-71- G. A. BRINK    G. A. Brink, prominently connected with business interests of Washta as a member of the firm of Snidecor & Company, dealers in implements, hardware and furniture, is a native of Iowa, born in Clay county, May 3, 1878. He is a son of William and Mary (Hampshire) Brink, natives of New Hampshire, where the father engaged in farming. They came to Clay county, Iowa, at an early date and there the father farmed for some time. In 1883 he went to Monroe, Wisconsin, where he worked at the carpenter's trade until his death, in 1905. His wife survives him and makes her home at Beloit, Wisconsin.    G. A. Brink came to Cherokee county when he was eight years of age and thereafter made his home with his uncle while he acquired his education in the district schools. He afterward attended Buena Vista College at Storm Lake, Iowa, and following the completion of his studies rented land from his uncle, operating a farm in Tilden township for five years. During this time he also owned one hundred and sixty acres in Grand Meadow township but his he afterward sold. Later he purchased more land and is now the owner of eighty acres on section 17, Grand Meadow township, and two hundred and eighty-four acres in Woodbury county, Iowa. Mr. Brink abandoned agricultural pursuits in 1907 and came to Washta, where he became a member of the firm of Snidecor & Company in the hardware, furniture and implement business. He still retains this connection and is an important factor in the development of the large business controlled by the concern.    In June, 1903, Mr. Brink married Miss Louise Rollins, a daughter of Thomas and Florence Rollins, natives of England. The father moved to O'Brien county, Iowa, at an early date and there farmed for many years, later coming to Cherokee county, where he resumed his agricultural pursuits in Tilden township. He was afterward identified with the butcher business in Cherokee but is now living in retirement, making his home in Montana. He has survived his wife since 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Brink have become the parents of two children: Margaret, who died September 16, 1906; and Catherine, aged two.    Mr. Brink is a member of the Congregational church and is connected with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He gives -72- his political allegiance to the republican party and without being active as an office seeker, does all in his power to promote the best interests of the community. His business career has been characterized by honorable dealings and he today occupies an enviable position in commercial circles of Washta, holding the esteem and confidence of all who are associated with him.

-72- FRANK RUDOLPH BIERMAN    There is no section of all this great county which offers better opportunities to the agriculturist than the state of Iowa, with its broad prairies, its soil, naturally rich and productive, responding in generous harvests to the care and labor bestowed upon it. Among the most successful of the citizens of the state are those who have chosen to engage in farming, to which class belonged Frank Rudolph Bierman. More than a century ago George Washington said that "agriculture is the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man." It was to the work of tilling the soil that Frank R. Bierman devoted his energies until within a few months of his death. He was born in Lyons, Clinton county, Iowa, March 30, 1857, and was a son of Frank and Elizabeth (Ploega) Bierman, both of whom were natives of Westphalia, Germany. The father was a wood turner, and, coming to the United States, settled in Galena, Illinois, while later he removed from that state to Iowa, establishing his home in Lyons. At length he retired from active business and in 1899 came to Cherokee, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in March, 1912. His wife had died in Cherokee county when on a visit in 1887, so that he survived her for a quarter of a century. In politics he was a democrat and both were members of the Catholic church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bierman were born six children: Margaret, the wife of John Montagne, living in Tilden township; Joseph, a resident of the same township; Frank R., whose name introduces this record; Caroline, the wife of Orrin Cummings, of Pierson, Iowa; Mary, the widow of Reuben Strickler, and a resident of Laramie, Wyoming; and Philip, whose home is in Washta, Iowa.    In the schools of his native county Frank R. Bierman pursued his education, mastering the branches of learning therein taught and thus qualifying for life's practical and responsible duties. He learned the wood turner's trade in his youth and followed it until he had attained his majority, when he came to Cherokee county and purchased a farm in Tilden township. He at once began to till the soil and to his farm added many improvements and modern accessories. He converted the place into richly cultivated fields, from which he annually gathered golden harvests. The sale of his crops brought him a substantial financial return and his accumulations year by year at length made him the possessor of a handsome competence, which enabled him to retire from business cares in 1910. He then removed to Cherokee where he died on the 23d of August, 1911.    It was on the 23d of October, 1884, that Mr. Bierman was united in marriage to Miss Mary Discher, a daughter of Christopher and Ingerburg (Paulson) Discher, of Tilden township, this county. The father was born in the northern part of Schleswig, Germany, and the mother's birth occurred in the same locality. -73- Their youthful days were spent there and they pursued their education in the public schools. The father became a farmer and after crossing the Atlantic to the United States in 1874 settled in Ohio. He afterward lived for a time in Clinton county, Iowa, before coming to Cherokee county and he is now living retired in Washta, Iowa. Farming was his occupation while he was actively in business and the careful management of his interests brought to him the success which enables him to put aside business cares in later life. His political support is given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the German Lutheran church. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he has found the opportunities which he sought and which have brought him to a creditable and gratifying financial position. Unto him and his wife have been born six children: Catherine, the widow of Fred Boothby, livning in Washta, Iowa; Mrs. Bierman, who was born in Germany, January 28, 1863, and was educated in that country; Paulina, deceased; Bertha, the wife of U. C. Rogers, of Washta, Iowa; Margaret, the wife of William Holdorf of Clinton, Iowa; and Paul, who is also living in Clinton.    Mr. and Mrs. Bierman became the parents of four children, Libbie, Paul Phillip, Louis and Glenn, all at home with the exception of Paul, who is farming in Tilden township. Mr. Bierman was identified with several fraternal organizations, belonging to the Masonic lodge, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he was a republican and was ever faithful to the duties of citizenship, being actuated in all that he did by a public-spirited devotion to the general good. His religious faith was that of the Congregational church and he consistently followed his professions, so that his well spent life brought to him the confidence and good-will of those with whom he was associated. He had many friends and those who knew him longest were his stanchest friends.

-73- HARRY Z. FREEMAN    Harry Z. Freeman, office manager for the Wixcel Manufacturing Company of Marcus and a stockholder in the concern, was born in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, November 28, 1888. He is a son of Charles E. and A. H. (Hill) Freeman, the former a native of Iowa and the latter of Missouri. The paternal grandparents, Z. P. and Mary Freeman, came to O'Brien county, this state, in pioneer times and the grandfather took up a homestead claim in that locality, operating the farm until 1868. In that year he moved into Cherokee and engaged in the general merchandise business as a member of the firm of Freeman & Snell. He operated this until 1872, when the plague of grasshoppers ruined his business and he was obliged to discontinue it. He went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and he and his wife reside there at the present time, the grandfather having reached the age of seventy-eight. The father of the subject of this review was a minister in the Christian church and preached the gospel in various localities. After two years in Cherokee county he abandoned the ministry and settled in Marcus, where he purchased the News, successfully editing this paper for eighteen months. -74-    Harry Z. Freeman acquired his early education in various parts of the United States and in 1905 entered Drake University in Des Moines, taking three years of the Liberal Arts course. When he had completed this he came to Marcus and for eighteen months engaged in the newspaper business with his father. For five months afterward he was assistant postmaster but at the end of that time went to Crete, Nebraska, where he conducted a newspaper for one year. When he returned to Marcus he purchased stock in the Wixcel Manufacturing Company, for whom he is now office manager. He discharges the duties of this responsible office capably and promptly and his work has been a helpful factor in the development of the concern.    Mr. Freeman gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a member of the Christian church. He is well known in Marcus as a reliable and farsighted business man and he enjoys the respect and confidence of all with whom he is acquainted.

-74- JAMES ROBERTSON, JR.    James Robertson, Jr., cashier of the Washta State Bank and well known in financial circles of Cherokee county since he aided in organizing this institution in 1888, was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, near Port Sarnia, October 1, 1864. He is a son of James and Catherine (Comrie) Robertson, the former a native of Perth, Scotland, and the latter of Comrie, that country. The father moved to Canada in the '50s and settled near Port Sarnia, where he cultivated a farm until 1867. In that year he went to Cedar county, Iowa, and purchased a farm near Clarence, whence he moved after two years to Cherokee county. He worked first for a Mr. Archer in a grain elevator and later associated himself with Thomas Patton in the grain and lumber business. They continued together until 1887, after which Mr. Robertson conducted the business alone until 1898, when he discontinued the grain department, retaining, however, the other branch of his business, in which he is still interested. He assisted in the organization of the Bank of Washta in 1888 and became president of the institution upon its incorporation as the Washta State Bank. He still retains this position, although he is living practically retired. In his family nine children: Margaret, at home; Isabel V., widow of A. S. Wilson, Agnes J., at home; William and Peter, deceased, James, Jr., of this review; Sarah, deceased; Alexander D., of Washta; and John, deceased.    James Robertson, Jr., was educated in the public schools of Cherokee, graduating in the first class from the Cherokee high school in 1884. He afterward attended the Northwestern University at Evanston, where he took a two years; philosophical course. In 1888 he came to Washta with his father and in June of that year they organized the Bank of Washta with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars, and with the following officers: James Robertson, president; Thomas Boothby, vice president; and James Robertson, Jr., cashier. In 1891, the present building was erected, a modern two-story structure twenty-six and two-thirds by seventy-five feet in dimensions. The bank has a surplus -75- of twelve thousand, five hundred dollars and has grown to be one of the strongest and most reliable financial institutions in the section of Cherokee county. Its present officers are: James Robertson, president; Ellen Boothby, vice president; James Robertson, Jr., cashier; A. D. Robertson, assistant cashier; and J. C. Robertson, bookkeeper. It has the following board of directors; W. A. Sanford, N. T. Burroughs, A. J. Robertson, James Robertson, Ellen Boothby and James Robertson, Jr.    On the 14th of August, 1889, Mr. Robertson was united in marriage to Miss Almeda J. Soper, a daughter of Ransom and Rachel (White) Soper, of Cherokee. The parents were natives of Maine and the father followed the merchandise business there and at Quasqueton, Iowa. Both have passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have become the parents of four children: Miriam S., James C., Rachel C. and Malcolm Drummond.    Mr. Robertson is connected with the Masonic order, being a member of Little Sioux Lodge, No. 521, of Washta; Burning Bush Chapter, R.A.M.; the Crusade Commandery of Cherokee, Iowa; and the Za-Ga-Zig Temple, A.A.O.M.M.S., of Des Moines, Iowa. He is a member of the Grant Club of Des Moines and of the Rho Chapter of Beta Theta Pi at Northwestern University. He is a devout member of the Presbyterian church. His political support is given to the republican party and he has been very active in public affairs, serving in various positions of trust and responsibility. He was a member of the school board for twelve years and has been mayor of Washta, proving a capable and efficient executive. He is recognized as a prominent factor in business circles of Washta, his influence being felt along lines which affect the public welfare.

-75- OLE PAULSON    Ole Paulson, for the past twenty-seven years general manager of the Wisconsin Lumber Company and by virtue of this position and the force of his own ability and energy one of the leading business men of Aurelia, was born in Norway in 1850. He came to America in 1881, when he was thirty-one years of age, and settled in Aurelia, entering the employ of the Wisconsin Lumber company, with which he has been connected since that time. He was advanced rapidly from department to department to the office of general manager and for the past twenty-seven years he has held this responsible position, discharging his duties systematically, promptly and conscientiously. In the course of years he has acquired valuable property holdings, owning one hundred and sixty acres of fine farming land one and on-half miles from Aurelia.    Mr. Paulson was twice married. In 1881 he wedded Miss Anna Dullum, a native of Norway, who came to America a year before her marriage. She died in 1895, leaving six children: Andrew, a bookkeeper in Chicago; Martin, a machinist in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad at Cherokee; Burnett, of North Dakota; Helmer, who operates his father's farm; Hans, a bookkeeper in Chicago; and Minnie, who lives at home. In 1900 Mr. Paulson was again married, his second union being with Miss Dinah Danielson, a native of Norway, who came to America in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Paulson have become -76- the parents of seven children: Delia, who was born in 1901; Opal, born in 1902; Clara, 1903; Ruth, 1904; Harold, 1905; Byron, 1908; and Monrad, 1909.    Mr. and Mrs. Paulson are members of the Scandinavia Lutheran church and are well known in Aurelia. During a residence of thirty-two years in the town Mr. Paulson has made his influence felt in an important way upon the development of one of its largest industrial concerns and he has gained a high place in the ranks of progressive and successful business men.

-76- PROFESSOR L. H. MAUS   Full Size    Professor L. H. Maus, who for a number of years has been superintendent of schools in Cherokee, is a man whose force of character and natural ability have carried him forward into important relations with educational interests of this part of Iowa. He was born in Aledo, Illinois, and acquired his education in the public schools of that locality and in the Nebraska Wesleyan University. He has been for eighteen years connected with educational work and is a well known speaker on the chautauqua platform and has been connected with the Redpath Bureau for several years.    Since 1905 Professor Maus has been superintendent of school in Cherokee and has accomplished excellent and far-reaching work in this important office. He is particularly interested in the progress of the Cherokee high school and his efforts along this line have the enthusiastic support of the board of directors, which is as follows: F. F. Frisbie, president; William Shardlow, secretary; C. Sullivan treasurer; E. R. Charlton; C. F. Lueder; J. R. Nelson; and J. J. Mathews. Sadie Wilson is principal of the school andhs under her an unusually efficient corps of teachers: Ella Moore having charge of the Latin department; Helena Trieshmann, English; Daisy Spry, German; May Bliss, domestic science; Helen Wittich, music; Mary Collar, mathematics; John Stewart, history and athletics; Fred Rogers, science; Ralph Gill, the commercial department; and J. H. Tanner, manual training. The school offers a choice of five courses, Latin, English, scientific, business and normal training, a total of eight years' work, the completion of any course gaining the student admission to any accredited college in the middle west. The high school building is modern in every respect, having seventeen rooms, including a science laboratory, a domestic-science room, a manual-training department and a library containing fifteen hundred volumes. The enrollment averages two hundred and twenty-five and the school has a high standing in both scholarship and athletics, having won the state championship in football in 1911, its team having suffered no defeats in three years.    The debating team is also unusually capable and held the state championship in 1910. Professor Maus has given a great deal of his attention to this school, installing modern courses of study and working for that cooperative spirit which is the basis of all successful efforts. He is an able educator, who has been a constant student of best methods of instruction and his own zeal and interest in the work have largely inspired his associates and pupils. Progress has been his watchword since the beginning and his labors have been attended -79 with a measure of success which makes him one of the most prominent representatives of the public school system in Iowa.    Professor Maus married Miss Ada I. Blachley of Lincoln, Nebraska, and they have become the parents of three children: Leon H., Jr., at home; Carroll, deceased; and Marjory at home. Professor Maus is well known in the Methodist Episcopal church, being a member of the building committee and of the Brotherhood class in the Sunday school. He is connected fraternally with the Masonic lodge. He has been for eighteen years identified with educational interests and in his professional career has worked his way gradually upward until he today occupies a position of distinction as one of the prominent educators of the state.

-79- GEORGE WILLIAM HARRISON    Among those whose labors while they were active factors in life's work contributed to public prosperity as well as to individual gain in Cherokee county was George William Harrison. Sterling traits of manhood and high ideals of citizenship brought him the warm regard of those with whom he came in contact.    Mr. Harrison was born in West Union, Fayette county, Iowa, November 10, 1857, and was a son of Christopher C. and Louisa S. (Ray) Harrison, both of whom were natives of Kingsbury, Norway. We are told by one who has seen it that G. W. Harrison's grandfather has one of the finest monuments in all European countries, erected to his memory. He was a great general and G. W. Harrison must have inherited some of his wonderful power. Nansen, the arctic explorer, was a cousin of Mr. Harrison's father, C. C. Harrison, who went to California in 1849. Like these relatives, a searcher after truth, he was always ready to shoulder difficult things. Nothing seemed too hard or great for him to accomplish. Christopher Harrison was born June 26, 1823, and was a gunsmith by trade. He continued in his native country until 1845, when, at the age of twenty-two years, he resolved to try his fortune in the new world. Accordingly he crossed the Atlantic and for a brief period was a resident of New York, but later removed to Michigan. After a short time spent in that state he started for California, hoping to win success in the gold mines. In 1852 he again started for the east and at Philadelphia had his gold coined. He then returned to Norway, where he was, August 25, 1852, married to Miss Louisa S. Ray, who was born in the land of the midnight sun February 8, 1830. Soon afterward he once more started for the new world and, making his way to Fayette county, Iowa, he there took up land from the government, upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. He at once began to cultivate the place, however, broke the sod, planted the fields an din course of time gathered good crops, but death terminated his active career when his son George W. was but five years of age. AFter becoming a naturalized American citizen he cast his first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont and continued to support the republican party until his death. His religious faith was that of the German Lutheran church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harrison were born four children: Caroline, who in 1887 received the appointment for assistant -80 botanist in the department of agriculture at Washington, D. C., which appointment she still holds; Elizabeth, whose home is in Fayette county, Iowa; George W.; and Christian C., who is located in Arkansas.    A native of Iowa, George W. Harrison pursued his education in the schools of Fayette county and in the Upper Iowa University. He was a student in Upper Iowa University at Fayette for about three years and even in his student days exhibited those rare qualities of leadership which characterized him in later life. He was particularly active in temperance work and under his presidency the local organization became unusually popular and efficient. He then took up the profession of teaching and proved a capable educator, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired. He also became the owner of and conducted a stock farm and in 1881 he removed to Cherokee county, settling in Silver township. Here he again taught school and followed farming. After a time he took up his abode in Grand Meadow township, where he owned and cultivated a farm, bringing his fields to a high state of development. He died on the 1st of June, 1907, and thus and active, useful life was terminated. He had done much to further educational interests and to promote the agricultural progress of his adopted county, and his worth was widely recognized by all who knew aught of his history.    It was on the 4th of April, 1884, that Mr. Harrison was untied in marriage to Miss Elma Frances Hall, a daughter of Horatio Nelson and Elizabeth (Abbott) Hall, of Berrien county, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison became the parents of seven children: Harvey N., living in Grand Meadow township; Leo C., who will graduate from the American School of Osteopathy in the class of 1914; Roscoe F., who is a student at Ames Agricultural College and will graduate in 1915; George W., who has passed away; and Julia, Ethel and Frances, all at home. The family circle has twice been broken in the death of Mr. Harrison and his son and namesake.    In politics Mr. Harrison was a republican and he served as township trustee and as school director. Mrs. Harrison is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Harrison gave a lot upon his farm for the erection of a church and there was built upon the ground a commodious and attractive house of worship. He gave the cemetery opposite the church, care and attention helping to make it a beautiful city of the dead. On the 6th day of July the church was struck by lightning and burned to the ground and on the same day some of his valuable horses in the barn were killed by lightning. Mr. Harrison was a man of genial, social nature and he possessed many of the sterling characteristics of his Norwegian ancestry, including industry and honesty. His worth was widely acknowledged and his life record certainly deserves a place upon the pages of a history of Cherokee county. He had a very extensive circle of friends and all who knew him entertained for him the highest regard. The work which he had done for the church, the cemetery, the schools, the farmers' institute, the temperance cause and for good roads remains as a monument to his memory. He was a man love din the community where he had lived for nearly twenty years. He enjoyed the confidence of all who knew him and had held offices of honor and trust for years. He was widely known in his chosen vocation as a successful stockman. He loved the freedom of the farm. Good stock he delighted in and his yards and pastures were always well filled and cared for. He was -81- radical in his views but his teachings were always of a strictly moral, temperate and uplifting nature. He was always of independent mind, thinking for himself regardless of others opinions—a leader not a follower. The community has lost a worthy and useful citizen and his family have lost a kind, loving and thoughtful husband and father.

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