USA > Iowa > Shelby County > Past and present of Shelby County, Iowa, Vol. 2 > Part 25
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contractor and builder. While living in Indiana he married Eleanor Me- Millian, who was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, January 16. 1850, and died in Shelby county, Iowa. March 30, 1906. Eleanor MeMillian was the daughter of Alexander and Amanda ( Fransico) MeMillian, born in New York state in 1820 and 1825. respectively. Mr. McMillian was a carpenter in Indiana many years before his death in 188o, his widow passing away in 1891.
The grandfather of Charles A. Cockerell on his father's side was born in 1807 in England and his wife was born in the same country in 1812. They came to this country and lived with their daughter in Grand Rapids until his death in 1887. his widow living until 1904. They were the parents of six children, only one of whom is now living. In 1879, William Cockerell and his family moved to Harlan. Iowa. where he followed his business as a builder and contractor. He built the present courthouse of Harlan and most of the buildings around the square. He died November 29, 1895, and his widow passed away March 30, 1906.
Charles A. Cockerell was two years of age when his parents moved from Indiana to Harlan, Iowa. and. consequently his education has all been re- ceived in this county and state. After completing the course in the schools of Harlan he entered the college at Ames, Iowa, and took a course in mechanical engineering. After a two years' course he traveled over the western states for some time and then returned to Harlan in 1904. Ile at once engaged in the building and construction business and continued alone until 1910, when he went into partnership with W. W. Simpson. They built the Vocational College building at Harlan, the Farmers and Merchants Bank building in Harlan and many fine buildings scattered all over the state. In 1913 the firm dissolved partnership and Mr. Cockerell bought out the Harlan Plumbing Company and placed O. F. Graves in charge of the plumb- ing establishment. Then he went to Atlantic, Iowa. and bought an interest in the City Investment Company and became the manager and vice-president of the company. Mr. Cockerell remained in Atlantic as overseer of all of the improvements which were being made in an addition which this company made to the city of Atlantic during 1913-14. In the spring of 1914. he returned to Harlan and took active charge of his plumbing and heating establishment. He employs six men all the time and carries about three thousand dollars' worth of material on hands.
Mr. Cockerell was married October 20, 1904, to May Campbell. the daughter of William and Emma Campbell. and born in this county May IS.
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1879. To this union there have been born five children, Jean, Eleanor, Eloise. Charles, Jr., and Robert H.
Fraternally, Mr. Cockerell is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is an independent voter and votes for the best men. He has always been active in city political matters and has held a number of city offices.
ERNEST A. SCHELL.
Shelby county is distinguished for the high type of county officials on whom falls the burden of administering the governmental affairs of the county. It requires a certain amount of intelligence and capability to per- form the duties of an elective county office and a definite amount of personal popularity is necessary for election thereto. Frequently some one individual stands out prominently among his fellows and is evidently gifted with qualities of leadership, which, combined with well-defined ability to serve the people, makes him a man prominent among his fellows. The office of county auditor is one of the most important and one of the most difficult to fill : it is practically, and in a certain sense, the highest office within the gift of the people of an Iowa county, and is an office which distinguishes itself when held by an individual signally equipped with education, intelligence and execu- tive ability. Ernest A. Schell, auditor of Shelby county has ably filled this office for two successive terms; his popularity is beyond question and he is held in high esteem in Shelby county by men of all political parties. His con- duct of the office for the past four years has been such as to commend him favorably to the entire population of the county. So ably and conscientiously did he perform the duties of his office that he was nominated and elected without opposition for his second term and is at present the candidate of his party for a third elective term.
It is the province of biography to record the main events of the lives of good and useful citizens and Mr. Schell is a high and useful type of citizen of whom it is a pleasure to write. He was born at Montezuma, Iowa, on June 18, 1874, and is the son of German parents. From them he has inherited those traits which have been a strong factor in enabling him to achieve suc- cess in the adopted land of his parents.
He is the son of August and Christena ( Nauroth ) Schell. both natives of Germany. August Schell was born on August 5, 1832, at Walkes, Saxony, Germany, and came to America to seek his fortune in the early sixties. He
ERNEST A. SCHELL,
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first engaged in farming in Poweshick county and in the year 1880 removed to Shelby county, settling on a farm near Earling. He is now living a re- tired life with his son in the city of Harlan. The wife of August Schell was born in Moerlen, Nassau, Germany, in February of 1844 and came to America in 1868. locating in Poweshiek county. She and August Schell were married in 1873 at lowa City, Johnson county, lowa. She came to Shelby county with ther husband and died December 23, 1903. She is buried in the cemetery at Westphalia.
E. A. Schell was six years old when the family made a permanent home in Shelby county. He received a good common school education and studied for one year in the St. Lawrence College at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. graduating from the Commercial department of the college in June of 1894. He then took up teaching and for four years taught in the public schools of Westphalia, Washington and Cass townships. While teaching he spent some time on his farm in Westphalia township thereby combining the two occupa- tions and making a fair success in both.
Turning his attention to political affairs he became the candidate of the Democratic party for the office of county recorder in the fall of 1906 but was defeated by eight votes, notwithstanding the fact that the Republican party boasted a majority of over seven hundred votes at this time. He then became deputy auditor and served four years in this capacity. In 1910 he received the nomination for the office without opposition and was elected by a majority of seven hundred votes. So well did he serve the people and so satisfactory was his conduct of the office that he was nominated and re- elected without opposition in 1912. He is now serving his fourth year in the office and is again the candidate of his party for re-election.
Mr. Schell was married to Anna Mester. April 28, 1898. His wife is the daughter of August and Regina Mester and the youngest of six children. To this union have been born six children. Olive, Irene, Edwin, Adeline, Vera and Richard, all of whom are at home with their parents.
Mr. Schell is a live and progressive citizen in a live and hustling com- munity. He is keenly interested in every movement intended for the ad- vancement of the welfare of the people of his home city and county. lfc is blessed with the faculty of making and retaining warm friendships. He is obliging and accommodating to a high degree and is deservedly popular throughout the length and breadth of Shelby county. He is earnest and sin- cere in whatever he undertakes and performs the public duties intrusted to his care with exactness and painstaking care.
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FRANK L. HANSEN.
One of the most enterprising young men of Tennant, Shelby county. łowa, is Frank L. Hansen. He is now the manager of the Green Bay Lum- ber Company at Tennant, as well as the postmaster of the town. He has been working for himself since he was fifteen years of age and has been known as one of the hardest working young men of his community. Starting in to learn the carpenter's trade when a mere youth, he soon became an ex- pert at this particular line of activity and within a few years was a valued employee of the Green Bay Lumber Company. He is a wide-awake and energetic young man and is well deserving of the success which has come to him.
Frank L. Hansen, the son of Hans A. and Christina ( Hines) Hansen. was born in Shelby county, Iowa. December 24, 1886. His father was born in Denmark in 1850 and his mother was born in Germany in 1860. Hans A. Hansen left his native land when he was eighteen years of age and came to America, locating in Chicago. He was foreman of a machine shop at the time of the great Chicago fire in 1871 and after the fire moved to Clinton. Iowa, and found employment in the large saw mills in that city. In 1877. Hans A. Hansen moved to Kimballton, fowa, where he was employed as a rural mail carrier to Audubon, Iowa. A few years later he bought three farms and sold one of one hundred and sixty acres. He still owns one hun- dred and sixty acres north of Tennant and ninety-nine acres in Andu- bon county. He engaged in farming until he retired and moved to Harlan in 1912. Hans A. Hansen and wife reared a family of seven children, six of whom are still living.
Frank L. Hansen received a limited education in the public schools of Audubon, Shelby county. Iowa. At the age of fifteen he left school and started to learn the carpenter's trade. When he was eighteen years of age. he was employed by the Green Bay Lumber Company at Walnut, Iowa, and for the next three years and one-half he worked for that company at that place. The company then sent him to Jacksonville, Iowa, and he remained there one year and from there went to Harlan. Iowa. While working for the company at Harlan, he did all of the bookkeeping for the company and such was his excellent work that the company appointed him manager in 1910 of the branch at Tennant. On August 1, 1914, he was appointed post- master at Tennant and now holds this position in connection with his other
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work. He owns property in the town of Tennant and also considerable land in the state of Florida.
Mr. Hansen was married in 191 in Harlan, Iowa, to Alvina Madsen, who was born in 1889. To this union one daughter, Maurine, has been born.
Mr. Hansen is a Republican in politics and one of the leaders of his party in local political matters. He has taken an active interest in education and is now serving as treasurer of the school board of his township. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fra- ternally, he holds his membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Hansen is an enthusiastic and energetic young man and the success which has attended his efforts so far presages a prosperous future for him.
RALPH W. MILLER.
One of the youngest farmers of Shelby county, Iowa, is Ralph W. Miller, who is now operating his father's fine farm of three hundred and forty acres in Center township. He is a son of one of the oldest pioneers of the county, the Miller family having lived in this county since 1857, a heritage which counts for a great deal in the life of a man, and for this reason the career of Ralph W. Miller, which is now beginning, promises well for the future. He has not been strikingly identified with the history of his county long enough to make his mark, but it is safe to assume that in the course of a few years he will be taking a leading part in the various phases of the life of the county.
Ralph W. Miller, the son of George H. and Mattie E. (Carter) Miller, was born in Center township in 1887. His father was born in the same township on October 10, 1858, while his grandfather, Jacob J. Miller, was born in Germany on March 8. 1827. George H. Miller's wife was born in Jones county, lowa, and is a daughter of James Carter. George H. Miller was elected to the office of county treasurer in the fall of 1911, and moved to Harlan in December of that year for the purpose of assuming the duties of this office. He now owns four hundred and forty acres of fine land in this county, on which he has two good sets of farm buildings. George H. Miller and wife are the parents of eight children: Charles J., a farmer of South Dakota: Mrs. Leba Kemp, of Douglas township; Ralph W., with whom this narrative deals; Ira, a telephone manager in Harlan: Glenn. a
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student in the medical department of Nebraska State University, at Lin- coln: Myrtle, a milliner in Harlan : Veda, a student in Harlan high school, and Walter, who is also a student in the high school.
Ralph W. Miller received all of his education in the schools of Center township, and when nineteen years of age rented land from his father and began farming for himself. When his father assumed the office of county treasurer, in the fall of 1911, he took charge of his father's farm. In 1914 he put out one hundred acres of corn and thirty acres in oats, and had a bountiful crop. He keeps high grade live stock of all kinds but makes a specialty of the breeding of Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Miller is still a young farmer and has barely had a chance to show what he can do, although the success which has attended his efforts so far indicates that he will one day rank with the leading farmers of the county.
Mr. Miller was married to Erma Terrill, who was born in this county in 1886, and to this union have been born two daughters, Leda and Vera. Mr. Miller and his wife are genial young people, who have a host of friends throughout the county.
SHELBY CULLISON.
The gentleman whose name appears at the head of this review needs no introduction to the people of Shelby county inasmuch as his whole life with the exceptions of a few years has been spent in the county. He is a young man of distinct promise and pronounced ability and is a member of the Shelby county bar. Mr. Cullison has had the advantage of having an ex- ample before him of an able and distinguished father who has attained high rank in the legal profession as well as in educational circles. His family is a very old one of Virginia stock.
Shelby Cullison is the son of Hon. George W. Cullison, one of the prominent citizens of Shelby county and a strong representative of the legal profession in western Iowa who is widely and favorably known. He was born June 2. 1887, in Harlan. Here he was reared and received his public school education, graduating from the high school in 1904. He then fol- . lowed farming for one year in Colfax, Jasper county, Iowa, after which he entered lowa State University in the fall of 1905 and graduated from the law school in 1908. He received his degree of Bachelor of Laws on June 16, 1908, and was soon afterward admitted to the bar. His partnership with his father began in the same year.
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SHELBY CULLISON.
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Shelby Cullison was married April 8, 1914, to Myrtle Benedict. of Wood- bine, Iowa, a daughter of George Benedict. Mr. Cullison is a Republican in polities and takes an active interest in political affairs, lending his assistance to the party during the campaigns and in the interest of the party candidates. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Harlan. Hle is a young man of whom much may be expected in the years to come, and has a host of friends who value his friendship highly.
MATTHIAS V. BEST.
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One of the best remembered men of a past generation in Shelby county. Iowa, is Matthias V. Best, who came to this county in IS73. He took an active part in every phase of the life of the county and frequently held vari- ous official positions. In fact, he was a leader in Shelby township from the time that he arrived here in 1873 until he retired to Harlan in 1900, and dur- ing that period of more than a quarter of a century, he gave his enthusiastic support to every movement which he felt would benefit his township in any way. He was an active worker in all worthy measures and was interested in educational, religious and civic development. He and his good wife reared a large family of children to lives of usefulness and honor and no better monument can a man leave behind him than this.
Matthias V. Best, the son of Robert and Margaret (Van Horn) Best, was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1830. He was one of nine children, being the eldest of the family, and was reared to manhood in his native state and later went to Ohio, where he met his wife, Mary Mercer. She was born in Belmont county. Ohio, October 4, 1832. and was the daugh- ter of Elias and Mary ( Randall) Mercer, both of whom were natives of Ohio and descended from old Virginia families. Mr. Best and Mary Mercer were married at Cadiz, Ohio, on New Year's Day, 1852. and in 1854 this young couple came to Muscatine county, Iowa, where they rented land until 1873. In that year they came to Shelby county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land. They were among the first pioneers of the county and endured all of the hardships incident to life in a new country. They built a home and made many improvements and as the years went by they found themselves prospering. Children came to bless their union, and while Mr. Best was giving his attention primarily to his own interests, yet he never failed to take an active part in the life of the community about him.
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Hle held one township office after another and such was his efficient adminis- tration of the duties of these various offices that the citizens, regardless of party, re-elected him time after time to township offices. His health became impaired and in 1900 he moved to Harlan in order to be relieved of all work on the farm. Two years later he sold his home in Harlan and moved to Shelby although he lived but two years after locating in the latter city.
Mr. Best was married January 1, 1852, to Mary Mercer, and to this union were born thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters: Mrs. Ella B. Tucker, deceased: Mrs. Sarah A. Robinson, of Shelby, lowa : Mrs. Jennie 1. Mowry, of Shelby, fowa; Mrs. Nissai King, at home with her mother ; Harry, of Manning, Iowa; Archie M., living at home; Alvin S., who is in Colorado; Ernest L., whose history is given elsewhere in this volume ; Frank C., of Omaha, Nebraska ; Arthur M., whose history is also given else- where in this volume: Charles W., of Shelby county; Martha B. and Mary A., both deceased.
The fine farm of Mr. Best is now managed by his son, Ernest L. Mrs. Best has a beautiful residence in Shelby, where she is now living with her two children. She is a member of the Home Missionary Society and an active worker in all missionary movements. Mr. Best was an active worker in the Presbyterian church and was a generous contributor to its support. The Best family have always been on the right side of all good movements and their influence has always been cast for good government and the high- est ideals of American citizenship. Such people render valuable service to the community in which they live by the clean and wholesome method of their living.
Matthias V. Best departed this life at his home on July 20, 1902, aged seventytwo years, one month and sixteen days, and interment followed on July 23. The funeral services were held in the Presbyterian church. He was sincerely mourned by a large concourse of friends. An original poem follows in memory of this good man :
Dearest husband, you have left me And my heart is sad tonight ; Oh! that I again could see you,- All my dreams would be so bright.
Father, dearest, thou hast left us, And with thee our joys have fled;
Oh! 'tis hard to think our father, Good and kind and true, is dead.
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LOUIS CHRISTENSEN.
To be a native of the little kingdom of Denmark seems to be a guarantee of success as far as the Danish citizens of Shelby county, lowa. are concerned. There is no nation in Europe where the people are more thrifty and when they come to America they become prosperous and substantial citizens where- ever they choose to locate. One of the valued citizens of that country who is making a pronounced success in Shelby county is Louis Christensen, an automobile and implement dealer of Harlan. Coming to this country with- out any capital and starting in to work for twelve dollars a month, he has by honest methods and strict attention to his business accumulated consider- able property and made himself a highly respected citizen of the county hon- ored by his residence.
Louis Christensen, the son of Soren and Hedwig ( Sorensen ) Christen- sen, was born in Denmark in 1899. His father, born in 1820, was a life-long farmer and sailor and died in his native land in 1904. His mother, who was born in 1830, was the mother of six children, by two marriages and died in Denmark in 1907. Louis Christensen being the only child by the last mar- riage.
The education of Louis Christensen was received in Denmark and when a mere youth began to learn the trade of a blacksmith. When he reached the age of twenty-three he decided to come to the United States where he felt that there were better opportunities for advancement. Accordingly, in the year 1892 he came to America and at once went to lowa where several of his countrymen had already settled. He located in Shelby county and worked for the first four months on a farm for the munificent salary of twelve dollars a month. He then permanently settled in Harlan where he has lived ever since. He took up his trade as a blacksmith in a shop in Har- lan and shortly afterward bought a half interest in the shop with H. P. Hansen. In 1895 they built a shop, forty-four by sixty-two feet, on Fast Market street, and in 1898 Mr. Christensen purchased the interest of his partner. At the same time he decided to add another building and engage in the implement business. Accordingly, he built a building, forty-four by eighty feet. adjoining his blacksmith shop, and stocked it with a complete line of agricultural implements. Later he added an automobile department and now is the agent for the Studebaker automobile. He has built up a large trade by honest methods and close application and is recognized as one of the substantial business men of his city.
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Mr. Christensen was married in 1908 to Ella Brodersen, who was born in 1879, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Brodersen. To this marriage have been born two children, Elva and Helen. Mr. Christensen and his family are consistent members of the Danish Lutheran church and contribute liberally of their means to its support.
The Democratic party has claimed the hearty support of Mr. Christensen since coming to this country, although he has never had any inclination to be a candidate for a political office. Fraternally, he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and takes an active interest in that fraternal organization. He is essentially a self-made man and deserves a great deal of credit for the success which has attended his efforts since becoming a resident of this county.
WILLIAM FISKE CLEVELAND.
One of the men who have conferred honor and distinction on the city of Harlan, Iowa, is William Fiske Cleveland. A man who has now reached the allotted three score and ten years, he has been closely identified with the . history of Shelby county for the past thirty-seven years and in that time has been one of the leaders in everything pertaining to its welfare. As a private citizen, as a public official and as a man interested in public spirited enter- prises of all kinds, he has made a record which has made his name known throughout the state of Iowa. It is not possible within the limits of this article to treat his life in detail but enough will be set forth to show the « important place he has occupied in the history of his county.
William F. Cleveland, the son of George Washington and Almira ( Bar- rett) Cleveland, was born August 30, 1844, at Waterville, Oneida county, New York. His father was born in 1808 in the same county, at the town of Westmoreland, and died December 4, 1884. His grandparents were Anson and Mehitable ( Hammond ) Cleveland. Anson Cleveland was born in Mans- field county, New York, December 24. 1777, and died May 5, 1832. Mehit- able Hammond was born in Coventry, Connecticut, November 2, 1774, and died in 1868. When the wife of Anson Cleveland was a small girl she stood on the continental road and watched George Washington and his soldiers march by as they were on their way from Boston to New York. The mother of William F. Cleveland was born at Wilton, New Hampshire, August 27, 1808, and died March 11, 1886.
George Washington Cleveland was educated in the schools of West-
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Grand Master
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moreland, New York, and then entered the University of New York from which he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the spring of 1831. He first practiced his profession at Homer, Michigan, for two years, after which he removed to Sherburne, New York. Ile practiced in this place a few years and then permanently located in Waterville, New York, where he followed his profession until his death fifty years later. As a physician he ranked among the best in the state of New York and was called into consultation in all parts of the state. Dr. Cleveland was married October 10, 1832, to Almira Barrett, the daughter of Benjamin Fiske and Betsie (Garrish) Barrett. Mr. Barrett was born January 16, 1770, at Billerica, Middlesex county, New York, and died at Springfield. New York, October 31, 1844. Mrs. Barrett was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, Novem- ber 10, 1774, and died December 17, 1836. Dr. Cleveland and wife were the parents of four children : Alice, George, William F. and Orlando. All of these children are now deceased except William F.
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