USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 58
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Mr. Hughes gives his support to all movements which are for the gen- eral good of the community at large. He is broad minded and progressive
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in his views, and politically is interested in the advancement of the Inde- pendent Progressive party.
Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, in their home life, stand for those things which are the best in life, sympathizing with the affairs of the young people who surround them, and by their example adding to the high character of the community and the society in which they move.
EDWIN P. MESSER.
To have been one of the thousands who fought in the Federal army during the Civil War is a mark of distinction of great merit. The boys of the sixties will receive attention and be honored everywhere and always. It will not be long until they all will be called to "face the only foe that they could not meet," as Daniel Webster said of the veterans of the Revolu- tionary War, and friends will pay him suitable eulogy for the sacrifices on battlefield and in the hospitals that he made a half century ago: ever afterwards his descendants will revere his memory and take pride in recount- ing his services in behalf of his country in its hour of peril. Participancy in the great Rebellion seemed but to have prepared a large number of these heroes for greater successes in the marts of trade and commerce, and to have paved the way for a long and useful life in the communities in which they settled. In the person of Edwin P. Messer, of Sheldon, Iowa. is combined the valiant soldier, pioneer, successful merchant and excellent citizen.
Mr. Messer was born August 20, 1838, in the town of Lester, Ver- mont, on a farm. He was the son of J. S. and Julia (Barker) Messer, who were born and reared in Vermont and were descended from old New England families, it being a noteworthy fact that Julia A. Barker was a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Allen, famed in Longfellow's poem. "The Courtship of Miles Standish." It is related that J. S. Messer left the ancestral acres in Vermont and journeyed to the far-off land of Illi- nois as early as 1857. He settled with many of his old neighbors in Lake county and there became an important and component part of the life of this county. He was the father of the following children : Jane and Mary. deceased : Edwin P. and Erwin B., twin brothers. Capt. Edwin B. re- sides in Hartley, Iowa.
The two brothers enlisted in Company F. Thirty-seventh Illinois Volun-
EDWIN P. MESSER
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teer Infantry Regiment. Capt E. B. Messer organized the company. This company saw considerable service in the Southland and on the frontier. They fought in the battles of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and Prairie Grove. From this point they were sent back to St. Louis and from there to Pilot Knob, thence to Vicksburg. On January 4, 1864, our soldier was com- missioned quartermaster and in June of the same year was made commissariat of the division. He served entirely through the siege, battles around Vicks- burg and the subsequent fall of the city and its surrender by General Pem- berton. He next served at Yazoo City, Mississippi, thence to Morgantown, was then stationed at various places along the Mississippi river while in the discharge of the duties as quartermaster. He tendered his resignation on October 15. 1864, and received his honorable discharge at Memphis. During the winter of 1863-4 he was stationed at Brownsville, Texas. During the summer of 1863, while the brothers were in Vicksburg, their aged father paid them a visit. Unfortunately he was taken sick and was treated by the army physicians and recovered sufficiently to return home, where he died shortly after his arrival, at his old home in Lake county. The mother of the boys followed him about seven years later to the unseen shore.
Edwin P. and Erwin B. operated the farm until the year 1867, when Edwin P. went to Michigan City, Indiana, and engaged in the hardware business. Here he prospered until 1872, when he located at Woodstock, Illinois. Not long afterwards he moved further westward and was engaged in business for six years at Odebolt, Iowa. In 1882 he came to Sutherland. O'Brien county, was engaged for one year in the hardware business and in 1883 removed to Sheldon. During his residence here he has built up what is widely known as the largest hardware establishment in northwestern Iowa. It is now conducted under the name of E. P. Messer & Son. Mr. Messer is a stockholder of the Sheldon National Bank, one of the strongest financial concerns in the county and is interested in Colorado lands.
Mr. Messer is affiliated religiously with the Church of Christ. Scientist ; is fraternally connected with the Masonic order, being a member of the blue lodge and the commandery of Knights Templar, and is a charter men- ber of Mckenzie Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and was a charter member of E. O. C. Ord Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Suther- land.
This estimable gentleman was married March 24, 1864. to Celeste French, who has been his faithful and loving helpmate for over fifty years of happy wedded life. He is the father of four children, namely: Mrs. Mabel A. Hamilton, of Sheldon, who is the mother of two children, Clare M.
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and Edwin D .; Mrs. Mayme Galloway, of Libertyville, Illinois, who has two children, Mavis and Mary; L. Burt, his father's partner in the hard -. ware business; Mrs. Gertrude McFarland, of Oakdale, Pennsylvania. the mother of four children, Helen Gertrude, Mary Gretchen. Margaret and Lena, the oldest who is deceased.
In the sunset of a long and useful life, well spent, and which has a wonderful record of accomplishments, both from a material, patriotic and family standpoint, this aged soldier spends his declining years in peace and comfort, surrounded by the loving care of his good wife and devoted chil- dren. No more deserving citizen than he is to be found in O'Brien county, and the foregoing record but embellishes the pages of this volume which teems with interesting history and biographies. For the benefit and in- spiration of his progeny and many warm friends this chronicle is presented. Mr. Messer voted first for Lincoln and in 1861 recruited a company of "Wide Awakes" and was the commanding officer before he had ever cast a vote.
JOHN H. ARCHER.
Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the indi- vidual or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial develop- ment, it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a successful life, whatever the field of endeavor, is none the less interesting and profit- able by reason of the existence of this same uncertainty. The records of failures are so greatly in excess of the records of definite successes, that one is constrained to attempt an analysis in either case and to determine the causes in an approximate way. In studying the life history of John H. Archer, long a prominent and influential figure among the citizens of O'Brien county, we find many qualities in his makeup that always gain definite suc- cess in any career if properly directed. His marked success in the world's affairs has been achieved by close attention to business and by honorable and consistent dealings. It is a plain record of a plain man of affairs in the community.
John H. Archer, banker and farmer of Sheldon, Iowa, was born on April 1, 1861, in Nottingham, England, the son of Thomas and Ann ( Holmes) Archer. His father was a well-to-do farmer, who died when John H. was but a youth and attending an English boarding school. When John H. was fifteen years of age he left school and he and his brother took
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charge of their father's business. In 1881 he came to America, first locating in Clinton county, Iowa. and spent one year in traveling about the country for the purpose of meeting relatives and friends and becoming acquainted. Part of this time was spent in the harvest fields of Illinois, and he also spent a few months in and around Galveston. Texas. He came to O'Brien county in 1882 and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Summit town- ship south of the town of Sanborn. He improved this acreage, which he purchased from N. Ballou, and then invested in larger tracts. After his marriage he removed to section 24. Carroll township, which is now the site of the town of Archer. This part of O'Brien county was but sparsely set- tled at that time and the ranges were very extensive. For several years Mr. Archer ranged large flocks of sheep and cattle upon the land and was very successful in this venture. Upon the completion of the Illinois Central Rail- road, Mr. Archer sold the town site of Archer to the promoters. He and his wife and family then took a trip to England and visited among old homes scenes for a period of six months. On his return he repurchased the Archer town site and pushed the sale of lots and took an active part in the building up of the new town. He assisted in the opening of the Bank of Archer and is today its president .. Until September of 1907 he and his family resided on a farm three miles northeast of Archer. They then removed to Archer. thence to Sheldon and now occupy a handsome residence set in beautiful grounds in the east end of the city.
Mr. Archer is the owner of an extensive acreage of very fine land in O'Brien county, purchased at prices ranging from ten dollars to one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre. He has large holdings of Canadian land. He was one of the organizers of the Primghar Savings Bank and is now vice- president of this flourishing concern. He assisted in the organization of the First National Bank of Sheldon, of which he is the vice-president, and is president of the Bank of Archer. He is also a director of the Sheldon Savings Bank and the Empire Loan and Trust Company. Sheldon, Iowa. Mr. Archer spends a considerable portion of his time in Archer for the pur- pose of looking after his large farming and banking interests.
Mr. Archer is a Progressive in politics and is fraternally connected with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, is a Mystic Shriner, and a Scottish- rite Mason, having taken thirty-two degrees of this branch of Masonry and being a member of the Sioux City Consistory. He and his family are mem- bers of the Congregational church at Sheldon.
On July 4. 1885, Mr. Archer was married to Dora B. Ballou, daughter of N. Ballou, a pioneer settler of O'Brien county. They have an interesting
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family of nine children: Mrs. Dorothy A. Porterfield, of Holstein, Iowa, who is a graduate of the Iowa State College at Ames : Mrs. Gladys C. John- son, of San Diego, California, who was likewise a student at Iowa State College : Lloyd T., assistant cashier of the Bank of Archer, was a student in Culver Military Academy and graduated from Iowa State College: John Frank studied at the Culver Military Academy: Nell V., a student in the Sheldon high school: Edith A., also in high school; Sterling B .: Joyce B. and Guerdon W.
Mr. Archer, while widely and favorably known as one of the wealthiest citizens of Sheldon and O'Brien county, is one of the most modest and the kindliest of men. He is broad minded and public spirited, qualities which have enhanced his success.
NATHANIEL BALLOU.
The biographies of successful men. especially of good men, are incen- tives and guides for the instruction of others. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is within the power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class. vet have succeeded in overcoming obstacles which in many instances have had the incentive to awaken their latent powers and have served as a stimulus which has carried them onward to success. Self-reliance. if given half a chance, will win out in the end. Sturdy colonial ancestry has frequently in- bred in descendants the power to do and build where others fail. Nathaniel Ballou, of whom this chronicle is written, is a pioneer settler of western lowa, and has resided in O'Brien county for over thirty years. Well born and well educated. he has, perhaps, received more enjoyment from a long life of usefulness than the average man.
Mr. Ballou was born June 14. 1830, on a farm in New Hampshire. His father was Oliver Ballou and his mother, before her marriage, was Dorothy Kidder. both being natives of New Hampshire. The Ballou family traces its beginning in America to the year 1640, when two brothers, one of whom was Maturin Ballou, came from England and settled in Rhode Island. The Ballou family is of French Huguenot origin, leaving France in the sixteenth century for a refuge in England to escape religious persecution on account of their faith. This emigration took place shortly after the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Several descendants of Maturin Ballon fought in the Revolu-
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tion in the cause of American independence. It is recorded that Nancy Ballon, mother of President Garfield, was a cousin of N. Ballou and also Rev. Hosea Ballou, who reorganized the Universalist church.
N. Ballou migrated to Iowa in 1868. Six months later he removed to Anoka. Minnesota, and resided there for two years. He located in O'Brien county in 1881 and settled down to farming until his final retirement from active labor. His home for the greater part of the time is with his daughter, Mrs. J. H. Archer. He has always been allied with the Republican party and has held many local and township offices.
Mr. Ballou was married in 1855 at Lowell, Massachusetts, to Eda A. Avery, a daughter of Foster Avery. She died in November, 1908, leaving motherless the following children: Edgar N., of Ekalaka, Montana; Mrs. Dora B. Archer, of Sheldon, Iowa; Frank H., who is located on the home- stead farm.
Mr. Ballon is an extensive reader, keeping abreast of the times and tak- ing a keen interest in affairs despite his advanced years. It is such men as he who have formed the bulwark of advancing civilization in its better sense, and have been a power for good in their respective communities.
GEORGE W. SMITH.
It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a community or a state lies not in the machinery of government nor even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qualities of the individual citizen, in his capacity for high and unselfish effort and his devotion to the public welfare. In these particulars he whose name appears at the head of this review has conferred honor and dignity upon his locality, and as an elemental part of history it is consonant that there should be recorded a resume of his career, with the object in view of noting his connection with the advancement of one of the most flourishing and progressive sections of the commonwealth, as well as his official relations with the administration of the public affairs of the county honored by his citizenship.
George W. Smith, proprietor of a six-hundred-acre farm in Dale town- ship, O'Brien county, lowa, was born January 24, 1868, in Richmond county, Ohio. His parents were Philip B. and Elizabeth (Briggle) Smith. Philip Smith was born in Germany in 1822 and his wife was born in 1833 in Pennsylvania. of Swiss parentage. Philip Smith came to America when a
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young man with his two brothers, Henry and Adam, and lived and died in Ashland county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Smith reared a family of twelve children : William, of Sioux county, Iowa ; John, deceased : Mary, of Sioux county. lowa; Mrs. Jennie Weaver, of North Dakota: Frank T., of Wood- bury county, Iowa: Mrs. Catherine Krause, of Sioux county, Iowa; Mrs. Etta Lepker, deceased; Mrs. Ella Krause, of Sioux county, Iowa; George W., whose career is delineated here; Samuel E., of South Dakota; Harvey, of North Dakota; Mrs. Minnie Coleman, of Sioux City, Iowa, and one who died in infancy.
At the age of sixteen George W. Smith came to Blairstown, Benton county, lowa, with his mother and family and lived for four years. They then moved to Ireton, in Sioux county, where Mrs. Elizabeth Smith is still living.
George W. Smith was married when he was twenty-two years of age to Effe Troutman, of Blairstown, Iowa, and at once went to farming for him- self. having bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres the year previous in Sioux county, Iowa. He proved to be a successful farmer and added to his holdings until he had two hundred and forty acres by 1901. He then sold his Sioux county farm and bought three hundred and twenty acres in ()'Brien county at fifty-five dollars an acre. In 1910 he bought eighty acres at one hundred and thirteen dollars an acre, the land not being improved, and in June, 1913, bought two hundred acres, for which he paid one hundred and sixty dollars an acre. It is needless to say that Mr. Smith has made a pro- nounced success of farming and his farm is now worth two hundred dollars an acre. He has two large barns on his home place, two other barns on the upper half of his farm and also has a large silo. In 1902 Mr. Smith built a fine country home, which is modern in every respect, having hot water and electric lights.
In politics Mr. Smith is a Progressive, having allied himself with that party upon its organization in the summer of 1912. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Masons, while in his religious faith he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have an interesting family of four sons: Clarence, aged twenty- one: Orlo H .. aged eighteen ; Jesse E., aged fifteen, and Marvin W., aged twelve Mr. Smith has taken an active interest in the public life of his county and township and for the past twelve years has been township trustee, an office which he has served with eminent satisfaction to his fellow citizens, irrespective of their politics. His career in this county has been a notable
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one, and success has met him at every turn since coming to this favorable locality. He is a man who is always on the alert for anything which he believes will add to the betterment of the community and gives all such niove- ments his hearty approval and support.
DAVID WHITNEY.
The old settlers of this county builded wiser than they knew and it is eminently fitting that in this biographical volume their records be pre- sented for the perusal of coming generations in the county. Their de- scendants today little realize the many discouragements and obstacles which they had to meet, and for this reason the record of their lives should be in- tensely interesting to their sons and daughters. The rude sod houses of the seventies are seen no more and even the dreaded grasshopper is no longer a foe to be dreaded, like a summer drought or a winter blizzard. Verily it can be said that no county in Iowa can show today more marked changes than Osceola county. This volume contains the interesting life history of many pioneers who settled here forty years ago, and among these David Whitney occupies an honorable and conspicuous place.
David Whitney, distinguished veteran of the Civil War and one of the most highly respected citizens of Osceola county, was born February 21, 1844, in Orange county, Vermont, and is the son of Daniel and Julia (Hall) Whitney. He received his common school education in the Green Mountain state, and when only eighteen years of age offered his services in behalf of the Union. He first enlisted on the 10th of December, 1862, in Company C, Fifteenth Regiment Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and served until Au- gust 5. 1863, with this company. On December 26, 1863, he enlisted in Company G. Tenth Regiment Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and served until July 10. 1865. He was wounded on April 2, 1865, before Lee, retreating from Richmond. On this day only twenty-three of his company reported for duty, and eleven of them, among which was Mr. Whitney, were wounded. This was the last day on which the roll of his company was called until he was finally mustered out. He was in ten of the hardest fought engagements of the Civil War, and was with Grant during the summer of 1864 and through the winter of 1864-65 and went through all the terrible experiences which befell the Union troops while storming Petersburg. He fought through .all the battles of the Wilderness, and was present at the battle of Win-
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chester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. It was at this last engagement that Gen. Philip Sheridan made his memorable ride, which has been immortalized in verse, and Mr. Whitney well remembers the day when this occurred. In 1913 Mr. Whitney had the honor of attending the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg in the town of that name in Pennsylvania.
Immediately after the close of the Civil War Mr. Whitney came to Iowa and located first in Blackhawk county, where he owned eighty acres and lived for five years on his farm. Marrying in 1871, he came to Osceola county and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres in section 18, of West Holman township. Here he and his young wife began housekeeping in a frame struc- ture sixteen feet square and ten feet high. Although this house was only ten feet in height. yet they had an attic bed room. It was sided with tar paper and common rough boards, and here they lived until they were able to erect a more commodious house. The first year he raised only a little sod corn, just enough to fill the homestead requirements. Most of the time he worked out for the neighboring farmers and in this way earned enough money to make a bare living. In 1873 the grasshoppers came along and ate all of his crops, which made things seem gloomy then. He had no crops and he had no money, and his neighbors were in no better shape than he was, and he and his wife went to Clierokee, where he worked four months. In 1874 he took over one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining his tarm on the west, which he secured from a man who had decided to leave it to the grasshoppers, and left for more promising territory. Mr. Whitney had the foresight and good judgment to see that this land would one day be- come valuable and that even the grasshoppers would one day be brought under control.
That Mr. Whitney prospered is shown by his beautiful farm in Osceola county today, stretching over five hundred and ninety-six acres and im- proved in a way which delights the eye of the passerby. In addition to his land holding's in this county he is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres in Minnesota, which gives him a total acreage of nine hundred and six- teen acres. In 1889 he built his present home and in 1895 he built his present barn. A cyclone that year destroyed his barn and made it necessary for him to erect a new one. In 1913 he built a modern horse barn, which has an eighteen-foot concrete wall for the lower half of the barn. He is now cul- tivating about two hundred and sixty acres of land and uses the rest as pasturage and hay land. He raises considerable live stock and markets about eighty head of cattle annually.
Mr. Whitney was married in 1871 to Mary J. Cutshall, who was born
DAVID WHITNEY
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in Perry county, Indiana, on January 16. 1849, the daughter of Eli and Dorca Cutshall, who were among the earliest pioneers of Buchanan county, lowa, in Indian times. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney have reared a family of ten children : Clarence A., who married Flora Helt and lives on a farm east of Sibley, has three daughters, Versa, Albertine and Cleo: Orville E. is still living with his parents; Mabel, the wife of Walter Helt, is the mother of five children : Bertha lives in Oklahoma, where she has a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which she homesteaded herself; Frank, Fred and Emma, the next three children in order of birth, are still with their parents : David, the eighth child, married Dorothy Salzman, and lives in Minnesota on his father's farm: Charles and Harold, the two youngest children, are also with their parents.
Mr. Whitney has been a life-long Republican and has always taken a deep interest in political affairs. However, he has never been a candidate for any county office, although he has served on the school board of his township for several years. He is a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic and takes an active interest in the affairs of this organization. He is a member of the Baptist church and in his younger days was very active in church work, and has always maintained a deep interest in religious work of all kinds and never misses the opportunity to lend his support in behalf of all enterprises which might improve the moral welfare of his com- munity. Mr. Whitney has now reached his three score and ten years, the psalmist's allotted span of human life, and is still hale and hearty and takes an active interest in the issues of the day. His life has been well spent and when he answers the last roll call he will leave a record behind him which will be an honor to him, to his friends, to his family and to the country which he has served so well.
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