USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 49
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CHARLES FARQUHARSON.
It is interesting to note how different men begin and continue the duties of life. Some commence in hesitation and seem to hesitate at every obstacle they encounter. Others begin boldly, but after a time show by some defect in execution that they have not properly mastered their task: still others begin with a steady grasp of the situation and show by their subsequent ac- complishment that they have compassed the problem of life. To the last class success always comes and they are the men who leave behind them good names and large properties honorably won in life's struggle. Among such active and enterprising men is Charles Farquharson, of O'Brien county, Iowa, and no man is worthier of the large success which has attended his efforts, for he came to this country from faraway Scotland and found here a strange people, strange customs and even a language with which he was not familiar. However, he mastered it all and. although starting with nothing in the way of material wealth. he gradually overcame all obstacles and today he is one of the substantial men of his locality.
Charles Farquharson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and is the son of Andrew and Margaret (McHardy ) Farquharson. His father was born in Scotland in 1813 and lived the life of a farmer there until his death, which occurred in 1895. His wife was born in Scotland in 1817 and spent all of her days in the land of her birth.
Charles Farquharson is one of a family of six children, five of whom are still living. In 1880 he decided to come to America to seek his fortune, believing that better opportunities presented themselves in this country than in his native land. Upon arrival here he immediately went to Iowa and found employment in Palo Alto county. After working in that county for a short time he went to O'Brien county, and for the first six years lived on a rented farm. In the meantime he had married and in 1887 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Grant township, where he is now living. Since acquiring this farm he has made extensive improvements upon it in every way, building a new and handsome residence, large and commodious barns and outbuildings, putting out fruit and orchard trees, so that today his farm is one of the most attractive in the township. He was one of the organizers of the O'Brien County Fair Association and holds a share of stock in that association. He makes a specialty of breeding a high grade of cattle and other live stock for the markets, which adds not a little to his an- nual income.
Mr. Farquharson was married in 1885 to Elizabeth Bowden, and to this
CHARLES FARQUHARSON
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
marriage have been born two children, Lee, who is at home assisting his father on the farm, and Mrs. Edith Barry, of this county. Mrs. Farquhar- son died in 1905.
Politically, Mr. Farquharson is a stanch Republican and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his party, although he has never been a candidate for public office himself, yet his support is always earnestly desired by those who are candidates for office. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and renders to it his zealous support at all times. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America and takes an active interest in the work of these fraternal organizations. Public spirited and enterprising, he gives his support to all objects calculated to advance the moral, intellectual and social interests of the community which he has chosen as his place of abode.
THOMAS ALBERT QUILLEASH.
The history of a county or state, as well as that of a nation, is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dig- nity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by those of its representative citizens and yields its tribute of admiration and respect to those whose works and actions constitute the record of a community's prosperity and pride. Among the younger citizens of O'Brien county, who are well known because of their success in business affairs and the part they have taken in the affairs of the locality, is he whose name appears at the head of this article and who is now an efficient and popular merchant of Sanborn.
Thomas A. Quilleash, proprietor of a general mercantile establishment in Sanborn, was born in 1885, in Linden, Wisconsin, the son of John and Lavinia (Smith) Quilleash. His father was born in 1847 on the Isle of Man, and left his native place when fourteen years of age and settled in the state of Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming and blacksmithing for a period of two years, at the end of which time he moved to Britt, Iowa, and there engaged in farming and operated a dairy for one year. In 1887 he moved to Sanborn and conducted a blacksmith shop until his death, which occurred in 1892. To John and Mrs. Quilleash were born four children : John, deceased; Joseph; Elmer, a salesman living in Sioux City, Iowa, and Thomas A., with whom this narrative deals.
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Thomas A. Quilleash received a good elementary education and at the age of twenty-three years began business for himself. He had been well trained in the school room, having completed the course in the Sanborn high school and later taken a course in Tolan University, of Spencer, Iowa. Ac- cordingly when he opened up his general mercantile establishment he arranged his goods in a very attractive manner and the result has been the building up of a large and lucrative patronage in Sanborn and the surrounding com- munity. He is a man of pleasing personality and by his courteous treat- ment of his customers he makes them regular patrons of his store.
Mr. Quilleash was married in 1908, at Sanborn, to Georgia Eldridge, and to this union has been born one son, Albert Henry. The Republican party has claimed the vote of Mr. Quilleash, but the cares of a business life have precluded him from taking an active part in political affairs. How- ever, he takes an intelligent interest in the current issues of the day and is a wide reader and a close observer of men and events. He and his wife are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sanborn and sub- scribe generously to the support of its various activities. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and takes a part in the various affairs which are promoted by these fraternal organizations. Mr. Quilleash is a young man, but in the short time which he has been in business in Sanborn he has impressed every one as being a man of excellent judgment and foresight and it is safe to predict for him a successful career in the future. He keeps well abreast of the times on all matters of public interest and has won the respect of all who know him be- cause of his genial and unassuming manner.
J. E. SOLLITT.
It is often remarked in these days that the tendency of modern education is to draw the young men away from the farm, and it is interesting to note that there are many exceptions to this current belief. J. E. Sollitt, whose life history is here presented is a man of excellent education, being trained in the best high schools of Chicago, yet he is a contented farmer of Osceola county, Iowa. It is true he is not content to farm exactly in the same manner as all of his neighbors, because he has removed from the beaten path and devoted his energies proudly to the raising of live stock. However, he is as successful in the cultivation of the crops of this locality as he is in his
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stock raising. He is actively interested in all the phases of the civic, moral and intellectual life of the community and is rightly regarded as one of the representative citizens of his locality.
J. E. Sollitt. the son of Charles W. and Clara E. (Marsh) Sollitt, was born November 19, 1880, at Sollitt, Illinois. His father was the son of John and Anna ( Rowntree) Wilson Sollitt and was born in Chicago.
John Sollitt, the grandfather of J. E., whose history is here presented, was a building contractor and built the first court house in the city of Chi- cago. He also built the first Illinois Central depot in that city. At the time the present magnificent court house was built in Chicago he was honored by having his picture put in the corner stone. John Sollitt acquired about two thousand acres of land in Kankakee county and Will county, Illinois. The station of Sollitt was laid out and named after him. Charles W. Sollitt, the father of J. E. Sollitt, with whom this narrative deals, owned one hun- dred and sixty acres in Will county, Illinois, where he lived until 1903. He then sold it and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in sections 22 and 28 of East Holman township, Osceola county, Iowa. Here he lived until the spring of 1914 when he moved to Sibley and left the management of his farm to his son, J. E.
J. E. Sollitt graduated from the English high school at Chicago, later from the Manual Training School in that city. He then took up farming and stock raising as his life work, rather than going into any of the learned professions. It is a satisfaction to feel that an increasing number of our best young men are trained to agriculture, a basic occupation to all occupa- tions. He makes a specialty of full-blooded, registered Hereford cattle and now has about forty head of as fine a cattle as can be found in the state. He also keeps full-blooded Duroc Jersey swine, as well as full-blooded Ply- mouth Rock chickens. He is interested in all phases of farm work and for several years has been an officer of the Farmers Institute in his county.
Mr. Sollitt was married October 10, 1906, to Verna R. Bullington, who was born in Illinois March 7. 1889, the daughter of Samuel M. and Mary C. (Fauber) Bullington .. Samuel Bullington was a farmer and moved to Iowa in the spring of 1893, buying one hundred and sixty acres in section 34 im Viola township. Osceola county. Mr. and Mrs. Sollitt have two children, Kenneth and Zelda, both of whom are still with their parents.
Politically, Mr. Sollitt is a stanch Prohibitionist and gives his aid to the temperance cause on all occasions. He and his wife are loyal members of the First Baptist church of Sibley and take an active part in the work of the church and Sunday school. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of
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America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while both he and his wife are members of the Daughters of Rebekah. Mr. Sollitt is still a young man and has a long and useful career before him. He has the training and the natural talent to become an influential member of his county and state, and the record he has made so far indicates that the future holds much for him.
JOHN A. SANDS.
A score of years ago there were few men who could retire from active life and content themselves with the thought that they were going to rest. An able-bodied man seldom let his mind or body wander back to the green fields and running brooks of his youth; retrospection was a word not to be found in his vocabulary. Many times he earned his bread by the sweat of his brow until death gave him relief. In more fortunate cases he continued to increase his holdings for his children or for charity's sake. Time has brought about a change. The necessities of today are the luxuries of yester- day, and the father gives his family more comforts in the present. with less thoughts of the future. And when he sees his children settled in life. he himself takes a long deserved rest. This is a social advance as much ahead of the old customs as the electric light is ahead of the kerosene lamp.
John A. Sands, the eldest son of Gustave and Christina M. (Skald) Sands, was born in Sweden in 1850. The father was born in 1824 and the mother in 1827. They were married in 1849 and had seven children, only two of whom are alive. The parents came to this country in 1885 and settled on land in Baker township. They remained on this farm till 1906, in which year the death of the father occurred.
The subject came to this country from Sweden in 1880. He located in Webster county, Iowa, where he worked four years as a farm hand. From there he went to O'Brien county, where he secured a homestead in section 9, in Baker township, and where his parents joined him in 1885. Since that time he has owned and farmed the original quarter section. The land is now rented to his nephew, Victor J. Sands.
Politically, Mr. Sands advocates the policies of the Independent Pro- gressive party. He is religiously inclined and, while not a member of any church, he is a regular attendant at services. He has never married.
Victor J. Sands, the nephew who now has sole charge of the farm. is also a native of Sweden, where he was born in 1884. His father, Victor
JOHN A. SANDS
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Sands, had emigrated to this country in the latter part of 1883. leaving his wife, Ida (Christina) Sands, who was born in 1857, and the unborn child behind. It was known that he first went to Chicago, but further than that nothing was ever heard of him. A party of emigrants was leaving for America and when John A. Sands heard of it he and his sister-in-law and her infant child joined them. They all located on the same quarter section in O'Brien county.
Victor J. Sands has remained with his mother and uncle since coming to this country. He is a wide-awake young man, thoroughly alive to the opportunities of the farmer of today. The farm is well improved and well supplied with graded animals. He was married in 1912 to Ella Moord. who was born in Sweden in 1891. He is a member of the Modern Wood- men of America.
ANTON DRIES.
The farm dweller has always been conceded some advantages over the city dweller, but until recently the disadvantages were often considered to outweigh them. Now, with the establishment of good roads and schools in country districts, with the use of modern machinery, which has lightened the farmer's task, and in the era of prosperity, which has recently dawned upon the farmer, his position is beginning to be an enviable one. Such it seems indeed to the man who has the pleasure of seeing the well regulated farm and the happy home life of Anton Dries.
Anton Dries, a prosperous farmer of Gilman township, Osceola county, Iowa, was born in Kenosha county, Wisconsin, January 31, 1869. His parents, Joseph and Catherine ( Ratz) Dries, were both born in Germany. The Dries family were farmers in their native land and raised almost the same crops which they are now growing in this country with the exception that very little corn is raised in Germany. When Joseph Dries came to America he settled in Chicago where he worked by the day, helping to build the stone water front on Lake Michigan. Subsequently he rented land in Wisconsin and later purchased a farm for himself. In 1882 he moved to Osceola county, Iowa, and bought two hundred and forty acres. He proved to be a very successful farmer and eventually became the possessor of six hun- dred and forty acres of fine land in the county.
Anton Dries was given a good common school education in the schools of Wisconsin and Iowa. He was thirteen years of age when he came with
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his parents to this county from Wisconsin, and consequently spent most of his life here. He remained at home until he was married, when he moved to his present farm in section 23 in Gilman township where he has one hundred and sixty-five acres in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Dries is building an addi- tion to his home which will add much to the attractiveness and convenience of the place. In 1900 he built the commodious barn which now stands on his farm and in 1910 built one of the largest silos which has ever been erected in the township. He conducts a dairy along with his regular farming, milk- ing on an average of twelve cows each day. He raises considerable stock, including hogs, cattle and horses, which adds not a little to his annual income.
Mr. Dries was married in 1899 to Elizabeth Beck, who was born Novem- ber 13, 1873. in Wisconsin. She was the daughter of Christian Beck, a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Dries are the parents of seven children, six of whom are living: Theodore Joseph, Alma C. ( who was accidentally shot when thirteen years of age and died soon after from the effects of the wound), Therissa Elizabeth. Martin, Gregor, Lena and Edward. All of the children are still living with their parents and are being given the advan- tages of a good education.
Politically, Mr. Dries is a Democrat, but has never been an aspirant for any public office .. He prefers to devote all of his time to his agricultural interests. Religiously, he and his family are loyal members of the Catholic church at Ashton, and give their hearty support to their favorite denomina- tion. Mr. Dries is a man of pleasing personality and has a host of friends and acquaintances who have been attracted to him because of his clean and wholesome life since living in this community.
CHRIST ATTIG.
One of the best farming regions of Osceola county, Iowa, is West Hol- man township. In that township one of the best and most productive farms is owned by Christ Attig. Though he has been a resident of the county but a few years, yet he has proven himself one of the most progressive farmers of his community, a man who always takes a deep interest in the public welfare. He is a descendant of German parentage, and this may account for his phenomenal success in agriculture. It is a well known fact that the German citizens of this county are among its best and most substantial farmers.
Christ Attig was born January 8. 1871. in Woodford county. Illinois,
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and is the son of Fred and Mary (Schoman) Attig. His parents were natives of Wurtemberg. Germany, and were the parents of ten children, Christ being the youngest of the family. Part of these children were born in Germany and part of them in this country, and are as follows: Catherine, the wife of John Schneider; Fred; John; William; George; Sarah, the wife of Frank Losher: Marguerite, the wife of William Salzman; Christ, whose life history is here recorded; an infant who died while the family was cross- ing the ocean, and Lena, who died in infancy. On the voyage to this country from their native land, the sailing vessel required fifty-six days to make the trip, consequently the little daughter who died on board the vessel had to be buried at sea.
Fred Attig was a good, substantial farmer, but was never an office seeker in any sense of the term. Upon coming to this country he settled with his family in Illinois, where he followed the vocation of a farmer until his death on May 15. 1894, while his wife passed away on November 19. 1901. He and his wife had been adherents of the Lutheran faith in the old country, but on coming to the new country they identified themselves with the Evangelical association. Mr. Attig was a very religious man and took a great deal of interest in church work.
Christ Attig lived with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age and then went to live with his brother, George, his father having retired from farming. The two brothers farmed together for four years, and upon the marriage of Christ Attig he rented one hundred and sixty acres of land in Livingston county, Illinois, and continued to rent land for sixteen years in that state, and was very successful as a farmer. He saved his money with the intention of eventually purchasing a farm of his own. In 1902 he came to Osceola county, Iowa, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres in West Holman township. In 1910 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Viola township, across the road from his first farm. In 1912 he built a large, twelve-room house, which is one of the most modern and up-to-date country homes in the county. and in this same year he brought his family to the new home, where they are now living.
Mr. Attig was married November 27, 1896, to Siniah Batrum, the daughter of John and Mary (Bickle) Batruni, and who was born in Mclain county, Illinois, April 8. 1873. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, having come from that state to Indiana and from thence to Illinois, and they were the parents of four children, Oliver, Ray, Alta and Siniah, wife of Mr. Attig. Mr. and Mrs. Attig have four children living and one deceased :
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Harold D., Bernice M., Fred R. and Edith Leona; the other child having died in infancy.
Mr. Attig carries on a system of general farming and raises fine crops of corn, oats and hay, particularly. He also devotes considerable attention to the breeding of live stock and never handles any but the best grade. He had twenty-one head of horses and colts at the time this biographical material was collected and no farmer in the county owned any more stock than he. He also makes a specialty of breeding full blooded Plymouth Rock chickens. His farm is one of the best developed in the county, while his home is a model of convenience and comfort. Thre are now three houses on the farm, the smallest house being the one built there when the land was homesteaded, about forty years ago. It is fourteen by eighteen feet and seven feet to the eaves. The second house is a little larger and has a little attic for an up- stairs. The third house is the present large and beautiful home which is occupied by Mr. Attig and his family.
Mr. Attig has always been a Republican, but has never aspired to any public office. He and his family have been loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute liberally of their means to its support. Mr. and Mrs. Attig entertain their many friends and acquaintances in their handsome home, where they dispense genuine hospitality.
WILBUR J. OSGOOD.
One of the popular and substantial citizens of Osceola county is Wil- bur J. Osgood, who gives his support to all measures for the public good, and his name has long been synonymous with honorable dealings in all the relations of life. He has passed so many of his years in Osceola county that he has a wide acquaintance among its best citizens, many of whom are included within the circle of his warm personal friends. He has always tried to measure up to the standard of correct manhood, and this locality is proud to number him among its progressive and representative residents.
Wilbur J. Osgood was born December 16, 1878, on the farm where he is now living, and the same which his father homesteaded in the early seven- ties. His father, Clemment Osgood, was a native of New York, and came to Butler county, Iowa, when about thirty years of age. He lived there until Osceola county was open for homesteading and then came to this county and established his claim to a large tract of land. He was one of the first
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WILBUR J. OSGOOD AND FAMILY
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settlers in the county and passed through some very trying experiences in his time. He built a dugout first and then later erected a sod house. He had just finished his sod house when the terrible three-day blizzard from October to to October 13, 1873, came. If this blizzard had struck some days before their houses were completed, they would probably have perished. It is remembered as the severest blizzard that ever crossed the plains of this county. In the course of a few years he was able to build a small frame house. to which he later added as the family increased. Mr. Osgood was the first man in the county to have a grain stack, and for many years bound all of his own grain by hand. He went through the experiences incident to the grasshopper period and for three years fed practically all of his crops to these little pests. A few years after he had comfortably settled in this state, he made a trip to his home state in New York, during the winter. He started back in February and got as far as Mason City, Iowa, when the train was blockaded by snow. Not knowing how long it would be before they could proceed westward, he and another man started to walk the rest of the way home. but did not reach home until early in April. During part of their way they walked on snow drifts as high as telegraph poles. In fact the snow was so deep in many places along the railroad track that it was the latter part of April before their train reached Osceola county. When Mr. Osgood settled in this county the nearest postoffice was Cherokee, seventy miles away. Clemient Osgood and wife were the parents of eight children, four of whom are living. He died in 1896 and his wife, Mary M. Merrill, is now living in Sheldon, where she moved in 1908. The children of this family were three who died in childhood: Milo, of Canada: Maud, who is with her mother in Sheldon: Wilbur; Hattie, deceased, aged thirty-two, in 1914; Clifford, with his brother Wilbur.
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