USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 41
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The following year Mr. Seidel came to Iowa, locating first in Buchanan county, where he worked in a lumber year. He there remained until 1890, when he came to Anthon and pur- chased and established a humber and coal busi- ness. He has a well equipped lumber yard, has erected a large lumber house and has developed a business which has reached extensive and profitable proportions. He also deals in coal and his patronage in that community has be- come quite extensive. Mr. Seidel likewise built a business house in Anthon and has contributed to the general improvement of the place through the erection of two residences which he vet owns.
In Winthrop, Iowa, Mr. Seidel was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dean, a native of New York, who was there reared and educated. They have a pleasant home in Anthon which is
celebrated for its gracious and charming hospi- tality. Mr. Seidel is an unfaltering advocate of Republican principles, has served on the town board of Anthon as a member of the coun- cil and has also been mayor of the town, but resigned his office ere his term had expired. In all matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal as when he followed the old flag on southern battle-fields. In whatever relation we find him -in the publie service, in business, in social life-he is always the same honored and honor- able gentleman whose worth merits the high regard which is uniformly given him.
ANTOINE FLURIE.
Antoine Flurie, a resident farmer of Union county, South Dakota, is well known in Sioux City, where he arrived on the 27th of July, 1837. He has since witnessed its growth and improvement while carrying on agricultural pursuits not far distant. He was born at Macelonga in the province of Quebec, Canada. Soon after his father's death he came to the United States, being then but eighteen years of age. He made his way to Sioux City and was employed as a farm hand for three years, after which he entered from the government the claim upon which he now resides and began farming on his own account. He was twenty- five years of age and when on the 11th of Octo- ber, 1862, he enlisted for three years' service in the defense of the Union, becoming a mem- ber of Company B, First Regiment of Dakota Cavalry, under command of Captain William Tripp of the First Battalion, commanded by General Sully. He was honorably discharged on the 15th of November, 1865, at Sioux City.
In the meantime, as before stated, he had taken pre-emption rights in Big Sioux town- ship, Union county, South Dakota, and since his marriage he and his family have resided thereon. He now owns one hundred and eighty- one aeres of rich land and at one time he had
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forty-five acres additional, but the river washed this away in 1866.
On the 31st of December, 1867, Mr. Flurie was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Lapora, a daughter of Edmund and Mary Ann Lapora. Mr. and Mrs. Flurie are the parents of ten children: Anthony; Anna, the wife of Ray Blackstone, of Riverside; Addie; Valerie; Edward; Lillian; Mabel; Cora, who died when six months old; Francis; and Archibald. The family are all members of the French Catholic church.
It will be interesting in this connection to note something concerning the history of Mrs. Mary Ann Sangster, the mother of Mrs. Flurie, who was the first white woman to locate in Sioux City. She bore the maiden name of Annie Leonais and was born in St. Francis, in the province of Quebec, Canada, October 20, 1816. Her ancestors had come from France at a period when that country was involved in war. Her mother died when she was but four- teen years of age and as her father afterward married again she and her three sisters and her brother, Joseph, left home and depended upon their own resources for support. Later she re- sided with her eldest sister, who had married and was living in Sorel, Canada. She sewed for ladies living in the village until the 10th of February, 1846, when she became the wife of Edmund Lapora, a blacksmith. They removed to Macelonga, where he followed his trade for six years and then died of consumption. Four children had been born unto them, but the eldest, Augustus, lived but three days. At the time of the father's death the youngest child was but nine months old. Six months later a son Edward died. Mrs. Lapora found it dif- ficult to support her family by sewing, as wages were small in Canada, and being unable to purchase a sewing machine she therefore was obliged to do all the work by hand. She finally wrote to her brother, Joseph Leonais, who had located at Sioux City, Iowa, asking what op- portunities were afforded for earning a living
in that place. His reply was that if she would leave Canada and come to him he would help her all in his power to maintain her family. She then sold her household furniture and started on her journey with her two small chil- dren, Edmund and Annie, aged respectively seven and three years. September 25, 1854, was the date of her departure and she jour- neved from Sorel to Montreal in a boat, The Beaver, proceeding thence to Kingston by canal boat. She crossed Lake Ontario in a steamer and then with her children rode twenty miles in a stage coach to Buffalo, New York. They further continued their journey by steamer across Lake Erie to Detroit, Michigan, and by rail they proceeded to Chicago, Illinois, where they were delayed one week waiting for her trunk. Then, continuing the journey by rail, Mrs. Lapora next stopped at a small vil- lage near Alton, Illinois, at the mouth of the Missouri river. She crossed that river to St. Louis, where she spent two days with a friend of her brother's, Mr. Dezeela. Much refreshed by the rest, she and her children then em- barked on another steamer, commanded by Cap- tain LaBarge, and proceeded up the river to St. Joseph, Missouri. She remained there six weeks waiting for news from her brother, but as he was away from Sioux City trading with the Indians upon river St. Peter he did not know of her arrival in St. Joseph. Finally she decided to delay no longer and by stage went to Council Bluffs, Iowa. By this time Joseph Leonais had received her letter and he immediately sent his brother-in-law, Eli Be- dard, bearing a letter of introduction, to bring her to Sioux City. Mr. Bedard expected to take the long drive to St. Joseph and was, therefore, much delighted when his friend Mr. Stentsman informed him in Council Bluffs that he need go no farther as Mrs. Lapora and her family were there at the stage hotel. It took three days to drive from Council Bluffs to Sioux City and on the last night of the journey they stayed with Augustus Traversee, a cousin
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of Mrs. Lapora, who had removed to this coun- try and married a half-breed Indian woman. Great kindness was shown to the new arrivals.
The close of the next day's journey brought the party to the banks of the Floyd river, where lived the family of Amable Gallerneaux, and there Joseph Leonais was waiting to wel- come his sister and her children, whom he was greatly delighted to see. Mr. Gallerneaux was a Frenchman, but his wife was an Indian woman and their children wore odd looking caps made of blankets, with horns fashioned from the eloth and sewed upon it. It was a strange sight for a white woman just arrived from Canada. As there was no bridge across the Floyd river the horses were unhitched from the wagon and made to swim aeross with their harness upon them. A long rope was then at- tached to the wagon and it was drawn across the stream, while Mrs. Lapora, her brother and the children crossed in a small boat, arriving at Sioux City December 3, 1854. Her sur- prise was great at seeing nothing but Indian wigwams. Game and fish could be had in abundance and her brother's cornfield covered the present site of Pearl street. Mrs. Lapora was at once taken to her brother's home. He had also married a half-breed woman. On learning that a white woman and white chil- dren had come the Indians crowded about to see them, for they had never seen a white wo- man before. The Lapora children were much frightened by the dusky Siouxs, but as time passed they became more intimate with their Indian neighbors, played with them and soon learned to speak the language fluently. At one time during the early days Mrs. Lapora wit- nessed a sealp dance, a Sioux squaw, called Mother Blue Nose, holding the sealp of a fair- haired man upon a long pole, while the Indians danced about with glee. The white men were very indignant at this seene and Joseph Leonais ordered the Indians away, for they were dancing in front of his house. Mrs. La- pora told her brother that it would be almost
impossible for her to raise her children in this wild western place among the savages. Mr. Leonais had been greatly pleased to have her with him, but knowing of her dissatisfaction he offered to send her and her children back to Canada at his own expense. In the spring fol- lowing her arrival, however, he sold his claim as a site for Sioux City and she was more con- tented to remain, because other white women- Mrs. Gondreau, Mrs. Cassada and Mrs. Lyons -had come. Her brother's home was the only boarding house for the white people and all newcomers made it their stopping place. Aus- tin Cole, Steve Gardner and Charles C. Sang- ster early visited Sioux City and after remain- ing for a month Mr. Cole returned to Iowa City for his wife.
Charles C. Sangster opened the first store in Sioux City containing a stock of groceries, hardware, dry goods and liquors. After an ac- quaintance of about eighteen months Mrs. La- pora and Charles C. Sangster were married on the 12th of March, 1856, and he proved to her a kind husband. Eleven months later, on the 16th of February, 1857, a son was born to them, the first white child born in Sioux City. He was named Charles Archibald. Two months later, on the 15th of April, 1857, Charles C. Sangster died of heart disease. Mrs. Sangster was thus again a widow and now with three children to support. At the time of his death Mr. Sangster had been building a house near the mouth of Floyd river upon a lot owned by Joseph Leonais. This house was afterward completed and Mr. Leonais gave the deed of the land on which it stood to his widowed sis- ter, and she made that place her home until both house and lot were swept away by the river.
Four years after her husband's death Mrs. Sangster went to her father-in-law's home in Ionia, Michigan, for the purpose of caring for his siek wife, but she died before Mrs. Sang- ster's arrival. She remained there, however, for two years and then went to Iowa City,
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Iowa, to arrange and settle up her husband's estate. After three years spent there Mrs. Sangster returned to Sioux City. Her eldest son, Edmund, was then eighteen years of age and was thns able to assist his mother. The daughter, Annie, was fifteen and Charles was nine years. The following year on the 3d of December, 1867, the daughter married Antoine Flurie. On the 19th of February, 1888, her son, Edmund Lapora, died at his home upon the Floyd river, leaving a wife and five chil- dren. His widow has since married again. Charles Sangster, her youngest son, resides be- tween MeCook lake and the Missouri river, engaged in his favorite pursuit of hunting.
During the early days Mrs. Sangster made many pairs of mittens and gloves of fur and also caps of the same material for wealthy families of Sioux City and in this way during one winter she earned more than one hundred dollars. She invested one hundred dollars in a three-quarter block upon the Floyd river and her eldest son Edmund paid for the buildings erected thereon. There she lived with her two sons for many years, but finally her elder son married Agnes Heurth and went to a home of his own. In the fall of 1887 Mrs. Sangster and her brother, Joseph Leonais, visited her birthplace in Canada. Thirty-three years had elapsed since she lived there and she found many changes upon her return. Two of her sisters had died, but one sister, Mrs. Margaret Laforce, was still living at Sherbrooke, Canada. After four months spent there Mrs. Sangster and her brother returned to Sioux City. In March, 1899, she was taken ill with dropsy and heart trouble and for two years was quite sick. Her brother, Joseph Leonais, died May 25, 1901, at his home on South Court street in Sioux City when about eighty-three years of age. Previous to his death he had bought a place in Mount Calvary cemetery for two burials, one for his sister and one for himself. Since his death a monument has been erected to his memory and his name inscribed thereon,
while below is a blank space left for his sister's name, as it was his desire that they should sleep their last sleep together, as his third wife, his widow, contemplated spending her remaining life in Canada and wished to be buried there. Mrs. Mary Ann Sangster, however, is now en- joying excellent health, has full possession of all her mental faculties and is yet remarkably active for one of her years, for she has now reached the age of eighty-seven. During the summer months she frequently visits Sioux City. She did not learn to speak English until after her arrival here when she was near- ly forty years of age, her earlier life having been spent among the French people of Can- ada. She is now living a peaceful and happy life with Mr. and Mrs. Flurie and their fine family of sons and daughters in the home farm in Union county, South Dakota.
MRS. MARY A. CHASE.
Mrs. Mary A. Chase, living on section 11, Wolf Creek township, is numbered among the early settlers in that part of the county and now with the assistance of her two sons is car- rying on the old homestead farm, giving her at- tention to its supervision since the death of her husband, L. J. Chase, who passed away on the 28th of November, 1901. Mr. Chase was a native of Illinois, born near Princeton in Bureau county on the 14th of April, 1837. His boyhood days were there passed and he acquired a fair education. In March, 1861, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Shurts, who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, a daughter of John Shurts, who was also a native of that state and was of German ancestry. Her mother bore the maiden name of Nancy Burns and was a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch lineage. Mr. Shurts was a farmer by occupa- tion, following that pursuit in Ohio until his re- moval to Bureau county, Illinois, where he
L. J. CHASE AND FAMILY.
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owned and operated two different traets of land and thereon reared his family.
Mr. and Mrs. Chase began their domestie life upon a rented farm in Bureau county and there lived for a number of years, after which they came to Iowa in 1869, settling in Benton county. Mr. Chase turned his attention to the development of a farm there and continued its improvement for twelve years. On the expira- tion of that period he sokl out and removed to Woodbury county, arriving here in 1881. He purchased the tract of land upon which the family now resides-a farm of two hundred and forty acres of land which is now rich and productive, but was then raw and unimproved. He broke the fields, turning the first furrows upon many an aere, and later he planted the seed and in due course of time harvested good crops. He erected good buildings upon the place, hauling the lumber from Sioux City. He first built a barn, in which the family lived for two years, at the end of which time a new resi- dence was erected. Mr. Chase also planted many fruit trees and thus developed an excel- . lent orchard. He also set out considerable small fruit and now the family annually enjoys the products of his labor in the berries and ap- ples and other fruits which are produced here. He likewise planted a maple grove and contin- ned the work of progress upon the home place until the farm equals many of the best prop- erties of this portion of the county. He was also a successful stock-raiser and had upon his place good grades of cattle, hogs and horses.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chase were born eight children : Etta, who is the wife of A. Tiffany, a resident farmer of Kedron township ; Charles, a farmer who is married and resides in South Dakota, and has two children, Mary and George; Ida, the wife of Walter Heath, of this county, by whom she has two sons, Harry and Elmer; Jennie, the wife of Charles Heath, of Wolf Creek township, by whom she has one daughter, Edna ; Frank, who is assisting in the operation of the home farm; Roy, at home;
Minnie, the wife of John A. Grapes, of Rock township; and Eva, the wife of Bruce Carring- ton, of Wolf Creek township, by whom she has two children, Harold and Russell.
Politically Mr. Chase was a Republican, but never sought or desired office, preferring to give his time to his business affairs, in which he met with very good success, being thus enabled to leave his family in comfortable financial cir- eumstances. He was always very honorable in his trade relations and true to the duties of citizenship and in his family he was a devoted husband and father. After the death of her husband Mrs. Chase removed to Correction- ville, where she resided for two years, but in the spring of 1904 she returned to the farm where she is keeping house for her sons. Her son Frank has made three trips to California and Roy has made one trip. The sons are capable young business men, both well educated and they are well known and popular in Wolf Creek township and Woodbury county. Mrs. Chase possesses excellent business ability and is well known in Correctionville and Wolf Creek town- ship. She has done her full duty by her chil- dren and has their warmest affection, while by many friends she is held in the highest esteem.
JOSEPH HOELKER.
Joseph Hoelker, who is engaged in general farming on section 3, Miller township, has a good property of three hundred and twenty aeres, constituting a well improved farm within two and a fourth miles of Anthon. He is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in Westphalia, Prussia, on the 10th of Novem- ber, 1840. There the days of his boyhood and youth were passed and he was educated in the German and Latin tongues. He served in the Prussian army for three years, taking part in the Prussian and Danish war, in which he participated in forty-two different engage- ments. He was afterward in what was known
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as the Prussian war and took part in sixty-six engagements, some of which were very import- ant battles. He sustained four gunshot wounds and was also wounded by a bursting shell, on which occasion eighty-four men of his company were killed and a number were injured.
In early life Mr. Hoelker learned the stone mason's trade, which he followed for three years in his native land. In 1867 he emigrated to the new world, for he had heard favorable re- ports concerning America and its business op- portunities. Wishing to profit by the advan- tages here afforded he crossed the Atlantic and made his way to Dubuque Iowa, where he ar- rived on the 3d of May, 1867. There he was engaged in railroad construction in connection with the stone work department for seven years, spending that entire time in Dubuque county. He subsequently carried on farming there for four years and after his marriage he removed to Carroll county, where he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits for seven years. In 1885 he came to Woodbury county, rented a farm in Miller township and for nine years lived upon that place, during which time he made many improvements. He then purchased the farm on which he now resides on section 3, Miller township. Upon it was a house in very poor repair and forty aeres of land was tillable. He began here with one hundred and sixty acres and has improved his property until he now has an excellent farm, comprising three hundred and twenty acres. He built a new residence and substantial barn, also buildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and has trans- formed his farm into a very valuable property, on which he raises good graded stock.
While living in Dubuque county, on the 26th of May, 1868, Mr. Hoelker was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Fent, who was born in Ger- many. They became the parents of eighteen children, eleven of whom are now living. Six are married and there are twenty-four grand- children. Politieally Mr. Hoelker is a Dem- ocrat, having supported the party since he cast
his first presidential ballot for Samuel J. Til- den, in 1876. The honors and emoluments of office have had little attraction for him and he has held no public office, save that for several years he was a member of the school board. Both he and his wife were reared in the Cath- olic faith and are members of the church at Anthon. Mr. Hoelker is a public-spirited citi- zen, much interested in all that pertains to the county's welfare and upbuilding. Leaving his native land in early manhood to try his for- tune in the new world, he has never regretted the step thus taken, for here he has found good business opportunities, and steadily pursuing his way, undeterred by the obstacles and diffi- eulties in his path, he has achieved a prosperity of which he perhaps did not dream a few dec- ades ago.
ALBERT L. LOWE.
Albert L. Lowe, although a resident of Sioux City for only a few years, became an active factor in business circles during that period and had a strong personality that left its impress upon the minds of his friends, who grew in number as the circle of his acquaintances ex- tended and who accorded him a desirable po- sition in their regard and confidence. He was born in East Mercer, Maine, in April, 1861. His father, William Lowe, also a native of that state, spent his entire life there and for many years followed the occupation of farming. His widow, also a native of Maine, is still residing in the Pine Tree state, at the age of eighty three years.
Having acquired his education in the public schools of Maine Albert L. Lowe afterward worked upon his father's farm for a few years and then went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he entered the employ of a railroad company, being connected with the freight department for a few years. Removing to the west he settled at Omaha, Nebraska, where he filled the respon-
MRS. CLARA T. LOWE.
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sible position of foreman for the Cudahy Pack- ing Company for six years. Coming then to Sioux City, he was foreman for two years of the ham department in the Cudahy plant of this place, and on the expiration of that period he began business for himself, establishing a commission house at the corner of Fifth and Douglas streets. He continued in that enter- prise until his death and developed a good busi- ness. His course in the business world from early manhood was marked by steady progres- sion. He was dilligent and determined, per- severing and prudent, and his efforts were so directed as to produce good results.
Mr. Lowe was married in Sioux City to Mrs. Clara (Townsend) Rockwood, a native of New Hampshire and a daughter of Samuel F. and Betsy G. Townsend, both of whom were natives of New Hampshire. The father was a farmer by occupation. IIe died at the age of sixty-five years and Mrs. Townsend now re- sides in Sioux City, at the home of her daugh- ter, Mrs. William M. Stevens, at No. 1911 Pierce street. Mrs. Lowe has been married three times, first becoming the wife of Allen Hoskins, a member of one of the old and prom- inent families of Sioux City. Her first hus- band was engaged in the book and stationery business in Sioux City, and they had one child, Harry, who died at the age of six months. Her second husband was Frank P. Rockwood, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he resided the greater part of his life. He was a wood en- graver, and died in Fitchburg, June 1, 1894. There was one son by this marriage, Harold, who was born August 21, 1891, and resides with his mother. After the death of her second hus- band she returned to Sioux City and was here married to Mr. Lowe.
Mr. Lowe never held or desired political of- fice, but was a staneh Democrat in his political views and took much interest in the growth and snecess of his party. He was a Royal Arch Mason and belonged to several insurance orders. His death, which occurred September 15, 1900,
was very sudden, owing to heart failure. He had formed a wide acquaintance in business eireles, and his strong qualites were those which commanded the trust and good will of his busi- ness associates. Of strong and purposeful na- ture, he accomplished what he undertook, and reached his end by straightforward methods. In social circles, too, he displayed many ster- ling traits that cause him to be remembered, not only in his own home, but by friends and neigh. bors. Mrs. Lowe formerly resided on Jennings street in Sioux City, but in 1901 she came to the beautiful suburb of Morningside and pur- chased a nice home at No. 1810 Pomegranate street, where she and her only child reside. She also owns six houses and lots in Sioux City which she rents. She is prominent in social eireles and in her own home dispenses a charm- ing hospitality.
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