USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 48
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Tom B. Bark received a good common school education and finished his education in the Cassville, Wisconsin, school. On leaving school he began to clerk in a store, where he worked until he was nineteen years of age. On the 9th day of July, 1882, he came to Sutherland, O'Brien county, Iowa, and purchased a hardware store, and two years later he sold his interest in this business and became associated with E. P. Messer in an agricultural imple- ment establishment in Sutherland. The connection continued for nine years when he disposed of his interests and bought stock in the First National Bank, of which he was cashier for two years. Afterwards he organized the First Savings Bank, of which he was cashier for nine years. In 1903 he sold his stock in this bank to S. J. Jordon and was elected cashier of the Sutherland State Bank, of which he has been cashier ever since. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Bark is one of the most extensive land owners of the county, being the owner of fourteen hundred acres in O'Brien county, two hundred and eighty acres in Murray county, Minnesota, and six business lots and residence lots in Sutherland.
Mr. Bark has ben twice married, his first wife being Ella Townsend, to whom he was married in 1884, who died five years later, and to this union there was born one daughter, Margaret Ethel, who is a graduate of Simons College of Domestic Science, of Boston, Massachusetts. The second mar- riage of Mr. Bark occurred in 1891 to Augusta Townsend, and to this mar- riage has been born one daughter, Kathryn, who is at home with her parents.
The Republican party has always claimed the support of Mr. Bark, and his party has honored him on several occasions. He has filled the office of city recorder, has been a member of the city council of Sutherland, secretary of the school board, treasurer of the school board for fourteen years, and is now the president of the school board. In all of these various official posi- tions he has shown marked ability and won the commendation of his fellow citizens by his faithful service. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeo- men. Mr. Bark is a man of kindly and charitable impulses and breathes a spirit of optimism wherever he goes. He is a man of clean character, a good business manager and keenly alive to the highest and best interests of the community.
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WILLIAM LOGER.
The men who constitute the foundation of our republican institutions and who are the pride of our civilization are those who boldly face the responsibilities of life. Such men by their untiring and determined energy carve out for themselves an honorable success, thereby exerting much in- fluence upon the lives of all who follow them. A representative of this class is William Loger, of Baker township, who left home when only eighteen years of age in order to make his own way in life. He had the sagacity and foresight to see that the land in Osceola county would one day be very vahi- able and the thirty years which he has spent in this county have more than justified his prediction regarding the ultimate success of this county. Since coming here he has had its every interest at heart and has played well his role in the drama of civilization as enacted here.
William Loger, the son of John and Hattie (Dickman) Loger, was born in 1863 in Woodford county, Illinois. His father and mother were both born in Germany, his father being born in 1821 and his mother six years later. When a young man John Loger settled in Illinois and remained there until 1888, when he came to Osceola county, Iowa, and purchased land. He continued to farm in this county until he retired to Ocheyedan, where he died in 1894.
William Loger is one of five children born to his parents, four of whom are still living. He received a good common school education in the schools of Ford county, Illinois, and when eighteen years of age started out to carve his own fortune by working as a farm hand. He soon saw that this was not very satisfactory, so he went west and finally reached Osceola county, Iowa. Here he worked as a farm hand for one year in order that he might become acquainted with the soil and climate and judge as to the advisability of in- vesting in land in this county. With one year's experience he was convinced that there were great possibilities in land in this county, so that he immedi- ately rented a farm and started to lay the foundation of his present pros- perity. In 1896 he purchased his father's farm in this county and since ac- quiring it has made seven thousand dollars worth of improvements. He keeps a good grade of live stock, and finds a ready market at a good price for all of his surplus stock each year.
Mr. Loger was married in 1888 to Dena DeFreis, who was born in 1868 in Mason county, Illinois. and to this union have been born eight chil- dren : John, deceased: Mrs. Mary Roberson, of Ocheyedan. Iowa; Mrs.
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Fannie Loers, whose husband is a farmer in this county; Lena. deceased : Louis, deceased : and three who are still at home, Herman, Frank and Hattie.
The Democratic party has always claimed the support of Mr. Loger. but, while he is well informed on the various political issues of the day, he has never felt he had time to take an active part in politics. His only official position has been that of school director in his township, a position which he filled satisfactorily to all concerned. He and his family are members of the Reformed church and give it their earnest support at all times. Mr. Loger deserves a great deal of credit for the success which he has made out of his life. since he started out for himself with practically nothing. For this rea- son a study of his life would be instructive as well as stimulating to the com- ing generations of Osceola county.
JOHN COOPER.
When Dame Nature sorted out the land for the country, she put much of the best land in the Mississippi valley and for this reason this particular region is frequently referred to as the garden spot of the world. Iowa owes her agricultural pre-eminence to her broad, fertile fields. The thou- sands of farmers who have come to this state from various parts of the Union as well as from various parts of the world, owe their prosperity to the rich, black soil of this state. From poverty to prosperity has been the course of many of the citizens of O'Brien county. Many farmers who are today living in handsome country homes used to live in dugouts or rude shacks on the prairie. Among the farmers who have known every hardship in this county and who are today living in fine homes surrounded with every comfort, there is no one more deserving of mention in this connection than John Cooper, of Grant township.
John Cooper, the son of Henry and Rebecca ( Brooks) Cooper. was born in Lake county. Ohio, in 1851. His father and mother were born in the same county, the father being born in 1824. Henry Cooper was a sailor on Lake Erie and followed this occupation until 1862. He then decided he would go west with his family and take advantage of the cheap land which was being sold west of the Mississippi. Accordingly, he came to Iowa and first settled in Delaware county, where he engaged in farming until 1878, after which he went to O'Brien county and took up eighty acres of land as a tree claim and gradually added to this until he owned four hundred acres
MR. AND MRS. JOHN COOPER
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at the time of his retirement, in 1902. He was a man who took an active interest in the civic life of his community, and at his death, in 1910, there passed away one of the pioneers of the county. He and his wife were the parents of eight children: Early, deceased; Ernst, deceased: Walter, of Montana : Mrs. Mary Van Alstyne, of Iowa: Mrs. Abbie Ginger, of O'Brien county ; Charles, of O'Brien county, and John, whose history is here briefly presented !.
John Cooper was nine years of age when his parents left Ohio for Iowa and consequently received most of his schooling in his adopted state. Upon coming to Iowa he assisted his father on the farm and as soon as he reached his majority he married and began renting a farm for himself. Three years later he came to O'Brien county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land in Grant township. When he came here, in 1875, there were very few settlers in the county, and for the first few years he and his family suffered severe hardships. The first five years they lived in a dugout on the farm and went through the experiences of the grass- hopper war in the latter seventies. Today he has a fine modern home equipped with every convenience, a commodious farm and every improve- ment which will make his farm more remunerative. Like most of the farm- ers of the county, he makes a large part of his income from the sale of live stock and has always kept a high grade of animals upon his farm. He has a share in the Farmers Elevator Company of Sutherland, as well as in the county fair association at Sutherland.
Mr. Cooper was married in 1872 to Amelia Bagley, and to this union were born seven children: Bert, a farmer of Grant township: Mrs. Edith Kennedy, of Cherokee, Iowa; Charles, of Sutherland, Iowa; Roy, of Suth- erland, Iowa ; Henry, of Cherokee, Iowa : Owen, a farmer of Osceola county, and Earl, a farmer of O'Brien county. In 1891 Mr. Cooper was married to Myrtle Brown, and to this union have been born six children: Mrs. Grace Johansen, of Sutherland, Gertrude, Inez, Orlow, Marion and Velma. All of the children except the married daughter are still living with their parents
Politically, Mr. Cooper has been a life-long Republican and takes an intelligent interest in the affairs of his party. He is a member of the Christian church and gives his earnest support to that denomination at all times. He has always taken an active interest in the civic affairs of the con- munity and all movements which he felt would benefit his fellow citizens found in him a hearty supporter. As road overseer he has been active in
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seeing that the roads of his district were brought up to the highest standard of excellence. He has always supported all movements for the public wel- fare which he felt would better his community in any way.
CHANNING LONGSHORE, M. D.
The pioneer physician occupies a unique and distinguished place among those with whom he has been associated for many years. His type is pe- culiarly fitted to the time, the people to whom he ministered, and the needs of the sturdy empire-building generation to which he belonged. In the early days of O'Brien county the doctor would be called out to travel mile upon mile to treat some sufferer who had implicit faith in his skill. The roads were then but trails over the vast prairies and it required manhood of the greatest fortitude to endure the hardships incidental to the life of the early physician. His financial returns were usually modest, inasmuch as the patients who called upon him for treatment were not blessed with much of this world's goods. The early physicians who have been successful in securing a substantial competence during their careers, generally seized opportunity in other lines and assisted likewise in developing the country. One of the most striking figures in the pioneer life of O'Brien county, and one to whom hun- dreds of the early settlers were indebted for kindly human sympathy and assistance in time of stress and direst need, is Dr. Channing Longshore, of Sheldon, who has been in active practice in O'Brien county for thirty-five years. He was the pioneer doctor of the county and in the earlier days trav- eled the length and breadth of his territory, during the deep snows and ex- treme cold of winter, and at all seasons responding to the calls of the sick and ailing who lived in the new homes on the prairie.
Doctor Longshore was born in the year 1842 in Langhorne. Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Ellwood and Hannah E. (Myers) Longshore, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter a native of Maryland. Thomas E. Longshore was a descendant of Swedish ancestors who emigrated from Sweden to America and settled in Bucks county in the seventeenth century. The Myers family is of German descent.
Doctor Longshore was educated in the city of Philadelphia and grad- uated from the Philadelphia University of Medicine and Surgery in 1871. It is noteworthy that his mother was an eminent physician and one of the first women physicians in the country to practice medicine. He made his first
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trip to Iowa in 1864, but as this was but a sight-seeing expedition, he re- turned home. On year after his graduation he came west and located in Marshall county, lowa, in 1872. In September, 1873, he came to O'Brien county and was practically the first regularly accredited physician to locate in the county. He established his office in the new town of Sheldon and from here traveled over the county attending to his large practice. For a period of twenty years he was in continuous practice. Of late years he has not maintained a regular office in Sheldon, and it is a fact that his other business affairs began to take up a considerable portion of his time and he found it necessary to abandon a goodly part of his practice in order to devote more time to his many ventures.
Doctor Longshore had the foresight and the business acumen to take advantage of opportunities which presented themselves and has profited ac- cordingly. He assisted in organizing the Pringhar State Bank in partnership with George W. Schee and others; his second venture was the Hartley State Bank; he was instrumental also in the organization of the First National Bank at Sutherland. At one time he was financially interested in the Empire Loan and Investment Company of Sheldon, and was formerly connected with the State Bank of Maurice, Sioux county, and the Ireton, Iowa, State Bank. He was one of the progenitors of the Iowa State Bank at Sheldon and was heavily interested in the First National Bank at Ouray, Colorado. He held a considerable interest in the Inter-State Finance Company of Topeka, Kan- sas, for several years.
Of late years, Doctor Longshore has been taking life easy and enjoying himself to the utmost. His money being safely invested so as to cause him the least trouble, he is now reaping the reward of a long and active life. He is the owner of a cottage on the shores of Akobosi lake, and here he spends the hot summer months fishing and taking ease and comfort from his sur- roundings.
Doctor Longshore's commercial experience has been of the most varied and widest kind. He owned and operated a general store in Sanborn, Iowa, for some years; also conducted a similar establishment in Sheldon, and was engaged in coal mining in Colorado, in all of which pursuits he made money. During his long residence in the county he has likewise engaged in the raising and breeding of live stock, being a large buyer and shipper.
In politics, Doctor Longshore has become a pronounced Progressive in his views and has broken away from the Republican party. During his earlier years he took an active and influential part in civic and political affairs in
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O'Brien county and served one term as county recorder. He was United States pension examiner for many years.
Mention should be made of the fact in this review that a sister of Doctor Longshore is the wife of Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg, of Philadelphia. Mayor Blankenburg is well known in northwestern Iowa as an orator of force and ability. It was one of his recreations in past years to make a trip to lowa during the campaigns and speak in behalf of the Republican ticket. The jovial Doctor would usually accompany him on these tours.
Doctor Longshore was married AAugust 8. 1873. to Maria Pierce, of Alliance, Ohio. They are the parents of three children, namely: Thomas .A., deceased: Mrs. Hannah Elsie Garrett, residing in Chester county, Penn- sylvania : Rudolph, a resident and mining engineer of Lewistown, Montana.
Doctor Longshore has led one of the most useful and varied lives of any of the old pioneer settlers of O'Brien county. Besides being an excellent phy- sician whose methods were adapted to the time and needs. he has been an excellent financier. It is probable that he is the oldest and best known pioneer doctor of northwestern lowa. Despite his age. he is hale and hearty and possesses the faculty of enjoying life to the fullest extent. This volume of O'Brien county history would be sadly incomplete if it did not contain this spectively. Feeling that there was a better opportunity for their children in brief review and description of the important part which Doctor Longshore has taken in its development.
ADOLPH PINGEL.
O'Brien county, lowa, is justly proud of her many German citizens, for in the development of the material, social and intellectual life of the county they have played no inconsiderable part. They have been a valuable asset to the county wherever they have settled and they have taken an active part in every phase of the life of their communities. Their devotion to their adopted county is such that they have always taken an active interest in seeing it forge to the front among the counties of the state, and for this reason the prom- inent position which O'Brien county holds today among the counties of the state is largely owing to the enterprise of its many German citizens.
Adolph Pingel, a retired farmer of Sutherland, lowa, was born in Ger- many in 1852. His parents, Henry and Mary (Layham) Pingel, were also natives of Germany, their births having occurred there in 1807 and 1809 re-
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the United States, they came to America and settled near Wheatland, Clinton county, Iowa, and here Henry Pingel followed the vocation of. a farmer until his death, which occurred in 1862, his widow dying in 1877.
Adolph Pingel was one of six children born to his parents, four of whom are still living. He assisted his father on the home farm until twenty-three years of age and then went to Boone county. Towa, where he lived on a rented farm for a short time, after which he became an employee of the railroad companies in the state and for some years was employed as a fireman. He resigned his position as fireman on the railroad and began to farm in Boone county, Iowa, until 1887, and in the following year he moved to ()'Brien county with his family and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in Waterman township, at twenty dollars an acre. He improved this land and was soon realizing a handsome return on his investment. In fact. within five years he felt justified in adding another half section to his original farm. The land which he purchased in 1803 cost him eighteen dollars and a quarter an acre and at the present time is easily worth ten times that amount. While raising all of the crops common to this section, he has made the most of his money in the breeding and selling of live stock, and always makes it a point to keep only the best grade of stock and has won prizes on several occasions by his stock at the Sutherland fair. In 1907 Mr. Pingel retired from the active labor of the farm and moved to Sutherland, where he owns a handsome modern home and five acres of land in the city limits. In addition to his six hundred and forty acres of land in O'Brien county, Mr. Pingel is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in South Dakota, and also has a share in the Farmers Elevator Company, at Sutherland.
Mr. Pingel was married in 1877 to Matilda Jaacks, and to this union have been born six children, Henry, Lewis, William, John, Edward and Emma. Henry and Lewis are farming in South Dakota, while William, John and Edward are engaged in farming in O'Brien county, and Emma is still at home with her parents.
In political affairs Mr. Pingel has always taken an active interest and has held practically all of the township offices of Waterman township at some time or other. At the present time he is the efficient township trustee and is discharging the important duties of that office to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. Religiously, he and his family are loyal members of the German Lutheran church and are interested in all the activities of that denon- ination. Personally, Mr. Pingel is a man of clean moral character and marked business ability, which has been evidenced in the successful manage- ment of his many enterprises. As a neighbor and citizen Mr. Pingel stands
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high in the esteem of all who know him and the deep interest he takes in promoting the social, educational and moral welfare of the community gives him an enviable reputation throughout the locality in which he lives.
DENNIS E. CRONIN.
A man of striking characteristics who left his impress upon the com- munity where he lived was Dennis E. Cronin, who lived in Osceola county the ten years preceding his death. Born in Ireland, he inherited all those sturdy characteristics which have made the people of his country known the world over. He was a man of indomitable courage and pluck and made a success of everything to which he turned his hand. It hardly seems possible that a man could start as a drayman and then install a complete water works system of his own in the town, but Mr. Cronin did this in the town of LeMars, Iowa. He installed it and operated it for ten years and then turned the plant over to the city. An insight into his character is shown by a remark which Doctor Summers, of LeMars, made concerning him several years ago. Some one remarked in the presence of Doctor Summers that Mr. Cronin was not farm- ing because he did not know how, and the Doctor replied with the state- ment, "O. well! that doesn't make any difference with him; he can tackle anything and make it go."
Dennis E. Cronin was born in Limerick county, Ireland, October 14, 1848, and died in Sibley, Iowa, July 19, 1913. His parents, Owen and Bridget (Connell) Cronin, came to this country when he was about four years of age and first located at Great Bend, in Pennsylvania. In 1859 they moved to Waverly, Iowa, where they remained until 1878.
Dennis Cronin received his education in the schools of Pennsylvania and Waverly, Iowa. In 1878 he went to LeMars, Iowa, where he started a dray line. While living in the city he conceived the idea of putting in city water works, and with the courage which is characteristic of the sons of Ireland. he applied himself to this task. He installed it and operated it for ten years and finally turned it over to the city in an excellent condition. Previous to this he had been a railroad brakeman and conductor. In these occupations he did not find the opportunity for advancement, and in 1902 he moved to Sibley, having previously purchased three hundred and sixty acres in Osceola county. He later purchased three hundred and twenty acres in East Holman township, so that at the time of his death he owned six hun-
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dred and eighty acres of fine farming land in this county. In 1906 he built the present beautiful home occupied by his family on the southeastern side of Sibley. In 1907 he built the commodious barn, which is now upon his farm adjoining the city.
Mr. Cronin was married December 26, 1876, to Susie Roddy, who was born April 19, 1858. in county Tyrone, Ireland. Her parents were James and Rose (Quinn ) Roddy. She died at her residence in Sibley August 15, 1914. She came to this country by herself when she was sixteen years of age and located at Dubuque, Iowa, where her uncle, Patrick Roddy, managed a grocery store. Several years later, after her mother's death in Ireland, her father came to this country and made his home with her. Four of the Roddy sons are now in this country also. Mr. and Mrs. Cronin have four children, Frank, Helen, Morris J. and Leo J. The youngest boys are twins.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Cronin have been given every educational advantage and have responded to their parents' efforts in this line in a re- markable manner. Morris graduated from Ames College in 1908, taking the full course in agriculture and animal husbandry. In 1913 he returned to college and took the course in agronomy. Frank attended school both at LeMars and Sibley, and is with his brother Morris, who is operating the estate. Leo took a three-year course in forestry in college and then went to California in the employ of the government forestry service. He is now on the road with a hardware line. Helen studied music in the Academy of Visitation at Dubuque and is an accomplished musician.
Mr. Cronin was a man of unusually strong will power and with a de- termination which never knew what defeat meant. He was a great lover of his home and family and took a great deal of pride in seeing his children do well in the world. The last few years of his life he was an invalid and was confined to his home most of the time. He was a loyal Catholic, as are all the members of the family and never wearied in lending assistance to his church in both time and money. When it was seen that an operation was necessary in order to save his life, he submitted cheerfully and went to the hospital of the famous Mayo Brothers at Rochester, Minnesota, but he failed to respond to their treatment, and died July 19, 1913, and there passed away one of the kindest-hearted and most generous men that had ever lived in the county. He had the greatest sympathy for his fellow men and was always ready to aid and encourage those who were strugging to assist themselves. He commanded the respect of all classes by his exemplary life, and his memory will long be endeared by his many friends and acquaintances.
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