USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 54
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63
MR. AND MRS. ARTHUR H. SCHNEIDER
1219
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
Arthur H. Schneider received a good common school education in the schools of his home township and later attended college for one year in Minnesota. Owing to the fact that his father had such extensive land hold- ings in the county, he did not continue his college course, but returned home to assist with the management of his father's farm. In 1910 he began farming for himself, renting land from his father. A year later, upon his marriage, he moved to Baker township and started farming two hundred and forty acres of his father's land in that township. This progressive young farmer believed in taking advantage of all the latest improvements and the most up-to-date methods in agricultural work. He raises all of the crops peculiar to this section of Iowa, but makes a specialty of the raising of Hereford cattle and has as fine a herd as can be found in the county. He and his brothers have taken several premiums at the O'Brien county fair at Sheldon with their stock. All of the stock which he keeps upon his farm is thoroughbred, he having found by experience that it pays to keep only the best.
Mr. Schneider was married in 1911 to Elvia Wolf. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wolf, of Carroll township, in this county, and was born in Plymouth county, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have two children, Evelyn and Marvin Glenn.
Politically, Mr. Schneider is a partisan of the Democratic party, and also actively interested in the great political questions of the day, but never felt that he had the time to engage in politics. He and his wife are attend- ants of the Methodist Episcopal church and are interested in the various activities of that denomination. Mr. Schneider is a quiet. unassuming young man who is on the threshold of life, with a bright future before him.
EZRA D. CLEAVELAND.
An honored and prominent citizen of Ocheyedan, Iowa, is Ezra D. Cleaveland, who has lived a long and strenuous career in this county, having been a resident for more than forty years. He is now serving as justice of the peace in Ocheyedan and is giving his citizens faithful and satisfactory service. He has always been a public-spirited and enterprising man and has given his support to all objects calculated to advance the moral, intellectual and material welfare of his community. Mr. Cleaveland was born October
(78)
I220
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
18. 1846. in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and his father. Quantus E .. was born in Connecticut, while his mother. Esther B. Benedict, was born in Delhi. Huron county, New York. Q. E. Cleaveland is the son of Daniel Cleaveland, of Connecticut, and is of Welsh descent. Esther B. Benedict was the daughter of Ezra Benedict and descended from an old New England family.
Quantus E. Cleaveland was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War and served in Company I. One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, from August 25. 1862, to June. 1865. He was in the battle of Peach Tree Creek and his regiment of seven hundred men was decimated to seventy. He was at the battles of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain. Missionary Ridge and was wounded at the battle of Atlanta. He was with Sherman on his famous march to the sea and finally took part in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C. His uncle, S. M. Benedict, was also in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, was a member of the One Hundred and Seventh Regiment of New York Volunteer Infantry. Quantus E. Cleaveland re- mained on the home farm in Pennsylvania until 1872, when the family came west and settled in Osceola county, Iowa. The father and mother re- turned to Pennsylvania on a visit and after their return to Ocheyedan, the mother died in 1899. The father then returned to Pennsylvania on a visit. where he died the next year. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom are deceased and buried in Pennsylvania. The four living children are as follows : John J., of Pennsylvania : Mrs. Anna Sargent, of Pennsyl- vania : Frank M., of Breckenridge. Missouri, and Ezra D., with whom this narrative deals.
Ezra D. Cleaveland lived with his father on the homestead farm. Later he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Iowa on which he lived until the summer of 1891, after which he moved to Ocheyedan and sold his farm. He now owns a handsome residence in town and is engaged in the nursery and insurance business. In 1905 he was elected justice of the peace and is still holding this office.
Mr. Cleaveland was married in 1878 to Lenora Z. Dundee. a native of Allamakee county, Iowa, and to this union have been born eight children : Mrs. Lizzie Ellerbrook, of Verdi. Minnesota: Mrs. Louisa Peterson, of Greenwood, Wisconsin : Mrs. Esther B. Kelley, of Talmadge, Saskatchewan. Canada : Ernest E., a mail carrier of Ocheyedan : Philip E., hotel proprietor of Ocheyedan ; George, an automobile mechanic of Ocheyedan; Harley, pro- prietor of a panatoriuni. Ocheyedan, and Earl, who is still living with his parents.
I221
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
Politically, Mr. Cleaveland is a Republican and while living on the farm held every township office at the suffrage of his fellow citizens. He has always been regarded a man particularly qualified for official work and for this reason his fellow citizens have frequently called upon him to fill town- ship offices. He is a man who has always done his duty as he saw it and has been universally liked wherever known.
HERBERT E. DEAN.
Herbert E. Dean, the present mayor of Ocheyedan, Iowa, was born December 5, 1872, in Primghar, O'Brien county, Iowa. His parents are Edward C. and Melissa (Daugherty) Dean, his father being a native of Tioga county, New York. Edward C. Dean came to lowa about 1871 and homesteaded three miles east of Primghar in Highland township. On this farm Herbert E. Dean was born. In 1875 Edward C. Dean moved to Prim- ghar, where he has since continued to reside. Edward C. Dean and wife were the parents of seven children: Hattie, deceased: Estella, the wife of George Byron, a farmer of this county: Fred L., deceased; Herbert E .. whose history is here recorded; Blanche, the wife of Rev. E. L. Benedict, of Seattle, Washington: Mildred, the wife of Will Wolf, the editor of the Hawarden Chronicle, and Clayton G., a farmer of this county.
Herbert F. Dean was educated in the schools of Primghar and then taught four terms in O'Brien county. He studied two years in Morningside College. Sioux City, and two years in the Indiana Law School of Valparaiso, Indiana, graduating from that institution in 1896, after which he entered the law department of the University of Nebraska, graduating with the class of 1898. In the spring of 1899 he located in Harris, Osceola county, where he practiced for the next two years. In 1901 he located in Ocheyedan where he has been practicing law, but devoting most of his time to the real estate business. He has had remarkable success in the buying and selling of land and in the past thirteen years has seen land advance from thirty-five to two hundred dollars an acre in this county. He has handled considerable land since taking up this line of business and now owns one thousand acres of land in this county.
Mr. Dean was married in 1896 to Stella Bowser, the daughter of August Bowser, and to this union have been born two children, Wilbur and Forrest, both of whom are in school. Fraternally, Mr. Dean is a member
I222
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and has attained to the degree of Mystic Shrine and the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Harris.
Mr. Dean has been a Republican in politics and is now serving his third term as mayor of Ocheyedan. While living at Harris he was a member of the school board at the time the new school building was erected at that place. In the fall of 1912 Mr. Dean was a candidate for the state Legislature, but was defeated on account of his Progressive tendencies by only one hun- dred and fourteen votes. "Standpatters" opposed him violently, because he had too much faith in the common people. Mr. Dean was deputy clerk of the district court of O'Brien county under John Walters from 1893 to the end of that term. Mr. Dean has made a success of life because he has con- ducted his energies along proper lines. He is a man of integrity and has won the confidence of all with whom he has been associated. He is a man of pleasing appearance and charming personality and easily makes friends wherever he goes. As a speaker, he has a ready flow of language.
WILLIAM HOUSTON WOODS.
William Houston Woods, familiarly known to every settler of O'Brien county, Iowa, as "Huse" Woods, was one of the most prominent citizens of O'Brien county from its earliest history. As a surveyor he became ac- quainted with practically every settler who came to the county and from the fact that Mr. Woods located probably half of the six hundred homesteaders of this county fully explains the reason why he was known to the settlers as "the Pathfinder of O'Brien county." He was fortunately blessed with a fine college education. being a thorough surveyor and trained in one of the best colleges in the Central states at that time. His name frequently appears in the historical part of this volume and he will go down in history as one of the most important men connected with the early annals of the county, where he spent so many years of his active life.
William Houston Woods, the son of Rev. William W. and Patsy (Hous- ton) Woods, was born January 1, 1831, in Maryville, Tennessee, and died in Atlanta, Georgia, March 25, 1909. His mother was a first cousin of Gen. Sam Houston, of Texas fame. His parents were slave owners in Tennessee, but eventually liberated their slaves and removed from that state to Indiana and in 1840 removed to Iowa City, Iowa. In the latter state
I223
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
Mr. Woods received such elementary education as was afforded by the dis- trict schools of his day and generation, and later entered Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois. While in Iowa City he became the chum of Col. William P. Hepburn, later a member of Congress from the eighth Iowa district. While in Knox College Mr. Woods gave particular attention to the study of mathematics and it was there that he learned surveying. He probably little dreamed at the time he was poring over his trigonometry that the day would come when his knowledge would be of great value to him and his fellow citizens.
In the latter part of the forties Mr. Woods was seized with the same en- thusiasm to go to California that caused thousands of others to go across the continent to seek their fortunes in the Golden state. In company with a number of his friends from Iowa, he made the long overland trip to the Pacific coast and returned four years later with a small fortune, much of which he invested in land. After his marriage, in 1855, Mr. Woods located in Iowa City, where he followed the real estate business for several years. He first came to O'Brien county, Iowa, in 1869, and was one of the first settlers in Waterman township, although this township had been organized several years. The settlers were very few and confined to the county seat, Old O'Brien, in the southeast corner of Waterman township. As soon as it was learned that Mr. Woods was a surveyor, his services were in constant de- mand, and his home in Waterman township was visited by practically every settler who came to the county. His home was on the east half of section 8. township 94. range 39, now adjoining Sutherland, which was established thirteen years later. From this section he piloted scores of settlers to various parts of the county and helped them to get located. Most of the settlers who came here had very little money and they were very anxious to be sure that they were located on the proper section and not lose anything by reason of being wrongly located. Practically all of the settlers received only eighty acres of land, as much of the land of the county was within the railroad limits according to an act of Congress. Of course the land had been pre- viously surveyed by the United States government, but the surveys were even then twenty years of age and the tall prairie grass had long since covered most of the government survey stones. It was Mr. Woods who found these hidden corners, who straightened out the survey lines for the incoming settlers, who piloted them from one section to another, and finally saw them safely and securely settled on their proper tracts. It is not an exaggeration to say that "Huse" Woods located at least one-half of the six hundred homesteaders of O'Brien county, and this fact certainly en-
1224
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
titles him to the name of "Pathfinder of O'Brien county." There was no man within the limits of the county who understood surveying as did he. There was scarcely a hill or hummock with which he was not familiar. He traveled thousands of miles up and down the county in trying to get the settlers properly located, and in view of the fact that he was better ac- quainted with the different tracts located by the settlers than any other man, is sufficient evidence for his activity in the organization of the Taxpayers' Association.
The Taxpayers' Association was an organization which had for its purpose the settling of the debt created by the early grafters of the county, and this association performed a valiant service for the oppressed citizens of the county and in its work Mr. Woods was a leader. It is interesting to note that Mr. Woods had no desire to hold office, although he could have been elected to any office within the suffrage of the people of the county. Politics as such had no attraction for him, and his only wish came to be to serve his fellow citizens in an unofficial capacity. It is probably safe to say that, all in all, he was the one most valuable man for ten years in the history of O'Brien county. From 1870 to 1880 "Huse" Woods, as he was fa- miliarly and endearingly known to the settlers, was the man to whom they turned with all their troubles, and it is to his credit that he never failed them.
William H. Woods was married September 4, 1855, at Davenport. Iowa, to Roma Wheeler, the daughter of Daniel Holbrook and Lydia Churchill (Martin) Wheeler, and to this union two children were born, Martha Roma, who died at the age of six, and Houston Clay, who died in 1890, at the age of thirty-two. The widow of Mr. Woods is now living in Sutherland. Iowa.
In 1874 Mr. Woods established a library in the old log cabin on sec- tion 8, township 94, range 39. Mrs. Woods was the librarian and the books which Mr. and Mrs. Woods had in their private library became the nucleus of the present library at Sutherland. The good which came from this move- ment on the part of Mr. Woods and his wife cannot be calculated. Mrs. Woods has planned to build a memorial hall, in honor of her husband, at Sutherland. This library was unique in its location on the prairie, far from any town. It was a subscription library-five hundred shares of ten dol- lars each, at ten per cent. interest per year, the interest only to be paid in and this money to be used only for the purpose of books and magazines. The money expended was for eight magazines, Littell's Living Age, Har- per's, Scribner's, Atlantic, Arthur's Home Magasine, Lippincott's, an all-
1225
O BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
story magazine and St. Nicholas, for the children. Some of the members lived twenty-two miles away, but we were all helpful neighbors then. It was named Gen. N. B. Baker Library, after the adjutant-general of the state, and a former governor of New Hampshire. With his own hands he gathered the state publications, boxed and sent them. Another friend. Gen. Duane Wilson, uncle of President Wilson, sent us a box containing six hun- dred magazines and eighty bound books. The wife of the late Judge John Dillon, of New York, another friend, helped in this unique enterprise, the first library in northwest Iowa.
Into this cabin, built in the fall of 1870, came the first private library and the first piano in the county. Here was organized the first literary society, the first equal rights society, the Taxpayers' League and later the Taxpayers' Association. The latch string always hung on the outside.
MART SHEA.
Mart Shea, sheriff of O'Brien county from January 1, 1878, to January 1. 1882. was born May 12. 1850, in Lafayette county, Wisconsin. He was raised on the farm and attended the district schools. He came to O'Brien with many other old homesteaders in 1871, and homesteaded eighty acres on section 10 in Highland. He was married October 20, 1877, to Martha Farrell and they have three children. He was elected sheriff in the fall of 1877, and assumed his duties January 1, 1878. One curious instance of electioneering occurred. His predecessor was much given to drink. He openly electioneered for himself, and said that he was drunk most of the time. and his duties were not performed, and that owing to the pressure of times which were then very hard, as elsewhere seen in this record, that it would be better for the people and that Mart Shea was a git-up-and-git young man, and would enforce everything and perform his duty to the hard- ship of the settler. Mr. Shea was elected by a good majority, and it was an illustration that even a people hard pressed appreciated a prompt perforni- ance of duty. His predecessor openly argued that he had been in the habit of sending word to the party when an execution was placed in his hands. But while Mart Shea and his successors promptly and vigorously executed papers placed in their hands. they also exacted their fees in advance for all services performed. Mr. Shea's predecessor had served notices without fees in advance. Shea refused to do it. The result was that fewer suits
I226
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
were brought against the settler, as lightning-rod and machine creditors would not send good money after bad experimenting when they had to ad- vance fees. It proved that an exacting officer was less harrassing than a go-easy one.
Mr. Shea was re-elected in 1879. He moved to Sanborn that fall. He has since engaged in various businesses, lumber dealer, liveryman, was in- terested for a time in a bank at Hartley, and at Sanborn was a member of the city council, constable, city marshal. etc. He now resides at Sioux City.
ERNST J. CLAUSSEN.
Prominent among the younger business men of Paullina, O'Brien county, Iowa. is Ernst J. Claussen, the up-to-date photographer, whose enterprise and depth of character have gained for him a prominent place in the com- munity and the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens. Mr. Claussen has been progressive, enterprising and persevering in his chosen field and such qualities always win success sooner or later. To him they have brought a satisfactory reward for his well-directed effort and while he has primarily sought the advancement of his own individual interests, he has also ever borne in mind the essential qualities of good citizenship.
The subject is a native of Chicago, Illinois, born in that city in 1880, the son of J. H. and Elizabeth (Wolfram) Claussen, the former of whom was born in Germany in 1844 and the latter a native of the state of Mary- land. born in 1848. When a young man in his native country, the elder Claussen mastered the wagonmaker's trade, at which he worked for several years before emigrating to this country in 1875. He settled in Illinois and in Chicago secured employment in his trade. There he remained until 1884 when he came to Iowa, locating in O'Brien county, and in Caledonia township acquired a tract of land containing three hundred and twenty acres. Here he carried on general farming and kindred pursuits and was engaged in this vocation at the time of his death in 1893. His widow survived him a number of years, passing into the great beyond in 1910. They were the parents of a family of ten children, all living with the exception of one. Mr. Claussen was possessed of much native shrewdness and more than or- dinary energy and ability, and during the years of his residence here he came to be regarded as one of the stanch and reliable men of his locality.
Ernst J. Claussen, the immediate subject of this sketch, in his boyhood
ERNST J. CLAUSSEN
I227
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
attended the German parochial school at Germantown, Iowa, from which he was graduated in due time, and later attended high school in Paullina for two terms. After the death of his father he remained on the home farm for six years, operating it and helping to care for the mother and younger children, and in 1899, in company with his brothers, Charles and William, he came to Paullina and engaged in the mercantile business. For five years they maintained this association and in 1904 he separated from them, engaging in the photograph business at Paullina. One year later he opened a studio at Sutherland and at the present time is managing the busi- ness at both places. In addition to his studios he maintains photo supply shops and is quite successful in his enterprise.
In 1912 Mr. Claussen was united in marriage with Dora Hanson, of Cherokee, Iowa, born in 1888, and they are the parents of one little daughter, Claudia. Politically, Mr. Claussen belongs to the Democratic party and is considered one of the active workers in local circles. He has served as chairman of Waterman township and has rendered other public service. His religious affiliation is with the German Lutheran church, of which he is an active and consistent member. He has become well and most favor- ably known throughout this locality for his uprightness in business, his public spirit and friendly disposition. He and his wife are well liked by a large circle of friends. endeavoring always to keep abreast of the times and always willing and glad to do their part toward furthering any move- ment looking to the betterment of the locality where they reside, either religiously, socially or educationally.
JOHN C WARD.
Osceola county, Iowa, enjoys a high reputation because of the high order of her citizenship, and none of her citizens occupy a more enviable position in the esteem of his fellows than John C. Ward, a prominent live stock dealer of Ocheyedan. A residence here of many years has given his fellow citizens a good opportunity to observe him in the various lines of activity in which he has been engaged, and his present high standing is due solely to the honorable and upright course he has pursued. As a leading citizen of his town and community, he is eminently entitled to representation in a biographical volume of this nature.
John C. Ward, the son of Calvin and Margaret (Morgan) Ward, was
I228
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
born August 13, 1842, in Upper Canada, in the county of Middlesex, now known as Ontario. His parents were natives of Vermont and Wales, re- spectively, and came to Clinton county, Iowa, in the spring of 1866, where they purchased a farm three miles from DeWitt. Later they moved to Tama county, this state, where Calvin and his wife subsequently died in the town of Traer. Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Ward were the parents of four chil- dren, who are living: Thomas, of Pocahontas county, Iowa: David, of Traer, Tama county, and Luther, of Pocahontas county, and Margaret, of Traer.
John C. Ward received his common school education in the schools of Canada, and upon his marriage in his native land, in 1865, he immediately came to Clinton county, Iowa. Three years later he put all of his possessions in a covered wagon and moved west to Tama county. When he arrived there in 1868 there were very few settlers in the county, and the nearest markets were Tama City, seventeen miles away, and Belle Plaine, twenty-four miles away. He improved his farm and later sold it at a good profit and bought the western half of section 16, in Fairview township, Osceola county, paying seven dollars an acre for the land. There were no improvements on this farm when he purchased it, but he went to work with a will, and within a few years had it in a high state of cultivation and had the satisfaction of seeing it yield him good returns. Here he resided until 1894, when he sold this tract and moved to Ocheyedan, since which time he has engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock. He has had good success in this line of business and ships on an average three car loads of live stock a week. or from one hundred to one hundred and fifty cars annually.
Mr. Ward was married in Canada on June 5, 1865, to Sarah Robinson. who was born in Canada on May 4, 1847, and to this union there have been born six children: Robert Everett, of Haswell, Colorado; Walter E., de- ceased October 6, 1900; Calvin J., who is at home with his parents; Mrs. Ida May Rochards, whose husband is treasurer of Osceola county ; Mrs Minnie Robbins, of Albert Lea, Minnesota; Grace E., the wife of Vernon A. Riddiough, who is manager of one of the Hearst newspapers in New York City, and has forty employes under his charge. Mr. and Mrs. Ward now have eight grandchildren.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.