USA > Iowa > Winneshiek County > Past and present of Winneshiek county, Iowa; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 28
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Mr. Egge was married in 1902 to Miss Helena Bratbaken, who was born in Frankville township and is a daughter of Christian and Helen Bratbaken, natives of Norway. The father is deceased but the mother survives and now makes her home with her daughter. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Egge have been born three children. Ilelena Elizabeth, Esther Marie and Erick. Reared in the Lutheran faith, Mr. Egge has ever given his support to the church of that denomination and its teachings have formed the guiding influence of his life. He is a man of high purpose and honorable principles, and during the period of his residence in Winneshick county, covering his entire lifetime, he has won a large circle of warm friends who hold him in high esteem and regard.
ERNEST L. YARWOOD.
Farming has claimed the attention of Ernest L. Yarwood throughout his entire business career, and he is today the owner of one hundred and eighty-eight acres. located on section 1. Calmar township. He is a native son of Winneshiek county, born on the home farm, of which he is now the owner, in September, 1881. He is a son of George W. and Maria ( Lee ) Yarwood, the former born in England, while the latter was a native of Wisconsin. Upon his emigration to the new world. the father located in New York, but in 1855 he came to Winneshick county and bought land in Calmar township, continuing to cultivate his land until the time of his death, which occurred in the fall of 1001. His wife survived for a few years, departing this life November 28, 1908.
Ernest L. Yarwood took up the tasks of the home farm at an early age and as the years passed he assisted more and more in the work of the fields. He acquired his education during the winter seasons in the district schools near his home. In 1905 he rented the home place and became so successful that in 1911 he was able to buy his brothers' interest, so that he is now the owner of one hundred and eighty-eight acres. He has improved the place to some extent and now has a farm that is a credit to his labors.
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It was on the 22d of February, 1903, that Mr. Yarwood was wedded to Miss Jennie Risdahl, a daughter of Diedrick Risdahl, who was born in Norway but emigrated to America at an early day. He was a carpenter by trade but after coming to Winneshiek county he also farmed in connection with his work of carpentry. He was an invalid for many years prior to his death and departed this life in 1895. The mother is still living, however, and makes her home in North Dakota. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Yarwood has been blessed with four children : Dorothy G., a little maiden of six years ; George M., four years of age ; Ethel J., now two years old ; and Earl S., an infant of six months.
Mr. Yarwood's study of the political questions has led him to give stalwart support to the republican party, while his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. His has been a busy and well spent life and he well deserves the success that has come as a fitting crown to his labors.
GEORGE EINWALTER.
George Einwalter, whose business ability, energy and progressive spirit are evidenced in his successful conduct of his fine farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 11, Jackson township, is a native of Winneshick county, born on the property he now owns on the 9th of June, 1884. He is a son of Fred and Margaret ( Rice) Einwalter, natives of Germany. The father came to America when he was a small boy and located first at Albany, New York, whence he went to Wisconsin. After a few years in the latter state he came to Winneshiek county, taking up his residence on a farm in Jackson township in 1865. From that time until his death, on the 30th of October, 1912, he continued to develop and improve his land, becoming one of the prosperous and substantial farmers of the com- munity. He took an active part in public affairs, serving in various positions of trust and responsibility, including almost all of the township offices and presi- dent of the school board. His wife survives him and resides upon the old home- stead. In their family were the following children : Catherine, deceased ; William, who makes his home in Jackson township ; Milton C., a resident of Cedar Rapids ; Paul C., of Sebastopol, California; Mary, the wife of R. E. White, of Walker, Iowa; Phillip J., of Albert Lea, Minnesota ; Hannah, the wife of Guy Schofield, of Strawberry Point, lowa ; Fred, of Fort Atkinson; Lizzie, who married George Summers, of Fort Atkinson ; Emma, the wife of James Puffer, of Fort Atkinson ; Emil, who has passed away; and George, of this review.
George Einwalter was reared in his parents' home and from his early child- hood assisted with the work of improving and developing the farm, his practical experience along this line making him an able agriculturist before he was of age. When he was twenty-two he rented the homestead from his father and after one year purchased the property which then comprised one hundred and sixty acres. To this he has since added eighty acres and upon this property he engages in general farming and is especially interested in stock-raising, breeding fine Duroc Jersey hogs which command a high price and a ready sale upon the market. Extensive improvements have been made upon the farm, the buildings have been kept in good repair and added to from time to time, new machinery has been
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installed and the place today compares favorably with the finest agricultural prop- erties in his locality and reflects everywhere the care and supervision of the owner, who is a practical, modern and progressive farmer.
Mr. Einwalter was married in June, 1905, to Miss Anna Lukes and to their union have been born three children : George, who was born April 20, 1906, and who died on October 11, 1908; Edward ; and Calvin.
Mr. Einwalter is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and is a democrat in his political beliefs, taking an active interest in community affairs. He is now a director and president of the board of township trustees and has proven his ability, energy and public spirit in the discharge of his important duties, his influence being always on the side of reform, advancement and growth. He is a progressive, wide-awake business man and a public-spirited and loyal citizen and the success which has come to him is but the just reward of his own industry and good management.
O. A. P. HAUGEN.
In many respects the life of O. A. P. Haugen has been quietly and unevent- fully passed, inasmuch as he has always made his home in Canoe township and has followed farming as a source of livelihood. Those who wish to master well the lessons of life, however, may find much that is worthy of emulation in his record, for he has ever been industrious and energetic and has believed in per- forming to the best of his ability whatever he has undertaken. He has made the Canoe Valley Stock Farm, of which he is the owner, one of the excellent properties of the district in which it is located.
It was in Canoe township, on the 26th of January, 1867, that his birth occurred, his parents being Peter L. and Anna ( Sattermoe ) Haugen, both of whom were natives of Norway, the former born February 2, 1816, and the latter on the 20th of October, 1828. They were married in their native land and in 1853 sailed for America, settling first in Canada, where they remained for one year, the father being employed in a sawmill. He afterward went to Wisconsin and on coming to Winneshick county, Iowa, took up a claim in Canoe township. To this place he brought his wife in the fall of 1854, and with characteristic energy began the cultivation of the farm upon which they spent their remaining days. The father passed away September 16, 1891, while the mother's death occurred on the 20th of December, 1906. Peter L. Haugen always followed farming in Winneshiek county, and while his claim was wild and undeveloped when it came into his possession he left it a splendidly equipped farm, displaying all the modern improvements. The boundaries, too, of the place had been extended until the eighty acres had been increased to two hundred and seventy. Great changes in the environment and in the mode and habits of living had occurred. Deer were still numerous in this section at an early date and there was fine trout fishing. The Indians also were numerous, not yet having left for reser- vations farther westward. In fact, all the evidences of pioneer life were here to be seen and the family shared in all of the hardships and privations incident to the establishment of a home on the frontier, but as the years passed time and
MR. AND MRS. O. A. P. HAUGEN
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man wrought many changes and the Hangen family shared in the general pros- perity. In politics the father was a stanch republican and held some township offices. He belonged to the Norwegian Lutheran church and was the founder of the Haugen Evangelical church of Canoe township. Unto him and his wife were born three sons and a daughter who died in infancy, while the two surviv- ing children of the family were born in Canoe township the elder being Bertha L., now the widow of H. L. Hanson and still a resident of Canoe township.
The younger, O. A. P. Haugen, has always remained in Canoe township and has resided on his present farm since 1893, having an excellent tract of land of two hundred and sixty acres on sections 22 and 23, 26 and 27. He calls his place the Canoe Valley Stock Farm and thereon he raises a high grade of stock for the Chicago market. He also buys stock which he ships to Chicago, shipping fifteen carloads in the fall of 1912. His business is carefully managed and his enterprise and laudable ambition are the salient features in his growing success. Aside from his farming and stock-raising interests, he is a director of the Ice Cave Creamery Company, of Decorah.
In 1889 Mr. Haugen was united in marriage to Miss Karen O. Talhaug, who was born in Canoe township, April 3. 1871, a daughter of Ole and Johanna Talhang, who were natives of Norway but became residents of Winneshiek county during the period of the Civil war. Mr. Talhaug continued a resident of Canoe township until his death, and his widow now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Haugen. The latter by her marriage has become the mother of fourteen children, and with the exception of Oscar, who was the eleventh in order of birth and who died at the age of five weeks, all are still living. These are Peter O .. Julia, Olga, Emil, Carl, Edwin, Harry, Albert, Alvin, Bessie, Otto Arnold, Florence and an infant.
Mr. Haugen votes with the republican party and is one of the trustees and active members of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Canoe township. His influence is always on the side of right, justice, truth and progress, and the enterprise and industry which he has displayed in his business affairs have made him one of the substantial residents of the county.
R. M. MILLER.
R. M. Miller is operating View Lawn Farm which comprises one hundred and sixty acres, situated on sections 12 and 13, Burr Oak township. This farm is also his birthplace, his natal day being July 5. 1875. He is the youngest in a family of three children born of the marriage of Charles E. and Emma ( Rollins) Miller, the former born in Elizabethtown, Essex county, New York, July 24, 1844. and the latter in Wisconsin, August 9, 1852. She accompanied her parents, J. C. and Mary S. Rollins, to Iowa during her childhood days, and here spent her remaining years, passing away February 13, 1890, at the comparatively early age of thirty-eight years. The father. Charles E. Miller, made the overland journey from the Empire state to Iowa when twenty-one years of age. He was accom- panied by his father, who lived in this county until his death in 1889, his wife having passed away years before. Charles E. later made a trip to Illinois whence
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he brought the first Norman horses ever brought into Winneshiek county. Hle was married in this county in 1870 to Miss Emma Rollins. He purchased the farm on which our subject now resides, being engaged in agricultural pursuits through- out a long period, or until he retired from active life. He then spent two or three years in California and for the past decade has made his home in Canton, Min- nesota. After the death of his first wife he wedded Mary Mitson, who still survives. Of his first union there are two sons and one daughter, the brother of our subject being Edsil M., of Fergus Falls, Minnesota ; and the sister, Nellie MI., the wife of Lyman Hudson. of Colby, Wisconsin.
R. M. Miller completed his education in Nora Springs Seminary, lowa. After completing his education he engaged in teaching in the common schools for three years. However, he chose as his life work the occupation to which he had been reared, and is now operating the old home place known as View Lawn Farm, located on sections 12 and 13. Burr Oak township, and comprising one hundred and sixty acres. The land is very fertile and yields good harvests each year, while the buildings are substantial and are kept in good condition, so that the farm presents a neat and thrifty appearance. Mr. Miller keeps high-grade stock on his farm, breeding black polled Angus cattle, having at the present time forty head of registered cattle, at the head of which is Black Eagle C. Ile likewise breeds Duroc Jersey hogs, exhibiting his stock at all the local fairs, where he carries off many premiums. For the past seventeen years Mr. Miller has been operating the farm on his own account and during this time he has met with a high degree of success.
Mr. Miller was married in 1800. the lady of his choice being Miss Edna Miles, who was born in Prosper, Minnesota, March 24, 18;9, a daughter of Frank R. and Emma Miles, the former now deceased, while the latter makes her home in Canada. Two children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller : Emma, who died at the age of nine months ; and Charles, who is with his parents.
Mr. Miller gives his political support to the men and measures of the republican party and for six years has served as assessor of his township. llis fraternal relations connect him with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is an enterprising business man and as a breeder and raiser of stock has become widely known throughout Winneshiek county. He and his estimable wife have a wide acquaintance and their hospitable home is enjoyed by their many friends.
GILBERT C. HORGEN.
Gilbert C. Horgen owns and operates a fine farm on sections i and 12, Madison township, and by constant application has surrounded himself with an enviable degree of prosperity. He was born in Norway on the 8th of May, 1866, and is a son of Christian P. and Sigrid ( Gulbrandson ) Horgen, also natives of that country. The father came to America in 1800 and located in Whitewater, Wis- consin, where he remained until the following fall, removing then to Winneshiek county, Iowa. Ilere he secured employment as a farm laborer and in 1874 bought eighty acres of land in Madison township, turning his attention to its improve- ment and cultivation. From time to time he added to his holdings until he owns
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two hundred acres of fine land, upon which he still resides. He has, however, retired from active life, having earned a period of leisure by well directed work in the past.
Gilbert C. Horgen was three years of age when his parents came to America. He acquired his education in the public schools of Madison township and divided his time in his childhood between his studies and work upon the homestead. In 1898 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres on section 12, Madison township, and after clearing one hundred acres of this tract purchased more land. Ile now owns two hundred and eighty acres on sections i and 12, his place being among the most desirable in Winneshiek county. Aside from general agriculture Mr. Horgen engages also in stock-raising, making this a profitable department of his business. He gives a great deal of time and attention to his farming interests and enjoys the reputation of being one of the progressive agriculturists in this vicinity.
October 6, 1909, Mr. Horgen was united in marriage to Miss Anna Haugen, a daughter of Halver and Louisa Haugen, natives of Norway, who came to America at an early date and settled in Madison township, where the father is still engaged in farming.
Mr. Horgen is a stockholder and a director in the Farmers Creamery Company of Decorah, and also in the Farmers Hog Buying Company of that city, and his business ability is widely recognized and respected. He gives his political allegi- ance to the republican party and was for two terms township trustee, rendering his fellow citizens faithful and capable service. He is a man of sterling traits of character, reliable in business, progressive in citizenship, and at all times trust- worthy and capable.
GEORGE A. BIEBER.
George A. Bieber, controlling an important and well established hardware store in Fort Atkinson, is a native of lowa, born in Allamakee county on the 11th of December, 1866. He is a son of Philip and Caroline ( Ebersohl) Bieber, natives of Germany, who came to America about the year 1855 and located in Allamakee county, where the father purchased land, carrying on general farming until his death, which occurred April 1. 1881. He was one of the pioneers in this part of Iowa and traveled overland with ox teams, arriving in Allamakee county in 1857. His first home was a crude log shanty and a picture of this dwelling is still in possession of the subject of this review. Philip Bieber's wife survives him and makes her home in Fort Atkinson. They were the par- ents of three children: Philip and Caroline, deceased; and George .\., of this review.
George A. Bieber spent his childhood upon his father's farm in .Allamakee county and at the early age of sixteen began his independent career, becoming identified with the hardware and tinning business in Waukon, where he remained for two years. Ile afterward spent a short time in Postville and on May 19, 1885. arrived in Fort Atkinson, where he has since remained, a valued and respected resident. For about five years and a half he clerked in a tinning establishment and at the end of that time purchased the business, of which
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he has been the proprietor since the ioth of February, 1890. He conducts today the oldest hardware concern in the fourth congressional district with one exception and is in control of an important trade along this line, his patronage having steadily grown as his honorable and straightforward business dealings have become more widely known. He is in addition interested in the G. A. Bieber Hardware Company at Lawler, is a director in the Iowa Mutual Insur- ance Company, and is widely known in mercantile circles of this section of the state.
On the 2d of June, 1892, Mr. Bieber was mited in marriage to Miss Lida M. Summers and both are well known and favorably regarded in Fort Atkinson. Politically Mr. Bieber gives his allegiance to the republican party and he is connected fraternally with the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen of America. He deserves great credit for his successful career, for industry, ability and a progressive spirit have constituted the basis of his prosperity and his genuine personal worth has enabled him to maintain his high standing in the community as a substantial and desirable citizen.
EDWARD J. PARMAN.
Edward J. Parman, one of the leading druggists of Decorah, has here been successfully engaged in business along that line for the past two decades. His birth occurred in Butler county, Iowa, on the 11th of September, 1867, his parents being Joseph and Hannah ( Natzke) Parman, both natives of Germany, the former born in 1840 and the latter in 1845. Joseph Parman, an agriculturist by occupation, emigrated to the United States when a youth of sixteen, locating in Woodstock, Illinois, where he remained for four years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Butler county, Iowa, there purchasing a large tract of land. He was there married and remained on that farm until 1890. when he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he lived retired until his death in December, 1912. His widow still resides at her home in Cedar Falls. She was a maiden of ten years at the time she accompanied her parents on their emigration to the new world. the family home being established in Butler county, Iowa.
Edward J. Parman obtained his early education in the public schools of Finch- ford, Iowa, and the college at Mount Morris, Illinois. Subsequently he took up the study of pharmacy in Northwestern University of Chicago and was grad- uated from that institution in 1893. In the same year he came to Decorah, Towa, and in association with I. W. Brunt bought out the drug business of Charles Rudolph, whose store stood on the present site of the plant of the De- corah Furniture Company. Later he removed to his present store and in 1910 purchased Mr. Brunt's interest, having since remained the sole proprietor of the establishment. He carries an excellent line of drugs and druggists' sundries and enjoys an extensive and well merited patronage. He is likewise a share- holder in the Decorah Gas Company, the American Drug & Press Association of Decorah and the Thompson Boat & Pattern Works of Decorah and his care- fully managed interests have brought him prosperity.
EDWARD J. PARMAN
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In politics Mr. Parman is a stanch republican, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Congregational church of Decorah. Fra- ternally he is identified with the Masonic blue lodge ; Lodge No. 230, Knights of Pythias ; and Lodge No. 443. Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Decorah. In private life he has been actuated by principles which govern honorable and upright manhood and the same high ideals have ever been manifest in his business dealings.
WILLIAM C. FIFIELD.
William C. Fifield, a veteran of the Civil war and an early settler in Winne- shiek county, has been connected with the agricultural interests of Fremont town- ship since 1865 and since that time has become one of the largest landowners and most representative farmers in this vicinity. Throughout the entire period he has made his home upon his present farm and his individual prosperity, which is the result of his untiring industry, is counted an important factor in general development.
Mr. Fifield was born in Rutland county, Vermont, July 16, 1843, and is a son of William and Laura ( Ransom) Fifield, natives of that state, where the paternal ancestors settled in very early times. The house which was built by the grandfather of the subject of this review is still standing and in good condi- tion, although it is over one hundred and fifty years old. William Fifield, father of the subject of this review, was a machinist by trade and operated a foundry and machine shop in Vermont until the summer of 1854, when he moved to Winneshiek county and entered a quarter section of government land in Fremont township. After improving this place to some extent his health failed and he was ever afterward an invalid, although he spent the remainder of his life upon his farm, dying in 1880. He was a man of excellent education, a college graduate, and or many years a school-teacher and when he first settled in Winneshiek county taught the little log cabin school. His wife survives him and makes her home with the subject of this review at the age of ninety-eight.
William C. Fifield acquired his education partly in Vermont and partly in Winneshiek county, being eleven years of age when his parents settled here. He remained upon his father's farm until September, 1862, when he enlisted in Com- pany D, Sixth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, for service in the Civil war. He was mustered out in November, 1865, and afterward returned to Winneshiek county. His father gave him forty acres of land in Fremont township and to this he soon afterward added the adjoining one hundred and twenty acres. This farm he cleared and improved with characteristic energy and from time to time bought more land until he became one of the most extensive property owners in this vicinity. Much of his land he has divided among his children but he retains a fine tract of three hundred and twenty acres, which, owing to his able management, is one of the best improved and most valuable farms in the township. In addition to this he owns a slate mine in Vermont and he spends much of his time in that state.
Mr. Fifield married, on the 2d of June, 1869, Miss Malinda Shelmidine, a daughter of Date and Sarah (Hunter ) Shelmidine, natives of Pennsylvania. The
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