USA > Iowa > Woodbury County > Sioux City > Past and present of Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa > Part 56
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
694
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
and the hospitality of the best homes of their born in Sweden in 1866 and is a son of Andrew township is extended to them.
Politically, Mr. Hinds never wavers in his allegiance to the Republican party and its prin- ciples, but has had no desire for office, prefer- ring to give his attention to his business inter- ests. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Anthon and he and his wife are members of Rebeckah Lodge and she is also a member of the Baptist church. For thirty-six years Mr. Hinds has resided upon the farm which is now their home, covering the greater part of his life, and he has intimate knowledge of what has been accomplished here in the way of the county's growth and improvement. He can remember many interesting incidents of pioneer times and although he is now in very comfortable circumstances his memory goes back to the time that the family experienced many hardships and privations. Owing to his father's limited financial condition he had no boots or shoes and was otherwise scantily clad. It was also impossible for him to attend school to any great extent, yet he has worked on per- sistently, making the most of his opportunities and in his business career has shown good man- agement. He deserves credit and respect for what he has accomplished and his is an unblem- ished character, for he has ever been straight- forward and honorable in his dealings with his fellow men, using the most worthy methods in his efforts to win prosperity.
ANDREW OSTLING.
Building operations in Sioux City are ex- tensive, owing to the continued growth of the city, and this field of labor, therefore, proves a profitable one and is also one which employs the services of a large number of workmen. Mr. Ostling is connected with the building in- terests here as a contractor and his work has ever been of a character that insures him a good patronage. The adopted sons of the city find in him a worthy representative. He was
and Christina Ostling, who were also natives of that country. The father was a mechanic and died in Sweden, and the mother's death occurred there when her son Andrew was hut two years of age. He was the elder of two children, the other being Peter Ostling, who is now a carpenter of Sioux City. He has a half-brother, Gust, who is a carpenter of Sioux City and two half-sisters who are living in California.
Reared in his native country Andrew Ostling attended the public schools and when he had completed his education he learned the carpen- ter's trade. In the year 1889 when twenty- three years of age he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for America, think- ing that he might enjoy better business privi- leges and opportunities for advancement in the new world. Landing on the eastern coast he at once made his way into the interior of the country, continuing his travels until he arrived at Sioux City, Iowa, where he has since been identified with building operations. In 1893 he formed a partnership with Charles Johnson under the firm style of Ostling & Johnson, con- tractors and builders. This business associa- tion has since been maintained and they now have offices at the corner of Third and Jackson streets. They have erected a large number of structures in this city and are doing a busi- ness which is profitable and extensive.
Mr. Ostling was married in 1891 to Miss Anna Wickstrom, whose father was a station agent in Sweden. Her mother is now living with Mrs. Ostling in Sioux City. The latter was born in Sweden in 1865 and by her mar- riage has become the mother of four children: Evart, Ralph, Irma and Verna. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ostling belong to the Swedish Lutheran church and he holds membership relations with the Woodmen of America, with the Swedish Monitoren, a contractors' and builders' and traders' exchange, and the Sioux City Indus- trial Association. His interest in political
695
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
questions and his study of the issues of the day has led him to give his allegianee to the Republican party. The hope which led him to seek a home in America has been more than realized, for here he has found the business opportunities he has sought and which are al- ways open to the young man of determination and capability. He has found that while in America there is no royal road to wealth, that labor meets with a generous reward when di- rected by intelligence and sound judgment, and therefore along the line of unfaltering en- ergy and perseverance he has made his way steadily forward until he now occupies a posi- tion among the substantial representatives of the builder's art in Sioux City.
JAMES O. PAYNE.
James O. Payne, a contractor and builder of Sioux City, was born in Cambridge, Illinois, May 11, 1858, and is a son of Darius and Melvina (Brewster) Payne, who were natives of Caroline Center, New York. The father was a cooper by trade and is now living in Ke- wanee, Illinois, operating a tank and cistern factory, but his wife passed away in 1896. Mrs. C. Van Pelt, the maternal grandmother, is a specialist of the treatment of the diseases of the ear and eye and is well known for her ability in that direction. In the father's fam- ily were nine children, of whom James O. was the third in order of birth. Those living are Edward, an engineer on the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railroad and living at Ma- son City, Iowa; Orin, of Ogden, Utah, who is foreman of the car shops of the Union Pacific Railroad at that place and who had charge of the boilers on the battleship Baltimore dur- ing the Philippine war and made the highest record in examinations for the United States service at the opening of the war; Wallace, who is boss roller at the Great Western Tube works at Kewanee, Illinois ; Oneita, the wife of
Edward Swain, sheriff of Henry county, Illi- nois; Aliee, the wife of George Chichester, a merchant of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Etta, the wife of George Weston, a merchant of Weath- ersfield, Illinois.
James O. Payne spent his boyhood days in Kewanee, Illinois, attending the common schools and the high school at that place. He then learned the cooper's trade and at the age of twenty years he left his native state and went to Missouri. He possesses natural me- chanical ingenuity and early displayed great ability in the use of tools. He can make any- thing in wood and in Missouri he became as- sistant to O. Tucker, a carpenter. He after- ward spent three years in Kansas City and later was on the freight trail between Pueblo, Colorado, and the Big King silver mine. Aft- er two years spent in that way he returned to Missouri and thence eame to O'Neal, Iowa, and was afterward at Coon Rapids, Iowa, where he began business on his own account as a contractor and builder. He built the first house in Dedham, Iowa, and was located there for two years, after which he returned to his old home in Illinois and was married. He located then in Galesburg, Illinois, but after- ward removed to Sanborne, Iowa, where he remained for thirteen years, carrying on con- traeting and building. He next resided at Sheldon, Iowa, where he continued in the same line of pursuit for three years. He built the greater portion of Rogers Folly, under which name the opera house at that place became known. Later he went to Marcus, Iowa, where he erected a large Methodist Episcopal church, a double briek and stone building, but con- tinued to reside in Sheldon. His work at Marens covered one year and during the suc- ceeding year he erected a four thousand dollar residence. He then built the Knoll Street Mission church in Sioux City in 1900 and his friends here persuaded him to make this city his permanent location. He has since been actively and extensively connected with build-
696
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
ing operations in Woodbury county and has erected the residences of J. B. Trimble, R. A. Cushman, Silas Hall, F. L. Ferris, E. Y. Yates and G. C. Straub, also two for George Milner and two for W. S. Wilkins. He also built a large double house for Godfrey Reames, the residence of W. Luckins, the livery barn for John McDonald, of Leeds, Iowa, the Metho- dist Episcopal church at Lawton, two farm buildings for H. S. Hess, a barn for Dr. Wise and a residence for Mrs. Grandy.
On the 6th of July, 1884, Mr. Payne was married to Miss Ida L. Wade, of Bardolph, Ill- nois, and their children are Alfred, William, Eva, Vivian and Erma. Mr. Payne is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is connected with the encampment and the Rebekah degree. He is also a member of the Contractors' & Builders' Exchange and in his political views he is a Republican. His life history is unmarked by any exciting epoch, but indicates the possibilities for accomplishment when one possesses strong purpose, indefatiga- ble energy and discriminating judgment-all of which are numbered among the salient char- acteristics of James O. Payne.
GEORGE H. RATHMAN.
George H. Rathman, whose business his- tory is the record of continuous progression through the avenue of opportunity which in America is open to all, and who is now one of the prominent representatives of financial interests in Sioux City, occupying the presi- dency of the Live Stock National Bank, was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, August 16, 1856. His parents were Charles F. and Eliza- beth (Gay) Rathman. They removed to Iowa in 1858, locating at Monona, Clayton county, where his father for many years was proprietor of a general mercantile establishment. George H. Rathman attended the public schools at
Monona, and after putting aside his textbooks he clerked in his father's store.
Going to the territory of Dakota in March, 1878, he entered the employ of William Van Eps, a general merchant at Sioux Falls, at a salary of ten dollars a month. Sioux Falls was then a small town of eight hundred inhabitants, with no railroad connection with the outside world. After a few months' service Mr. Van Eps made him manager of a branch store at what was Rockport, on the James river, in Hanson county, then a frontier town, sixty miles west of Sioux Falls and eighty miles north of Yank- ton. When the railroad was projected the town of Mitchell was founded, and Mr. Rathman re- moved to that point to manage a branch store for Mr. Van Eps, this being the first general store of the town. In 1883 he first became connected with the banking business, entering the employ of Ormsby, Clute & Company as bookkeeper. He was with that firm and their successor for three years and successively served as assistant cashier and cashier. In 1886 he established the Bank of Parkston, and while conducting that institution also acted as town- site agent. Later, returning to Mitchell, he purchased an interest in the Security Bank, of which he became manager and cashier. In October, 1892, he sold his interest in that bank and was then out of active business for a time, spending the interval in extensive travel. In 1895, however, he again entered banking cir- cles, organizing the Live Stock National Bank at the Sioux City Stock Yards, which opened its doors for business on the 17th of October of that year.
He filled the position of cashier until Janu- ary, 1903, when he was elected president, and has since remained at the head of the institu- tion. The Live Stock National Bank, under the safe and conservative policy which he in- angurated, has become one of the strong, re- liable financial concerns of the state, and has among its stockholders men of national finan- cial prominence. Thus, step by step, Mr. Rath-
MARathway
699
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
man has advanced in his business career, watch- ful of opportunity and noting every indication pointing to success, and he has not only gained the goal of prosperity, but has also gained an enviable reputation by reason of his progressive and thoroughly reliable business methods.
On the 20th of August, 1896, Mr. Rath- man was married, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Miss Florence E. Singiser, the daughter of Captain T. F. and Ellen S. Singiser. Her father for many years has been numbered among the distinguished citizens of the west. Ile served his country as captain of the Twen- tieth Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil war, was secretary of the territory of Idaho and later its member of congress. He and his wife are now residents of Salt Lake City.
Mr. Rathman is a Republican, but not active in politics. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and has been prominent in Masonie eireles, be- ing the first candidate to receive the degrees in Resurgam Lodge, No. 31, A. F. & A. M., at Mitchell. He afterward served as its mas- ter, was high priest of Mitchell Chapter, No. 16, R. A. M .; eminent commander of St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11, K. T .; grand treasurer of the Grand Chapter, R. A. M., of Dakota, in 1887-8, and grand commander of the Grand Commandery, K. T., of South Da- kota, in 1893. He is and has been pre-emi- nently a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence, and during the years of his residence in Woodbury county has been recognized as a valued addition to its citizen- ship.
HENRY HINKHOUSE.
Henry Hinkhouse, who follows farming on section 25, Rutland township, is one of the ex- tensive landowners of the county, his posses- sions comprising nearly an entire section lving within four farms in Union and Rutland town- ships. Upon his land are four sets of good
buildings and his property possessions are very valuable. Mr. Ilinkhouse has resided in this county since 1887. Ile was born in Hanover, Germany, in November, 1859, and there re- mained during the period of his minority. He attended the public schools of his native coun- try but had no instruction in English ere he came to the new world, and his knowledge of the language here spoken has been acquired through contact with his fellow citizens. He emigrated to the new world in 1880, sailing from Bremen to New York, and from the latter city he came direct to Iowa. In Cedar and in Muscatine counties he worked as a farm hand and also followed the stone-mason's trade to a limited extent. He afterward worked as a stone-mason in St. Louis and in Des Moines, Iowa, and in 1887 he invested his earnings in land, first becoming the owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Union township, Woodbury connty. He still owns this property and after building a small house thereon he began to cul- tivate and develop it. As his financial re- sources increased he bought more land from time to time so that he now owns four good farms. When he crossed the Atlantic to Amer- iea he had no capital and arrived in Iowa empty-handed, but he possessed what is better than money or influence-earnest determina- tion to win success through honorable labor. He has worked on year after year and his dili- genee and capable management have brought to him prosperity. He now owns, individually, a large body of land and is indeed one of the snecessful farmers and leading business men of his portion of the county.
On the 1st of Jannary, 1886, in Cedar county, Iowa, Mr. Hinkhouse was united in marriage to Miss Dora Techau, a native of Germany, born in Holstein. There are five children of this marriage: Hannah, Charles, Etta, Freda and Herman.
Politically Mr. Hinkhouse is a Democrat and east his first presidential ballot for Grover Cleveland and his last vote for W. J. Bryan.
700
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
He has served as a member of the school board and is a member of Pierson lodge, I. O. O. F. Marked changes have occurred in Woodbury county during his residence here covering al- most a quarter of a century and the change has been no more remarkable in the county or in any line of life than it has been in his own career, for here he has made the most of his opportunities and his landed possessions are now extensive and his business interests are profitable.
HENRY METZ.
The field of business is limitless and its op- portunities boundless and in America where all have equal advantages, suceess or failure depend entirely upon the individual. Henry Metz, working his way upward through untir- ing diligence, stands today at the head of the bakery business in Iowa, conducting a whole- sale establishment in Sioux City with a trade that extends into many neighboring states.
Mr. Metz was born in Germany in 1866. His father, Conrad Metz, also a native of that country, died in 1889 at the age of sixty-seven years. He was a miller by trade and also followed farming. He served as a soldier in the Hessian Army in 1864 and was a mem- ber of the German Reformed church. He mar- ried Katherine Mose, also a native of Ger- many, where she is now living at the age of sixty-eight years. She is a member of the Hes- sian Reformed church. In the family were nine children, those living being: Arnold, who is living on the old home farm in Ger- many ; Mary, of that country; Martin, a car- riage and wagon manufacturer of Champaign, Illinois ; Henry ; Elizabeth, who is married and lives in Germany; Eliza, who is married and resides in the fatherland ; and William, now em- ployed as shipping clerk by his brother. Anna is deceased.
In the public schools of his native country Henry Metz was educated and after learning
the baker's trade he went to London, where he followed the same pursuit for three years. In 1887 he came to the United States and making his way to Sioux City worked for Henry Fachman, whose business he purchased in 1892. He has since been proprietor of the Vienna Bakery, which is the largest of the kind in the state. He sells principally to the wholesale trade and sells extensively in Ne- braska, Iowa, South Dakota and a part of Min- nesota, his product being ice cream as well as all kinds of bakery goods. He has built up a profitable business of large proportions through straightforward business methods and indefat- igable industry and his well merited success has come as the logical result of his labor.
Mr. Metz was married in Sioux City to Henrietta Fachman, a daughter of Henry Fach- man, his former employer. She was born in Sioux City and died in 1896, at the age of twenty-five years, leaving one child, Henry. In 1897 Mr. Metz married Virginia Fachman, a sister of his first wife, and they have three children : Henrietta, Arnold and Helen. Mrs. Metz is a member of the Catholic church and he is a thirty-second degree Mason. He also belongs to the Red Men, the Workmen and the Elks Lodges, is a member of the Commer- cial Club and gives his political support to the Democracy. He is president of the Master Bakers' Association of Iowa and also a mem- ber of the Master Bakers' Association of Amer- ica.
ARNOLD LOUIS FRIBOURG.
Arnold Louis Fribourg, a member of the firm of Henderson & Fribourg, attorneys at law of Sioux City, was born in New York city, on the 22d of August, 1863. His father, Marx Fribourg, now living retired, was the son of Vic- tor Fribourg, who was decorated by Napoleon I for military service. His mother was Louisa (Solomon) Fribourg. In the paternal line he
HENRY METZ.
703
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
comes of French-Swiss ancestry, who gave the town of Fribourg, Switzerland, its naine. Adolph Fribourg, an unele, married a sister of Gutierres, late president of Peru.
Arnold Louis Fribourg pursued his educa- tion in the city of New York and was gradu- ated with the degree of Master of Science from the College of the City of New York, as a mem- ber of the class of 1882. He pursued a short law course in Columbia College in 1884 and also studied law with Otto Horwitz, of New York city. Admitted to the bar in New York city in 1885, he practiced there until 1887, and in the spring of 1888 he came to Sioux City, where he has since made his home. He was market editor of the Exchange and Tribume until May, 1893, when he was admitted to the Iowa bar, and after being associated, as assist- ant, with Swan, Lawrence & Swan for a few years was admitted to the partnership, which re- lation was maintained until March, 1901, when he formed a partnership with T. G. Hender- son, and the firm of Henderson & Fribourg has since maintained high standing at the Wood- bury county bar, enjoying a business in the courts and as counselors which is constantly growing in volume and importance.
Mr. Fribourg is a prominent advocate of Masonry and in his life exemplifies the benefi- cent spirit of the eraft. He was made a Mason in Darcy Lodge, of New York city, in 1884, and dimitted to Landmark Lodge of Sioux City, in 1900. He has taken the fourteen de- grees of the Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., at Des Moines, becoming identified with the Scottish rite in 1903. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Wood- men of the World and is a member of the Sioux City Boat Club, the Hawkeye Club and the Young Men's Christian Association. Reli- giously of the Jewish faith, he was president of Mount Sinai Congregation in 1902-3, and is now a director and trustee.
On the 28th of December, 1893, in Sioux City, Mr. Fribourg was married to Miss Maud
Eiseman, who died December 17, 1903. Hler father was one of the pioneers of his faith in Dakota, early settling in Yankton, where he long served as county commissioner and took an active and influential part in public affairs. ITis wife, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, was a playmate of the late Senator Hanna and of Nelson Morris, the millionaire packer of Chicago. The children of Mr. Fribourg are Vietor Eiseman, Frances Belfreda, Roger Lonis and Ernest Jay.
HENRY BAKER.
Henry Baker, living on section 35, Rutland township, is a prosperous agriculturist, who for more than a third of a century has been a resi- dent of Woodbury county and is now the owner of a farm of two hundred and forty acres, which, with its excellent improvements, is proof of his life of industry and thrift. He is one of Iowa's native sons, his birth having oc- eurred in Jackson county. His father, Andrew Baker, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Bedford county in 1825 and in 1833 he accom- panied his parents on their removal to Ohio, the family home being established there in a pioneer community. Thus Andrew Baker was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life and when a young lad went to Indiana, again becoming connected with a pioneer settlement. He was married to Miss Harriet Roush, a na- tive of Ohio, and engaged in farming in In- diana for a few years, after which he came to Iowa, settling in Jackson county. The year 1870 witnessed his removal to Woodbury county, where he purchased a homestead claim, which had been entered by the man who sold it to him. This claim he proved up and received a government patent for the land. He built thereon a dwelling, a barn and other necessary hildings, planted a grove of maples and cotton- wood trees, also set out an orchard and contin- ned general agricultural pursuits there with ex- eellent success up to the time of his death,
704
PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY
which occurred on the 8th of November, 1894. His wife passed away only a few days later and both were laid to rest in Rock Branch cemetery, where a substantial monument marks the place of their interment. In the family were seven children: Martha, the wife of Andrew Fer- guson, of Woodbury county; Lorenzo, also of this county ; Edward, who is living in Whitman county, Washington; John, a resident farmer of Woodbury county; Myra E., the wife of William Short, of Rutland township; Henry, of this review; and Andrew J., who is living in Jackson county, Iowa.
Henry Baker was largely reared in Wood- bury county and the common schools afforded him his early educational privileges. Later he attended Dexter College for one term. Both prior to this time and afterward he engaged in teaching and he followed the profession for two years. He then took charge of the home farm, was administrator and settled up the estate, and, purchasing the interest of the other heirs, he now owns two hundred and forty acres of land in the home place and also a tract of eighty acres in Wolf Creek township. He is engaged in raising graded stoek, buying and selling stock and carrying on quite an extensive business in this direction. He has now a pair of stock scales on his farm for his own use. He sells most of his farm products to the home mar- ket and in this way he annually gains a good financial return for his labor.
Politically Mr. Baker is a Republican upon questions of state and national importance, but at local elections votes independently. He has served as commisioner of highways for five years and has been a member of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend. He was appointed administrator by the court and has served in that capacity in connection with three different estates. He is an excellent business man, careful and far- sighted, reliable and energetic. Socially he is connected with Rock Branch Camp of the Mod- ern Woodmen of America.
GEORGE S. THOMPSON.
George S. Thompson, whose active connec- tion with the maintenance of law and order at Sioux City, where he long filled the position of bailiff, was well known in northwestern Iowa, taking up his abode in the county seat in 1883. His birth occurred in Reedville, Maine, July 3, 1833, his father being Samuel Thomp- son, who was a shoe merchant of Winthrop, Maine, during the greater part of his life and there passed away.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.