USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 13
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W. H. HENDERSON.
W. H. Henderson, representing the business interests of Horniek as a dealer in harness and saddlery, is one of the native sons of this state and the enterprise which is so characteristic of this part of the country and has led to its rapid development is a factor in his career. His birth occurred near Independenee, Iowa, July 28,
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1863, and he is a son of Samuel and Eliza D. (Clark) Henderson. The father was of Irish and German descent and the mother was of Scotch and German lineage. They were natives of New York and Missouri, respectively, but spent the greater part of their lives in Iowa. In their family were seven children, W. H. Henderson being the fifth in order of birth. He had five sisters and one brother, but the eldest and the youngest of the family are now deceased.
Under the parental roof W. H. Henderson spent the days of his childhood, and his early education, acquired in the public schools of Pottawattamie county, Iowa, was supplemented by study in the high school of Shelly, Iowa. Putting aside his text-books he learned the trade of harness-making and also the carpenter's trade. For two years he lived in Kansas, where he took a homestead claim and began its de- velopment, but the drouth ruined his crops and he returned to this state, where he has spent the greater part of his life. He has been a resident of Hornick since 1884 and is now snc- cessfully engaged in the harness and saddlery business, having secured a good patronage. He is progressive in his business methods, reliable and enterprising, and is now numbered among the leading merchants of the town.
Mr. Henderson has been married twice. On the 1st of December, 1896, he wedded Lillie M. Smith, who died October 8, 1901, and in 1903 he was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Mary Rosenberg, both marriages taking place in this state. He has traveled considerably, having vis- ited Colorado for the benefit of his wife's health, and also in Oregon. His political sup- port is given the Republican party and socially he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he is deeply in- terested. He has contributed to the various church activities and is a member of the Ep- worth League. Faithfulness in friendship,
loyalty in citizenship, honesty in business -- these are his chief characteristics and are qual- ities which have gained him warm regard and the good will of those with whom he has come in contact.
HENRY S. BECKER.
Woodbury county figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state of Iowa, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive devel- opment and marked advancement in the mate- rial upbuilding of the section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have controlled its affairs in official ca- pacity, and in this connection the subject of this review demands representation as one who has served the county faithfully and well in posi- tions of distinct trust and responsibility, being the present recorder of the county.
Mr. Becker was born in Alton, Illinois, March 2, 1859, his parents being Heye and Agatha (Myer) Becker. The father was a native of Hanover, Germany, and his wife was born in the same neighborhood. Coming to the United States they established their home in Illinois about 1850, and the father died in Plymouth county, Iowa, May 9, 1903, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. He was a Repub- liean in his political views, took an active in- terest in the work of his party, was reliable in business and devoted to his family. He pos- sessed strong domestic tastes and his interests centered in his wife and children. He was called upon to mourn the loss of Mrs. Becker when she was but thirty-five years of age. They had a family of nine children, namely: Henry S .; William, who is living in Webster, South Dakota; John, a resident of Sioux City ; Frank, who is living on the home farm in Plymouth county, Iowa ; Otto, of Seney, Iowa; Anua, the wife of Herbert Buse, of Plymouth, Iowa;
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Minnic, the wife of Fred Hillebrand, of Web- Rebekahs and the Canton. Ile is a member of ster, South Dakota; Emma ; and Bertha. The maternal grandmother of our subject, Rixte Myer, lived with the Becker family during her later years and attained the very advanced age of one hundred and three years and five months.
Henry S. Becker pursued his education in the common schools of Alton, Illinois, and re- mained upon the home farm until sixteen years of age, after which he pursned a short course of study in the Wesleyan College at Warren- ton, Missouri. He then learned the carpenter's trade and began contracting and building, but when twenty-four years of age he removed to Lemars, Plymouth county, Iowa, where he was identified with building operations for eight years, when he was injured by a fall and frac- tured his breast bone. He afterward began merchandising at Kingsley, Plymouth county, Iowa, but soon afterward closed out that busi- ness and took charge of a lumber yard for M. A. Moore, in Moville, Woodbury county. Three years had passed when he again engaged in business on his own account as a hardware mer- chant and in 1894 he put aside commereial pur- suits in order to enter public service, being ap- pointed deputy county recorder under W. C. Hills. HIe acted in that capacity for four years and in November, 1898, he was elected to the office on the Republican ticket by a majority of over eighteen hundred. He has been nomi- nated and elected to this office for three suc- eessive terms with a majority ranging from eighteen to twenty-three hundred. His present incumbency will continue until January 4, 1905. His re-election is certainly an indica- tion of the confidence reposed in him by the public and also attests his qualification for the position.
Mr. Becker was married, February 27, 1889, to Miss Lillie M. Edwards, of Maquoketa, Iowa. They have four children: Hazel N., Minnie A., Conriff E. and Edward R. Mr. Beeker belongs to Moville lodge, No. 509, I. O. O. F., and also to the Encampment and the
the Woodmen of the World of Sioux City, and the Royal Highlanders. He is a man of fine social qualities, always genial and approach- able, and Woodbury county finds in him one well worthy of public trust and meriting the official honors that have been conferred upon him.
GEORGE W. FITCHNER.
George W. Fitchner, one of the prominent business men of Woodbury county, who for the past seven years has been actively and success- fully engaged in merchandising at Anthon, was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, on the 18th of February, 1856. His father, J. C. Fitchner, was a native of Germany and in his childhood days was brought to America. He lived for a time in Pennsylvania and after- ward in Ohio and in 1855 he came to Iowa, set- tling on a farm in Museatine county, where he reared his family. The father was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Lavina MeCarty, a native of that state, who spent her last days in Muscatine county, where Mr. Fitchner is still living at the advanced age of eighty-four years. In their family were eleven children, ten of whom are yet living: Mrs. Otilla Smith, who is a widow and resides at Rock Island, Illinois; Jonathan; Lavina, the wife of John Keehl, of Ida Grove; Otto, who is living in Muscatine county ; George W., of this review; Lucinda, the wife of Richard Bennett, who owns and operates the old Fitehner homestead; William, who is a resident farmer of Grant township, Woodbury county ; Mrs. Mary Millhouse, who is a widow and lives in Fairfield, Iowa; Laura, the wife of Frank Sardam, now of Fulton, Illi- nois: and Frank, who is engaged in ranching in Idaho.
It was in Museatine county, Iowa, that George W. Fitehner spent the days of his boy- hood and youth and he was early trained to the
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labors of the home farm, giving his father the benefit of his services until he was twenty- five years of age. He then came west to Wood- bury county in 1882, locating in Correction- ville, where for two and a half years he engaged in clerking, thus receiving a thorough business training. He then engaged in business as a general merchant at Correctionville from 1884 until 1897, when he came to Anthon, opening a stock of goods in a store which he now occu- pies. He purchased a large amount of general merchandise and now has a double store, in which he carries an extensive line of goods that is well selected. He has a very enviable repu- tation for fair dealing and his patronage has reached large and profitable proportions, his sales amounting to from fifty to sixty thousand dol- lars annually. Mr. Fitchner was also one of the promoters of the Merchants State Bank at Cor- rectionville and a stockholder of the Citizens State Bank of Anthon and has thus been closely identified with financial interests in the county. He purchased residence property in Anthon and during the seven years in which he has made his home here and has contributed in large and substantial measure to the growth, progress and upbuilding of the community.
On the 1st of January, 1893, in Correction- ville, Iowa, Mr. Fitchner was united in mar- riage to Miss Belle Griffith, a native of Ohio, who was reared in Iowa. She is a lady of good education and when sixteen years of age began teaching and successfully followed that profes- sion for some time prior to her marriage. There are two daughters in the family, Quessa and Leila. Politically Mr. Fitchner has been a life-long Republiean and has served as a mem- ber of the council of Correctionville for seven years. He has also been a member of the school board and he exercises his official pre- rogatives to advance the general welfare. He and his wife and daughters are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been a resident of Iowa throughout his entire life and for twenty-four years has made his home in
Woodbury county. During this period he has been thoroughly conversant with the needs and possibilities of the county and has contributed his full share to its upbuilding and progress. At the same time he has conducted in successful manner his private business interests and he has the enterprising spirit so characteristic of the west. To-day he is accounted one of the sub- stantial residents of Anthon and is a man re- spected by all because of his fidelity to honor- able principles and to high ideals.
JOHN R. CARTER.
John R. Carter, a practitioner at the Sioux City bar, was born in Lewis, Essex county, New York, January 4, 1862, his parents being Mitchell and Florence (Bolia) Carter, both of whom were natives of northern New York and were representatives of old families of that state. The father was a soldier of the Union Army in the Civil war, having enlisted in Angust, 1862. He was connected with the vol- unteer service and died in Andersonville, while being held as a prisoner of war in 1864, at the age of forty-four years. His widow long sur- vived him, passing away in 1896, at the age of seventy-one years. They were the parents of nine children, of whom John R. Carter is the youngest. Those yet living are: A. B., of Essex county, New York; Charles E., of Vermont ; Mary J., the wife of Aaron Goss, of Moretown, Vermont; Susan S., who is living in Rutland, Vermont ; H. M., of Chicago, Illi- nois; and W. E., of Rutland. Of the two de- ceased L. J. passed away at the age of twenty- two years, and Esther E. died at the age of thirty years.
John R. Carter pursued his early education in the village schools of Lewis, New York, and also attended the Union high school at Eliza- bethtown, that state, while later he continued his studies in a private preparatory school. He took up the study of law in 1881 in the office
Эл.планы.
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of Noble & Smith, attorneys for the Central Vermont Railroad Company at St. Albans, Vermont, and continued with that firm until 1884. He then entered the Boston University Law School, at Boston, Massachusetts, in which institution he was graduated in June, 1885, with the degree of Bachelor of Law. In the autumn of the same year he came to Sioux City and upon examination in the supreme court of Iowa was admitted to practice in the courts of this state, in 1886, since which time he has been in continuous and active connection with the legal interests of Sioux City. He was first associated with J. P. Blood, under the firm name of Blood & Carter, in 1886-7. Later he was alone until he formed a partnership with A. D. Tollefson, under the name of Tollefson & Carter, and subsequently they were joined by J. M. Brown, the firm of Tollefson, Carter & Brown then maintaining a continuous exist- ence until 1890. In that year the senior part- ner retired and the firm was Carter & Brown until 1898. Mr. Carter then entered into part- nership relations with J. H. Quiek, and under the style of Quick & Carter continued in prae- tiee until 1902. He is now alone in business and is conducting an extensive and snecessful civil law practice. For ten years the firm of Carter & Brown represented the New England Loan & Trust Company, and Mr. Carter had charge of its litigation in northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska, the southwestern part of South Dakota and southern Minnesota. He also had a large general law business and in his capable control of intricate litigated in- terests displayed an accurate and broad knowl- edge of the principles of jurisprudence and great accuraey in applying these to the points of his ease in court.
Prior to the convening of the twenty-ninth general assembly Mr. Carter received an in- quiry from a party in Indiana, asking him for knowledge concerning the latest codification of the statute law and where he could find the legislative enaetments subsequent to the codi-
fication of the laws and the reports concerning the decisions construing the laws. lle also in- quired of Mr. Carter concerning any contem- plated new codification of the laws. Mr. Car- ter replied, referring him to the 1897 code, the acts of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth general assemblies of Iowa and to the Iowa reports and Northwestern Reporter containing the decisions of the supreme court of Iowa eon- struing the laws. Mr. Carter upon consulting the aet for the codification of laws known as Code, Iowa, 1897, discovered and so advised him that the twenty-ninth general assembly, then about to convene, and every third general assembly thereafter was charged with the duty of electing an editor whose duty it was to eodify in supplement form the laws of a public nature enacted since the code of 1897, inelud- ing the aets of the twenty-ninth general assem- bly. Later Mr. Carter called the attention of Senator E. H. Hubbard and Representative M. J. Sweeley to this provision. They after- ward proposed that Mr. Carter become editor of the eode supplement and consenting to this early in the session of the general assembly he was elected as editor. The proficiency with which he performed his duties is perhaps best told by the committee in the prefatory of the code supplement and from which we quote the following: "Under the provision the commit- tee has had general supervision of the work. Mr. Carter has made copy, compared with the enrolled bills, prepared the tables, revised, en- larged and materially improved the index, an- notated the negotiable investments laws, read the proof, and in short performed his duties in a most satisfactory manner." The work has been received most favorably in every respect and has met with nothing but praise and words of commendation.
Mr. Carter was married in 1889 to Miss Luella Waldorf, a daughter of Louis and Co- lumbia Waldorf, of Montello, Wisconsin. They have one child, Francis W. They also lost a son, John Maurice, who died in 1892 at the
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age of fourteen months. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are well and favorably known in the social circles of Sioux City, where he has resided con- tinuously since 1886, and he has a still wider acquaintance in legal and political circles throughout the state, where his influence and labors have been of much avail in promoting the public welfare.
(. C. CASTLE.
C. C. Castle, who is now living a retired life in Correctionville, was for a number of years one of the thrifty and enterprising farmers of Woodbury county and is numbered among the early settlers of the state, having resided with- in the borders of Iowa since 1863. In 1866 he came to this county and through a long per- iod carried on the work of cultivating and improving his farm. He is a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Tioga coun- ty, July 20, 1823. His father, Samuel Castle, was born in the same state and after arriving at years of maturity was married there to Lu- cetta Girdley, a native of Connecticut, born near New Haven. The father carried on farm- ing in Tioga county. Our subject's grandfath- er, Daniel Castle, was born in London, En- gland, in 1758 and came to America abont 1775. He made his home in Tioga county, New York, until 1836, when he sold his prop- erty there and removed to Erie county, Penn- sylvania, where his death occurred in 1845.
C. C. Castle obtained a common school edu- cation, but his advantages in that direction were rather meager and his knowledge has been largely self-acquired since he attained his ma- jority. He removed from New York to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and was married in that county on the 19th of November, 1845, to Miss Nancy M. Everts, whose birth occurred in Edinburg, Montgomery county, New York. Her father was Reuben Everts, a native of Ver-
mont. The young couple began their domestic life upon a farm in Erie county and subse- quently removed to Potter county, where they remained for several years. In 1863 they came to Iowa, establishing their home in Buchanan county, where Mr. Castle carried on farming for three years and then came to Woodbury county, arriving here in 1866. He settled in Union township, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres of raw land, on which no improve- ments had as yet been made. Soon the track of the shining plow was seen across the fields and he continued to break and cultivate his land until he had developed a fine farm. He first lived in a block house, which had previously served as a fort from which the settlers had fought the Indians. He purchased the build- ing at Correctionville and moved it to his place, occupying it as a residence for several years. Later he erected good modern farm buildings, made many substantial improvements and suc- cessfully carried on the work of cultivating his crops until about 1883, when he removed to Correctionville and purchased the home which he now occupies. He has since bought lots and built three good residences and he owns altogether five dwellings in this city. His ef- forts in behalf of the town and its development have been effective and far-reaching. During his residence here he has followed various pur- suits including paper hanging and painting. He has ever lived an active and useful life, has enjoyed good health and is now eighty-one years of age.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Castle have been born eight children, six of whom are now living: H. A., who is married and follows blacksmith- ing in Barton county, Missouri ; George L., of Correctionville; Eva G., the wife of J. M. Warren, a painter and paper hanger of Chero- kee, Kansas; Ida, the wife of G. S. Wetmore, of Rock Branch, Woodbury county; Flora, the wife of F. W. Miller, of Union township; and Walter, who owns and operates the old home farm. They also lost two children, Horace,
MR. AND MRS. C. C. CASTLE.
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who died in infancy; and Nettie, who died at the age of two years.
Politically Mr. Castle is a stanch Republi- ean, but his first presidential ballot was east for James K. Polk. He supported Lincoln in 1860 and from the organization of the party has never faltered in his allegiance of its prin- eiples. While living on the farm he served for three years as justice of the peace, was also a member of the school board and took an active and helpful interest in securing good teachers and thus having good schools. He was also assessor at one time. Hle and his wife are members of the Correctionville Con- gregational ehureh, in which he takes a very aetive and helpful part. Mr. Castle is one of the worthy pioneer settlers of northwestern Iowa, and has seen almost the entire develop- ment of this portion of the state. When he came here lands were unfenced, roads had not been laid out and the prairies were still in their primitive condition. But there came to northwestern Iowa a class of enterprising eiti- zens who have done their best to promote publie progress and improvement here with the result that their labors have placed Woodbury county in the front rank among the leading counties of this great commonwealth.
LEVI LEEK.
Thirty years have come and gone sinee Levi Leek eame to Woodbury county. Great changes have occurred in the county since that time, progress having been made along agricultural and commercial lines, and also notable advance- ment in other ways, which indicate a high order of civilization. There has also been much change in the financial condition of Mr. Leek and this has been due to his own persistent effort, laudable ambition and strong determina- tion, for as the years have passed he has worked his way upward to success. He owns a good
farm of eighty acres on section 19, Union township, and upon this is a comfortable home.
Mr. Leek is a native of Illinois, born in Tazewell county on the 21st of November, 1852. His father, Levi Leck, Sr., died during the boyhood of his son and namesake. He had been an early settler of Tazewell county, Illi- nois, and became noted as a hunter. He killed a large number of deer in that early day when those animals roamed in herds over the wild prairies, and great numbers of turkeys and other wild game fell before his trusty rifle.
Levi Leek of this review was reared in the county of his nativity, in the usual manner of farmer lads of that period, and when not en- gaged with the duties of the schoolroom in ac- quiring a practical English edneation his labors were largely devoted to the work of the farm. As a companion and helpmate on life's journey he chose Miss Anna Coe and they were married in Stark county, Illinois, February 18, 1874. She was born in Steuben county, Indiana, a daughter of William L. Coe, who was a native of England, born near Newcastle, in which country he wedded Miss Mary Atkinson, also a native of that country. After their marriage they took up their abode in England and con- tinned there until after the birth of six of their children. They then emigrated to America, settling first in Michigan and afterward remor- ing to Steuben county, Indiana. Subsequently they became residents of Illinois, making their home in Stark county.
The day following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Leek packed their household goods into a wagon and started for Iowa. It was a long, hard trip, but at length the journey was ae- complished in safety. Mr. Leek here joined two brothers and a sister of his wife, who had previously established homes in this state. For eight years he was engaged in the operation of a rented farm and then purchased eighty aeres on section 19, Union township, where he has since lived. The land was uncultivated when it came into his possession, but he soon placed it
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under the plow, and the summer's sun ripening the grain, which sprung up from the seed that he planted, transformed his efforts into good harvests. He has built a substantial house upon his place with a basement underneath, has also put up good barns, has fenced his land in a splendid manner and indeed is justly regarded as one of the progressive and enterprising farm- ers and stock-raisers of Union township.
Mr. and Mrs. Leek have three sons, Leroy, Leslie and Elbert, who are yet at home with their parents. Mr. Leek is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has filled all of the chairs and is a past grand mas- ter of the lodge at Pierson. He is likewise identified with the encampment and he and his wife are connected with the Order of Rebekahıs, and Mrs. Leek has filled all of the positions in the auxiliary. He belongs to the Modern Wood- men of America and in his political affiliation is an earnest Republican. He has been elected and served in several positions of public honor and trust, was for ten consecutive years town- ship assessor and was township trustee for two terms. He has been a delegate to numerous county conventions and his publie-spirited citi- zenship is manifest in the active support and co- operation which he gives to measures that are deemed essential to progress and improvement here.
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