USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 23
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and here every facility is afforded for the care ter is Emogene Waldo, now the wife of D. and treatment of patients. Its board of direc- tors is composed of a number of the leading ladies of Sioux City.
H. F. WALDO.
Prominent among the agriculturists of Ked- ron township is II. F. Waldo, who is living on section 31, and there are eighty aeres in his home place, which is situated about a mile and a half from Anthon. Since May, 1866, he has lived in Iowa and since 1880 in Wood- bury county. A native of Vermont, he was born in Proetor county, on the 30th of July, 1854. Ilis father, S. F. Waldo, whose birth occurred in New Hampshire in 1824, was reared in that state and in Vermont and in early life he worked in a woolen factory. He was married in Proctor county to Miss Harriet Adams, a native of the Green Mountain state, and two children were born unto them during their residence in New England. About 1851 they removed westward to Wisconsin, settling in Sae county, where Mr. Waldo established a woolen mill for others and then took charge of the plant, continuing its operation until 1866 or for fifteen years. On coming to Iowa he settled in Mitchell, where he formed a partner- ship and established a woolen mill, being there engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods for four years or until 1870. On the expira- tion of that period he removed to Pottawattamie county, secured a traet of land and developed a new farm, which was entirely unimproved when it came into his possession. His labors were characterized by untiring perseverance and capable management and he continued farming for many years. His death occurred in Carson in 1897. His wife had passed away many years before, her death occurring in 1850, and Mr. Waldo afterward married again.
HI. F. Waldo is one of two children who were born of the father's first marriage and his sis-
F. Perry, of Pottawattamie county, Iowa. It was in that county that the subject of this ro- view spent the days of his boyhood and youth. Ile acquired his early education in the district schools, afterward attended a high school and remained with his father until twenty-one years of age. Not long after this he started out in life on his own account and secured as a com- panion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Ada Williams, a native of Illinois, who was born in Henry county near Kewanee. The marriage was celebrated in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, February 5, 1879. The lady is a daughter of R. E. Williams, who was born and reared in New York, and was married there to Miss Lneretia Lester, also a native of the Empire state. Mr. Williams was an early settler of Henry county, Illinois, and in 1856 came to Iowa, settling first in Tama county, while subsequently he removed to Pottawatta- mie county.
Mr. and Mrs. Waldo began their domestic life in Nebraska, establishing their home in Franklin county upon a tract of land which they secured under the homestead laws. Mr. Waldo opened a farm there, upon which he lived for a year after his marriage and for three years before that time. In 1880, how- ever, he returned to Iowa, settling in Grant township, Woodbury county, where he con- ducted a farm for eight years. On the ex- piration of that period he sold out and pur- chased his present home. He has since built a good house and a new barn, has planted fruit and shade trees and has developed a very ex- cellent property, which is neat and thrifty in appearance and gives every evidence of his careful supervision and his progressive farm- ing methods. All that he has acquired has been won through his untiring labor and capable management. His life history proves the value of industry and enterprise as result- producing factors in the business world.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Waldo have been born
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three children : Mona, who is now the wife of years. They attended the Baptist church and James Adams, of Battle Creek, Iowa; Elton, were parents of three children: George T., now deceased; Charles T .; and George E., who is conducting in Sioux City the largest liv- ery business of Iowa. who assists his father in carrying on the home farm; and Letha, who is also under the parental roof. Mr. Waldo votes with the Republican party and has been a stanch supporter thereot, In the public schools of his native town Charles T. Westcott pursued his education. He came with his mother and brother to Sioux City and the following year located upon the farm which his father had purchased in Ne- braska. He followed agricultural pursuits in that state for seven years and then returned to the east to take care of his grandparents. In the spring of 1881, however, he returned to the west, located again in Sioux City and after- ward spent another year on the farm. On the 1st of March, 1882, he opened an undertaking establishment in Sioux City, which he has since conducted and has now the principal business in his line in the city, located at No. 419 Pearl street. He is a member of the Iowa Funeral Directors' Association. At local elections, however, he casts his ballot independently for there is no issue before the people and the only question for consideration is the capability of the candidates for office. He served for four or five years on the Anthon independent school board and believes in em- ploying good teachers and providing excellent educational privileges to the children in order that they may be fitted for life's practical and responsible duties. Mr. Waldo is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Anthon and is the present noble grand, a posi- tion which indicates his high standing among his brethren of the fraternity. He is also con- nected with Anthon lodge, A. F. & A. M. For many years he has been identified with the up- building and with the interests of Woodbury county and all who know him entertain for him the respect which is accorded to men of genuine worth and reliability.
CHARLES T. WESTCOTT.
Charles T. Westcott, conducting the leading undertaking business in Sioux City, was born in Killingly, Connecticut, in 1840. His fa- ther, James Westcott, also a native of that place, was a farmer by occupation and in 1856 came to Sioux City, Iowa, but later removed to Dakota county, Nebraska, settling upon a farm near Jaekson, where he spent his remain- ing days. He voted with the Republican party and while residing in Connecticut served as a grand juror and as constable. In early man- hood he married Miranda Bartlett, who was born in Killingly, Connecticut, and died at. the age of seventy-three years, while her hus- band passed away at the age of fifty-nine
Mr. Westcott was married at the age of twen- ty-three years to Louisa A. Aldrich, of Killing- ly, Connectieut, a sister of United States Sen- ator Aldrieh. She died in May, 1878. They had four children, of whom two are now living : James E., who is with his father; and Louisa M., the wife of Elmer A. Blood, who is en- gaged in the coal business. On the 18th of De- eember, 1881, Mr. Westcott was again married, his second union being with Jennie Law, of Killingly, Connecticut.
Mr. Westcott belongs to various fraternal or- ganizations, including the Odd Fellows lodge and the Rebekah auxiliary, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, the Improved Order of Red Men, and is also identified with the Commercial Club. In his political views he is an earnest Republiean and has served as a grand juror ; constable ; as deputy sheriff, which position he filled for seventeen years ; and as alderman at large for Sioux City in 1895-6. In all his public duties he was fair and reliable,
C. I. Westcott
JAMES WESTCOTT.
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and as a citizen as well as business man he Jackson county, lowa. Prior to his marriage has made an enviable record.
G. L. CHAUSSE.
G. L. Chansse, engaged in general farming and stock-raising in Wolf Creek township, where he has one hundred and eighty acres of arable land, dates his residence in Woodbury county from the year 1882. He was born in Menominee township, Jo Daviess county, Illi- nois, June 27, 1855, and is of French lineage. His parents were Anthony and Adeline (Gothier) Chausse. The father was born in Canada and when a young man came to the United States, being married in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Miss Gothier, whose birth oc- curred in St. Louis, Missouri. They became residents of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and the father, who was a carpenter and joiner by trade, began contracting and building there, being ae- tively associated with building operations in that locality up to the time of his death, which occurred October 31, 1895.
G. L. Chansse is the only living child of the family. He passed the days of his boyhood and youth in the county of his nativity, being reared upon a farm. The father died when he was but nine years old and he was reared by his ma- ternal grandfather, with whom he continued until the latter's death. Mr. Chausse was then but sixteen years of age and he started out in life on his own account, having in the mean- time acquired a fair education in the public schools. He worked by the month as a farm hand for twelve years and his persisteney of purpose and .honorable dealing proved the foundation of his prosperity. When a young man he came to Iowa and was employed as a farm hand here for one year.
On the 25th of February, 1884, Mr. Chausse was united in marriage, in Wolf Creek town- ship, to Miss Anna Roark, who was born in
he had purchased land in Wolf Creek town- ship, becoming the owner of a raw tract of two hundred acres. To this farm he took his bride and with characteristic energy he began the development and cultivation of the land, which he placed under the plow and developed into very rich fields. He sold the farm in 1891 and then purchased his present place, comprising one hundred and eighty acres ou section 24, Wolf Creek township. He has built a good substantial house, commodious stable and outbuildings, and his labors have resulted in the development of a property which is now creditable to the county, because it is in har- mony with progressive ideas of agriculture. IIe has planted shade and fruit trees and all the equipments of a model farm are there found. In addition to the cultivation of the fields Mr. Chausse raises stock in Wolf Creek township and his annual sales of his erops and of his stock bring him a good financial return.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chausse have been born six children : Joseph, Emily, Raphael, Cece- lia, Catherine and Mary. The parents are members of the Catholic church at Anthon. Mr. Chausse is a Democrat, and was elected and served for two years as justice of the peace. As a member of the school board he has done effective service in behalf of the cause of edu- eation and as a delegate to party conventions he has aided in shaping the policy of his party in this locality. He is a man of courteous manner, inflexible principle and unquestioned integrity and possesses that practical common sense which never runs to extremes.
OSCAR L. JOHNSON.
Sweden has furnished to America many of the most valued, worthy and enterprising citi- zens living in northwestern Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas. The strong characteristics of the race and their energy and perseverance,
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which have always been dominant factors among the Swedish people, are noticeable in the career of Mr. Johnson. He was born Septem- ber 7, 1863, and is a son of N. P. and Caro- line Johnson, who came to America in 1870, settling first at Red Wing, Minnesota, where the father rented a tract of land, giving his attention to its development and improvement for a few years, when he moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and here remained to the time of his death, which occurred in 1899. His wife still survives him and yet makes her home in Red Wing.
Oscar L. Johnson was but seven years of age at the time of the emigration to the new world and he pursued his education in the public schools of Red Wing until eleven years of age, when he started out to make his own way in the world, beginning life as a farm hand. He was employed in that way for three years and afterward secured a position in a shoe factory at Red Wing, where he remained for two years. He next went to Minneapolis, where he was employed as shipping and receiving clerk in the house of S. E. Olson & Company, his fidelity and ability in that position being demonstrated by the fact that his connection with the house continned for nine years. During that time he attended night school. On the expiration of that period he came to Sioux City in 1890, ar- riving in the fall. Here he worked in a res- taurant for his brother for two years and then established a restaurant of his own at No. 804 Fourth street, as a partner of his brother. After two years they established the Arcade restaurant and two years later Oscar L. John- son bought out his brother's interest. When another two years had passed he took charge of the Arcade Hotel and sold a half interest in the restaurant, but still retains the other half. He is also proprietor of the hotel and has now for many years been connected with the business of entertaining the public.
On the 10th of October, 1889, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Hilda Lind-
stam, a daughter of L. J. Lindstam. They
have three children : Clarence Walter, Allen Edmund and Earl Oscar. Mr. Johnson gives his political allegiance to the Republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but has never sought or de- sired public office, preferring to give his atten- tion to his business affairs. As the years have passed and prosperity has come to him he has made judicious investments in real estate and he now owns valuable property in Sioux City. He likewise has a business block in Confrey, Minnesota, and a half section of land in Beadle county, South Dakota, together with residence property in Sioux City which he rents. His realty is the visible evidence of his life of en- ergy, in which good judgment has guided his untiring effort with the result that a very grati- fying measure of success has been attained.
E. W. MILLER.
E. W. Miller, who after many years of active connection with agricultural interests in Wood- bury county, is now living a retired life in Pierson, claims Pennsylvania as the state of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Bedford county on the 16th of November, 1829. He is a son of Jacob W. Miller, also a native of Bed- ford county, born in 1801. The grandfather, Robert Miller, was likewise a native of Penn- sylvania and the family is of Irish lineage. The first representative of the name in Amer- ica was Samuel Miller, who, leaving the Emer- ald Isle, sought a home in Maryland. His son, Robert Miller, Sr., was born at Pike Creek, Maryland, June 27, 1761, and died in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1843, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. The family were among the first settlers of Bedford county, tak- ing an active part in laying the foundation for development and progress there.
E. W. Miller was reared in the county of his nativity and received but common school
E. W. MILLER AND FAMILY.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
advantages. He was the eldest son of a family of twelve children and his services were needed on the home farm where he assisted in the ardu- ons task of clearing uew land and developing hitherto uncultivated fields. The family home was in the midst of the green forests of Bedford county and it required much strenuous labor to clear away the trees and prepare the land for the plow. Thus the youth of Mr. Miller was largely a period of earnest and unremitting toil. He engaged in teaching school for several terms prior to his marriage and for two terms afterward.
On the 1st of December, 1853, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, was celebrated the mar- riage of E. W. Miller and Miss Catherine De Vore, a native of that county, born January 1, 1836. Her father, Jacob G. De Vore, was of French ancestry. Mr. Miller afterward re- moved to Stephenson county, Illinois, where he engaged in the cultivation of a new farm, which he continued to improve for several years. He then sold that property and went to Missouri, locating near Wellsville, Montgomery county, in 1868. There he carried on general farming for fifteen years and when he sold that property in 1883 he came to Iowa and purchased a farm a mile and a quarter west of Pierson. He owned there two hundred and forty acres of arable land on which he placed good improve- ments, adding all modern equipments and ac- cessories. He prospered in his undertakings through the productiveness of the land, owing to his careful cultivation and supervision, the fields returning to him rich crops which found a ready sale on the market. Thus year by year he was enabled to add to his financial resources and on the 14th of November, 1899, he left the farm and purchased residence property in Pierson, where he has since lived in the en- joyment of the fruits of his former toil.
hand of death and there are now thirty-five liv- ing grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Miller cele- brated their golden wedding anniversary De- cember 1, 1903, at Ida Grove at the residence of a daughter. All of their children were pres- ent and most enjoyable was the occasion and one long to be remembered. The eldest son, J. D. Miller, is a lawyer of Geneva, Illinois; Elijah F. is a practicing physician living at Verdella, Missouri ; John S. is a member of the medical fraternity engaged in active prac- tice in Aurora, Illinois; Samuel B. is a farmer of Scotland, South Dakota; William C. is a lawyer of Des Moines; Ira G. is a resident farmer of Pierson; Edward J. owns and oper- ates the old homestead farm; Mary Ida is the wife of C. S. Macomber, a lawyer of Ida Grove, Iowa; Anna Laura is the wife of D. D. Cottrell, a grain merchant and dealer in machinery at Newkirk, Oklahoma; Clara Alice is the wife of Walter S. Sterling, an electrician of Sioux City ; and Katie Estella is the wife of F. F. Nieolls, a druggist of Pierson, Iowa.
Politically a Republican, Mr. Miller gives an earnest support to the principles of the party, but has never sought or desired office and has never aspired to positions of political prefer- ment save that for two years he was assessor. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, in which he occupies official positions, and they are well known in Woodbury county. having an extensive circle of warm friends who entertain for them high regard by reason of their sterling worth and many excellencies of character.
W. W. COON.
W. W. Coon, an enterprising and thrifty farmer living on section 19, Roek township, and devoting his energies to the raising of grain and stoek, has a valuable tract of land comprising five hundred and ten acres. Ilis residence in Woodbury county covers twenty
Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of seven sons and four daughters, all of whom are mar- ried and now have families of their own. The family circle has never been broken by the years, dating from 1884. He was born in In-
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diana on the 14th of January, 1847, and is a of James McLean, of Correctionville; Alva, son of George Coon, Jr., who was a native of who is married and lives in Correctionville ; James, at home ; Elsie, Forrest, Zelma, Wilbur, Gladys and Goldie, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. Pennsylvania, and a grandson of George Coon, Sr., who was of German ancestry. The latter removed to Ohio, becoming one of the early set- tlers in that state and there George Coon, Jr., Politically Mr. Coon is a Democrat where national issues are involved, but at local elec- tions votes independently. He has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to give his attention to his business affairs. His wife is a member of the Evangelical church and they are well known in Woodbury county, where for twenty-eight years they have resided, win- ning the confidence and esteem of all by their upright lives. was reared. When a young man he removed to Indiana, where he married Elizabeth Blake, a native of Virginia. Mr. Coon followed farm- ing in Indiana for several years and two of his children were born there. In 1849 he removed to Wisconsin, locating in Iowa county and sub- sequently he took up his abode in Sauk county. About 1868 he became a resident of Madison county, Iowa, but still later established his home in Shelby county, this state.
W. W. Coon was reared in Wisconsin, where he enjoyed good school privileges, and was trained to habits of industry and economy upon the old home farm. He was married in Shelby county, Iowa, in 1874, to Miss Elizabeth An- derson, who was born and reared in Wisconsin. The young couple began their domestic life up- on a farm in Shelby county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for several years or until about 1884, when he came to Woodbury coun- ty and purchased the farm upon which he now resides. This at first comprised one hundred and ten acres and he at once began to cultivate and improve the place. He has built a good residence and two good barns and has also added other equipments. He has stock scales, the latest improved machinery, and has planted fruit and shade trees. In fact, the fine ap- pearance of the farm is largely due to his ef- forts, and he has extended the boundaries of his place from time to time by additional pur- chase until it now comprises five hundred and ten acres, all of which is valuable land. Mr. Coon commenced life a poor man and by strong purpose and indefatigable effort, together with the assistance of his estimable wife, he has ac- quired a valuable property.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Coon have been born nine children, who are yet living: Eva, the wife
JOHN BOYD TYRRELL, M. D.
Dr. John Boyd Tyrrell, a physician and sur- geon of Hornick, whose natural and acquired ability is such as to rank him with the leading representatives of his profession in this por- tion of the state, was born in Waterville, Min- nesota, July 30, 1876, his birthplace being his father's farm, upon which he remained until eighteen years of age. He is a son of Edward and Mary (Ratchford) Tyrrell. The father was born in Ireland about sixty-seven years ago, while the mother's birth occurred in the state of Maine fifty-five years ago. Dr. Tyrrell knows little of his ancestral history in the paternal line, save that when his grandparents were crossing the Atlantic to America cholera broke out on ship and both died, together with all of their children, with the exception of Thomas and Edward Tyrrell, aged respectively eleven and nine years. This fatal voyage was made in 1848. The children were taken to Montreal, Canada, and in that country were cared for, but they were separated and neither heard of the other again. Dr. Tyrrell's father was bound to a farmer, who paid him two dollars a month for his services and at the end of a year he had managed to save nineteen dollars from
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his little salary. Some years afterward he made his way to the pineries of Maine and engaged in logging on the Kennebec and Penob- scot rivers for a number of years. At the time of the mining exeitement in California he made his way to the Pacific coast, where he remained for three or four years, meeting with a very desirable measure of success during that period. He accumulated three or four thou- sand dollars while in the mining regions and then returned to Maine. There he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ratchford, a daugh- ter of Thomas Ratchford, a lumberman of Maine. She spent her girlhood days under the parental roof in the Pine Tree state and re- ceived but limited educational privileges, but she developed a character that has made her a devoted wife and mother, carefully managing the interests of the household. Her brothers and sisters are as follows: John, the eldest, now seventy years of age, is married and re- sides in Waterville, Minnesota; Thomas has reached the age of sixty-five; Christopher, sixty years of age, is living in Alturas, California ; Margaret, fifty-seven years of age, is now the wife of John Gibson, resides at Waterville, Minnesota, and has three sons and one dangh- ter: Anna, aged sixty-three years, is the wife of Daniel Brophy and is living in Waterville, Minnesota; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Temple, is sixty-seven years of age and makes her home in Maine.
After his marriage Edward Tyrrell removed to Minnesota, where he purchased a quarter sec- tion of land, which was wild and unimproved. He also had a team of oxen, built upon his farm a log cabin and is still living on the old homestead there. Unto him and his wife were born nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom are yet living, with two exceptions, Lewis having died at the age of eleven years of scarlet fever, and Robert, who was a twin broth- er of Norbert. Austin Edward, the eldest, now thirty-three years of age, is married and resides in Washington, D. C., being a clerk in the de-
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