Moines, Iowa. and is its treasurer and takes an interest in the work of that organization. Doctor Stearns has invested in Iowa lands and is now the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land in Clay county which yields him a good return on his investment. He also owns a share in the fair association of O'Brien county, as well as a share in the Farmers Elevator Company of Sutherland.
Doctor Stearns was married in 1885 to Lula Pray, and to this union have been born five children: Harvey, a graduate of the Sutherland high school and also from the civil engineering course in Ames College, is now teaching manual training in St. Paul, Minnesota: Mrs. Mabel Fredenburg, who lives in Clay county, Iowa: Mrs. Belva Willie, of Sutherland, Iowa : Homer and Florence, who are still with their parents.
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