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HENRY SCOTT.
Henry Scott, who for twenty years has been engaged
in raising and feeding shorthorn cattle for the
market in connection with the conduct of his general
farming interests, makes his home on section 23,
Hazel Dell township. Here he owns four hundred
and forty acres of valuable land, all of which
has been acquired through his own efforts. His
first purchase was but eighty acres and to this
he added until he is now one of the substantial
agriculturists of the county. His birth occurred
in Cambridgeshire, England, April 5, 1848, his
parents being George and Ann (Cooper) Scott, both
of whom were natives of England. They were married
in that country and in 1856 came to the United
States, settling in Kane township, Pottawattamie
county, Iowa, where they made their home for twenty
years. Their last days, however, were spent in
Hazel Dell township, where Mr. Scott cultivated
and improved a farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
bringing his land under a high state of cultivation.
They were associated with the Reorganized Church
of the Latter Day Saints. In their family were
twelve children but only three are now living,
Thomas and William being residents of Norwalk
township.
Henry Scott, whose name introduces this review,
was reared in England to the age of eight years
and then accompanied his parents on their emigration
to the new world. The greater part of his youth
was therefore passed in this county upon the homestead
farm, amid the scenes and environments of pioneer
life. When not busy with the work of the fields
he attended the country schools and at the age
of twenty years he started out in life on his
own account, working as .a farm hand by the month.
His first purchase of land made him owner of eighty
acres on section 23, Hazel Dell township. It was
raw prairie and his
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first home was a small shanty. As time has passed
he has extended the boundaries of his farm until
he now owns four hundred acres, upon which are
excellent, modern improvements. He has made all
this himself, living a life of activity and energy.
He is still a hard worker, carrying on his farm
along most progressive lines. For twenty years
he has successfully raised, fed and fattened cattle
for the market, making a specialty of shorthorns.
He owns a registered herd of that breed and also
many full blooded Poland China swine. His stock-raising
interests are an important branch of his business
and contribute largely to his annual income.
On the 1st of January, 1869, Mr. Scott was united
in marriage to Miss Sarah Springer, who was born
in Missouri, November 2, 1849, a daughter of George
Springer, one of the early settlers of the county.
Mrs. Scott died January 10, 1882, leaving six
children: Laura E., the wife of Joe McMullen,
of Council Bluffs; Lulu A., the wife of Jay Ely,
of Wyoming; Sadie E., the wife of L. D. Groves,
of Hazel Dell township; Harry G., who is living
on a part of his father's farm; Bertha, the wife
of Frank Hough of Hazel Dell; and Frank, who died
at the age of twelve months. .After losing his
first wife, Mr. Scott was again married on the
5th of May, 1885, his second union being with
Carrie Hemmingsen, who was born in Denmark, November
25, 1861. They have six children: Bessie F., now
the wife of William Jensen, of Hazel Dell township;
Raymond H., at home; Alice M., deceased; Thomas
L., Esther G. and Carrie Ruth, all at home.
Mr. Scott exercises his right of franchise in
support of the men and measures of the republican
party and has served as township trustee and school
director, yet is not a politician in the sense
of office seeking. He has preferred to give his
time and energies to his business affairs and
in his chosen field of labor has met with the
success, which is all the more gratifying because
it indicates his own business ability and enterprise.
He is one of the oldest residents of the county
in years of continuous connection therewith, having
for more than half a century lived within its
borders. He has therefore witnessed its development
as it has emerged from pioneer conditions and
taken on all the evidences of a modern civilization,
its wild lands being converted into productive
farms, while its hamlets and villages have grown
into thriving towns and cities. He has borne his
full share in the work of improvement along agricultural
lines and as the architect of his own fortune
he has builded wisely and well.
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Alexander P. Fair, district manager for the Nebraska
Telephone Company at Council Bluffs, was born
in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, but much of his
life has been spent in the middle west, to which
he removed with his parents when eleven years
of age, the family home being established in Dakota
City, Nebraska. He completed his preliminary education
in the public schools there and afterward attended
the State University, at Lincoln, thus
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acquiring a good education to prepare him for
life's practical and responsible duties. Leaving
the university in 1881, he entered the employ
of the Nebraska Telephone Company at Lincoln,
and has since been continuously with that corporation
save for nine months, in 1892, which he spent
in Seward, Nebraska. His long connection with
the company is indisputable proof of his fidelity
to its interests and his capability in the discharge
of his duties. He has worked his way upward until
he now occupies the responsible position of district
manager with headquarters in Council Bluffs.
Mr. Fair was married in 1885, in Lincoln, Nebraska,
to Miss Fannie A. Patmore, and in the city of
their residence they have many warm friends, while
their own home is justly celebrated for its warm-hearted
and gracious hospitality. Mr. Fair belongs to
the Royal Arcanum and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and his social qualities render
him a favorite in these organizations.
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George Dirgo, who is now engaged in the dairy
business in the village -of Avoca, was born in
the state of New York, May 24, 1859. He is a son
of John and Anna Mary (Henn) Dirgo who were natives
of Germany, whence they crossed the Atlantic to
America in 1855, settling in the Empire state.
The father worked by the month for fourteen years.
In 1869 he removed to the west, settling in Scott
county, Iowa, where he rented a farm for seven
years. In 1875 he became a resident of Pottawattamie
county, establishing his home in Pleasant township,
where he purchased two hundred acres of land,
continuing its further development and improvement
for a number of years. He then retired from business
life and removed to Avoca, where both he and his
wife passed away in 1906. In their family were
four children, namely: John, living in Pleasant
township; Katie, whose home is in Avoca; George,
of this review; and Charles, who resides in Pleasant
township.
In taking up the personal history of George Dirgo
we present to our readers the life record of one
who is widely and favorably known in Pottawattamie
county as a representative of its agricultural
interests. He was eight years of age at the time
of the removal of the family to Iowa and he remained
with his father until he had attained his majority,
when he began farming on his own account, cultivating
a tract of rented land for one year.
On the expiration of that period he bought a
farm of eighty acres, to which he added an eighty
acre tract, and he also inherited forty acres
from his father's estate, making two hundred acres,
besides the forty acres where he lives in Knox
township adjoining the village of Avoca. At the
present writing he is engaged in the dairy business,
keeping a large number of cows and finding a ready
sale for the product of his dairy. His business
interests are well managed and are bringing to
him gratifying success.
Mr. Dirgo has been married twice. In 1892 he
wedded Miss Louisa Davis and unto them was born
a son, Harry C., who is at home. The wife
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and mother died in 1896 and Mr. Dirgo has since
married Miss Minnie Geidel, who was born in Pottawattamie
county in 1881 and is a daughter of Gustav and
Mary Geidel, who were natives of Germany. In their
family were seven children, including Mrs. Dirgo,
who by her marriage has become the mother of two
daughters, Lily May and Marie Margaret. The parents
are well known in Avoca and throughout the surrounding
district and enjoy the hospitality of many of
the best homes of the locality.
In his political views Mr. Dirgo is a republican,
having supported the party since age conferred
upon him the right of franchise. He does not seek
nor desire office, however, preferring to give
undivided attention to his business affairs, and
the capable management thereof results in bringing
to him a merited prosperity.
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George H. Nicoll has the ability for the mastery
of a complexity of business interests and the
executive ability required in the management of
such an office as he fills. He is in control of
the Western Union Telegraph interests at Council
Bluffs and as manager has made an excellent record.
He has worked up to this position from that of
messenger boy, his promotions coming to him in
recognition of his capability and genuine worth.
Mr. Nicoll is a native of Scotland, having been
born in Perth, on the 15th of December, 1862,
his parents being James and Amelia (Hutton) Nicoll.
He spent the first eight or nine years of his
life in the land of hills and heather, and in
1871 came with his parents to the new world, the
family home being established at Council Bluffs,
Iowa, where he completed his education at the
age of seventeen years. The school of experience,
however, has brought him many valuable lessons.
On putting aside his text-books he entered the
employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company
at Council Bluffs, in November, 1879, as messenger
boy. Ambitious for success and desirous of advancement
he has eagerly embraced every opportunity offering
itself and promotions have come to him as the
result of his diligence and trustworthiness. In
1880 he was made operator in the Council Bluffs
office, filling that position until November,
1888, when he went to Salt Lake City, where he
was operator for the Western Union until March,
1890. He was then transferred to Omaha, continuing
in the office of the company at that place until
November, 1891, when he was promoted to his present
position as manager of the Council Bluffs office.
Mr. Nicoll is well known in telegraphic circles,
where he has gained warm friendships, and in social
life he has won equally favorable regard. He is
a chapter Mason, now serving as king of Star chapter,
No.4 7, R. A. M. He also belongs to the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, and to the Royal
Arcanum, of which he is a past regent, while at
the present time he is a. grand trustee of the
order in Iowa. He likewise holds membership in
the Council Bluffs Commercial Club. He is an excellent
type of the western man,
806
alert and enterprising, eagerly seeking and utilizing
opportunities and thus winning advancement, and
at the same time he manifests many of the sterling
characteristics of the Scottish race, including
the perseverance and business integrity which
have ever been strongly marked features of the
sons of Scotland.
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Peter F. Howell, one of the extensive agriculturists
and enterprising citizens of this section of the
state, was born in Staffordshire, England on the
1st of November, 1851, a son of John and Frances
(Bate) Howell. The parents were both natives of
England and were reared and married in that country,
the father being first a blacksmith b;) trade
and later a veterinary surgeon. In 1855, in company
with his family, he crossed the Atlantic to the
United States and located on a farm which he purchased
near Cascade, Iowa. When a year had passed, however,
he returned to England and, as he was persuaded
by friends to remain in that country, he sent
for his family to join him. In 1868, however,
he once more emigrated to the United States in
company with his wife and two sons, locating in
Washington county, Iowa, where they remained until
1880. In that year they came to Pottawattamie
county and a year later purchased eighty acres
in Layton township, where the father's demise
occurred in 1882. The mother afterward made her
home among her children until she, too, departed
this life, in 1901. This worthy couple had become
the parents of eight children, four of whom yet
survive: John B., a resident of Iola, Kansas;
Arthur, living in Osborne county, Kansas; Fannie
Winifred, of Renton, Washington; and Peter F.,
of this review.
Peter F. Howell was reared under the parental
roof and acquired his education in the private
schools of England, being seventeen years of age
when his parents came to the United States the
second time. He came to Pottawattamie county in
1875 and broke prairie the first year, bringing
three horses with him from Washington county,
Iowa. The following year he began operating a
rented farm but in 1878 purchased one hundred
and twenty acres of land in Knack township, which
he successfully cultivated until 1883, when he
sold the property and went to Audubon county,
Iowa, and there carried on agricultural pursuits
on one of Dr. Ballard's farms. The Doctor died
the same year and Mr. Howell then took charge
of the widow's farm lands, which he managed in
an able and profitable manner for seventeen years.
During a portion of this time he also operated
thirty-four hundred acres of rented land. In 1900
he returned to Pottawattamie county, having become
the owner of four hundred and ninety acres in
Knox township, this county, and one hundred and
sixty acres in Adams county. He has met with an
unusual degree of success in his farming operations
and is widely recognized as one of the representative
agriculturists of this section of the state.
Mr. Howell has been married twice. His first
wife, however, who bore the maiden name of Miss
Mattie Mounts and was a native of Washington county,
807
Pennsylvania, lived only a little over a year
after her marriage. He was married a second time,
in 1877, to Miss Fannie Raymond Robinson, the
daughter of George and Virginia E. Robinson and
a granddaughter of Dr. Samuel M. Ballard. In 1899
Mr. Howell was called upon to mourn the death
of his second wife, who had been a faithful companion
and helpmate to him on the journey of life and
had won many friends by reason of her good traits
of heart and mind. She had become the mother of
two children, as follows: Benjamin Franklin, who
carries on farming in Knox township, this county;
and Maud Emma, the wife of Frank L. Harris, who
lives in Cass county, Iowa.
Mr. Howell is a local leader in the ranks of
the republican party, having served as delegate
to county and state conventions, as township trustee
and as justice of the peace for several years.
Fraternally he is connected with Audubon lodge,
No. 217, 1. O. O. F., and Atlantic City (Iowa)
lodge, No. 455, B. P. O. E. Such in brief is the
life history of Peter F. Howell. In whatever relation
of life we find him, in political circles, in
business or in social relations he is always the
same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth
well merits the high regard which is uniformly
given him.
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George W. Gibson, well known in business circles
as the manager at Council Bluffs for the Fuller
& Johnson Manufacturing Company, of Madison,
Wisconsin, manufacturers of farm implements and
gasoline engines, has been connected with this
house for about thirteen years and has occupied
his present position since March, 1907. Advancement
and success do not come to men as a gift but are
eagerly sought and ofttimes are won at the cost
of hard, unremitting labor. It has been through
this method that Mr. Gibson has won his present
excellent position.
His life record began upon a farm in Livingston
county, Illinois, on the 28th of December, 1854,
and through the period of his boyhood and youth
he was largely occupied with the labors of field
and meadow. He lived upon the farm until about
seventeen years of age and acquired his education
in the country schools of his native county, which
he attended up to that time. He then sought and
secured employment in a general mercantile store
in Cornell, Livingston county, Illinois, where
he remained for about five years. In 1877 he went
to Shelby county, Iowa, where he began farming,
following agricultural pursuits there until 1884,
when thinking to find commercial interests more
congenial, he removed to Omaha, where he was engaged
in the grocery business for a time. He then began
dealing in real estate and in cattle.
In 1889 Mr. Gibson removed across the border
to the Iowa side and purchased a farm in Pottawattamie
county, where he carried on general agricultural
pursuits for three years. On the expiration of
that period he took up his abode in the city of
Council Bluffs and far two years was with the
Warder, Bushnell & Glesner Company, of Chicago,
in connection with their
808
branch house in Council Bluffs. In 1894 he entered
the employ of the Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing
Company and was upon the road as its representative
in the North Platte district of Nebraska until
March, 1907, when his well known ability led to
his selection for the responsible position of
manager at this point. The company are manufacturers
of farm implements, gasoline engines and manure
loaders, also farm wagons, trucks and light vehicles.
Mr. Gibson has charge of a considerable portion
of the western territory in the introduction of
these goods to the markets and a continuance of
their sale. His long experience upon the road
gave him an intimate knowledge of conditions existing
in this department of commercial activity, and
thus well qualified he came to his present position,
which he is now ably filling. The company which
he represents was established in 1840 and is therefore
one of the oldest in the country. The business
was incorporated in 1880 and the house is recognized
as one of the most reliable in the United States.
Mr. Gibson is a member of the United Commercial
Travelers council, No. 146, at Council Bluffs,
and also belongs to the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, while his political allegiance is given
to the democracy. He was married in Shopier, Wisconsin,
in 1882, to Miss Eva I. Smith, a daughter of Artemus
Smith, and they have one son, Clyde E. Gibson.
Almost throughout his entire life he has been
directly or indirectly connected with agricultural
interests, first in the active work of the farm
and still later in the sale of agricultural implements,
and his early acquaintance brought him an excellent
knowledge of the demands of farm life in this
particular. This has proved an element in his
success in the sale of farm machinery and made
him one of the leading representatives of this
line in Council Bluffs.
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Edward P. Schoentgen as an architect of Council
Bluffs has contributed in no small degree to the
improvement and adornment of the city, where he
has practiced his profession since 1899. This
is his native city, his birth having occurred
here on the 16th of August, 1873, and he is a
son of John Schoentgen, of whom mention is made
elsewhere in this work. No event of special importance
occurred to vary the routine of life for him in
his boyhood days. He was a student in the public
schools until twelve years of age, when he went
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became a student
in the German-English Academy, finishing his course
there in 1889. He afterward attended The Manual
Training School (Washington University) in St.
Louis, Missouri, where he completed a three years'
course and his further preparation for a life
work was made in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, at Boston, from which institution
he received the degree of S. B. in 1895. He then
spent two years and nine months abroad, studying
for two years in Paris under Jean Louis Pascal,
the noted French architect, membre de l'Institut
and architect of the National Library. During
the succeeding nine months
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Mr. Schoentgen traveled over the continent, gaining
that broad general knowledge and experience which
only travel can bring. Upon his return home he
became connected with the firm of Eames &
Young, architects of St. Louis Missouri, and in
1899 he opened an office for the practice of his
profession in Council Bluffs. Here he has since
remained, his patronage steadily increasing, and
his skill and ability are evidenced in many of
the fine structures of the city and adjoining
districts. He is at present the architectural
member of the state capitol commission, appointed
in 1902 by Governor Albert B. Cummins, to repair,
complete and decorate the state house in Des Moines.
In 1901, in Des Moines, was celebrated the marriage
of Mr. Schoentgen and Miss L. Mabel Pratt, daughter
of M. M. Pratt, and they have two children: John
Pratt and Jane Schoentgen. Mr. Schoentgen is a
member of the Elks lodge. He is numbered among
the more recent additions to professional ranks
in Council Bluffs but in a comparatively short
space of time has won most favorable recognition
of his work in the liberal patronage which is
extended him.
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Jacob Geiger is one of the well known and successful
business men of Minden, where he has been actively
engaged in merchandising for the past ten years.
His life record began in Scott county, Iowa, August
7, 1873. He is a brother of John Geiger, a prosperous
merchant of Minden and the present mayor of the
town, of whom mention is made on another page
of this work, together with the family history.
Jacob Geiger came west to Pottawattamie county
when a lad of eleven years, arriving here in 1884.
He was reared upon the old home farm near Minden,
early becoming familiar with all the duties and
labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist.
He acquired his primary education in the common
schools and later attended the Minden schools,
supplemented by a year's study in the Western
Normal, at Lincoln, Nebraska. When his school
life was ended he returned to Minden and entered
upon his business career, purchasing a store in
the town. Here he has followed merchandising for
the past ten years. He commenced business in a
small way but has continually added to his stock
and now carries a large line of dry goods, groceries
and clothing. The store is commodious, well lighted
and neat in appearance. He makes a nice display
of his goods and has built up a large trade. His
earnest desire to please his patrons, his straightforward
dealing and his business enterprise constitute
him a popular and successful merchant.
Mr. Geiger was married in Minden on the 17th
of January, 1900, to Miss Minnie Krutzfeldt, a
native of Germany, who was reared, however, in
Pottawattamie county. There is one son by this
marriage, Victor E. Geiger. Politically Mr. Geiger
is a stanch republican, keeping well informed
concerning the political situation of the country
and giving stalwart endorsement to his views at
the polls. He was appointed postmaster at Minden
in
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1900, so that he is now serving. He is a popular
official, courteous and obliging in manner and
prompt in the execution of his duties. He has
also served on the town board as councilman and
has frequently been a delegate to county and state
conventions, where his opinions carry weight.
While he has never sought to figure prominently
in public life, in his home locality where he
is best known, he commands the good will and confidence
of those with whom he has been associated and
his life record is not without its lessons concerning
the value and sure rewards of character.
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WILLIAM H.
HOSLER.
A life of unremitting industry has brought to
William H. Hosler the success which he is now
enjoying, making him one of the substantial residents
of Carson township. His home is on section 31,
where he owns and cultivates a good farm of one
hundred and twenty acres, but it is his intention
to remove to Carson during the winter of 1907-8
and retire from active business life. He was born
in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 6,
1848, and was the second in order of birth in
a family of ten children, of whom seven are now
living. The parents were Abraham and Katharine
(Minick) Hosler, both of whom were natives of
Pennsylvania and died upon a farm six miles north
of Canton, Illinois. The father was a blacksmith
as well as agriculturist and followed both pursuits
throughout his entire life.
William H. Hosler was only about two years of
age when the family made the journey westward
from Pennsylvania, in a covered wagon to Canton,
Illinois. They resided in the town for fourteen
years, the father following the blacksmith's trade,
and at the end of that time he purchased a farm
six miles from the city. It was upon that place
that William H. Hosler continued to reside until
he had attained his majority, when he was married
and began farming on his own account by renting
land, which he continued to cultivate for four
years. The spring of 1875 witnessed his arrival
at Hastings, Iowa, and in the spring of 1879 he
bought his present place-an undeveloped tract
of prairie land of eighty acres. To this he afterward
added forty acres and now has a good farm of one
hundred and twenty acres on section 31, Carson
township. The substantial buildings upon the place
were put here by Mr. Hosler and the fine trees
which now constitute the grove and orchard were
planted by himself and wife. Mrs. Hosler set out
over two hundred maple trees while her husband
was engaged in breaking prairie preparatory to
cultivating the fields. These have now developed
into large trees and add much to the attractive
appearance of the farm, which is devoted to the
raising of both grain and stock. The fields are
well tilled and in the pastures are found good
grades of cattle, horses and hogs.
On the 22d of December, 1869, Mr. Hosler was
united in marriage to Miss Emma Babbitt, who was
born in a log house near Canton, Illinois, March
6, 1848, and there resided with her parents until
her marriage, her father being one of the early
settlers of that locality. She is a daughter of
Silas and
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Elizabeth (White) Babbitt, the former a native
of Indiana, while the latter was born near Columbus,
Ohio. Mrs. Hosler was the second in order of birth
in a family of nine children. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Hosler have been born no children, but they reared
a niece, Belle Conrad, who died at the age of
twenty-one years.
In his political views Mr. Hosler is a. democrat
and keeps well informed on the questions and issues
of the day, although he has never been an aspirant
for public office. He and his wife are members
of the Methodist Episcopal church and in the community
where they reside the circle of their friends
is almost co-extensive with the circle of their
acquaintance.
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